RTP installed base productivity improvement project

Summary form only given, as follows. Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) has recently undergone widespread acceptance for a number VLSI applications. The industry´s largest supplier installed base RTP equipment, AG Associates has experienced exponential growth in an effort to meet both the expanding market and increasingly diverse applications. SEMATECH, a consortium supported by the US government and consisting of some of the largest domestic manufacturers of microelectronic products, was approached mid 1993 by several of its members with concern about RTP productivity issues. SEMATECH organized an official project with interested member companies and partnered with AG Associates. The project worked to understand the needs of the RTP installed base and developed an improvement strategy which focused on both the technical problems and business practices highlighted by users. The strategy included a definition of performance metrics, supplier development program, reliability improvement program and development/evaluation of specific engineering upgrades. The project successfully concluded February, 1995. The authors discuss the dynamic relationship between SEMATECH, its member companies and AG Associates. A review of the project includes what worked well and yielded quantifiable results, what succeeded with intangible benefits as well as recommendations for future efforts. A number of project initiatives were strategic in nature with anticipated latent benefit. The projects original objective included assisting AG in becoming a world class supplier of semiconductor equipment.