Features

Product Briefing Outline: Honeywell Electronic Materials has launched a new material called Honeywell SOLARC that improves the efficiency and power output of PV module. The new product is a transparent coating material that improves the light transmittance through the glass that covers the solar cells.

Product Briefing Outline: BASF and Schmid have together developed a new, contact-free laser transfer printing (LTP) process for metallizing the front and back of solar cells. At present, it is mainly the screen printing process that is used for metallization. The printer and paste system now developed by BASF and Schmid is based on a contact-free laser process and not only offers customers advantages with regard to handling, but also increases the efficiency of cell production.

On the surface (pun intended) there would seem to be of little interest or need to know more about the recent acquisition by Applied Materials of a small cap semiconductor equipment supplier, Semitool. The Montana-based wet processing specialist has been around for a long-time and perhaps because of where it is based, compared with many equipment suppliers clustered in Silicon Valley, it gets little attention in comparison. However, solar cell producers may well find that they get a knock on the cleanroom door soon from Applied, to discuss porous silicon processes and a wet processing tool called the ‘Raider.’

Product Briefing Outline: specializes in manufacturing and supplying cross-linking agents to compounders and manufacturers of PVM encapsulates. Cross-linking with organic peroxide initiators adds many product and performance advantages, chief of which is the improvement in stability of the encapsulate films produced for PV manufacturing. PV manufacturers rely on special formulation of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) that includes peroxides to achieve dimensional and UV stability through crosslinking.

Product Briefing Outline: LumaSense Technologies has launched its Mikron M7604F and M7604G thermal imaging cameras. The Mikron M7604 camera is a versatile, fully-radiometric camera with high-temperature functionality making it the perfect tool for preventive maintenance inspections, radiometric inspections of internal furnaces and (M7604F) or temperature measurements of glass surfaces (M7604G) for improving process control and product quality.

Product Briefing Outline: Groupo Clavijo has developed an advanced double-axis solar tracker specifically for the U.S. market using a patented hydraulic brake system in the azimuth movement. Miller Welding will manufacture and commercialize it in the United States, under a partnership agreement with Clavijo.

Product Briefing Outline: SOMONT, a subsidiary of 3S Industries AG, has had success with the RAPID stringer and lay-up systems for high throughput cell stringing in module production with capacity ranges of 10-40MW per year. However, a new stringing system, CERTUS, has been developed for production capacities from 50-100MW per year.

Product Briefing Outline: Renusol GmbH has introduced three new mounting systems-ConSole DS, VarioSole DS and InterSole XL-for thin film solar modules using a new injection-compression technology. They are designed for thin-film modules and solar plants for industrial roofs. The thin-film laminates are anchored in linear fashion with this system, while integral anti-slip protection makes installation faster and simpler. Europe-wide patents have already been filed for all new systems.

A seasonal end of year rush to beat the changes set to take place on tariffs in Germany is on, which is potentially being fuelled further by the continued speculation over further cuts in the FiT, due to the new German Government. Germany was expected to be the largest market in 2009 for new PV installations, after the collapse of the Spanish market last year. However, a prolonged winter and the continued fall-out from the financial crisis meant that installations in Germany may not have met earlier forecasts.