Jan. 3, 2008 – Braggone, a Finland-based optoelectronics materials company, has received “multimillion-dollar” funding from Finland’s National Technology Agency (TEKES) to commercialize its polymer materials, primarily targeting semiconductor and photovoltaics.

The company says its proprietary technology enables tuning of inorganic-organic polymer material properties to suit specific applications, either coated or printed onto substrates at greater efficiency, lower temperatures, and higher yields. Braggone’s technology IP includes four granted patents and another 13 filed. Current materials products have application in digital displays, semiconductors, digital cameras, photovoltaic panels, LEDs, and memory. The work on semiconductor applications has generated a set of materials, siloxane compounds for silicon containing anti-reflective coatings (ARCs), the company notes in a statement.

The same polymer research has led to new products that could aid the industry’s push to sub-€1/peak watt manufacturing costs, the company claims. It “dramatically” reduces reflection from glass and silicon substrates (as much as half that of silicon nitride), allowing more light to be delivered to active regions of a solar cell, thus increasing solar cell efficiency.

Moreover, the optics of the cell can be tuned without using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), so associated deposition costs are reduced by more than half. “We can replace the CVD batch process, expensive capex, and expensive operating costs by simply spraying, slit or dip coating the anti-reflective and hydrogenation coatings in a rapid and cost-effective atmospheric in-line process,” stated Yrjö Ojasaar, Braggone CEO, in a statement.

“We’ve had great success working in collaboration with chemical companies and equipment manufacturers to fine-tune and optimize the physical and application specific characteristics of these polymers,” stated Ojasaar. “Due to that collaboration and now with the additional funding from TEKES, we are on a rapid path to commercialization, as we can deliver PV manufacturers with increased performance and reduced costs all in one turnkey solution.”