Reduced System Downtime

Reducing Downtime, Improving Productivity

One major hindrance to fab productivity and throughput improvements is tool downtime.

SiFusion furnaceware significantly reduces furnace downtime for preventive maintenance, eliminating a major source of productivity loss in thermal processing.

In the hot zone, preventive maintenance for routine cleaning and replacement of quartz and silicon carbide consumables can occur up to every one or two weeks. The cleaning and recalibration can take up to four shifts.

Reducing Downtime, Improving Productivity

With a longer lifespan and no routine cleaning, SiFusion fixtures allow furnaces to run longer between scheduled maintenance—increasing throughput.

Eliminate Routine Cleaning

Defect density specifications set by IC manufacturers drive the stringent cleaning cycles for traditional quartz and silicon carbide consumables. For example, newly installed quartz boats may be used for 17 to 34 cycles before particles exceed limits, and customers must remove the fixtures for cleaning. This process is time consuming and results in significant furnace downtime.

SiFusion poly silicon furnaceware requires no routine cleaning, thus minimizing downtime and its associated productivity losses. Additionally, wafer fabs save the cost of purchase and disposal of cleaning chemicals and reduce the fab’s environmental footprint.

Replace Less Often

The functional lifespan for SiFusion fixtures is multiple times longer than quartz consumables. SiFusion products degrade at a significantly slower rate than these competing technologies. In high-temperature applications, SiFusion product life has been demonstrated to extend beyond four years.

Achieve Precision Manufacturing Tolerances

When a quartz or silicon carbide consumable is removed and cleaned, the robotics of the furnace must then be recalibrated, extending the downtime associated with cleaning.

Poly silicon s properties permit precision manufacturing tolerances that make for a more efficient robotic interface that can reduce wafer load and unload time.