Contents

OptoLink International Edition (OLIE)

is a quarterly magazine published
by the Photonics Industry and
Technology Development
Association (PIDA).

SPECIAL TOPIC
5F., No. 9, Roosevelt Road, Sec. 2.,
Taipei, Taiwan, 10093. 5 Hsinchu Science Park— Technology Develops Economy
www.pida.org.tw
7 Efficiency is the Key for Central Taiwan Science Park
10 Southern Taiwan Science Park – Shortcut to the Top of the World
Tel.: +886-2-2396-7780
Fax: +886-2-2341-4559

Publisher:
12 First Taiwan PV Industry Cluster Shines in Letzer
Frank Ma, CEO of PIDA

Editorial Team:
Industry News
Angel Chiou, Dan Guo,
Murphy Lin, Stephy Chen, 15 Current Taiwan PV Industry Outlook
Karen Ho, Deaphne Kuo,
Terry Tu, Jason Lu 17 PV Design Application Surges in Taiwan
22 Biggest Research Drive for Cheaper Solar Energy
Art Designer:
Chiou-Ling Liu 24 PV Industry Recruits New Blood in Recession
Director of Market &
Bussiness Division:
Ryan Chung
Company Profiles
Sales Contact: 27 DelSolar Plans Out to Get Ahead
Ginger Chen, Pamela Hsiao,
Cathy Zhang, Ben Tsai,
Henry Nieh
31 Green Energy Technology Aims to Top the Best
Advertising:
Christine Chen
ad@mail.pida.org.tw
Exhibition Watch
Subscriptions: 35 Photonics Festival in Taiwan Re-Ignites the Momentum of the Industry
Simon Huang
simon@mail.pida.org.tw
36 Solar Taiwan 2009 to Bring New Visions to the Industry
Editorial Submissions:
Angel Chiou
(angelchiou@mail.pida.org.tw)
Product News
40 2009 Outsatanding Photonics Product Award Winners
44 SYSNIX, Chang-Yu Technology, TCO, Orient Service
Corporation, Emit Technology, Solteam Opto,
Well Expediting Ent., EISO Enterprise
 Special Topic

Hsinchu Science
Park—Technology
Develops Economy
Home to over 400 companies including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Company, United Microelectronics Corporation, and AU Optronics, Hsinchu
Science Park (HSP) is the first science park in Taiwan, playing an important
role to transform Taiwan’s original labor-intensive process industries into
high-tech industries, winning itself the name of “Taiwan’s Silicon Valley.” The
following are selected questions from an exclusive interview with the Director-
General Mr. Randy T. M. Yen.

By Angel Chiou

Q PIDA: What are the major industries in HSP?

A Mr. Yen: Semiconductor is the primary industry in HSP, which takes about 45 percent share in HSP. It has
formed a full industry chain including EDA, IC design, manufacture and package respectively in up-/ middle-/ down-
streams. The second large industry in HSP is photonic industry. Take TFT LCD for example, which is comparatively
mature among other photonic areas, the panel giant AUO is headquartered in HSP, so do other top companies such as
CPT, PVI, and Wintek. Regarding LED industry, HSP has players such as Optotech and Epistar, while for PV industry
there are Gintech Energy, Sinonar Solar, and Tyntech.

Q PIDA: What is the future trend for the photonic industries

in HSP?
A Mr. Yen:
TFT LCD
1. The TFT LCD industry would march toward production of larger sizes.
Right now we are having an 8 generation plant on its construction, and at
same time planning for a 10 generation plant.
2. The industry in HSP is shifting its focus from key components to the
development of upstream materials, including OLED emitting materials,
TAC films for polarizers, ITO films, and sapphire substrates for instance.
3. The industry would put more effort in the RD of new display technology
such as Mirasol technology from Qualcomm, Flexible Display, LCoS
and OLED. Semiconductor 45% Precision Machinery 6%
LED PC/ Peripherals 12% Biotechnology 6%
Telecommunication 10% Others 1%
In the coming future, LED industry in HSP would continue to exploit Optoelectronics 20%
edge-cutting technologies as well as to break through the bottleneck of
patent, package, and thermal dissipation in order to promise a sustainable Fig.1 Industry Structure in Hsinchu Science Park
Courtesy : Hsinchu Science Park Administration / 2008
development of the industry.

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 5

Special Topic

PV
PV industry has become a hot issue regarding alternative energy and
reduction of carbon dioxide. PV industries in HSP would keep exploiting
upstream materials for the development of crystalline silicon and amorphous
silicon solar cell panels.

Q PIDA: What industries are potential to enter HSP

according to your short-term goal?
A Mr. Yen: Green energy industries are definitely our first choice.
Governments all over the world now face the problem of global warming
and seek technologies that are energy-efficient and non-polluting. Among
the alternative energy industries, industries regarding photovoltaic and fuel
cells would be the target industries that HSP would attract in near future.
Fig.2 Director-General Randy T. M. Yen
Q PIDA: How competitive is HSP among other science parks? Courtesy : PIDA

A Mr. Yen: First of all, HSP has the most abundant research resource
by being close to Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a national research organization that serves
to prop up the technological competitiveness of Taiwan, National Tsing Hua University and National Chiao
Tung University, both of which are known for their strength in science and engineering. HSP can fully utilize
the R&D capability from these institutes, and integrate resources from government, industry, academia, and
research institutes, serving as a platform for technology transition or mechanization of research outcome.
Further, industry clusters in HSP has been developed for about 30 years and is quite mature. The complete
industrial chain not only can draw more resources and funds from the government, but also can attract more
companies of the same industry to enter HSP for the convenience of cooperation in technology and business.
In addition, HSP has won good
Table 1 In addition to the original science park in Hsinchu, HSP system comprises 5 other sections.
reputation for its insistence on high
Sections Industry Current development / Goal quality. To be qualified to enter HSP
Integrated Circuits is pretty much like a credit for the
Computers and ►Industrial cluster has been fully developed.
peripherals ►Equipped with talents, funds, technology and market company’s quality.
Hsinchu
Telecommunications supply chain.
Park
Optoelectronics ►Together with satellite science parks to form a high-tech
Precision machinery industrial cluster.
Biotechnology Hsinchu Science Park has
Jhunan Optoelectronics Expected to have 55 high-tech companies by 2011 with been playing a critical role
Park Biotechnology annual revenue about 67 billion, offering 18 thousand jobs.
for Taiwan’s technological
►To construct Longtan Park as a PV industrial cluster.
Longtan Optoelectronics
►Expected to recruit 10 PV companies by 2011 with annual and industrial development.
Park Photovoltaic
revenue about 75 billion, offering over 8 thousand jobs.
When talking about the
►Plan to recruit 100 high-tech companies of low energy prospect of HSP, Mr. Yen
Technology
consumption/ low pollution.
Tongluo Environmental
►Expected to reach annual revenue about 300 billion indicated with resolution that
Park protection
after the park completed which would create around 20
Humanity
thousand jobs. they will continue to cultivate
►Park includes National Clinical and Medical Center, talent and help companies
Biomedical Research Center, Medical Equipment
Hsinchu
Research and Trial Center. to grow by encouraging
►To support clinical researches and medical services to
Biomedical Biomedical them to research and invent
enhance regional medical quality.
Park
►The biomedical center would integrate interdisciplinary
resource and research and cultivate research talent for through Innovation Product
related fields.
Aw a r d , a i m i n g t o t a k e
Yilan Park
Knowledge The park is based on knowledge economics to ensure both Taiwan’s hight-tech industry
economics environmental and industrial development.
to another level.
Courtesy : Hsinchu Science Park Administration

6 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2

 Special Topic

Efficiency is the Key

for Central Taiwan
Science Park
With the cooperation of both central and local governments and the
simultaneous construction of public and private facilities within the Park, a
mere 10 months and five days elapsed between the Executive Yuan's approval
of the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) Preparation Plan on September
23, 2002 and its groundbreaking on July 28, 2003. The commencement of
AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) operations on October 27, 2004 –15 months
from groundbreaking–set yet another science park record. Since the CTSP
Administration is behind all these plans, it is interesting to know what the
Director-general Wen-Ke Yang of the CTSP Administration has to say about
the CTSP.

By Dan Guo

Q PIDA: What is the current development status of CTSP?

A Yang: As of April 2009, a total of 90 enterprises, along with 10 research institutes or incubation centers,
have been admitted to the CTSP. With the advantages of timing, location, and manpower, and in compliance with
government policy for the priority promotion of technology industry upgrading, CTSP helped these enterprises with
the best infrastructure. In future, the linking of CTSP industry clusters to the Hsinchu Science Park (HSP) and Southern
Taiwan Science Park (STSP) clusters is sure to make the island an important hi-tech industry hub for the global market.
As to the current status, we are proud to announce that CTSP’s total turnover for 2008 fiscal year amounted to
NT$286.2 billion, a growth of 8% compared to last year. Since the global financial crisis of September 2008, industries
both domestic and abroad have faced tremendous impact. Amidst gloomy global forecasts, CTSP still maintained an
8% growth rate, that is an extraordinary performance. Moreover, for the first two months of 2009, the total turnover is
NT$19 billion, with a growth of 1% in January and a growth of 21% in February compared with the previous months
respectively. It is estimated that the turnover of 16 photonics enterprises is about NT$13.5 billion, accounting for
70.83% of the total turnover; NT$4.5 billion from 5 IC enterprises, accounting for 23.38% of the total turnover; and
NT$930 million from 23 precision machinery enterprises, accounting for 4.89% of the total turnover.

