GT Solar International, a global provider of polysilicon production technology, sapphire and silicon crystalline growth systems, and materials for the solar, LED and other specialty markets, has announced that it has shipped its 3,000th DSS multicrystalline ingot growth furnace. Taiwan-based Gigastorage will install the milestone system, a DSS450HP, in its multicrystalline wafer production facility in Hsinchu.
"Achieving the milestone shipment of our 3,000th DSS ingot growth furnace is a testimony to the reliability and longevity of our DSS architecture that continues to deliver sustained value to customers eight years after its market introduction," said Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer of GT Solar. "We are pleased to recognize Gigastorage Corporation, a valued GT customer, as the recipient of our 3,000th DSS furnace."
GT Solar introduced its first DSS crystallization system, the DSS240, in 2003. The DSS architecture was designed to accommodate future advancements in crystalline growth process technology. The latest generation DSS650, which the GT Solar announced in January 2011, continues to delivering higher levels of productivity and efficiency while lowering the cost of manufacturing. The DSS240 was capable of producing multicrystalline ingots of 240 kilograms. That same customer could upgrade those DSS240 furnaces to the DSS650 level of performance with minor equipment and process changes and start producing ingots greater than 625 kilograms.