The problem with having too many semiconductor yield management systems

The purpose of having a yield management system is to save semiconductor manufacturing companies time and resources so they can improve yields and get to market faster. However, large semiconductor corporations can lose sight of this and end up with several yield management systems (YMS) that they have to juggle. 

This can place a burden on engineers as they struggle to keep on top of results while they switch from system to system. Keeping all these systems also requires more staff, resources, and training. 

The problem is it can be difficult to narrow it down to one solution. One of the reasons top semiconductor companies and ambitious startups choose yieldHUB is that it offers a one-stop shop that can help solve a wide range of yield management problems, with unrivaled speed.

Due to cloud technology, yieldHUB can be opened in a web browser which means you can analyze, store and keep track of your data across the whole company (across distances and time zones).

yieldHUB customer success engineer Carlo de Jesus speaks from experience when he says using too many yield analysis systems (or YMS) can put companies at a disadvantage. Carlo previously worked as a product engineer and has tried a number of yield analysis systems over the last eight years.

“Here’s an example of a problem I’ve encountered before, that I’m sure other engineers have found themselves in; During final test, I discovered a gross continuity failure that caused the yield limit to fail. Because the device is a strip test solution, the fail pattern on strip map data was one of the first analyses I needed to perform.

“In order to obtain this data, first I needed to extract the strip map pattern using one YMS tool and then extract the reading of the failing test using another YMS tool. This was extremely time-consuming and required a significant amount of resources on my part.

“If you’re using a few yield analysis systems it can take up to a day to get the data and then there’s the risk that the data is not going to be consistent.”

The customer success engineer said companies can save time and resources by having just one yield analysis system (or YMS) in place.

“Often, companies that use various yield management systems end up hiring a designated engineer for each system. By having one system companies can put time and resources into more productive tasks. 

“Other benefits to using one YMS include presentation and consistency of the results. With yieldHUB it just takes a few clicks to get everything, you can already see what’s in the top failing parameter on one specific issue. In my experience, yieldHUB is much faster than other solutions. 

“It can take a long time for engineers to be trained but the first time I used yieldHUB, I had already mastered it in a day with no guidance.”

Want to find out more? Contact one of our yield management experts today or request a free demo.