Survey of semiconductor data management systems technology

As integrated circuit fabrication processes continue to increase in complexity, it has been observed that data collection, retention, and retrieval rates are continuing to increase at an alarming rate. At future technology nodes, the time required to source manufacturing problems must at least remain constant to maintain anticipated productivity. Current commercial and manufacturer in-house data management systems (DMS) have limited functionality in their ability to access, analyze, and intelligently extract information from the large variety of manufacturing data sources available within the semiconductor manufacturing site. It is critical that the semiconductor industry agree on a strategic R&D plan to develop a family of DMS technologies to simultaneously access multiple data sources and derive useful defect and yield information from that data via analysis algorithms. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and SEMATECH performed an industry-wide survey of semiconductor device manufacturers and the suppliers of data management tools and systems in the Spring of 1999. The purpose of the survey was to determine: (1) the state-of-the-art in DMS technologies and systems; (2) limitations of the systems in use today; (3) technology gaps impacting future DMS development, and; (4) input for future strategic R&D activities. This paper describes the results of this survey and presents a prioritized R&D roadmap.