Introducing a broad portfolio of electrical and industrial control products that resist voltage sags, electrical industry leader Square D / Schneider Electric today announced a global initiative to provide semiconductor manufacturers and equipment makers with products that comply with SEMI F47, the industry standard designed to reduce the impact of voltage sags on process equipment.

EPRI, the Electric Power Research Institute, has certified dozens of the company's products as SEMI F47-compliant, including contactors, relays, drives, and DC power supplies. Schneider Electric has also introduced a number of new products to help equipment overcome voltage sags, including a new low voltage ride through module for contactors and relays and an innovative electronic sag protector aimed at mitigating sags for complete equipment protection of critical subsystems.

"Given the cost associated with downtime and damaged product, finding ways to overcome poor power quality is one of the most important issues facing the semiconductor industry today," said Matthew Douglas, microelectronics marketing manager for Schneider Electric in North America. "It can take several hours to days to recalibrate and requalify a fabrication line affected by even minor voltage sags and surges.

"With our recent acquisition of Accusine for harmonics and EFI Corp for surge protection solutions," added Douglas, "we have now expanded our solutions to address additional power quality problems that have a devastating effect on computers and electronic subsystems used in wafer processing, testing, and handling equipment, adding to the already significant production losses."

The average wafer fabrication plant suffers as much as 30% downtime and significant lost production, much of it caused by voltage sags and dirty power. The negative impact on production yields of poor quality power will only grow with the transition to 300 mm wafers. The goal of SEMI F47, which was issued by International SEMATECH, a global consortium of some of the world's largest semiconductor chip makers, is for process equipment and components to be able to ride through power problems and maintain production.

The power coils used in contactors, relays, drives, and other industrial controls in semiconductor manufacturing equipment are most susceptible to dirty power. Thousands of coils are found in the process equipment and facilities of the average wafer fabrication plant.

Schneider Electric, a leading supplier of electrical, industrial control and automation products for microelectronics applications, has dedicated significant resources to developing sag-resistant equipment solutions that can be applied globally. The company has introduced dozens of SEMI F47-compliant products in 2002 and development work is continuing on new products as well as custom-engineered solutions for equipment makers and fab plants.

Schneider Electric has three laboratories in the U.S. dedicated to testing and evaluating surge protection technologies, including one of the world's few labs capable of performing high-energy tests up to 175,000 amps. This allows the company to test all power protection devices within environments that simulate an entire power system, simulating worst-case scenarios to improve product performance and safety.

SQUARE D, TELEMECANIQUE and MERLIN GERIN products from Schneider Electric that have been certified to meet or exceed SEMI F47 standards include a new low voltage ride through module for the TeSys D-Line contactor family, a new MULTI 9 miniature circuit breaker, D-Line, F-Line, and K-Line contactors and PREVENTA safety relays, as well as CA2K and SK relays, the industry's smallest industrial control relay, PHASEO DC power supplies and REACTIVAR ESP, an electronic sag protector.