Introduction: Metrology & Failure Analysis

Metrology and a PV Roadmap

The roadmapping experience of the semiconductor industry provides a useful guide for roadmapping photovoltaic technology. In the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), the metrology requirements for research, development and manufacturing arise from the research and development needs of the key process areas such as lithography, transistor and capacitor (front-end processes), and on-chip interconnect. The ITRS provides the driving force for guiding academic and national lab research and equipment-supplier R&D for all areas including metrology.

As one can expect, research requires a very diverse set of measurements, and the types of measurements narrow as technology progresses to manufacturing. A PV roadmap can provide the same type of guiding force for PV-associated metrology. Organizations such as NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) have pioneered the application of a variety of measurements that have accelerated PV advancements. A roadmap provides the opportunity to compile the available information and provide a document that can guide further academic, national lab, and supplier R&D.

In this section, Buchholz, Wefringhaus and Reutz describe the use of a sandwich etch – the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer method – for measuring surface contamination on the rough surfaces of photovoltaic materials. This method would allow control of PV processing in an effort to improve solar effeciency.

FPV6_Intro_MFA.pdf