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SMIt OVENS B.V.
InnoLas laser technology wins orders for PV line upgrades
Smit Ovens forges partnership with Holst Centre and Solliance
At the end of 2011 InnoLas Systems GmbH, based in Krailling (Munich), received orders from two international manufacturers for production systems with a capacity of more than 1 GW.
In February Smit Ovens announced it is joining forces with Holst Centre and Solliance to develop new thermal solutions for organic photovoltaics (OPVs). In a five-year deal, Smit Ovens becomes a partner in Holst Centre’s Large area printing program and Solliance’s OPV program. Smit Ovens will supply Holst Centre and Solliance with drying furnaces for a roll-to-roll processing pilot line. The partners will work together to define and modify OPV furnace specifications based on experience gained over the course of the agreement. This will reduce Smit Ovens time to market for mature, advanced thermal solutions that meet OPV manufacturers’ needs.
InnoLas ILS-TT laser system for LDSE Selective Emitter Source: InnoLas
The systems use InnoLas’ innovative Laser Doped Selective Emitter (LDSE) technology. This additional process step uses the laser to melt dopants into the silicon underneath the later-added metal contacts. Using this process, the efficiency of mono-silicon and poly-silicon cells can be increased by up to 0.5 percentage points. InnoLas systems achieve a very high throughput for this process step, so that one line can produce up to 100 MW cell power. InnoLas Systems GmbH produces laser systems for micro material processing, particularly in the photovoltaic industry, for semiconductors, electronics and precision engineering. InnoLas Systems uses innovations in laser technology to produce highly-efficient and reliable processing systems, for improved quality and productivity in industrial production. www.innolas.com
4 | IPVEA UPDATE | FEBRUARY 2012
Under the deal, Smit Ovens will supply multiple furnaces for drying the various layers of material from which OPVs are built. This will allow Holst Centre to expand its pilot line to a multilayer set-up that more closely mimics a real production environment. In particular, this deal will allow the partners to investigate key challenges in OPV manufacturing. These include achieving the strict cleanliness and layer uniformity standards required for cost-effective, high-yield production. In addition, the furnaces will support inert gas environments and feature a modular architecture that allows for easy scaling to higher volumes, streamlining the future transition to full-scale production. www.smitovens.nl