In this issue:

Business Infrastructure

 INTRODUCTION: Business Infrastructure
The Business Infrastructure section of the February issue of FEO focuses on the growing need for equipment manufacturers to pay attention to the 200 mm fabs’ needs. While it is exciting to be at the bleeding edge of technology, it is apparent that, business-wise, many manufacturers, as well as products companies, are better off focusing on and expanding in the more mature 200 mm technologies.

 Where Is the Innovation on 200 mm Silicon?
The concentration of money chasing the ITRS roadmap overshadows the myriad efforts happening in many 200 mm fabs worldwide. Conventional wisdom holds that the challenges of sub-65nm devices make 300 mm wafers “where the action is,” so why bother investing in 200 mm innovation? We see a different picture: 200 mm silicon has plenty of innovation life left. We will describe some areas of innovation and implications for continued investment in 200 mm development.

 200 mm Fabs Have a Long and Promising Future!
The semiconductor industry has been following Moore’s Law for the past four decades. With the progress to smaller geometries came, also, the increase in wafer size. In the past five years, leading manufacturers underwent transition from 200 to 300 mm wafers.

Asset Utilization

 INTRODUCTION: Asset Utilization
The Asset Utilization section has two articles that I can relate to: “Used Equipment: Organization 101+” and “Installing 8-inch Equipment in a 6-Inch-Generation Fab: Equipment Move-in.” An example for both occurred at Cypress Semiconductor.

 Installing 8-inch Equipment in a 6-Inch-Generation Fab: Equipment Move-in
Installing 8-inch equipment in a semiconductor fab with 6-inch equipment can be a viable option to increase production capacity or to produce higher-technology devices. However, fabs in the 6-inch generation may not be designed to accommodate the larger and heavier 8-inch tools, making it difficult to move the equipment into the fab. In such cases, building an elevated platform to raise the equipment to fab level and then using an air-bearing move-in system can provide a solution.

 Used Equipment: Organization 101+
No curriculum in Business Administration 101 would be complete without studying the classic functions of management: planning, organizing, coordinating, directing and controlling. Unfortunately, the market for secondhand equipment is not very traditional, especially when it comes to organization.

Fab Productivity

 INTRODUCTION: Fab Productivity 1
This year the semiconductor industry is experiencing a slowdown with many of the IDMs and foundries cutting back on capital expenditures. Cost reduction is uppermost on the minds of fab management today. This FEO section contains two papers which address the cost and productivity issue.

 INTRODUCTION: Fab Productivity 2
A challenge for all manufacturing companies is to maximize the capability of their operations and to stay cost competitive with newer facilities. This is especially true in the semiconductor manufacturing arena where we have historically experienced rapid progressions in technology and constant pressure to reduce costs.

 Practical Considerations of Implementing R2R Controllers - Part 2: R2R Control Checklist
Most semiconductor manufacturers consider run-to-run (R2R) control a vital component of high-yielding production. However, many still consider the development and implementation of these controllers as a “black box” process. This paper is in two parts, wherein Part 1 primarily presented an overview of common R2R terminology along with the basics of feedback and feedforward controllers, and Part 2 provides a detailed analysis on a checklist to aid the reader in developing and implementing R2R controllers and thereby demystify them.

 Hidden Gold in Your Manufacturing Facility: It’s All Around You!
Psst, hey, want to see ~0.5 to 4 percent yield improvement in under a year? You’re missing an easy one! We have spent the past few months investigating this issue, and detail what we have learned below. We hope it helps you, and believe the industry will benefit by applying what we have learned.

Quality Control

 INTRODUCTION: Quality Control
Process and yield engineers are always working near the limits of their ability to measure and control process variables. Continuous vigilance is needed to ensure tight physical and electrical tolerances. This is true for both high-volume operations, where millions of dollars of product are in jeopardy; and for development fabs, where cycles of learning, on a relatively small number of lots, are the key product.

 Electrostatic Discharge Event Detection in Photolithography: A Predictive Maintenance Tool (Part 2 of 2)
Equipment engineers can proactively find and mitigate charged surfaces that can lead to an ESD event. When it’s ESD – it’s too late. Part 2 reviews some case studies of how charge monitoring and ESD event detection were used in photolithography equipment. Surface charging was reduced/eliminated, and overall tool reliability was improved. Tool lockups from ESD-induced electromagnetic interference (EMI, i.e., the 100MHz to 2GHz frequency radio waves accompanying ESD events) were reduced.

 Matching CD-SEM Tools for Feature Size Measurement Results in a High-Volume Production Operation – Part 1 of 2
This paper describes an approach to maintaining small biases between CD-SEM tools for the numerous feature types found in high-volume production operations. Part 1 focuses on key issues complicating control of CD-SEM feature measurement, and identifies a simple statistical model to apply to production data to facilitate its use in managing CD-SEM matching. Part 2 focuses on the specific process control approach utilizing the model results.

Supply Chain Management

 INTRODUCTION: Supply Chain Management
In a predominant engineering culture like semiconductor manufacturing, we are beholden to new technology and the application of it. For many of us, it is not uncommon for advances in supply chain management to take a backseat to process and equipment investment in our industry. One exception to this paradigm has been the advent of RFID.

 RFID in the Supply Chain: Part 1 – Inventory Tracking in Semi-Automated Wafer Fabs
Streamlining operations within semiautomated 8” fabs is critical for lowering wafer cost and staying competitive in an environment where worldwide manufacturing capacity is increasingly consolidating. This article aims to provide insights on the impact of using RFID technology to improve lot location tracking within semi-automated wafer fabs.

Environmental Health & Safety

 INTRODUCTION: Environmental Health & Safety
As our ability to detect chemicals in the environment has improved, our awareness of man’s potential impacts on it has grown with the recognition that, despite our best efforts, we continue to find chemicals in the environment and health impacts that we had not predicted. The shift to making companies responsible for products both at end of life and for potential material impacts has come from legislation driven by a change in regulatory philosophy called the “precautionary principle.”

 Information Management for Environmental Concerns and Regulatory Requirements
Global awareness of manufacturing’s impact on the environment has grown considerably in recent years. Concerns about toxic materials affecting Earth’s ecosystem and humans’ health have prompted governments to take action. Frequently, that action comes in the form of legislation designed to restrict the impact that manufacturing, use and reclamation of products have on the environment. Due to the quick obsolescence of electronic products, and the current use of potentially harmful materials in both the manufacturing process and the products themselves, many of these new restrictions are aimed directly at the electronics industry.

Third-Party Considerations

 INTRODUCTION: Third-Party Considerations
This section of FEO is all about the awareness, opportunities, information, education, appreciation and value that third parties can provide.

 Guidelines for Protecting Intellectual Property Within Process Equipment
IC makers and OEMs in semiconductor manufacturing have complex intellectual property (IP) challenges. The high cost of technology development is driving a megatrend of sharing expense. But concerns about IP protection impact the business strategy of sharing resources and costs, because semiconductor process equipment lacks the necessary capabilities to enforce IP protection, resulting in protection being implemented only through nondisclosure agreements. Recognizing this challenge, ISMI is providing a newly published IP Protection Guidelines document that presents a security framework that enables specification of levels of IP protection that OEMs can use to develop appropriate controls in their process equipment.