Automated handling and transport of crystalline photovoltaic wafers

The handling of 150-120 µm thin wafers whether they are multi-crystalline or mono-crystalline, demands high standards of the material handling components as well as complex investigations with a closer look on the actual and future needs for an economic and competitive production of solar cells. The paper will describe the analysis and evaluation methods developed by the authors and will give an overview about the test results within the thin wafer automation test platform at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA.