Managing Quality Improvement on a Development Pilot Line

Abstract

Quality management tools traditionally applied in manufacturing operations were successfully used to reduce development cycle time on a high-technology pilot line. Productivity metrics such as equipment utilization, remark, outgates, and yield were adapted after being suitably modified for application to technology development. Production models, capable of deconvolving the multiple factors that affected the level of development activity, were used to identify those parts of the process in need of improvement. Pareto charts were generated for maximizing the rate of improvement. For every operation and process, work instructions were written within the scope of a document control system, similar in concept to those used in manufacturing operations and largely consistent with the requirements of ISO 9000. A disciplined adherence to the document control system facilitated technology development by providing consistency in operations and records that could be used for analyzing results. In addition to their application to the reduction of development cycle time, quality management tools and statistical process control were successfully applied to defect reduction. The importance of management, in contrast to technical solutions, was revealed when management responsibility for improvement was transferred to managers inexperienced in total quality management; while the engineering staff was left largely intact, the rate of improvement was significantly reduced.

• cycle time
• ISO 9000
• productivity
• quality leadership
• total quality management

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Harry J. Levinson

Harry J. Levinson is a project leader for deep-UV lithography development at Advanced Micro Devices. He earned a doctorate degree in physics from the University of Pennsylvania. Levinson may be contacted at Advanced Micro Devices, 1 AMD Place, MS 79, Sunnyvale, CA 94088; 408-749-2558, Fax [phone], E-mail [email protected].

Jake Ben-Jacob

Jake Ben-Jacob is the lithography and inspection measurement equipment engineering manager for the Center of Competency at IBM Microelectronics. He earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering from City College of New York. Ben-Jacob may be contacted at IBM, Hudson Valley Research Center, Route 52, Zip 56A, Hopewell Junction, NY 12533; 918-894-8176, Fax [phone], E-mail [email protected].