Integrated web-based architecture for correlative engineering data analysis and decision support

In the dynamic environment of frequently changing technology cycles, semiconductor manufacturing companies strive to optimize processes quickly to increase yields across a myriad of device types being designed and processed simultaneously in a factory. Immense quantities of process and test data are usually collected during silicon processing, and computerized tools are used to extract and analyze the engineering data for decision support. An integrated web-based architecture using Spotfire DecisionSite/spl trade/ framework has been implemented at Kilby Center (KFAB) of Texas Instruments (TI) for engineering data analysis. Rather than merely providing access to the different data sets to the end users, the established infrastructure provides an enormous value by facilitating data merges and correlative analyses across the multiple and complex data warehouses. Ease of employing these correlation techniques has lead to improvements in device designs, process corrections, equipment maintenance, and yields.