Q PIDA: Please tell us the competitive advantages of CTSP?

A Yang: CTSP is now regarded successful in the following aspects:
► Creating hi-tech industry clusters to attract investments and the flow of overseas capital. Industry clusters are
already forming from domestic photonics, semiconductor, precision machinery, and biotechnology industry enterprises;
most in the photonics field, with the No. 1 industry firm AU Optronics in residence, as well as renowned international
firms including Corning Display Technologies, Taiwan Nitto Optical, JSR Micro Taiwan, PKLT Co.
► Promoting technology upgrade for traditional industries in central Taiwan and the vertical integration of mid-
and-downstream satellite industries. As the CTSP's expansion and its growing influence in regional development
have caused many companies to return to Central Taiwan, giving momentum to the transformation and upgrading of
traditional machinery and other industries in the region.

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 7

 Special Topic

► Promoting population increase, formulating new living and commercial circles,

Fig.1 Yang foresees a prominent future for CTSP
Courtesy : PIDA
invigorating commercial and economic activity. Since the establishment of the CTSP,
Taichung City's infrastructure, population, and traffic have been shifting gradually west.
With Park employees moving into the area, a new CTSP commercial circle has sprung up,
fed by related service industries and commercial activity. Nearby Taichung area restaurants
and hotels have also benefited from ever-increasing diner and occupant numbers.
► Fully demonstrating government efficacy and establishing a new format for central
and local government cooperation. This is a clear demonstration of the highest level of
efficacy in policy implementation, and a shinning example of central and local collaboration.
Such efficiency has allowed companies to seize business opportunities at their onset, and
resident enterprises have directly acknowledged this great government achievement.

Q PIDA: Any incentives to encourage manufacturers to apply for

CTSP?
A Yang: High-tech manufacturers based in the CTSP are eligible for many incentives,
such as:
► No import custom duties are imposed on machinery, raw materials, fuels,
supplies, or semi-finished imported for its own use.
► Manufacturers that can be categorized as “Newly emerged important strategic
industries” are exempted from corporation income tax.
► Grants for R&D and other incentives.

Q PIDA: What’s your plan for CTSP in the future?

A Yang: For the next ten years, we are hoping that, at the current rate of expansion,
total number of CTSP resident firms will exceed 135. With continued investments from
AUO, Corning Taiwan, and major semiconductor firms Winbond Electronics, ProMOS
Technologies, and Rexchip Electronics, total investments are expected to reach the
trillion-NT mark; the number of employees is expected to exceed 60,000; and total
turnover should reach the 600 billion-NT mark.
Besides, we are aggressively planning for the fourth site of CTSP. Erlin Park in
Fig.2 landmarks in CTSP Changhua County has been chosen as the CTSP’s fourth phase site in August 2008.
Courtesy : CTSP
Erlin Park is scheduled to begin operation in July 2009, with planned investment totaling
NT$1,200 billion in 2017 and an annual turnover of NT$920 billion.
Meanwhile, we (CTSP Administration) and Changhua County Government co-hosted a business
solicitation conference at Changhua County Government on January 21 2009, which drew approximately
200 companies from Changhua. Currently, five major photonics, semiconductor and precision machinery
manufacturers including AU Optronics, Winbond Electronics Corp., Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd., Hota
Industrial MFG Co., Ltd. and Shuz Tung Machinery Industrial Co., Ltd. have already expressed their interest
in setting up plants at Erlin Park. Changhua County’s prospects look brighter than ever with its transformation
as a key district of high-tech industrial development thanks to the construction of Erlin Park.

With diligence and aggressiveness, Yang is confident about the bright future of CTSP. The
establishment of the CTSP has not only contributed greatly to the well-being of people living in central
Taiwan, it is also the comprehensive realization of the government's “Green Silicon Island” policy.
Together with the cooperation of the Hsinchu and Southern Taiwan Science Parks, CTSP is going to be
more important than ever.

8 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2

Special Topic

Southern Taiwan Science

Park–Shortcut to the Top
of the World
Home to the most prominent TFT manufacturing chain and largest Solar Cell
company in Taiwan , Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) comprises Tainan
Science Park (TSP) and Kaohsiung Science Park(KSP). Tainan Science Park
is situated between Sinshih, Shanhua and Anding Townships of Tainan County
with a total area of 2,565 acres. Kaohsiung Science Park is situated between
Lujhu, Gangshan and Yongan Townships of Kaohsiung County with a total area
of 1,409 acres. Superiorly embraced by two superhighways, STSP aims to be
an advanced, multifunctional and multinational science park. The following is
the interview made by PIDA with the Director-general Chun Wei Chen of the
STSP Administration.

By Dan Guo

Q PIDA: What is the current development status of STSP?

A Chen: By the end of 2007, the number of approved tenant enterprises totaled 220 with turnover of NT$558.87
billion, growing by 23.8% than the previous year; the employee number reached 50,000. It is estimated that in 2011,
annual turnover of the STSP tenant enterprises will exceed NT$ 1 trillion.
With the advantages over spacious land, cheap rent for land, and stable water and electricity supply, STSP has become
an important site for the innovation technology of Taiwan’s photonics industry and “green energy” industry alike.

Q PIDA: What about the “green energy” industry in STSP?

A Chen: The green energy industry has been actively developing in STSP. Green energy consists of two major
aspect: “energy generation” and “energy conservation”. In the regard of “energy generation”, tenant enterprises include
Taiwan Polysilicon (silicon wafer material), MJC PROBE (solar cell ingot sawing), MOTECH (solar cell & electricity
generating system), Gloria Solar, Tai-photovoltaic (solar cell modules), NANO-WIN TECH (thin-film solar cell), and
Delta (power converter for regenerated energy); there are also those including EPISTAR, Formosa Epitaxy, Genesis
Photonics, EPILEDs from LED industry engaged in “energy conservation”. In the future, more relevant R&D institutes
will be introduced to STSP to assist the enhancement of industry capacity of green energy.

Table 1 Green Energy Cluster

Solar Cells Power Converter for Regenerated Energy Solar Cell Conductive Paste
Delta Ag Pro
Motech
Tai-photovoltaic Technology Fuel Cells LED
NANO-WIN TECH Boyam
Gloria Solar
Auria Solar Sapphire Substrates EPISTAR
Axun Tek Solar Formosa Epitaxy
Kenmos Photovoltaic Company Advanced Crystal Genesis Photonics
Chi Mei Energy EPILEDs
Solar Systems EBILUX
Everphoton Energy
King Enertech

10 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2

 Special Topic

Fig.1 STSP Director-general Chun Wei Chen Fig.2 Bird’s Eye View of STSP
Courtesy : PIDA Courtesy : STSP

Q PIDA: What is STSP’s plan to attract investments?

A Chen: With an aim to become a significant center for technological advancement that also emphasizes
the preservation of nature, environmental protection, promotion of cultural activity, and high quality of life,
we have set up the plan of establishing STSP area to form a high-tech supply chain, integrating academia,
industries and R&D and encouraging industrial upgrading in southern Taiwan. Moreover, observing the
development of science parks, STSP will merge the industrial resources of Kaohsiung and Tainan and, along
with Nantzu Exports Processing Zone, Kaohsiung Multi-function Economic and Trade Park, Kaohsiung
Software Industrial Park and Pintong 2-G Exports Processing Zone, creates the Southern Taiwan Technology
Corridor, with the vision of a Green Silicon Island.

Q PIDA: As to the Future, what do you envision for STSP?

A Chen: With plans laid ahead, we expect that:
► Expediting the Establishment of Key Industry Clusters at KSP
With assistance from the Science and Technology Advisory Group, Executive Yuan, and in collaboration
with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the Kaohsiung County Government, the STSP
Administration was able to establish a photovoltaic industry hub and a medical device industry cluster
at the Kaohsiung Science Park (KSP). This includes the establishment of the Center for Photovoltaic
Concentrator Power-Generation R&D with the help of the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER), the
implementation of the Medical Device Special Zone Development Plan with the help of the MIRDC, and
incubation operations carried out by the National Cheng Kung University Business Incubation Center on
behalf of the MOEA Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA).
► Building a Safe and Sustainable Environment
As work-related fatalities per million-persons reach a new low in 2007, the STSP is on its way to achieving
the goal of zero work-related disasters for 2009. Continued improvements towards a more comprehensive and
effective STSP disaster prevention system keeps the STSP ahead of local and international science parks and
industrial zones. The TSP Resource Recycling Center will engage in the OHSAS18000 certification process.
The achievement of being both ISO and OHSAS-certified will mean a safer and more environmentally-
conscious work environment.

