Large Scale Chemical Engineering Project Management

Introduction

In the microelectronics industry, manufacturing of substrates used to interconnect semiconductor devices frequently involve the use of complex photolithography and metal deposition processes. Processes include sputtering of base metals, resist application, resist exposure, developing, etching, plating and resist stripping. Processes may also include solder bumping of wafers and/or of substrates. These processes need to be scaled-up to support high volume manufacturing and process control schemes need to be implemented to ensure manufacturability and reliability.

In this case study, a large project management effort is described that consisted in transferring technology from a German factory to a sister Canadian facility. The process included surfaced preparation, electroless plating of both nickel and gold, RF ashing, Hydrogen diffusion and final inspection. As part of the project, an extension to an existing facility was needed, as well as the purchase, installation and qualification of equipment. The overall investment was of 20M USD.

Large scale information retrieval systems were setup to capture real-time performance data from all process steps and correlate with yield and test results. Sophisticated information systems were also implemented to ensure traceability.

Large scale project management tools such as Microsoft Project were used to manage costs, resources and timelines.

Challenges

In this case, the process was well established but additional capacity was needed to meet an ever increasing demand. Challenges included:

1. Project Schedule : The timeline was such that very little time remained for the integration, startup and qualification.
2. Scale-up : Although the process was already qualified, the project was a 3X scale-up. Metal deposition processes are notoriously difficult to scale-up.
3. Costs : Project costs were well defined and overrun were not acceptable

Expert Solution Provided

As a senior lead engineer for the project, the responsibilities of this consultant included :

1. The design, the installation and the start-up of an electroless nickel plating line, an electroless gold plating line, an iodine etching line, a surface preparation line and an electrolytic gold plating line. Overall capital equipment of 5M.
2. The design, installation and start-up of the waste management system.
3. Coordination of supplier engineers, mechanical and electrical contractors during the installation. More than 75 contractors on site at one time.
4. The implementation of a system to control the chemistry of etching, seeding and plating solutions was implemented in order to maintain the optimum ratio of key reactants. Simple techniques such as electrochemical potential probing, auto-titration and XRF thickness measurements were used and SPC charts were implemented for early trend detection. Online systems were installed and chemicals were automatically fed to the bath. Adjustments were kept small to eliminate any shocking effect. Yield data from downstream operations was back-correlated to the key process parameters. An offline lab was built-up and chemical technicians trained.
5. The manufacturing floor layout was developed and implemented.
6. Yield and reliability tests were performed as part of an overall technology qualification. The system was qualified and released to the manufacturing team.

The project was delivered on time and within cost allocation targets. Qualification was obtained as planned.

To see the resume of the expert associated with this case study, see the link below.