Sentech Instruments, a manufacturer of advanced quality control instrumentation for thin film metrology applications, has developed a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) inspection tool that offers uniformity mapping of film thickness and spectrally resolved haze H(λ) on glass sheets of all standard glass sizes.
Problem
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To increase the optical absorption capacity of thin film solar cells, typical TCO glass has to increase the scattering capacity of transmission light and this capacity is expressed by haze, which is the cloudy or muddy appearance of transparent or translucent materials on the surface that are caused by light diffusion.
Solution
The SenSol Haze is designed for quality control of TCO films in manufacturing of thin film solar PV cells. The SenSol Haze comprises the computer controlled conveyor transport system and the sensor platform for haze and film thickness. The special design of the system allows measurements at every position of the glass sheet, especially at the edges. Glass sheets can be loaded and unloaded manually or by robot. The high measurement speed allows even the integration of the system into a manufacturing line.
Applications
Uniformity mapping of film thickness and spectrally resolved haze H(λ) on glass sheets of all standard glass sizes.
Platform
The system can be offered with additional sensors for the measurement of sheet resistance, of optical constants and band gap (spectroscopic ellipsometer), of current voltage characteristics and quantum efficiency. Oerlikon Solar is one of its key reference customers of the SenSol Haze.
Availability
Currently available.