The Nines ADE technology provides an efficient texturing process that lowers the front side reflectivity of the cell, allowing more light in and therefore generating more current.
They have been working on cell process integration with the Fraunhofer ISE team in Freiburg, Germany. This +0.3% efficiency uplift follows a number of previous uplifts, obtained with several Tier one Asian cell manufacturers since the beginning of 2015.
The ADE process provides producers with not only an efficiency up-lift, but also a highly competitive cost-of-ownership for large scale (GW) production, through the use of on-site etching gas generation. The atmospheric nature of Nines PV's process (non-vacuum), allows for higher throughputs than currently possible in the industry (for example with reactive ion etching) and enables in-line processing – a key requirement for efficient manufacturing lines.
The ADE tool applies the texture to only one side of the wafer, facilitating integration of the technology into a PERC process by providing surface decoupling without any additional etching/polishing/masking step. The texturing process uses a chemistry compatible with all types of silicon wafers, including mono-Si, mc-Si and cast wafers.
Furthermore, Nines PV have demonstrated with a number of Tier one customers that their texturing process works equally well on Diamond Wire (DW) cut wafers. Texturing has been the main barrier hindering the entry of this cost saving technology into the mc-Si market. The ADE technology will enable this change, and the significant associated cost benefits.
Although this is an excellent milestone for us, further improvements will be made as we optimise the process further, said Laurent Clochard, CTO of Nines PV. The market pull from the mc-Si cell and wafer manufacturers has been strong since Nines' first positive demonstration of the ADE technology toward the end of last year. The Nines ADE offer targets wafer and cell manufacturers that are looking to scale their operations to and beyond the GW scale.
The potential of ADE to reduce cost and improve efficiency is significant, especially when integrated with other upgrades. It also allows for more flexibility, as it is 100% compatible with any silicon wafer platform and when ADE is included as part of a PERC process flow, enables the cell manufacture to also be DW ready, added Edward Duffy, CEO of Nines PV.
Nines PV is currently going through evaluation with multiple customers, and are in advanced talks with a number of strategic partners in order to fulfil the needs of the company to grow and meet market demand.
