Enhancements will help customers leverage their investment in DSS casting technology and prepare for the next industry growth inflection
GT Advanced Technologies (NASDAQ: GTAT) has announced two new DSS technology upgrades that allow existing customers to leverage their DSS assets to achieve lower cost production while improving the quality of material produced in their furnaces.
One upgrade targets improving the material quality produced in GT’s DSS furnaces with a MultiPlus™ field upgrade that delivers higher efficiency multicrystalline material. The second upgrade targets productivity improvements by allowing DSS customers to increase the capacity of their current Gen5 DSS™450 and 650 furnaces to Gen6 levels of production thereby lowering overall wafer costs. Additionally, the higher capacity system will also provide a path to Gen6 MonoCast™ production – all in the same furnace. All upgrades will be compatible with the company’s Acuity DSS performance monitoring software, which optimizes DSS productivity with remote monitoring and run-to-run performance analysis.
“In the face of downward pricing pressure, reduced subsidies and continued solar trade tensions, it is increasingly important for PV manufacturers to achieve further cost reductions, said Dan Squiller, President of GT’s PV Business and Worldwide Operations. “Our new DSS upgrades extend the life of customers’ existing technology investments by driving further improvements in multicrystalline material quality and increasing productivity in wafer manufacturing and serve as a bridge as the industry prepares to make the expected transition to next-generation cell production in the coming years.”
In the current climate it is important for DSS customers to leverage their DSS assets while the industry transitions to next generation cell technology. GT is developing its HiCz™ technology to deliver the next generation of material quality and cost reduction as the industry transitions to even higher levels of efficiency from N-type material over the next several years.