Category: Science and Engineering >> Engineering Technology and Science
Problem description:
Each chip manufacturing company has many factories. Called Fab, such as TSMC's Fab7.
What does Fab mean?
What is the function of this kind of factory? Is it to complete the entire process from Wafer to CHIP or is it just a certain part of the function?
Thank you
Analysis:
? Recently, many brothers have talked about the semiconductor industry. As well as relevant information about SMIC, Grace and other companies.
Before many brothers step into or want to step into this industry, I think there is still a lot of knowledge and information that needs to be understood.
When the semiconductor manufacturing industry was just emerging, I joined SMIC and worked in its Fab for more than four years. After going through the entire process of establishing the SMIC production line, I have made many friends and dealt with many different types of customers. It can be considered as some small experience. During the break between work, I will slowly write these things out and share them with everyone.
Where to start? Let’s start with the industrial chain.
Where there is demand, there will be production and there will be a market.
Market demand (or potential market demand) changes very quickly, especially for consumer electronics products. This type of product is different from DRAM, and there will always be a large demand in the market. It is this ever-changing market demand that has given rise to two special semiconductor industries - Fab and Fab Less Design House.
This series of posts of mine will mainly talk about Fab, but at the beginning I will give you a basic understanding of things around Fab.
Companies like Intel and Toshiba have both design and production parts. Such a behemoth has extremely strong strength in the semiconductor industry. Similarly, companies like Infineon that focus on DRAM are also very prosperous. As for South Korea’s Samsung, it is a monster that does everything. These companies, they usually have their own design departments and produce their own products. Some people in the industry call this type of enterprise IDM.
However, with the development of technology, more transistors need to be integrated into smaller Chips, and the initial investment in Silicon Process has become very large. An 8-inch production line requires an investment of 700 to 800 million U.S. dollars; and a 12-inch production line requires an investment of 1.2 to 1.5 billion U.S. dollars. There are few companies in the world that can afford such investment, which limits the development of the chip industry. The high barriers to entry discourage many people who try to enter the design industry.
At this time, Taiwan’s semiconductor godfather Zhang Zhongmou created a new industry-foundry. He left TI and founded TSMC in Taiwan. TSMC does not do design. It only produces wafer for people who do design. In this way, the threshold is suddenly lowered. Just a few kids, as long as they raise a small amount of capital, can turn their designs into products. If the market still recognizes these products, then they will be prosperous. At the same time, Taiwan's UMC also joined this industry. This is what we call UMC. Their boss is Cao Xingcheng. ——As an aside, Lao Cao admired Zheng He very much for his seven voyages to the West, so he named the UMC Friendly Factory in Suzhou (anyone with a discerning eye would know at a glance that it was UMC sneaking away on the mainland) "Hejian Technology", and the factory area was The buildings are very unique, like a group of warships about to set sail.
---- Just say whatever comes to your mind, don’t be offended.
With the support of TSMC and UMC, the growth of Fab Less Design House is very impressive.
A small Design Group separated from UMC became the famous "Stock God" MediaTek. At that time, its VCD/DVD related chips became famous all over the world, and its stock price also rose incredibly. I know a Taiwanese wife who works as a support for MediaTek. She made NT$200 million from its stock in just four years and has never worked again.
The success of Fab Less Design House has surprised many people. Indeed, the cost of maintaining a Fab alone is too high, so many companies spin off their Fabs and do design alone.
Foundry focuses on the production of Wafer, while Fab Less Design House focuses on the design of Chip. This is the division of labor. No one can break the rules. If Fab Less Design House feels that it is too awesome and wants to build its own Fab to produce its own Chip, it will be attacked by Foundry. For example, UMC used patents and other methods to forcibly acquire a Fab Less Design House. The established Fab. And if Foundry does its own design, then Fab Less Design House will be confused - will its Pattern Design be stolen and used by the other party? As a result, Foundry's appeal has decreased, and it will be abandoned by Fab Less Design House when the industry is in decline.
Generally speaking, Fab Less Design House stands at the top of the industry chain. They have the largest profits. They have small investments, high risks, and large returns. Followed by Foundry (Fab), they can always have considerable profits. They have large investments, low risks, and medium benefits. Next is packaging and testing (Package & Testing), which has medium investment, low risk, and low return.
Of course, distributors in the circulation field are not included here. In fact, the distributor's income and investment are unimaginable and unmeasurable. I know a distributor who once sold MP3s for a 50% profit, but there were times when he lost all his money.
