Solar Cells Produced With MicroTech Systems Liquid Phase Deposition Process Have Significantly Increased Power Output

FREMONT, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 17, 2011) - MicroTech Systems has delivered the first production ready intelligent process station for ARC (anti-reflective coating) solar cells. The wet process station uses Liquid Phase Deposition (LPD) technology, developed by Rice University and licensed exclusively to Natcore Technology, to grow coatings on silicon wafers used to produce solar cells.

The LPD will replace the costly and potentially hazardous chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that is now the industry standard. Solar cells produced with LPD will be less expensive and less environmentally harmful than typical solar cells. Elimination of high thermal processes will eliminate thermally induced potato chipping of the wafer, thus allowing for the use of thinner wafers.

The major feature of the LPD station is its ability to monitor the coating process. Specifically, it accurately measures the thickness of the AR coating on a wafer while it is submerged in a chemical bath, and can alter the composition and duration of the bath in order to produce cells with greater simplicity and a high degree of precision. Films have been created that are superior in conformality with better reflectivity, therefore providing higher efficiency of the solar cell.

Intelligent Process Station
The intelligent process station is a fully enclosed, automated system with intelligence built in to monitor, measure and control the process. Substrates are pre-cleaned and temperatures stabilized prior to introduction into the deposition process. The proprietary control system manages the fluid and deposition rates and parameters. From a turbidity measurement system that manages particle generation, it has the ability to identify and eliminate unwanted invisible particles to assure uniformity, consistency, and a lack of contamination from suspended matter. The intelligent process station also has a patent-pending metrology method for film measurement and control. The final step in the process is surface tension gradient drying that yields substrates that are watermark-free with low particle counts and no feature damage.

The LPD intelligent process station was delivered to Natcore Technology (TSX Venture Exchange: NXT), a company that develops thin film solar processes for solar cell manufacturers. The station can be customized so that the process can be fine-tuned to precise formulas for individual customer wafers, since solar cell manufacturing differs from production plant to production plant. The station is installed in Natcore's R&D Center at Kodak's Eastman Business Park, Rochester, NY.

About MicroTech Systems
With over 25 years' experience in high technology equipment manufacturing, MicroTech Systems provides engineering, manufacturing and applications support for wet process and chemical distribution tools. Their innovative "intelligent process station" to monitor, measure and control the process makes their tools more efficient with a lower cost-of-ownership. They supply the semiconductor, solar, MEMS, LED, Biotech and FPD industries from their Silicon Valley headquarters, which includes a state-of-the-art cleanroom and process development lab. See www.microtechprocess.com.