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ing and are familiar with the strengths and
weaknesses of the technology,” adds Hoeller.
“In addition, we can continue to use our
own expertise that we have built up around
Simatic and other Siemens solutions.”
Simple integration
A network of many central plants and
smaller units is necessary to produce
wafers. However, semiconductor production
places very high demands on the
process control: all of the media and all environments
must remain absolutely clean,
because even the slightest contamination
can make the wafers useless. Siltronic
therefore keeps a batch record for every
disc, so that it is always possible to trace
which materials were used to make the
wafer, and under what conditions it was
processed – including all of the relevant
process and environment data.
Totally Integrated Automation and the
high degree of standardization simplify the
integration of the individual units into a
standardized automation and information
landscape. This also applies to the integra-
FabFocus 2006
“One advantage of a
long-standing
partnership is that you
know what you are
buying and are familiar
with the strengths and
weaknesses of the
technology.”
Helmut Hoeller, production
manager at Siltronic in Freiberg
tion of the energy supply and the building
technology, of course, which were delivered
and installed by Siemens as well.
Complex project completed
successfully
Just one year after laying the cornerstone in
October 2002, the wafer fab was ready for
equipment in November 2003, and the first
process machine went into operation only
Siltronic:
The silicon expert
Siltronic is one of the world’s largest
producers of wafers made of ultra-pure
silicon, and is a partner of many leading
chip manufacturers. The company
develops and produces wafers with
diameters of up to 300-millimeters at
locations in Europe, Asia, Japan, and the
United States. The largest of the
company’s three 300-millimeter
locations is Freiberg in Eastern Germany.
two weeks later. In June 2004, the fine-tuning
was completed and the first product delivered.
Hoeller and Schmidt are very
pleased with the way the project was executed.
“Of course, there were some difficulties,
but the great experience and expertise
of all of those involved helped us
avoid many problems altogether, and resolved
those that did crop up – thanks also
to the outstanding cooperation of the project
team,” says Schmidt.
The fab is now in the ramp-up phase,
on schedule, and will be producing 150,000
wafers a month in 2006. The implemented
technology performs well in routine operation,
as Hoeller confirms: “The fab is
running well and is stable. Minor problems
are easy to eliminate. I have to say that the
fab totally meets our expectations.” �
Hannspeter Pachel, Siemens Karlsruhe
E-mail: hannspeter.pachel@siemens.com
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