Modeling and simulation of material handling for semiconductor wafer fabrication

This paper presents the results of a design study to analyze interbay material-handling systems for semiconductor wafer manufacturing. We developed discrete-event simulation models to model the performance of conventional cleanroom material handling including manual and automated systems. The components of a conventional cleanroom material-handling system include an overhead monorail system for interbay (bay-to-bay) transport, work-in-process stockers for lot storage, and manual systems for intrabay movement. This study examines the models and simulation experiments that assist with analyzing cleanroom material-handling issues such as designing conventional automated material-handling systems and specifying requirements for transport vehicles.