SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: Applied Materials Incorporated, as a part of its attempt to expand its solar-cell business, has bought the assets of Advent Solar Inc. The price has not been disclosed.

Once the transaction is closed, the assets of Advent Solar will be integrated with the Energy and Environmental Solutions Group of Applied Materials.

Advent Solar, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the United States, offers IP and services to enable higher-valued cell and module products. It supplies its Ventura technology – which is a comprehensive cell-to-module architecture – through a licensing model.

In a statement, Applied Materials said that Advent Solar gains its cell-efficiency by making use of its Emitter-Wrap Through (EWT) back-contact technology, which is a part of the Ventura solar architecture.

The Emitter-Wrap gets rid of grid obstruction, even as it uses cost-effective fabrication processes and solar-grade materials like, for example, mainstream mono-silicon and UMG wafers.

The EWT cells have been designed to give high efficiency along with the lowest cost potential, according to Applied Materials.

Ventura Solar Technology cells are designed to be used with monolithic module assembly (MMA), a fully-automated module assembly process that applies proven semiconductor-style manufacturing techniques.

Applied Materials, which is expanding its activities in the solar-cell sector, had bought, in 2006, Applied Films Corporation, a supplier of thin-film deposition equipment used in making solar cells, flat-panel displays, energy-efficient glass and flexible electronics.

In 2007, Applied Materials bought Baccini S.p.A., a major supplier of automated metallization and test systems for making crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) cells. In the same year, Applied Materials acquired HCT Shaping Systems SA (HCT), a leading supplier of precision wafering systems for making crystalline silicon (c-Si) substrates for the solar-cell industry.