Silicon wafers are critical raw materials for semiconductor fabrication. Wafer characteristics and specifications will affect the yield of integrated circuits fabricated on the wafer. As critical dimensions for semiconductor manufacturing are shrinking, defining wafer characteristics and specifications for the corresponding semiconductor devices is crucial for yield enhancement and smart manufacturing. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of existing studies have investigated the relationship between wafer characteristics and process variables. Focusing on the needs in real settings, this study aims to develop an advanced quality control (AQC) solution for raw wafers for yield enhancement in advance, in which the UNISON framework is employed to derive the optimal raw material specifications for different products. For validation, an empirical study was conducted in a leading semiconductor fab to derive rules to effectively improve the quality indices including defect count, overlay errors, anti-contamination capability, and yield. The results have shown practical viability of the proposed AQC approach as associated effort to enhance existing approaches including advanced process/equipment control (APC/AEC). Indeed, the developed solution is implemented in real settings as partial effort for enabling Industry 3.5.

中文翻译：

---

用于提高智能制造良率的硅晶片规格的高级质量控制

硅晶片是半导体制造的关键原材料。晶圆特性和规格会影响在晶圆上制造的集成电路的良率。随着半导体制造的关键尺寸不断缩小，为相应的半导体器件定义晶圆特性和规格对于提高良率和智能制造至关重要。然而，据我们所知，现有的研究都没有研究过晶圆特性与工艺变量之间的关系。本研究着眼于实际环境中的需求，旨在为原始晶圆开发先进的质量控制（AQC）解决方案以提前提高良率，其中采用 UNISON 框架来推导出不同产品的最佳原材料规格。为了验证，在一家领先的半导体晶圆厂进行了一项实证研究，以推导出有效提高质量指标的规则，包括缺陷计数、重叠错误、抗污染能力和良率。结果表明，所提议的 AQC 方法在增强现有方法（包括先进工艺/设备控制 (APC/AEC)）方面的相关努力具有实际可行性。事实上，开发的解决方案是在实际环境中实施的，作为实现工业 3.5 的部分努力。结果表明，所提议的 AQC 方法在增强现有方法（包括先进工艺/设备控制 (APC/AEC)）方面的相关努力具有实际可行性。事实上，开发的解决方案是在实际环境中实施的，作为实现工业 3.5 的部分努力。结果表明，所提议的 AQC 方法在增强现有方法（包括先进工艺/设备控制 (APC/AEC)）方面的相关努力具有实际可行性。事实上，开发的解决方案是在实际环境中实施的，作为实现工业 3.5 的部分努力。