pv conference summary example

LOGO

This is a conference review presentation I made in 2007. SSM considered moving into the PV market and wanted an assessment of the opportunities. I and our Sale Manager were sent to review.

LOGO

22nd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition

A reviewSept. 3-7, 2007

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LOGO Outline

♦ Primary thoughts• Upfront summary

♦ Solar cell refresher♦ Technologies (market study)♦ Agenda of the conference♦ My impressions (technical and general)♦ Exhibition visits♦ Summary

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LOGO Primary thoughts

♦ The technology of solar cells is strongly coupled to economic and political factors

♦ The market would greatly decrease without government subsidies or direction

♦ But progress has been made in efficiency• Good prospects for implementation

♦ Upfront summary• Depth profiles are done very infrequently• I agree with <our Sales Manager> that this is a small market• Price is extremely sensitive• High efficiency niche uses materials that challenge SRP

− GaAs

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LOGO Solar cell refresher-1

•MRS BULLETIN • VOLUME 32 • MARCH 2007

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LOGO Solar cell refresher-2

Rshunt

Rseries

External Load

Leakage CurrentProcess Issue Analysis

•Wet Cleaning Process

Metal Pollution

•Diffusion Process

Phosphorous Concentration

Phosphorous Depth

Contact CurrentProcess Issue Analysis

•PECVD Process

•AL Layer Process

•Screen Contact Process

Equivalent Circuit

•After a customer presentation and D. Schroder

•Ideally infinite

•Ideally zero

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LOGO Solar cell refresher-3

♦ Parameters of interest/concern• Voc -open circuit voltage (always less

than bandgap)• Isc -short circuit current

• Fill factor -optimal V and I are compared to Voc-Isc area

• Series resistance• Lifetime• Spectral response• Efficiency

− cell power/(solar irradiance*A)

• $/kWh (or /Wp)− Cost/m2 / Watts/m2

MRS BULLETIN

VOLUME 32

MARCH 2007

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LOGO Technologies (Market Study)

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LOGO Agenda of the conference

♦ Contacts told us this was the conference to attend♦ From call for papers

• 22nd EU PVSEC: The leading platform for the world’s PV specialists• The most inspiring forum for the global PV Solar market

♦ Italian institutional patronage:• Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea• Ministry for the Economic Development

♦ Institutional support:• The European Commission• UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization• WCRE - World Council for Renewable Energy

♦ Institutional PV Industry collaboration:• EPIA – European Photovoltaic Industry Association

♦ Coordination of the Technical Program:− European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre

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LOGO Agenda of the conference-2

In exhibit hall

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LOGO Impressions

♦ Large conference attendance♦ Very diverse topics♦ Exhibition busy

• But open to general public

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LOGO Impressions

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LOGO Impressions

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LOGO Impressions

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LOGO Impressions-General

♦ There are quite a few niches in the race to grid equity• Expected by 2013• Higher oil prices expected to help

♦ Expectation is a form of thin film will win, but that is not universal• Or a wafer based technology will transfer to thin film

♦ Large academic component♦ Germany leads due to subsidies

• Japan less visible

♦ Globalization resistance?♦ Driven by climate change♦ Fossil fuel has hidden subsidies♦ China-installed PV Megawatts #1 this year

•Low η low cost

•High η high cost

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LOGO Impressions-Opening Session

♦ W. Platz • First meeting 1977 in Luxemburg

− 400 attendees

• Ground work laid 1974 (right after oil crisis)• Feed-in tariffs needed- pushing for EU wide tariff• Wants to provide electricity to the 1-2 billion people without

♦ Keynote speaker, Dr. Shah, Univ. of Neuchatel (ch)• Bell labs 1954 5% eff.• Moore’s law equivalent for PV• PV generated electricity 0.50 euro/kWh• Std generated electricity 0.10 euro/kWh• Expects a-Si/mc-Si (thin film) to build off of LCD market (synergy)

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LOGO Impressions-General-2

♦ A bubble forming?

