The I300I/J300 Joint Guidance Agreement: Its impact on the 300-mm transition
10/01/1997
Stanley Myers, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, Mountain View, California
It's exciting news, historic in content as well as in context. After a year of diligent cooperation, I300I and J300 have united to present a detailed roadmap guiding standards for semiconductor equipment and materials used in 300-mm wafer production.
The transition to producing chips on 300-mm wafers will cost the equipment and materials industry more than $14 billion, possibly the largest single industrial transition ever, in any industry. The larger wafer, however, should cut semiconductor device manufacturing costs by as much as 20 to 30 percent, and will potentially produce as many as 2.5 times the number of chips as a 200-mm wafer.
This announcement is the first time a move to a larger wafer has been facilitated through consortia. Unlike previous transitions, in which individual semiconductor manufacturers took the lead, this one is driven by industry groups, such as I300I, a consortia of device makers from the US, Europe and Asia; and J300, a consortia of device makers from Japan. Semi's Global 300-mm Initiative helped facilitate the transition from the beginning.
A few highlights from the guidance document will aid in understanding its importance to our industry.
Details of new guidance documentation
IC manufacturers shared requirements. IC manufacturers share business drivers, such as profitability, which require larger wafer sizes and optimized factories. All IC makers expect that a wafer size increase will reduce the cost/cm2 of silicon. Equipment and factory costs should not increase as the wafer area increases, and the equipment throughput in wafers/hour should be equal to or greater than in the previous wafer size generation.
Past conversions indicate that early standardization reduces the number of options suppliers must develop and support. The first 300-mm pilot line equipment set should have full production level maturity, eliminating the need to upgrade or replace equipment when making the transition from a 300-mm start-up line to full volume production.
Global standards are considered essential for the most efficient and economical transition to 300-mm production lines. Standards help equipment and materials suppliers lower development and costs and cycle time, standardize customer expectations, improve market access and reduce expensive customized orders. To usher in the transition as smoothly as possible, I300I and J300 worked to define standards requirements among device companies.
IC manufacturers must optimize resources and costs according to individual business strategies at the equipment, factory, and other levels. To increase investment effectiveness, they need fabs that are upgradeable to next-generation technology with minimum introduction of new equipment and materials and minimum impact to layout and material logistics. Capital outlay also needs to be optimized to meet production capacity requirements and be commensurate with market growth during the ramp to full volume production. Most IC makers want to continually increase equipment utilization and reduce processing delay resulting from queuing in order to increase return on equipment and other factory resource investments.
Maximizing factory productivity is the key requirement. This goal may require balancing cost of ownership (COO) of constraint equipment (bottleneck equipment that limits fab throughput) against utilization of nonconstraint (all other production tools) equipment. Therefore, the nonconstraint equipment may not require additional buffering beyond the two standard load ports.
Factory output is generally proportional to the amount of uninterrupted production time. For the minimum investment in equipment and factory, and maximum uninterrupted production time, manufacturers should use the most efficient production support systems and most reliable equipment on the market.
When expanding factory output, IC producers need to increase total throughput, wafer yield and die yield. The rate at which the factory acquires knowledge during process development and ongoing problem solving must improve in order to allow faster increases in yield and throughput. Speed and flexibility are key to meeting the market at the right time, and require increased control over operations and production schedules. Larger wafers allow more die/wafer, and thus increased complexity and larger die sizes. Improved ergonomics, product safety and factory automation allow better worker productivity and safety.
Decreases in time to volume production, equipment installation/start-up time and cost, operational cost, work-in-process, and final product inventory are necessary to achieve optimized factory output. A smaller factory footprint, lower equipment costs and associated equipment configuration costs, less material consumption, and shorter wafer turn around time are also necessary in the move to 300-mm production. The long lead times from order placement to equipment delivery must be shaved to meet ramp-up targets, with safety, ergonomics, and environmental issues paramount.
Supplier guidelines. Automation is a must in 300-mm semiconductor factories, and all process/metrology equipment suppliers must provide automation interfaces supporting intrabay and interbay automated material handling. Cost-effective and simplified automated material handling interfaces (load ports and electronic interfaces) must be provided for all of this equipment. Standardization is of the utmost importance in controlling costs, and the industry must accept a limited number of wafer carrier types.
The front opening unified pod (FOUP) and open cassette (OC) are the wafer carriers most compatible with the Semi E15.1 standard load port. The goal is immediate compatibility between carriers (FOUP and OC) and load port interfaces and handling systems, with carriers expected to be designed for handling by specified robots. Computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) system standardization must be adopted by the industry; I300I and J300 identified this area for continuing discussion. Standardization will be accomplished through global participation by IC manufacturers and suppliers in the Semi Standards process.
Carrier guidelines. Carrier guidelines set FOUP and OC as 1997–1998's top priority. Carriers should be available with 13 and 25 wafer slots, 10-mm pitch and horizontal wafer orientation during transportation and storage. Equipment designs should allow cost-effective configuration for 13- or 25-wafer carriers. If a tool requires an internal wafer carrier during processing, then the equipment supplier is responsible for providing that internal carrier. The equipment supplier should also provide the necessary wafer transfer mechanism between this internal carrier and the standard transport carrier.
