Latest technology standard for high-speed cell & wafer handling

Transcription

1 Carsten Busch, Segment Manager, Solar PV, 5th SMET Advanced PV Technology Conference, Session 1: Wafer & cell manufacturing Latest technology standard for high-speed cell & wafer handling ABB Group May 24, 2009 Slide 1

2 Outline Introduction Solar industry requirement in wafer/cell manufacturing High speed line automation for solar cell manufacturing Delta robot manipulator for cell handling Gripper technology Vision technology 6-axis robots for cell handling Crystal silicon solar module manufacturing Trends Summary

3 Facts about ABB Power Products Power Systems Automation Products Process Automation Robotics $$9.8 billion 32,000 employees $5.8 billion 14,000 employees $8.6 billion 33,000 employees $6.4 billion 26,000 employees $1.4 billion 5,000 employees Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland More than 110,000 employees in about 100 countries Orders in 2007: $34.3 billion Revenues in 2007: $29.2 billion Listed on Stockholm, Swiss & New York exchanges; traded on virt-x A leading power and automation technology company with strong market positions in core businesses We help our customers To increase industrial productivity To use electrical power efficiently To lower environmental impact in a sustainable way

4 Robotics Division Key facts Leading supplier of industrial robots Sales & Service operations in over 45 countries & over 100 locations Over 160,000 robots installed worldwide Key deliverables Robots, related equipment and software Standardized manufacturing cells Product and systems service Markets served Automotive and their Tier 1 suppliers General industries including foundry, metal fabrication, plastics, electronics, consumer industries, food & beverage, machine tools, solar, pharmaceuticals & chemicals, wood

5 Solar industry requirement Reduced cost per watt Increased efficiency with advanced cell technology New materials Precision alignment New integration tactics Process stabilization/process simplification Increased uptime Reduced manufacturing cost Material utilization/thinner wafers External use of standard equipment Advanced automation Fast handling systems

6 Solar cell production line scheme Process steps cells manufactured on Si-wafers Wafer inspection Texturing Diffusion Printing Antireflection coating Etching Metalliation Laser edge isolation Cell testing and sorting How to handle the cells smooth and safe in high speed without breakage within the complete process scheme?

7 Customer requirements in wafer/cell handling Handling application Loading/unloading of production process equipment Loading/unloading of stack boxes/carriers Handling into various quality test systems Sorting in different quality categories Customer requirement Very short cycle times Minimal breakage rates Integrated into inline quality assurance High flexibility

8 Crystalline Solar Cell manufacturing Line ABB FlexPicker IRB 360 for solar cell handling Source: Q-cells/ Jonas&Redmann

9 State-of-the-art solution for high speed cell handling ABB IRB 360 FlexPicker robot Delta robot based on parallel arm Principe Dedicated robot for high speed pick&place Acceleration up to 15g (15m/s²) Speed up to 10 m/s Fastest cycle time without compromising path following, accuracy, or mechanical reliability High tracking performance More than 3000 cells/h Ø 1130 mm Easy integration of of vision vision technology Classification class 5 gem DIN EN ISO

10 ABB FlexPicker in the solar cell manufacturing Easy integration and highest reliability Reliability Standard industrial robot 2nd generation >10 years of field experience Wafer/solar cell handling applications: > 400 unit installed All pick & place handling applications: > 2500 unit installed Minimum maintenance need /MTTR 15 min MTBF h Easy integration Space-saving ceiling mounted system Access to process equipment

11 Wafer grippers Operating principles and types Suction nozzles / conventional vacuum Large spectrum of nozzle materials Reduced vacuum Bernoulli (most frequently used) Controlled ramp-up of air flow during lifting phase Controlled ramp-down of air flow when putting down Often requires provisions to prevent transverse slipping Full-area, full contact (Schmalz) Gripping area contacts wafer over entire area Materials: PEEK, POM (do not accumulate static charge) Holds wafer fragments even surface partly open

12 PickMaster TM vision & conveyor tracking Example: IRB 360 working envelope Image Position Source Inspection unit/ outsourcing station PickMaster TM vision system for position detection and exact positioning Camera detection: position and angle of each cell Conveyor tracking Built in process tools 2D Part Location from stationary cameras Wafer Inspection edge breakage Benefits: Proven solution, >1500 robots controlled by PickMaster Simplifies integration of robots, conveyors and vision tools High flexibility

13 Solar cell manufacturing line with ABB FlexPicker Benefits High-speed handling Minimal breakage rate for wafer and cells Flexible for different cell types and formats Suited for thin wafers Automated solution fully integrated into production process Key component for comprehensive material logistic concept Covering all areas of solar cell processing: from incoming wafer inspection to the final solar cell classification Shortest cycle times

14 6-axsis robots for cell handling 6 axis robots for cell handling application Handling of stack of cells e.g. loading/unloading of wet bench Loading-/unloading of cell printer Cell loader in stringer Benefits High flexibility e.g. re-orientation of the cell into various angles Easy to integrate into the machinery concept

15 Crystal Silicon Solar Module Manufacturing Steps Soldering of Solar Cells to Strings Soldering of strings serial and parallel connection Laminating (heating / pressure) Module framing Connection box assembly Module testing & Packaging 1 Material handling of glass 5 Edge trimming 2 Handling of cells (into stringer machinery) 6 Tape and framing 3 Lay up station (handling of strings) 7 Junction box assembly 4 Stinger interconnection / bussing 8 Module sorting & palletizing

16 Trends Higher production throughput and yield demanding state of the art equipment Further quality improvement means consequent use of flexible automation combined with vision Larger wet bench machinery, loading/unloading of more tracks (up to 10 tracks and more) New materials request new solution of high efficient production New production concepts including robotized automation Various task required to fulfilled by robots

17 State of the art robot technology for high-speed cell & wafer handling Increased production output and throughput Enables high efficient mass production Improved product quality within in the complete production, Reduced scrape rate & improved yield Fits into versatile manufacturing line concepts Improved uptime by proven technology High flexibility for future requirements Reducing overall production cost / cost of ownership Robot automation helps to reduced cost per watt

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