Sono-Tek Corp., a provider of ultrasonic coating systems for alternative energy product manufacturing, has released a new ultrasonic coating system designed for depositing transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layers in the manufacture of organic solar cells. The ExactaCoat Inert is a fully inert glovebox integrated into Sono-Tek's programmable XYZ ultrasonic coating system.
Organic photovoltaic devices offer a low-cost solution to solar cell manufacturing, but they introduce tight environmental constraints for processing TCO layers, because they suffer from degradation at ambient conditions without protective coatings, the company explains. Sono-Tek says it has developed the ExactaCoat Inert system to enable full control of coating deposition, grain structure, film thickness and surface morphology in an optimal research and development environment.
The spray platform is fully integrated with a glovebox chamber capable of <1 ppm oxygen. The system is built for continuous operation, with constant positive pressure environment using nitrogen, argon or helium. Other glovebox system features include continuous oxygen monitoring of moisture and oxygen, HEPA filtration, automatic regeneration and push-button antechamber fill.
Sono-Tek: (845) 795-2020
SOURCE: Sono-Tek
