Semiconductor manufacturing is becoming ever more complex and the growing activity in the microsystems (which we will refer to as MST from now onward) development is partly responsible for it. MST introduced lots of new elements in the process: materials, equipment, coupled effects working principles, packaging technologies. The volume and complexity of the information to be managed, both of technological and administrative nature, grows constantly. Today, it is impossible to manage cleanroom activity without the help of some computer based program implementing planning and control algorithms and giving database support. Failure to control processing and planning means a waste of time and money, and can also cause hazardous work conditions in the laboratory. The solution adopted by most of the cleanrooms in order to efficiently and safely manage information and production resources is the adoption of an information system (IS). The panorama of IS for semiconductor and MEMS manufacturing is composed by general purpose tools adapted to this manufacturing area, software suites designed according to high-volume semiconductor IC productions and, more recently, ISs that are taking into account the manufacturing changes due to MEMS, e.g., dynamic technology, mixed technologies processing, application driven systems. In all the IS a core function is the Recipe Management (RM) since it handles final wafer processing instructions for the equipment and the cleanroom staff. Due to the diversity of equipment setup parameters and recipe file formats, conditioned by the producers, there is not still a standard recipe description and parsers and interfaces customize the RM of the IS to the equipment in order to allow computer driver equipment operation. This thesis presents an Information System for MST cleanrooms, MiNStReL, based on an innovative recipe and process flow logic architecture. It is based on a structured description of MST recipes which handles, as well as equipment setup, a set of other information enabling knowledge sharing and active control in recipe and process flow definition as well as wafer processing. Recipe structure has been designed in order to transparently work with different types of technologies and equipment. Together with the recipe system, a set of technological rules has been implemented allowing the check consistency and compatibility of recipes and process flows. A feedback mechanism is also available in MiNStReL, constantly updating a recipe scoring system, according to results of wafer processing. This allows to evaluate recipe and process flow usefulness and their impact on fabrication yield. The concepts that form the backbone of this thesis have thus been implemented in a software tool suited to recipe and process flow management for MST production and R&D activities. What is more, the implementation has been based on software architecture and tools that allow safe and flexible information sharing among project staff across the world. The software implemented has been validated on real technological processes developed at the Microfabrication Laboratory of ITC-irst, Trento (Italy).
A Software System for the Advanced Management of Microsystem Cleanrooms
Ferrario, Lorenza
2007-01-01
Abstract
Semiconductor manufacturing is becoming ever more complex and the growing activity in the microsystems (which we will refer to as MST from now onward) development is partly responsible for it. MST introduced lots of new elements in the process: materials, equipment, coupled effects working principles, packaging technologies. The volume and complexity of the information to be managed, both of technological and administrative nature, grows constantly. Today, it is impossible to manage cleanroom activity without the help of some computer based program implementing planning and control algorithms and giving database support. Failure to control processing and planning means a waste of time and money, and can also cause hazardous work conditions in the laboratory. The solution adopted by most of the cleanrooms in order to efficiently and safely manage information and production resources is the adoption of an information system (IS). The panorama of IS for semiconductor and MEMS manufacturing is composed by general purpose tools adapted to this manufacturing area, software suites designed according to high-volume semiconductor IC productions and, more recently, ISs that are taking into account the manufacturing changes due to MEMS, e.g., dynamic technology, mixed technologies processing, application driven systems. In all the IS a core function is the Recipe Management (RM) since it handles final wafer processing instructions for the equipment and the cleanroom staff. Due to the diversity of equipment setup parameters and recipe file formats, conditioned by the producers, there is not still a standard recipe description and parsers and interfaces customize the RM of the IS to the equipment in order to allow computer driver equipment operation. This thesis presents an Information System for MST cleanrooms, MiNStReL, based on an innovative recipe and process flow logic architecture. It is based on a structured description of MST recipes which handles, as well as equipment setup, a set of other information enabling knowledge sharing and active control in recipe and process flow definition as well as wafer processing. Recipe structure has been designed in order to transparently work with different types of technologies and equipment. Together with the recipe system, a set of technological rules has been implemented allowing the check consistency and compatibility of recipes and process flows. A feedback mechanism is also available in MiNStReL, constantly updating a recipe scoring system, according to results of wafer processing. This allows to evaluate recipe and process flow usefulness and their impact on fabrication yield. The concepts that form the backbone of this thesis have thus been implemented in a software tool suited to recipe and process flow management for MST production and R&D activities. What is more, the implementation has been based on software architecture and tools that allow safe and flexible information sharing among project staff across the world. The software implemented has been validated on real technological processes developed at the Microfabrication Laboratory of ITC-irst, Trento (Italy).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
