The massive offering of fully decommissioned, ready-to-ship manufacturing assets from Endicott-based Ubiquity Solar—with nearly 600 crates stored in South-Central New York—features brands such as Aixtron Group, Attolight, GigaMat, SCHMID, Hercules, and KLA Corp. (KLA-Tencor).
High-Efficiency GaAs Thin-Film Solar Cells and Their Applications
In March 2021, Ubiquity Solar acquired the assets of Alta Devices, which pioneered and manufactured high-efficiency GaAs flexible thin-film solar cells used in many applications, including satellites and vehicles. The production cell efficiencies are 20% AM0 for space-based applications and 26% AM1.5 for terrestrial applications. These thin-film GaAs PV cells have one of the highest power-to-weight ratios in the industry at more than 800 watts per kilogram, noted GESemi Chief Operating Officer Kevin Shows.
Technology for Weight-Sensitive Applications
"The advanced production lines available in this sale can be used to manufacture products for weight-sensitive applications like drones that require high-efficiency conversion of solar energy to electricity," he said. "In addition, this is an excellent technology for the space market."
MOCVDs for GaN and GaAs Semiconductor Devices
Some of the MOCVDs are brand-new and configured for producing Gallium Nitride (GaN) based semiconductor devices and have not been modified for GaAs applications.
Potential Applications for GaAs PV Cells
"There are countless other potential applications for thin, flexible GaAs PV cells, including satellites and electric vehicles," Show said. "This sale represents a tremendous opportunity to advance your business by acquiring game-changing tech at liquidation values."
Patents and Intellectual Property Related to GaAs Technology
Also available are patents (nearly 200 in all) and intellectual property (IP) assets related to the high-tech manufacture of gallium arsenide wafers.
Ubiquity Solar’s Focus on Power Efficiency
"With its PV technology products, Ubiquity Solar focused on offering more power in watts per square meter and better overall energy-production performance compared to space-grade silicon for the space market," noted Chad Farrell, Managing Director, Tiger Commercial & Industrial. "The high utility of its thin, light, productive PV cell makes the machinery and equipment (M&E), patents, and IP available in this sale particularly valuable to the sector."
Categories of Equipment Available in the Auction
Categories include: PVD sputter, MOCVD, surface preparation, ELO, plating lines, wet processing, test and measurement, inspection, analysis lab, and plant support/IT. It includes all the equipment to produce about 150kWp (AM0) year of thin-film GaAs-PV cells from the Alta Devices pilot line but none of the utility support equipment, buildings, or permitting to put into operation. It also includes some of the equipment to expand to 1.5MWp (AM0) per year of production.
