New Product: Magma’s ‘YieldManager Solar’ software improves yield and cell production costs

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Product Briefing Outline: Magma Design Automation Inc. has introduced ‘YieldManager Solar,’ a yield enhancement software system customized for solar fabs that is intended to improve energy conversion efficiency, increases yield and reduces the manufacturing costs of solar cells. Based on software proven in the semiconductor industry, YieldManager Solar provides fast, accurate analysis and correlation of all metrology, inspection and performance data used throughout the solar cell manufacturing process. With this information, solar fab test and production engineers can quickly identify and correct root causes of solar energy conversion efficiency and yield degradation caused by subtle fab processing fluctuations or instability – saving time, maximizing equipment utilization, increasing yield and reducing costs.

Problem: Inefficient energy conversion and the need to produce a very large number of wafers contribute to the high cost of solar-converted electricity and slow the growth of the alternative energy market. As with semiconductors, solar cells are produced using a variety of manufacturing tools and equipment, each of which presents data in a unique format. With such a complex process and varying data, identifying the root cause of problems requires a holistic approach.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Solution: YieldManager Solar can collect and organize current and historic manufacturing data from all the process equipment. It allows fab engineers to easily filter data by lot, ingot, substrate, wafer and other parameters and to generate customized reports and dashboards. With this comprehensive analysis system, problems can be identified quickly and easily. For example, a non-uniform doping level on a process step could cause a drop in sheet resistance that can reduce the energy conversion efficiency of a solar cell. By monitoring, reporting and sending alarms about these types of out-of-control conditions, YieldManager Solar helps engineers identify and correct problems quickly. Additional analysis can then be performed, as needed.

Applications: Solar cells

Platform: Magma’s electronic design automation (EDA) software is used to create complex, high-performance integrated circuits (ICs) for cellular telephones, electronic games, WiFi, MP3 players, DVD/digital video, networking, automotive electronics and other electronic applications. Magma products for IC implementation, analog/mixed-signal design, analysis, physical verification, circuit simulation and characterization.

Availability: Currently available.

Read Next

Premium
October 10, 2025
Gaëtan Masson of IEA PVPS warns of overcapacity, collapsing prices and slipping module quality in the new Trends in PV Applications report.
October 10, 2025
The European solar module market has reached a “state of equilibrium” in recent weeks, with stable prices and regular demand.
October 10, 2025
US solar recycling firm OnePlanet has achieved the R2v3 certification from electronics sustainability non-profit SERI, which represents the “highest standards of traceability”.
October 10, 2025
NTPC Renewable Energy Limited has signed an MoU with the Government of Gujarat to develop 15GW renewable energy projects in Gujarat.
October 10, 2025
Australia's renewable energy sector recorded its slowest month of the year for additions in September, with 5.8GW of new projects added to development pipelines, according to data from Rystad Energy.
October 9, 2025
The Australian government has announced the results of the fourth Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) tender, with 6.6GW of renewables awarded long-term contracts.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK