Oerlikon: Sub-US$1 solar cell per watt by 2010
Nuying Huang, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES, 17 September 2007
Source: DigiTimes
http://www.digitimes.com/bits_chips/a20070913PD217.html
As a leading amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cell equipment supplier, Oerlikon emphasized that it guarantees its equipment provides a minimum power conversion rate of 7%, and the company projected that further enhancement will be seen in the near future along with the introduction of a new equipment set, said company Asia head Hai-Yan Sun.
Oerlikon was displaying its latest solar cell equipment that supports microcrystalline (µc-Si) solar cell production at the recently concluded SEMICON Taiwan 2007 (September 12-14). Present customers are able to upgrade their systems to produce the new type of thin-film solar cells that deliver a better power conversion efficiency, Sun said.
Under a stable operation environment, Sun said Oerlikon’s latest equipment delivers a power conversion rate of 7%. In light of the physical barrier of a-Si in nature, 8% is the maximum rate, he explained. Thus, Oerlikon introduced the latest equipment for µc-Si solar cell production, which can deliver a power conversion rate of 8.5% in volume. The rate could be enhanced to 9.4% if the volume is small. Sun expects that the rate will be enhanced further to surpass 10% in 2010.
Oerlikon said it aims to help industry players to rapidly shrink their production costs to a cost level that enables higher penetration without relying on government incentives. Sun projected that the per watt cost of solar cell that is fabricated by the company’s equipment, to have its cost to be US$0.70 in 2010.
Sun remarked that one competitive edge that Oerlikon offers is transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coating, where sunlight can be absorbed in a more efficient way. Industry sources noted that many Asia-based thin-film solar cell makers are aggressively approaching Oerlikon for potential deal in light of this.