Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of technology transfer process in the semiconductor industry

A systematic methodology for a cost-effective and rapid transfer of integrated circuit fabrication technology from development to manufacturing is described. The proposed methodology consists of the determination of design-shift in high-volume manufacturing equipment, mapping of process control variables to the design-shift, and optimization of the values of these variables to compensate for the observed design-shift. Finally, the optimized values of the process control variables are used to update the process specifications for the target fabrication facility and process wafers for technology qualification. A semi-quantitative analysis to estimate the major advantages of the proposed methodology in reducing the cycle time and cost of technology transfer to a manufacturing fabrication facility is presented. The technical limitations of the proposed methodology and the measures to address these limitations are also discussed in this paper.