News

12 January 2009

 

Rudolph tailors fab management software to PV manufacturing

Rudolph Technologies Inc of Flanders, NJ, USA, which provides process control metrology, defect inspection and data analysis systems for semiconductor device manufacturing, has launched Discover Solar, which it describes as the first fab management software tool designed specifically to help photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers increase cell efficiency and reduce costs.

“Increased competitiveness and demand in the solar industry requires PV manufacturers to focus on cell efficiency to maximize margins,” says chairman & CEO Paul McLaughlin. The new fab management software was designed to help PV manufacturers accomplish this, while also producing cost reductions that will further help the industry reach grid parity. “While it builds on our extensive experience and leadership in integrated circuit manufacturing, Discover Solar was specifically designed to accommodate the critically important differences in the PV fabrication process,” he adds.

“Based on our success with Discover analysis and data management software for the semiconductor industry, Discover Solar incorporates a completely re-engineered database structure and analysis engine optimized for the unique requirements of high-volume photovoltaic production,” says Mike Plisinski, VP & general manager of the firm’s Data Analysis and Review business unit. “It provides comprehensive analysis of process performance information, allowing manufacturers to discover and act upon opportunities to improve the energy conversion efficiency of their products,” he adds. “Using Discover Solar, PV process engineers can monitor the health of a complete production line and quickly identify tool and sub-component problems as well as incoming material issues that could impact the line. If even possible, this kind of analysis would take hours to perform without Discover Solar.”

Discover Solar accepts all available data from each step in the solar manufacturing process. Also, statistical process control with automated reporting delivers critical information speedily, the firm adds.

See related item:

WIN installs multiple Rudolph NSX inspection tools

Search: Rudolph Technologies Photovoltaics

Visit: www.rudolphtech.com