Abstract
Automation plays a critical role in the manufacturing of semiconductors. The majority of modern semiconductor fabrication facilities, or fabs, manufacture IC chips on circular silicon wafers with diameters of 150mm, or 6 inches, and 200mm, or 8 inches. More recently the industry has begun to adopt wafers with diameter sizes of 300mm, or 12 inches. A production manufacturing batch or lot for 150mm and 200mm wafer sizes consists of 25 wafers, contained in either an open cassette or a fully enclosed pod called SMIF, or standard mechanical interface. Production lots for 300mm manufacturing typically consist of 25 wafers contained in a FOUP, or front-opening unified pod. Both SMIF and FOUP technologies isolate the wafers from their surroundings by creating an ultra-clean "mini-environment" within the pod. One wafer may yield hundreds of chips, and each chip may contain tens or hundreds of millions of microscopic transistors in leading devices. Chips are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from complex logic and memory chips used in a broad range of computers to application-specific integrated circuits, or ASICs, used in automobiles and consumer products, to Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and analog semiconductors used in the mobile Internet market such as for color-screen multimedia cell phones.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Executive Summary
- 2.1 Summary of Major Issues
- 2.2 Summary of Market Forecasts
Chapter 3 Driving Forces
- 3.1 Introduction
- 3.2 Trend to 300 mm Wafers
- 3.3 Development Costs
- 3.4 Single-Wafer Processing
- 3.5 Trends in Processing Tools
- 3.6 Automation Trends
- 3.7 Benefits of Automated Wafer Handling
Chapter 4 Software
- 4.1 Introduction
- 4.2 The Evolution of CIM
- 4.3 MES in Industry
- 4.3.1 MES Functionalities
- 4.3.2 MES Products
- 4.4 Communication Standards
- 4.5 Sematech CIM Framework
Chapter 5 Hardware
- 5.1 Introduction
- 5.2 Elements of Automation
- 5.2.1 Tool Automation
- 5.2.2 Intrabay Automation
- 5.2.3 Interbay Automation
- 5.2.4 Material-Control System
- 5.3 Flexible Automation
- 5.4 Reliability
- 5.5 Tool Issues and Trends
- 5.5.1 Flexible Tool Interface
- 5.5.2 Vacuum Robotics
- 5.5.3 AGV
- 5.5.4 CMP
- 5.5.5 300-mm Wafer Transport
- 5.5.6 Mini-Environments and Cleanroom Issues
- 5.6 E-Manufacturing
Chapter 6 Market Analysis
- 6.1 Market Forces
- 6.2 Market Forecast Assumptions
- 6.3 Market Forecast
- 6.3.1 Automated Transfer Tool Market
- 6.3.2 Carrier Transport Market
- 6.3.3 MES Software Market
Chapter 7 Issues 7-1
- 7.1 Current Automation Thinking
- 7.2 The New Factory Paradigm
- 7.3 The New Factory in Action
- 7.4 Return on Investment Considerations
- 7.5 Eight Symptoms of the Old Paradigm
- 7.6 Putting the New Paradigm to Work
LIST OF FIGURES
- 1.1 Advanced CIM System
- 3.1 Automated Materials Handling System (AMHS) Framework
- 4.1 Evolution of CIM
- 4.2 Computer Integrated Fab Environment
- 4.3 Message Integration in CIM
- 4.4 Sematech CIM Framework Scope
- 5.1 Material-Control System
- 5.2 Traditional and Flexible Automated Material Handling System
- 5.3 Overhead Monorail Delivery - Cassette in Box, Cassette in SMIF Pod
- 5.4 Stocker Design and Interfaces
- 5.5 Layout Of a 45nm 300mm Fab
- 5.6 Interfaces To Factory Automation Systems
- 6.1 Semiconductor Equipment Utilization
- 6.2 Revenue Losses from Wafer Defects
- 6.3 Market Shares of Automated Wafer Transfer Suppliers
- 6.4 Worldwide Market Shares of Carrier Transport Suppliers
- 6.5 Worldwide Market of Shares MES Software Suppliers
- 6.6 Worldwide Market Shares Of Fab System Integration Software
LIST OF TABLES
- 5.1 Evolution Of Factory Metrics
- 6.1 Three-Year Savings for Automation
- 6.2 Cost of Alternative Automated Systems
- 6.3 Three-year Costs for Alternative Automated Systems Worldwide Forecast of Automated Transfer Tools
- 6.5 Process Tool Automation For 300mm Fabs
- 6.6 Worldwide Forecast of Carrier Transport Market
- 6.7 Worldwide Fab Installation Forecast
- 6.8 Worldwide Forecast of MES Software
