New photovoltaics and printed electronics by inkjet
February 26, 2010 | Comments Off
A recent article printed in Printed Electronics World said
New opportunities for printing electronics include: polymer solar film (above) ; flexible polymer-based lighting; electronic books printed polymer backplanes; transparent solar cells; flexible electronics and batteries; paper-like products; disposable diagnostic devices; intelligent packaging and large area electronics.
That was the message of Fujifilm Dimatix at the world’s largest conference and exhibition on printed electronics in Dresden Germany in April. This was the Printed Electronics Europe event of IDTechEx. It will now be leapfrogged by the sister event Printed Electronics USA in San Jose California being even bigger.
Chuck Griggs, VP Applications Engineering of Fujifilm Dimatix, Inc. saw the advantages of inkjet as non-contact and drop on demand and it reduces both materials processing and environmental impact. Printheads and fluids developed in tandem for specific application requirements. R&D metrics are directly translatable to production protocols.
The market/ technology positioning is:
Remarkable event not to be missed
This remarkable event will not be burdened by discussion of the old crystalline and amorphous silicon technologies. It will cover the better performing and increasingly lower cost new technologies such as CdTe, DSSC, CIGS and organic. Indeed, CdTe photovoltaics, which is thin film but not yet printed, has attracted 1.5 billion dollars in orders in the last few months alone. The other technologies can already be printed and some are in production in the USA, UK, Germany and Japan, with much more to come. This subject is extremely exciting and it will lead to many innovative new products exploiting such things as invisible solar power on watches, packages and medical disposables for example.
The macro features of inkjet include:
Print accuracy > 20 microns
Drop volume > 10 pL
High throughput
High print speed
High throw rate of ink
This leads to typical applications being:
Bio and Chemical Sensors
Solar Cells
Dielectric Coating
Photo Resist
Adhesives
The key enabling attributes of ink jet were cited as:
Full production speed (over 100m/min)
Single pass imaging
Non-contact
Wide variety of fluids and inks
Reliable performance
Photovoltaics is easiest because conductive traces only need to be better than 75 microns whereas for backplanes they need to be ˜ 20 microns. Organic TFTs need fine feature size 10 pL drops and 40-100 micron line width depending on fluid, substrate, and spot density with 1pl drops 15 – 30 micron line depending on fluid, substrate, and spot density.
Increasingly, devices combine organic and inorganic materials, as with the Dye Sensitized Solar cells DSSC inkjet printed reel to reel in the UK and the biosensor that has been made by Fujifilm Dimatix.
For more on photovoltaics attend Photovoltaics Beyond Conventional Silicon or attend Printed Electronics USA 2008.
Edison Power Europe appoints Markus Kohler as CTO
February 25, 2010 | Comments Off
Edisun Power Europe has appointed Markus Kohler as CTO, effective April 1. Previous to this position Kohler worked at Multi-Contact, the Swiss company specializing in contacts for solar modules.
Scott Gish joins Evergreen Solar as VP of sales and marketing
February 25, 2010 | Comments Off
Evergreen Solar has named Scott Gish as its VP of sales and marketing. He comes to the solar manufacturer from Photronics, a semiconductor photomask company where he was VP of global sales and business development.
New Product: Roth & Rau’s new firing furnace is characterized by high efficiency at low cost
February 25, 2010 | Comments Off
Product Briefing: With the acquisition of Tecnofimes, Roth & Rau has collaborated with the subsidiary to develop a new firing furnace, dubbed CAMiNI. The system is characterized by high efficiency at low operating costs. The initially offered model with 2 lanes (6” wafers) provides the basis for an extension, which facilitates the firing of solar cell contacts onto up to three lanes at the same time. The throughput of the CAMiNI is indicated with ≥ 6,000 wafers/h. Roth & Rau has already received its first purchase orders for the system.
New Product: New version of Vistrian’s FactoryLOOK alerts to process anomalies in single dashboard
February 25, 2010 | Comments Off
Product Briefing Outline: Vistrian has released version 5.0 of their ‘FactoryLOOK’ software platform. FactoryLOOK is a Manufacturing Intelligence System used by a number of companies including manufacturers of Solar, Semiconductor, Led, Data Storage, Networking, and Electronic assembly. The software allows for the immediate alerting and identifying of process anomalies and the ability to quickly identify factors affecting the development or manufacturing process and its variables.
EuPD Research warns against using solar pricing to calculate German feed-in tariff cuts
February 25, 2010 | Comments Off
Market research firm EuPD Research has warned against using fluctuating solar pricing to calculate the proposed German feed-in tariff cuts. Markus Hoehner, CEO of the market research and consulting institute, claims that cuts should be calculated on the basis of long-term trends and forecasts. He also notes that rising electricity prices were not attributable to the increase in the adoption of solar in Germany, rather the rises are due to electricity production costs rising, higher transport costs and higher tax burdens. According to EuPD Research, the additional cost for the promotion of solar electricity accounted for only €0.24 cents per head per month in 2009.
Anwell claims certified 8.58% conversion efficiencies for a-Si thin film modules
February 25, 2010 | Comments Off
Citing an industrywide conversion efficiency average of 5-6% for amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film modules, Anwell Technologies has claimed that it has reached efficiencies of 8.58% at its 40MW thin film plant in Henan, China. The results were said to have verified by the National Laboratory of China and tested according to the IEC61646 standard. The company has not announced if its modules use a tandem cell structure, which has been typically claimed to have efficiencies of between 7 and 9%.
Order Focus: Yingli to supply 285MW of PV modules to Gehrlicher Solar
February 25, 2010 | Comments Off
Under a three-year agreement, Yingli Green Energy will supply 285MW of PV modules to systems integrator and wholesaler, Gehrlicher Solar. The new supply agreement runs from 2010 through 2012. Gehrlicher Solar plans to use the crystalline PV modules for residential, commercial rooftop and ground-mounted power plants across key European PV markets, the company said.
Project Focus: CTV to build 1MW solar facility at Questa Mine
February 25, 2010 | Comments Off
Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) will build a 1MW concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) solar facility on the tailing site of Chevron Mining Inc.’s (CMI) molybdenum mine in Questa, New Mexico.
Project Focus: FRV, Solesa Green Power will develop 10MW power plant in Rome
February 25, 2010 | Comments Off
Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) is to develop a 10MW photovoltaic power plant in Fiumicino, Rome. The facility will be developed in partnership with Turin-based Solesa Green Power and once complete will be one of the largest in Italy.