From the interview, we have learned that STSP has encountered some crises in the past, but in
the end they were turned to opportunities. For example, the resonant vibration of the high speed
rail once shattered the investment willingness of companies, but along with the completion of
vibration reduction projects, the problem was solved. Besides, the high speed rail has now become
an important part of the STSP traffic network. “You need to know the task for current stage, then
to respond with right action, and finally to get more done in less time,” said Chen. With this tempo,
STSP is going to embrace another ten years of success.

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 11

Special Topic

First Taiwan PV
Industry Cluster Shines
in Letzer
Since the 4 th quarter in 2008 when the economy took a tumble with the
subprime financial crisis, industries all over the world are shrouded in
recession. The photonic industry in Taiwan is included. However, a report from
Industrial Development Bureau Ministry of Economic Affairs shows that the
land rental rate in Letzer Industrial Park, Yilan, still remains high at 85.35%.
How does business in Letzer Industrial Park grow despite recession? PIDA
had an exclusive interview with Mr. Kuo-Hua Lu, Magistrate of Yilan County,
and Mr. Andy Lo, Director –General of Industrial Development and Investment
Promotion Committee. The following are the selected questions from the
interview.

By Angel Chiou

Q PIDA: As we know, Letzer Industrial Park now actively recruit PV players to enter the park
and is ambitious to be the first complete PV industry cluster in Taiwan. Please introduce the PV
industry in Letzer Industrial Park.
A Mr. Lu: Shortage of materials has been an issue for Taiwan’s PV industry and has hindered Taiwan from being
a top solar cell exporting country. It is also the reason why Taiwan does not have a complete industry chain for PV
industry in the past. Lezter Industrial Park, however, had recruited Sanyoun Technology who is the first company in
Taiwan to own the key technology to produce polysilicon. Now, Letzer Industrial park has players in up-, middle- and
down-stream, building up the largest and most complete PV industry cluster in Taiwan.

Q PIDA: How PV industry Table 1 PV Industry Chain in Letzer Industrial Park

becomes the primary focus in Industry Chain Companies Product/ Technology
Letzer Industrial Park? Sanyoun Technology Polysilicon
A Mr. Lu: According to the Upstream
Taiwan Semiconductor Wafer and wafer cutting
distribution of Taiwan’s technology Sunrise Global Solar Energy Solar cells
industry clusters, semiconductor
Unitech Solar cells
companies locate in northern Taiwan,
Middlestream Big Sun Energy Technology Inc. Solar cells
the precision machinery industry is in
Sun Well Solar Thin film solar cells
the central region, and TFT-LCD panel
makers are in the south. These high- Top Green Energy Technology PV equipments

tech industries are all fully developed Powercom PV modules

and form industry clusters managed Downstream Taiwan GPP Inc Wafer package
by different science parks. Companies Enerage Equipment supply
of PV industry, on the contrast, scatter Source : Yilan County Government

12 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2

 Special Topic

over the island and lack a science park to facilitate the progress of
the industry. In this way, it would be difficult to bring resources
and talents into full play, and the technology transfer would only
have limited effect. Therefore, Yilan County Government is
working with PV players to build up Taiwan’s first PV cluster in
Letzer Industrial Park.
In addition, as Yilan is known for its achievement in
environmental protection, how to pursuit industrial progress and
environmental sustainability at the same time becomes the biggest
concern. PV industry’s nature of being sustaining and non-
polluting is coordinated with the expectation of people in Yilan
County.

Q PIDA: What is the challenge when recruiting PV

players to set up plants in Letzer Industrial Park? And
what is your strength?
A Mr. Lo: In order to recruit companies, we had participated Fig.2 Mr. Kuo-Hua Lu, Magistrate of Yilan County
Courtesy : PIDA
in a great number of conferences and exhibitions to meet and find
suitable companies. At the very beginning, not many PV players
would enter the park due to the weak industry chain effect and traffic issues. However, with the teamwork
of Yilan County more and more companies began establishing their plants here. In 2006, Hsuehshan Tunnel
was open to connect Taipei and Yilan, cutting down the traffic time from two hours to just 40 minutes and
thus allowing PV industrial cluster to take off.
In comparison with science parks in the west, Letzer Industrial Park is advantaged by being closed
to the capital Taipei, as well as the cheaper rent for lands. Moreover, the high efficiency of Yilan County
Government is also highly praised by those manufacturers. On the principle of “Investment/ investors first,”
we speed up the whole application flow to make it possible that “application on the 1st day, site investigation
on the 2nd day, and issuing license on the 3rd day.”

Q PIDA: What is the future plan for the development of Letzer Industrial Park as PV
industrial cluster?
A Mr. Lu: Besides improving the infrastructures within the park, we are also planning to construct “Center
of PV Research, Demonstration, and Certification.” The main purpose of this center is to strengthen Taiwan’s
research effort as well as to expand the cluster effect through the establishment of the center.
On the other hand, “Center of PV Research, Demonstration, and Certification” can also serve a platform
to integrate resources from industry, government, academia, and research institutes, cultivating talents to
meet the future needs.

At the end of the interview, Mr. Lu mentioned his expectation of Letzer Industrial
Park as an opportunity to bridge the urban-rural gap. By constructing Yilan as the
hometown of solar cells, he aims not only to draw high-tech professionals to work in
Yilan, but to create jobs for local residents as well.

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 13

 INDUSTRY NEWS

Current Taiwan
PV Industry Outlook
By Angel Chiou

A
s shown in Fig.1 ,Taiwan
PV industry’s revenue Unit: million NTD
of 2008 Q3 is NTD 25,000
31.9 billion, comparing to a sharp 20,000
decline in 2008 Q4 as NTD 15,000
25.8 billion. The drop of upper-/
10,000
middle-/ down-stream revenue
shows the whole PV industry 5,000

chain were impacted by the 0

07Q3 07Q4 08Q1 08Q2 08Q3 08Q4
financial crisis, which resulted in
upstream crystalline
the first negative growth in Q4 in silicon material 4,427 4,674 5,737 6,278 7,122 6,904
Taiwan PV industry. middle stream silicon
wafer & thin-film PV cell 13,286 15,080 15,443 17,507 23,375 18,349
Generally speaking, Q2
and Q3 are considered peak downstream PV module
780 1,029 1,333 1,804 1,442 595
and PV system
period for PV industry. In 2008
Q3 however, the downstream
players showed a recession for Fig.1 Revenue of Taiwan PV Industry
Courtesy : PIDA
the first time. The recession
got worse in Q4 due to 1) the
termination of subsidy in Spain, upstream crystalline silicon material
2) the decrease of Germany’s middle stream silicon wafer & thin-film PV cell
downstream PV module and PV system
FIT (Feed-in Tariff), and 3)
160%
impact from the financial
140% 135%
recession resulted from subprime 132% 130% 134%
120%
mortgage. The plunged demand 123% 113% 113%
114%
100% 97%
from low end market has caused 106% 102% 109%
80% 80% 78%
the recession in whole PV
60%
industry. As shown in Figure 2,
40% 41%
the downstream players faced
20%
the biggest decline among the
0%
industry chain for around 60%, 07Q4� 07Q3 08Q1� 07Q4 08Q2� 08Q1 08Q3� 08Q2 08Q4� 08Q3
while the middle stream recessed
for 20% and the upstream only Fig.2 Revenue Growth Rate of Taiwan PV Industry
slightly influenced. Courtesy : PIDA

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 15

INDUSTRY NEWS

Upstream Middle stream Middle/ Down stream Downstream

Cell Submount
III-V Epi Power Generation
Substrate CPV module Balance of system
Chip System
package

• Institute of Nuclear • The efficiency of Arima Photovaltaic & • Arima EcoEnergy

Energy Research ordered
MOCVD from Aixtron to
research into germanium/
III-V-based 3rd generation
solar cells.
• Tyntek cooperates with
National Tsing Hua
University to research into
the increase of GaInP/
GaAs/Ge triple-junction
solar cell efficiency by
photonic crystal.
Optics’ solar cells top No.4 worldwide passed IEC-62108
at 38%, while remaining 37% in mass test and began
production. to ship its Spain
order in Feb.
• CompSolar developed secondary solar
concentrator module and active tracking
system for its 3rd generation III-V solar
concentrator module with efficiency up to
39%.

Fig.3 Taiwan III-V Multi-junction & CPV Industry Updates

Courtesy : PIDA

• Vertical integration: Motech will increase its capacity of cutting wafer up to 60% to
reach an annual capacity of wafer at 160MW.
• Vertical integration: Eversol builds PV module plant and invests in PV system.
• E-TON received an order of 50 MW from an international player.
• Unitech stops expanding the solar cell plant in Yilan.

Power
Polysilicon Ingot Wafer Cell Module PV Inverter Generation
System

• Vertical integration: Delsolar raises its module capacity five

times and cooperates with Delta Electronics to enter PV system.
• Sintek’s PV module began to ship in Feb.
• Ritek’s solar cells received TÜV in shortest time.