Shipping boxes must prevent or control wafer damage or movement when shipped, and provide the appropriate automation, handling compatibility, and level of contamination control. The consortia recommended shipping boxes be designed for reuse and/or recycling.
Equipment configuration guidelines. Equipment configuration guidelines require process and metrology equipment to have standardized load ports configured for the IC manufacturer's choice of carriers (FOUP or OC) with easement space for selected material handling systems. The document calls for load ports to be mounted only on one side of the equipment. The material handling system must orient the front side of the transport carrier toward the equipment during carrier placement and removal. Equipment will be required to use Semi standard kinematic coupling for precise positioning of the carrier on the load port. Load ports must be equipped with standard interfaces for Person Guided Vehicle (PGV) docking and loading/unloading of first priority carriers (OC and FOUP).
Equipment operation guidelines. Automated guided vehicle (AGV) and PGV transportation systems must be compatible with FOUP and OC carriers, while overhead transport (OHT) systems must be compatible with FOUP carriers. In load ports to be used with FOUP carriers, the zone for the pod door opener/closer should be inside the equipment. Besides user interfaces on the front side of the equipment, another user interface connection will be incorporated to eliminate the need for front operator access during automated material handling. For safety reasons, a physical or logical switch should ensure only one user interface is active at any given time. Automation solutions for material handling and equipment interface, based on Semi standards, must be interoperable and interchangeable. Load ports, carriers, carrier interfaces, and transport systems provided by any mix of suppliers must be interoperable. All carriers of the same type must be interchangeable.
In most cases, equipment should be designed to enable nonstop or continuous processing. However, off-line metrology and similar equipment may not require continuous processing for cost-effective operation. In general, equipment should be able to load wafers to and from the same slot in the same carrier to maintain wafer slot-to-slot integrity. The carrier delivery side (the front side) of the equipment should require no regularly scheduled maintenance.
Facilities guidelines. Facilities guidelines designate equipment compatibility with material supply containers to be standardized. These containers are to include standard cylinder types and sizes. In principle, equipment utilities' hook-up connections and quality must be compatible with Semi delineated standards. Equipment suppliers are responsible for supplying required electrical connection brackets, cable fixing brackets and access areas, valves, dampers, gauges, meters, filters and other controlling components. Equipment should be supplied with countermeasures for power glitch voltage drop-out immunity in conformance with designated standards.
Other guidelines. Other guidelines require operator (human) interface screens of PC grade or better and silicon wafers compliant with global standards. Equipment should include anchor points to allow it to be secured for stability (restricted movement) during local seismic activity (i. e., earthquakes), in accordance with Semi S2. Process/metrology equipment should be compatible with a cleanroom temperature range of 21–24°C (note: 23±1°C for J300) and a cleanroom humidity range of 35–55% relative humidity. Process/metrology and sub-fab equipment should conform to standard height and weight limits.
Cost footprint, equal to the area defined by A = 1/4 (Wf+ Ws) × (Lt + Ls) where Wf and Ws are front and side width, respectively, and Lt and Ls are top and side length, respectively, will be used in cost modeling. Dimensions and mechanical/electrical connections of process/metrology equipment should be compatible with standard gas supply systems. Related symbols used in layout drawings should also conform to standards.
Process/metrology equipment should include (if applicable), and/or be compatible with, standard chemical system components. Related symbols used in layout drawings should also conform to set standards. This is another area of continuous discussions between I300I and J300. Pump control and status signals, safety countermeasures, mechanical connections and power supplies for turbomolecular and dry pumps (including pumps supplied with equipment) should conform to designated standards.
Guidance implications for global cooperation
Cooperation on such a wide scale is a relatively new concept for this industry. As recently as a year ago, there were many questions about how and when the 300-mm transition would take place. The industry has now shown what can be done in the name of cooperation and collaboration.
When will all of this begin to fall into place? Semi has heard of at least seven pilot production lines with 500–1000 wafer starts/month projected to be in operation by the last half of 1998. Both I300I and J300 have aggressive schedules for testing and demonstrating tools, a complete set of which could be ready for purchase by device makers in the latter half of 1998.
The transition to 300-mm wafers will provide opportunities for everyone, and it is in the best interests of manufacturers of equipment and materials from around the globe to work together. A huge investment is taking place in 300 mm, with the potential for a major payoff down the road.
Acknowledgments
The joint guidance agreement will have a very positive impact on this industry and, on behalf of our members, Semi wants to thank all those involved in its successful completion. We want to thank especially Mr. Uchida of the Semi Japan office in Tokyo and Murray Bullis of the Semi Standards Department in Mountain View, CA, for the energy and effort they and their teams put into this achievement in cooperation, an accomplishment unprecedented in international standards efforts to date.
Stanley T. Myers is president of Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International. He received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Kansas. Prior to his appointment as Semi president, Myers worked for 17 years at Siltec Silicon, serving as president and CEO since 1985. In 1986 he completed negotiations for the acquisition of Siltec by Mitsubishi Materials Corp. In July 1996, Siltec officially changed its name to Mitsubishi Silicon America Corp. Prior to Siltec, Myers worked for Monsanto Corp. for 18 years. He continues to serve on the Semi board of directors, a post to which he was elected in 1989. Semi, 805 East Middlefield Rd., Mountain View, CA; ph 415/964-5111, fax 415/967-5375.