Process Control Applications in Advanced Manufacturing

In today’s highly competitive manufacturing landscape, efficiency, consistency, and adaptability are paramount. Nowhere is this more true than in semiconductor fabrication, where tolerances are tight, throughput is critical, and even the smallest defect can result in significant yield losses. At the heart of modern manufacturing excellence lies process control – a fundamental discipline focused on managing and optimising factory operations to ensure stability, quality, and repeatability.

What Is Process Control?

Process control refers to the use of monitoring systems, control algorithms, sensors, and automation to regulate manufacturing processes. Its core objective is to ensure that production stays within defined performance parameters, avoiding variability, waste, and rework.

Historically, industrial process control relied on fixed “recipes” – predefined instructions based on theoretical modelling or previous best outcomes. While effective in stable environments, such methods struggle to adapt to real-world variation: changes in environmental conditions, equipment ageing, supply chain disruptions, and human error can all degrade process performance.

Today’s manufacturing demands more than rigid parameters. It demands adaptive, intelligent systems capable of adjusting in real time to preserve – and improve – outcomes across a wide range of process types, from deposition and etching to dicing and inspection.

Why Process Control Matters in Semiconductor Manufacturing

Semiconductor fabrication is among the most complex and sensitive production environments on earth. Each wafer undergoes hundreds of process steps – from thin film deposition and photolithography to ion implantation, etching, polishing, and packaging. A minute variation in gas flow, temperature, humidity, or equipment performance can significantly affect the final product.

In this context, traditional control systems—such as PID controllers or static SPC (statistical process control) rules – offer limited agility. They may not detect subtle anomalies until yield suffers or downtime occurs. Nor do they learn or adapt as conditions evolve.

This is where advanced process control (APC) and real-time adaptive control enter the frame, offering manufacturers a powerful way to future-proof operations and enhance output quality. These technologies are no longer experimental – they are essential for fabs looking to reduce ramp time, scale quickly, and respond dynamically to change.

Introducing nControl™ by Nanotronics: Adaptive AI for Smart Process Control

At SiSTEM Technology, we are proud to partner with Nanotronics, pioneers in AI-powered manufacturing solutions. Their flagship process control platform, nControl™, represents a transformative leap in how manufacturers monitor, manage, and optimise their factory operations.

nControl™ is a generative AI system that ingests vast amounts of sensor and equipment data in real time. It uses deep learning and reinforcement learning algorithms to build a continuously evolving model of your production environment – learning how different variables affect yield, quality, and defectivity. Unlike traditional systems, it doesn’t just raise alarms; it predicts issues, proposes corrective actions, and can even automate those changes, all while production continues.

Whether you are depositing thin films via CVD or ALD, managing plasma etching, or dicing wafers with micron-level precision, nControl™ offers unmatched responsiveness and intelligence. The result? Greater consistency, reduced waste, shorter development cycles, and improved return on investment.

Key Applications of nControl™ in Process Control

nControl™ is specifically designed for high-value, precision manufacturing environments like semiconductor fabs. It provides measurable benefits across key process areas:

1. Deposition Control (CVD, MOCVD, ALD, PVD)

Control variables such as temperature, gas flow, and pressure to reduce variability in thin film thickness and stress. Adaptive models allow you to “learn” ideal process conditions for each reactor over time – responding to fluctuations faster than a human operator ever could.

2. Etching and Plasma Processing

Monitor and regulate plasma density, RF power, and gas chemistry in real time. nControl™ identifies minute deviations in ion beam quality or etch rate and adjusts parameters to prevent yield loss.

3. Wafer Dicing and Machining

Maintain consistent cut quality and feed speeds while reducing microcracking and tool wear. Live data from imaging and vibration sensors enable smart corrections to rotation speed, pressure, and alignment.

4. Photoresist Deposition and Coating

Humidity, temperature, and material viscosity all impact resist quality. nControl™ monitors these in real time and optimises spin speed, dispense volume, and bake profiles to achieve consistent results every time.

Real-Time Monitoring and Predictive Capability

nControl™ continuously tracks equipment performance, process trends, and environmental variables – giving you a clear, centralised view of your entire production system. It integrates easily with leading PLCs, SECS-GEM protocols, and industrial databases, offering plug-and-play compatibility without disrupting your current setup.

Its real-time KPI prediction engine lets you forecast the outcome of a batch – before it’s even finished. You can identify underperforming equipment, understand root causes of variation, and test “what-if” process changes in simulation – all from one intuitive platform.

A Smarter Path to Autonomous Manufacturing

The future of semiconductor manufacturing is autonomous, self-correcting, and data-driven. With nControl™, that future is already here. Whether you’re launching a new process, scaling a fab, or optimising legacy equipment, nControl™ brings next-generation process control to your fingertips – empowering your engineers, improving your yields, and safeguarding your competitiveness.