The project aims to develop a Pilot Line for System on Chip (SoC) power packages on 300mm wafer size, thus enabling advanced and cost competitive technology for mass market applications such as smart energy and smart mobility, consumer and domotics. Research is applied on decreasing the CMOS gate length below the 100nm lithography node to exploit new logic circuitry capability and innovative passive components for power electronics applications. New capabilities in essential technologies in More than Moore domains (i.e. power components and modules) will be key to speed up innovation and product's quality in energy and transport applications, thus helping European companies to strengthen their position as leaders in the Smart Power market and energy-efficient transportation areas.
Besi Austria GmbH contributes to the project by developing and validating new advanced packaging technologies for power applications:
i) Energy efficiency: Investigation of handling concepts for thin high power package devices (components and substrates) in order to decrease heat dissipation and improve the thermal performance.
ii) Environmentally friendly packaging: Development of alternative lead-free packaging solutions such as silver sintering, diffusion soldering and lead-free soldering to avoid current die attach methods containing high amounts of lead, thus enabling green and environmentally safe products, while fulfilling the future performance requirements.
iii) Production: Demonstration of readiness in pilot line environment for realization of complex heterogeneous power SiP packages meeting future industrial requirements (operating temperatures and thermal dissipation) utilizing lead-free multi-module attach processes.
Objective: The Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) on glass technology is already heading towards industrial maturity, but to meet the production cost target of below 0.6 /Wp in mid-term and below 0.4 /Wp in long-term, development of highly efficient flexible modules is an attractive option. The ultimate advantage of thin-film technology is the possibility of monolithically connected flexible modules produced with high speed roll-to-roll manufacturing systems. Partners of this proposal have already demonstrated a record efficiency of 14.1 percent for cells on polyimide and greater than 15 percent efficiency cells on metal foil using static deposition processes. However, transfer of static deposition process to in-line deposition on moving substrates brings additional challenges for control of layer composition and interfaces. Choice of appropriate substrate and deposition processes to overcome problems of thermal mismatch-related stress are important for high performance and monolithic cell interconnection. The main goal of the project is to develop innovative flexible substrates and deposition processes suitable for the in-line and/or roll-to-roll production of highly efficient solar modules using thinner (less than 1 micron) CIGS absorbers and with potential for production costs below 0.6 /Wp in future. The objective will be achieved by developing novel concepts in growth of high quality layers and interfaces for efficiency improvement, aiming a new world record efficiency of 16Prozent on polyimide and low-cost metal (mild steel and Al-based) foils. Also, the implementation of in-line compatible buffer, improvements in interconnect technologies and application of multifunctional top layer will lead to an advancement towards roll-to-roll manufacturability of integrated solar modules. This project will help research institutions to maintain a Global lead in CIGS field and will enable the European industries to implement the research excellence in industrial production of low cost flexible CIGS.