Scientific equipment and materials supplier Ossila has launched a new version of its slot die coater for PV research labs that are working on the feasibility of scaling up thin film devices. Compared to an earlier version of the product, it reaches a higher hotplate temperature, up to 140 C, and it has a larger coating area.
“Slot die coating is the gold standard for scalable thin film processing. The method is commonly used in manufacturing and can achieve high coating speeds with excellent accuracy and very little solution waste. The Ossila Slot Die Coater brings this to the lab,” said Ossila application scientist, Mary O'Kane, in an article introducing the technology.
“Ultimately, this helps ensure that their findings can be scaled-up for real-life applications and makes slot die coater ideal for pilot-level production and scale-up process feasibility tests,” explained O'Kane.
The new Ossila slot die coater is a 10.35 kg unit with a motorized stage for smooth, continuous movement across a range of processing speeds from 50 μm.s-1 to 75 mm.s-1 with a stage travel length of up to 150 mm. With a maximum head width of 100 mm, the coating area can be up to 150 cm2. It includes an integrated syringe with software-controlled pumping and start/stop times.
The stage surface flatness is lass than 20 μm. The linear motion has a 0.05% variation in levelness with a head-to-substrate travel distance of up to 13 mm. Ossila says that the equipment “easily achieves bidirectional coatings” for consistent results across different substrate requirements. The power supply is DC 24 V, 6.2 A via a 100 /240 V power adapter. It measures 360 mm x 280 mm x 190 mm.
It is suitable for precision thin film coating for other applications beyond PV, such as electronics, pharmaceutical and packaging applications.
Founded in 2009, Ossila is based in the U.K. with operations in the Netherlands. It supplies scientific equipment, high-purity materials and lab supplies to research teams in 90 countries. Its product line includes spin coaters, glove boxes, optical spectrometers, and laminar flow hoods.
