Scale-up and manufacturing expansion of low-cost amorphous silicon solar panels at EPV SOLAR

To meet the aggressive growth of the world-wide photovoltaic market of the past several years, EPV SOLAR has further developed its technology, reduced its manufacturing costs, and expanded its production capacity in the US and Europe. EPV SOLAR currently has three manufacturing plants, located in Lawrenceville and Robbinsville, New Jersey, USA, and Senftenberg, Brandenburg, Germany. With the introduction of the EPV SOLAR Generation VI Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) systems, the development of low-cost advanced sputtering systems, and the integration of improved support equipment, the two plants, in Robbinsville and Senftenberg, have ramped their installed capacity to 50 MW/yr; an order of magnitude higher capacity than previously attained. As a result of the development of new process and equipment technology, the rated power of EPV modules has increased from 42 W to 56 W, through an increase in substrate size from 0.79 m
²
to 0.94 m
²
, the optimization of the a-Si device structure and deposition uniformity, implementing improved laser scribing processes, identifying and reducing the incidence of shunting, and incorporating a high reflectivity zinc oxide back reflector to enhance long wavelength quantum efficiency. Advanced diagnostics tools have been developed for improved process control, which have led to improved a-Si thickness uniformity and higher material stability. Development of infrared imaging techniques have proven their value in troubleshooting shunting problems and have led to improved module fabrication processes. Proprietary laser scribing processes have resulted in the development of unique building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products.