September 16, 2008: Veeco Instruments Inc. has become a charter member in the CPV Consortium, a global industry organization that supports the development and long-term success of the concentrator photovoltaics industry, with the goal of providing a low-cost, reliable source of renewable energy.

Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) cells, referred to as “multi-junction” or “III-V” cells, boast significantly higher efficiencies than traditional photovoltaic systems. In addition to Veeco, CPV Consortium charter members include Solfocus, 3M, Concentrix, Emcore, ISFOC and Isofoton.

“We are pleased to be a charter member of the CPV Consortium. We look forward to continued development of CPV cell manufacturing equipment and process improvements to further reduce the cost and ease of manufacturing, while improving the efficiency and reliability of CPV cells,” said Sudhakar Raman, VP of marketing for Veeco’s MOCVD operations.

“CPV cells provide energy conversion efficiencies much higher than traditional silicon cells — approximately 35% today, with planned efficiencies over the next few years moving into the 45% range, as compared to 13%-18% efficiency for silicon cells,” Raman added. “Veeco is aligned today with all of the leading CPV manufacturers to help pursue these future efficiency gains.”

The CPV Consortium is a global industry group with the charter of supporting the development and optimizing the long-term success of CPV as a mainstream source of energy. Activities of the group are focused on assuring CPV systems and installations are safe; creating confidence in performance claims; reducing confusion in the market about the technology; and assuring development of an infrastructure for rapid growth.