Dynamics and Control in Semiconductor Manufacturing Lines

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

This project can be viewed as part of the nationwide trend towards industrial mathematics. It is proposed to apply dynamical systems concepts to model, analyze, simulate and control problems arising from flows through manufacturing chains and networks. In collaboration with researchers in Industrial Engineering and from the semiconductor industry, problems relating to scheduling and to supply chain management will be studied. A small literature base and preliminary research indicate that re-entrant manufacturing lines show chaotic behavior under certain circumstances and that dynamical systems ideas and control theory might be used to optimize many different manufacturing flow problems. The grant will allow the PI to gain a solid foundation in the methods, successes and open problems relating to scheduling re-entrant manufacturing lines and in the issues relating to the organization of supply chains in the semiconductor industry from factories to assembly/test to transportation links, warehouses and suppliers. The PI will spend the academic year in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Arizona State University and the follwing two summer months at Intel. The goal is to become immersed into and to deepen the understanding of the research problems in that field. By establishing direct personal interaction with industrial researchers and the research community in Industrial Engineering the PI's graduate students will benefit in their research interests and career options. This IGMS project is jointly supported by the MPS Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA) and the Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS).