UTECH Solar, a wafer manufacturer based in Taiwan, has placed two orders worth $8 million in total with GT Advanced Technologies.
Solar cell processed on GT's full MonoCast wafer. (Photo: Business Wire)
UTECH Solar has ordered for GT Advanced Technologies’ new silicon growth technology called the DSS450 MonoCast and for additional GT DSS450HP multicrystalline casting furnaces. UTECH Solar will advance part of its existing GT DSS450 casting furnaces for manufacturing MonoCast wafers in order to reinforce its position in wafer supply to fulfill the demand for high-efficiency solar cells. Moreover, additional GT DSS450HP systems will enable UTECH Solar to expand its overall wafer production capacity for fulfilling increasing customer demands.
The DSS450 MonoCast system offers better mono volume yields. The system has sophisticated hardware and first-of-its-kind automatic seed retention capability that avoids manual interference and dipping between melt and growth, thus facilitating process automation as well as the system's production value. Customers who are using DSS furnaces can shift to the latest DSS450 MonoCast system via a field upgrade.
GT Advanced Technologies’ President and Chief Executive Officer, Tom Gutierrez stated that the company is happy to get the first commercial order for its new DSS MonoCast technology from its long-term photovoltaic customer UTECH Solar. The company anticipates that the photovoltaic industry will replace a part of its conventional multicrystalline wafer production capacity with new crystalline growth technology like the DSS MonoCast systems, which enable wafer manufacturers to produce higher value wafers due to their superior material quality, thus offering more revenue opportunities.
Utech Solar’s Executive Administrator, Ben Pan stated that GT’s DSS 450 MonoCast technology will enable Utech Solar to meet solar cell customers’ demand for higher quality wafers that can produce higher efficiency cells.