The evaluation of manual FOUP handling in 300-mm wafer fab

Semiconductor manufacturing industry is moving into the production of 300-mm wafers. To solve the increased workload problem in manual wafer handling, some personal guided vehicles (PGVs) have been developed to help in the transfer of front opening unified pods (FOUP). This study compares two kinds of PGVs with a traditional cart and evaluates the feasibility of using them for manual FOUP handling tasks. Manual FOUP handling capability was assessed. The results indicate that there is no obvious advantage in using any of the two evaluated PGV's over the manual cart. There is potential risk of causing musculoskeletal disorders for female operators to handle the 300-mm FOUP manually. Since the development of a fully automated intrabay FOUP handling system is a project of high technical difficulty, a combination of manual and automated handling is the current approach. To enhance the operator's health, safety and productivity, selection and training of operators, adequate design of handling tools and machine interface, assessment and balancing of workload are necessary.