Applied Materials, Inc.

First Solar, Inc.

Multi-Holding Ag

Ict Integrated Circuit Testing Gesellschaft Fur Halbleiterpruftechnik Mbh

Velo3d, Inc.

Yacov Elgar

Jeffrey S Sullivan

David Tanner

Stephen P Murphy

Scott Edmonson

John M White

Soo Young Choi

Benyamin Buller

Danny Cam Toan Lu

Dhruv Gajaria

Imran Khan

Eric Andrew Englhardt

Thomas B Brezoczky

Jürgen Frosien

Gregory A Ritz

Weston Gerwin

Tae Kyung Won

Juergen Frosien

Salvador P Umotoy

Robert Z Bachrach

Vinay K Shah

Erel Milshtein

Gopalakrishna B Prabhu

Yong Liu

Shuran Sheng

Tasso Lappas

Zhiyong Li

Alan Rick Lappen

Evgeni Levin

Asaf Schlezinger

Robert Michael Martinson

Harry S Whitesell

Tai T Ngo

James Craig Hunter

Asher Pearl

Richard Joseph Romano

Dustin Delmar Reede Carver

Brian Wade Mills

Ian McKay Pratt

Scott Jacoby

Anthony Maher

Ian Worthington Weatherley

Robert D Street

Charles Gay

William A Eckes

Penchala N Kankanala

Liwei Li

Tzay-Fa Su

Fang Mei

Yong-Kee Chae

Parris Hawkins

Nicholas G J De Vries

Andrei Korobkov

Michel Ranjit Frei

Tzay-Fa (Jeff) Su

Michael Marriott

Teresa Trowbridge

Nadav Haas

Brice Walker

Nagesha Jansale Venkatesha

Joe Tralongo

James Frechman

Rushford Ogden

Patrick D Duane

John Visitacion

Matthew J B Saunders

Srujal (Steve) Patel

Wing Hoo (Hendrick) Lo

Choi (Gene) Ho

Dennis C Pierce

Ho Gene Choi

Peter Crundwell

Thomas Blasius Brezoczky

Ian Weatherley

Delmar Reede Carver Dustin

Embodiments of substrate supports for aligning a substrate are provided herein. In some embodiments, a substrate support for aligning a substrate include: a base plate; a rotary assembly including a stator coupled to the base plate and a rotor rotatably coupled to the stator via a bearing disposed therebetween; a bellows assembly fixed to the rotor; and a lever having a first end coupled to the rotor and a second end configured to be coupled to an actuator; and a chuck assembly disposed atop the base plate and fixedly coupled to the bellows assembly, wherein the chuck assembly is rotationally and axially movable along a central axis with respect to the base plate, and wherein rotation of the lever about the central axis rotates the bellows assembly and the chuck assembly with respect to the base plate to align the substrate with respect to the base plate.

Rotary substrate support for aligning a substrate

The present disclosure provides three-dimensional (3D) printing systems, apparatuses, software, and methods for the production of at least one requested 3D object. The 3D printer includes a material conveyance system, filtering system, and unpacking station. The material conveyance system may transport pre-transformed material against gravity. The 3D printing described herein comprises facilitating non-interrupted material dispensing through a component of the 3D printer, such as a layer dispenser.

Material manipulation in three-dimensional printing

A system and method for applying an electrical bias to a photovoltaic device in a temperature control chamber, in which the temperature of the photovoltaic device is controlled according to a temperature profile. The temperature profile may include at least one hot phase and at least one cool phase.

System and method for photovoltaic device temperature control while conditioning a photovoltaic device

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

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

The invention provides a charged particle beam device for irradiating a specimen, comprising a particle source for providing a beam of charged particles, an optical device for directing the beam of charged particles onto the specimen and an ozone unit for reducing the charging and/or contamination of the specimen. The ozone unit comprises a supply of ozone and a specimen nozzle unit for directing an ozone gas flow to the specimen. Further, the invention provides a charged particle beam device for irradiating a specimen comprising a particle source for providing a beam of charged particles, an optical device for directing the beam of charged particles onto the specimen, a detector and a gas unit for reducing the charging and/or contamination of the detector. The gas unit comprises a supply of gas and a detector nozzle unit for directing a gas flow to the detector. Further, the present invention provides methods for operating charged particle beam devices according to the present invention.

Charged particle beam device

Embodiments of the invention generally provide a substrate support assembly. In one embodiment, a substrate support assembly includes a substrate support plate, a thermal regulating plate coupled in a spaced-apart relation to the substrate support plate and a main actuator coupled in a spaced-apart relation to the thermal regulating plate. The main actuator is adapted to move the substrate support plate laterally. The substrate support assembly is configured to limit the thermal influence of the main actuator on a substrate positioned on the substrate support plate.

Substrate support assembly with thermal isolating plate

The present invention provides, according to a first aspect, a method for automatically evaluating the performance of a charged particle device. The method uses a signal coming from a gold-on-carbon reference target. From this signal the spot size of the particle beam is determined. The method according to the present invention has the advantage that it does not depend on operator judgment. Therefore, the method leads to improved consistency, accuracy and reliability of the beam characterization, and, accordingly, to a better characterization of the quality of the system's performance.

Beam evaluation

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Yacov Elgar