Process Development Execution System
Encyclopedia
A Process Development Execution System (PDES) is a system
which is used by companies to perform development activities for high-tech manufacturing
processes. A PDES is similar to a Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) in several ways. The key distinguishing factor of a PDES is that it is tailored for steering the development of a manufacturing process, while MES is tailored for executing the volume production using the developed process. Therefore, the toolset and focus of a PDES is on lower volume but higher flexibility and experimentation freedom. The tools of an MES are more focused on less variance, higher volumes, tighter control and logistics. Both types of application software
increase traceability
, productivity
, and quality of the delivered result. For PDESs quality refers to the capability of the process to perform without failure under a wide range of conditions, i.e. the robustness of the developed manufacturing process. For MESs quality refers to the quality of the manufactured good (economics and accounting)
/commodity. Additionally both software types share functions including equipment tracking, product
genealogy, labour and item tracking, costing, electronic signature
capture, defect
and resolution monitoring, Executive Dashboards, and other various reporting solutions. Other rather similar software categories are Production Information Management System (PIMS), Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) and Laboratory Information System
(LIS). PDESs’ offer a wider set of functionalities e.g. virtual manufacturing techniques, while they are typically not integrated with the equipment in the laboratory.
PDESs have many parts and can be deployed on various scales - from simple Work in Progress
tracking, to a complex solution integrated throughout an enterprise development infrastructure. The latter conncets with other enterprise systems like Enterprise Resource and Planning System
s (ERPs), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MESs), Product Lifecycle Management
(PLM), Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition
(SCADA) solutions and Scheduling and Planning System
s (both long-term and short-term tactical).
sensor
or actuator. A PDES offers an easy way to access these previous developments in a structured manner. Information can be retrieved faster, and previous results can be taken into account more efficiently. A PDES typically offers means to display and search for result data from different viewpoints, and to categorise the data according different aspects. These functionalities are applied to all result data
, such as materials, process steps, machines, experiments, documents and pictures. The PDES also provides a way to relate entities belonging to the same or similar context and to explore the resulting information.
In the assembly phase from process steps to process flows, a PDES can help to easily build, store, print, and transfer new process flows. By providing access to previously assembled process flows the designer is able to use those as building blocks or modules in the newly developed flow. The usage of standard building blocks can dramatically reduce the design time and the probability of errors.
A PDES demonstrates its real benefits in the verification phase. Knowledge
(for example in the semiconductor device fabrication - clean before deposition; After polymer spin-on no temperature higher than 100°C until resist is removed) takes on a form that can be interpreted by a computer; they can be expressed in rules. If a domain expert enters the rules for his/her process steps, all engineers can later refer to them to check newly developed process flows. For a PDES, this means it has to be able to
The processing rule check gives no indication about the functionality or even the structure of the produced good or device. In the area of semiconductor device fabrication, the techniques of semiconductor process simulation
/ TCAD
can provide an idea about the produced structures. To support this ’virtual fabrication’, a PDES is able to manage simulation models for process steps. Usually the simulation results are seen as standalone data, to rectify this situation PDESs' are also able to manage the resulting files in combination with the process flow. This enables the engineer to easily compare the expected results with the simulated outcome. The knowledge gained from the comparison can again be used to improve the simulation model.
After virtual verification the device is produced in an experimental fabrication environment. A PDES allows a transfer of the process flow to the fabrication environment (for example in semiconductor: FAB). This can be done by simply printing out a runcard for the operator or by interfacing to the Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) of the facility. On the other hand a PDES is able to manage and document last minute changes to the flow like parameter adjustments during the fabrication.
During and after processing a lot of measurements are taken. The results of these measurements are often produced in the form of files such as images or simple text files containing rows and columns of data. The PDES is able to manage these files, to link related results together, and to manage different versions of certain files, for example reports. Paired with flexible text, and graphical retrieval and search methods, a PDES provides the mechanism to view and assess the accumulated data, information and knowledge from different perspectives. It provides insight into both the information aspects as well as the time aspects of previous developments.
