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HARALD HEINRICH, Infineon Technologies, Dresden GmbH & Co. OHG, Dresden, Germany
ADRIAN PYKE, Middlesex General Industries Inc., Woburn, MA, USA

ABSTRACT

The first large-scale application of a conveyor based transport network in front-end manufacturing is discussed. The network design unifies the inter and intra bay WIP delivery for the first time. Its rationale lies in better performance of the Factory Operating Characteristic Curve (cycle time vs. tool utilization). Its promise for the future is stocker-less operation, small batch sizes, tool to tool direct transport (short cycle time), and tight control loops. In the development of these issues the Infineon Fab is a laboratory for all future factory designs. The paper reports on current status and outlines future targets defined by the most sophisticated factory simulation ever attempted.