XsunX CIGSolar™ Thermal Evaporation System:
Assembly Completion 11/2/12
Above: CIGSolar® Co-Evaporation System
This CIGSolar® tool build update provides a significant milestone in our project – pictures of our assembled evaporator.
You might also notice that we are now using a registered trademark symbol for our CIGSolar® brand. We are please to also announce that the USPTO recently awarded the CIGSolar® mark to XsunX.
Above: Vacuum, Electrical, Air, and Cooling Sub-Assemblies
With the significant efforts of assembly behind us now our focus can turn to start-up, calibration, and bringing all aspects of the system into operational balance. We plan to start that work Saturday the 3rd of November.
The purpose of this work is to adjust and record how the system performs so that we can establish the system set points necessary to produce high performance CIGS films.
Above: CIGSolar® Overhead View
To the left is an overhead view of the system. To help with the management of the electrical, controls, air, and cooling systems we elected to employ the use of an overhead rack system.
We anticipate using the end support frames of the system as our controls and supply systems location in future production versions of CIGSolar® evaporators. We believe that this will make set-up and hook-up of the system easier to mange while also requiring less floor space, and infrastructure costs.
Above: CIGSolar® Internal Deposition Chambers & Crucibles
To the right you can see a peek of the internal deposition chamber and patent pending crucible configuration. The system relies on multiple smaller area deposition zones combining to create the ideal CIGS deposition environment.
Above: CIGSolar® Centralized Control Systems
Management of all primary CIGSolar® systems is performed at a single console. The controls cabinet pictured to the left houses virtually every aspect of system configuration and process control.
Everything from the speed at which the substrates move through the system to the deposition recipes are controlled from this location. The cabinet will be closed to ensure safety once we begin operating the system.