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Linde Group Makes LCD TVs and Solar Cell Production Environmentally Friendly
Green Technology Featured Articles
July 17, 2008

Linde Group Makes LCD TVs and Solar Cell Production Environmentally Friendly

By Raju Shanbhag
TMCnet Contributor

Replacing the powerful greenhouse gas nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) used in the production of LCDs (Liquid Crystal Display) and solar panels, the technology company, the Linde Group, is offering a unique solution. Making production more efficient and more environmentally friendly, their innovative process utilizes on-site generation of fluorine gas which is based on a proven technology.

 
Apart from being used in the mass production of low cost, thin film photovoltaic cells, which convert sunlight into electricity, this process is also used in the manufacturing of flat screen TVs. Apart from fluorine's environmental advantage, this process also provides many advantages such as improvement in performance and reduction in costs in the chamber cleaning process, a critical step in the manufacturing of semiconductors, flat panels, and solar cells.
 
It makes good business sense to get rid of NF3 from LCD and solar manufacturing. Apart from improving customer throughput, fluorine reduces non-productive cleaning time on the most expensive piece of equipment.
 
The qualification trials carried out at Linde's Application Development Lab in San Marcos, California, showed that fluorine can reduce the cleaning time needed for NF3 on the plasma activated cleaning. The tests showed that fluorine can significantly improve throughput on the same tool set. Providing customers with an important productivity improvement, faster cleaning of the manufacturing equipment eliminates a bottleneck process.
 
Linde's on-site fluorine generators have been installed at more than 20 semiconductor, LCD and solar cell production sites, including Toshiba (News - Alert) Matsushita Display, Samsung, and LG. This technology makes the panels and the electricity they generate more cost-competitive.
 
“Linde is committed to delivering new processes that do not harm people or the environment,” said Paul Stockman, technology manager for Linde's fluorine Business. “Our customers in LCD and solar manufacturing expect Linde, as their supplier, to help them drive down costs. By replacing NF3 with on-site fluorine we achieve both these objectives. This shows how Linde's investment in engineering and technology solutions can enable mutual benefits for our customers and the environment.”
 
Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page
 
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is Managing Application Performance by Understanding Applications, brought to you by Shunra (News - Alert) Virtual Enterprise.
 


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