SolarIndustryMag.com: GT Advanced Technologies Upgrades DSS Furnaces

GT Advanced Technologies Upgrades DSS Furnaces

in News Departments > Products & Technology

by SI Staff on Tuesday 25 September 2012

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GT Advanced Technologies has added two upgrades to its directional solidification system furnace for creating silicon ingots in solar cell production. According to the company, the improvements will allow users to achieve lower-cost production while improving the quality of material produced in their furnaces.

One upgrade targets improving the material quality produced in GT's DSS furnaces with a MultiPlus field upgrade that delivers higher-efficiency multicrystalline material. The second upgrade targets productivity improvements by allowing DSS customers to increase the capacity of their current Gen5 DSS 450 and 650 furnaces to Gen6 levels of production, thereby lowering overall wafer costs.

Additionally, the higher capacity system will also provide a path to Gen6 MonoCast production, all in the same furnace. All upgrades will be compatible with the company's Acuity DSS performance monitoring software, which optimizes DSS productivity with remote monitoring and run-to-run performance analysis.

GT adds that it is developing its HiCz technology to deliver the next generation of material quality and cost reduction as the industry transitions to even higher levels of efficiency from N-type material over the next several years.

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