Adjusting and sustaining semiconductor processes
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to adjust and sustain semiconductor-manufacturing processes, in accordance with approved procedures. You will be required to access the appropriate specifications, to check that they are of the latest issue and to extract all necessary information, in order to adjust and sustain a wafer fabrication or die assembly/test process. You will be expected to carry out a range of general support tasks, to use appropriate process adjustment methods and to report and record data on your work in suitable form such as charts, tables and narrative. You will be expected to use approved organisational procedures for adjusting and sustaining semiconductor processes and you will be expected to communicate the details of your activities to the relevant people.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for adjusting and sustaining the semiconductor processes and to report any problems with these processes that you cannot personally resolve, or are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You will be expected to work with a minimum of supervision, taking full responsibility for your own actions and for the quality and accuracy of the work that you undertake.
Your underpinning knowledge will provide a good understanding of your work and will provide an informed approach to adjusting and sustaining semiconductor manufacturing processes. You will understand the organisational requirements and procedures for adjusting and sustaining the semiconductor processes and their application and you will know about the semiconductor processes being adjusted/sustained, in adequate depth to provide a sound basis for carrying out the activities, correcting out-of-specification processes and ensuring that the output is to the required specification.
You will understand the safety precautions required when working in a semiconductor-processing environment and with the associated equipment. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout and will understand the responsibility you owe to yourself and others in the workplace.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- work safely at all times, complying with health and safety legislation, regulations, directives and other relevant guidelines
- set up the equipment correctly, using defined procedures and operating procedures for the products or assets being configured
- ensure that all operating parameters are achieved
- deal promptly and effectively with problems within your control and report those that cannot be solved
- check that the configuration is complete and that the equipment operates to specification
- ensure that work records are completed, stored securely and available to others, as per organisational requirements
- leave the work area in a safe condition on completion of the activities, as per organisational and legal requirements
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the specific safety precautions to be taken whilst carrying out the activities (including any specific legislation, regulations or codes of practice relating to the activities, equipment or materials)
- the health and safety requirements of the work area and the activities, and the responsibility these requirements place on you
- the hazards associated with the activities and how to minimise them and reduce risks
- the personal protective equipment and clothing (PPE) to be worn during the activities
voltage ranges, what constitutes a hazardous voltage and how to reduce the risks of a phase to earth shock
how to obtain the authority to enter the relevant work areas and any specific permit-to-work procedures that are used
- the configuration and operating specifications that are used for adjusting and sustaining equipment in the wafer processing or die assembly/test area
- how to obtain and use process specifications and/or equipment manuals and specifications, for adjusting and sustaining wafer processing or die assembly/test processes
- the basic operating principles of the semiconductor processes and how they relate to the area being adjusted/sustained
- how the principal areas of a semiconductor facility function within the overall spectrum of device fabrication/die assembly and test processes
- the organisational procedures for undertaking the prescribed adjusting/sustaining activities and how to implement them in the given work area
- the importance of carrying out the activities without causing unnecessary disruption to the manufacturing activities
- the formats and levels of detail required, for recording and reporting adjusting/sustaining activities and their outcomes
- the problems that can occur as a result of adjusting/sustaining activities and how they can be avoided
- the extent of your own responsibility and whom you should report to if you have problems that you cannot resolve
- how to access, use and maintain information to comply with organisational requirements and legislation
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Carry out all of the following during the adjusting and sustaining activities:
- use the correct issue of drawings, job instructions and specifications
- adhere to health and safety regulations, systems and procedures to realise a safe system of work
- follow clean room/work area protocols
- comply with organisational procedures
- store records in accordance with appropriate procedures
Adjust and sustain one of the following wafer processing or die assembly/test area processes:
- photolithography
- final inspection/probe
- mould
- etching (wet or dry)
- wafer saw
- trim/form
- diffusion
- die fix
debled mark/plate
deposition
- wire bond
- test
- implantation
- other process (specify)
Adjust and sustain semiconductor processes, taking account of all of the following:
- organisational requirements (such as batch size, instructions and guidelines)
- customer requirements
- equipment/process guidelines/specifications/process recipe/instructions
- frequency of adjustments required
- characteristics and complexity of the semiconductor processes being adjusted/sustained
Present reports of the activities by the following methods:
- verbally
Plus one other method from the following:
2. electronic mail
3. computer based presentation
4. written/typed report
5. other appropriate media (such as web based tools)
Prepare information related to sustaining semiconductor processes in two of the following categories:
- manufacturing progress reports/charts/data
- process control reports/charts/data
- quality control reports/charts/data