Optimzing Engineering and Production Lots During Product Transitions in Semiconductor Manufacturing

Abstract

The adverse impact of new product introductions on the performance of semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities (fabs) is widely acknowledged. In this paper, we develop a simulation model of a simplified production system that captures the impact of a new product introduction and the learning effects of production and engineering activities on the total system throughput. We use a simulation optimization procedure utilizing a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to obtain near optimal releases of production and engineering lots that maximize total contribution over the planning horizon. Numerical experiments provide insights into the structure of optimal release policies and illustrate the improvements that can be achieved through the strategic use of engineering lots.