The Application of Control Theory to the Automation of I.C. Manufacturing: Progress and Problems

This paper provides an overview of process control in integrated circuit manufacturing. Manufacturing process control has been implemented as part of a computer-integrated manufacturing system. The disciplines of systems engineering, software engineering, and operations research have made major impacts on the automation effort. Control problems involved in the automation of semiconductor manufacturing will be described. The relevance of control theory to these problems will be evaluated, in particular the role of stochastic control.