SMART SOLUTIONS

SMART SOLUTIONS for Thin Film Solar Cells

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THIN FILM SOLAR

SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is the world market leader in manufacturing mass production equipment for Optical Discs CD/DVD/Blu-ray. Together with its subsidiary SINGULUS STANGL SOLAR the company has established itself as a provider of state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment for the photovoltaics market.

Various new products have been developed and made marketable by SINGULUS and SINGULUS STANGL SOLAR. The company’s target is to position itself at the forefront for the introduction of new system technologies with respect to silicon and thin film solar technology.

SINGULUS STANGL SOLAR is the market leader for the wet-chemical cleaning equipment for CIS and CdTe processes and offers enhanced system

technology for thin film solar cells. With its innovative solar portfolio including new production and process concepts, the company underlines its leading position of its successful and highefficiency solar production technologies.

New systems like TENUIS GEN 2 and VITRUM GEN 2 provide a substantial cost-saving potential and can easily be integrated into already existing manufacturing lines.

With its CISARIS system, SINGULUS has also developed a new in-line selenisation furnace for thin film solar technology in close cooperation with a key customer.

The first CISARIS tools will start production still in 2011. A second set of CISARIS with a 100 MWp capacity will start production next year. SINGULUS provides with the CISARIS selenization furnace new and important advantages for this challenging market segment.

SINGULUS offers leading-edge technology by its production systems for CIS/CIGS & CdTe thin film solar cells for glass and flexible substrates: _ Chemical supply systems with automatic dosage equipment _ Systems for the deposition of cadmium-free buffer layers _ Metal free inline glass cleaning machines _ Inline etching and coating machines _ Equipment designed for spray ion layer gas reaction processes _ Selenisation systems for CIS thin film solar cells

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THIN FILM SOLAR TECHNOLOGY

TENUIS Buffer Layer

CISARIS Selenisation

VITRUM Pre-conditioning

VITRUM Debris Removal

VITRUM Rinse

VITRUM Glass Washing

VITRUM Glass Washing

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VITRUM GEN 2 Inline Wet Process Equipment, Etching, Cleaning & Single Side Coating

The new VITRUM GEN 2 platform is a modular inline system for the processing of glass substrates. The modular design allows the easy integration of different process steps according to the requirements of CIS, a-Si or CdTe technology (etching, single side and pencil etching, cleaning, single side coating).

As part of the product family VITRUM GEN 2 the new processing machine simultaneously cleans back-sides and edges of thin film solar cells in a single working step. In addition to the automated process control, the new single side etching tool protects the active layer by process hoods and performs pencil and rear side etching with brushes and chemicals. VITRUM GEN 2 is the only tool on the market that cleans the rear side and the edges in one single step without any harm to the active layers. It is used for cleaning after oven processes as well as for etching of undesirable coatings on rear side and edges, for example CdTe or CdS.

Main Features _ New, modular design _ Up to 30 % cost reduction _ Better accessibility _ Smaller footprint _ Low cost of ownership _ High throughput _ High availability (uptime > 99* %) _ Standard and customer specific substrate sizes up to 2,600 mm _ Parallel carrier transport for higher throughput _ Reproducible process results *depends on application

The VITRUM GEN 2 provides the platform for several different process steps: At a CdTe manufacturing process it performs six steps, starting with glass washing, back side cleaning CdTe, CdCl2 deposition using roller and salt removal to glass washing and developer. When producing a-Si/Âľc-Si and CIS/CIGS cells VITRUM features glass washing as well as TCO etching, KCN etching or NH3

treatment respectively. In addition it also provides NP, DAE and EDTA etching for substrate sizes up to 2,200 mm.

In comparison to dipping processes, our unique soft shower process implemented in the second generation VITRUM enables homogeneous, reliable and reproducible etching. It features further advantages in compared to a dipping bath such as a smaller process volume, and therefore faster temperature and concentration changes as well as a higher process speed of up to 5 m/min and minimized carryover.

The new design of the VITRUM GEN 2 improves the accessibility for optimized maintenance work in a large installation cabinet. Piping is similar for all liquid circuits. It offers a high cycle rate and is also easy to integrate into existing production lines. The new VITRUM GEN 2 substantially reduces the investment outlay and very rapidly pays its way.

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VITRUM GEN 2

VITRUM – Clean _ Inline cleaning equipment (2200/1400/600) _ Pre-rinse and single side brush off (acid/caustic) _ Inline final rinse (cascade cleaner), metal free _ Inline standard cleaning, polishing and brushing machine (glass corrosion) _ Ultrasonic and megasonic support

VITRUM – Etch _ I nline etching equipment (2200/1400/600) _ Inline TCO (0.3-3 % HCl) etcher _ Inline KCN etcher _ Inline NP etcher _ Inline CuCl2 etcher _ Inline H2O2 developer _ Inline CdCl2 salt removal

VITRUM – Backside & Pencil Etch _ Inline etching equipment _ Removal of wrap around coating on edges and rear side _ Active layer protection (no liquid or vapor affects active layer) Facility Management SINGULUS STANGL SOLAR also suplies the following facility management systems: _ Chemical supply systems _ Chemical mixing systems _ Waste water treatment _ Exhaust scrubber _ DI-water make up

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TENUIS GEN 2 Process System for the Application of Buffer Layer

SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES presents a new development on the way to the efficient wet-chemical coating of thin film solar modules made of copper-indium-galliumdiselenide (CIGS) on glass: the second generation of the TENUIS production line has a modular cluster build basis and enables both significant savings in terms of required floor space and the simultaneous one-side coating of two substrates.

