Modeling the cost of ownership of assembly and inspection

While the semiconductor industry may have the technologies required for the next 15 years of growth, the ability to implement these technologies in cost effective, competitive products is in question. The same impediment may also impact board and system level electronics. Cost of ownership (COO) was developed to address the economic and productive performance of a fabrication tool by estimating the total life-cycle cost of a specific semiconductor process step. Since there are many similarities between wafer fabrications, the methods used for estimating wafer fabrication COO may be applied to estimate device and system assembly COO. COO is also useful for equipment required to support manufacturing such as inspection tools. COO analysis for inspection equipment is more complex than for fabrication equipment, requiring a two-part analysis. First, the cost of operating the inspection tool is estimated. Second, the cost impact of inspection on the processes being measured must be estimated. The benefits of inspection are estimated by considering the impact of inspection on a process or product. Since characterization information improves the process, then inspection is a value added step.