Estimation of number of PGV for a 450mm fab: FA: Factory automation

A mathematical method is proposed to estimate the minimum number of PGV (Person Guided Vehicle) for a 450mm wafer fab. As with the transition from 300mm to 450mm, the drive for 450mm wafers is primarily based on the economic benefits achieved by having a larger number of chip area on a substrate. This effort has begun at SUNY Polytechnic Institute Colleges of Nanoscale Science + Engineering, driven by the Global 450mm Consortium (G450C). The focus of G450C is to be a public-private partnership (CNSE, Intel, TSMC, Samsung, IBM and GLOBALFOUNDRIES) that develops cost effective test wafer fabrication infrastructure, equipment prototypes and high-volume tools to enable a coordinated semiconductor industry transition to the next silicon wafer size [1]. In the current paper, we propose a three-phase approach to obtain the required PGV number in a 450mm wafer fab. The objective is to calculate the minimum number of PGV for a 450mm fab located in Albany New York. In our methodology, we collected the fab layout, cleanroom space, from-to table, loading ratio, and other tool parameters as the input data of the model. Then we developed a mathematical model to calculate the number of PGV for a 450mm fab. This approach considered the total loaded vehicle travel time and the total empty vehicle travel time. Finally, decision makers can quickly obtain the minimum number of PGV under the different transport scenarios which are affected by a new tool move-in, tool relocation, and fab loading ratio change. In addition, this approach can be directly applicable to obtaining an initial estimate of the number of 450mm OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport) in a production fab.