Framework for integration of virtual metrology and predictive maintenance

Within the ENIAC project "IMPROVE", new algorithms for virtual metrology and predictive maintenance are being developed to substantially enhance efficiency in European semiconductor manufacturing. The consortium comprises important IC manufacturers in Europe, solution providers, and research institutions. A major objective of the project is to make these new APC methods applicable in the existing fab systems of the IC manufacturers which widely differ in the automation infrastructure. A novel framework architecture for integration of the new control paradigms was researched and a software for implementation of the framework was developed. This paper describes the technical details and results of the framework development, implementation, and test.