Integration is the main objective of this workpackage. It will
An understanding of the principle of process technology is necessary for the whole staff in microelectronics
manufacturing depending also on the depth of involvement into this topic. Therefore, this material
covers the basic understanding in the general process flow, starting with the definition of CMOS
and FETs, and answers the question of why process technology is constantly evolving. People should
also have a good idea of both device manufacturing and issues of front-end-of-line and of interconnect
manufacturing and issues in backend-of-line and get a basic understanding of what the different process
modules are, how they interact with each other, and how they can affect device behaviour. The
next level is a more detailed insight in individual processing steps. The processing steps are complex
chemico-physical interventions on the substrate, often requiring highly complex equipment, extremely
pure chemicals, and absolutely controlled conditions. Skills require good understanding of the individual
processing steps, and of the fact that these steps can affect circuit behaviour and manufacturing
yield.
Amongst the process technology aspects, a lot of knowledge is necessary for operating a semiconductor
manufacturing site. A highly automated manufacturing environment with complicated and nonlinear
process flow and logistics has to be controlled by different facility monitoring and control systems.
The operation of such control systems and optimisation of the production plant concerning
throughput, cycle-time and efficiency requires fundamental knowledge and also continuous training of
the staff. The same is valid for the automation systems in a semiconductor fab including material distribution
systems, material storage systems, wafer containers and wafer handling tools.
Process and metrology equipment is an important part in the value-added chain of a microelectronics
manufacturing factory and has a great effect on the advancement of the semiconductor industry. The
performance of equipment will determine the processing technology level, usually expressed in fractions
of microns, that can be achieved. Equipment has to deal with different diversity, extendibility,
flexibility and scalability. Factories for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices have to
behave different to those for application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC). The use and operation of
production equipment includes lots of different aspects: operation, physics, mechanics, automation,
control (real-time and run-to-run), advanced process control, communication with host computers
(factory interfaces), loadports, maintenance, overall equipment efficiency, cycle time, safety, installation,
supply, clean-room aspects etc. Its effective and efficient operation is decisive regarding the costs
of semiconductor processing and thus for costs of integrated circuits. Up to some hundreds of rather
complicated and highly sophisticated non-clustered and clustered tools are used for the production of
integrated circuits in up to 1000 single process steps. The material flow in this process is not straightforward
and linear, but rather complicated and includes different process loops. A mis-processing in
one single process step might lead to scrap of one or more production lots of considerable value.
Therefore, the appropriate qualification of staff applying this equipment is extremely important. The
dilemma is that many of these equipment-related aspects become rather specific in microelectronics
application and a lot of mainly application-specific aspects are not covered by education. Moreover,
also for technicians and operators the development of skills is essential for good yields.
The reduction of energy consumption is required by the problem of global warming. Resource conservation
for water, chemical compounds, materials and other raw materials are future challenges. Conserving
our environment implies the substitution of toxic materials and the recycling of industrial
waste. Worker protection programmes and information prior to the use of new equipment and chemical
compounds have to guarantee safety and health of the industrial staff and requires continuous improvement
programmes. Caused by government legislation, all these environment safety and health
concerns, which affect all aspects of electronics manufacturing, have been transformed to an integral
part of design and manufacturing process. To fulfill these requirements, the industrial staff has to be
prepared for all that topics. Training, education, qualification and re-qualification as well as creation of
environmental awareness using web-based platforms are ideal to minimize the environmental pressures
and the risks to health and safety.
The objectives of this workpackage are to ensure the management of the project
(and in particular technical and financial reporting) and ensure the consistency
of the work between partners and work-packages.