Changing from a tool availability approach to a tool efficiency approach

The semiconductor industry is one of the most capital intensive industries. To build a new eight inch fab requires approximately $2 billion dollars for initial startup. This cost tends to increase as the size of the wafers increases. Bearing this in mind, it is very clear that a key measurement for the performance of a fab is the allocation of capital weighted by the tool utilization. If we are measuring the tool utilization by DGR (daily going rate), it is very clear that the tool utilization is directly dependent on the efficiency of the tool set. This paper presents the actions which were taken in Essonnes, France to increase and manage manufacturing efficiency within a fixed budget.