Optimizing Capacity Ramp-Up Decisions in the Semiconductor Industry

摘要

The semiconductor industry is characterized by innovative product technology. The rapid advances in product technology allow for frequent new product introductions, which lead to short product life-cycles, and rapidly declining product prices. Advances in product technology are often accompanied by advances in processing technology, which require acquisition of new manufacturing capacity. To remain competitive in this continuously changing environment, semiconductor manufacturers need the ability to quickly ramp up new production capacity to high production yields. To address this problem, we develop a mathematical model that captures the interactions between yield learning and capacity planning in ramping up a factory to high-volume production with high production yield under declining market prices.