SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES has delivered far more than 8,500 vacuum sputtering machines since its foundation in 1995. The machines range from standard sputtering systems to ultra-high vacuum sputtering systems applying extremely thin layers of around 0.2 nm for the semiconductor industry as well as photovoltaic, data storage, decorative coatings and other applications. In addition, vacuum thin-film technology is used in modern sensory technology for
medical uses and in vehicle technology as well as for piezoelectric materials in mobile phone technology. Numerous SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES vacuum sputtering systems are in operation in the solar industry, where SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES provides the GENERIS PVD as a high throughput inline sputtering system platform with horizontal substrate transport. The GENERIS PVD is engineered for the specific requirements of the production of high performance HJT solar cells. The GENERIS PVD ideally meets the key requirements of the heterojunction cell technology with respect to sophisticated transparent conductive oxide layers (TCO) such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) and AZO (Aluminum doped Zinc Oxide). The solar cells are automatically transported through the process chambers of the GENERIS PVD, following the inline principle and applying coatings on both sides. The sputtering system safeguards a high level of layer thickness uniformity with high layer reproducibility, high productivity and at the same time very low operating expenses (OPEX).
Typical Performance Characteristics
→ Sputtering material: ITO, AZO and metallic layers like Mo, Al, Cu, Ag, NiV etc.
→ Typical applications include anti-reflection layers, barrier layers, precursors and metallic layers
→ Parallel processing of several substrates
→ Carrier loading area: 1,400 mm x 1,600 / 2,000 mm
→ Typical tact time: 40 – 75 s per carrier
→ Parallel processing of substrates (e.g. display, glass, Si wafers) via carrier tray
→ High-speed automatization for carrier tray loading and unloading (single or double side)
→ Top down and bottom-up sputtering configurable – dual side sputtering without vacuum breakage
→ Low cost of ownership and high uptime
→ Sputter sequence configurable
→ Rotatable cylindrical magnetrons
→ Highest utilization of target material
→ Carrier return system (CRS) underneath of machine
→ Vacuum base pressure: ‹ 1 x 10-6 mbar, typical process pressure: 2 – 5 x10-3 mbar