A view of contemporary systems and control challenges in photovoltaic cell manufacturing is given in this paper, with emphasis on developing a modeling strategy for the optimization of silicon nitride SiNx:H films used for passivation and antireflection coatings in single and multicrystalline silicon solar cells. The overall framework integrates three modeling modules: a remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition reactor process model that predicts film composition and thickness based on process input parameters, a solar-optical module that relates antireflection film physical and chemical properties to the degree to which the spectral irradiance distribution is attenuated, and a solar cell device model that predicts cell power output and efficiency from the film properties and irradiance. Because the model couples process inputs to both photovoltaic cell performance and manufacturing process efficiency, the modeling approach can be used for the simultaneous optimization of process and product performance. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.