So the Design House is "not open for three years, and it lasts for three years after opening." Fab and packaging and testing are just hard money. For Fab, the same 0.18um 8-inch wafer has a similar price. At most, the price is calculated based on the number of different Metal layers. When it comes to packaging and testing, the price will be calculated based on the mode and number of pins used in the packaging. In this way, after Fab sells the wafer for US$1,200 and the Designer takes it away, the actual price it sells has nothing to do with Fab. It may be US$10,000 or even higher. But if the market doesn’t buy it, then Design House may be completely doomed, because its money may only be enough to transfer a few Lots to Fab.
My former boss once accidentally made a mistake at TSMC in Taiwan, and ended up losing a batch of goods, which resulted in the collapse of a Design House. Off topic - Fab's younger brothers and sisters were very angry when they saw the advertisement of M-Zone. They said "it's okay to just do it". Isn't this embarrassing? It's okay. After a MO (Miss Operation), a batch of 25 pieces lost more than 20,000 US dollars, all the bonuses were deducted, and then he was fired.
In SMIC, an engineer I led, MO, caused a Turtle Design House to close its doors and let the dogs out. This guy was very unhappy and moved to a packaging factory, but now he is doing well.
So now everyone should be relatively clear about Fab’s positioning.
Fab had a golden period, which was in the late 1990s.
For an ordinary engineer who has worked at TSMC for four years, one year's stock return is equivalent to 100 months' salary (basic salary), and from time to time the company broadcasts, "The general manager thanks everyone for their hard work and will give them an extra month's salary this month."
But after 2001, that is, since SMIC and other products started mass production in mainland China, due to price competition and market recession, the good times of Fab are gone. Returned. The high cost of factory construction and high cost depreciation have caused even Fabs like SMIC, which have a capacity utilization rate of 90%, to still lose money. As a result, the stock price has plummeted. In fact, not only SMIC, but also the stock prices of TSMC and UMC have also fallen sharply.
However, Fabs that have finished depreciation are living very well. For example, Advanced (ASMC), which is a 5-inch or 6-inch Fab, has finished depreciation long ago. How many fabrics can be built? No matter how much you earn, as long as you don't build a new factory and everyone shares the profits, your life will be very happy.
So according to the current situation in mainland China, basically all Fabs are building new factories. The conclusion is: Fab will not make money for a long time. , Fab's stock will not rise sharply, and Fab's engineers will not have excessive income.
Although it has been losing money, since the main reason for the loss is depreciation, Fab can always maintain positive cash flow. And there are a lot of them. So the conclusion is: Fab loses money, but it will never go bankrupt. If you go to work in a Fab, you don't have to worry about losing your job because the factory closes.
Let’s talk about Fab’s demand for talents.
Fab is something that has a demand for all kinds of talents. Regardless of arts, science or engineering, you can basically find a job in Fab. Even girls who are studying medicine have found positions as factory doctors in SMIC. There was a post by a TSMC engineer a long time ago. He said that Fab absorbs talents in all aspects. (Of course the disadvantage is that many talents are buried.) Interested netizens can go check it out.
Generally speaking, liberal arts graduates can apply for HR, legal, secretarial, accounting, import and export, purchasing, public relations and other positions in Fab factories. However, since they are in the support department, the salary for these positions is generally not very good. There are also some amazing MM choices
Some MMs who are customer engineers (CE) can actually become process engineers. I really admire them.
Graduates from science and engineering majors have a wide range of choices:
Graduates from computer and information majors can choose to work in IT. You can learn first-class CIM technology in the Fab factory, but because it is not taken seriously, many people leave after learning the skills.
Engineering graduates mostly work in equipment (EE). Generally speaking, making equipment is not a long-term solution. You can choose to make equipment for a few years and then switch to manufacturing processes, or you can become a vendor, which will make more money. Of course, there are a few people who have been making equipment and have developed well. It is not recommended to do factory work.
Materials and physics graduates tend to do process (PE). If you have a good boss, you can often do PE. It lasts for two years. Here are the following Now that I have my younger brother and younger sister, I don’t need to go to the Fab very often. If you are not happy with it, you can transfer it to PIE or TD,
or a manufacturer, which costs more.
Electronics graduates choose to do process integration, that is, Integration (PIE). This is the leading department in Fab, but if you have no experience at the beginning , easy to be fooled by PE. So if you want to be a PIE without experience
, you must follow an experienced PIE, regardless of whether he has a lower academic qualification than you.
