Product Briefing Outline: Rudolph Technologies has released ‘Genesis
Enterprise’ version 7.0. Genesis is an offline yield analysis and data
mining software with parametric yield management tools designed to
maximize factory efficiency and identify causes of yield loss. Since
Rudolph’s acquisition of the Yield Dynamics software business from MKS
Instruments a year ago, Rudolph have made significant performance
improvements to the product.
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Product Briefing Outline: Applied Materials has introduced the ‘Applied SmartMove’ system that enables a comprehensive wafer management solution for non-automated 200mm and 300mm fabs. The SmartMove system brings new efficiency to these fabs, seamlessly integrating with customers’ existing MES software to wirelessly track and direct the movement of wafer lots. Applied Materials claims the system can boost factory output by up to 10%, and typically realize a return on the investment in less than 9 months.
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One of the equipment suppliers that consistently brings out new products is KLA-Tencor. However, the metrology supplier rarely figures in the most popular rankings in any given year. That has changed in 2008 with its TeraFab tool. Although only released recently, the fifth most popular product was from TEL and Novellus for copper interconnects.
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Product Briefing Outline: CIMAC is now offering a new MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) migration packaged service solution for semiconductor fabs with obsolete server platforms. These server platforms run the manufacturing control software that coordinates the movement and processing of material through the fab. Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced dates when support for their AlphaServer and HP PA-RISC 9000 Server platforms will no longer be available. This could effect up to 100 mostly 200mm fabs. Legacy MES software including WorkStream, PROMIS and FACTORYworks (Applied Materials) all have software versions that run on HP AlphaServers Open as well as HP 9000 Servers.
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Product Briefing Outline: Imera Systems has announced
its next-generation network virtualization solutions for
cross-enterprise e-Diagnostics and equipment knowledge base access. The
solutions are claimed to connect manufacturers and equipment vendors to
maximize productivity and reduce unscheduled equipment downtime with no
VPN connection, or a third party service provider without IP leakage.
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Product Briefing Outline: Applied Materials has
introduced the ‘Applied E3’ advanced equipment and process control
solution, intended to be a comprehensive factory automation (FA)
software package for improving the productivity and reducing the costs
of semiconductor, flat panel display and photovoltaic solar cell
manufacturing. The modular packages utilize proprietary algorithms that
are claimed to boost process capability by >30 percent, reduce
unscheduled downtime, and shorten cycle time to achieve up to a 20
percent increase in overall equipment effectiveness. Applied Materials
said the system has already been employed by multiple major
manufacturers and is currently being used in volume production.
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Product Briefing Outline: Hach Ultra has introduced
the MET ONE 6000 Series Remote Airborne Particle Counters, which offer
accurate and reliable continuous particle monitoring. With a
sensitivity range of 0.2 to 5.0µm at 0.1 cfm flow rate and 0.5 to 10µm
at 1.0 cfm flow rate, the MET ONE 6000 series is designed to meet the
specific needs of cleanroom operations within the semiconductor, hard
disk drive and flat panel display industries.
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Product Briefing Outline: Numetrics Management Systems
has launched ‘NMX-ERP’ 3.0, its next-generation suite of enterprise
resource planning (ERP) software for integrated circuit (IC)
development organizations. The new software significantly extends the
company’s top-down project planning and risk measurement capabilities,
handling chips designed in nodes down to 45nm.
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Product Briefing Outline: Aquest Systems has
introduced its new ‘FabEX’ No-Wait-Productivity (SM) Improvement (NPI)
solution that is designed optimize material movement in an existing fab
by eliminating bottlenecks and congestions that impact IC
manufacturers' fab productivity. The solution is claimed to connect
without any changes to the IC manufacturers' existing automated
material handling systems (AMHS). Aquest has integrated the FabEX
'highway' into Powerchip Semiconductor's current AMHS, which is
designed to provide additional capacity to move 8,000 FOUPS per day at
high speeds between their two fabs, 12A and 12B, with average delivery
times of less than 140 seconds, the company said.
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Product Briefing Outline: A real-time, visual
predictive and preventive maintenance (PPM) system that could save
semiconductor fabs thousands of dollars annually per tool has been
developed by Quality Wise Knowledge Solutions (QWiKS) in cooperation
with ATDF, the Austin-based R&D foundry. The PPM system, called
QWiKS CBM/PHM, combines condition-based maintenance (CBM) with
prognostic health monitoring (PHM) to monitor and maintain
semiconductor process equipment more effectively.
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