GENERIS PET ADVANCED
The GENERIS PET ADVANCED is the inline version of the vacuum deposition system for high throughput PET applications and offers multiple carrier processing with integrated carrier return system. In addition to the fully automated substrate loading and unloading, it allows a carrier tray capacity of 7,200 substrates and achieves an annual throughput of up to 3 GW for half cut cells. GENERIS PET ADVANCED Technical Data Wafer cuts per tray 7,200
Headquarters
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG Hanauer Landstrasse 103 63796 Kahl, Germany
Tel. +49 6188 440-0 sales@singulus.de www.singulus.com
Subsidiaries
China
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES (SHANGHAI) Co. Ltd.
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SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES
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SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES INC.
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SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES
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SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES
ASIA PACIFIC PTE LTD.
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SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES
TAIWAN LIMITED
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SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES - Thin-Film Coating and Surface Treatment
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES develops and assembles innovative machines and systems for efficient thin-film coating and surface treatment processes, which are used worldwide in the Photovoltaics, Semiconductor, Medical Technology, Packaging, Glass & Automotive as well as Battery & Hydrogen markets.
The company’s core competencies include various processes of coating technology (PVD sputtering, PECVD, evaporation), surface treatment as well as wet-chemical and thermal production processes.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES sees sustainability as an opportunity to position itself with innovative products. In the focus are environmental awareness, efficient use of resources and avoidance of unnecessary CO₂ pollution.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES attaches great importance to responsible and sustainable corporate governance.
GENERIS PET
for Passivated Edge Technology – Half Cut / Multi Cut and Shingle Cells
Introduction
Solar modules comprising cut cells are meanwhile part of the standard portfolio of almost every solar module manufacturer and supplier, with an increasing trend towards half cut/multi cut cells and shingle technology. The shingle technology uses solar cells not only being cut in half but also into multiple strips (3, 4 to 8). By dividing the cells, the electrical resistance of the metallization decreases, leading to a higher efficiency of the solar modules in comparison to the use of full cells, e.g., M10, G12. This even overcompensates Voc losses caused by damaged edges after cutting processes.
However, each cut facilitates charge recombination processes occuring on the newly created unpassivated cut edges that ultimately lead to efficiency losses on cell level. In this regard, a further significant boost in module performance can be achieved by the Passivated Edge Technology (PET). This technology involves the deposition of a passivation layer on the cut edges which serves to recover the losses derived from cutting, enhances the overall performance of the cut cell and finally increases the efficiency gain of the module even further.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES offers the new vacuum deposition system GENERIS PET, an industrialized solution for PET that is particularly characterized by high throughputs at low cost.
Improvement of Module Efficiency by Edge Passivation
CELL CUT AFTER FINISHED CELL FABRICATION
» Less automatization/wafer handling during cell processing
» Lowering breakage rate (only full wafer handling)
Unpassivated Cut Edges
Unpassivated wafer edges lead to efficiency loss after cutting
Technology and Machine Concept
After cell cutting, typically performed by a laserbased process, the half cells or cell stripes are bundled into stacks. The stack transfer and loading on the carrier tray of GENERIS PET is fully automated. A unique, in-house developed carrier tray design facilitates processing of several thousand cell parts (stripes) per tray due to the high packing density. In addition, it enables the deposition of the passivation layers to be restricted to the cut edges, thus preventing undesired wraparound of the passivation to the cell surfaces.
The GENERIS PET represents an industrialized inline solution for PET that can achieve half-cell throughputs of several GW per year, depending on the equipment configuration and is readily suitable for any crystalline solar cell technology. The universal GENERIS PET design allows for processing of all current and future wafer and cut formats. In addition, its stand-alone design features facile integration into existing solar cell and module manufacturing lines and fabs as well as utilization as a stand-alone tool along with the laser cutting tool.
KEY PERFORMANCE PARAMETER
The GENERIS PET represents a superior, industrialized solution for PET, characterized by:
» Processability of all types of wafer and cut formats (Half Cut/Multi Cut and Shingle Cells)
» High throughput
» Excellent passivation layer properties to improve efficiency on cell/module level
» Adaptable carrier and tray design
» Enabling cell cutting after finished cell fabrication
» Retrofittable to existing fabs due to its stand-alone machine design
» Very low payback time (ROI)
» High recovery of efficiency losses induced by cell cutting
In summary, the excellent passivation layer properties achieved by the GENERIS PET serve towards regaining up to 80% of the efficiency losses created on cell level by the cutting process compared to its unpassivated counterpart.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES offers different versions of the GENERIS PET for the passivation of exposed cut edges of half cut/multi cut solar cells and shingle cells resulting from the cutting process.
GENERIS PET STANDARD
The GENERIS PET STANDARD is the single sided version of the vacuum deposition system for medium size PET applications. It exhibits a small machine footprint and features fully automated substrate loading and unloading, a carrier tray capacity of 4,800 substrates and achieves an annual throughput of up to 600 MW for half cut cells.
Configuration for Different Capacities
Standard (Full) Cell
Half Cut Cell
Passivated Cut Edges
