Evaluating the Impact of Dynamic Qualification Management in Semiconductor Manufacturing

In semiconductor manufacturing, before executing any operation on a product, a machine must be qualified, i.e., certified, to ensure quality and yield requirements. The qualifications of machines in a work-center are essential to the overall performance of the manufacturing facility. However, performing a qualification can be expensive and usually takes time, although the more qualified the machines, the more flexible the production system. Qualification management aims at determining the right qualifications at the lowest cost. We first discuss the limitations of a single-period optimization model, in particular due to capacity losses and delays inherent to qualification procedures. Then, we motivate and briefly introduce a multi-period optimization model. Finally, we compare both optimization models in a computational study on industrial instances from a High Mix/Low Volume (HMLV) production facility with a high production variability.