An overview of semiconductor fab automation systems

A typical semiconductor wafer fabrication involves hundreds of complex manufacturing steps on capital-intensive equipment. In the persistent pursuit of near perfect hundred percents of production yield and equipment utilization, automation systems have been designed implemented to provide the functions of: direct equipment control, automated material transportation, and real-time lot dispatching. This paper presents an overview of typical semiconductor fab automation systems, of which two key systems are presented: (1) manufacturing executions systems (MES) that formulates manufacturing methods and procedures, and (2) cell controller that serves as the automation link between the upper MES and the lower equipment. At the end of the paper, lot operation of the lower equipment. At the end of the paper, lot operation of one manufacturing step is detailed to highlight the interaction between MES and cell controller within a fully automated semiconductor fab.