Veeco Instruments Inc., announced today that it has become a charter member in the CPV Consortium, a global industry organization that supports the development and long-term success of the concentrator photovoltaics industry, with the goal of providing a low-cost, reliable source of renewable energy. Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) cells, referred to as "multi-junction" or "III-V" cells, boast significantly higher efficiencies than traditional photovoltaic systems. In addition to Veeco, CPV Consortium charter members include Solfocus, 3M, Concentrix, Emcore, ISFOC and Isofoton.
Sudhakar Raman, Vice President, Marketing of Veeco's MOCVD Operations, commented, "As the world’s leading manufacturer of metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) systems used to make CPV cells, we are pleased to be a charter member of the CPV Consortium. We look forward to continued development of CPV cell manufacturing equipment and process improvements to further reduce the cost and ease of manufacturing, while improving the efficiency and reliability of CPV cells."
"CPV cells provide energy conversion efficiencies much higher than traditional silicon cells – approximately 35% today, with planned efficiencies over the next few years moving into the 45% range, as compared to 13-18% efficiency for silicon cells," Raman added. "Veeco is aligned today with all of the leading CPV manufacturers to help pursue these future efficiency gains."
Veeco's TurboDisc® As/P MOCVD tools have become the CPV industry’s platform of choice by offering a level of process control and reliability unmatched by competing MOCVD technologies, and are being adopted by the industry for highest yields and lowest cost of ownership for high volume production of multi-junction III-V concentrator solar cells. These technically advanced MOCVD systems feature Veeco's proprietary in-situ metrology, RealTemp® 200, enabling superior material quality and process efficiency from direct real-time wafer temperature control, fast gas switching for strict control of interface abruptness, and vacuum loadlock automation for highest productivity.