Bekaert introduces one-piece rotatable AZO target at Intersolar North America 20

Bekaert Advanced Coating is announcing its participation to Intersolar North America 2009 exhibition in San Francisco, California, USA, taking place from July 14 to 16. At booth 7413 on level 3, Bekaert shows its one-piece AZO (Zinc Oxide doped with Aluminum Oxide) rotatable target which is one of the most important Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) layer materials, used in thin film photovoltaic (PV) cells.

Thin-film solar cells consist of an absorbing semiconductor and two thin film electrodes (a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer and a back reflector metal contact), which can be deposited by PVD sputtering. In order to keep track with the ever-growing requirements like higher volume production with better cell performance while reducing the cost of ownership, the trend from planar sputter technology towards rotatable magnetron technology is accelerating. Since the nineties, Bekaert successfully introduced its rotating cylindrical magnetron technology in large area glass coating for architectural and automotive applications and consequently has a lot of experience to offer to the PV industry: customers can benefit from Bekaert’s complete sputter modules, consisting of rotatable magnetrons and cylindrical targets, power supplies, gas distribution and control systems. These can successfully be introduced in new coater designs or as a retrofit solution to replace existing planar cathodes.

The commitment of Bekaert in delivering a significant contribution towards making better and cheaper solar cells has lead to the development of the new AZO rotatable target, which will create high value for photovoltaic customers as it ensures high quality TCO layers, higher deposition rates and a high stability over the life time of the solar cells.

"We are delighted to participate at Intersolar North America," says Koen Staelens, Product Market Manager Sputter Products at Bekaert. "This three-day exposure at the world’s most important solar energy exposition and conference will offer Bekaert an excellent opportunity to present its rotatable sputter solutions for the PV industry, consisting of hardware and rotatable targets."