The

docu

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t is

com

pile

d an

d ke

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-dat

e as

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usly

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poss

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. Ben

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, ass

umes

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of a

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ectly

or

indi

rect

ly t

hrou

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f thi

s do

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The

info

rmat

ion

in t

his

docu

men

t is

sub

ject

to

chan

ge w

ithou

t no

tice.

All

text

s, p

ictu

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gra

phic

s an

d an

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her

cont

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of t

his

docu

men

t an

d th

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ut a

re p

rote

cted

by

copy

righ

t an

d ot

her

prot

ectiv

e la

ws.

The

afo

rem

entio

ned

cont

ents

may

not

be

dupl

icat

ed, m

odifi

ed o

r us

ed in

oth

er e

lect

roni

c or

pri

nted

publ

icat

ions

with

out

the

prio

r co

nsen

t of

Ben

eq. U

nles

s ot

herw

ise

stat

ed, a

ll tr

adem

arks

are

pro

tect

ed u

nder

tra

dem

ark

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s, e

spec

ially

the

Ben

eq t

rade

mar

ks, l

ogos

, em

blem

s an

d na

mep

late

s. T

he p

aten

ts a

nd t

rade

mar

ks p

rese

nted

in t

his

docu

men

t ar

e th

e in

telle

ctua

l pro

pert

y of

Ben

eq O

y. B

eneq

is a

regi

ster

ed t

rade

mar

k of

Ben

eq O

y.

Ben

eq S

urfa

ce P

assi

vatio

n 9

/2

01

2

Main Office

Beneq OyP.O. Box 262FI-01511 Vantaa, Finland

Visiting address:Ensimmäinen savuFI-01510 Vantaa, Finland

Tel. +358 9 7599 530Fax +358 9 7599 5310

firstname.lastname@beneq.cominfo@beneq.comwww.beneq.com

Sales and Service Offices

Beneq China Beneq Germany Beneq USA

Application

Surface Passivation of c-Si solar cells

Industrial surface passivation of c-Si solar cells

Due to the continuous need to reduce production costs and increase conversion efficiency, surface passivation of crystalline silicon (c–Si) solar cells has become essential. Increasing the efficiency through high–quality surface passivation is widely an industry standard today.

Atomic layer deposition

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a gas phase sequential coating method that produces completely conformal and pinhole–free thin films. ALD has entered photovoltaics with a solid offering to improve the efficiency of c–Si cells by surface passivation. Beneq ALD provides an industrially competitive means to achieve the highest quality of surface passivation with aluminum oxide (Al

2O

3).

Surface passivation in the manufacturing process

Surface passivation of c-Si solar cells can be applied both on n– and p–type cells:

• double–side coating in one step (for n–type)• single-side coating for p-type (wrap around less than 1 mm)

Surface Passivation of c-Si Solar Cells

Benefits of using Beneq ALD equipment

• 1+ percentage point increase in efficiency• completely conformal and pinhole-free• no plasma damage• low–temperature processing (150 – 250 °C)• no atmospheric contamination

High throughput

• up to 2000 wafers/hour (double-side coating, n–type)• up to 3000 wafers/hour (single-side coating, n– and p–type)

Low cost–of–ownership

• 0.04 €/wafer (double-side coating, n–type)• 0.02 €/wafer (single-side coating, n– and p–type)

www.beneq.com

Injection dependent lifetime as a function of excess carrier density in a p–type solar cell, after Al

2O

3 surface passivation by Beneq ALD. The Cz–wafer

used was annealed for 30 min at 450 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere prior to testing.

Beneq coating services

For the first trials with your cells, let Beneq prove the concept of surface passivation to you with our Coating Services, which offer:

• Al2O

3 deposition on c–Si wafers with ALD in Class 10.000

clean–room environment• fast access to large wafer quantities for R&D purposes (1000’s per week)

Beneq — excellence in ALD

Beneq is a pioneer in applying ALD to existing and emerging industrial thin film production. With the world record in substrate size, the first true roll–to–roll system to the market and many other unprecedented industry–scale ALD innovations, we are truly a solid partner and equipment provider for industrial thin film production.

For R&D and pilot–scale production, the Beneq Thin Film System TFS 500 (above) is the right choice. The robust and reliable TFS 500 offers the easiest entry to ALD–based surface passivation of c–Si solar cells.

For industrial production, Beneq offers the TFS NX300 Thin Film System for ALD.

The TFS NX300 is an independent coating unit which, if necessary, can be fully automated with cassette–to–cassette loading and handling functions.

Minority carrier lifetime in a p-type solar cell, after Al2O

3 surface passivation

by Beneq ALD. The Cz–wafer used was annealed for 30 min at 450 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere prior to testing.

ALD 20 nm Al2O

3, after annealing

ALD equipment for surface passivation

Beneq equipment for ALD are a combination of expert design, solid hands–on experience and extensive research and development. All equipment is modular and thus adaptable to different surfaces and thin film applications. Thin film coatings produced by Beneq equipment are adjustable, allowing producers to match exactly the passivation properties with the surface structure for maximum cell efficiency.

Industrial surface passivation of c-Si solar cells

Due to the continuous need to reduce production costs and increase conversion efficiency, surface passivation of crystalline silicon (c–Si) solar cells has become essential. Increasing the efficiency through high–quality surface passivation is widely an industry standard today.