SINGULUS offers wet processing systems from r & d over pilot use to full production range 60, 120, 180 and more MW. Due to new and unique concepts in terms of dosing and temperature control, the developers at the subsidiary SINGULUS STANGL SOLAR were successful in reducing the process time by up to 20 %, which has a positive effect and a considerably higher output in production.

Compared with its predecessor the TENUIS GEN 2 version not only reduces the production time but also the required floor space by 30 % and saves footprint and maintenance costs accordingly.

Due to the space-saving design the new system is easily integrated into existing production lines. For a higher throughput several production machines can be combined to a large production complex.

The TENUIS GEN 2 also provides advantages upon commissioning and in the ramp-up stage. Because of the new cluster design the commissioning can commence modularly after a short installation time and the first substrates can be coated. The following cluster can be assembled simultaneously or consecutively. Correspondingly, the TENUIS GEN 2 meets the ever increasing demands of the market with respect to the reduction of the commissioning and ramp-up times.

The new TENUIS generation offers substantial cost advantages in the production of high performance CIS/CIGS thin film solar cells. Furthermore, the costs are significantly reduced by temperature profiles adjusted to the process and by very efficient use of process chemicals, so that the new system consistently exploits the savings potential in the manufacturing of thin film solar cells.

Advantages _ Standard proven process: low risk _ High solar cell efficiencies _ More than 150 process modules in production (world leader) _ Lowest possible chemical consumption _ Completely automated inline system _ Single side deposition incl. protection against backside contamination _ Modular system (easy upgrade for higher throughput) _ Reproducible process results _ Automatic dosage and mixing system _ In-situ cleaning of the absorber surface during deposition process

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TENUIS GEN 2

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2 720 MW

1. Manual experimental setup for process evaluation and R&D: _ Substrate size for foil and glass: _ 300 x 300 mm² up to 500 x 400 mm² _ Manual loading _ Automatic heating (fluid heating) _ Automatic wobbling (movement) _ Manual dosing _ Process transfer to production line 1:1 possible _ Option for Fumehood and automatic dosing modus possible

2. Semi-automated experimental setup for process evaluation: _ Substrate size for foil and glass: 600 x 900 mm² up to 1400 x 1100 mm² _ Manual loading _ Automatic heating _ Automatic wobbling (movement) _ Automatic dosage

3. Fully-automated experimental setup for a semi commercial line _ Substrate size for foil and glass: 600 x 900 mm² up to 1400 x 1100 mm² _ Automatic loading _ Automatic heating _ Automatic wobbling (movement) _ Automatic dosage _ Automatic buffer system _ Automatic dosage

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4. Modular production system for capacities up to 60, 120, 220 and 720 MW _ Modular system _ Reduced footprint of up to 30 % _ Reduced maintenance costs _ New processes of alternative buffer (ZnS) _ Aggressive uniform temperature ramps (even shorter process time) _ New software surface and applications for more flexibility 10 MW

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CISARIS Selenisation Furnace for an Optimized CIGS Absorber Formation

The CISARIS oven is an inline rapid thermal processing equipment, designed for the CIGSSe absorber formation on large area glass substrates. CISARIS consists of a handling station, a vacuum tight process section and a return conveyor and is optimized for the mass production of CIS solar modules.

The main features of the CISARIS include a high uptime and mechanical yield, as well as a fast cycle time, which, in combination with the robust selenisation process, lead to a production capacity of over 25 MWp per year.

Main Features _ Second generation inline selenisation furnace with optimized cycle time _ Rapid heating (up to ∼ 4 °C/s) of large glass substrates with metal precursor coating (CIG) _ Homogeneous gas distribution and low gas consumption through optimized inlet system _ Introduction of H2S (H2Se) gas at various stages of the process possible _ Uniform heating of large substrates up to 550 °C by using optimized IR radiators for achieving the required crystal quality

_ Uniform cooling of the substrate to avoid glass warpage _ Excellent temperature control (mean variation < 5 °C) at all process stages _ Process at atmospheric pressure _ Oxygen and water vapor free process atmosphere guaranteed through pump/ purge cycles _ Excellent maintenance concept with maximum accessibility of all machine components _ Proven safety system based on a solid risk management and safety engineering

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CISARIS

CISARIS is a proven innovative and reliable equipment, which has been newly developed at SINGULUS based on the previous generation of selenisation ovens.

