FabTime Newsletter Community Announcements Page
The FabTime newsletter welcomes the opportunity to share announcements of interest to the wafer fab operations community, including conference announcements, calls for papers, and product news.
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The announcements below are from the FabTime Cycle Time Newsletter, Volume 26, No. 1, published on February 11, 2025. The INFICON team is looking forward to the upcoming FOA Collaborative Forum, to be held in Phoenix later this month. We're also pleased to offer an update on our AskJen AI-powered chat feature.
Past issues of the newsletter are available for subscribers to download in PDF format. Existing subscribers can find the archive link in your most recent email newsletter. New subscribers will see the link upon registering.
Update on AskJen™
In the previous newsletter issue, we unveiled AskJen, an innovative AI-powered expert chat feature designed to provide 24/7 access to advanced insights into semiconductor operations.
AskJen harnesses cutting-edge Large Language Model (LLM) technology combined with over 25 years of FabTime cycle time management newsletter issues to empower semiconductor professionals with instant answers to operational questions.
We now have AskJen running in FabTime version 2411 on our demo development server. An example is shown below. If you are an INFICON software customer and are interested in testing AskJen, please reach out to Jennifer via this form.
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Upcoming FOA/WFOA events in Phoenix
The INFICON team is looking forward to participating in the upcoming Fab Owners Alliance Collaborative Forum, to be held at the Wigwam Resort in Phoenix February 24-27. Jennifer will be attending the Women of the FOA dinner and social activity on Tuesday evening, as well as the general sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. She hopes to see you there!
A team from INFICON has also submitted a case study with the team from Wolfspeed in Durham.
Improvement of Factory Digital Twin and Lot Delivery at Wolfspeed using INFICON Applications
At Wolfspeed’s North Carolina Factory (NCF), managing lot transaction data was a challenge due to the use of two separate Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). This fragmented setup made it difficult to compile and analyze factory-wide metrics across all work-in-progress (WIP). By implementing INFICON’s Digital Twin, NCF now consolidates all lot transaction data into a single, unified database with a consistent data structure, enabling streamlined analysis and better decision-making.
NCF also faced difficulties optimizing location tracking and lot delivery between tools located across multiple buildings. Using the centralized data from the Digital Twin, NCF also deployed the INFICON Factory Scheduler to efficiently plan when and where lots should be delivered. Additionally, the INFICON NextMove application tracks lot locations in real-time on the factory floor and assists with delivery.
The introduction of NextMove has proven especially valuable, providing robust location tracking and clear, actionable lot delivery instructions to operators. This has improved logistics, reduced dependency on paper travelers, minimized handling errors, and enhanced overall operational efficiency.
In this presentation, we will outline how NCF implemented the Digital Twin, Scheduler, and NextMove. We will also discuss the significant benefits achieved, including improved data accuracy, streamlined workflows, and smoother factory operations. These advancements have not only addressed longstanding challenges but have also set the stage for sustained efficiency improvements in the future.
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