ITR: Spatially Programmable Equipment: A New Design Paradigm for Semiconductor Manufacturing Enabled by Information Technology

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Research: The purpose of this small Information Technology Research (ITR) project is to develop a new paradigm for semiconductor manufacturing equipment - flexible equipment design enabled by information technology. The current paradigm of fixed equipment design limits performance of equipment in a rapidly changing technology environment, where tradeoffs must be made between product performance and manufacturing efficiency. The concept is based on procedures where process conditions can be spatially programmed to (1) decouple manufacturing constraints (e.g., uniformity across large wafers) from product performance (e.g., material quality); (2) reduce experimentation time by enabling parallel, combinatorial experiments on each wafer; and (3) provide the basis for a flexible, extendible equipment technology. Work has already begun on an experimental test bed (chemical vapor deposition in a manufacturing cluster tool) using a physically based simulation of the prototype system. This project is for developing the IT infrastructure required to link object-oriented simulation and model reduction methodologies to web-accessible experimental data archives and physical property databases to techniques for real-time control of parallel and multiplexed sensor/actuator arrays. Impact: The project has the potential to fundamentally change the design paradigm of a major industry - semiconductor-manufacturing equipment - to one that directly exploits a broad spectrum of information technology. Integration of research and education are planned on a number of fronts: (1) the project provides an opportunity for interdisciplinary teaming (e.g., between engineers and computer scientists and between materials engineers and systems engineers) in the classroom, (2) using spatially programmable equipment design as the project focus in a materials/systems project course at the graduate level, and (3) developing simulation-based learning software for technicians and engineers in industry.