OPINION
of process development increases every day.
More technology options, material choices and
supplier options complicate matters more.
Being aware of these issues, I have in the past
tried to find a product to solve them, however,
there is nothing out there that provides an end-to-
end solution for speeding up process
development. So Process Relations set out to
solve it by identifying ways to limit the number of
experimental cycles needed to produce a working
process flow.
The solution we’ve developed is specialised
software called Process Development Execution
Systems (PDES). Process development can be
sped up and therefore make cost reductions by
following three basic rules: fully utilise existing
knowledge, learn in a different way (e.g. by
simulations) and gain more information from
experiments.
program is cluttered with unnecessary
Know what you know experiments, the cycle time will inevitably increase.
If you’ve learnt something before, it makes no A key benefit of implementing a system such as
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sense to relearn it. However, the knowledge XperiDesk is that it enables manufacturers to run
needed is not always readily available when less wafers in the fab. As a result, it frees up
www
required. Data should be shared between valuable resources, saves money and significantly
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individual engineers and teams, even across sites reduces the probability of equipment downtime.
and companies, so everyone can learn from this
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accumulated knowledge. In times of hardship, Remember what you’ve learnt
success comes form collaboration. This can be As with history, we must learn from the past in
achieved using PDES. The program structures order to progress. If past results and conclusions
information and makes it easily obtainable; are not documented and shared, this will slow
therefore it avoids the need to perform experiments down and affect the speed at which we can
that have already been completed in the past. progress.
Thus saving companies valuable time and money.
Issue II 2009
This sentiment holds true in thin-film process
Once experiments are well defined, optimised and development, if this is addressed
performed, the benefits can be maximised. however, it will result in better, quicker and less
Historical data must be recorded and shared, costly process development cycles.
otherwise the mistakes of the past will be The importance of these factors cannot be
repeated. It is vital to document everything – every underestimated in helping to pull through an
idea, project, experiment, meeting, and conclusion. economic crisis.
If this is done successfully and effortlessly,
engineers can draw optimum results from
virtualisation. New and existing data can be
correlated and thus new information can be
exposed. For example, PDES can build up a
network of imperative information that will not only
benefit current developments, but it will be useful
in future process development too.
Once the experiment and development process
has been streamlined, a Manufacturing Execution
System (MES) should be implemented, to assist
with the extensive production process. However, it
is only as good as the input it receives. If the
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