A mixed dispatching rule for semiconductor wafer fabrication

ABSTRACT

The critical ratio (CR) is often used as the dispatching rule for semiconductor wafer fabrication in integrated circuit (IC) foundries, although this not consider the fact that different products may have different processing times. In general, products with long processing time ought to be prioritised. However, CR would give various products the same priority, which may cause the problem that some products cannot be delivered on time. This study thus proposes a mixed dispatching rule in prioritising the work in process for wafer fabrication, which uses historical production data to classify products first, and then employs CR to give different weights to products based on their lengths of processing time, to optimally utilise production resources and thus enhance order fulfilment. The empirical results show that the mixed dispatching rule, which considers both the delivery and processing times of products, outperforms the first in first out, earliest due date, and CR dispatching rules.

KEYWORDS:

• Semiconductor industry
• dispatching rule
• on-time delivery
• critical ratio

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yeu-Shiang Huang

Yeu-Shiang Huang is currently a professor in the Department of Industrial and Information Management at National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. He earned both his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. His research interests include operations management, supply chain management, reliability engineering, and decision analysis. Related papers have appeared in such professional journals as IIE Transactions, Naval Research Logistics, European Journal of Operational Research, Decision Support Systems, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, International Journal of Production Research, Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Software Testing,Verification and Reliability, IEEE Transactions on Reliability, Computers and Operations Research, Computers and Industrial Engineering, Communications in Statistics and others.

Hung-Wen Chen

Hung-Wen Chen is a graduate student in the Department of Industrial and Information Management at National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.