Atomic layer deposition

Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a gas phase sequential coating method that produces completely conformal and pinhole–free thin films. ALD has entered photovoltaics with a solid offering to improve the efficiency of c–Si cells by surface passivation. Beneq ALD provides an industrially competitive means to achieve the highest quality of surface passivation with aluminum oxide (Al

2O

3).

Surface passivation in the manufacturing process

Surface passivation of c-Si solar cells can be applied both on n– and p–type cells:

• double–side coating in one step (for n–type)• single-side coating for p-type (wrap around less than 1 mm)

Surface Passivation of c-Si Solar Cells

Benefits of using Beneq ALD equipment

• 1+ percentage point increase in efficiency• completely conformal and pinhole-free• no plasma damage• low–temperature processing (150 – 250 °C)• no atmospheric contamination

High throughput

• up to 2000 wafers/hour (double-side coating, n–type)• up to 3000 wafers/hour (single-side coating, n– and p–type)

Low cost–of–ownership

• 0.04 €/wafer (double-side coating, n–type)• 0.02 €/wafer (single-side coating, n– and p–type)

www.beneq.com

Injection dependent lifetime as a function of excess carrier density in a p–type solar cell, after Al

2O

3 surface passivation by Beneq ALD. The Cz–wafer

used was annealed for 30 min at 450 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere prior to testing.

Beneq coating services

For the first trials with your cells, let Beneq prove the concept of surface passivation to you with our Coating Services, which offer:

• Al2O

3 deposition on c–Si wafers with ALD in Class 10.000

clean–room environment• fast access to large wafer quantities for R&D purposes (1000’s per week)

Beneq — excellence in ALD

Beneq is a pioneer in applying ALD to existing and emerging industrial thin film production. With the world record in substrate size, the first true roll–to–roll system to the market and many other unprecedented industry–scale ALD innovations, we are truly a solid partner and equipment provider for industrial thin film production.

For R&D and pilot–scale production, the Beneq Thin Film System TFS 500 (above) is the right choice. The robust and reliable TFS 500 offers the easiest entry to ALD–based surface passivation of c–Si solar cells.

For industrial production, Beneq offers the TFS NX300 Thin Film System for ALD.

The TFS NX300 is an independent coating unit which, if necessary, can be fully automated with cassette–to–cassette loading and handling functions.

Minority carrier lifetime in a p-type solar cell, after Al2O

3 surface passivation

by Beneq ALD. The Cz–wafer used was annealed for 30 min at 450 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere prior to testing.

ALD 20 nm Al2O

3, after annealing

ALD equipment for surface passivation

Beneq equipment for ALD are a combination of expert design, solid hands–on experience and extensive research and development. All equipment is modular and thus adaptable to different surfaces and thin film applications. Thin film coatings produced by Beneq equipment are adjustable, allowing producers to match exactly the passivation properties with the surface structure for maximum cell efficiency.

The

docu

men

t is

com

pile

d an

d ke

pt u

p-to

-dat

e as

con

scie

ntio

usly

as

poss

ible

. Ben

eq c

anno

t, ho

wev

er, g

uara

ntee

tha

t th

e da

ta a

re fr

ee o

f err

ors,

acc

urat

e or

com

plet

e an

d, t

here

fore

, ass

umes

no

liabi

lity

for

loss

or

dam

age

of a

ny k

ind

incu

rred

dir

ectly

or

indi

rect

ly t

hrou

gh t

he u

se o

f thi

s do

cum

ent.

The

info

rmat

ion

in t

his

docu

men

t is

sub

ject

to

chan

ge w

ithou

t no

tice.

All

text

s, p

ictu

res,

gra

phic

s an

d an

y ot

her

cont

ents

of t

his

docu

men

t an

d th

eir

layo

ut a

re p

rote

cted

by

copy

righ

t an

d ot

her

prot

ectiv

e la

ws.

The

afo

rem

entio

ned

cont

ents

may

not

be

dupl

icat

ed, m

odifi

ed o

r us

ed in

oth

er e

lect

roni

c or

pri

nted

publ

icat

ions

with

out

the

prio

r co

nsen

t of

Ben

eq. U

nles

s ot

herw

ise

stat

ed, a

ll tr

adem

arks

are

pro

tect

ed u

nder

tra

dem

ark

law

s, e

spec

ially

the

Ben

eq t

rade

mar

ks, l

ogos

, em

blem

s an

d na

mep

late

s. T

he p

aten

ts a

nd t

rade

mar

ks p

rese

nted

in t

his

docu

men

t ar

e th

e in

telle

ctua

l pro

pert

y of

Ben

eq O

y. B

eneq

is a

regi

ster

ed t

rade

mar

k of

Ben

eq O

y.

Ben

eq S

urfa

ce P

assi

vatio

n 9

/2

01

2

Main Office

Beneq OyP.O. Box 262FI-01511 Vantaa, Finland

Visiting address:Ensimmäinen savuFI-01510 Vantaa, Finland

Tel. +358 9 7599 530Fax +358 9 7599 5310

firstname.lastname@beneq.cominfo@beneq.comwww.beneq.com

Sales and Service Offices

Beneq China Beneq Germany Beneq USA

Application

Surface Passivation of c-Si solar cells