Product Briefing Outline: Saflex, a business unit of Solutia, has launched the Saflex Radiant White PA27 encapsulant, which was developed in collaboration with Oerlikon Solar to improve conversion efficiencies of its tandem-junction ‘micromorph’ thin-film module technology. Saflex PA27 is manufactured to an ultra-thin thickness of 0.51mm compared to standard PVB encapsulants and is the first ultra-thin reflective PVB encapsulant available for use in the solar market.
Photon Consulting’s forecast figures for German PV installations were virtually right on the mark, and my criticism over its forecasting credibility has been blown out of the water. Preliminary figures from the German Federal Network Agency put PV installations at 3.8GW with the potential for final number crunching to produce a higher figure. Photon Consulting had projected 3.9GW in their September 2009 release of their annual report and could prove to be frighteningly close to final figures, whenever they are issued.
Product Briefing Outline: The Air Products ChemGuard 1000 Automated Chemical Delivery system was developed exclusively for the photovoltaics market to help customers reduce phosphorus oxychloride (POCl3) dopant bubbler refill costs by more than 45%. The system will enable users to minimize their cost of operation and risk of contamination, while improving delivery system safety and reliability.
Product Briefing Outline: Shin-Etsu Silicones of America (U.S. subsidiary of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., Japan) has recently introduced a diverse line of advanced performance, silicone-based products specifically designed for applications that benefit the protection and performance of PV modules in the field. These are comprised of two key product categories that cover potting and sealing applications.
Product Briefing Outline: OK International has developed a proprietary ‘SmartHeat’ Technology, which consists of a high frequency alternating current (AC) power supply and a self regulating heating element. The heater utilizes the electrical and metallurgical characteristics of two different metals: copper, and a magnetic material with high resistivity to reduce micro-cracking of solar cell substrates during the soldering operation.
Product Briefing Outline: Due to technology partnerships and longtime experience RENA has been able to optimize the handling and process sequence for the complete process chain after wafer sawing with its ‘Wafer Line’ system. With this complete system, 200MW production per annum is possible.
Product Briefing Outline: BrightView Systems has unveiled the InSight M Series, which it claims to be the world's first in-line process control and optimization tool developed specifically to address the challenges faced by thin-film solar cell manufacturers. The Wide Area Metrology (WAM) system provides continuous monitoring and whole-panel mapping of critical material and process parameters at full production throughput and for 100% of manufactured panels.
Product Briefing Outline: Schneider Electric is now offering an approach to create intelligent energy management systems under the EcoStruxure banner. These systems are simplified, save money, and most importantly, reduce waste by enabling a guaranteed compatibility between the management of power, white space, process and machines, building control, and security. With EcoStruxure, businesses can anticipate better results and improvements in operations through systematic energy visibility and real time control of any energy usage.
Product Briefing Outline: To help customers show objective evidence that they are in compliance with test specifications during ISO 17025 quality audits, Atlas now offers the ‘Atlas LS-200’ Full Spectrum Monitoring device. The LS-200 has been specifically designed for use in Ci Series ‘Weather-Ometers’ to precisely measure the SPD output of the xenon lamp. Validation tests have shown that this device has excellent correlation to the spectroradiometers used in the Atlas Calibration Laboratory.
