A novel breakthrough system for mixed production goaling and control in semiconductor manufacturing

In this paper, a novel system, denoted as MPLM (Multi Process/Product Line Management), for production goaling and control of semiconductor manufacturing lines is outlined. Goaling is the process of allocating targets on amount of work (wafer lots) to be produced by each workstation (tool-set), at each of its process steps, over a tactical planning horizon (e.g. one shift). In MPLM, the production goaling problem is represented as a series of sequential allocation problems of assigning lots to tools. Each of these sequential allocation problems is then converted into a maximal efficiency flow problem and solved optimally, for a parametric planning horizon, and consequently aggregated into a legible and detailed manufacturing plan. This plan is integrated into a real-time shop-floor dispatching system for execution of the plan seamlessly. After the successful implementation of MPLM in several semiconductor manufacturing facilities at Intel, significant performance benefits were recorded relative to previously used methods for production goaling and WIP management.