SOPRALAB’s PT-5 Metrology Station for photovoltaic thin film characterization

Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) is used to detect the change of the polarization state of light after reflection from a plane surface. Parameters accessible from SE include: thickness (from nm to several µm’s), optical properties (refractive indices, extinction coefficient, band gap, absorption and transmission) and material properties (roughness, composition, crystallinity). Single layer and multilayer structures on various substrates (glass, metal, silicon, and plastic foil) can be measured and analyzed using a very small probe area. The PT-5 is a Pilot line and Production Control system orientated towards mapping the deposition uniformity over large surfaces areas. The solution provides large process tool suppliers and end users the ability to improve the ramp up of the PV fabrication steps.

Main Applications: Silicon thin films (a-Si, PolySi, µSi), TCO, OPV, CIGS, CdTe, DSSC, NanoPV. Platform: SOPRALAB has more than 15 years experience in large scale mapping scanners, from Gen1 (270 *360 mm) up to Gen 8 (2200 * 2600 mm) acquired in the Flat Panel Industry (TFT, OLED, Plasma). Other metrology tools can be mounted on the same SE 5 PV and driven by the same software (e.g. Spectroscopic Reflectometer, 4PP,Lifetime & Eddy Current Scanners, Contact Angle, Infra Red Ellipsometer), thereby allowing one platform to provide a complete characterization of each material under investigation. Loading, positioning and measuring large area glass substrates for R&D or production are our specialty. Rapid acquisition combined with automatic aligners means the metrology station is compatible for integration with large panel robotic handling and factory automation using WinSE software for SECS GEM protocols.