News & Exhibitions
19/06/10 Visit Intersolar USA and see the Talysurf CCI SunStar
July 13-15 in San Francisco's Moscone Center West Hall, Booth #8459
The CCI SunStar merges world leading non-contact dimensional measurement capability with advanced thin and thick film technology, able to measure 1st and 2nd generation Solar P-V, High power LED, Displays and Vacuum Coatings.
North America's Premier Exhibition and Conference for the Solar Industry
Intersolar North America, taking place from July 13-15 in San Francisco's Moscone Center West Hall, promotes the development of business opportunities throughout the U.S. solar industry. More than 550 U.S.-based and international exhibitors and 20,000 trade visitors are expected across the more than 130,000 net square feet of floor space. The conference, again taking place at the InterContinental Hotel, features over 30 tracks and 200+ speakers for the 1,600 expected attendees.
The Talysurf CCI SunStar
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Taylor Hobson launches CCI SunStar, leading the world in the next generation of combined thin film and dimensional optical profilers. This instrument merges world leading non-contact dimensional measurement capability with advanced thin and thick film technology. The CCI SunStar is able to meet the most demanding application challenges, including 1st and 2nd generation Solar P-V, High power LED, Displays and Vacuum Coatings. The unique features of the CCI SunStar include:
One of the new and exciting application areas is the PV Solar Cells. Recent developments in the design and manufacturing of PV solar cells offer improvements in efficiency and reduction in cost. These advances are increasing the use of solar cells to replace traditional energy sources. |
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Solar cell design
There are multiple approaches to solar cell design and the different approaches are often divided into 3 separate categories; first generation, second generation and third generation.
First generation solar cells
These are produced using crystalline silicon. This is the tradition solar cell approach and the majority of current solar cells are produced using this technology.
Controlling the depth of scribe lines and the texture of the surface are important parts of solar cell manufacture. The Talysurf CCI is ideal for looking at these parameters in a single measurement. The roughness and trench depth can both be studied at the same time because every measurement has sub nanometre resolution, regardless of the scan range.
Typically the whole measurement and analysis takes less than 1 minute to set up and measure (using auto-fringe-find and auto-range). The average trench depth is the equivalent of over 2,000 stylus measurements and over 4 million data points are collected in each measurement. The large number of data points allows the study of surface roughness at the same time as the trench depth.
The benefit of this multi analysis approach is that it speeds up the metrology involved in process control, making it more cost effective.
Second generation solar cells
These are based on thin film semiconductor materials. This design of solar cell is now becoming more common and it is expected that production of second generation solar cells will increase dramatically in the next few years.
Measurement of thin films using optical techniques can present some potential problems. The main issues arises from different signals from different layers influencing the final measurement data and producing an incorrect answer.
It is possible to measure the thickness of semi transparent film coating when it is greater than 1-2 micrometres and less than about 20 micrometres using Thick Film analysis. The high z resolution of the Coherence Correlation Interferometry (CCI) technique makes it an ideal method for measuring these film thickness because of the sub nanometre resolution over this range.
For films thinner than 1 - 2 micrometres a different approach has to be used. Taylor Hobson has released its film thickness software for measuring these thinner films on the CCI Sunstar interferometer. The CCI Sunstar is capable of measuring film thicknesses of semi transparent films from 5 micrometres down to 300 nm or less. The range of thickness that can be measured will vary from material to material depending on the optical properties of the film.
The film thickness software is suitable for measuring many types of film including Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), and Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide (CIGS), Indium tin oxide (ITO), Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide which are often found in the solar cells
Third generation solar cells
This term is often used to describe new approaches to photovoltaic solar cell design. The flexibility of the CCI SunStar makes it ideal for the study of the new materials and structures often used in these solar cells
Visit Taylor Hobson at Intersolar North America, Booth #8459, taking place from July 13-15.
