Abstract
Modular, multichamber, integrated process systems -- cluster tools -- have
achieved worldwide recognition, and have become widely accepted worldwide as a
key concept for VLSI manufacturing.
The rationale behind the cluster concept is to:
- Reduce cycle times
- Reduce wafer handling by operators
- Reduced particulate contamination
- Reduced molecular contamination
- Ability to initiate difficult processes
The perceived advantages of cluster tools comes at a time when the
semiconductor industry has been is a sustained growth period, when rising
costs has increased the cost of a 35,000 sq. ft. fab to $3 billion.
However, despite the claims for the advantages of cluster tools, quantitative
data have been largely unproven. Open architectures, which will open the flood
gates for standardization in the equipment industry, have not been established
sufficiently to prove their value. As a result, closed architecture systems
will continue to be sold throughout the timeframe of this study, even though
they may not necessarily provide the lowest cost or best technology for a
specific process. The attainment of a high reliability factor has prevented
any successful implementation of automation in an IC facility. The advent of
powerful, inexpensive microcomputers with high-speed data acquisition and
processing capabilities has enabled manufacturers to build equipment with
sufficient intelligence to monitor a variety of parameters. Advances in the
field of remote sensing and control components has also enabled these
functions to be measured with greater accuracy. A host or mode computer can
provide better wafer process control and tracking as well as accurate
diagnostic information should a problem occur.
Future cluster tools will implement much more sophisticated monitoring to
assure process functionality and provide a means of detecting and correcting
problems. To assure proper process completion and sequence, diagnostic tools
are being incorporated inside process modules for real-time communication
feedback. These tools will require highly developed internal system diagnostic
capability; highly integrated equipment will require intensive sensing
technology.
This report addresses these technical issues, presenting an analysis of the
industry, the key players, and the driving forces directing the cluster tool
concept. Markets are analyzed and are segmented by flexible and non-flexible
cluster tools.
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