A BRILLIANT SOLUTION TO A GLOBAL PROBLEM
The call for sources of sustainable energy is one of our most pressing national and global needs. In the search for clean, renewable energy, solar power is perhaps the most obvious solution, offering a continuous supply of power available in every corner of the globe. Since its development in the 1950s, the field of photovoltaic technology has experienced near constant innovation as developers look for ways increase the efficiency with which we can capture and use the sun’s rays.
MATERION'S ROLE IN THE SOLAR INDUSTRY
Materion offers products and materials to support a spectrum of solar technologies including concentrated solar power, concentrated photovoltaic, thin film solar cells, and conventional crystalline silicon solar panels. Each technology presents its own challenges and opportunities for innovation, but all require materials with high levels purity and optimized microstructures to facilitate peak performance. Materion is proud to offer materials of unparalled quality that form the fundamental building blocks of photovoltaic technology. Our offerings include:
CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) Materials
- Aluminum oxide (Al2O3), durable antireflective material for transparent oxide layers
- Silver (Ag) metal and metal alloys for reflector technologies
- Titanium dioxide (TiO2) for antireflective layers
TF (Thin Film) Solar Cells
- Al doped Zinc oxide with 2% or 1% dopant level for rotatable or planar targets
- Cadmium (Cd) based materials such as cadmium sulfide, cadmium-zinc-telluride and cadmium-tin
- CIGS (copper-indium-gallium-selenide)
- Copper (Cu) metal and Cu containing compounds
- Gallium (Ga) metal and Ga containing compounds
- Indium (In) metal evaporation materials, Indium compounds for thin film solar cells and solder for sputtering target bonding
- Intrinsic Zinc (ZnO) oxide planar targets
- Nickel Vanadium (NiV) rotatable target
- Molybdenum (Mo) rotatable targets
- Selenium (Se) metal and Se containing compounds
- Tellurium (Te) along with cadmium and /or zinc telluride
PV (Concentrated Photovoltaic) Materials
- Gold (Au) metal and metal alloys used for interconnects and back contacts in solar cells
- Silver (Ag) metal and metal alloys used for interconnects and back contacts in solar cells
- Zinc arsenide (Zn3As2), Precursor raw material used to manufacture the gallium arsenide substrates
As the leading supplier of materials for the solar market, Materion specializes in customization, ensuring that our customers always have access to materials that perfectly suit their needs and allow for innovation and development. Already a thriving global presence, Materion’s recent acquisition of Heraeus Target Business has increased our overall capacity and allowed us to provide an even broader range of products and technical knowledge. This opportunity has allowed us to expand our geographic footprint, and we are committed to building a strong presence in Europe and Asia as well as in the U.S. As Heraeus Target Business is integrated into Materion, we are expanding our facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico and building an entirely new facility in Alzenau, Germany. Materion has also moved into a larger facility in Taiwan, allowing for a wider range of services and capabilities in Asia. All combined, these advances will allow Materion to offer an unmatched selection of precious and non-precious target materials for the solar industry.
A CONTINUING COMMITMENT TO THE SOLAR INDUSTRY
Materion has been deeply involved in the photovoltaic industry from the beginning, playing a dual role by supporting both solar device developers and grid level energy companies. With the ability to offer agile solutions for R&D and simultaneously meet the demands of large scale clients, Materion has been uniquely influential in the solar industry. Heraeus Target Business has a similar track record of success in the solar industry, having contributed to many of the innovations that helped create higher efficiency technologies and better means of production. Their work supported the development of Aluminum Doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) as a less expensive alternative to costly tin doped indium-oxide in the creation of transparent conductive oxides. Heraeus strongly supported the change from planar targets to the markedly more efficient rotary targets, which offer over twice the capacity in terms of kw/h to help reduce precious downtime of vacuum equipment and also worked to develop technology to support CIGS, which shows particular promise amongst varieties of thin film solar cells.
With the addition of Heraeus, Materion is now even better equipped to serve the solar industry, with more scientists and engineers, a wider range of technologies, and a greater depth of experience. As we begin this exciting new time in our company, Materion is proud to help build a brighter future for energy.
If you have questions about our solar materials, please contact James Paloucek, Product Marketing Manager, James.Paloucek@Materion.com or Frank Meier, Integration Director for Photovoltaic and Display, Frank.Meier@materion.com.