ITR: Spatially Programmable Equipment: A New Design Paradigm for Semiconductor Manufacturing Enabled by Information Technology

研究：这个小型信息技术研究（ITR）项目的目的是为半导体制造设备开发一种新的范例——通过信息技术实现灵活的设备设计。在快速变化的技术环境中，固定设备设计的当前范例限制了设备的性能，在这种环境中，必须在产品性能和制造效率之间进行权衡。该概念是基于工艺条件可以在空间上编程的程序，以(1)将制造约束（例如，大晶圆的均匀性）与产品性能（例如，材料质量）分离；(2)通过在每个晶圆上进行并行组合实验，减少实验时间；(3)为灵活、可扩展的设备技术提供基础。使用基于物理的原型系统模拟，实验测试平台（制造集群工具中的化学气相沉积）的工作已经开始。该项目旨在开发所需的IT基础设施，将面向对象的仿真和模型简化方法与网络可访问的实验数据档案和物理属性数据库连接到并行和多路复用传感器/执行器阵列的实时控制技术。影响：该项目有可能从根本上改变半导体制造设备这一主要行业的设计范式，使其成为直接利用广泛信息技术的行业。研究和教育的整合计划在许多方面：(1)该项目为跨学科团队（例如工程师和计算机科学家之间以及材料工程师和系统工程师之间）在课堂上提供了机会；(2)在研究生阶段的材料/系统项目课程中使用空间可编程设备设计作为项目重点；(3)为工业技术人员和工程师开发基于模拟的学习软件。

Research:The purpose of this small Information Technology Research (ITR) project is to develop a new paradigm for semiconductor manufacturing equipment - flexible equipment design enabled by information technology. The current paradigm of fixed equipment design limits performance of equipment in a rapidly changing technology environment, where tradeoffs must be made between product performance and manufacturing efficiency. The concept is based on procedures where process conditions can be spatially programmed to (1) decouple manufacturing constraints (e.g., uniformity across large wafers) from product performance (e.g., material quality); (2) reduce experimentation time by enabling parallel, combinatorial experiments on each wafer; and (3) provide the basis for a flexible, extendible equipment technology. Work has already begun on an experimental test bed (chemical vapor deposition in a manufacturing cluster tool) using a physically based simulation of the prototype system. This project is for developing the IT infrastructure required to link object-oriented simulation and model reduction methodologies to web-accessible experimental data archives and physical property databases to techniques for real-time control of parallel and multiplexed sensor/actuator arrays.Impact:The project has the potential to fundamentally change the design paradigm of a major industry - semiconductor-manufacturing equipment - to one that directly exploits a broad spectrum of information technology. Integration of research and education are planned on a number of fronts: (1) the project provides an opportunity for interdisciplinary teaming (e.g., between engineers and computer scientists and between materials engineers and systems engineers) in the classroom, (2) using spatially programmable equipment design as the project focus in a materials/systems project course at the graduate level, and (3) developing simulation-based learning software for technicians and engineers in industry.