Fig.4 Taiwan Wafer-based PV Industry Q1 Updates

Courtesy : PIDA

16 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2

 INDUSTRY NEWS

PV Design Application
Surges in Taiwan
By Angel Chiou

P
V Design Application Forum 2008 was
held on December 19, 2008 in Taipei
International Convention Center (TICC),
Taiwan. Supervised by Bureau of Energy, Ministry
of Economic Affair, the forum was hosted by
Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and
was concurrently held with the ceremony of Jin-Yi
Award. The purpose of the PV Design Application
Forum is to show the government’s efforts in
promoting PV applications in the past few years
and provide a chance for PV system integration
companies to share their experiences of installing
and utilizing PV applications.
The display area was divided into seven parts
according to different themes, mainly emphasizing
the integration of buildings and PV applications.
The seven themes of PV application
include Solar City, Solar Campus, Solar
Top (Architecture), Solar Roof, Solar
Community, Emergency, and Agriculture.
Solar Campus
Solar Campus is a project cooperated by
MOEA and Ministry of Education since 2006,
aiming to offer subsidy to 40 schools in Taiwan
to install PV systems. The installation amounted
to 135.402 kWp and generated a total amount of
162,482 kWh electricity, reducing 100,739 kg
CO2. Schools that participated in Solar Campus
Project include Yanchao Junior High School
(3.675 kWp), Jia Li Elementary School (3.132
kWp), and Tau-Yuan Junior High School (3.5
kWp).
Solar Top (Architecture)
Solar Top is a project that combines PV
installation into architectures to create a new
31000kW
kW (estimated)

10000
Solar City
7000 5000kW
Solar City Project is now executed A growth rate of 250% per annum
by the local governments of Taipei 5000
County and Hualien County in North
2000 2000kW
Taipei Photonic Recreation Area (240.13 980kW 1300kW
kWp) and Heart of Hwei Lan (202.4
0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2010
kWp) respectively. The purpose of this
2006/1: PVTC established
project is to create a new local landscape
that combines cultural features with
the technology of photovoltaic. The
PV systems installed are expected to
generate 531,072 kWh and reduce CO2 Fig.1 Growth of PV Applications in Taiwan
Courtesy : Photovoltaics Technology Center, ITRI
emissions by 329,265 kg.

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 17

 Embrace the Sunshine, Treasure the Earth

Promotion of PV Appli

Energy Commission of MOEA Energy Commission granted MOEA’s Remote Areas Solar City II
established. full subsidy of PV installation to Emergency Project
ITRI took up the research on government units.
PV technology.

▲Keelung Islet 4.4 kWp ▲Ground-breaking Ceremony of

▲PV Lab, ITRI ▲Taipei Water Department 6.48 kWp Heart of Hwei Lan

Taiwan’s first company of Solar City was put into practice by Conclusion of National Energy Solar Top
Amorphus Silicon Solar the Bureau of Energy according to Conference— to reach the total
Cell— Sinonar Corporation the Planning and Implementation amount of 21 MWp in 2010
of the Challenge 2008 National
Development Plan.
3
Photonics Industry &
Technology Development
Association established.

▲Liudai Hakka Cultural Park

▲Motech Industrial Inc. 20 kWp

Bureau of Energy, MOEA,

granted 50% of PV ap-
plication fee.

1st Jin-Yi Award—

PV Application Design

Bureau of Energy,
Supervised by: Ministry of Economic Organized by: Co-organized by:
Affair

18 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2

cation in Taiwan
20 thousand
households
Solar Campus Solar Agriculture Solar Community

▲Yuanlin Junior High School, ▲Hsinchu Branch of Livestock

Changhua County Research Institute

3rd Solar Taiwan

Exhibition
ITRI established Photovoltaics Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry 2nd Solar Taiwan Exhibition
Technology Center. Association (TPVIA) established.

1st Solar Taiwan Exhibition

5th Jin-Yi Award—

Competition of Outstanding
PV System

4th Jin-Yi Award—

Competition of PV Application Design

3rd Jin-Yi Award—

Landmarks with PV Systems.
2nd Jin-Yi Award—
Creativity Ignites Life; Technology
Enriches Culture

Courtesy: Photovoltaics Technology Center, ITRI

/ Edited by PIDA
 INDUSTRY NEWS
look and trend of BIPV— Building Integrated
Photovoltaic. Liudai Hakka Cultural Park (75 kWp),
National Museum of Taiwan History (195 kWp), and
National Museum of Maine Biology & Aquarium
(100 kWp) are expected to complete their integration
of PV system by 2009, which would generate
approximately 444,000 kWh per year in the future.
Solar Roof
Began in 2000, Solar Roof is the earliest project
for the government to promote the installation of PV
system. By the time of Dec. 12th 2008, up to 267 cases
have been completed. One of the best examples is the
PV system installed on the roof of the Office of the
President (10 kWp), which is completed in 2002 to
show the government’s determination to pave the way
for the success of PV industry. The other examples
include Cingjing Farm in Nan-Tou County (10.08
kWp) and Nan-Ying Green City in Tainan County
(20.4 kWp). By Dec. 12 2008, the installed PV
systems in Solar Roof have accumulatively produced
3510.355 kWp and generate 4,212,402 kWh.
Solar Community
Together with MOEA, Taiwan’s local
Fig.2 Winners of Jin-Yi Award and Mr. Yunn-Ming Wang, Deputy Director General,
Bureau of Energy, MOEA
Courtesy : Photovoltaics Technology Center, ITRI
20 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2
governments put Solar Community into practice to
reinforce the public’s perception of PV system as
clean energy as well as to enhance communities’
standard of living through the installation of PV
systems.
Emergency
Started from 2006, remote districts and
islets began to install PV systems through the
government’s help. This is due to the unsteady
power supply in these areas especially during
the season of typhoons or in situations such as
earthquakes. The PV installation would provide
electricity for emergency use for the residents in
those remote areas.
Agriculture
Participants of PV installation in agriculture
include the Hsinchu Branch of Livestock Research
Institute (7.11 kWp), and Taichung District
Agricultural Research and Extension Station (3.15
kWp). The annual electricity generated in this
project is 64,922 kWh, and the reduction of CO2
emission is 40,295 kg.
According to Dr. Chung-Wen Lan, the general
director of Photovoltaics Technology Center, ITRI,
385 solar power system have been installed in
Taiwan with an accumulated capacity of 5 MWp.
Six million kWh has been generated by Dec.12th,
2008 to provide electricity for approximately 1600
households. A total of 3,720 tons of CO2 has been
reduced. PIDA further indicates that the capacity of
Taiwan’s PV industry in 2008 tops No.4 in a global
ranking with a total revenue of NTD 123.7 billion.
PIDA expects the PV industry to reach revenue of
NTD 270 billion in 2009 and NTD 740 billion in
2011.
The forum was concurrently held with the
ceremony of Jin-Yi Award, which is awarded
annually since 2004 to promote photovoltaic
applications and recognize individual or group
participants who apply the creations on solar
energy and photovoltaic to life of the human
beings.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Biggest Research Drive
For Cheaper Solar Energy
By Brian Bell, London Press Service
A
national team
of scientists is
embarking on one
of the United Kingdom’s
largest research projects
into photovoltaic (PV) solar
energy.
The PV-21 program—
led by experts at Durham
University, north England—
is to focus on making thin-
film, light-absorbing cells
for solar panels from sustainable and affordable
materials.
The four-year project beginning in April 2008,
costs 6.3 million pounds and is being funded by the
UK’s Engineering & Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC) under the Supergen initiative.
Eight UK universities, led by Durham and
including Bangor, Bath, Cranfield, Edinburgh,
Imperial College London, Northumbria and
Southampton are involved in the project.
They will work with nine industrial partners
towards a medium to long-term goal of making solar
energy more competitive and sustainable, particularly
in view of recent rises in fossil fuel prices.
Today, solar cells— used to convert light energy
into electricity— are made from key components
such as the rare and expensive metal indium that
costs about 320 pounds sterling (660 US dollars)
per kilogram.
To cut costs in solar cell production, the research
team will work to reduce the thickness of the cells.
Fifty tonnes of material could be saved just by
22 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2
making a solar semiconductor
thinner by one millionth of a
metre in solar cells generating
one gigawatt of power.
Researchers will also
experiment with sustainable
low-cost materials that could
be used in the manufacturing
of solar cells, and on the use
of nanotechnology and dyes
on ultra-thin silicon to capture
increased amounts of energy
from the sun’s rays.
Principal investigator Professor Ken Durose, in
the Department of Physics at Durham University,
said “With the rapid increase in fossil fuel prices
and the recent UK government announcement
about investment in nuclear power, it is even more
important that we look at long-term future energy
generation from solar power.
“At present you would need tens of tonnes
of very rare and expensive materials for large-
scale production of solar cells to produce sizeable
amounts of power. Some of the materials currently
used may not be sustainable in 20 years’ time,
which is why we have to conduct research into
alternative materials that are cheaper to buy and are
more sustainable,” he added.
“We are also leading the way in making ultra-
thin solar cells that need less material. Our medium
to long-term goal is to make a major contribution
to achieving competitive photovoltaic solar energy
which we hope will lead to an uptake in the use of
solar power,” said Professor Durose.

