LayTec is happy to announce
that the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology has approved funding
for the development of a new insitu sensor for the photovoltaic market! In collaboration
with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), Germany, a research
project has been launched to improve the in-situ monitoring of MOVPE processes
for triple-junction photovoltaic cells being developed at Fraunhofer ISE.
Concentrator solar cell with an efficiency of 39,7 % at C = 300 developed at Fraunhofer ISE
The cooperation between LayTec and the "III-V- Epitaxy and Solar Cells" group
is aimed to develop monitoring sensors for industrial-scale manufacturing of
triple-junction solar cells with improved process control in multi-wafer MOVPE
reactors. "Real-time analysis and control of our processes is becoming a key
for the development of complex semiconductor structures such as multi-junction
solar cells" says Dr. Frank Dimroth from Fraunhofer ISE, "We are proud to collaborate
with LayTec to improve the capability of their in-situ sensor for our specific
application".
ISE’s cells are the most efficient produced in Europe today.
ISE transfers its process technology to the cooperation partner
Azur SSP, who prepares them for commercial production.
ISE and Azur SSP use AIXTRON Planetary® systems both for
development and manufacturing. LayTec’s EpiCurve®TT sensor,
which has already become the bestseller on the MOCVD
LED market, will be further improved to achieve the resolution
necessary for multi-junction solar cell growth under the conditions
of planetary rotation. In addition to temperature, layer
thickness and strain measurements, the new sensor will determine
the composition and help to better understand the
reasons for dislocations and strain within the layers. This will
help to compensate for strain induced temperature inhomogeneities,
to determine the thickness of individual thin layers
and to monitor the composition of critical heterojunctions.