When to Make any Investments

When semiconductor companies emerge from a downturn, the increase is massive and very fast. The management has little time to think about anything other than increasing production. This is what history has shown to be true. Conclusion, make your productivity improvements when production demand is light, NOW! There is no better time to implement the fast payback wireless gauge readers on the critical unmonitored gauges currently installed throughout the Fab. When production comes back, the Fab efficiency will be higher. By covering those areas where you have been encountering the highest losses with the WGR's will provide the capability to reduce wafer losses and scrap, reduce facilities supplied materials, gasses, water, energy and thus reduce costs. This will be a case where a dollar spent today will save two tomorrow. You want to know how, contact us. We can walk you through the simple steps.

First Steps to Implement APC Applications

The first steps needed involve developing a plan regarding the areas you need to control. Select those areas which you believe will give you the greatest payback in the shortest time. Usually that involves looking at functions where the Fab is experiencing the greatest scrap or yield losses and looking at the parameters which can affect the outcome in that process or manufacturing step. This usually involves the photo and etch areas initially in a semiconductor Fab. The next step is to begin to capture real time critical parameter data about the functions to be controlled. This approach has been demonstrated in literally hundreds of manufacturing control applications.

At this point most people apply Statistical Process Control (SPC) rules to the data streams. This allows them to manually make parameter corrections to determine the most sensitive parameters to adjust. Fundamental to all of this is capturing the data. We will address the follow-on steps in more detail in our next blog.

Starting Advanced Process Control, APC

Each year we hear that more and more companies have implemented APC in their manufacturing operation, first at the tool level and then at the fab wide level. Now, there is another level to be considered, the facilities supplied gasses, water, etc.. The observed variation in these parameters makes it imperative that they be precision controlled to achieve precision processing in leading edge Fabs. All process manufacturing operations as well as Fabs want and need to improve productivity, reduce costs, save materials and improve their environmental impact. Further, it is now practical and economical to implement the first step in the implementation process, data acquisition, using non-invasive wireless technology for older tools as well as well facilities parameters. We intend to describe how to get started and achieve net saving in a short time
For older Fabs, the argument that APC is too expensive is heard over and over again. It is simply not true and it is possible to get started by inexpensively collecting data in key supply areas to indentify the magnitude and extent of the possible savings areas.
It is our intent over the next few weeks to discuss how to get started and where you might expect to save dollars, resources and make your process manufacturing operation more productive.
Dick Deininger