Magma to develop software for solar cell fabs

BANGALORE, INDIA:  Magma Design Automation Inc., a provider of chip design software, today announced the development of a new yield enhancement software system that is customized for solar fabs to improve conversion efficiency, increase yield and reduce the manufacturing costs of solar cells.

A company statement said that Magma would collaborate with Pegasus Semiconductor -Solar to refine product specifications and test the new product, based on Magma's Yield Manager software system.

The new product will allow solar fabs to better monitor all metrology, inspection and performance data throughout the manufacturing process that would enable fab operators to identify and correct causes of solar-efficiency and yield degradation caused by subtle fab processing fluctuations, said a press release.

“To keep up with the overwhelming demand, innovation in the solar fabrication process must be accelerated, and today no enterprise-wide yield enhancement software exists for solar fabs,” said, Dr. Sudhindra Tatti, president of Pegasus Semiconductor-Solar.

“Being able to base a much-needed solution on a proven product such as Yield Manager is a terrific advantage for Magma,” he added.

The software system would provide fast, accurate data analysis in a few seconds that would save time, maximize equipment utilization, increase yield and reduce costs, the release said.

“The demand for low-cost alternative energy far outstrips the supply today. We're pleased to support the explosive growth of this fledgling industry with proven, yield management technology,” said Ankush Oberai, vice president of the Magma's Failure Analysis Business Unit.