Did Somebody Say Solar?

The debate continues about the best way to continue transistor scaling, and perhaps even more so on just how long that scaling can continue. Some of the answers will come from such cutting-edge technologies as various types of 3-D integration schemes, high-k/metal gate stacks, and advanced substrate engineering. This issue is full of detailed technical discussion on these leading-edge topics, and we will continue to keep you abreast of these developments in the months and years ahead.

But there is also a lot happening on the fringes of the semiconductor manufacturing industry, where there are new solutions beyond CMOS scaling (in the nanotechnology realm, for example), as well as a great deal of energy going into industries related to semiconductors. New opportunities abound in such fields as photovoltaics (solar cells), solid-state lighting, fuel cells, flat-panel displays, MEMS and more.

Whether it's an interest in a technology that could have long-lasting environmental benefits, or a desire to get in on an industry that is showing incredible economic growth, you, our readers, have shown us time and again that you want to hear more about what's going on with solar cell manufacturing. Taking a look at the most popular searches performed on Semiconductor.net in the past year, “solar” always figures within the Top 3 for any given time period.

This interest from the semiconductor manufacturing community is exactly what the solar cell manufacturing industry needs. This is a technology that will not be able to compete if it doesn't get its manufacturing costs down. The photovoltaics industry's goal is to reduce costs by 50-60% in the next two or three years to achieve grid parity — where the cost of solar electricity is the same as the cost from a traditional electric company. Chipmakers, as well as suppliers to the semiconductor industry, can offer significant expertise in standardizing, automating and improving the solar manufacturing process to improve the cost equation.

Two of the biggest players offering their expertise in thin-film silicon photovoltaics are Oerlikon Solar (Liechtenstein) and Applied Materials (Santa Clara, Calif.). In September, Oerlikon Solar introduced its micromorph tandem technology, which combines an amorphous top cell with a microcrystalline bottom cell. Also that month, Applied Materials introduced its SunFab Thin Film Line, an integrated production line for manufacturing thin-film silicon solar modules using 5.7 m² glass panels, which are 4× bigger than today's largest thin-film solar production panels.

Both these companies are doing what several companies in the semiconductor manufacturing industry are also trying to do: build on years of experience in semiconductor manufacturing to help standardize and automate solar cell manufacturing. Are they doing it to play their part in the reduction of global warming? Well, my guess is that's not their first motivation.

Truth is, there's gold in them thar hills. Renewable energy currently accounts for <1% of the world's energy demand, so there is no question that the industry has enormous growth potential. There is some debate about what the growth is likely to be, but estimates range from 23% to 40%+ annually. Understandably, everybody wants a piece of that.

The consortia and research organizations have gotten into the game as well. SEMI (San Jose) has devoted an increasing amount of attention to photovoltaics. In fact, SEMICON West had a significant number of presentations and displays in the solar arena, and SEMICON Europa would hardly have existed if it were not for solar activity. IMEC (Leuven, Belgium) has been making strides in solar cell efficiencies, announcing at SEMICON Europa its 17.4% efficiency records for thin-wafer silicon and germanium solar cells.

Rest assured, Semiconductor International will continue to report on advances in the photovoltaics industry, as well as other industries of interest around semiconductor manufacturing. Look for increasing original reporting, in particular, on Semiconductor.net, where you can find all of the latest solar cell news on our Photovoltaics Technology Channel.