Solar ♦ news digest
In this multi-junction solar cell, several cells made out of different III-V semiconductor materials are stacked on top of each other. The single subcells absorb different wavelength ranges of the solar spectrum.
“We are incredibly proud of our team which has been working now for three years on this four-junction solar cell,” says Frank Dimroth, Department Head and Project Leader in charge of this development work at Fraunhofer ISE.
“This four-junction solar cell contains our collected expertise in this area over many years. Besides improved materials and optimisation of the structure, a new procedure called wafer bonding plays a central role. With this technology, we are able to connect two semiconductor crystals, which otherwise cannot be grown on top of each other with high crystal quality. In this way we can produce the optimal semiconductor combination to create the highest efficiency solar cells,” he explains.
“This world record increasing our efficiency level by more than 1 point in less than 4 months demonstrates the extreme potential of our four-junction solar cell design which relies on Soitec bonding techniques and expertise,” says André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, Soitec’s Chairman and CEO.
“It confirms the acceleration of the roadmap towards higher efficiencies which represents a key contributor to competitiveness of our own CPV systems. We are very proud of this achievement, a demonstration of a very successful collaboration.”
“This new record value reinforces the credibility of the direct semiconductor bonding approaches that is developed in the frame of our collaboration with Soitec and Fraunhofer ISE. We are very proud of this new result, confirming the broad path that exists in solar technologies for advanced III-V semiconductor processing,” says Leti CEO Laurent Malier.
Concentrator modules are produced by Soitec (started in 2005 under the name Concentrix Solar, a spin-off of Fraunhofer ISE). This particularly efficient technology is employed in solar power plants located in sun-rich regions with a high percentage of direct radiation. Presently Soitec has CPV installations in 18 different countries including Italy, France, South Africa and California.
Smit Ovens and SoLayTec to develop CIGS/CZTS large area ALD tool
Cooperation between the firms will accelerate development of a cost efficient solution for large area ALD in the thin film PV & display market Smit Ovens and SoLayTec have joined forces to develop a system for large area applications of spatial ALD.
The cooperation creates maximum leverage of the experience of both companies to allow for a fast market introduction. Applications foreseen include buffer and barrier layers for Thin film PV and layers for improved TFT structures as required for OLED displays.
The process development tool which will be integrated in the existing CIGS development line is part of the CIGS/ CZTS Solliance program. It will be used for development of alternative buffer layers as well as other layers that can improve device structure and performance.
Smit Ovens and SoLayTec have agreed that both parties will contribute on technical aspects that best match their experience. SoLayTec will focus on the injector head development in order to maximise the experience of their extremely successful product in the c-Si PV market, InPassion ALD. Smit Ovens will take the role of machine integrator and act as contract partner to the customers.
“We are very excited about this cooperation since it allows us to achieve two strategic targets at the same time,” says Wiro Zijlmans, CEO of Smit Ovens. “We are able to offer an advanced process solution for the buffer layer to our existing customers for CIGS crystallisation. On top of that we are able to expand our market penetration in the Display market which we were already addressing with drying & sintering solutions.”
“After having successfully launched our first products in the market for crystalline PV, we now are able to use the proven deposition technology for the next market opportunity,” according to Huib Heezen, managing director of SoLayTec. “Also, we are very enthusiastic about our cooperation with an experience player as Smit ovens as this enables us to market both our combined areas of expertise within a short time frame.”
Piranha etching boosts InP solar cell efficiency
A novel etching method can make the surface of indium October 2013
www.compoundsemiconductor.net 103
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