Fig.1 Seeing the light— Professor Ken Durose holds a sample of an absorber layer of a thin-film photovoltaic cell developed by Durham University experts in the
quest to make solar energy more sustainable and affordable.
Courtesy : Durham University
The latest funding follows an initial four-
year research project by PV-21 focusing on the
development of thin-layer PV cells using compound
semiconductors based on the cadmium telluride and
chalcopyrite systems. This work will form the basis
for testing new ideas over the next four years.
Chris Pywell, the head of Strategic Economic
Change at regional development agency One
NorthEast, said “This project will add substantially
to the position of north-east England which is
already at the forefront of photovoltaic energy
research.
“This leading position presents a great
opportunity to the region as the world addresses
climate change. As well as the strengths of Durham
and Northumbria universities that are demonstrated
by this success, we have the PV development
INDUSTRY NEWS
facilities at NaREC, the new Petec facilities at
NETPark, and great businesses such as Romag.
“The agency, Durham University and our other
partners are committed to building on this new
project and our many other successes to ensure
the region leads the UK in renewable energy,” he
added.
The Engineering & Physical Sciences
Research Council is the UK’s main agency for
funding research in its title’s areas. It invests about
740m pounds a year in research and postgraduate
training.
The areas covered range from information
technology to structural engineering, and
mathematics to materials science. The EPSRC
works alongside other research councils with
responsibility for other areas of research.
OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 23
INDUSTRY NEWS
PV Industry Recruits New
Blood in Recession
T
he world’s economy has been growing
weak since the financial crisis caused
by the subprime mortgage taking place
in September 2008. And there is no exception to
any country in the world, Taiwan included. While
companies across the employment spectrum
announced job cuts in Taiwan, there are still some
industries recruiting in reverse, for example the
photovoltaic industry.
According to Directorate General of Budget,
Accounting and Statistics, a cabinet-level office
handling most of the duties of the nation’s
comptroller’s office and census bureau combined,
Taiwan’s economy grew even sicker in February as
the unemployment rate jumped to 5.75 percent in
February to 624,000, two record highs since 1978.
Families also sharply cut spending, underscoring
the government’s growing sense of urgency that it
needs to mount a bigger defense. To this day, lay-
offs are still in the ascendant because the global
downturn has yet come to cease.
Nevertheless, there are quite a few photovoltaic
companies go all out to recruit recently because
“this is a circumstance which is of disadvantage
from job seekers’ point of view but certainly offers
better chances for hiring companies, especially the
strongly growing cleantech sector such as solar
power and wind power ,” said an industry analyst.
Based in the Central Taiwan Science Park, the
industry new blood Sunner Solar Corporation is
absorbing talents released by the other industries
aggressively. Vice President Howard Ou said in
default of an adequate number of specialists in its
core sector, the solar industry has started recruiting
24 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2
By PIDA
an increasing number of experts from other
industries, like semiconductor.
Founded in June in 2007, Sunner Solar put up
a manufacturing center for thin film modules. In
first phase, Sunner Solar employs a 25 MWp a-Si
PV module production line, and schedules the mass
production in the second quarter of 2009. The next
phase of expansion will take place in the second
half of 2009, with a focus on the latest thin film
product of amorphous and microcrystalline tandem.
The company expects to reach an overall production
capacity of 100 MW as of 2010. At that time, there
will come a third phase of expansion, which aims
to maximize production capacity to over 200 MW
before 2012, as well as to add various products in
the PV applications and building integrated PV.
Emerging requirements
from PV clients asking
for outstanding
cross-over talents
Under a tight timetable for product
development, Mr. Ou said professional talents are
in urgent need. “Sunner Solar is racing against
time to build up our capacity and technology R&D
strength,” Mr. Ou said, adding that the company
is at the same time planning to construct the other
factories within three years to overtake most of the
competitors in Taiwan in the critical span of time. A
 INDUSTRY NEWS

huge demand for professionals goes along with the According to Recruit Express Pte Ltd., a staffing
mid-term plan, which is a large-scaled recruitmentsolutions provider that matches the right people
for employers, recently they see a signal of from
up to 1,000 talents in the central city of Taichung.
the other sectors, for example the semiconductor
It is not unique, but has its counterpart. Smaller
players in the space are also overjoyed due to theand chemical materials.
global economy shakeout. Chip City Inc., a solar Both large and small-scale solar power
light emitting diode (LED) manufacturer based in facilities are becoming commonplace, according to
central Taiwan, is hunger for engineer salepeople Recruit Express. Underscoring the industry trend,
to cope with orders and inquiries from existing a report published by McKinsey & Company
customers and prospects. projects that solar will become more economically
Gintech Energy Corporation, a south attractive, despite technological uncertainty and
Hsinchu-based solar cells manufacturer and the continued importance of regulation. In fact
marketer invested by Everlight Electronic Co, the report states, “A new era for solar power is
LTD., a global leading manufacturer of LEDs, approaching. Long derided as uneconomic, it is
displays, infrared and photocoupler components gaining ground as technologies improve and the
serving various applications in the consumer, cost of traditional energy sources rises.”
computing, automotive, telecommunication “Financial crisis is not a PV crisis”, states
and industrial market segments, hollers for Michael Schmela, editor-in-chief of PHOTON
more experts specialized in multicrystalline and International, the photovoltaic magazine, in its
monocrystalline solar cells, multicrystalline and October 2008 edition. He points out that “demand
monocrystalline silicon solar cells. is likely to continue exceeding supply in 2009”
and that “financial lenders generally
consider solar power systems a very
safe haven for investment. ” The
Financial crisis turns forward-looking comments bring a
out to be an oppurtunity sense of optimism to the renewable
energy sector and lights up a hope for
for PV companies the future.
Notably, the magazine pointed out
a phenomenon. Temporary workers
One of the most notable things is Sino- are the first to feel the general economic crisis;
American Silicon Products Inc., one of the employees with limited working contracts will
world’s top 10 solar producers headquartered in follow. So at operator level, solar companies
Taiwan, made a loud appeal to the public for its should benefit from a noticeable relaxation of the
human resource policy in January, a time when job market during the next one to two years.
the economic slump was dashing the world. The To look ahead for a further growth of
company announced a series of measures to boost the PV industry, and in consequence, of the
morale with several guarantees, including no lay- demand for brilliant professionals, there are no
off and no unpaid leave. Sino-American Silicon significant changes or declines in the overall
even took one step ahead to call up for 400 more market situation for the next one to two years.
talents as of 2009, which was taken a move to On the contrary, there will be a surging demand
stimulate the freezing workforce market. for people in the PV industry across functions,
Aside from domestic companies, some large- from C-class executives, senior managers with
sized multinational solar power players are background in engineering, sales, marketing and
making known to the public for technical team. financing, to on-site operators.

