• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.17-21
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• 2022

In the case of the manufacturing industry that produces high-tech components such as semiconductors and large flat panel displays, the manufacturing space is made into a cleanroom to increase product yield and reliability, and various environmental factors have been managed to maintain the environment. Among them, airborne particle is a representative management item enough to be the standard for actual cleanroom grade, and a sequential particle monitoring system is usually used as one parts of the FMS (Fab or Facility monitoring system). However, this method has a problem in that the measurement efficiency decreases as the length of the sampling tube increases. In this study, in order to solve this problem, a multiple regression model was created. This model can correct the measurement error due to the decrease in efficiency by sampling tube length.

• Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.125-137
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• 2010

This study focuses on the problem of scheduling wafer lots of several product families in the deposition workstation in a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility. There are multiple identical parallel machines in the deposition workstation, and two types of setups, record-dependent setup and family setup, may be required at the deposition machines. A record-dependent setup is needed to find optimal operational conditions for a wafer lot on a machine, and a family setup is needed between processings of different families. We suggest two-phase heuristic algorithms in which a priority-rule-based scheduling algorithm is used to generate an initial schedule in the first phase and the schedule is improved in the second phase. Results of computational tests on randomly generated test problems show that the suggested algorithms outperform a scheduling method used in a real manufacturing system in terms of the sum of weighted flowtimes of the wafer lots.

• Korean Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.214-223
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• 2014

This paper presents a bottleneck detection framework using simulation approach in a wafer FAB (Fabrication). In a semiconductor manufacturing industry, wafer FAB facility contains various equipment and dozens kinds of wafer products. The wafer FAB has many characteristics, such as re-entrant processing flow, batch tools. The performance of a complex manufacturing system (i.e. semiconductor wafer FAB) is mainly decided by a bottleneck. This paper defines the problem of a bottleneck process and propose a simulation based framework for bottleneck detection. The bottleneck is not the viewpoint of a machine, but the viewpoint of a step with the highest WIP in its upstream buffer and severe fluctuation. In this paper, focus on the classification of bottleneck steps and then verify the steps are not in a starvation state in last, regardless of dispatching rules. By the proposed framework of this paper, the performance of a wafer FAB is improved in on-time delivery and the mean of minimum of cycle time.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.74-84
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• 2022

As the semiconductor industry develops, the difficulty of newly required process technology becomes difficult, and the importance of production yield and product reliability increases. As an effort to minimize yield loss in the manufacturing process, interests in the process defect process for facility diagnosis and defect identification are continuously increasing. This research observed the plasma condition changes in the multi oxide/nitride layer deposition (MOLD) process, which is one of the 3D-NAND manufacturing processes through optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and monitored the result of whether the change in plasma characteristics generated in repeated deposition of oxide film and nitride film could directly affect the film. Based on these results, it was confirmed that if a change over a certain period occurs, a change in the plasma characteristics was detected. The change may affect the quality of oxide film, such as the film thickness as well as the interfacial surface roughness when the oxide and nitride thin film deposited by plasma enhenced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.25-42
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• 2019

The government announced that it would ask the contractors not only the supplier but also the contractors to take the same responsibilities if they did not observe industrial accident safety measures from 2019. The semiconductor manufacturing process belongs to the representative disaster industry group in which the facility is directly located inside a closed space called clean room. According to previous studies, the semiconductor industry group used checklists for safety management of their suppliers. This study has developed a model for assessing suppliers by constructing a quantitative checklist item through the risk assessment methodology, laws and regulations. The evaluation model of the supplier set up through this study becomes the safety management standard in the semiconductor industry. Furthermore, it is applied to the partner companies in the operation of ISO 14001, 45001, I would like to apply it as a measure of performance management for CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.28-34
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• 2022

Since semiconductor factories are located in densely populated areas, safe handling of hazardous materials handled in the manufacturing process is of utmost importance. In particular, the types of hazardous substances discharged after handling in the semiconductor manufacturing process are very diverse, and the treatment methods such as combustion, absorption and adsorption methods for each material are very complicated. Therefore, in recent semiconductor exhaust treatment processes, two or more treatment methods are applied to one treatment facility, and unexpected accidents occur due to the application of such a complex treatment method. In this study, the cause of accidents in treatment facilities that applied both the scrubber method and the electrostatic precipitation method, which are recent accident cases, are identified, and preventive measures are suggested to find out the points to be noted when applying the complex treatment method.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.85-111
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• 2016

