Advanced Optimization Technology for global wafer fab scheduling

The problem with current fab scheduling

Semiconductor wafer fabrication is commonly considered as one of the world's most advanced manufacturing systems. The exceptional complexity, marked by re-entrant flows, mixed processing methods and multiple objectives makes production scheduling extremely difficult.

Many fabs adopt dispatch systems to help with production scheduling. These can be highly effective for production control within a single tool or toolset tool. However, because dispatching decisions are made locally and based on pre-defined rules, they fail to account for broader factory behavior.

Improving operational processes is key

To maintain high margins, semiconductor fabs must continue to reduce costs. Historically, this has been accomplished by shrinking chips, shifting production to larger wafers and increasing yield. With little potential left in these options, fabs must now focus on improving operational processes to cut cycle times and increase throughput.

Specifically, to reduce costs and improve efficiency, fabs need to switch to smart scheduling that will:

Flexciton’s revolutionary scheduling technology for wafer fabs

To meet these needs, we developed a hybrid optimization model based on mixed-integer linear programming (MILP). At the core of our approach is a unique combination of mathematical optimization, heuristic search and smart decomposition methods.