Applications of Simulation in Semiconductor Manufacturing Facilities

Semiconductor fabrication facilities face many challenges through the many phases of their life cycle including design, build, various production ramps, and many levels of production. Confronted with global competition and rapidly changing technology and customer requirements, there is an increasing demand for rapid solution techniques to improve efficiency in manufacturing. The complexities and forces of both market and the process combine to make the use of simulation crucial at many different planning and control levels. While not a panacea for sustainable performance, simulation provides an effective vehicle for defining the path from competitive concepts to real world solutions and gives an opportunity to experiment with, and assess the impact of, production plans, aiding the management and production teams’ decisions. Integrating simulation with common approaches; Operations Research (OR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve manufacturing problems is a new trend towards higher quality solutions. This paper presents an overview of how simulation can be employed to improve manufacturing performance and reduce costs