UMC, a leading global semiconductor foundry company, needed to build a collaborative MES system for their multi-fab operations. The decision was made to deploy SmartFactory MES 300works® to achieve numerous operations advancements, including productivity and product quality improvements plus an increase in yield and throughput, and a reduction in cycle time.
The video discusses how UMC used SmartFactory automation products and solutions to build, run, and manage their manufacturing operations efficiently, enabling the company to achieve a fast ramp to high-volume manufacturing by resolving quality issues sooner.
Transcript
I am Y Y, Director of CIM at UMC. As one of the leading semiconductor manufacturers of advanced IC, UMC has 11 manufacturer fabs, including 12x in Xiamen, China. Our business operation environment is facing similar challenges that other semiconductor manufacturers have.
With dynamic requirements, UMC needs to manufacture quality products at reduced cost and meet customer commitments in a timely manner. At UMC, we use a price 300works MES, which has helped us to achieve the number of manufacturer operation excellence through improved productivity, product quality, yield, throughput, cycle time, on-time delivery meeting customer commitments, rapid expansion of manufacturing capacity to meet customer demand. We all know that companies would like to get cost advantages by achieving economy of scale.
So every company continues to expand their fab capacity by building up new fab modules and produce quality wafer at reduced cost per unit. To run multiple fabs efficiently, the challenge we have is how we build a collaborative MES system for multi-fab operation.
1. We need a collaborative MES solution enabling visibility and information consistency across multiple fabs.
2. These multi-fabs should be interconnected by MES system so lead load can be seamlessly transferred between fabs. At UMC 12A site, two FABs P1-4 and P5-6 have all these features so that they can operate together seamlessly as one fab. Apply 300works is a flexible solution that offers application module to support multiple fab operation requirements.
If we want to transfer load between multiple fabs seamlessly, all MES system should have the same process flow information across all of the fabs. Central Modeling Repository enables product flow consistency across multiple fabs. This solution can guarantee load to run at correct step across all fabs simultaneously.
With 300works, we created cross-fab transaction to handle load and data transfer between multiple fabs enabling web status visibility across the board. With Applied 300works MES, all 12A P1-4, P5-6 FABs successfully achieve collaborative cross-fab operations because it enables visibility to load status across multiple fabs. We achieve efficient and seamless cross-fab manufacturing operation through real-time visibility, efficient integrated dispatching, tracking and optimization of cross-fab manufacturing.
With interconnected fabs and cross-fab MES function, distance transportation can be predicted and managed easily. This has helped us minimize manufacturing cycle time and increase wafer output. We use Applied Material automation product and solution to build, run and manage our manufacturing operation efficiently.
UMC-CIM solution consisting of 300works MES, APFRTD, AMA and WINSEX are capability that enables UMC to reduce time to first silicon, fast RAM to high volume by resolving quality issue in a timely manner and running high volume operation with excellence with applied integrated CIM solution. With applied commitment to continue software improvement in line with technology and industry trend such as Big Data, Industry 4.0, positions both of us for success.
