HHV develops important tool for R&D in solar energy and Nano technology

Bangalore-based Hind High Vacuum Co. Pvt. Ltd. (HHV) has developed, for the first time in the country, a cluster-type, multi-chamber Plasma–Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) system which can be used to coat different types of thin films on substrates.

HHV is the flagship company of the HHV Group, a multi-technology group of companies involved in the design, development and manufacture of equipment and products in the field of Vacuum Technology, Solar Photovoltaic (PV) energy and thin films.

The Cluster PECVD has all the necessary attributes needed for a world class research tool. It is a table-top system, compact in size (occupies an area of just 3 metres by 3 metres), simple to operate, easy to maintain, reliable in performance, with precise control of parameters, fully programmable with all safety features incorporated in the same. It can handle substrates of various sizes starting from 100 mm.

While the Government of India has provided substantial funds for research in Nano sciences and Solar PV through the Nano Mission, Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission(JNNSM) and other programmes, the universities and research institutions in the country have often looked overseas for high quality R&D equipment in this field. This gap is now going to be filled by HHV’s new system.

R. Giridhara Gopalan, Vice President of HHV says, “This tool is highly versatile and provides maximum flexibility to the user by combining multiple processes without having the need to break the vacuum. Each chamber can be configured for a particular process like, PECVD, PVD, Etching etc thereby enabling researchers to carry out multiple experiments simultaneously. This equipment can be used for R&D in MEMS/NEMS, Solid State Lighting, Renewable Energy, Nano Electronics, and Photonics. It can also be integrated to a glove box unit for OLED applications. In addition HHV also offers certain standard process recipes along with the equipment.”

According to Prasanth Sakhamuri, Managing Director of HHV, the company has already supplied 3 such systems to leading R&D institutions in India, and the demand in the country could rise significantly for these systems in the coming years. HHV would also be looking at export of these tools to international R&D Labs.