Applied Materials Inc. has released Applied E3, an equipment and process control solution and factory automation software package designed to improve productivity and reduce costs in photovoltaic solar cell manufacturing.
Utilizing proprietary algorithms, the Applied E3 system can boost process capability by more than 30%, reduce unscheduled down time and shorten cycle time to achieve up to a 20% increase in overall equipment effectiveness, the company says. The system integrates all critical equipment automation and process control components to deliver a flexible, user-friendly and powerful fab-wide equipment engineering system solution.
‘With its graphical development environment and pre-configured modules, the Applied E3 system is quick to deploy and easy to update and extend, offering a fast and cost-effective route to raise factory output,’ says Manfred Kerschbaum, senior vice president and general manager of Applied Global Services.
Equipment automation, data collection and logic handling simplify the construction, deployment and maintenance of automated process control applications. Fault detection and classification collects and analyzes equipment parameters to provide rapid feedback on process performance issues and avoid unexpected failures that decrease productivity.
Also, run-to-run control uses patented feedback algorithms to reduce process variability by adjusting processing parameters in real time, enabling more consistent output, higher yield and greater productivity. Equipment performance tracking monitors every processing tool in the factory and provides visual and statistical reporting tools to identify bottlenecks and improve factory performance.
Applied Materials: (408) 986-7977
SOURCE: Applied Materials
