The tolerances involved in semiconductor manufacture leave little room for error.
Chemical-mechanical planarization, alignment of lithography and other dimensional controls are watched very closely by semiconductor manufacturers. Anything that does not meet the highest quality standards is rejected. You either get it right the first time or eat the costs of rejects.
The cost of not achieving specifications is why makers of semiconductor devices are always on the lookout for products and expertise that can help them create product consistency without fail. WaferState Controls is a leader in helping these companies get the same product every time with negligible variation and minimal waste.
WaferState eliminated debugging cycles by using NAG code.
WaferState's FabRunner™ Software lets users select pairings of different filters and controllers tailored to specific manufacturing problems. NAG routines for process controllers are at the core of this program, allowing users to cast solutions of control problems as either quadratic programs or non-linear programs, as needed.
FabRunner users are unaware that components from NAG libraries are at work, but they quickly learn to trust the accuracy of the software to solve their manufacturing control problems.
Why Use NAG Components?
Tony Mullins, President of WaferState Controls Inc. and supervisor of the development of the company's software products, reports that WaferState saved several man-months of effort by relying on NAG for core numerical functionality in its products.
"As a small company, we can't get involved in products requiring heavy support. But, this increased reliability from using tested software components gives us the confidence to sell the product worldwide without fear that support requirements will consume us. We receive fewer field complaints due to low level coding errors. This means our support costs are significantly less."
"The reasonable NAG licensing cost structure combined with the high reliability of NAG code made the decision clear."
