Apart from the release of the new Clustertool system, the firm has revealed that by introducing a novel rear passivation layer, a significant increase in efficiency of silicon solar cells up to 20.1% can be achieved

Singulus is introducing some new photovoltaic tools including a Clustertool system for the development of CIS/CIGS solar modules for 300 x 300 mm2 substrates.

The goal is to considerably reduce the manufacturing costs for thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules and to achieve highest module efficiencies. The Clustertool enables the integration of different process steps in a compact, modular machine system. Through a central interface, the substrates are transported to the most important manufacturing steps such as coating, selenisation, wet-chemical or thermal processes.

Singulus will commission the first system in the summer of 2012.

There is demand in many R & D facilities for cost-efficient development tools to further advance CIS/CIGS technology, to test new process variations and to transfer the results to production scale as quickly as possible.

Within the scope of a sponsorship program of the "Photovoltaics Innovation Alliance", the “CIS Clustertool" project commenced its research efforts for the development of new manufacturing processes for copper-indium-selenide-based thin-film semiconductors (CIS) in July 2011. The project was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).