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Chip folks follow the sun: AMAT scores PV tool deal, Sohn joins First Solar |
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Mar 05, 2007 at 11:17 AM |
Yes, there is life after---and along with---the semiconductor industry for a growing number of companies and individuals.
The intermingling of the integrated circuit and photovoltaic communities continues to increase, whether it's MEMC's multibillion-dollar deals with solar-cell manufacturers on the polysilicon materials and solar-wafer sides, Applied Materials' purchase of Applied Films last year, Cypress Semiconductor's lucrative SunPower subsidiary, or the hiring of chipmaking veterans by solar companies.
Applied announced a significant equipment deal with Indian PV manufacturer Moser Baer earlier today, for the "world's first Gen 8.5 thin-film solar production line." The PR goes on to say that the fully integrated production line (with CVD, PVD, laser scribing, and other supporting technologies) "will manufacture photovoltaic solar modules using ultra-large 5.7 sq meter substrates (2.2 m x 2.6 m). These glass panels, which are four times bigger than today's largest solar panel substrates, are expected to drive down panel production costs and help reduce the overall cost of solar electricity."
AMAT says the toolset will be delivered the second half of this year to Moser Baer's New Delhi site. The announcement marks Applied's first sale of a full PV production line, something the company was largely unable to do with its ill-fated (and oft-mocked) "Total Solutions" chip-tool/integrated-process strategy a few years back.
On the personnel front, word came last Thursday from Phoenix-based PV house First Solar that it has hired Bruce Sohn as president. Bruce has been a key player in Intel's 300-mm ramp, acting as co-fab manager of Fab 11X in Rio Rancho when it came on line in the early '00s as the company's first volume 300-mm production factory. (For a trip down memory lane, check out my extensive interview with Bruce in the July 2002 issue of MICRO.)
Turns out Bruce has been on First Solar's board of directors, so his appointment does not come out of the blue. His deep understanding of manufacturing brings a level of technological and operational expertise to First Solar that should be invaluable as the company seeks to scale production of its large-scale, cadmium-telluride-based PV modules in a world-class fashion.
The burgeoning overlaps and synergies between the IC and PV industries bode well for both the advancement of sustainable energy technologies and the ultimate sustainability of certain companies' evolving business models.
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