Oct 31, 2009 
The presentation, which will take place November 4 during the “Materials & Processes” session of the photovoltaic manufacturing conference, will offer a method of optimizing the thermal process that will have an immediate effect on increasing the solar cell efficiency. Studies have shown that when solar cells are consistently processed in the “sweet spot” of their thermal process window, their efficiencies increase. To achieve this, it is important to separate the “end from the means.” The desired outcome is to achieve a solar cell profile that is positioned within the established process window. A material vendor or one’s own research will help establish this process window. The variables that influence this profile, assuming consistent solar wafers, are the furnace recipes relative to the furnace properties. These variables change from furnace to furnace, and they change over time within each furnace due to wear and tear, preventive maintenance, degrading heating lamps, etc. It is necessary to have accurate and consistent profile readings to confidently analyze a profile. Once this is accomplished, automated software can provide more intelligent “trial and error” experimentation. The presentation will look at results found by optimizing the process in the center of the process window that have shown to increase the cell efficiency by up to 0.51 percent. This will be focused on the silicon solar cell metallization process.
MB Allen’s expertise lies within the management of the thermal process. As General Manager of KIC's European Operations, she is responsible for sales and service throughout EMEA, India, Russia and Australia. She has 20 years of experience in the electronics assembly industry covering surface mount, thick film and packaging. She previously held the position of North American Sales Manager for KIC. MB works with varied EMS providers and OEMs who manufacture commercial, automotive, medical and military products.
For more information, about the Sustainability Summit, visit http://www.sustainability2015.com.
Based in San Diego, KIC is the industry leader in automated thermal management tools and systems for reflow, wave, cure and semiconductor thermal processes. The company pioneered the development of oven profilers and process development tools, and then worked to create the next generation of thermal systems to help manufacturers optimize and monitor thermal processes.
In addition to KIC Explorer, products include the KIC 24/7 continuous monitoring system, the KIC Vision automatic profiling system and more. With the introduction of cutting edge tools, the company continues to stay on the leading edge of process optimization and real-time thermal management systems, and has won numerous industry awards.
