How Can Manufacturers Improve the Semiconductor Fab Process?

The semiconductor fab process has been of significant interest to professionals within and outside the electronics industry. Semiconductors are essential parts for everything from washing machines to automobiles. However, a persistent shortage of the components has put pressure on manufacturers to increase their output, whether by building more factories, improving internal processes or both. Which options have they tried, and what results have come from those efforts? 

What Is a Semiconductor Fab?

Before getting into how manufacturers can improve the semiconductor manufacturing process, it’s important to clarify what people mean when referring to semiconductor fabs — or fabrications. These are specialized facilities where workers turn raw silicon wafers into integrated circuits that get etched onto wafers. 

The semiconductor factories also have carefully controlled areas free from dust, vibration and extreme temperatures. Those aspects can damage the products, making them inappropriate to sell or shortening their lifespans. 

Due to the continued prominence and increasing importance of semiconductor fabrication facilities for enabling the numerous products people use and rely on daily, many national representatives have begun assessing their domestic supply chains. The associated information can help those parties determine how extensively they must rely on international suppliers. 

In one example, the U.S. Department of Commerce launched a study in January 2024. Those involved intended to survey how the country’s producers sourced their current-generation and mature-node semiconductors, or legacy chips. The results would help Commerce Department officials determine the most practical ways to strengthen the nation’s supply chain.

Better awareness of how the semiconductor supply chain currently functions could be an excellent way for authorities to identify weaknesses and invest money or other resources to fix them. One of the current challenges associated with improving the semiconductor fab process is that it takes years to build the new factories, especially if the involved parties must locate suitable sites and have sufficient funding first.  

Bringing Robots Into Semiconductor Fabs

Successful semiconductor assembly requires unwavering precision, and some manufacturers have determined robots can provide it. That’s usually because the specialized machines excel at repetitive tasks, and there are plenty of those in a semiconductor fab. 

Manufacturers can improve the semiconductor fab process by determining which processes take the most time or feature the most errors. Then, they should see whether suitable robots exist to fulfill those duties, either through full automation or during human-assisted tasks. 

Some factories also use robots to address manual handling needs or process steps that require moving different components across significant distances within factories. Evaluating whether to use a robot for a particular task may determine how much more efficiently it can do the job compared to humans. In one example, a robotic machine can load, print and unload 275 wafers per hour without getting too hot or displaying excessive vibrations. 

Another way to improve the semiconductor process with robots is to consider what humans and machines could accomplish by working together. Even the most advanced machines have flaws, but so do highly skilled people. Finding the most appropriate ways to combine their capabilities could boost a fab’s output and tighten quality control.

Using Data Analysis to Identify Priorities

Many manufacturers have access to massive amounts of data. Although the tricky part is often knowing what to do with it, producers can learn what to look for in the information to find areas for improvement. Leaders should begin by setting a few goals that reflect what they want to achieve over the next quarter, year or another period. Then, they can find statistics that show them their current levels. The difference between a company’s present operations and where decision-makers would like to be can encourage people to set challenging but achievable goals. 

Perhaps the internal data reveals rising numbers of employees getting hurt at work. Injuries are issues for hundreds of millions of people every year. Accidents can happen, but leaders have cause for concern if they find the respective numbers going up rather than remaining steady or decreasing. Similarly, executives could study data and see that higher percentages of semiconductors have defects. 

After learning about such broad problems, people must diligently determine their likely causes. Do workers need more training? Does a particular process have too many steps, increasing the probability of employees making mistakes?Asking the workers for their thoughts about issues with current processes is an excellent way for leaders to get insights that they may otherwise not have if only making assumptions about operations and their effectiveness. 

Studying Digital Twins Before Making Crucial Decisions 

Enhancing the semiconductor fab process throughout a facility may also involve using digital twins. These tools allow users to consider the impacts of various possibilities in a virtual realm before applying them in the real world. If someone wants to test several locations for doors, equipment or other specifics, they can do so using the digital twin first. 

It is especially smart to take this approach with a project as expensive as a semiconductor fabrication plant. Errors can be costly, and the largest ones may make the facility less productive than first envisioned or result in the building failing to meet local code requirements. The United States has $285 million in federal funding to advance digital twin applications in semiconductor manufacturing. 

Besides using those financial resources to plan construction for upgraded or new facilities, people may also apply digital twins to improve employee training options. The semiconductor fab process should improve when individuals feel more confident in their roles. 

Applications also exist that allow engineers, technicians and other professionals to explore how certain design changes might affect a semiconductor’s reliability or set it apart from competing options. Minimizing the traditional trial-and-error approaches to product improvements by using digital twins first could accelerate workflows and resource utilization efforts by highlighting the most viable product releases. 

Tweaking the Semiconductor Fab Process

Semiconductor fabrication facilities are busy, in-demand places. The people inside them go through meticulous steps to ensure the produced components are high-quality pieces that meet customers’ and manufacturers’ standards. 

The above examples show why technology is often vital for lasting process improvement. However, goal-oriented plans and committed leadership also create foundations for success, supporting companies to expand their production plants and remain competitive.