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• Popular Technical Papers

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  • Photovoltaic industry 2009: a journey into uncertainty
  • Overview of automation in the photovoltaic industry
  • Thin-film CIGS starts to come of age
  • CIGS, CdTe thin-film PV equipment sector emerges, standardization remains elusive

• Featured Technical Papers

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  • Laser-assisted selective emitters and the role of laser doping

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the methods of automation and their application areas. Current technologies and their applications in both crystalline and thin-film technology will be the main focus, with detailing of the value chain, starting from the feedstock to the finished product. For ease of discussion, the focus is on the part of the value chain where discrete manufacturing on the substrates takes place. The paper will show different philosophies of automation and highlight their advantages and disadvantages, and will contribute a commentary on future developments. Throughout this paper, we have given a step-by-step breakdown of the applications of automation in the PV manufacturing industry, from automation for crystalline technology to automation for thin-film manufacturing.

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