In today’s increasingly complex, geographically dispersed, and constantly changing global marketplace, semiconductor manufacturers must innovate to meet the demand for unstinting quality with higher efficiency and lower cost. Increased visibility and greater collaboration across supply chain networks are essential to their ability to adapt processes to respond effectively to rapid and frequently volatile change. Since flexible technologies are essential to meeting these requirements, semiconductor MES has become a fundamental element in the technology strategy of semiconductor manufacturers.
Semiconductor MES is focused on proactive improvement of processes, such as preventing quality problems rather than reacting to them. Advanced systems are also designed for integration to accommodate the multi-tiered ecosystem of modern device manufacturing, in which many companies are fabless and must work seamlessly with subcontractors.
Semiconductor MES has a broad set of application features and functions, including integrated reporting and data analysis capabilities, process enforcement and integration for closed-loop quality, and extensibility and configurability in data and process flow. The functionality provided by semiconductor MES extends across the enterprise:
Semiconductor MES enables agile, interconnected workflows that are indispensible to today’s semiconductor manufacturers. Real-time information exchange supports collaboration and better decision making across the extended enterprise.
Currently, a transition is underway as semiconductor manufacturers move from older legacy systems to new semiconductor MES. One of the drivers of this development is the number of MES providers that have announced the planned end of support for many legacy product versions that are used in semiconductor fab and back-end facilities. The acceleration of change in the semiconductor business (e.g., global markets, internal process requirements, vendor roadmaps, rising customer expectations) is making reassessment of current semiconductor MES a high priority for manufacturers as they look to newer systems and technologies to gain a competitive edge.
Quality