This machine, developed for mass production, has been available since 2013. It has been installed at a large number of tier one and tier two customers all over the world. It can be used for several cell concepts like PERC, IBC or n-PERT cells.
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Spatial ALD The ALD technology is based on spatial separation of precursor gasses instead of time-based separation. The different gasses are confined in specific process areas while the wafers pass by. Every point on the wafer is sequentially in contact with the wafers. This creates the (real) ALD effect and reaction. This principle is already known, but we have enhanced the Al2O3 deposition rate by a factor of 100 to 1000 (!) in our patented gas-bearing based machine concept. An absolute world record speed of 1 nm layer growth per second. Second generation modules Based on this learning phase, SoLayTec developed a second generation InPassion© ALD system designed with a much larger reactor gap. The gap spacing has been changed from 280µm to 380µm. By doing this, the newest ALD reactor design is more reliable for the large-scale PV wafer geometry. The main advantages of this second generation InPassion ALD in production are: increased robustness, less breakage, fewer operator assists and thus a higher uptime >95%. |
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Layer thickness flexibility There might be a need for the Al2O3 layer to be changed to another thickness for optimization of cell efficiency or costs. It’s easy to change this within the graphical user interface of the system directly, without any hardware changes. When you adapt the layer into fewer nm’s of Al2O3, the throughput will increase up to max. 4,500 wph. Throughput flexibility Depending on the capacity levels that are needed, SoLayTec offers three types of InPassion ALD. The main difference is the number of deposition units modules added in such a system. The basic three products offered are 4, 6 or 8 deposition units, which result in 2,400 wph, 3,600 wph or 4,500 wph respectively. |
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Graceful degradation If one deposition unit (1 out of 6) is required to be stopped for service, maintenance or because of an error, the other five deposition units will continue production. This gives the end user the highest possible uptime. In the case of such an event, competing tools will be completely down. |
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For a standard PERC cell line next to ALD, anneal and SiNx processes are required. Normally, to combine direct SiNx with ALD you need about six tubes to match the throughput of an InPassion ALD 6. The new SPECTRUM PECVD is a perfect match, which includes Post Deposition Anneal 550ºC and 100nm SiNx in a 35min recipe time. This SPECTRUM tool has five tubes and a certain boat size that can match a throughput up to net 3,200wph. |
Matching net 3,200wph with TEMPRESS SPECTRUM PECVD
