Manufacturing Equipment for the Photovoltaic Industry

Solneva SA, founded in 2009 by PV industry veteran Stefan Schneeberger, is an ambitious company that is dedicated to development and manufacture of laser scribing tools for the thin film PV industry. Located in the picturesque town of Aarberg in the outskirts of Switzerland’s “Watch Valley - The Land of Precision”, it finds itself immersed in what is worldwide known and highly respected as Switzerland’s industrial staple – precision engineering and engineering ingenuity.

Solneva’s goal is to build the best laser scribing tool possible for the thin film industry by following simple guidelines: (i) minimize cost of ownership, and (ii) provide the means to improve the performance of the solar panel that is processed with it.



FIBER BASED LASERS. Solneva’s LST-5™ series laser scribers offer many advantages. The tools perform P1, P2, and P3 scribing using fiber lasers with IR and green wavelengths. By selecting a fiber laser, it was possible to simplify the beam optics significantly - a complicated auto-focus system is no longer necessary. Best of all and a consequence of this concept is that once the machine is properly adjusted and tuned in the factory in Switzerland, no further adjustments are necessary later at the customer’s site. Once the machine is in production, the fiber lasers are easy to adjust and machine down time is minimized.

UNIQUE GLASS HANDLING. The glass is fixed and held with an “inverted” air table, which suspends the glass touch less in mid-air with the active layers pointing up. The lasers shoot from below through the glass to scribe the lines. A vacuum system above the glass removes the debris efficiently where the lines are scribed. Since the glass is fixed, the machine footprint is quite small. Simplified glass handling results in minimal glass breakage. The machine can be configured for inline as well as offline work flow.

LARGE FORMAT MACHINE BASE. In order to maximize the mechanical stability, an industry proven mineral cast machine bed has been selected. Thermal expansions and vibrations due to the moving x-y table are negligible leading to superior positioning accuracy of ± 10 µm and a very small dead zone of ≤ 200 µm in a 24/7 manufacturing environment.

COST OF OWNERSHIP (CoO). The concept of cost of ownership (CoO) is extensively used in the semiconductor industry but is not as widely accepted in the solar industry. Oftentimes a machine gains attraction just by being “inexpensive” while supposedly performing the same tasks as more sophisticated tools. Semiconductor chip makers found out some thirty years ago that even if a tool is inexpensive, it can be quite costly to operate (low yield, high down time, subpar performance, high cost of consumables, etc.). Solneva understands the CoO concept well and has used it as a guideline to design the LST-5 series tools. A comprehensive CoO model following the definition in the SEMI E10 standard is available for analysis and discussions.

  

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 Product  Overview
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Solneva Products




3 models are available for a maximum glass size of gen 5 (1,300 mm x 1,100 mm):

  • LST-512 with 2 IR and 2 green fiber lasers for P1, P2 and P3 scribing designed for engineering and process development (can be upgraded later for mass production);
     
  • LST-51 with 4 IR fiber laser beams for P1 scribing for mass production;
     
  • LST-52 with 4 green fiber laser beams for P2 and P3 scribing for mass production.

  
   

Advantage short list:

  • Ridgid mineral cast machine bed leads to exceptional temperature and vibrational stability resulting in high accuracy and repeatability, which allows to reduce the dead zone to a value of ≤ 200 µm;
     
  • Fiber lasers with IR and green wavelength allow the simplification of the optical system with no need for heavy auto focus lens systems. Low inertia fiber laser optics move for line scribing;
     
  • Fiber lasers with multiple outlets allow high speed scanning, which reduces takt time and maximizes machine throughput;
     
  • The fiber laser optics minimizes adjustment and alignment time at the customer’s facility;
     
  • The glass being fixed during scribing results in a small foot print;
     
  • The touch less glass support features an inverted air table. The laser scribes through the glass from below and debris removed from above;
     
  • The enclosure allows maintenance with the lasers switched on without affecting the rest of the facility;
     
  • Machine ships aligned and tuned, which minimizes set-up time.

 
 
Net results:

  • Up to 2.5% gain on active area with reduced dead zone of ≤ 200 µm;
     
  • Up to 15% improved machine uptime – reduced set up time + minimal optical alignment if at all;
     
  • Up to 10% reduced TCoO/Watt due to superior productivity and lowest fixed cost.

 

Specifications


 

Where is Solneva Located?

Solneva is located about 1.5 hours by car northeast of Zuerich, close to the town of Biel where the well known watches of Rolex, Omega, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Movado and others are manufactured.

  
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Please also visit Solneva's website at: www.solneva.com.