Basic Principles for Managing Foundry Programs

This tutorial describes the key organizations and people involved in a typical foundry program and discusses the importance of establishing a strong engineering and logistical interface between foundry and customer. The steps in assessing foundries and making a final selection are discussed. Also covered are the steps in going from an initial design to production status including establishing appropriate yield targets. Case histories of some actual foundry programs are given to illustrate situations in which positive and less than positive results were achieved. The relationship between wafer sort yield and product reliability is also discussed.