3-D Design Tool Aids Motorola MOS 5 Expansion
By John Haystead
Mesa, AZ–Motorola has recently completed construction of a new Class 1000 Wafer, Test and Probe facility at its MOS 5 facility (Mesa, AZ) and has begun expansion and renovation of an existing fab building to meet Class 100 or better standards. Faced with the need to expand its wafer fabrication capacity, but hindered by real-estate limitations at the Mesa site, the company decided to make maximum use of its existing infrastructure investment.
Rather than build a totally new wafer fab, Motorola instead chose to build a new wafer test facility. The company determined it would be cheaper in the long run to move the test functions out of the existing fab build- ing and then allo – cate and renovate the newly vacated space for additional fabrication.
One of the most interesting aspects of the MOS 5 project was the use of a 3-dimensional computer modeling and motion video to demonstrate the design of the facility. Developed by DPA Architects Inc. (Tempe, AZ), “3-D Studio” provides a highly-detailed, walk-through preview of the finished facility prior to the pouring of the first drop of concrete. The VHS-video format simulation depicts the entire facility, inside and out, including equipment, furniture, building components, site surroundings, etc.
All of the elements making up the simulation are physically modeled from photographs, field surveys and material scanning. Faces and textures are then added using compatible software packages such as “Painter” and Adobe “Photoshop” for a finished look. The MOS 5 project was Motorola`s first use of the 3-D approach which allowed project managers and contractors to demonstrate the goals and results of their project to senior company executives and officers without requiring them to gown up for a tour or even leave their offices. As noted by Justin Page, principal architect at DPA, “it made it real easy for them to see what they would be getting for their money.”
Begun in September of 1993, the Wafer Test building was completed and in production by mid-October last year. The 22,070 ft.2 Module 3 South Wafer Test Facility includes Class 1000 vertical laminar airflow cleanrooms for wafer test and probe, gowning and packaging; as well as support and office areas. The actual cleanroom space is 9,000 ft.2 on the first floor and 1,500 – 2,000 ft.2 on the second floor. A Class 1,000 perimeter surrounds the open area Class 100 cleanrooms. According to a Motorola spokesperson, although they design to Class 100 standards at the facility, their quality tests show they are actually operating around Class 6-7.
The new building was constructed of precast concrete walls, columns and double tees at floor and roof levels. Unistrut channels were cast into the underside of the tees for support of equipment, ductwork, conduits, etc. The new facility also incorporates a large area of access floor, inclusive of dampers; cleanroom wall systems including view windows and glass sliding doors; and a cleanroom ceiling system that includes laminar flow hoods, lights, sprinkler penetrations, etc.
A freight elevator with cleanroom wall panels and stainless steel fittings stops at the basement, first floor, interstitial area, second floor and the roof. Because the elevator connects and opens in Class 1,000 corridors, it`s maintained at negative pressure. More challenging was preventing contamination from a dumbwaiter system installed in the Class 100 areas of the first and second floor cleanrooms. However using negative pressure in both the elevator and the shaft, this was also possible.
DPA developed the 3-D Studio with its own funds, although Motorola has also provided support to the project. Says Page, “this is not a run-of-the-mill-PC-based system, we`ve invested heavily in computer processing power, and continue to add other elements to our basic simulation development package such as people, landscaping and piping modeling packages.”
In phase 2 of the MOS-5 project, Motorola and DPA are taking the process a step further using a supplemental piping-modeling package to detail piping and ductwork in the interstitital areas of the fab expansion. Page believes they will soon be at the point where contractors can start using the model as a verification and planning tool during pre-construction phases.
Phase 2 officially began on Dec 2, 1994 and is expected to be finished by the end of this year. The plan is to bring the entire building up to Class 100 “or better” classification (the existing fab is at Class 4). The rennovation covers an area of some 11,000 ft.2 of which 5,000 ft.2 is cleanroom space. n