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 25


DelSolar Plans Out to Get Ahead
T
aiwan-headquartered solar cell maker
DelSolar Co., Ltd. vowed in mid April
to top one of the five leading players in
the world in five to seven years, and will consider
expanding its business scope by cooperating with
partners.
DelSolar expects to capitalize on its cutting-
edge technologies and the innovation resources
and rational allocation in enterprise group to gain
as much ground as it can in the coming years, R.C.
Liang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
said in an interview with Photonics Industry &
Technology Development Association (PIDA).
The company’s following aggressive but
cautious action is a five-year NTD 4 billion
syndicated loan with a total of nine banks in mid
February. According to the company, 75 percent
of the loan is used to cover DelSolar’s plant
investment in Taiwan, the purchase of production
Table 1 Capacity and output expansion plans
Year 2009
Production capacity 240
Production volume 125
Source : DelSolar Co., Ltd.
DelSolar
By PIDA
equipment and ancillary facilities for twenty-four
solar cell production lines expansion.
When the establishment completes, DelSolar’s
annual capacity is expected to reach up to 840
MWp. The rest 25 percent of the loan is exercised
to enrich DelSolar’s midterm operating working
capital. In addition, the company has started its
second manufacturing site in Jiangsu province,
China and expects 60 MWp this year also a full-
scale production capacity of 240 MWp in the
following 2 to 3 years.
In a lousy economy, while most of businesses on
the lookout for the light at the end of the tunnel some
time late this year or early next year are trimming
investment in an all-round manner, the industry new
blood consolidates at every step to deploy mid to
long term substantial growth, Mr. Liang took it as a
move to demonstrate the company’s determination to
achieve the ultimate goal.
Annual total amount (MWp)
2010 2011 2012
480 720 840
480 660 840
OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 27
Company Profile
“ Wi t h t h e
outstanding
conversion
efficiencies of
18.3% (average)
and 16.6%
(average) of
mono and
poly cells
r e s p e c t i v e l y,
we have found
Fig.1 DelSolar’s capacity success within
Courtesy : DelSolar Co., Ltd.
our grasp,” said
Mr. Liang, adding that the company will not only
pragmatically schedule for volume production in
July this year, firmly carry through the working
routine, but will also seek opportunities to merge or
acquire companies in the industry at a moment of
truth.
Mr. Liang stressed that this year will be a
critical one due to the subprime mortgage crisis that
burst out in the fourth quarter in 2008. “In the solar
cell industry, the steep market drops have already
cascaded away the demand. In the first two months
of 2009, the market was almost as sluggish as dead
water,” said Mr. Liang.
And as the crisis has been slashing across
industries and regions in the world over the past few
quarters, Mr. Liang said a handful of competitors
in the space suffered badly and found no way to
raise funds to support their businesses. “This is
the moment for DelSolar to outreach to those who
can complement perfectly either in technology
or business territory,” said Mr. Liang, admitting
the company is currently in talks with several
candidates.
Founded in late 2004, DelSolar strived
to become one of the most leading solar
cell providers through leveraging several
exceptionally rich natural resources. Among
other things, the synergy of the alliance between
its parent company, Delta Electronics Inc, the
world’s largest provider of switching power
supplies and brushless fans, and the Industrial
Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a national
research organization that serves to strengthen
28 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2
the technological competitiveness of Taiwan, is
crucial to the company’s objective.
Mr. Liang highly praises Delta’s strength in
power electronics and extensive knowledge in
control technology as it helps the group take strong
lead in the industry as well as aid other subsidiary
companies to penetrate into market. DelSolar also
benefits from Delta’s manufacturing plants based
in Taiwan, Thailand, China, Mexico and Europe
because that allows the company to take care of any
demand from local customers and market.
For ITRI, Mr. Liang contributed the successful
development of an average of 18.3% conversion
efficiency of solar cells to a large core research and
development team that evolved from a handful of
talents coming from ITRI at the initiative stage.
“Up to now, in DelSolar the share of the labor
force engaged in R&D is 13%, and around half
of employees have experience in semiconductor
engineering,” said proudly Mr. Liang.
Mr. Liang placed further emphasis on talents
because “technology and people are the most
essential for the company to grow by leaps and
bounds in the future.” In general, the solar cell
community breaks down technology into several
major cell types, including wafer-based silicon
(bulk), thin film, III-V compounds and organic.
DelSolar has been focused on the bulk silicon and
yielded distinguished results, but as a veteran in the
power source world, Mr. Liang charged the R&D
team with a task to build strength for pull-ups in
maybe just five years. “When the time comes, we
are all ready to take off,” said Mr. Liang.
At present, more and more governments in the
world beware of the disastrous effect of energy
crunch so as to embark on national-level guidance
for renewable energy program as part of rescue
efforts to save the tottering economies. “Compared
with the struggling industries, banking and real
estate for example, the solar cell industry seems
to hit bottom and growth is expected to pick up
steam,” said Mr. Liang, indicating the dynamics of
market supply and demand is getting lively starting
April.
With uncertainties keeping mounting one after
another fragmentarily, the new hand in the PV
 DelSolar

industry moving to the

sidelines and temporarily
suspending our estimates
and price target, Mr.
Liang is looking forward
to the significant upbeat
catalyst, which is energy
policy, some common
goals in terms of energy
policy shared with
governments across
the global, to stimulate
the business cycle of
troughs.
Fig.2 The groundbreaking ceremony
O n A p r i l 1 7 th a t Courtesy : DelSolar Co., Ltd.
the National Energy
Conference, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan urged Act will be a move to declare the government’s
legislators to merge eight versions of a bill on determination in creating a low carbon society. “If
renewable energy as soon as possible and pass the package is well designed based on the concept
the negotiated version by the end of this session. of efficiency and fairness, everyone is the winner,”
Mr. Liang said the pass of the Renewable Energy said Mr. Liang.

Fig.3 Mr. R.C. Liang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DelSolar Co., Ltd.
Courtesy : DelSolar Co., Ltd.

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 29

 Green Energy Technology

Green Energy
Technology
Aims to Top the Best
By PIDA

G
reen Energy Technology (GET), Taiwan’s
largest maker of mono-crystal solar
power silicon wafers, said on April 20th
that it is aiming to top the best in the world by
keeping enhancing the quality of products all along
the line, and to accelerate to integrate resources to
optimize strategic alliance to solidify leadership
position and substantial growth.
According to a market research report released
in 2008, GET has enjoyed a victory over Japanese
Kyocera Solar, Inc., one of the leading suppliers
of environmentally sound, solar electric energy
solutions, in the annual capacity to rush to the
world’s number 5 vendor. GET shipped 200 MWp
while Kyocera produced about 170MWp. “On the
strength of well-versed technology and talents,
we ramped up at a high speed to meet a tier one-
level requirements,” said Christine Chen, Senior

Table 1 Top 10 Solar Producers (Unit: megawatt)

Company name 2006 2007 2008(E)

REC(Scan Wafer) 430 630 830

LDK 160 400 800

Deutsche Solar 250 380 710

PV Crystalox 290 375 490

GET 60 200 350

Yingli Solar 95 195 295

M Setek 150 224 292

Sino-American Silicon Products Inc. 60 120 240

Kyocera 144 173 207

Wafer Works Corporation 20 100 150

Courtesy : Industrial Bank of Taiwan, 2008/01

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 31

Company Profile
Fig.1 Green Energy’s plant in Longtan
Courtesy : Green Energy Technology
Manager of investor relations office of GET in an
interview with PIDA reporter.
Although the global economy will likely
shudder to recessionary levels in 2009 as the
financial crisis is rippling through the western world
in several ways, GET works grimly to increase
capacity. “We persevere to crawl to an annual
capacity of 300 MWp by the end of 2009, which is
one more step close to the goal,” said Ms. Chen.
The 5-year-old GET was born in an era that was
bustling with demand for more natural energy. Ms.
Chen recalled that 2004 was a time that the most
recent intermittent shortages of raw silicon started,
and has mainly affected makers of crystalline
silicon solar panels “way down the road” for about
four years.
According to the other report released by
California-based market research institute Navigant
32 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2
Consulting, the silicon shortage prevented the panel
makers using crystalline technology to fully respond
to demand. Thus silicon-based panels declined from
about 93% to about 89% market share from 2004 to
2007. Navigant Consulting also said that the solar
industry would become the largest user of raw silicon
in 2008, outpacing the semiconductor industry.
At that time, GET decided to cross over into
thin film module manufacturing to carve out the
other lucrative new business. In mid 2007, the
largest producer of solar wafers in Taiwan teamed
up with Applied Materials, Inc., one of the global
leaders in equipment and service products for the
fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panels
and solar photovoltaic cells, to set up the first 8.5
generation thin film solar module production line in
the north city of Taoyuan in Taiwan.
“As a wafer supplier for crystalline silicon

solar cell manufacturing, we seized
the chance to exploit new customers
and new business,” said Ms. Chen.
The company’s management team
hoped to use thin film technology for
solar cells to capitalize on the greater
availability of these glass substrates and
the expanding worldwide need for cost-
effective photovoltaic panels.
Ms. Chen said there are significant
economic advantages to large-area thin
film solar technology because the thin
film solar modules use a tiny amount of
silicon that they are used to. In addition,
they can be used in application products
that offer attractive design features
such as “illuminating solar panels (or
Lumiwall)” where they are combined
with light emitting diodes (LED), and
see-through type solar panels that permit
natural light to pass through.
The thin film technology is based on
copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS)
arranged on a flexible backing, suitable
for both the tops and the sides of
buildings, tinted windows, cell phones,
notebook computers and cars. Thin film
solar panels are “printed” onto the rolled
backing, eliminating many of the highly energy
and chemical intensive processes that are typical in
convention PV manufacture.
Ms. Chen said GET obtained certification from
Germany-based TÜV Rheinland for its smaller-
sized 5-generation amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin-
film photovoltaic (PV) modules (1.1×1.3 m in
panel size) after they were shipped to in March for
validation. The company expects to be granted such
certification for 8.5-generation models (2.2×2.6 m)
in the third quarter of this year.
Ms. Chen added GET plans to target rapidly-
growing applications for these more cost-
effective, large-area modules, such as power plant
and building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV)
installations. “The sharp decline of the costs of PV,
along with global government subsidies in Europe,
the United States and China, enable the industy to
Green Energy Technology
become a potent sector in the market while offering
up to 60% electrical efficiency savings, lowering
carbon dioxide emissions, and providing inflation-
proof electricity for years,” said Ms. Chen.
Ms. Chen made a comment on 2009 prospect.
“As much as the sector hopes to see a boost in the
coming years as the global governments, Obama
administration and China in particular are expected to
allocate more of their spending or offer subsidies for
solar energy, we do as the law says,” said Ms. Chen.
Ms. Chen took China for example. In March,
the Asian giant announced it would provide
subsidies for solar-power installation. “Although
that move is expected to be more beneficial to
Chinese-based companies in the sector, players
who have successfully built supply chain with local
partners like us will likely to gain from the stimulus
package,” said Ms. Chen.
GET is a subsidiary of Tatung Company, a
designer and manufacturer of an array of digital
consumer products, from personal computers,
liquid crystal display televisions (LCD TV), to
home appliances. Since the establishment in
July in 2004, GET has engaged in the directional
solidification crystal growth system (DSS)
since it began to invest in the crystal growth in
mid 2004, with main products of multi-crystal
silicon wafers (125×125 mm or 156×156 mm)
in thicknesses ranging from 325~200 µm, and
single-crystal ingots and wafers. The directional
solidification is a series of measures applied to
control the feeding of castings, and is frequently
employed as a purification step in the production
of multicrystalline silicon for solar cells.
Fig.2 Green Energy’s plant
Courtesy : Green Energy Technology
OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 33
 Photonics Festival in Taiwan
Re-Ignites the Momentum
of the Industry
Concurrently held Display Taiwan proves to
have another successful year

