Oerlikon Trading Ag, Trubbach

Tel Solar Ag

Oerlikon Solar Ag, Trubbach

Oliver Kluth

Jiri Kalas

Andreas Huegli

Paolo Losio

Jiri Springer

Michael Mohr

Andreas Hugli

Adolf Ungar

Reto Koepfli

Bernd Schwarzenegger

The present invention provides a method for removing metal and/or metal oxide contamination from the interior of a vacuum coating reactor, the method comprising the steps of: a) performing an idle coating step by depositing a coating layer, wherein the coating layer comprises silicon; b) at least partly removing the deposited coating layer. The method according to the invention is particularly suitable for cleaning reactors in the context of solar cell manufacturing. The method is time saving and cost saving.

Method of removing contamination from a reactor

Provided is a method and test system for identifying a defective region of a photovoltaic cell from among a plurality of photovoltaic cells collectively forming a thin film solar module. A probe includes a plurality of test fingers arranged to be substantially simultaneously placed adjacent to an electric contact provided to different regions of one or more of the plurality of photovoltaic cells, and each of the test fingers is to receive an electrical output from the different regions of the one or more photovoltaic cells. A light source emits light to be converted by the photovoltaic cells into the electrical output during testing. A measurement circuit measures a property of the electrical output received from the different regions of the photovoltaic cells and transmits a measured value signal indicative of the property measured by the measurement circuit. And a control unit receives the measured value signal and generates a visible display indicating that at least one of the different regions of the solar module is a defective region based at least in part on the measured value signal, and also indicates a location of the defective region on the solar module.

Test equipment for automated quality control of thin film solar modules

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Walenstadt, Switzerland

Oliver Kluth