Time-to-Yield
Achieving the Required
Productivity at the Lowest Cost
Andy Cohen, Sr. Director of Marketing
Andy is with the KLA-Tencor’s Services Division,
providing customers with global support solutions.
Most process tools demand frequent maintenance as parts
erode, by-products accumulate, and process chemicals are
replaced. However, the situation is different for metrology
and inspection tools. They have few consumables and have
a much lower frequency of scheduled and unscheduled
events. However, when they do fail, they require unique
expertise in optics, image processing, precision stage
control, and software. In addition, complex supply chain
challenges must be overcome due to the low usage, high mix
parts environment inherent to inspection and metrology tools.
Supplier service engineers are typically needed for their
expertise and best delivered through service agreements with
defined coverage, engineer response time, and parts stocking
and delivery. All attributes of the agreement are typically
optimized to provide the required tool productivity and performance. To address the pressure for cost reduction, opportunities exist to achieve cost-effective productivity and performance over the lifecycle of the fab, tool, and application.
Managing Service Cost Over the Tool Lifecycle
• CIP
• Economies
of Scale
Stage I
New Platforms
~ Years 1– 3
• Economies
of Scale
• Flexible
Service
Agreements
Stage II
Mainstream
~ Years 4– 7
• Life Extensions
Stage III
Life Extension
~ Years 8– 20
Semiconductor capital equipment typically goes through three
stages during their lifecycle.
Early in the equipment life cycle, new inspection and metrology
tools require the highest levels of sensitivity, cap rate, and
precision in order to support leading edge processes.
After several years when a process and its associated tools
are fully ramped the emphasis shifts to maintaining process
stability. Mission critical tools may still need a high level of
service, however, less critical or lower complexity tools can
benefit from the cost savings of reduced service levels.
Service Level Impact on Tool Availability
25%
100%
90%
T&M,16 Hr RT
20%
80%
5x8; 8 Hr RT
70%
7x8: 4 Hr RT
15%
60%
Confidence Level
Confidence Level
Confidence Level
50%
40%
10%
30%
5%
20%
Confidence Level (%)
For example, matching process control tools with advanced
specifications can reduce cycle time and increase yield when
coupled with an appropriate sampling strategy. However,
if the tools are not properly maintained or calibrated the
benefits to cycle time or yield may degrade. In other words,
focusing on operating cost reduction, a necessity in today’s
environment, without taking into account the impact on
productivity and performance can actually result in higher
overall costs by negatively impacting the fab’s operational
excellence.
Availability and matching are critical as higher sampling
rates are typically required in the early stages of a new process
or fab ramp. Service agreements with 7x8 coverage, fast
response time, and local parts availability ensure high levels
of tool productivity and performance to help the fab reap the
benefits of a faster ramp. Moreover, hardware and software
evolve rapidly during this period. Participation in a continuous improvement program ensures timely installation of
updates that improve productivity and performance while
reducing service cost. As the fab adds tools and reaches full
production capacity, it benefits from economies of scale. A
larger install base spreads the costs of experts and supply
network to reduce cost on a per tool basis.
Percent of Time (%)
Fabs today are facing the severe price pressure inherent in a
consumer-driven market. Success depends on maximizing
revenue at the lowest cost. Fab managers agree that to
achieve operational excellence—tracked by such metrics as
fab output, yield, cycle time, and cost per wafer – they must
balance three critical components: productivity, performance,
and operating expenses.
10%
0%
0%
60
62 64 66 68
70 72 74 76 78
80 82 84
86 88
90 92 94 96 98 100
Availability per Year (%)
Higher service level translates into higher availability and
less variation.
Lastly, mature tools must continue to support older fabs for at
least 15 to 20 years. Due to the low parts usage in inspection
and metrology tools, the cost tends to increase with age.
Many parts require expensive lifetime buys or even redesign
and qualification by the tool OEM due to sub-component
end of life by their suppliers. Extending tool life maintains
lower costs for a fab through avoidance of capital spending.
Today, fabs are under tremendous pressure to reduce costs.
However, fab cost (operational excellence) does not just
include operating expenses such as tool service agreements,
but also the expense of not optimizing system productivity
and performance, which translates into lost output, cycle
time, or yield.
See how KLA-Tencor can help you
maximize yield at:
www.kla-tencor.com/serviceforyieldUS
Sponsored Editorial. © 2008 KLA-Tencor Corporation
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