Global semiconductor companies is investing enormous capital worldwide. And direct investment in China is increasing greatly these days, Especially, global semiconductor companies are setting up a factory in China due to expanding market rather than utilizing low labor cost. Therefore, this study is trying to analyze the background and process of direct investment from global Korean and Taiwanese semiconductor companies in China. Firstly, In 1996, Samsung semiconductor established a back end process factory in Suzhou. And in 2014, Samsung semiconductor set up a front and back end factory in Xian. Secondly, In 2006, SK Hynix built a front and back end factory in Wuxi. and SK Hynix set up a back end factory named Hitech semiconductor with Chinese company in 2009. Later in 2015, SK Hynix established a back end factory in Chongqing. Thirdly, In 2004, TSMC started to operate a factory in Shanghai, and in 2018, TSMC is going to establish a factory in Nanjing. Lastly, UMC bought a stock to produce product in Chinese local company named HJT, and at the end of 2016, UMC is going to finish building a factory in Xiamen. As a result, it was proved that most companies hoped to expand the chinese market by setting up a factory in china. In addition, Samsung expected to avoid a risk by setting up a factory in china, and SK Hynix wanted to avoid a countervailing duty by setting up a factory in china. Based on the result of this study, this study indicates some implications for other semiconductor companies which are very helpful for their future foreign direct investment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.202-210
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine clean room(C/R) structure, air conditioning and contamination control systems and to provide basic information for identifying a correlation between the semiconductor work environment and workers' disease. Methods: This study was conducted at 200 mm and 300 mm semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities. The C/R structure and air conditioning method were investigated using basic engineering data from documentation for C/R construction. Furthermore, contamination parameters such as airborne particles, temperature, humidity, acids, ammonia, organic compounds, and vibration in the C/R were based on the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors(ITRS). The properties of contamination control systems and the current status of monitoring of various contaminants in the C/R were investigated. Results: 200 mm and 300 mm wafer fabrication facilities were divided into fab(C/R) and sub fab(Plenum), and fab, clean sub fab and facility sub fab, respectively. Fresh air(FA) is supplied in the plenum or clean sub fab by the outdoor air handling unit system which purifies outdoor air. FA supply or contaminated indoor air ventilation rates in the 200 mm and 300 mm wafer fabrication facilities are approximately 10-25%. Furthermore, semiconductor clean rooms strictly controlled airborne particles(${\leq}1,000{\sharp}/ft^3$), temperature($23{\pm}0.5^{\circ}C$), humidity($45{\pm}5%$), air velocity(0.4 m/s), air change(60-80 cycles/hr), vibration(${\leq}1cm/s^2$), and differential pressure(atmospheric pressure$+1.0-2.5mmH_2O$) through air handling and contamination control systems. In addition, acids, alkali and ozone are managed at less than internal criteria by chemical filters. Conclusions: Semiconductor clean rooms can be a pleasant environment for workers as well as semiconductor devices. However, based on the precautionary principle, it may be necessary to continuously improve semiconductor processes and the work environment.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.74-81
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• 2020

In general, when manufacturing a semiconductor, a number of hazardous and dangerous substances such as flammability, toxic, and corrosiveness are used. In particular, semiconductors are manufactured using specialty gas in processes such as CVD and etching. The specialty gas is filled in a container in the state of compressed or liquefied gas, and a gas cylinder cabinet is used as a facility for supplying this specialty gas to the semiconductor manufacturing process. When a accident occurs in the gas supply system, gas is released through a pressure release device installed in the gas cylinder to secure the safety of the supply system. In this case, the gas released inside the gas cabinet, there is a risk of leaking to the outside. After that, by analyzing the gas flow in the gas cabinet, it is intended to identify the risk associated with leak and to provide measures to prevent accidents.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.39-51
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• 2011

Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate exposure levels of various chemicals used in wafer fabrication product lines in the semiconductor industry where work-related leukemia has occurred. Methods: The research focused on 9 representative wafer fabrication bays among a total of 25 bays in a semiconductor product line. We monitored the chemical substances categorized as human carcinogens with respect to leukemia as well as harmful chemicals used in the bays and substances with hematologic and reproductive toxicities to evaluate the overall health effect for semiconductor industry workers. With respect to monitoring, active and passive sampling techniques were introduced. Eight-hour long-term and 15-minute short-term sampling was conducted for the area as well as on personal samples. Results: The results of the measurements for each substance showed that benzene, toluene, xylene, n-butyl acetate, 2-methoxy-ethanol, 2-heptanone, ethylene glycol, sulfuric acid, and phosphoric acid were non-detectable (ND) in all samples. Arsine was either "ND" or it existed only in trace form in the bay air. The maximum exposure concentration of fluorides was approximately 0.17% of the Korea occupational exposure limits, with hydrofluoric acid at about 0.2%, hydrochloric acid 0.06%, nitric acid 0.05%, isopropyl alcohol 0.4%, and phosphine at about 2%. The maximum exposure concentration of propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA) was 0.0870 ppm, representing only 0.1% or less than the American Industrial Hygiene Association recommended standard (100 ppm). Conclusion: Benzene, a known human carcinogen for leukemia, and arsine, a hematologic toxin, were not detected in wafer fabrication sites in this study. Among reproductive toxic substances, n-butyl acetate was not detected, but fluorides and PGMEA existed in small amounts in the air. This investigation was focused on the air-borne chemical concentrations only in regular working conditions. Unconditional exposures during spills and/or maintenance tasks and by-product chemicals were not included. Supplementary studies might be required.