ModelWare® Improves Overall Equipment Efficiency
ModelWare® In Action
Reduce scrap due to equipment faults
Reduce the number of qual wafers
Reduce down time
Lengthen the maintenance cycle
Compare tools or chambers
Reduce the amount of raw data
See into the tool as it operates

Improve quality efficiency - reduce scrap and rework runs





ModelWare® In Action  -  Top of Page

ModelWare® allows you to:

• Reduce scrap due to equipment faults
• Reduce the number of Qual Wafers
• Reduce down time
• Lengthen the maintenance cycle
• Compare tools or chambers
• Reduce the amount of raw data to be reviewed
• "See" into the tool as it operates

Reduce scrap due to equipment faults  -  Top of Page

While faults are rare, equipment does occasionally malfunction. The alarm system of ModelWare® can be set up to halt the tool in case of a serious fault. Automatically halting the tool reduces the potential scrap from one or more lots to only one or two wafers.

Warning alarms on the real-time system health metric can be used to flag lots or wafers for further investigation.


Reduce the number of qual wafers   -  Top of Page

Since a model will quickly tell you if the tool is performing consistently, there is less need to run a qual wafer just to make sure everything is still on target.


Reduce down time  -  Top of Page

After maintenance, ModelWare® allows you to quickly gauge if the tool is performing as it should, by comparing post maintenance performance of a small number of test wafers, without waiting for metrology results.

• The model will quickly identify which parameters have changed.
• Technicians can then bring tools to an exact state for repeatable processing.

ModelWare®'s graphical displays of equipment data help narrow the search for the fault if equipment does go down.


Lengthen the maintenance cycle  -  Top of Page

Let ModelWare® tell you when maintenance is required. You can use real-time data to plan down time for preventive maintenance or repair. Monitor system health or other key chamber statistics to determine when maintenance is required, instead of basing the work cycle on a fixed time or number of wafers.


Compare tools or chambers  -  Top of Page

ModelWare®'s off-line model creation and validation utility helps you bring up a tool without tedious manual comparisons or guess work. You can use a model created for your best tool to analyze data from a similar tool or chamber. By viewing the comparison results, you can quickly see if and how the processes differ.


Reduce the amount of raw data  -  Top of Page

Reviewing all the raw data gathered for any one tool would be more than a full-time job. The bulk of data is reduced when you use ModelWare® to create a system health metric. From dozens of input values, ModelWare® calculates a single system health number for each model.

Triant's unique "Bull's-Eye" display provides a powerful index of overall equipment health. As the system operates, the system health number reflects changes in all active parameters in the model. System health is communicated as a simple-to-interpret statistic. Using ModelWare® to track trends in equipment health removes the fear of missing a tool problem because the correct parameter is not being monitored.

ModelWare®'s reporting feature allows you to compress the data further, and obtain calculated averages and trends for lots or wafers. For example, you can generate reports to show:

which lots had an excessive number of alarms.

Summary reports based on the archived tool data will also highlight trends or suspect conditions in the equipment.


See into the tool as it operates  -  Top of Page

ModelWare® gives you a window into the tool, much like a "black box flight recorder" does for an aircraft; the software tracks and records the performance of the tool while it is operating.

How is the tool performing now? ModelDisplay shows the collected variables in a real-time trend plot, for up-to-the-minute monitoring of operations. You select which process variables to monitor. Deviations in equipment behavior can be identified immediately. Any problems can be detected as they begin to emerge. Even raw trace data can reveal some types of tool malfunctions to the experienced eye; for example, pressure spikes might indicate a chamber leak.

How has the tool been performing? ModelWare® also archives the data collected on each variable being monitored. You can review the archived data to compare tool performance, or to see how long a condition or problem has existed. Data is available in real-time or off-line at any workstation on the network

Real-time monitoring and model-based alarms help you detect an emerging fault before it becomes a problem. ModelWare® uses the model to dynamically predict the value and valid operating range for any tool.