Simulation and dispatching systems for production fab management

Abstract

Semiconductor manufacturing involves complicated operations, including repeated use of many types of equipment. Since the number of work-in-process (WIP) wafers is very large, in the tens of thousands, it is very difficult for operators to determine the priority of each product. Especially, without the use of information technology (IT), obtaining optimum use of equipment would be a near impossibility while maintaining the WIP balance. Many studies on the application of simulation dispatching to improve semiconductor fabs have been reported We customized part of a simulation/dispatching system based on operator expertise, implemented it, and obtained great improvements in our fabs.