The role of process system engineering (PSE) in integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing

The manufacture of integrated circuits is driven by a demand for faster calculation capabilities and lower costs, which will require the development of a new generation of manufacturing tools to increase yield productivity, spearheaded by improved measurement devices and advanced process control. The objectives of this paper are to review of the challenges in applying two areas of expertise in process systems engineering (PSE), namely process monitoring and control, and to motivate more academics working in PSE to get actively involved. PSE solutions appropriate for these challenges involve harnessing multivariate statistics, automated modeling approaches like genetic programming, and multivariable model-based control. The paper is illustrated with several example applications, all tested in fabrication facilities in Israel. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.