Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) will inject funds into California-based firm Stion, taking a 21 per cent stake in the business.
Last year, TSMC purchased 20 per cent of Taiwanese organisation Motech Industries, the country's largest producer of solar cells, at a cost of $192 million.
According to a statement on its website, the chip maker's deal with Stion means the American manufacturer will license and transfer its thin-film technology to the semiconductor company.
TSMC employs around 20,000 staff worldwide and, in 2007, recorded sales of $9.83 billion.
Agence France-Presse reports that the country's government has estimated its solar energy industry will be worth £6.83 billion by the year 2020 and, last year, it passed a bill to install between 6,500 and 10,000 megawatts in renewable power systems across the territory over the next 20 years.
