Feb. 4, 2009 – SEMI has released a “guidance document” for a photovoltaic standards roadmap that lists dozens of standards and guidelines it says are applicable to PV manufacturing to save costs and spark innovation.

PV manufacturing is being hotly pursued by many semiconductor equipment and materials suppliers as the next big growth engine, but the segment “has a highly specialized and unique set of needs,” notes Dan Martin, EVP of PV business development and global standards for SEMI, in a statement.

Key areas of focus in the standards document, which was put together by “industry stakeholders” including equipment and materials suppliers, cell and module manufacturers, and safety experts, initially include areas such as: wafer carriers and physical interfaces, chemical and gas purity, device tracking, equipment metrics, facilities, safety guidelines, silicon specifications, and process controls.

The “Global Photovoltaic Standards Roadmap Guidance Document” also describes planned collaborations with other standards development organizations, including ASTM International and IEEE, as well as increased participation with research laboratories such as NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) in the US.

The Roadmap’s next development phase, Martin noted, will identify and establish timelines for top priority areas in PV manufacturing where new specifications, test methods, and safety guidelines can be developed to further reduce costs within cell and module manufacturing.