14
OPERATIONS
Design planning is the process by which
design plans are established and used by the
cross-functional teams to track critical project
milestones. These teams are composed of
design personnel and a designated cross-
functional Product Development Team consisting
of members from areas including quality, test,
marketing, applications and manufacturing.
Design Objective Specifications (DOS) document
the product design inputs. Review sessions
are conducted throughout the design process
to ensure that the DOS, as well as designs,
continue to meet all requirements.
The design validation process commences with
Manufacturing Review. This process outlines
tasks necessary for product development.
These tasks include the establishment of
characterization plans, test plans, qualification
plans, process description, product schedules,
validation plans, verification to quality
conformance requirements, process steps, test
procedures, and review of the compatibility of
the design to production processes. Product/
process development outputs also include:
Designation of special characteristics
Development of FMEAs
Establishment of actions to reduce
potential failure modes with higher risk
priority numbers
Development of control plans to identify
critical process steps and their associated
control specifications
Final reviews of simulation data, as well as
device performance data, are conducted
to determine if the product meets the
requirements of the product specification.
The reviews are held by the cross-functional
Product Development Team before the product
is released for first silicon manufacturing. After
“first silicon,” design validation is performed
to ensure that product conforms to defined
user needs and/or requirements. The intent of
this process is to ensure that products meet
specified requirements and that all quality
related activities are identified, planned for and
implemented. The resulting product plan is
documented through the Product Specification
Index (PSI).
Manufacturing Process
Once the product design and process have been
successfully validated, the product is formally
released to production. The generic wafer
fabrication, assembly and test flow is illustrated
in Figure 6. Specifications are maintained (and
are under revision control) for all fabrication,
assembly and test operations.
The wafer fabrication process consists of
several sub-processes. The general process
is as follows: A layer of oxide is grown on the
surface of a silicon wafer. Because the oxide
can be removed by etching, it provides a tool
for placing patterns (mask) onto the wafer and
selectively introducing the dopants required
by the specific device. After oxidation, a photo
resist chemical is dispensed on the wafer. The
wafer is aligned with the mask and exposed
to ultra-violet light to produce a pattern on the
wafer. The wafer is ‘etched’ to leave specific
areas of exposed silicon for implantation of
dopants to a prescribed concentration and
profiles. Dopants are further diffused into
the wafer by placing the wafers in furnaces
where heat is applied. A deposition process is
used to deposit a thin film of specific material
over the wafer for the purpose of isolation,
planarization, providing a conductive layer, or
adding a protective layer. The sub-process cycle
is repeated several times, depending on the
device under fabrication. The final fabrication
operation involves putting a protective seal
over the circuit by depositing a thin coating
of material over the entire wafer surface. The
completed wafers are sent to Map and Probe
for wafer level testing (failed die are identified).
After test, the wafers are packed and sent for
package assembly and test.
During assembly, individual good and bad die
are separated. Once the package type has
been determined, the die is attached to an
appropriate carrier (e.g., leadframe paddle for
plastic packages). The device is then processed
through wire bond, where thin wires of gold or
aluminum are used to connect the die bonding
pads to the package leads. Packages are then
sealed with a lid or molding compound and
marked with the part number and other product
identifiers. The packages are processed through
electrical test, quality control sample test and