During its exhibition at the SNEC PV Power Expo 2011, Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates has unveiled its new Solion PV ion implant platform for the Chinese market. Partnering with seven Chinese PV manufacturers, Varian looks to implement its Solion technology into volume manufacturing by mid-year.
“The strong market interest in Solion from so many Chinese PV manufacturers further validates the value of implant for manufacturing high efficiency, low cost solar cells,” said Varian’s chief executive officer Gary Dickerson. “We are very excited to be partnered with some of the market leaders in the fastest growing region for production of solar cells. The combination of local manufacturing expertise with Varian’s technology leadership and world class support will enable the PV industry to take a huge step forward towards achieving grid parity.”
Varian asserts that Solion allows solar module manufacturers to produce higher cell efficiencies at a lower production cost by substituting the diffusion process with the ion implant. By using this new technology, Varian maintains that manufacturers will be able to eradicate multiple production steps while enhancing cell uniformity and tighter binning. Per the company, early users of the Solion ion implant have applied the patterned implant technology for the production of crystalline solar cells in volume with conversion efficiencies over 19%.
Varian’s SNEC booth is located in Hall E5, Number 215.