The NCPV process integration project: purpose, status, and direction

The primary purpose of the process integration project of the National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV) is to develop an infrastructure that will allow researchers to gain new knowledge that is difficult-if not impossible-to obtain with existing equipment. This difficulty is due, in part, to the state of our existing tool set, which lacks sufficient in-situ or real-time measurement capabilities, or lacks access to analytical tools where the sample remains in a controlled environment between deposition and processing or measurement. This new infrastructure will provide flexible and robust integration of deposition, processing (etching, annealing, etc.), and characterization tools via a standardized transfer interface such that samples move between tools in a controlled ambient. The standardization of control and data acquisition software schemes, sample handing, and equipment components will allow us to perform research more efficiently; facilitating collaborations and technique development.