KLA-Tencor's PVI-6 solar inspection product

MILPITAS, USA: In advance of Photon Europe 2009, KLA-Tencor Corp. unveiled its latest inspection product, the PVI-6, designed for optical in-line dual sided inspection of photovoltaic (PV) wafers and cells.

The newest addition to KLA-Tencor’s ICOS division‘s PV portfolio, the PVI-6 provides customers with the capability to inspect solar wafers and cells at the highest speed and accuracy for all stages of the production process. These new capabilities enable solar manufacturers to achieve substantial yield improvements and more accurate product classification.

The PVI-6 consists of a family of inspection modules designed for the inspection of solar cells throughout the production process, from bare wafer, to silicon nitride (SiN) coating, metallization and final classification. Additionally, the PVI-6 software includes improved ease of use and analytical tools to increase the overall yield of the solar cell production process.

“KLA-Tencor’s ICOS division is the worldwide market leader for metrology and inspection solutions in the photovoltaic and back-end semiconductor markets. This new product offering is based on more than seven years of experience in the solar industry and more than 25 years of experience in inspection algorithms, camera technology and image processing,” said Jeff Donnelly, group vice president of Growth and Emerging Markets at KLA-Tencor.

“As a supplier to a majority of the top manufacturers in the PV market, we’re pleased to now offer the PVI-6 inspection tool, which has already completed beta testing in multiple customer sites with extremely positive results.”

Continuing KLA-Tencor’s tradition of developing best-in-class inspection and metrology solutions, the PVI-6 offers solar wafer and cell manufacturers the following key features:

* Higher accuracy and repeatability measurements, with up to a 4x measurement accuracy improvement, delivers higher yield and improved end-of-line cell classification.

* Easier calibration and set-up, with calibration time decreased by approximately 80 percent, enables faster product ramp during initial installation.

* Tool matching and central module management, offers consistent and easily attainable results in large production environments, across multiple production lines.

KLA-Tencor’s new PVI-6 solution offers enhanced user friendliness, industry-leading precision and sensitivity in detection and measurement, and state-of-the-art reliability backed by a worldwide support and service organization.