Edwards Launches EdCentra Sub-fab Management System
Edwards, one of the world's largest manufacturers of integrated vacuum and abatement solutions, has announced new EdCentra sub-fab fault detection and classification (FDC) software. EdCentra is an equipment monitoring, data acquisition and analytics platform that collects, integrates, and analyses operational data from the sub-fab to maintain constant performance.
"Just as manufacturers have adopted advanced monitoring and data analytics to optimise fab operations, they are finding significant benefit in applying the same techniques to sub-fab operations," said Geoffrey Stoddart, Global Marketing Director, Semiconductor Service division, Edwards. "For example, the vacuum state can affect wafer quality and overall fab costs through its effect on yield, or through losses incurred from unplanned vacuum failures during wafer processing. EdCentra provides valuable data about pump performance and predictive maintenance, helping to maximise tool uptime."
EdCentra replaces FabWorks and features many new and improved sub-fab management capabilities, enabled by its intuitive, graphical, and fully-customizable user interface. It allows the sub-fab equipment operator, fab process engineer or operations manager to have a comprehensive real-time overview of the state of the equipment, and with just a few mouse clicks, quickly drill down to single device-level information. A comprehensive historical trend analysis enables rapid root-cause-analysis of failure modes through an easy on-screen graphical trend comparison across multiple tools and parameters. Advanced functionalities include: parameter threshold monitoring and predictive maintenance, for process-specific monitoring, as well as facilitating condition-based maintenance and maintenance pooling.
EdCentra has been designed to provide fast, targeted implementation of new market and customer requirements and seamless addition of new and critical sub-fab equipment monitoring trends. The system can anticipate new types of databases, communication protocols and data management ecosystems.
Stoddart, added, "EdCentra is ready for the future. It incorporates our global equipment and process know-how, and through its monitoring, advanced diagnostics, and predictive capabilities, provides our customers with the peace of mind that their sub-fab infrastructure is well-maintained and ready to deliver constant process and yield performance."
