Have you know that there are dummy wafer, test wafer and real films in fabs. What do these wafer films do?

Dummy Wafer

The English literal translation of dummy is "fake, simulated", and dummy wafer can also be called a fake film. Generally there is no graphics, or only several layers of graphics, the main application scenarios:

1, for the debugging and calibration of semiconductor equipment to ensure that the equipment is in optimal condition before formal production.

2. When introducing new process or adjusting existing process, test and optimize my tablets to reduce the risk caused to mass production tablets.

Test Wafer

The test sheet (engineering sheet) has a complete process containing a variety of graphics and structures. Main functions:

1. In the introduction process of new chip products, use test tablets to verify and optimize the manufacturing process of the new products, and finally achieve mass production.2. When process problems occur in the production line, do corresponding DOE test to improve the process.

Mass production of wafers

Mass production wafers are used for producing semiconductor devices that need to be shipped to customers. Mass production wafers are strictly controlled in the production process to ensure that the products meet customer requirements.

Why divide these types of wafers?

Mainly from the cost and the importance of the consideration. Cost / importance: mass production wafers> test wafer> dummy wafer. Mass production wafers are to be shipped to customers, which is the economic lifeline of the whole company, so to ensure that the mass production wafers are completed with high quality and high quantity. Process parameters, the process flow is relatively fixed. Any changes should be kept 100% safe. Therefore, some low cost, flexible dummy wafer, ENG wafer to avoid the waste of mass production wafers!

In the semiconductor industry, the main aspects we consider include cost and importance. For different types of wafers, the cost and importance are roughly ranked as follows: mass production wafers> test wafer> dummy wafer. First, the mass production of wafers is undoubtedly the company's economic lifeline. These wafers are shipped directly to customers, and their quality, quantity, and delivery time are directly related to the company's reputation and profits. Therefore, for the production task of mass production wafer, we must ensure high quality and high efficiency. Since the production process parameters and processes of mass production wafers have been strictly verified and optimized and relatively fixed, any slight changes may have a significant impact on the final product quality. Therefore, when adjusting the process parameters or processes, we must ensure 100% safety and avoid any possible risks. However, in the actual production process, we often need to conduct some。

By testing and testing on these wafers, we can collect a large amount of data to provide strong support for the subsequent mass production of wafers. In general, in terms of cost and importance, we need to make full use of low-cost and high-flexibility wafer types such as dummy wafer and ENG wafer for experiments and testing while ensuring high-quality and high-quantity production tasks. This can not only ensure the economic benefits of the company, but also provide strong support for technological innovation and product upgrading.