Features

Excellent observations from Jo Ann McDonald over at Compound Semiconductor Magazine and interestingly a former Director of Corporate Communications at Emcore notes that the intended IPO of its CPV business division may be happening too fast for the company.

Having announced very aggressive polysilicon production targets lastyear, LDK Solar turned heads, while also turning some market/financialanalysts bearish on oversupply issues by 2010.

Not your average eBay item up for grabs, rather a piece of photovoltaictechnology history. Nanosolar, roll-to-roll Copper Indium GalliumDiselenide (CIGS) PV solar start-up, has put one of its first threeproduction line commercially-produced PV modules (Panel #2) up for saleon eBay with a $10,300 starting price!

Applied Materials can't seem to leave the solar equipment business alone at the moment, as it continues its acquisition trail. The latest is Baccini S.p.A for a cool $330 million in greenbacks.

Product Briefing Outline: Veeco Instruments recentlylaunched the Dektak 150 Surface Profiler, which is designed to monitorthin films of advanced PVs as well as critical surface roughness, keyfor optimal absorption of photons. The standard Dektak 150 utilizes anewly designed 4 x 4-inch X-Y stage with manual theta. It can beconfigured with a 4-inch Y auto stage that enables 3D imaging, orequipped with a 6-inch X-Y auto stage that, in addition to 3D mapping,provides automation and programmability of over 200 sample sites. Withthe scan-stitching package, the system can perform even longer scansfor stress measurements on larger wafers. Other stage features includewafer alignment pins for ease of use, three-point suspension forstress, lateral calibration for 99.9% accuracy, and a larger scan blockfor improved baseline stability, according to the company.

Product Briefing Outline: Dow Corning's Solar Solutions Group has extended its product offerings for the global solar energy market with an encapsulant and two potting agents that have been tested and qualified for photovoltaic module applications. The PV 6010 Cell Encapsulant and the PV 7010 and PV 7020 Potting Agents have been developed to eliminate the guesswork when dealing with the potential solutions available today.

Product Briefing Outline:Momentive Performance Materials, Inc. recently launched a new productline of Pyrolytic Boron Nitride (PBN) crucibles, heaters and coatingsto consider for the enhancement of the production of CIGS (copper,indium, gallium, selinide) solar cells.

Applied Materials’ entry to the solar equipment manufacturing market just over a year ago is starting to make that market very interesting to watch and also to write about!

As rumors go, this is not as far-fetched as it seems!