Aurora Control Technologies in-line emitter dopant measurement system features whole-wafer mapping

•  
  Aurora Control Technologies has launched ‘Decima CI,’ a new in-line emitter dopant measurement system, that is claimed to be the industry’s first in-line, non-contact emitter dopant measurement system featuring whole-wafer mapping at full production throughput for 100% of manufactured cells.

Aurora Control Technologies has launched ‘Decima CI,’ a new in-line emitter dopant measurement system, that is claimed to be the industry’s first in-line, non-contact emitter dopant measurement system featuring whole-wafer mapping at full production throughput for 100% of manufactured cells. The Decima CI is the first in a family of products to be launched by Aurora that provide for continuous cost-effective measurement of the critical-to-quality wafer parameters in today’s high-volume photovoltaic cell manufacturing processes.

Problem

With the industry’s high-throughput, continuous production methods, tight real-time measurement and control of emitter fabrication variability is necessary to enable low cost and optimal power output of the solar cell.

Solution

The Decima CI measures the diffused dopant within a polycrystalline silicon wafer, similar to sheet resistance. Featuring single or multi-lane measurement capability, the Decima's patent pending sensors and analysis technology provide accurate real-time measurements for process control and optimization. The Decima is said to be tolerant to production line faults such as misaligned, shingled or broken wafers. The modular head that sits above the production line connects to Aurora's PMC a central controller for line-wide measurement integration and operations.

Applications

Measurment of diffused dopant within a polycrystalline silicon wafer.

Platform

Designed specifically for the PV production environment, the Decima provides 24x7 continuous measurements, requires no production line modifications for installation, and allows easy operator access. The scalable architecture allows it to be economically applied from the smallest of production lines to the largest; making it easy to expand to meet future production growth. The ergonomically designed Human-Machine Interface provides operators and engineering staff easy access to the required critical data to run, optimize and maintain production.

Availability

September 2011 onwards. The Decima CI will be presented at the 26th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition at stand number B2U/B6 in Hamburg, Germany.