Popular Articles
Canadian Solar to ship 30-40MW of metallurgical grade silicon modules in 2008 - 13 May 2008
Sunovia claims lab breakthrough for commercialization of single crystalline epitaxial CdTe/Si - 12 May 2008
Metallurgical solar-grade silicon could reshape PV industry, says PHOTON Consulting - 09 May 2008
Polysilicon shortages will spur thin film CAGR of 70 percent through 2010, says iSuppli - 02 May 2008
SunPower claims new 23.4 percent solar cell efficiency record - 12 May 2008
Sunovia
Energy Technologies and EPIR Technologies have completed Phase 1 of
their shared 2,000 sq. ft. cleanroom for the manufacture of cadmium
telluride (CdTe)-based solar cells and CdTe and mercury cadmium
telluride (HgCdTe) infrared detectors as part of the joint venture
operations. More than $25 million has been invested in R&D and
cleanroom facilities to date, the companies said. The cleanroom is
based at EPIR’s operations in Bolingbrook, Illinois, USA.
The new cleanroom houses a new molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) machine for the growth of single crystals of semiconductor materials. It also contains an x-ray diffractometer with a CCD camera and a spectrophotometer for measuring encapsulant and solar cell material optical properties and more generally for measuring the thickness and surface roughness of thin film layers.
Also used is a current-voltage station from Keithley and an Oriel/Newport solar simulator to measure solar cell efficiency. Two more MBE machines are currently on order for the Phase II expansion, the companies said.
