Applied Materials, Inc.

Other

Multi-holding Ag

Jeffrey S Sullivan

Yacov Elgar

Danny Cam Toan Lu

David Tanner

Marian Mankos

Andres Fernandez

Steven Thomas Coyle

Paul C Allen

William A Eckes

Kurt Stephen Werder

Brian Wade Mills

Dustin Delmar Reede Carver

Ian McKay Pratt

Robert D Street

Ian Worthington Weatherley

John M White

Soo Young Choi

Eric Andrew Englhardt

Tae Kyung Won

Salvador P Umotoy

Robert Z Bachrach

Vinay K Shah

Gopalakrishna B Prabhu

Yong Liu

Shuran Sheng

Zhiyong Li

Douglas Earl Holmgren

Xiaolan Chen

Windsor Owens

Eric Lee Benson

Mark A Gesley

Asaf Schlezinger

Harry S Whitesell

Stephen P Murphy

Tai T Ngo

James Craig Hunter

Charles Gay

Liwei Li

Penchala N Kankanala

Tzay-Fa Su

Fang Mei

Dhruv Gajaria

Allan L Sagle

Nicholas G J De Vries

Parris Hawkins

Yong-Kee Chae

Tzay-Fa (Jeff) Su

Michel Ranjit Frei

Michael Marriott

Teresa Trowbridge

Tim Thomas

Andres Fernadez

Ho Gene Choi

Tony Tiecheng Young

Danny Cam Lu

Brice Walker

Matthew J B Saunders

Srujal (Steve) Patel

Wing Hoo (Hendrick) Lo

Choi (Gene) Ho

Dennis C Pierce

Peter Crundwell

John Visitacion

Ian Weatherley

Delmar Reede Carver Dustin

A junction box for a solar panel having a housing, a lid, a first connector and a second connector. The housing comprises sidewalls and a top wall defining an interior space. The first coupling having a first contact element and the second coupling having a second contact element. The contact elements penetrate at least one of the sidewalls, so that the contact elements provide an electrical contact from external contact elements to internal contact elements, such as solder tails. Internal contact elements are arranged a, least partially in the interior space. The top wall having an opening extending only partially in the top wall. The opening is located such in the top wall that access to the solder tails in a substantially perpendicular direction to the surface of a solar panel for connecting the solder tail to the solar panel is provided.

Junction box for a photovoltaic solar panel

A junction box for a solar panel comprises a housing, a lid, a first connector and a second connector. The housing comprises sidewalls and a top wall defining an interior space. The first coupling comprises a first contact element and the second coupling comprises a second contact element. Said contact elements penetrate at least one of the sidewalls, so that the contact elements provide an electrical contact from external contact elements to internal contact elements, such as solder tails. Internal contact elements are arranged at least partially in said interior space. The top wall comprises an opening extending only partially in said top wall. Said opening is located such in the top wall that access to said solder tails in a substantially perpendicular direction to the surface of a solar panel for connecting the solder tail to the solar panel is provided.

The present invention generally relates to an edge deletion module positioned within an automated solar cell fabrication line. The edge deletion module may include a grinding wheel device for removing material from edge regions of a solar cell device and cleaning the edge regions of the solar cell device after removing the material. The edge deletion module may also include an abrasive element, a portion of which is ground as it is periodically, laterally advanced toward the grinding wheel device. A controller is provided for controlling the operation and function of various facets of the module.

Solar panel edge deletion module

The present invention generally relates to a system that can be used to form a photovoltaic device, or solar cell, using processing modules that are adapted to perform one or more steps in the solar cell formation process. The automated solar cell fab is generally an arrangement of automated processing modules and automation equipment that is used to form solar cell devices. The automated solar fab will thus generally comprise a substrate receiving module that is adapted to receive a substrate, one or more absorbing layer deposition cluster tools having at least one processing chamber that is adapted to deposit a silicon-containing layer on a surface of the substrate, one or more back contact deposition chambers, one or more material removal chambers, a solar cell encapsulation device, an autoclave module, an automated junction box attaching module, and one or more quality assurance modules that are adapted to test and qualify the completely formed solar cell device.

Automated integrated solar cell production line composed of a plurality of automated modules and tools including an autoclave for curing solar devices that have been laminated

The present invention generally relates to a module and process for automatically attaching a junction box to a composite solar cell structure during the fabrication of a completed solar cell device. The electrical connection module further provides a thermode assembly including heating elements for forming a soldered connection between the junction box and the composite solar cell structure and a temperature sensing device in thermal communication with the heating elements for detecting a temperature profile during the connection process. The heating elements and temperature sensing device are linked to a controller configured to monitor and compare the energy input into the heating elements with the temperature near the tip of the heating elements throughout the connection process. The controller is further configured to compare the actual energy versus temperature profile to an expected profile throughout the connection process and verify whether a quality bond is achieved.

