R&D Tool for CIGS Development

The new CIGS R&D Platform is a development tool for the production and thermal treatment of semiconductor layers based e. g. on copper, indium and gallium for photovoltaic applications. With the CIGS R&D Platform economic research of new manufacturing processes for CIS-CIGS semiconductor films can be realized. In this way, the highest level of efficiency of thin-film solar modules compared to existing concepts can be achieved. With the process results on the basis of the findings from the demonstration plant, industrial manufacturing processes can be developed and optimized, enabling higher cell performances as well as a significant reduction of manufacturing costs for thin-film photovoltaic modules per watt peak.

The CIGS R&D Platform contains a central transportation station and several process stations. In the process stations the thermal treatment as well as deposition of the complete layer stack can be conducted.

The system is designed for glass substrates up to 300 mm x 300 mm and can be setup in the following configuration:

• Central handling
• Loading/unloading station
• Sputtering unit Mo (Step 1) –
• Cu, In, Ga (Step 3) – iZnO, AZO (Step 8) Selenium deposition (Step 4)
• Thermal treatment & selenization, sulphurization 
  (Step 5)
• Laser scribing (Step 2, 7 and 9)
• Buffer layer module (Step 6)