One of the principles characterizing the evolution of factories towards smart manufacturing is the unification of previously disparate data sources/systems to unlock new value. In front-end manufacturing, this trend is exemplified by the relationship between subfab and fab-level data. Historically, subfab data has been collected by SCADA systems without process context. Tool-level data has been collected by equipment interfaces without subfab-element context. This has been sufficient to provide basic subfab element monitoring in parallel with tool-level applications like station controllers and FDC. However, as processes have gotten more complex, it has become apparent that value can be gained by merging tool/process-level context information with subfab data.
Achieving such a merger improves quality by making it easier to monitor subfab health from within the same framework used to achieve process control, as well as enables making correlations between process and subfab-element parameters. Beyond analytical benefits however, the merger unlocks a new smart manufacturing layer when the element of control is added.
There are many intelligent decisions in subfab management that can be automated if the right data is provided to the right type of system. As an example, many modern abatement and pump platforms provide energy savings modes that can be activated during times when the process tool does not require full usage. There are also resource-intensive processes that may make sense to run at different times due to varying costs. A factory can conceivably exploit these optimizations, but in order to do so automatically there must be a system in place that has the ability to analyze factory- and tool-level data and automatically control relevant subfab elements. In this talk, we will present the results of the implementation of such a platform. The system (now with >3500 installations) can: 1. Collect data from a diversity of subfab systems - pumps, abatement units, TMS, chillers, etc - from within the tool/process-level context 2. Integrate with tool- and factory-level Digital Twins 3. Control the same subfab elements - pumps, abatement units, TMS, etc. 4. Execute control decisions based on automatic analysis provided by tool- and factory-level systems, such as a factory scheduler
