There are significant gaps in semiconductor manufacturing analytics capabilities that could help solve the semiconductor shortage and unleash intelligence for the global semiconductor industry. This, according to a survey released by Japan-based Gigaphoton Inc., a manufacturer of light sources used in semiconductor lithography.

The Gigaphoton survey reveals unmet analytics needs that offer a roadmap to what the semiconductor industry must do to meet growing demand and help solve the chip shortage. Shrinking chip sizes and advancing technology are challenging the ability of semiconductor manufacturers to sustain uptime and yield. At the same time, worldwide demand is increasing, and shortages throughout the supply chain have forced semiconductor manufacturers to focus their attention on using analytics to gain efficiencies with their equipment and processes.

“As semiconductor manufacturing processes have become more complex, we’ve seen an increase in customer requests for more advanced intelligence into our tools, and each customer needs something unique. Since COVID, we believe these requests will be compounded further as semiconductor manufacturers scale up their chip production,” said Yuji Minegishi, General Manager at Gigaphoton.

As manufacturing processes continue to require greater precision, it has been challenging for chip manufacturers to achieve the depth and breadth of intelligence they need to increase or even sustain uptime. Currently, intelligence is siloed among proprietary analytics solutions developed by tool manufacturers and third-party analytics platforms. This creates barriers to usability which are becoming more problematic as processes become more complex.

Gigaphoton conducted a survey with 276 responses from semiconductor manufacturing respondents in all aspects of the manufacturing process. The survey showed that 73% of chip manufacturers must piece together multiple equipment analytics solutions. Despite all the solutions they use and the large investments they make on software, most still don’t have the efficient advanced analytics capabilities they need to increase uptime and output.

“The survey results reveal a significant gap in semiconductor manufacturing analytics capabilities that can’t really be filled by a single software vendor. This is a global semiconductor industry problem that will need an industry-wide solution,” said Mario Faria, Vice President and Partner, Americas at the MAX Group.

“This study has helped us uncover the industry’s critical need for more advanced and intelligent analytics capabilities,” said Katsumi Uranaka, President and CEO of Gigaphoton. “We are committed to providing state of the art advanced platforms and solutions to help our customers increase productivity and output.”

By: DocMemory
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