Tokyo, Japan, April 20, 2016 --- Wuhan DR Laser Technology Co., Ltd (DR Laser) and Teijin Limited (Teijin) announced today that they have agreed to co-develop new laser doping technologies for next generation of high efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells, using DR Laser's unique laser doping equipment and Teijin's proprietary NanoGramsilicon paste. The two companies have established Laser Application Technology Joint Laboratory in Wuhan, China, which starts operation today.

DR Laser and Teijin plan to advance the industrialization of new laser doping technologies, and to engage in relevant marketing activities. They predict their laser doping technology will become a de facto standard in solar cell manufacturing, targeting at least 50% market share particularly in the growing field of passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) cells by FY2019.

DR Laser and Teijin will jointly develop laser doping processes integrated with NanoGramsilicon paste, and build up production systems that will dramatically enhance cell efficiency. Both companies will additionally develop solutions revolutionizing the production of high efficiency NanoGramPERC solar cells.

The value of the photovoltaic market is expected to reach eight trillion yen, with high efficiency solar cells in strong demand. The development of PERC cells, in particular passivated-emitter, rear-localized (PERL) cells, has accelerated in recent years. PERL cells by adding a heavily boron-doped region underneath the rear contacts can minimize metal contact recombination and rear contact resistance. This dominant configuration enables the high absorption of solar energy. However, PERL is unsuited for industrial production due to its complicated process sequences.

DR Laser was established in 2008 in in Wuhan, China. Its highly functional laser processing systems contribute to enhance cell efficiency, and are adopted by the leading solar cell manufacturers in the industry. The company acquires more than 50% market share of the global PERC cell manufacturing.

Having established that its NanoGramsilicon nanoparticles are highly suited to use in high efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells, Teijin developed its NanoGramsilicon paste, containing approximately 20nm-diameter silicon nanoparticles that include dopants. In 2014, Teijin succeeded to utilize screen printing process and laser process to realize boron doping and laser ablation simultaneously in one single step as the first in the world, and demonstrated 0.5% cell efficiency gain over the regular PERC cells by jointly developed with Fraunhofer ISE . This result indicates NanoGram PERC solar cell is an effective approach to the commercialization of PERL cells.

About the Teijin Group
 Teijin (TSE: 3401) is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers & composites, healthcare, films, resin & plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT. The group has some 150 companies and around 16,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide. It posted consolidated sales of JPY786.2 billion (USD 6.6 billion) and total assets of JPY 823.7 billion (USD 6.9 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015.

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Teijin Limited issued this content on 20 April 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 20 April 2016 02:51:08 UTC

Original Document: http://www.teijin.com/news/2016/ebd160420_33.html