Abstract
In semiconductor manufacturing, the time it takes for wafers to process through the line is of utmost importance. Any delay in the processing of these wafers is very costly to the foundry and the end customer. Cycle time is one of the key metrics that any customer looks for in a foundry to ensure that their products are delivered on schedule. To improve overall cycle time, every equipment fleet needs to consistently and efficiently process wafers. In this paper, we will demonstrate sustainable improvements to key manufacturing metrics on Nova OCD fleet.
The key metrics discussed are lot holds, recipe FTR (First-Time Right), fleet availability and fleet matching. Areas of improvement were analyzed, based on which an improvement strategy was developed and executed for each of the metrics. Weekly tracking of the respective metrics showed that the action plan was successful and sustainable. Similar approach could be applied to any metrology fleet to further improve manufacturing metrics.
Keywords: manufacturing efficiency, fleet availability, scatterometry, wafer-less recipe, pattern recognition, fleet matching