New technology for splitting glass and other non-metallic brittle materials for the solar industry

Advanced Solar Photonics (ASP), an American developer of laser equipment for solar panel processing, thin-film solar cells, and commercial solar products has announced its new product called Zero Width Laser Cutting Technology (ZWLCT) in a press release. According to company this process is a non-contact method which splits glass and other non-metallic brittle materials on the molecular level with high speed, no material loss, and no chips or other debris associated with conventional scribe and break technology.  Precisely cutting glass and other substrates has always been a problem for the solar industry, the company emphasizes in the press release. For years now, there have been two major cutting methods: mechanical scribing or sawing and laser cutting. The explosive rise of the photovoltaic industry has put new demands on these existing cutting technologies. ASP utilizes ZWLCT in its Fantom G8T, a thin-film laser scribing system.

"Zero Width Laser Cutting Technology can be used for precise glass separation at production speeds not previously possible and with edge characteristics not attainable by any other process to date. The processed glass is four to five times mechanically stronger and has defect free edges without additional edge processing", said Edgardo Rodriguez, Vice President of sales for Advanced Solar Photonics. "Using this patented method aids the glass in withstanding extreme day/night temperature changes in the harsh desert environments by maintaining the integrity of the glass, thus strengthening it and ensuring long term stability."

According to the press release Zero Width Laser Cutting Technology produces the maximum MicroCrack depth in the subsurface layer of the glass and not thermal-fracturing of the glass. "After performing this application, the human eye is unable to see any change in the properties of the glass; however, when applying a small amount of pressure, the glass will split along the scribe line. Following the split, the glass has no particular damage and the highest edge quality which one can safely run their finger over requiring no further processing making grinding and cleaning lines unnecessary", the company reports in the press release.

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