Ashwin Ghatalia, Kranthi Adusimilli, Dave Dyer, Walter Worth, Robert Wright, Phil Naughton, Joel Barnett & Steve Burnett, International SEMATECH, Austin, Texas

ABSTRACT

The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) lists several major challenges for IC factory integration. Two of them are factory flexibility and management of factory complexity. This article compares single-wafer clean to current batch processes from an overall IC factory perspective. Tools, factory-level investments, facilities, cycle time, factory logistical impacts and environmental issues are addressed. The influence of different equipment configurations is also investigated. 

27th Edition: Impact of single-wafer clean on manufacturing efficiency - semiconductor fab perspective