All graduates with a master's degree or above should try to apply for TD positions. TD positions are less involved in miscellaneous things.
But you need to take the initiative at work, otherwise you will not learn anything and you will be easily scolded by people like PIE.
Those who are interested in packaging and testing in the future can choose to become a product engineer (PDE).
People who are interested in transitioning to Design can choose to do PIE or PDE.
People who like to deal with customers can choose to be a customer engineer CE. This position requires a good relationship with PIE, and their support is key.
People who have a tendency to abuse others and like to see others helpless may consider doing QE. It is so easy for QE brothers to put PIE/PE/EE/TD/PDE and the like. :)
The basic Fab structure is as follows:
Factory Director
--〉Integration
--〉LPIE
MPIE
p>
YE
WAT
BR
Module
-->CVD
PVD
CMP< /p>
PHOTO
ETCH
Diffusion
WET
IMP
MFG
-->MPC
TF
DIFF
PHOTO
ETCH
In addition, the relevant direct support departments include:
Facility
IE&PC
PIE in Fab is slightly better than PE and EE, compared to those in Fab There are fewer opportunities.
PIE has many main tasks, but in short they are closely related to products. SMIC Shanghai factory has two completely different products, DRAM and Logic, and the corresponding PIE responsibilities are also different.
Memory PIE (basically all in one factory) is usually managed in sections. Generally, someone is responsible for Isolation (FOX/STI), someone is responsible for Capacitance, someone is responsible for Transistor, and someone is responsible for Transistor. Backstage Interconnect. The overall division of labor is relatively clear, with a few senior engineers responsible for the entire process. Memory products usually have fewer types, larger total quantities, and fewer new products. There are two types of SMIC Memory: stack type and trench type, both of which are mass-produced in one factory.
Logic PIE (both factories have it) is the real Fab PIE. Generally speaking, if Fab wants to make money, Logic’s products must be popular. Logic PIE usually manages products by different technologies, such as 0.35um LG/MM/HS; 0.18um LG/MM/HS/SR; 0.13um LG/SR, etc. Logic has a wide variety of products, but the total quantity of each unit is generally not too large. If it can have a volume of 1,000pcs/month, it is already a relatively large customer. ——If you meet such a new customer, you can buy his stock and you will definitely make money.
The main work of Logic PIE usually falls into two categories: Maintain and NTO. The former is aimed at improving the yield and defect analysis of mass-produced products. The latter is mainly the development and mass production of new products. What are the specific tasks? For example, for NTO, there are Setup process flow, pirun, fab out report, defect reduction, yield ***ysis, customer meeting, ... etc.
In comparison, entering the fab is not the most important. The main work is analyzing data and writing reports.
Generally speaking, the working environment of Fab is relatively harsh, that refers to Module and MFG. Because PIE can enter the Fab less often, although PIE will be busier, the chances of being exposed to radiation and chemicals are much less.
Generally, if undergraduate graduates go to MFG, they will work as an online Super, leading the Leader and a group of girls to work. Unless you don't want to deal with technology anymore, don't go to MFG. Only those who want to do management in the future may still be interested, because MFG in different regions are interchangeable, and even manufacturing management in different industries is the same. Fab's MFG Supper can find relevant and suitable positions in packaging and testing factories, TFT/LCD factories, and all manufacturing enterprises. Dealing with people is the core of management, and at MFG, the most important thing is dealing with people. You will quarrel with EE, PE, and PIE. People in Q will hear about it. You can repair TD's brothers, but you will be less able to offend PC (Production Control). Brothers who like to quarrel may enjoy it, because MFG will basically not suffer any loss when quarreling with others.
There are three "firsts" in Fab: safety first, customers first, and MFG first. So as long as it has nothing to do with security or customers, MFG is the largest and can basically go sideways. The only advantage that PIE can compete with MFG is that they can use customers to pressure MFG. MFG speaks louder in terms of bonuses and other aspects. Generally speaking, bonuses are given to MFG first because they work the hardest. Supers at MFG need to work shifts, with two days off and two days off, 12-hour shifts. During breaks, they are dragged over to study, write reports, etc., so the average working time per week is at least 50 hours. Those who work the day shift are fine, but those who work the night shift will mess up their biological clocks. It would be better for MFG to make regular Super.
Brothers with a master’s degree or above are not recommended to go to MFG.