Simulation based approach to calculate utilization limits in Opto semiconductor frontends

Capacity planning is a crucial task for economically sound production. Especially in semiconductor manufacturing, as equipment is expensive and production complex. An important part of valid capacity planning is a good understanding of equipment capabilities and characteristics and their influence on the workflow. Traditional approaches require new analysis with changing situations in the fab, which require special expertise and time. To enable a companywide standard and provide an easy to use tool, we are developing a utilization limit estimation tool. In this paper, we present our approach for a utilization target estimation system which bases its estimation on a wide range of data points created by data farming. Then, we apply a regression analysis to interpolate missing data points in order to provide fast estimates for utilization limits depending on equipment characteristics.