Chamber Cleaning Gases for the Photovoltaic Industry
Next-generation silicon thin-film Photovoltaic (PV) facilities will require substantially larger quantities of chamber cleaning gases. While nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) has remained the gas-of-choice for chamber cleaning applications in the semiconductor, flat-panel display, and thin-film PV industries, there is interest in the potential of using elemental fluorine (F2) as a chamber cleaning gas alternative. Due to the potential economies of scale driven by such high demand for these materials, on-site supply of NF3 and F2 is being evaluated as an economical and reliable solution.
We Have a Full Range of Offerings: Beyond our demonstrated, cost effective, and market leading NF3 ISO container supply chain, Air Products has developed low-cost, on-site chamber cleaning gas supply options for the PV market for both NF3 and F2. Both designs leverage our industry-leading experience gained from our 35+ years of large-scale NF3 and F2 plant operation, and both platforms will meet all applicable standards of Safety, Reliability, and Cost-of-Ownership.
Which supply mode is best, ISO containers or on-site production of NF3 or F2? That depends upon several factors, including:
- Specific volume requirements over the project life
- Required product purity
- Reliability and back-up requirements
- Local energy costs, raw material sourcing, and local infrastructure
- And more…
Safety: A very serious consideration for any PV manufacturer must be safety. While potentially offering cost-of-ownership benefits at the substantially higher consumption levels associated with next-generation PV plants, elemental fluorine (F2) may pose significant safety risks.
- Fluorine is a powerfully reactive element, and it requires specific knowledge in system design, operation, and maintenance
- Fluorine compression, required for on-site supply, is dangerous
- Personnel exposure/emergency response concerns need to be addressed
- Anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (HF), required in large quantities to support on-site fluorine production, is among the most dangerous and toxic of materials used in the electronics industry.
As the only supplier with proven experience in the design, construction, and operation of large NF3 and F2 production plants, Air Products has a great deal of experience in designing for these safety considerations – and, a long history of safe F2 and NF3 operations.
For more detailed information on Air Products’ complete Chamber Cleaning capabilities for PV applications, visit our website at www.airproducts.com/pv. Once there, you can listen to podcasts in which David Cooper, our NF3/F2 Business Manager, discusses our offerings in more detail. |
