Pilot line set up for solar research

IMEC has established new partnerships with solar cell material and equipment suppliers, including MEMC Electronic Materials, Leybold Optics Dresden, Roth & Rau and Mallinckrodt Baker BV that have concluded joint development agreements with IMEC in the frame of a newly launched wafer-based silicon photovoltaics industrial affiliation program.

As part of this multi-partner R&D program, and with support from the Flemish government, a solar pilot line will be set up.

This will allow the partners to conduct solar cell process development research in a semi-industrial environment, enabling an efficient transfer of the results of this research directly to the industry’s production lines.

“With our IIAP program, we want to set up a research ecosystem with the aim of creating innovative processes to fabricate the next generations of silicon solar cells. Researchers from solar cell manufacturers and material and equipment suppliers will work together with IMEC’s solar experts on developing these advanced processes and testing them on our pilot line,” said Jef Poortmans, program director Solar+ at IMEC.

MEMC Electronic Materials, Leybold Optics, Roth & Rau and Mallinckrodt are starting joint development projects with IMEC, complementing the participation of Schott Solar AG, a photovoltaics manufacturer that recently joined IMEC’s IIAP. MEMC has made its initial shipments of high-lifetime, thin crystalline silicon solar wafers to IMEC.

Leybold is building an inline sputtering system A550V7 that will be shipped to IMEC in Q4 of 2009. Roth & Rau AG will ship an AK-1000 RIE inline plasma system for PV plasma texturisation and PSG removal to IMEC in the same period.

Mallinckrodt will be providing fluoride- and non-fluoride-containing chemistry for the development of hydrogen fluoride replacement processes.

To extend its silicon photovoltaics research infrastructure, IMEC will benefit from the recent decision of the government of Flanders to invest in renewable energies. IMEC will receive a grant of €8.7 million.

This will be used to set up the pilot line that will allow developing new processes in a semi-industrial environment.

The partners in the program will help build this line, which will consist of industrial-strength tools. The goal is to develop process flows that can easily be transferred to industry.

IMEC’s silicon solar cell IIAP concentrates on a sharp reduction in silicon use, while increasing cell efficiency and hence further lowering substantially the cost per W peak. The program explores both wafer-based bulk silicon solar cells and epitaxial cells.