It is well known that the process from successful tape-out of a chip to achieving mass production requires multiple technical checkpoints and a validation cycle lasting 12 to 36 months. This process integrates deep collaboration among semiconductor processes, manufacturing engineering, and quality management, making it a precise art of modern industry.
1. Testing and Tuning Phase (3-12 Months)
① Performance Verification
High-speed computation testing: For high-performance chips such as AI accelerators, it is necessary to verify the stability of FLOPS performance in an environment ranging from -20℃ to 85℃.
Power consumption analysis: Using the Keysight N6705C power analyzer, monitor whether the sleep mode current is below 1μA.
Timing tests: Capture clock offsets using a logic analyzer to ensure setup/hold times meet design specifications.
② Reliability Challenges
HAST testing: Pressure testing under 85℃/85% humidity conditions to verify the hermeticity of the package.
High-Temperature Gate Bias (HTGB): Apply rated voltage to power devices and assess them in a 150℃ environment for 1000 hours.
Temperature cycling: Execute 1000 thermal shock cycles from -55℃ to 125℃ to detect wire bond fatigue.
③ Defect Optimization
Yield improvement: Use defect scanning electron microscopy to locate wafer defects and optimize photoresist coating speed parameters.
Process adjustments: Adjust the deposition thickness of the barrier layer in the copper interconnect layer to address electromigration failures.
2. Mass Production Preparation Phase (6-18 Months)
① Capacity Deployment
Equipment introduction: Install the ASML NXT:2050i lithography machine, requiring 60 days to complete optical path calibration.
Production line certification: Pass SEMI S2/S8 safety standards and obtain ISO/TS 16949 automotive-grade certification.
② Supply Chain Integration
Wafer supply lock: Sign a 36-month long-term contract with GlobalWafers to secure the supply of 12-inch polished wafers.
Hazardous materials control: Establish a temperature-controlled storage room for photoresist, equipped with a VOC online monitoring system.
③ Personnel Empowerment
Operational certification: Complete 200 hours of maintenance training for equipment engineers on the lithography machine.
Quality awareness: Pass SPC statistical process control assessments to ensure all personnel master Cpk calculation methods.
3. Mass Production Phase (Continuous Iteration)
① Ramp-up Production
Yield ramp-up: Start from an initial yield of 30% and improve to over 90% through 6 months of DOE experiments.
Capacity ramp-up: Gradually increase monthly production capacity from 5K to 20K to 50K.
② Quality Firewall
Online monitoring: Deploy the KLA-Tencor 392X wide-wafer thickness measurement instrument for real-time control of critical processes.
Failure analysis: Use FIB (Focused Ion Beam) cutting equipment to achieve root cause analysis within 72 hours.
③ Continuous Improvement
Design optimization: Iterate the metal layer layout of the IP core based on mass production data feedback.
Cost optimization: Improve CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) processes to reduce the cost per wafer by 15%.
This article is an original piece by Wanyi Education. Please indicate the source when reprinting!