Solder bonding method and apparatus

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a solar simulator module of a solar cell production line. In one embodiment the solar simulator receives a solar cell module in a horizontal position and reorients the module into a vertical position. A light source is oriented to emit a flash of light in a substantially horizontal orientation toward the vertically oriented solar cell module. In one embodiment, an automated labeling device affixes a label including the electrical characteristics measured onto a back surface of the solar cell module. In one embodiment, a plurality of solar cell modules are received and tested simultaneously.

Photovoltaic cell solar simulator

Embodiments of the present invention provide a module and process for forming electrical connections on a solar cell substrate in a solar cell production line. The module generally provides a substrate handling system, a substrate positioning system, a cross-buss attachment assembly, and a side-buss attachment assembly. The module may provide adaptations for automatically adjusting the module to receive and process various sizes of solar cell substrates.

Apparatus for forming an electrical connection on a solar cell

The present invention generally relates to an automated solar cell electrical connection device that is positioned within an automated solar cell fabrication system. The automated solar cell electrical connection device includes a module and process for automatically attaching a junction box to a composite solar cell structure during the fabrication of a completed solar cell device. The automated solar cell electrical connection module may include a composite solar cell structure conveyor for positioning the composite solar cell structure, an adhesive dispense module for applying adhesive to the junction box, a flux dispenser for applying flux to electrical connection tabs in the junction box, a vision system for locating features on the composite solar cell structure, a robot for positioning the junction box onto the composite solar cell structure, a heating element to make electrical connections between the junction box and the solar cell device, a potting material dispensing assembly for dispensing potting material into the junction box, and a system controller for controlling the functions of the module.

Automated solar cell electrical connection apparatus

A significant improvement in the alignment of a particle-beam-generated pattern relative to a pre-existing pattern present on a substrate has been accomplished using optical measurement to register the particle beam to the pre-existing pattern. Use of a position fiducial which can be accurately measured by both an optical microscope and a particle beam axis is used to align a pre-existing pattern with a particle-beam-generated pattern during writing of the particle-beam-generated pattern. Registration of the pre-existing pattern to the fiducial and registration of the particle beam axis to the fiducial periodically during production of the particle-beam-generated pattern continually provides an improvement in the overall alignment of the pattern being created to the pre-existing pattern on the substrate. The improved method of alignment can be used to correct for drift, or thermal expansion, or gravitational sag, by way of example.

Method of aligning a particle-beam-generated pattern to a pattern on a pre-patterned substrate

Improved systems, apparatus, and methods for detecting positions of moving stages and a reference position of a beam column are provided. For some embodiments, independent discrete interferometers may be utilized for distance measurements in each axis, rather than a cumbersome monolithic multi-axis interferometer utilized in conventional systems.

Multi-axis interferometer system using independent, single axis interferometers

We have developed a method of registration of a particle beam to internal alignment targets present within photoresist areas which are to be imaged. The method does not affect the photoresist, so the quality of pattern produced in the resist after imaging is not affected. The method used for registration of the particle beam to internal alignment targets also can be used to align a pattern in real time, while the pattern is being created, with the internal alignment targets. The real time alignment during creation of a pattern image in the photoresist can be used to correct for drift, or thermal expansion, or gravitational sag, by way of example.

Method of registering a blank substrate to a pattern generating particle beam apparatus and of correcting alignment during pattern generation

The PSF for a metrology array for high resolution particle beam profile measurement has been improved by improving five major elements of the metrology array. While improvement in each of the five elements provides and improved PSF, a combination of all five of the elements provides an unexpected synergistic effect. The individual elements include the use of a plurality of slots as apertures; use of a high-Z material in forming the array; employing sidewalls on the slotted opening apertures where the sidewall forms an angle with a horizontal surface at the base of the array which is at least 75&#xb0;; employing a knife edge where the upper corner radius ranges from about 1 nm to about 5 nm; and providing a surface finish at the upper corner of each knife edge which is less than 5 nm RMS.

Method and apparatus which enable high resolution particle beam profile measurement

An electron beam lithography system has an electron gun including at least one laser that is operable in a first mode to generate electrons for lithography. The electron beam lithography system is operable in a second mode to regenerate the photocathode of the electron gun by application of the laser. The photocathode includes a layer of cesium telluride.

Electron beam lithography system having improved electron gun

An electron beam lithography system includes a laser for generating a laser beam, and a beam splitter for splitting the laser beam into a plurality of light beams. The intensity of the light beams is individually modulated. The light beams are of sufficient energy such that, when they impinge on a photocathode, electrons are emitted. Modulation of the light beams controls modulation of the resulting electron beams. The electron beams are provided to an electron column for focusing and scanning control. Finally, the electron beams are used to write a scanning surface, for example, using an interlaced writing strategy.

Multiple electron beam lithography system with multiple beam modulated laser illumination

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Castro Valley, CA, United States of America

Jeffrey S Sullivan