XsunX, Intevac Partner On CIGS Manufacturing Technology
Solar Industry
XsunX Inc. a developer of thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) solar celltechnologies and manufacturing processes, and Intevac Inc., a providerof magnetic media deposition equipment to the hard disk drive industry,have signeda joint business agreement to collaborate in the development oftechniques and equipment for the production of commercially marketableprocesses and equipment for the manufacture of copper indium galliumselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells.
XsunX and Intevac plan to develop a new breed of TFPV manufacturing techniques to produce thin-film solar cells.
Thetwo companies are adapting high-rate production tools from the diskdrive industry with process knowledge from the CIGS and thin-filmindustry. This approach focuses on maintaining a relatively smalldeposition area – initially about five square inches, similar in sizeto silicon solar wafers – which the companies believe reduces asignificant challenge that has faced the CIGS industry in the past:maintaining cell performance while scaling commercial production.
