Productivity improvement focus at White Oak Semiconductor

Semiconductor manufacturing facility White Oak Semiconductor is working toward the implementation of a challenging goal: significant increase of wafer starts per week without adding new floor space to the existing clean room area. To this end a Productivity Improvement Project has been deployed across the factory. The Project is concentrated on efforts to improve equipment productivity, optimize equipment utilization, and the effectiveness of personnel. One of the most challenging areas of the factory is Etch. This paper focuses on the productivity improvement activities in the Etch area.