Increasingly development activities within industry are a collaborative effort. This leads to the need to exchange the information between the partners or to transfer process intellectual property
from a vendor to a customer. PDESs' support this transfer while being selective to protect the IPR of the company.
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
which is used by companies to perform development activities for high-tech manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
processes. A PDES is similar to a Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) in several ways. The key distinguishing factor of a PDES is that it is tailored for steering the development of a manufacturing process, while MES is tailored for executing the volume production using the developed process. Therefore, the toolset and focus of a PDES is on lower volume but higher flexibility and experimentation freedom. The tools of an MES are more focused on less variance, higher volumes, tighter control and logistics. Both types of application software
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
increase traceability
Traceability
Traceability refers to the completeness of the information about every step in a process chain.The formal definition: Traceability is the ability to chronologically interrelate uniquely identifiable entities in a way that is verifiable....
, productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
, and quality of the delivered result. For PDESs quality refers to the capability of the process to perform without failure under a wide range of conditions, i.e. the robustness of the developed manufacturing process. For MESs quality refers to the quality of the manufactured good (economics and accounting)
Good (economics and accounting)
In economics, a good is something that is intended to satisfy some wants or needs of a consumer and thus has economic utility. It is normally used in the plural form—goods—to denote tangible commodities such as products and materials....
/commodity. Additionally both software types share functions including equipment tracking, product
Product (business)
In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced...
genealogy, labour and item tracking, costing, electronic signature
Electronic signature
An electronic signature, or e-signature, is any electronic means that indicates either that a person adopts the contents of an electronic message, or more broadly that the person who claims to have written a message is the one who wrote it . By comparison, a signature is a stylized script...
capture, defect
Defect
- Geometry and physical sciences :* Defect , a characteristic of a polyhedron* Topological defect* Isoperimetric defect* Crystallographic defect, a structural imperfection in a crystal- Pop music :* The Defects, Northern-Irish punk rock band...
and resolution monitoring, Executive Dashboards, and other various reporting solutions. Other rather similar software categories are Production Information Management System (PIMS), Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) and Laboratory Information System
Laboratory information system
A lab information system is a class of software that receives, processes, and stores information generated by medical laboratory processes. These systems often must interface with instruments and other information systems such as hospital information systems...
(LIS). PDESs’ offer a wider set of functionalities e.g. virtual manufacturing techniques, while they are typically not integrated with the equipment in the laboratory.
PDESs have many parts and can be deployed on various scales - from simple Work in Progress
Work in progress
Work in progress may refer to:-Film:* A Work in Progress, a documentary film of the recording of Rush's Test for Echo album* Work in Progress , a computer-animated short film-Music:* Work in Progress , by Man Alive...
tracking, to a complex solution integrated throughout an enterprise development infrastructure. The latter conncets with other enterprise systems like Enterprise Resource and Planning System
Enterprise resource planning
Enterprise resource planning systems integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization, embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management, etc. ERP systems automate this activity with an integrated software application...
s (ERPs), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MESs), Product Lifecycle Management
Product lifecycle management
In industry, product lifecycle management is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal...
(PLM), Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition
SCADA
SCADA generally refers to industrial control systems : computer systems that monitor and control industrial, infrastructure, or facility-based processes, as described below:...
(SCADA) solutions and Scheduling and Planning System
Automated planning and scheduling
Automated planning and scheduling is a branch of artificial intelligence that concerns the realization of strategies or action sequences, typically for execution by intelligent agents, autonomous robots and unmanned vehicles. Unlike classical control and classification problems, the solutions are...
s (both long-term and short-term tactical).
Example: PDES usage during semiconductor device development
New ideas for manufacturing processes (for new goods/commodities or improved manufacturing) are often based on, or can at least benefit from, previous developments and recipes already in use. The same is true when developing new devices, for example, a MEMSMicroelectromechanical systems
Microelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...
sensor
Sensor
A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...
or actuator. A PDES offers an easy way to access these previous developments in a structured manner. Information can be retrieved faster, and previous results can be taken into account more efficiently. A PDES typically offers means to display and search for result data from different viewpoints, and to categorise the data according different aspects. These functionalities are applied to all result data
Data
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
, such as materials, process steps, machines, experiments, documents and pictures. The PDES also provides a way to relate entities belonging to the same or similar context and to explore the resulting information.
