Automation Worldwide

Schmid Technology Systems GmbH (STN)

Schmid Technology Systems GmbH

Johann-Liesenberger-Straße 7 78078 Niedereschach Germany Tel.: +49 7728/9260-0 Fax: +49 7728/9260-60 e-mail: [email protected]

Schmid Automation Asia Ltd. (SAA) No. 421 Rung Min Road Chung Li City | Taoyuan Taiwan Tel.: +886 (3)435 6870 Fax: +886 (3)435 6871

Schmid Automation China (SAC)

Su Keng Road, Su Keng Village Chung Ping Town | Dong Guan City, Guangdong China Tel.: +86 769 8355 2928 Fax: +86 769 8355 7087

www.schmid-group.com

schmid Schmid Automation Asia Ltd.

Schmid Automation China

Load Cell Line

Phosphorus Doper

Wafer Singulation

Flip Station

Schmid Technology Systems GmbH is a subsidiary of Gebrüder Schmid GmbH and Co. in Freudenstadt and as such a member of the globally operating Schmid Group. At Niedereschach site we are primarily involved in developing and manufacturing of automation and handling equipment for the construction/assembly of solar wafer, cell and module production lines.

Buffer

Conveyor

Tray Loader

Tray Unloader

Cross Conveyor

Interconnection Unit

Pick+Place Robot

Flex Buffer

Edge Trimming Station

Metrology Sorter

Cell Sorter

Framing Unit

Cell-Production

by Tradition

Module-Production

Innovation

Wafer-Production

Schmid Technology Systems Niedereschach

Wafer-Produktion Wafer-Production

Separating, measuring and sorting

of highly sensitive silicon-wafers

Wafer Singulation The Wafer Singulation System WS2000 features two loading positions, two singulation units and the successive transport units with breakage discharge function.  Stress-free transfer of the wafers



from the stack to the water tank

 Automatic recognition and

Conveyor



discharge of breakage

 Multi-line concept reduces



down-time

 Throughput per singulation:



Buffer

Pick+Place Robot

Metrology Sorter

one stop picking – STN

1.600 to 2.000 wafer/h

Cell-Production Zell-Produktion

Handling and automation within a cell production

non-contact – gentle

Load Cell Line Inline module for feeding wafers into a cell production. For the intake control of the wafers optical measurement systems are integrated.  Measuring of µ-cracks, geometry  Wafer and charge pursuit  Discharge of breakage prior and

Phosphorus Doper



Flip Station

Cross Conveyor

one stop picking – STN

after measuring system

Cell-Production Zell-Produktion

Measuring and sorting of solar cells

fast – precise – gentle

Cell Sorter Inline module for measuring and sorting of solar cells. At a flow rate of 3.000 - 5.000 cells per hour and 22+2 sorting classes (48 deposition boxes) on merely 16,8 m 2, the Cell Sorter is very productive.  Flexible for different cell types

Tray Loader

and formats

 Free selectable parameters



for classification

 Careful transport into the



packing units

 Labeling

Tray Unloader

Flex Buffer

one stop picking – STN

Module-Production Modul-Produktion

Interconnecting, assembling and measuring

efficient – fast – reliable

Edge Trimming Station

Interconnection Unit Inline module for the interconnection of the solar module strings into a matrix. The soldering tabs are pre-fabricated by a cutting device.

Framing Unit

 Minimal thermal strain due to



inductive soldering process

 High repeating accuracy of



soldering points in comparison to manual soldering

 High troughput  Position monitoring via

one stop picking – STN



camera system

Edge Trimming

Framing

Turnkey Solutions

Diverter

Buffer

Horizontal Wafer Cleaning

Wafer Singulation

Tray Unloader

Tray Loader

Wafer-Line The sawn and detached wafers enter the production line as wafer blocks. Here they are separated, breakage is removed and the wafers are subjected to cleansing. They are then appropriately classified with the Metrology Sorter. The Conveyor including synchronization, breakage removal and buffer systems, that are integrated into the production line, ensure an overall throughputoptimized process.

Conveyor

Pick+Place Robot

Metrology Sorter

Wafer Singulation

Antireflection Coating/SiNx-Coating

Single-Side Edge Isolation + PSG Etching

Screen Printing

Buffering + Transfer

Firing

Diffusion Furnace

Cell Testing + Sorting

Light-Induced Plating

Phosphorus Doping

Acid Texturing

Loading

Tabbing + Stringing Framing

Edge Trimming

Lamination

Cell-Line On their way to the solar cells, and within the cell production line, the raw cleansed wafers pass through a number of chemical processes. In order to guarantee an optimized throughput between the various stages of the production, a number of loading and unloading systems, as transport and buffer systems are employed. All stages of automation ensure an extremely gentle transport of the wafers and cells. Special measuring systems that, for example, check for breakage, µ-crack, geometry, sheet resistivity or lifetime are integrated throughout the production line. The potentially costly processing of „bad wafers“ can be prevented by their discharge at regular intervals along the production line.

Interconnection Unit Layup Station

Inline Foil Cutting

Backsheet EVA/Tedlar Deposition Junction Box Assembly

Glass Loading Glass Washing

Sun Simulation

Module Sorting

Module-Line The solar cells are assembled to modules within the module production line. The complete production process from feeding in the glass and the cells to framing, sun simulation and sorting of the modules can be fully automated. Cells are checked at the start of the production and the processing of „bad cells“ is prevented by their discharge.

Automation Automationstechnologie of technical processesvon by STN

Technology  Complete

inline system for all the facilities  Optimized start up and shutdown procedures to achieve minimal down time, including emergency-off-manage ment throughout the entire production line  Damage-preventing Bernoulli-gripper for wafers and cells  Flexible buffer management

Characteristic  µ-crack  Geometry  Sheet

Resistivity  Lifetime  Blue Eye

 Print

Inspection  Back-/Frontside Inspection  Sun Simulation  Flasher

Monitoring All processes and plant data are centrally recorded and archived in a database that can be accessed online using various analytical alternatives. Parameters such as statistics regarding errors or machine conditions, reliability (MTBF, MTBA), service records (MTTR) or data regarding throughput, wafer tracking and yield may be retrieved and evaluated.

Process Phosphorus-Doper for the production of the emitter or of the pn-boundary layer by applying a highly homogeneous phosphorus-water mist with subsequent annealing.

Innovation by Tradition Know-how and motivation of 170 qualified employees ensure highest quality made in Niedereschach.