Wesley Chapel, FL - Ultrasonic Technologies, Inc. (UST) has received a Technology-To-Market Program award by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative. The award will advance the resonance vibration for diamond wire (RV-DW) technology as a method for in-line quality and process control of diamond wire (DW).
With this award, UST will advance an in-line RV-DW sensor to determine DW wear in real-time to avoid wire breakage during the wafering of silicon ingots. DW is a critical and expensive component of photovoltaics (PV) wafering and there is a great need for real-time monitoring of DW wear and quality. Breakage caused by DW wear during silicon ingot slicing must be avoided to eliminate loss of cutting material, increase the yield of silicon wafering, and ultimately reduce the cost of PV modules.
This project will advance the RV-DW method and lead to the integration of the RV-DW sensor in DW production and DW wafering process. The RV-DW sensor is compatible with commercial silicon wafering tools with regards to throughput and sensitivity. “Commercialization of in-line RV-DW sensor will expand a product line of tools developed by Ultrasonic” – said Sergei Ostapenko, UST’s founder and CEO.
UST is excited to continue its partnership with DOE and to help the solar industry in reducing PV production costs.
The research will be performed by a research team led by Ultrasonic Technologies and will also include the University of Central Florida and Niabraze Corporation.
About the SunShot Initiative
The U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative is a collaborative national effort that aggressively drives innovation to make solar energy fully cost-competitive with traditional energy sources before the end of the decade. Through SunShot, DOE supports efforts by private companies, academia, and national laboratories to drive down the cost of solar electricity to $0.06 per kilowatt-hour. Learn more at https://www.energy.gov/sunshot.
About Ultrasonic Technologies
UST is a small business with expertise in proprietary Resonance Ultrasonic Vibration (RUV) technology. We commercialized RUV equipment to detect cracks, stress, and delamination in various industries including photovoltaic, medicine, advanced ceramics, and composite body armor plates. For more information regarding our products, please contact Ultrasonic Technologies or visit our website at www.ultrasonictech.com.
Phone: (813) 973-1702