Yield Advantages Through Maintaining and Upgrading FOUP Populations

white paper

Many fabs ignore FOUP maintenance, not realizing the impact it can have on final yields and the bottom line. While FOUPs will degrade over time, full replacement of a fab's FOUP fleet is costly. It is important, therefore, for every semiconductor manufacturer to evaluate their FOUP maintenance protocol and determine if improvements should be made.

A FOUP's fab journey was originally designed to serve as a wafer transport carrier from the FOSB, but as a result of today's technology, FOUPs not only address particles, but also minimize and control volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxygen, and relative humidity. Any of these potential contamination sources can negatively impact device yield. In fact, FOUPs are one of the most important devices a fab has because they provide a hyper-clean microenvironment for the wafers they are protecting.
  • A wafer will travel 8 to 16 km as it moves through the FAB's process steps
  • One of the most important devices a fab has is their FOUP
  • FOUPs provide a hyper-clean microenvironment through the wafers journey
This paper looks at the importance of proper FOUP maintenance and how FOUP refurbishment saves companies $1.2 to 2M by evaluating FOUP maintenance improvement.