TEL, Sharp Form Thin-Film PV Joint Venture

Staff -- Semiconductor International, 2/18/2008 9:15:00 AM

Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL, Tokyo) announced today that it has formed a joint venture with Sharp Corp. (Osaka, Japan) to develop plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems for producing thin-film silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells.

TEL said the equipment developed by the joint venture will be manufactured and sold solely by TEL, with the first shipments expected in 2009. TEL will hold 51% of Tokyo Electron PV Ltd. (Nirasaki, Japan).

TEL said it will employ its expertise at vacuum plasma technology, developed for semiconductor and flat panel display (FPD) production, with Sharp’s thin-film solar cell production technology. TEL said the agreement applies only to plasma CVD systems for thin-film silicon PV cells and “is not a comprehensive alliance covering FPD production equipment or other business activities.”

According to Sharp, it is the world’s largest maker of solar panels, with production as large as the next three producers combined. Last summer, Sharp introduced a thin-film solar production line at its Katsuragi factory near Nara, Japan, and said it would invest $925M in a new factory for thin-film solar cells.