engineering the solar age - Suppliers for Photovoltaics

Lasers for micro material processing

The TRUMPF Group is one of the world’s leading companies in laser and production engineering. For micro processing solar cells, TRUMPF offers application-oriented lasers from the TruMicro series with an average performance of between 5 W and more than 750 W and with pulse durations from the pico to the nanosecond range. The short and ultra-short pulsed lasers enable micromachining with a perfect combination of quality, productivity and profitability. Whether for structuring, ablation, cutting or drilling, the laser has become indispensable in micro production technology. TRUMPF provides innovative solid-state lasers precisely tailored to these processing tasks. High quality and worldwide renowned customer care play a fundamental role for TRUMPF.

For edge deletion, TRUMPF offers a fiber-guided laser, the TruMicro 7050. The fiber homogenizes the laser power density on the workpiece, providing a large processing window. Furthermore, a narrow fiber diameter enables a larger working distance while the spot cross-section remains the same. The processing area is enlarged and contamination of the processing head is minimized. The TruMicro 7050 features a choice of square or round beam profiles. The series of square pulses enables a removal rate increase of over 50% in relation to the round fiber. Theoverlap can be reduced with process safety. With laser power of over 750 W, the TruMicro 7050 achieves very high stripping rates, thereby enabling cycle times in production of less than 30 seconds for typical module sizes.

For structuring CI(G)S thin-film solar cells, TRUMPF offers the ultra-short pulsed lasers of the TruMicro series 5000. The innovative picosecond lasers produce no melt during material processing. For instance, they enable high-speed, crack-free removal of the molybdenum in CI(G)S modules. There is also high potential in “cold” processing the photoactive layer with ultra-short laser pulses. With P1 patterning, the laser can cut the track width by almost half in relation to nanosecond lasers; P2 and P3 patterning even reduce it by a factor of six. This surface gain leads directly to increased efficiency of the solar cell, thereby optimizing costs considerably. With quality and productivity benefits like these, the laser is leaving mechanical methods far behind.