CIM approach for VLSI manufacturing

Summary form only given. For two types of production-small-variety/large-volume production and large-variety production-CIM (computer integrated manufacturing) lines have been developed and constructed for the whole production process from wafer fabrication to final testing. Each wafer fabrication line is constructed with a block structure having a somewhat different pattern, depending on the production type. The wafer testing, assembly, and final testing lines are constructed on the basis of a linear structure with multi-passages. For small-variety/large-volume production, it is sufficient for the characteristics of the block structure to approximate those of the linear structure closely. The wafer fabrication line is divided into several blocks according to the process steps. Each block consists of modules in which several pieces of equipment are integrated using transfer robots, an in/out station, and, in some cases, temporary storage. For large-variety production, a block structure similar to a job-shop structure is more suitable for improving flexibility. The wafer fabrication line is divided, for example, into two blocks for the master and the slice levels. However, this type of line needs sufficient capacity and efficiency in the work transport system and a complex distributed network hierarchy architecture for the control system