CISARIS can safely handle the thermal processing of large glass substrates of over 1 sqm at temperatures up to 550 째C under a toxic and corrosive gas atmosphere. High heating and cooling rates, combined with an excellent temperature homogeneity during all process stages are the key factors, which allow the formation of an optimal CIGSSe absorber, required for the production of high efficiency solar modules.

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IMPEDIO Roll-to-Roll Wet Process Equipment for Flexible Materials

IMPEDIO

1 Input Web 2 Process Module 3 Rinsing and Drying Module 4 Output Web

Thin film solar cells on flexible materials are gaining ground due to their potential applications regarding low weight, high flexibility and low cost of manufacturing compared to silicon based solar cells.

SINGULUS STANGL SOLAR offers roll-to-roll production systems of the type IMPEDIO for the wet-chemical coating of solar cells based on CIS/CIGS technology.

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Roll-to-Roll â&#x20AC;&#x201C; IMPEDIO product portfolio for thin film technology on foils (metal/ plastic): _ Roll-to-Roll Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) of CdS/alternative buffer layers for CIS, CIGS, CIGSSe technologies _ Roll-to-Roll inline cleaning (DI-Water, tensides) _ Roll-to-Roll inline etching (KCN, HCl, H3PO4) SINGULUS STANGL SOLAR also supplies the following facility management systems for example chemical supply systems, chemical mixing systems and waste water treatment.

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Main Features _ Low cost of ownership _ Low process temperatures _ High availability (uptime > 98 %) _ Lowest possible chemical consumption _ Single-side coating of CdS or alternative buffer layers _ Both side etching with spray or dipping processes _ Both side cleaning with spray process _ Reproducible process results _ Automatic dosage and mixing systems _ Lowest possible DI water consumption _ Uniform spot-free foil drying (dry-in/ dry-out) _ Waste and exhaust management system _ Networked communication supported

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SOLUTUS SINGULUS New Buffer Layer Technology for Thin Film Applications

ILGAR® R&D system

The standard buffer layer in a chalcopyrite thin film solar cell is made by chemical bath deposition (CBD). This is a reliable and commercially accepted method.

However it also has a number of disadvantages such as: long process times, large amounts of liquid waste, critical process parameters, which are inherent batch type features and difficulties with very large substrates.

As the size of the substrates used in thin film production increases and the tact time decreases there is a request for new methods considering for example the buffer layer deposition.

In a collaboration between HelmholtzZentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB), formerly the Hahn-Meitner-Institut (HMI), and SINGULUS an alternative buffer layer deposition technique is

Inline production system SOLUTUS

developed for thin film solar cell fabrication.

The so-called Ion Layer Gas Reaction (ILGAR®) process offers a cost-efficient, chemical method to manufacture a thin homogeneous In2S3 layer (20 nm), as an alternative to the common CdS-buffers.

The spray ILGAR® deposited indium sulfide buffer layers are capable to replace the cadmium sulfide buffers used in chalcopyrite cells in order to avoid the toxic cadmium. First 30x30 mini-modules on a Pilotline Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 absorbers achieved an efficiency of 13.0 %. The nature of the spray technique ensures that the ILGAR® process is reproducible, fast, cheap and suitable for scaling up into an inline process on large area substrates.

Main Features _ A ACVD atmospheric process (aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition) _ No vacuum required _ Quasi-dry process _ I n2S3-deposition technique _ Cadmium free _ High-efficiency cells produced with potential for further improvement (certified efficiency of 14.7 % measured at ISE Freiburg) _ Machine cycle 60 s _ Continuous substrate flow under the aerosol area _ Design for variable size of production substrates: substrate width up to 1,200 mm (larger substrate size can be processed on request!) _ Inline, fast-production speeds _ Flexible method: bilayers and mixed compositions possible

Headquarters SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG Hanauer Landstrasse 103 D-63796 Kahl, Germany Tel. +49 6188 440-0 Fax +49 6188 440-110 sales@singulus.de www.singulus.de

China SINGULUS MANUFACTURING GUANGZHOU Ltd. Tel. +86 20 34885010 frank@singulus.com.cn France SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES France S.A.R.L. Tel. +33 3 893111-29 singulus@club-internet.fr Germany SINGULUS STANGL SOLAR GmbH Tel. +49 8141 3600-0 stangl@singulus.de Great Britain SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES UK Ltd. Tel. +44 1793 7842-00 brian.walsh@singulusuk.com

Italy SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Italia S.r.l.

Tel. +39 071 79303-12 info@singulus.it

Spain SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Iberica S.L. Tel. +34 936 7500-25 singulus@singulusib.com

Latin America SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Latin America Ltda.

Tel. +55 1121 6524-10 rodolfo.mignone@singulus.com.br

Taiwan SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Taiwan LTD. Tel. +886 2 274833-66 sales@singulus.com.tw

Netherlands SINGULUS MASTERING B.V. Tel. +31 407 5014-00 info@singulus.nl Singapore SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Asia Pacific PTE Ltd. Tel. +65 674 119-12 sales@singulus.com.sg

United States and Canada SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Inc. Tel. +1 860 68380-00 sales@singulus.com

09/2011 – MetaCom Printed in Germany – Technical alterations reserved

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