It seems only fitting that, as exploding electrical content and computing power enable the digitalization of industry, so should those capabilities facilitate the digitalization of semiconductor manufacturing. Through a partnership with a center focused on accelerating commercialization of smart sensors, imagers, advanced devices and 2.5D/3D chip integration, Siemens PLM Software is driving development of digital twin technologies for the semiconductor industry.
Siemens’ partnership with Bridg—a not-for-profit, industry-led, public-private organization with one of the world’s most flexible and adaptable fabrication facilities—is geared toward creating the first digital enterprise implementation in semiconductor manufacturing. Siemens PLM will provide an in-kind software grant valued at more than $30 million for the Bridg wafer fab in NeoCity, Fla.
The new Bridg Digital Enterprise site will feature the complete Siemens product lifecycle management (PLM) portfolio, encompassing requirements management, product design, simulation, manufacturing and yield management, and product performance analytics. Manufacturers in the semiconductor industry can use this suite to help improve manufacturing throughput, improve product quality and reduce costs.
“The opportunity for Bridg to team with Siemens to lead the semiconductor industry in the digital mapping of the device building blocks associated with the manufacturing of advanced microelectronics is tremendous,” said Chester Kennedy, Bridg’s CEO. “This program will establish digital duplicates for model-based systems that lay the foundation for semiconductor design for manufacturing.”
The partnership will help Bridg develop its commercialization infrastructure, including capabilities for proof of concept, custom development and pilot production, Kennedy added, noting the existing Siemens relationship with Bridg’s visionary stakeholder, the University of Central Florida.
“Bridg is in a unique position to advance innovation in the semiconductor industry as well as other industries with their smart manufacturing wafer fabrication facility dedicated to new product launch in the IoT [Industry of Things] segment,” said Rob Rudder, vice president of Siemens PLM Software.
Initial software deployment includes the Tecnomatix portfolio for plant simulation, Camstar Semiconductor Suite and Calibre Design and Manufacturing Solutions. All three of these products came through companies that Siemens has acquired in the past decade—UGS, Camstar and Mentor Graphics, respectively.
Siemens has been making a huge push into the software space since 2007, with other acquisitions including Kineo CAM, Tesis PLMware, LMS, Polarion and CD-adapco. It’s a push to link conceptual to the real, creating a digital thread from initial concept design through manufacturing planning and execution through service and support.
Siemens’ acquisition of Mentor Graphics, which it completed less than a year ago, was a significant precursor to this partnership with Bridg. Now part of the Siemens PLM Software business, Mentor Graphics brought to the table design tool expertise in embedded electronics and integrated circuits (ICs), with Calibre as an industry leader in design verification.
Siemens’ Digital Enterprise Solutions can help semiconductor manufacturers improve manufacturing throughput, product quality and overall cost-effectiveness across the lifecycle of their products from ideation to realization and utilization. The use of a single source of configuration data across applications helps teams collaborate more effectively, which can reduce cycle times and improve overall throughput. The simulation of products with a digital twin, prior to actual manufacturing, can help companies eliminate future processing errors and improve their fabrication outputs. Change management, manufacturing execution software (MES) and yield management technology within the solution enable semiconductor manufacturers to more easily identify quality issues and their root causes in real time. Compressing the new product introduction (NPI) cycle and helping to eliminate disparate legacy systems can help save money and streamline system maintenance.
