21st Century Semiconductor Manufacturing Capabilities

21st Century Semiconductor Manufacturing Capabilities

Eugene S. Meieran, Intel Fellow
Technology Manufacturing Engineering, Intel Corp.

Index words: manufacturing, operational cost, NGM program

Abstract

Semiconductor device manufacturers face many difficult challenges as we enter the 21^st century. Some are direct consequences of adherence to Gordon Moore's Law, which states that device complexity doubles about every 18 months. Feature size reduction, increased wafer diameter, increased chip size, ultra-clean processing, and defect reduction among others are manifestations that have a direct bearing on the cost and quality of products, factory flexibility in responding to changing technology or business conditions, and on the timelines of product delivery to the ultimate customer.

Regardless of these tremendously complex problems, the industry is focused on meeting the predictions of Moore's Law, for which enormous resources are expended.

One of the great challenges ascribed to Moore's Law, that facility costs increase on a semi-log scale, is now known as Moore's Second Law. However, unlike his First Law, the industry would prefer to depart from Second Law predictions to avoid hugely expensive ($20 Billion) future fabs and attendant high chip costs. Logistics control, inventory management, better facility design, supplier management programs, etc. are all responses to Second Law predictions, to which many resources have been devoted.

Other pressures on factory management are emerging. In addition to cost considerations, reduction in feature size and increasingly complex devices, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Leaders For Manufacturing-led program, "Next Generation Manufacturing" (NGM) identifies the following issues as significant:

globalization of supplier, customer, and factory base
exponential growth of information and knowledge management capabilities that enable faster and better decisions
development of new materials and processes at atomic scale dimensions
faster delivery of higher quality products to an increasingly demanding customer
rising awareness of environmental and energy concerns

This paper discusses the technological responses of industry management and university faculty to the predictions of Moore's Second Law. Special attention is given to knowledge management and operational modeling and simulation technology. These processes help us better understand the benefits of various alternatives used to affect factory performance as traditional methods such as yield improvement, automation, increased wafer size, equipment reliability, etc. lose their leverage.

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