IMA Continues Important APC Standards Work
Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor -- Semiconductor International, 12/1/2000
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| Alexander E. Braun, Senior Editor |
An important IMA aim is to encourage the adoption of formal standards, avoiding the problems and costs created by the necessity of operating with de facto standards. It does this by participating in existing industry standards committees and organizations, as well as making recommendations to these committees and organizations. IMA members also receive information on the practical implementation of resulting standards. IMA has done extensive work to develop a set of expectations for APC, using integrated measurements. So far, it has developed guidelines and is working on the development of standards dealing with software requirements for toolmakers and fabs, sensor requirements in the integrated metrology area, fab tool requirements to obtain data and sensor integration, and has also outlined what it considers the end user's responsibilities.
IMA members have written important papers on a variety of subjects, including how to estimate the costs and benefits and ROI of integrated process metrology, as well as on advanced process control manufacturing.
At the 12th AEC/APC Symposium in Lake Tahoe, Calif., chipmakers described how integrated metrology and advanced process control can be used to improve fab productivity and reduce costs. In association with the symposium, the IMA held one of its yearly events. IMA members focused on identifying issues and needs for integrated metrology and event process control. Participants in this meeting used brainstorming sessions to answer two questions: What problems would your company encounter if it were to participate in a fault detection and classification (FDC) process? and What problems would your company encounter if it were to participate in a model-based process control (MBPC) project?
Later, many IMA members participated in the SEMI Standardization meeting, which focused on the modification of the architecture of the reflectometry standard, which was separated into four areas: the EFEM Standard E101-0200 revision, which accommodates the metrology module interface; the General 300 mm EFEM integrated Reflectance Metrology Standard; the Physical Integration Standard; and the Communication Standard.
The IMA, under the SEMI standards process, will develop a new SEMI New Activities Report Form, which will produce a standards ballot for physical process interfaces to reflect one standard address for all metrology and physical integration of the modules. The communications committee will develop communications standards for integrated metrology, and the substrate tracking and event management portions of the Integrated Metrology Physical Interface standard will be reviewed.
We at Semiconductor International are pleased to have entered into a preliminary agreement with IMA, whereby we have become IMA's sponsoring publication. We believe this group is doing important and necessary work and will begin supporting its activities by informing you in a timely fashion about the developments and standardization work that its membership and various internal groups are carrying out. We invite you to visit their web site, at www.integratedmeasurement.com, to learn more about their activities, membership and newsletter. •
For additional information on inspection, measurement & test, go to www.semiconductor.net/imt.
