The 26th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (PVSEC) is taking place between September 5 and 9, 2011 in the CCH Congress Centre and International Fair in Hamburg.
The EU PVSEC is an international convention for research and development, industry and applications and is also one of the most important industrial fairs.
Leybold Optics GmbH from Alzenau/Germany, one of the world's most reputed manufacturers of vacuum systems in the fields of glass & solar and optics, has its own booth at the EU PVSEC convention and will be presenting innovative, practical products and solutions for all current standard thin film systems (a-Si/myc-Si, CIGS, CIGS-Flex, CdTe).
The Glass & Solar division at Leybold Optics has been developing and producing vacuum systems for the photovoltaic industry and machines for architecture glass coating displays and other large-format applications since 2005.
Leybold Optics ensures that its 160 years of experience in vacuum coating also flows into the thin film technologies for photovoltaic systems. The company specialises in areas such as sputtering, PECVD (plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition), plasma assisted evaporation, machine automation and software.
It has a unique portfolio of thin film applications and is flexible in the substrate size – from one cm2 to 19 m2 – innovative leadership is one of Leybold Optics' top priorities.
CIGS technology CIGS, also known as CIS, is an abbreviation for the elements that are used: copper, indium, gallium, sulphur and selenium. Compared to crystalline silicon solar cells that have a wafer thickness of around 150 mym, the CIGS technology is only around 3 mym thick which means much less semi-conductor material is used.
Leybold Optics offers the full range of vacuum equipment for this thin film technology: the front contact, absorber layer, back contact, etc. for all necessary processes.
CIGS systems from Leybold Optics are already being used in large production facilities by world market leaders. They stand out thanks to their process-optimized concept and their high level of reliability and availability.
Roll-to-roll procedure
Leybold Optics offers Roll-to-roll coating system, also called web-coater for complex flexible applications. The procedure is designed for substrates, such as metal films or flexible plastics, and allows coating methods such as sputtering, evaporation, CVD or a combined solution.
The substrates are transported via a conveyor from roll to roll during which they are coated in vacuum; the coated surface remains completely untouched. The patented Leybold technology with its 360° design is a fully automatic process that not only allows the production of flexible solar cells but also other applications too.
EAE technology
The Ruhr University Bochum and Leybold Optics have been working closely to examine the technical feasibility of the electrical asymmetry effect (EAE) for industrial applications used to produce silicon thin film solar cells. The objective is the technical application of the innovative effect to achieve a much higher deposition rate whilst maintaining the good layer properties.
Another much more important advantage of the new procedure is that it is possible to continue using the existing plasma systems. Leybold Optics is a licensee of this patented technology, which can be used to control the plasma more effectively. It is believed that it will be possible to significantly increase the disposition rate for micro-crystalline silicon by a factor of two.
The coating system Phoebus from Leybold Optics (PECVD) will be equipped with the new EAE technology in the future. The technology can be retrofitted to existing installed systems. This hardware upgrade also plays an important role in ensuring that Phoebus can be used even more efficiently.
Leybold Optics presented the adaption of this new technology to a scientific public for the first time in July 2011 during the 11th International Symposium on Sputtering & Plasma Process (ISSP) of the University of Tokyo (The Institute for Solid State Physics) in Kyoto.
Meeting point
Leybold Optics 26 EU PVSEC, CCH Congress and International Fair, Hamburg Exhibition: Monday, 5.09.2011 to Thursday, 8.09.2011, booth: A1 C2
Contact partners: Patrick Candala, Director Sales and Marketing Division Glass & Solar Dr. Günter Grabosch, VP Product Management Division Glass & Solar Jörg Hahn, Manager Sales and Marketing Division
Glass & Solar Lecture: PV Production Forum 2011 Thin Film Session, Tuesday 6 September, 2011, 1.30 pm to 6 pm Jörg Hahn, Manager Sales and Marketing Division Glass & Solar, Leybold Optics
Subject: Advanced Equipment for Thin Film PV Coatings on Glass
