Dispatching for make-to-order wafer fabs with machine-dedication and mask set-up characteristics

Abstract

This paper develops a dispatching algorithm to improve on-time delivery for a make-to-order semiconductor wafer fab with two special characteristics: mask set-up and machine dedication. A new algorithm is proposed for dispatching series workstations. Simulation experiments show that the algorithm outperforms the previous methods both in on-time delivery rate, cycle time, and only slightly less than the best benchmark in throughput. The experiments are carried out in 10 test scenarios, which are created by the combination of two product-mix ratios and five mask set-up times.

Keywords:

• Semiconductor dispatching
• Make to order
• On-time delivery rate
• Machine dedication
• Mask set-up

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the anonymous referees for their careful reading of the manuscript and for providing positive feedback. We also thank Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation for providing the data for the simulation experiments. This research is partially supported by research project NSC90-2622-E009-001.