Growing Importance of Fundamental Understanding of the Source of Process Variations

Statistical process control (SPC) has been widely practiced as a quality control method in the semiconductor industry. SPC is a system for monitoring, controlling, and improving a process through statistical analysis of monitored data. Control charts are widely used for process monitoring, but they are often misinterpreted. To improve process capability, the source of process variations must be properly identified from the control charts for proper feedback. Since the process tolerance is getting increasingly narrow, the importance of fundamental understanding of the source of process variations is an imperative. By eliminating or reducing process variation, a small improvement in process capability, can have a very significant business impact