The 'soft' art of improving fab production schedules

摘要

Changes in semiconductor manufacturing accompanying the move to 300mm wafers and the continual shrinkage of critical dimensions are placing new demands on essentially all fab systems. In particular, connections between the MES, the transport system, the equipment integration systems, and the scheduler must become more robust and rich. What is finally being approached as a standard for manufacturing is the reduction or elimination of the human fab staff for material movement, dispatching decisions and, in many ways, for communication. The control systems, richly connected together, will increasingly be making actual decisions about next lot, processing flow, etc. In this environment there are few options to having a scheduling system that, in a visible and controllable manner, accurately translates manufacturing and business objectives into a plan of work.