Download edition 2006 - Siemens

12 FACILITY AUTOMATION
New wafer fab benefits
from a high degree of
standardization and an
experienced project
management team
Consistently
successful
Siltronic’s new wafer fab in Freiberg,
Germany produces 300-millimeter
wafer discs for export all over the
world. With a high degree of standardization
and consistent use of
Simatic PCS 7 as a process control
system, as well as standardized
Siemens technology for the energy
supply and building technology,
Siltronic is poised to fully exploit
the rationalization potential of
the new fab.
The new production line for 300-millimeter
wafers includes a pulling
line on which the polycrystalline silicon
is melted and pulled into monocrystals;
a wafer fab in which the crystals are cut
into discs; and, of course, the supply installations
as well as the wastewater and
exhaust air treatment systems. One of the
most striking features of the new fab is the
new production line, which is located in a
building measuring 130 times 70 meters.
M+W Zander, which was commissioned
as the general contractor for the wafer
fab, placed an order with Siemens to supply
the automation technology, energy supply,
and building control technology. Tenders
for all of these packages were requested
and examined separately. As Helmut
Hoeller, production manager at Siltronic in
Freiberg, reports, “Siemens was able to win
many of the packages outright. Besides, we
had already made a basic decision at the beginning
of the project to use Simatic PCS 7
as a platform for the process automation.
The result is a high degree of standardization
in the fab because almost all units and
assemblies are equipped with Simatic technology.
This makes maintenance, spare
All pictures: Siltronic
parts storage, and spare parts procurement
cheaper and easier. Having the same technology
and the same look and feel also
“Of course, we also took
factors such as reliability,
service friendliness, and
so on into account, in
addition to the basic
costs of the
implemented
technology.”
Bernhard Schmidt, project manager
at Siltronic in Freiberg
In the pulling fab,
the polycrystalline
silicon
for producing
300-millimeter
wafers is melted
and pulled into
monocrystals
means that the fab can be operated more
easily and with less manpower – which directly
effects production costs.”
Reliable partners and technology
Cost was an important factor in favor of
choosing Siemens technology for most
of the packages. “Of course, we also took
factors such as reliability, service friendliness,
and so on into account, in addition to
the basic costs of the implemented technology,”
explains Bernhard Schmidt, project
manager at Siltronic in Freiberg. Moreover,
Siltronic had already had positive
experiences with Simatic technology – in
Singapore, for example, where Simatic PCS7
was used for the first time.
“One advantage of a long-standing partnership
is that you know what you are buy-
FabFocus 2006