DuPont Performance Elastomers to roll perfluoroelastomer parts for photovoltaic market

The Kalrez parts, for both wafer-based and thin-film PV processes, are used to help improve sealing reliability in PV wafer processing equipment that uses plasma, high heat and aggressive chemicals.

As PV manufacturers use more aggressive and efficient chemicals and higher temperatures to increase uptime and improve output, more strain is placed on the manufacturing process, which can result in unplanned maintenance due to incompatible sealing materials that can interfere with production schedules, causing downtime, according to DPE.

The Kalrez seals resist over 1800 chemicals including reactive gases and plasmas, alkalis, acids and solvents. Even in contact with these corrosive chemicals, Kalrez seals are said to retain their elastomer properties to temperatures as high as 325°C. These parts also feature very low outgassing properties and low particle generation. As a result, these parts help to increase production uptime and improve output due to less preventive maintenance.

The entire line of Kalrez seals for the PV market became available for sampling in late August. The four product groups available for PV manufacturing processes and also for poly-silicon feedstock production and abatement systems include the following:

• Kalrez PV8030 for surface texturing, polysilicate removal and "wet" scrubber/abatement applications
• Kalrez PV8050 for edge isolation, ARC coating, CIS/CIGS and cadmium telluride cell layer and TCO deposition processes
• Kalrez PV8070 for doping, metallization, and CIS/CIGS cell layer deposition processes
• Kalrez 9100 for amorphous/microcrystalline silicon cell layer deposition processes.

For static and dynamic PV sealing applications, Kalrez parts are said to offer performance that surpasses typical industry maintenance standards for greater equipment uptime.