ATDF and QWiKS Improve Equipment Tracking with Cost-Saving PPM System
Austin, TX (5 November 2007) – 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. In January, ATDF engineers integrated the system with four vertical furnaces, then used it to check equipment “health” and recipes, which are critical parameters for quality control and quartz lifetime. Over a nine-month period, ATDF observed no quality reduction in any of the four tools and saved more than $50,000 in maintenance costs.
“The cost savings potential for this system in production fabs is significant and could amount to thousands of dollars per tool each year,” said Scott Bisland, equipment support manager for ATDF. “And the system can be implemented with both new and legacy tools.”
According to market research by International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI), 17 percent of a typical fab’s tool asset value must be allocated to maintenance to support round-the-clock operations – so that a factory with $4 billion in equipment assets spends about $680 million per year on regular tool maintenance. The price goes even higher for unscheduled downtime, which costs four to seven times more than routine maintenance.
“PPM technology helps a production fab reduce unscheduled downtime by providing early warning of equipment failure,” Bisland noted. “Using this technology in ATDF, we will save about $15,000 this year for each of the four furnaces involved. Production fabs could realize even greater savings through quality and yield gains that are enabled by identifying and correcting equipment problems before they occur.”
For example, ATDF uses the CBM portion of the system to monitor furnace throttle valve positions and alert manufacturing technicians when it’s time to clean the furnace pump exhaust trap. This usage, suggested by CBM project manager David “Doc” Friesenhan of ATDF, avoids unscheduled downtime due to process accumulation.
For most of its tools, ATDF uses a monitoring system that requires manual intervention to track tool performance, Bisland said. In contrast, QWiKS CBM/PHM automatically extracts tool status from the system and displays that information on a graphical interface, allowing an equipment maintenance technician to respond immediately.
“PPM technology is still in its infancy and our system breaks new ground in many ways,” said Chin Sun, President of QWiKS. “First, it possesses many requirements and features of the PPM standards developed by members of the International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) and the Supplier Advisory Forum (SAF). Also, our patented technology uses an open architecture, Excel-style spreadsheet environment that allows domain experts to integrate their knowledge into the system without having to write code.”
In addition to monitoring tool status and health, the QWiKS system also includes tools for managing and improving tools performance tracking. Among these are:
- Real-time tool utilization charts
- Preventive maintenance module to link schedules, procedures and history to a single module.
- EKB (equipment knowledge base)/ tool repair knowledge base to archive history and knowledge for future repairs
- Escalation module to automate the escalation process when tool downs become critical to the production process.
- Searchable tool maintenance comments that allow users to find repair data as needed.
The system also includes a failure mode effects analysis (FMEA) module to allow both process and equipment FMEAs to be implemented to ensure that the root causes of a failure are understood, addressed and corrected. A powerful search function within the module allows users to search for archive FMEA studies using key words or a risk priority number (RPN).
Also, an FMEA pattern signature function can capture the tool and process parameters associated with the root causes of a failure. Equipment or process diagnostic rules can be generated for detecting early sign of tool or process failures, or pinpointing the root causes of tool failure to reduce equipment repair time.
About QWiKS
QWiKS (Quality Wise Knowledge Solutions) is a software company specializing in semiconductor/automotive knowledge-based management system. Our patented open architecture knowledge-based system, which was developed based on ETEST (Wafer Electrical Test) applications, allows us to build Predictive/Preventive Maintenance (PPM) system for different FAB tools and automotive vehicles. The specific domain knowledge in different FAB modules can be populated by the domain experts (i.e. process and equipment engineers) without the help from IT or writing codes. For the last two years, QWiKS has published several PPM related papers in ASMC and AEC/APC conferences. Papers are available upon request. QWiKS can be found on the web at http://www.qwiksinc.com .
