Optimal tool allocation (OTA) for cost reduction under uncertain demand

On addressing the issues of uncertain demand and the rapid changing of developing technology, a capital-intensive semiconductor foundry is faced with a big challenge to reduce cost, caused by low utilization tools. In order to be competitive, what is needed most is cost reduction, through enhancing the tool utilization. This paper presents not only a successful model to analyze the impact of low tools utilization but also provide a solution to achieve the cost reduction target.