A
lthough economic crisis affects all sectors of the industry, Photonics Festival in Taiwan (PFT) 2009, held from
June 10 to June 12 2009, shows the vigorousness of Taiwan photonics industry. This year, this exhibition
boasts another 1300 booths, among all, more exhibitors registered in the PFT exhibition, in which the number
of booths rises from 660 to 800, showing a 21% growth. This is mostly due to the bright performance of the LED
Lighting Taiwan and Solar Taiwan sectors.

According to show host PIDA, it is going to be another splendid year for PFT because:
■ Connected with Computex (world's No.2 ICT & its application show), bringing continuing trade visitor flow
from computex and stimulating trading atmosphere, as illustrated in Fig.1.
■ Co-located with Display Taiwan (The primer Display show in Asia). All the photonics & optoelectronics are
under one roof, building cross industrial cooperation.
■ Besides, energy saving LED lighting + energy generating Solar cell will boost the momentum of PFT.

Number of Visitors expects to

reach 35,000 in 2009

Exclusive Preview of Solar Taiwan next

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 35

 Solar Taiwan 2009 to
Bring New Visions to
the Industry
E
choing the bright performance of the
photovoltaic industry in Taiwan, SOLAR
Taiwan 2009, held from June 10 to
June 12 2009, is set to be another success story
among the siblings in the Photonics Festival in
Taiwan family. Riding high with clean energy and
environmental protection issues, Solar Taiwan
brings you the latest technology breakthrough and
full vision of the solid infrastructure of Taiwan’s
solar cell manufacturers.
Taiwan has now become an important
manufacturing base for solar cell productions
and has thus been establishing a complete supply
chain, please refer to Fig.1. With their strength in
ingot, wafer, solar cell, and module productions,
Taiwan manufacturers are working to cooperate
with companies in system installation, project
Polysilicon
Fig.1 Taiwan manufacturers is at a strategic position to attract buyers
Courtesy : PIDA
36 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2
integration and even upper stream polysilicon
production fields. And Solar Taiwan is going to be
the place where business opportunities are created.
Following the success of the first event of
its kind in 2008, Solar Taiwan comprises more
exhibitors than that in 2008, with many leading
players in the industry attending. Taiwanese PV
maker Sinonar Solar and Japanese PV maker
Nisshinbo will be there to show their latest products
and development.
According to show host PIDA, the exhibitors
this year should reveal the progress of the
Taiwan industry. “We can see that Taiwan’s PV
manufacturers are growing rapidly,” noted Stephy
Chen, PIDA’s PV analyst, who has researched PV
industry for nearly ten years.
This year, the introduction of Advance Green
 Fig.2 Photos from past Solar Taiwan Exhibition
Courtesy : PIDA
Photonics Zone also helps boost the vision of Solar
Taiwan 2009. According to show organizer PIDA,
the Advance Green Photonics Zone will exhibit
innovative green products from domestic industry
and academia, exhibits including award-winning
products, posters promoting green energy, vehicles
powered by solar energy, models symbolizing the
use of solar power and LED lighting technologies.
Besides, a model for the main venue of the World
Games 2009 Kaohsiung will be exhibited at the
Advance Green Photonics Zone as well.
Moreover, a lot of Taiwanese optoelectronics
The major exhibits of Solar Taiwan 2009 are as followed
(1) Solar integrated product and applications
■ Portable power source
■ Lighting/Traffic/Signal and Communication
■ Watch/Clock/Calculator/Toy
(2) Photovoltaic(PV) system and installations
■ On-grid/off-grid PV systems
■ Hybrid PV systems
■ Balance of system components
■ Engineering & Installation
(3) PV module
■ Standard, Customized
(4) Solar cell
■ Wafer Silicon, Thin Film, ■ CPV/DSSC and rganic
companies stepped into the solar business based
on their strengths in optics and laser technology.
“Taiwanese equipment makers had extended the
business from automation systems and to process
equipments, such as plasma deposition and
furnace,” she added.
Other than the mainstream technologies, such as
wafer type and thin film type, GaAs solar cell and
CIGS were displayed this year. Last year, M-Com
had demonstrated a GaAs solar cell with the
conversion rate above 25%, what will be the next,
please come to Solar Taiwan to find out more
(5) Materials
■ Wafer, Glass substrate, Flexible substrate
■ Paste/Lamination Materials
(6) Production Equipment
■ Wafer(Cleaning/Processing/Measuring/Testing)
■ Cell(Cleaning/Etching/Coating/Deposition/Printing/
Sorting/Testing)
■ Module assembly(Cleaning/Tabbing+Stringing/
Lamination/Sorting/Testing)
(7) PV program
■ Project developer, Financial service,
■ Consulting service
OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 37
 CREE SETS THE STANDARD FOR ARCHITECTURAL, RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AND OUTDOOR LIGHTING

CREE XLAMP LEDs. THE CHOICE WHEN 4 BILLION PEOPLE ARE WATCHING.
®

THAT’S LIGHTING-CLASS.
Built to deliver energy-efficient beautiful light, Cree XLamp LEDs outperform all
others in brightness and efficacy. And they prove it daily at thousands of
commercial, architectural and residential installations worldwide.

Contact a Cree Solutions Provider or authorized distributor at

www.cree.com/xlamp or call +86-21-5283 1808.

XLamp XR-E XLamp MC-E XLamp XP-E

The proven platform. Up to 456 lumens Same output as
Up to 114 lumens at 350 mA — the XR-E at 20%
at 350 mA 4x the flux, same the package size.
size as an XR-E.
Photos depict actual installations using Cree XLamp LEDs. Cree, the Cree logo and XLamp are registered trademarks of Cree, Inc.
 2009 Outstanding Photonics
Product Award Winners

AU Optronics
Product:
46” FHD Eco Plus Panel
AUO 46” FHD Eco Plus Panel is a 46” Full HD AMVA3 model plus double frame rate (120Hz) and stylish feature,
which is a high-end model for TV. It presents not only sexy looks but also environmental consciousness. The
versatile green panel encompasses all green concepts such as power-efficiency, weight reduction, slimness,
and enhancement on package efficiency. Most important of all, Eco plus panel is not just a conceptive product
but a MP ready model.
Feature:
1. Eco friendly low power consumption: 150W 5. High color depth: 1.07B color
2. World wide lightest 46” panel: <9Kg 6. Slim thickness (<20mm)
3. High brightness: 500nits 7. Narrow bezel (14mm)
4. High contrast ratio: 5000:1 8. Packing efficiency increase 66%

Himax Display
Product:
HX7027
HX7027ATGFA is an active matrix liquid crystal display with resolution of 640X480XRGB dots. HX7027ATGFA is
ideal for portable and industrial applications. Horizontal digital data drivers and vertical scan drivers are integrated
with single crystal pixel transistors meet the performance demands of light weight, high speed and high resolution
applications. HX7027ATGFA receives 8-bits x 3-dots (RGB) of digital display data per clock simultaneously and
generates corresponding voltage output of 256 level gray scales, which displays 16M colors simultaneously.
Feature:
1. Resolution of 640x480x3
2. No spacers in the display area
3. RGB 8-bit digital inputs
4. Integrated horizontal data and vertical scan drivers
5. Horizontal and vertical bi-directional scanning
6. Embedded DE mode timing controller
7. Maximum 15V power input
8. Capable of displaying 256 gray scales by 12 internal reference voltages
9. Embedded programmable gamma reference voltages
10. Embedded programmable VCOM voltage
11. Two-wire serial interface for internal register setting

40 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2

 2009 Winners
Limit Optics Co., Ltd.
Product:
Automatic-focus Liquid Lenses
Innovation:
1. Silent focusing— with the application of curvature of the liquid lens,
to achieve the state of silent focusing.
2. Total shooting distance— shooting distance from infinity to 2cm
close shot.
3. High durability— with the application of the non-memory liquid, the
lens is almost as new every focusing.
4. No need to focus when assembling— with the fixed back-focus-
length for different object distance design, there is no need to refocus
when assembling on the sensor.

ARLUMI MACHINE CO., LTD.

