Abstract
Semiconductor industries are always the major economic development and focus of Taiwan which have greatly influence the progress and implementation of electronics around the world and have deeply impacted and advanced on everyday lives. However, many countries are aggressively invested and developed semiconductor related businesses and technologies in recent years which will affect the semiconductor industries of Taiwan with massive competition. How to maintain the competition advantages including technologies, qualities, and services in the semiconductor industries become the major challenges of Taiwan. These bloody competitions will affect not only the frontend of the semiconductor industries such as wafer foundry but also the backend such as assembly and testing turn-key services. How to provide real-time information to customers for making the best decisions in the shortest time to win more business opportunities and to gain more market shares among the competitors becomes the best tactic. Therefore, customers will become more than customers but strategic partners to create win-win business environment and to gain more energy for competition in the long run. In this study, RFID system were implemented to construct “Real-time information sharing system in semiconductor wafer testing fab” which was composed by three major modules, logistic information module for supplier chain management, inventory information module for location identification and management, and wafer testing information system for wafer testing operation and management to integrate semiconductor infrastructure from IC design, through IC fabrication, to IC testing and packaging including real-time management of materials, processes, inventories, fabrication status, yield control, cycle time, and shipping/ receiving schedules to achieve shorter cycle time and lower manufacturing costs leading to better competitions in the market. RFID technology is implemented in the operation environment such as shipping/ receiving docks, testers, nitrogen cabinets, and trolleys where wafer cassettes and probe cards are the major tracking objects to provide automation of shipping/ receiving management, wafer testing processes, and inventory management to achieve automation and real-time management for semiconductor infrastructure. Furthermore, the implementation of RFID in actual production environment of wafer testing foundry was evaluated and verified through the integration of “RFID technology” and “information system” to reduce cycle time, to increase productivity, to accurately control the logistic, to improve production flow, to enhance process automation and monitor, and to provide complete information management of wafer testing. Through this real-time information sharing system, the top managers will be able to respond to the fast changing of the business world and to make real-time monitor and decision so that the information flowing in the semiconductor infrastructure from IC design, through IC fabrication, to IC testing and packaging will be real-time and transparent to improve the unstable wafer supply in the supplier chain, to meet frequent changing of customer requests, to accommodate urgent orders, and to avoid false information and misunderstanding to effectively shorten the cycle time and to reduce the cost to enhance the competition in the backend semiconductor industries.