Assessing the feasibility of a 300-mm test and monitor wafer handling and logistics system

摘要

The advent of 300-mm wafer processing brings new challenges and opportunities in product handling and automation. One concern facing equipment manufacturers and chipmakers is how to handle costly test and monitor wafers within the highly automated 300-mm facilities. A recent research project sought to assess the feasibility of a single-wafer box system's compatibility with front-opening unified pod (FOUP) equipment for the handling and transportation of 300-mm test wafers. The European Semiconductor Equipment Assessment (SEA) Project TTL2 (Tools for Test Lots Logistics) brought together such potential users as Infineon Technologies, STMicroelectronics, and International Sematech to investigate, along with the system's manufacturer, Incam Solutions (Grenoble, France), a complete tool set for single-wafer boxes in the manufacturing environment of the Semiconductor300 (I300I) pilot-line fab in Dresden, Germany. This article describes the system under review and re- ports on the results of the investigations.