Product:
Photopolymerization UV Embossing Machine
Feature:
1. High yield rate (high up to 62% )
2. Energy Saving (save for 47% )
3. Cost down(<45%)
4. Brightness (high up to 34%)
5. Environmental protection and Energy Saving (save for
electric and film and UV Lighting)

ASIA OPTICAL CO.INC

Product:
4V4H1G Line Laser
4V4H1G Line Laser is a high accuracy line laser instrument
special with high accuracy, multifunction (4V4H1G 9 lasers
indication), fast leveling speed, and small size. There are 9 red
lasers for the indication of level, vertical and plumb. The leveling
speed is very fast, profit from the PID adjusting method of the DC
motors.
Innovation:
The MEMS sensor is for the first time used in line laser
product, so the product size is very small. With the temperature
compensation technic, the product can reach a very high
accuracy. The “LOCK” function can be used for the special
application requirement.

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 41

2009 Outstanding Photonics Product Award Winners

Chi Mei Optoelectronics

Product:
57”Vivid Motion Tech
Chi Mei Optoelectronics has developed the world's leading panel display
technology in 57" Full HD (1920 * 1080) with high resolution and 240Hz
high frame Rate. We overcome the data writing distortion. Besides, liquid
crystal can be operated at 4 ms to achieve fast response time and low
motion blur requirement.
Feature:
1. First 240Hz screen refresh rate in the TFT-LCD industry, providing
better motion image quality in high-end market than the current 120Hz
models.
2. Advanced Over-Drive technology and LED scanning backlight
system improves the motion image quality to 3.6ms.
3. CMO has divided LED array to different driving area with white light LED
scanning backlight system.
4. CMO has successfully overcomes some TFT restrictions with effective layout design and exclusive
high frequency driving technology.
5. High-level LCD TV application + Large public display application.

Wintek Corporation
Product:
Multi-Touch Resistive Touch Panel
Comparing to traditional 4-wired resistive touch
panel, Multi-Touch Resistive Touch Panel is the
ITO patterning procedure on top and bottom ITO
films. Therefore the multi touch function is easily
realized through the digital driving method by the
controller IC.
Feature:
1. Operated by pen or gestures
2. A highly innovative ITO patterning structure in
the resistive touch panel.
3. Single and multi touch function via touch panel
controller
4. Flat surface— by laminating Deco film on the
resistive touch panel

Arima Lasers Corporation

Product:
ADL-63V01CZ (635nm/500mW C-mount diode laser)
Feature:
1. Window diffusion process to avoid COD (Catastrophic
Optical Damage)
2. Design of LD heat sink and submount
3. AuSn eutectic process
4. Lens attaching technology
5. Own capability for building high power burn-in & testing
system

42 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2

 2009 Winners
Young Optics Inc.
Product:
Pico projection light engine
Pico projection light engine has the characteristics of high brightness
and power saving. It is very suitable for the embedded design into any
IT electronic product. Patents implemented in the product include the
highly efficient LED illumination and thermal management, wide color
gamut > 120% NTSC, ultra –resolution wide-view-angle projection
lens and precise manufacturing technology.
Feature:
1. Brightness 7 Lumen / W
2. Battery: Common phone’s battery is able to be operated for 2hrs
3. Volume: 10 cc
4. Optical contrast: 1,500:1
5. Projection screen: 5”~ 60”
6. Conform to RoHS regulation

CHUNGHWA PICTURE TUBES, LTD.

Product:
26 inches multi-view Stereoscopic 3D TFT Display Panel
CPT’s stereoscopic displays present a three-dimensional image to a viewer without the need
for special glasses or other head gear, so it provides the potential for the more widespread
adoption of stereoscopic display technologies.
Innovation:
Glassless stereoscopic Display
New parallax barrier design
Stereoscopic image arrangement technology

EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Product:
SL-Dolphin Street Light
The EVERLIGHT SL-Dolphin Street Light series covers with 60W, 90W, 120W and 150W LED light engine power consumption and
is capable of offering very high luminaire light output up to 13,000 lm. With efficiencies reaching up to 75 lm/W while installed on
8m poles, they provide improved brightness and high uniformity compared to traditional street lights installed on 12m poles, while
offering up to 40% energy savings.
Features:
1. Pb-free and RoHS-compliant devices meets green environmental initiatives
2. No UV or IR light radiation, but instead special batwing and asymmetrical light patterns that suit various road surface conditions
3. 100V~240V AC input for worldwide operation
4. UL, ENEC, and CNS Certifications in progress

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 43

Product News

SYSNIX CO., LTD.

www.sysnix.com.tw

OP-623 Full Frequency MTF Tester

Feature:
• High accuracy MTF measuring for DSC
lenses from VGA to 5M pixel
• BFL measuring is no limit
• Up-side-down configuration for easy
measuring the reflow lenses
• Load/ unload: X-Y table with Tray
(10×10)
• Full frequency MTF measuring
(0~400 lp/mm)
• Friendly user interface

Function:
• MTF Measurement
• BFL Measurement
• TV line measuring

Chang-Yu Technology
Co.,Ltd.
www.cyttw.com.tw

H360 is an automatic sorting machine

to classify high power LED efficiently. It is
available for automated loading and
sorting out for 66 bins with buffers at
unload section to prevent stopping
during production. Throughput is up to
PPH 4K.

H366 is for high power LED automated

taping. After loading DUT with tube
automatically, H366 taps and moves
DUT forward by parallel vibration track,
picking/placing DUT to each station by
absorption device. H366 also has
electricity test station to tell apart the
different direction of DUT or failed DUT,
as well as to put them into the No-Go
tube. Throughput is up to PPH 2K.

44 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2

 Product News

TCO Development
www.tcodevelopment.com
www.greenitedge.com

TCO Displays 5.0 – the new TCO

standard for Displays
TCO Development presents TCO
Certified – the label for ICT products
- designed for you and the planet. For
over 20 years, TCO Development has
been at the forefront of environmental
and user-centered design for computer
equipment. What began as a label to
limit the electromagnetic fields from
computer displays, has now grown to
become the only international label to
ensure ergonomic and environmental
design. TCO Development is now
excited to launch a new generation
certification program that leads the
environmental challenge as never
before, while offering unprecedented
performance and design for user comfort.

Orient Service Corporation

www.osc-tw.com

WET SCRUBBER SYSTEM MODEL

CQ-800A
• Process 3 Inlets: KF50 Type 2” (50mm)
Connections. EXHAUST: NW80 TYPE
Connection. JRequired
• Draw: -31/2” (88mm) ± ½”(12.7mm)
Water Column;Min.30CFM~Max.40CFM
• Cabinet Exhaust: 3000 SLM (95CFM) 6”
Duct, Stainless Steel Or FPR(Fiberglass
Reinforced Plastics).
• NaOH Inlet: 0.3 LPM, 45 PSI~80PSI, ¾”
Flange Connection.
• Fresh Water Inlet: 10 LPM, 45 PSI~80PSI,
¾” Female NPT Connection.
• Electrical Power Requirement: 208/220
Vac, 10 AMP, 50hz/60hz, three Phase,
4WireJ

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 45

Product News

EMIT TECHNOLOGY
CO., LTD.
www.emit.com.tw

EMITEK’s Planar Lightwave Cir-

cuit (PLC) Splitter is a cost-effective
and space-saving product. It is based
on planar lightwave circuit technology.
The compact size is the best choice for
constructing Passive Optical Networks.
It could be installed in a small size
module easily.

Solteam Opto, Inc.

www.solteamopto.com.tw

ezSignage LM6448F-6 and

LM12832F-6 are miniature-sized , slim,
and power-saving full color LED displays.
They are placed together by an 8x8 full
color LED matrix, so that a customized
dimension is possible.

Features:
• 6.0mm pixel pitch with SMD LED
(3 color in one).
• Thickness is 20mm.
• Power saving: typical operating <20W.
• System embedded.
• No thermal issue.

46 • OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2

 Product News

Well Expediting Ent.

Co., Ltd.
www.wec.com.tw

Edixeon® Federal series, an

ultra-compact small sized high power
LED, offers 13 different choices of color
from White series (2,670K~10,000K),
single color series as well as IR and
UV series (395nm~740nm). The small
footprint of Federal series is ideal for
modular customization. Standard module
comprises three Edixeon® Federals on a
star-sized MCPCB.

Through its proprietary automated pack-

aging process, Edixeon® Federal series
conforms fully to the RoHS directive as
with the rest of its Edixeon® family and
offers accurate and stable manufacturing
yields for a competitive edge over cost
and delivery.

EISO ENTERPRISE
CO., LTD
www.eiso.com.tw

Special Design of Pipe-style

LED Lamps
LED Control Design — LED mining
at both ends of the control design,
LED amount in minimum
Optical Lighting Tube —
• No toxic chemical elements
included
• The application rate of light
refraction is more than 60%
• UV/ RV light filtering function
• High rigidity/ high weather
resistance
• With high process ability and
bending ability

OPTOLINK International Edition 2009 Q2 • 47