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Product Briefing Outline: Oerlikon Systems has launched the ‘SOLARIS,’ a new production solution that simplifies the manufacturing of crystalline solar cells. Billed as the first single substrate ‘Nanotech Machine’ designed for mass production, the system is designed to deposit very thin layers of silicon nitride on the front of the solar cells. The system, due to its flexible configuration can also coat the wafer backside with various materials.

Problem: Production costs of solar energy do not only depend on cell efficiency but also on the productivity of the manufacturing process. The existing standard fabrication method for coating crystalline solar cells is based on complex processes with high demands made on cleaning and manual maintenance.

Solution: In the Solaris system, each wafer is handled and coated separately. The system incorporates six coating chambers, a special carrier transport mechanism and a wide range of potential layer material. The machine is able to treat standard wafer formats from 125mm2 to 156mm2 , with an average amounting up to 1,200 wafers per hour, (dry cycle time < 3.0 sec). Changing substrate formats, layer materials or processes takes less than an hour. A new system at a customer site can be ramped up in less than one week, according to the company.

Applications: The Multilayer capability allows passivation and SiN coating on the
front side as well as passivation and Al-contact layer on the back side.

Platform: The SOLARIS platform dimensions are 2.0 x 3.3 meters, resulting in acclaimed 80% less floor space usage compared to competitive solutions. The fully automated solution requires minimal maintenance and uses less power (minus 50%), compared to traditional tools. Low maintenance requirements result in a significantly higher uptime.

Availability: June 2009 onwards.