Managing Wafer Yield Across Semiconductor Fabrication
Wafer yield, or the percentage of accepted die per wafer, is a critical metric for semiconductor operations. All fab processes must ramp to steadily create consistent wafers with profitable average yield. This yield is determined during wafer test and sort when each die is assigned to a specific scrap or product bin based on parametric data. Tracking ongoing yield results ensures key metrics stay above minimum thresholds. To do so, operations require certain levels of visibility, including:
- Creating Specification Thresholds—For each test step, parametric results associated with product bins (PASS) versus scrap bins (FAIL) must be determined
- Collecting Test Results—Data must be collected from first to final test and compared to the specification thresholds for accurate binning
- Tracking Results Over Time—Test result trends from each line must be retained to assess the stability and profitability of the fabrication process
- Comparing Yield Across Fabrication Sites—Companies with multiple fabs must compare and manage yield results from each site at the enterprise level
NI Lifecycle Solution for Semiconductor Yield Management
- By leveraging the NI Lifecycle Collect, Detect, and Act solution framework implemented by NI OptimalPlus, monitor and resolve yield issues in near real-time
- Wafer data pipelines Collect, transform, and tag wafer test results into a unified data format that allows for continuous analytics and insights about wafer yield
- Monitor yield KPIs and Detect issues by processing raw data into dashboards with near real-time updates to have trust in the stability of fabrication results
- Optimize specification limits for each bin by analyzing parametric test results, Detect inefficiencies in binning algorithms, and Act on beneficial threshold adjustments from historical data
- Configure data-driven alerts to identify yield regressions with automatic notifications and Actions that accelerate resolution and minimize yield impact
Solution Advantages
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Uses the OptimalPlus data pipeline built for semiconductor data for a stable and complete source to support wafer yield insights.
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Delivers the right KPIs to the right people in near real-time through prebuilt and customizable dashboards, visualizations, and analytics
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Enables semiconductor operations to catch and fix yield issues fast through data-driven rules with predefined responses for wafer data
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Tracks outsourced operations and supplier benchmarks with broad foundry and OSAT support
Build Your Solution with the NI Ecosystem
NI offers a variety of solution integration options customized to your application-specific requirements. You can use your own internal integration teams for full system control or leverage the expertise of NI and our worldwide NI Partner Network to obtain a turnkey solution.
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