SBIR Phase I: Activation Station Technology for In-line Solar String Inspection

SBIR 第一阶段：用于在线太阳能串检测的激活站技术

• 批准号: 1938454
• 负责人: Sergei Ostapenko
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 依托单位: Ultrasonic Technologies, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-10-15 至 2020-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1938454&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Activation; Station; Technology

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable manufacturers of solar cell assemblies to conduct quality control in real time. potentially reducing the cost of the solar cell modules and increasing production by an estimated 26%. Prospective customers of the envisioned technology are firms that make the assemblies (known as "strings"), and specifically producers of cell stringer tools. The system will have other renewable market applications, such as testing cracks on incoming silicon wafers prior to vacuum deposition of thin layers for back-side solar cells. The production-grade systems at the initial commercialization step will be made domestically, creating new jobs. In Phase I, Ultrasonic Technologies will team with a US-based module producer to integrate and validate the prototype in a commercial stringer and production environment. The project will be supported by two university research teams which provide education and training of graduate students in a high-tech production facility. The proposed project will demonstrate a multi-head Activation Station (AS) system, using controllable mechanical stress applied to the cell string through a specially designed multi-head vacuum chuck. The string stressing is followed by fast measurements of the responding deflection of the cell caused by vacuum loading. This deflection provides a sensitive means to assess the cell's mechanical integrity and to exhibit any hidden invisible cracks. The cell deflection also provides real-time control for how tight the technological parameters are of the stringing processes, e.g., annealing temperature, soldering thickness and soldering quality. A new AS method for rapid in-line crack detection in strings will adhere to a throughput rate of 4,200 cells per hour or a cycle time of 0.85 seconds per cell in modern production stringers. In parallel, the vacuum chuck design will be optimized to assure a high level of crack coverage which will be quantified through experimentation. Finite Element Analyses model will support the experimental data of crack inspection accuracy and sensitivity of the AS technology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这一小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是使太阳能电池组件制造商能够真实的进行质量控制。潜在地降低了太阳能电池模块的成本，并将产量提高了约26%。 预期技术的潜在客户是制造组件（称为“串”）的公司，特别是电池串工具的生产商。该系统将有其他可再生的市场应用，例如在背面太阳能电池真空沉积薄层之前测试传入硅片上的裂缝。在最初的商业化阶段，生产级系统将在国内制造，创造新的就业机会。 在第一阶段，超声技术公司将与美国的模块生产商合作，在商业纵梁和生产环境中集成和验证原型。该项目将得到两个大学研究小组的支持，这两个研究小组在一个高科技生产设施中为研究生提供教育和培训。 拟议项目将展示一个多头激活站（AS）系统，通过一个专门设计的多头真空吸盘，使用可控的机械应力施加到电池串。弦应力之后是由真空负载引起的单元的响应偏转的快速测量。这种偏转提供了一种敏感的手段来评估电池的机械完整性，并显示任何隐藏的不可见的裂缝。单元偏转还提供了对串线过程的技术参数的严格程度的实时控制，例如，退火温度、钎焊厚度和钎焊质量。一种新的AS方法，用于快速在线检测串中的裂纹，将坚持每小时4,200个单元的吞吐率或在现代生产纵梁中每个单元0.85秒的循环时间。与此同时，真空吸盘设计将被优化，以确保高水平的裂纹覆盖率，这将通过实验来量化。有限元分析模型将支持AS技术的裂缝检测精度和灵敏度的实验数据。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。