Sensors Unlimited advocates using its cameras for solar-cell inspection

June 11, 2009--Sensors Unlimited (Princeton, NJ), part of Goodrich Corporation, has noted that its high-resolution, shortwave infrared (SWIR) area and line-scan cameras are being used to improve the manufacturing yield of photovoltaic cells. The SWIR technology is well-suited to monitor the quality of solar thin films, concentrator photovoltaic cells, and crystalline cells by maximizing efficiency of the solar-cell manufacturing process through final assembly of the completed modules.

The indium gallium arsenide based SWIR cameras, which operate between 0.9 to 1.7 microns, are ideal for inspecting silicon boules and wafers due to the material's transparency beyond 1.2 microns. The cameras reveal voids in silicon boules, bricks, and ingots before they are sliced into wafers to produce mono- or multicrystalline solar cells. They can also detect hidden cracks by mapping stress in raw wafers, finished cells, and thin films made for solar-electric panels.