Underwhelming: Tokyo Electron, Oerlikon Solar partnership could be so much more

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Tom Cheyney

Tom Cheyney is former senior editor of PV-Tech / Photovoltaics International magazine. A veteran technology journalist / editor / blogger, he covered the semiconductor, microelectronics and solar sectors for many years - since fax machines were state of the art. His PV-Tech blog has become a must-read for industry insiders and observers. He was also chief editor of "The Rise of Thin-Film Solar Technology" book published in early 2010.

The idea of Tokyo Electron and Oerlikon Solar joining up in a comprehensive "strategic cooperation" in the thin-film PV market is a powerful one. Imagine all of mighty TEL's R&D, production, sales, marketing, and technical support intertwined with Oerlikon's leading-edge amorphous/micromorph-silicon TFPV prowess.

But the reality of their new partnership appears to be alot less sexy.

Unless there's something hiding behind another curtain (such as the integration of TEL cleaning/surface prep or metrology technologies into Oerlikon's turnkey TFPV systems), the deal is nothing more than a sales and distribution arrangement, with TEL acting as the glorified rep company for Oerlikon's solar product lines in Japan, much of the ROA (rest of Asia), and Oceania.

Yes, the Japanese equipment juggernaut will deploy some of its workforce to help install tools, ramp module fabs, and perform support functions. But isn't that a part of many firms' sales and service packages, albeit a more comprehensive one than usual because of TEL's girth and expertise?

Oerlikon had a decent Asian network before this, considering the company has sold its tools throughout the broader region, has several turnkey lines installed or being installed in China and Taiwan, and has a production presence in Singapore as well as a "scaleability" (AKA contract manufacturing) contract with Flextronics. Still, Japan and Korea remain largely terra incognita, so TEL should be able to lend a hand in those two countries, especially on its home turf.

TEL has been dabbling in solar, including working on, gulp, plasma CVD tools for TFPV with Sharp (a venture announced a year ago this month) and a next-gen joint development with--and investment in--early-stage contender Nanogram.

But try finding anything about the company's solar activities on its website, apart from the few press releases issued over the past year or so. There is no mention of the PV sector among the products offered or industries served--at least on the English-language version.

Again, I wonder: Is there anything more to this "strategic cooperation" deal than just a souped-up regional sales and service arrangement, or is it just the first piece of something more eyebrow-raising and profound, which has yet to be finalized?

Are there any devils in the details, known or forthcoming, that might induce competitive insomnia among the folks at TFPV turnkey top-dog Applied Materials?

Because on the face of it, at least for now, what could have been--or maybe should have been--a monster deal isn't such a big deal after all--and Applied's solar minions shouldn't lose any sleep over it.