News

9 September 2009

 

Veeco receives multi-system web coater order from Hong Kong CIGS PV maker

Epitaxial deposition, process, and metrology equipment maker Veeco Instruments Inc of Plainview NY, USA has received a multi-million dollar order for its suite of FastFlex web coating systems, for shipment in early 2010 to the plant in Suzhou, China of GroupSat (Hong Kong) Ltd. The order consists of one Mo (molybdenum) deposition system, one TCO (transparent conductive oxide) deposition system and two CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) deposition systems.

“We have an aggressive plan to become the first true CIGS thin-film solar manufacturer in China,” says GroupSat’s CEO Nasir M. Ameriar. “As a provider of flexible solar products, we will cater to markets in China, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, and have chosen Veeco’s FastFlex web coating systems because we are convinced that their technology and process support will help us achieve our goals,” he adds.

The FastFlex platform has a flexible architecture with high uptime that can be configured to specific needs, with a choice of rotary or planar magnetrons for high-throughput, high-temperature effusion sources, and substrate sizes up to 1m wide. “Our FastFlex systems feature the industry’s only fully integrated thermal evaporation sources, which we believe provides our customers a high-throughput, low-cost manufacturing solution,” says David Bruns, senior VP & general manager, Veeco Solar Equipment. “Ultimately, the success of CIGS technology is tied to increasing cell efficiency and driving down manufacturing cost per watt.”

CIGS offers the combined benefits of higher efficiencies and lower costs compared with silicon, says Veeco. Market research firm Greentech Media estimates that CIGS production capacity will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 86% from 264MW in 2009 to 1.7GW in 2012. Veeco adds that CIGS solar cells offer the broadest range of applications of any thin-film solar technology, including solar farms, in building integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), flat and pitched roofs, rooftop shingles, and portable devices.

See related item:

Veeco creates Solar Process Development Center from DayStar’s New York assets

See: Veeco Company Profile

Search: Veeco Instruments FastFlex CIGS

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