News

24 June 2010

 

CRAIC launches microspectrophotometer for solar cell testing

UV-visible-NIR microscope and microspectrometer manufacturer CRAIC Technologies of San Dimas, CA, USA has launched the 20/20 Solar microspectrophotometer, designed to measure the thickness of thin films as well as the optical efficiencies and clarity of photovoltaic cells. This can be done by both transmission and reflectance whether the solar cells are the traditional crystalline silicon substrates or a thin-film variety. The firm adds that the tool can also be used to measure the transmissivity and reflectivity of many of the components used to manufacture PV cells such as protective glasses and concentrator modules.

The tool can also be combined with CRAIC's proprietary contamination imaging capabilities to locate and identify process contaminants, representing a step forward in metrology instrumentation for the photovoltaic industry, it is claimed.

“Many of our customers want to test the quality of photovoltaic devices for rapid quality control of their products,” says president Dr Paul Martin. “The 20/20 Solar microspectrophotometer was built in response to customer requests for a powerful, flexible metrology tool that can test a number of different aspects of many different photovoltaic devices,” he adds. The tool is also multifunctional in that it can be configured to measure thin-film thickness and to analyze optical efficiencies and spectral characteristics of solar cells and their components, for locating and identifying contaminants in the production process.

Due to the flexibility of the system’s design, sampling areas can range from more than 100 microns to less than a micron in width. Designed for the production environment, it incorporates a number of easily modified metrology recipes, the ability to measure new films and materials, and tools for analyzing data as well as options for automation including touch-screen control. Other features such as contamination analysis can also be added.

See related item:

CRAIC launches microspectrophotometer for thin-film thickness measurements

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