4
High‑Throughput In‑Line PV
Manufacturing Diagnostic System--Luna
Innovations Incorporated,
Dr. Vladimir Kochergin,
Principal Investigator, submissions@lunainnovations.com
Mr. Michael Pruzan, Business Official, pruzanm@lunainnovations.com
DOE Grant No. DE‑FG02‑07ER84776
Amount:
$749,993
Photovoltaic (PV)
technology is predicted to have a very substantial impact on the nation’s
wealth and economy in the 21st century. For very-large-scale PV cells, the high
standards for production demand a reduction in labor costs and in-line
automated methods to monitor and diagnose the production process. This project will develop a high-throughput,
in-line, automated diagnostic system that will provide the needed speed and
functionality to permit fast, accurate, and automated mapping of the
uniformity, composition, and stress of the coating on a PV cell. In Phase I, a hyperspectral
imaging setup was designed, assembled, and tested. Necessary software and data processing
algorithms were selected and implemented.
The feasibility of the approach was demonstrated by testing the
assembled system with an organic solar cell.
Phase II will involve the development of a mid-IR spectropolarimetric
imaging system, capable of fast and accurate characterization of solar cells
with structured surfaces. By the end of
Phase II, a new high-throughput, in-line PV manufacturing diagnostic system
will be completed.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by
the awardee: The technology
should yield a number of products, ranging from completely automated systems
for in-line diagnostics on large PV manufacturing lines to relatively simple
and inexpensive tabletop systems for thin film R&D. The installation of such systems should lead
to significant yield improvement and cost reduction of solar cells, resulting
in reduced cost for solar energy with an attendant reduction in the use of
fossil fuels.