At Colnatec, we build specialty manufacturing process control sensors for thin film measurement in multiple, diverse areas:
- Solar cell manufacturing (CIGS)
- Mobile display (OLED)
- Optical Coatings (PVD)
- Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)
- Food packaging (R2R)
- High speed electrical devices (MBE)
- Architectural glass (In-Line)
- Semiconductor wafer processing (CVD)
Our sensor solutions enable clients to measure and control thin film applications more accurately, more cost effectively and for longer run-times than any other company in the world.
Colnatec holds numerous patents, and we are recipients of Department of Energy SBIR Phase I and II awards for a self-cleaning process control sensor to be used in manufacturing CIGS solar cells. This new sensor will extend crystal life indefinitely and enable solar cell manufacturers to achieve cell and module efficiencies well beyond current capability.
How We’re Unique
What makes Colnatec different from our competitors is temperature: hot vs. cold. Colnatec sensors are…
- HEATED for more stability and longer crystal lifetime
- The only sensors available capable of withstanding the harsh conditions of HOT PROCESS ENVIRONMENTS such as CIGS furnace processing for solar cells and atomic layer deposition for semiconductor processing
- SEALED for vapor phase deposition, such as in CIGS selenium processing
Total Temperature Compensation
An important feature in all Colnatec products is temperature compensation. Why does temperature compensation matter?
- MAXIMUM ACCURACY in thickness measurement
- This means Perfect Parts Every Run!
- MAXIMUM STABILITY because stable crystals have little noise, so no need to stop a run to change crystals
- This means Perfect Runs Every Day!
- MAXIMUM SENSOR LIFE in the removal of nearly all commercially deposited thin films in solar cell manufacture
- This means Perfect Days Every Week!
Temperature compensation is critical for your manufacturing processes. The reason for inconsistency in quality and why you see “noise” on the readings is temperature fluctuation. Colnatec has found this is primarily what’s causing inaccuracies, instability and shortened sensor life. It cannot be stressed enough—temperature compensation is critical for manufacturing processes. With our new instruments, Colnatec has been able to adjust to the temperature fluctuations through temperature compensation. When you compensate for temperature and actually heat a crystal, you stabilize the environment, and the problems go away (until you reach a new temperature curve). Our competitors DO NOT and CANNOT compensate for temperature.
