News

7 July 2009

 

Aixtron MOCVD reactor for Italian multi-junction PV research

Aixtron AG of Herzogenrath, Germany says that in December it received an order for an AIX 2800G4 Planetary Reactor (in 15x4"-wafer configuration) for delivery in fourth-quarter 2009 to CESI RICERCA S.p.A. of Milan, Italy, which on 29 April was renamed ERSE S.p.A. (Enea-Ricerca sul Sistema Elettrico S.p.A.).

CESI RICERCA was established by CESI at the end of 2005 to develop energy-related research activities (funded at both the national and international level) for the national electricity system. In particular, the firm has experience in III-V-based high-efficiency multi-junction (MJ) solar cells, from material growth through characterization to cell modeling and testing. It is also involved in research and demonstration of concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems, renewable energy hybrid systems for remote community electrification, and the integration of photovoltaic into buildings.

The AIX 2800G4 system will be used to develop multi-junction solar cells as an integral part of a pan-European collaboration, the five-year Apollon Project of the Seventh Framework Programme (which supports the transfer of new technologies to mass production). The aim of the project (which began last September) is the development and realization of MOCVD technology for highly efficient multi-junction solar cells, as well as the development of high-concentration point focus and dense array CPV systems based on monolithic and discrete multi-junction technologies. The project has a final target cost of €2/Wp (Watt-peak).

“For this project we are developing triple-junction and multi-junction solar cells with new materials and so we needed an MOCVD system with sufficient flexibility,” says Dr Gianluca Timò, Apollon project director at ERSE. The Aixtron Planetary Reactor design has a wide process window due to its new inlet geometry and reactor design, he adds. “We will also be able to easily tune the system for our new processes and materials... the testing of new hydride and metal-organic sources will be straightforward. Such features, together with the advanced in-situ monitoring technologies and flexible wafer configurations up to multiple 8.5”, will ensure that our development program can investigate all possibilities smoothly and efficiently,” Timò reckons.

See related item:

Fraunhofer ISE orders Aixtron reactor for multi-junction PV development

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