Cycle Time Analysis For Photolithography Tools In Semiconductor Manufacturing Industry With Simulation Model: A Case Study
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Date
2008-11
Authors
YUEN TIEN, SIOW
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Abstract
The industry of semiconductor wafer fabrication ("fab") has invested a huge amount
of capital on the manufacturing equipments particular in photolithography area which has
driven the needs to re-look at the most profitable way of utilizing and operating them
efficiently. Traditional industrial engineering analysis techniques through mathematical
models or static models for the studies of photolithography process are simply not adequate
to analyze these complex environments. In this research, a more realistic representation of
photolithography tools that can give a better prediction results and a more systematic
methodology for minimizing photolithography cycle time is presented. The proposed method
is to reduce waiting time and increase utilization of the photolithography process, which
would result in an overall equipment cycle time reduction. For a given route and processing
time of a particular product type, the entire photolithography tool is formulated using
Integration Definition for Function Modeling (IDEFO) and it is integrated into a simulation
model for further analysis. The simulation model provides visibility and understanding into
the internal dependencies and interactions of each process in photolithography tool.
Experimental set up through Design of Experiment (DOE) approach is presented with the
purpose of identifying critical parameters that influence the photolithography cycle time. The
results from the simulation analysis are then used to propose solutions to minimize the
overall photolithography cycle time.
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Keywords
Cycle Time Analysis For Photolithography Tools , A Case Study