The role of self-directed work teams in a concurrent, multi-generation semiconductor process development effort

An integrated circuit process R&D facility concurrently conducts advanced research, process control and product prototyping of three Very Large Scale Integrated Circuit process generations. Self-managed inter-departmental teams of process engineers and device physicists govern most aspects of process integration through a peer review process, and collectively design short cycle experiments. Organizational structures are adjusted to minimize the number of communication channels. Key metrics traditionally associated with process integration improve by a factor of three.