In the assembly phase from process steps to process flows, a PDES can help to easily build, store, print, and transfer new process flows. By providing access to previously assembled process flows the designer is able to use those as building blocks or modules in the newly developed flow. The usage of standard building blocks can dramatically reduce the design time and the probability of errors.
A PDES demonstrates its real benefits in the verification phase. Knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
(for example in the semiconductor device fabrication - clean before deposition; After polymer spin-on no temperature higher than 100°C until resist is removed) takes on a form that can be interpreted by a computer; they can be expressed in rules. If a domain expert enters the rules for his/her process steps, all engineers can later refer to them to check newly developed process flows. For a PDES, this means it has to be able to
- manage rules
- connect rules with Boolean terms (and, or, not) and
- to check process flows using these rules. This rule check verifies the principle manufacturability of a newly designed manufacturing flow.
The processing rule check gives no indication about the functionality or even the structure of the produced good or device. In the area of semiconductor device fabrication, the techniques of semiconductor process simulation
Semiconductor process simulation
Semiconductor process simulation is the modeling of the fabrication of semiconductor devices such as transistors. It is a branch of electronic design automation, and part of a sub-field known as technology CAD, or TCAD....
/ TCAD
Technology CAD
Technology CAD is a branch of electronic design automation that models semiconductor fabrication and semiconductor device operation. The modeling of the fabrication is termed Process TCAD, while the modeling of the device operation is termed Device TCAD...
can provide an idea about the produced structures. To support this ’virtual fabrication’, a PDES is able to manage simulation models for process steps. Usually the simulation results are seen as standalone data, to rectify this situation PDESs' are also able to manage the resulting files in combination with the process flow. This enables the engineer to easily compare the expected results with the simulated outcome. The knowledge gained from the comparison can again be used to improve the simulation model.
After virtual verification the device is produced in an experimental fabrication environment. A PDES allows a transfer of the process flow to the fabrication environment (for example in semiconductor: FAB). This can be done by simply printing out a runcard for the operator or by interfacing to the Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) of the facility. On the other hand a PDES is able to manage and document last minute changes to the flow like parameter adjustments during the fabrication.
During and after processing a lot of measurements are taken. The results of these measurements are often produced in the form of files such as images or simple text files containing rows and columns of data. The PDES is able to manage these files, to link related results together, and to manage different versions of certain files, for example reports. Paired with flexible text, and graphical retrieval and search methods, a PDES provides the mechanism to view and assess the accumulated data, information and knowledge from different perspectives. It provides insight into both the information aspects as well as the time aspects of previous developments.
Increasingly development activities within industry are a collaborative effort. This leads to the need to exchange the information between the partners or to transfer process intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
from a vendor to a customer. PDESs' support this transfer while being selective to protect the IPR of the company.
See also
- MicrofabricationMicrofabricationMicrofabrication is the term that describes processes of fabrication of miniature structures, of micrometre sizes and smaller. Historically the earliest microfabrication processes were used for integrated circuit fabrication, also known as "semiconductor manufacturing" or "semiconductor device...
- Manufacturing Process ManagementManufacturing Process ManagementManufacturing process management is a collection of technologies and methods used to define how products are to be manufactured. MPM differs from ERP/MRP which is used to plan the ordering of materials and other resources, set manufacturing schedules, and compile cost data.A cornerstone of MPM is...
- Manufacturing Execution System (MES)
- Semiconductor device fabrication
- Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
- Laboratory information system (LIS)Laboratory information systemA lab information system is a class of software that receives, processes, and stores information generated by medical laboratory processes. These systems often must interface with instruments and other information systems such as hospital information systems...
- Microelectromechanical systemsMicroelectromechanical systemsMicroelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...
- Production Information Management System (PIMS)