Objective
Objectives and problems to be solved: With the development of high throughput photovoltaic production lines, strong efforts are currently undertaken to reach the White Paper target of 3GWp total installed PV-capacity in 2010. However, these high throughput production lines have to be controlled in an efficient way to insure high quality end products, to increase up-times and to reduce material loss due to process deviations. In this project a total quality management for the PV-industry is set up by the development of fast inline characterisation prototypes and analysis tools for quality control from the starting material up to the module, incl. all important mechanical and electrical issues. The main objectives of the project are the following's. Identification of fast characterisation techniques for Si material, cell and module quality control. Development of characterisation prototypes and analysis tools for the PV-industry. Demonstration of fast inline characterisation in PV pilot production lines. Description of the work: The proposed work comprises the following phases: In phase I experimental work on characterisation methods for each material/cell parameter of interest is carried out, followed by an evaluation phase for the selection of those characterisation methods with a potential of sac/wafer. The following parameters are under investigation: for feedstock material the lifetime and resistively, a prerequisite for ingot quality improvement; for wafers prior to cell processing the lifetime, resistively, thickness, roughness and mechanical stability; for wafers during cell processing the lifetime, organic impurities and emitter sheet resistance; for cells the IV-parameters; and finally for modules the mechanical and electrical qualities. In phase II fast industrial prototypes will be designed and constructed by equipment manufacturers. Additional experimental work focuses on those characterisation methods, which have theoretically the wafer/wafer potential but are practically not enough developed. For techniques not fulfilling the wafer/wafer target a handling interface for wafer exchange between production and characterisation prototypes is developed. In parallel to the construction of the characterisation prototypes a data collection and analysis methodology is established. In phase III the industrial characterisation prototypes and the analysis methodology is integrated in pilot production lines for throughput and quality tests. Additionally, sending samples from the manufacturers to those partners owing the experimental prototypes carries out throughput tests with the experimental prototypes. Finally, a cost evaluation for the technology integration of the characterisation methods into the pilot production lines is performed to demonstrate the economic benefit of the total quality management approach. Expected Results and Exploitation Plans: From the project the development of at least two fast inline characterisation prototypes is expected, followed by their implementation into one PV pilot production line resulting in increased output quality, reproducibility and productivity. In addition improved cell classification and string testing target a 5% relative increase in module efficiency. Furthermore also chances to exploit the obtained knowledge for other applications are given, e.g. total quality control within a future thin film cell technology, offering increased and diversified business opportunities especially for equipment manufacturers.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry metalloids
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
78457 KONSTANZ
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.