World's first tandem junction SunFab Thin Film Line begins volume production

World's first tandem junction SunFab Thin Film Line begins volume production

By Paul Buckley

Power Management DesignLine Europe
(04/20/2009 1:58 PM EDT)

Winchester, UK - Sunfilm, AG (Grossroehrsdorf, Germany) and Applied Materials, Inc., (Santa Clara, California) have revealed that the world's first tandem junction SunFab Thin Film Line installed at Sunfilm's Grossroehrsdorf facility has achieved factory acceptance.

Using 5.7m² substrates, the line passed final acceptance test certification, verifying that it has met specifications for producing solar photovoltaic modules with efficiencies of up to eight percent, as well as yield and overall annual capacity specifications. The line is now beginning volume production.

"We are pleased to have demonstrated that tandem junction technology is scalable to large-size panels and that these higher efficiency panels can be produced at volumes that make them ideal for utility scale solar installations," said Mike Splinter, chairman and CEO of Applied Materials. "The ramp of SunFab tandem junction lines is an important business and technological achievement that brings the industry another step closer to dramatically changing the way the world generates energy."

Thin film tandem junction panels use about 1/50th of the amount of silicon per watt of electricity produced compared with traditional solar modules fabricated using crystalline silicon wafers. By combining tandem junction technology with ultra-large 5.7m² substrates and volume manufacturing capabilities, Sunfilm expects to meet a wide range of customer applications for full-, half- and quarter-size panels, which can substantially reduce the cost of installed solar electricity. A quarter-size 1.4m² module generates up to 115Wp, while a full-size 5.7m² panel will deliver about 450Wp.

Dr. Sicco W.T. Westra, Chief Business Development Officer of Sunfilm, commented: "We can now begin delivery of our products in larger quantities. With a total annualized capacity of over 120MWp between this first production line and our second production line that we plan to start up later this year, we are in a strong position to fulfill market demand."