Date: 22/12/2011

Flamac and imec are partnering to develop new materials for solar PV cells

Imec has announced it is working together with Flamac, a division of SIM vzw (Strategisch Initiatief Materialen in Vlaanderen or Strategic Initiative Materials in Flanders) to develop novel semiconductor materials for solar cell applications. Within this collaboration novel materials are screened as an alternative for the standard solar cells made of copper indium gallium and selenium (CIGS).

Flamac's recently installed PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) / PE-CVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition) coater allows the automated deposition of a variety of thin film materials. The platform consists of 8 process chambers enabling the study of PVD and PE-CVD coating processes.

"Enabling R&D centres like imec to speed up their materials development is exactly what Flamac aims to achieve. I'm delighted that Flamac and imec have initiated a partnership in this application area," says Johan Paul, manager of Flamac, a division of SIM.

"We consider the cooperation with Flamac as an essential part in the broadening of our PV-portfolio. By combining Flamac's expertise in high-throughput material research with our expertise in thin-film solar cells, we are convinced that we will achieve interesting results in a shorter timeframe. This broadening allows us to maximize the valorization opportunities in Flanders and is a new important step in the strengthening of the ELAT region in the domain of thin-film solar cell technology as we strive to together with Solliance;" commented Jef Poortmans, Program Director Energy at imec.