♦ 80% of market is in Germany

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LOGO Impressions-General-3

♦ Price is dropping♦ Expected to drop further with Asian manufacturing

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LOGO Materials Distribution

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LOGO Impressions-Major Players

♦ IMEC Solar division♦ Fraunhoffer Institute

• Several tests run there

♦ University of New South Wales• Australian National University• Univ. of Delaware• Amonix (in CA)

♦ ECN (nl)♦ SunPower (USA) wafer based (concentrator)♦ NREL (small presence)

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LOGO Impressions-Silicon Wafer

♦ 11.7% eff. a-Si/mc-Si • 24% theoretical η

♦ 17.6% a-Si/sc-Si (p sub, slightly less on n)♦ 11.6% on MSG Si♦ Slivers (ribbon) of Si ♦ Bifacial films-white backing♦ ~3 week cycle time♦ Minor changes to reduce cost pay off

• Lower temps= lower cost• Trying to use lower quality (cheaper) Si

− Semi grade hundreds euro/kg− cf 15 euros/kg

• Spin-on dopant (UNSW)

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LOGO Impressions-Thin Film

♦ Thin film is expected to increase in volume♦ Cheaper processes

• Plates up to 1300 x 1100 mm

♦ AMAT has moved into this area • Bought German company• Builds on TFT experience (AKT)

♦ a-Si/c-Si/glass ~11% η♦ mc-Si/glass 9% η♦ mc-Si (poly)/glass 2.7% η

• Alumina substrate 8% η

♦ Plastic substrates for flexible deployment• <200 ºC processing OK

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LOGO Impressions-Compound Semiconductor

♦ Multi-junction for high efficiency (tandem)• 40.7% efficiency (USA NREL)

− 2 junction 50%− 3 junction 56%

♦ Mostly for space applications• Lifetime degrades with irradiation

♦ GaAs, GaN, In, ZnOTe• Only 2 CdTe comps.• InGaN alloy 0.7 eV-3.4 eV

♦ HIT♦ Issues

• Layer quality• Band offsets

♦ 4 inch wafers (most CS seem to be wafer based)

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LOGO Impressions-Others

♦ Concentrator systems• Mirrors focus sunlight on a PV system

− 500X− 1 MW plant in Spain

• USA needs could be met with 150 km x 150 km area

♦ Quantum dots• Spin off of compound semi

♦ CIS• <Customer D>is a CIS comp.

♦ Few organic or dye cells seen

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LOGO Texture-aids efficiency

•K. Van Nieuwenhuysen •PV 22nd 2AO.2.6

•Texture usually adds 1% absolute to η•Wet etch-regular•Plasma etch (dry)-irregular

•Plasma etch•Wet chemical etch

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LOGO Impressions-Metrology

♦ Photoluminescence -lifetime♦ Quasi Steady-State

Photoconductance (QSSPC) -detect impurities and defects

♦ XRD- orientation, structure, grain size

♦ Light-Beam-Induced Current (LBIC) - quantum efficiency maps

♦ 4PP (Sunlab, not KLA)♦ Electron BackScatter Diffraction

(EBSD)-crystal texture/orientation♦ Electron Beam Induced Current

(EBIC)- defects, minority carriers♦ FTIR-evaluating crystalline silicon

material quality.♦ SEM♦ TEM

♦ SRP♦ SIMS♦ Raman Spectroscopy-investigate

mechanical stresses in semiconductor materials

♦ SSRM (IMEC)

♦ List is in order of frequency

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LOGO Impressions-Metrology example

♦ LBIC and QE. K.C. Heasman, 2 CV. 5.21

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LOGO Quotations

♦ Single crystal and multi crystal Si are in a bicycle race. Unlike most bike races, doping is encouraged.

♦ Q: EU solar patents aren’t increasing. Why?♦ A: “Why would I tell my competitors what to do?”

• Slammed far east IP practice• Talked about fairness in globalization

♦ Ecclesiastes 1:9-14, NIV “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun”. • Multiple junctions proposed prior to 1970• But tremendous improvement in efficiency

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LOGO Demo customers present

♦ <Names are confidential>

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LOGO Exhibition visits

♦ Customer A (lunch)• <proposed solution>costs too much• Need $150 k (or $100 k!)• Really want mapping capability

♦ Customer B• See no great drive for SRP

− But sell a 4PP, so might be competitive

♦ Customer C• VP of technology development said they did 15-20 SRP measurements last

year

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LOGO Summary

♦ Depth profiles are done very infrequently♦ Looks like a small market♦ Price is extremely sensitive♦ High efficiency niche uses materials that challenge SRP

− GaAs− Organic?

♦ “Semiconductor “ Si use growth 8%/yr (stable)♦ PV Si use growth 40%/yr

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LOGO End Result

♦ This presentation was well received.• Sales found it very useful.

♦ Despite the low volume of SRP, SSM decided to develop a lower end product to address the PV need for a lower cost system.• SRP Express 170