Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO), a leader in scientific and industrial metrology, today announced the release of its NT9100S Optical Profiler System specifically designed to optimize photovoltaic (PV) cell production and process development. The new NT9100S combines the renowned performance of Veeco's NT Series of white light optical profilers with new features and options to enable rapid, three-dimensional surface measurements on 6-inch crystalline silicon PV cells.
"Veeco has a very strong presence in the solar market," said Mark R. Munch, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Veeco Metrology. "Now, with our customized NT9100S, we can offer unprecedented capability to monitor and control surface texture and, more importantly, to match specific surface measurements to solar cell efficiency early in the manufacturing process."
Andrew Masters, Veeco's Vice President of Segment Marketing and Business Development, added, "The NT9100S brings the power and flexibility of the NT Series Optical Profilers, along with a PV-specific stage and chuck, to solar cell production monitoring. We are excited to deliver an affordable, feature-rich metrology platform that can enable such a wide scope of efficiency-enhancing applications in solar cell research and production."
The NT9100S is based upon the workhorse NT Series product line, and adds a custom 156-millimeter programmable stage for edge-to-edge measurements on a 6-inch PV cell. Other standard features include a porous vacuum chuck that securely and safely affixes a standard PV cell, automation software, field stitching software, and patent-pending, ultra-uniform dual-LED illumination. Running on the industry-leading Vision® software platform, the NT9100S provides access to over 200 distinct analyses, and over 1000 critical parameters for process control and monitoring.
Veeco Instruments Inc. manufactures enabling solutions for customers in the HB-LED, solar, data storage, semiconductor, scientific research and industrial markets. We have leading technology positions in our three businesses: LED & Solar Process Equipment, Data Storage Process Equipment, and Metrology Instruments. Veeco's manufacturing and engineering facilities are located in New York, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota and Massachusetts. Global sales and service offices are located throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan and APAC.