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[January 2009]
Major Grant For Rotatable Ceramic Sputtering Targets
SCI Engineered Materials Inc (Columbus, OH, USA), a manufacturer of ceramics and metals for advanced applications in the physical vapour deposition industry, has just announced it has been awarded a US$708,715 grant from the Ohio Department of Development, subject to State of Ohio Controlling Board approval. This grant, pursuant to the State of Ohio’s Third Frontier Advanced Energy Programme, is for the commercialisation of rotatable ceramic sputtering targets for thin film photovoltaic solar cell manufacturing. Specifically, the company will commercialise technologies for the production of transparent conductive oxide coated glass used in thin film photovoltaic solar panels.
Rotatable ceramic sputtering targets can be used in production processes involving glass, stainless, or plastic substrates, making them applicable for second generation thin film and third generation dye cells. Optimising the composition of the coating utilising these targets will allow manufacturers to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic modules.
SCI has supplied materials to the Thin Film Solar (TFS) industry for more than 10 years during the industry’s early stages of development. The grant from the Ohio Department of Development will be used to accelerate the core competencies SCI has developed during this period. SCI recently announced the appointment of European based CCT-Solar as its exclusive manufacturer’s representative to the European solar industry. The TFS industry is an alternative energy technology currently experiencing rapid growth, which is expected to continue for the foreseeable future as markets cope with increasing demand for electricity, higher long-term rising fossil fuel costs and global environmental effects.
www.sciengineeredmaterials.com
ENDS