Analysis of energy efficiency improvement of high-tech fabrication plants

Abstract

In this study, we developed simulation software for the energy consumption of high-tech fabrication plants. The developed fab energy simulation (FES) featured more detailed characteristics of the subsystems than existing simulation tools. The calculated results of the FES were validated using the annual operating data of a Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing fab. The measured data indicated three major energy consumers in the studied fab—the process tool, water chiller and clean dry air systems. The annual consumption of electricity calculated with the FES showed a deviation of only −0.73% compared with the measured data. The calculated results exhibited an energy consumption trend that was very similar to the measured data, indicating the reliability of the FES. The FES results also demonstrated excellent agreement with the calculated results of the commercial tool ‘CleanCalc II’. Additionally, the FES was employed to study the energy consumption under different conditions. The results revealed that the energy consumption of the chiller system reduced significantly by 43.7% when the chiller system with a coefficient of performance of 8 was used. This reduction in the energy consumption corresponded to 10% of the total energy consumption in the fab, indicating significant energy-saving potential.

Integration and Application of the Fab Energy Simulation (FES) Tool and Energy Conversion Factors (ECF) for High-Tech Factories

“…This study complements our previous studies [6,7] and demonstrates the integration and application of the FES tool and the ECF calculator. The fab CDA system's ECF was 0.154 kWh/m 3 , which is approximately equivalent to the suggested value in SEMI S23-0813; however, the ECFs for the PCW, DIW, and the exhaust systems were significantly lower than the SEMI ECFs.…”

“…In addition to the energy use of the product process equipment, the energy consumption in a fab is generally from several parts, including the HVAC system, the exhaust system, PCW, UPW, CDA, nitrogen, vacuum, fans, pumps, process tools, and the lighting system. These facilities and materials are all considered in the FES, as described in a previous study [7]. Hu et al [6] developed a new ECF calculator, based on SEMI S23-0813, to understand the energy consumption in fabs with different operating conditions and/or scale.…”

“…The detailed description and mathematical models for the different systems are described in Refs. [6,7]. In the FES tool, the MAU system can be rearranged according to the needs or conditions of a fab, and three control methods can be employed for each component (i.e., dry-point temperature control, dew-point temperature control, and enthalpy control).…”

“…Manufacturers aim for every link to work efficiently, and they also seek possible energy savings to reduce production costs as well as to maintain competitiveness. Considering the issues raised above, the objective of this study, complementary to previous studies [6,7], is to integrate the fab energy simulation (FES) tool and energy conversion factor (ECF) to analyze the energy use of high-tech fabs. The energy performance of the utility system of a fab can be realized and therefore the specific influences on each system can be analyzed.…”

Energy-Optimal Structures of HVAC System for Cleanrooms as a Function of Key Constant Parameters and External Climate

“…Such studies address two issues: the optimization of the structure of the HVAC system or the optimization of control algorithms according to the energy criterion. The support tool here is software for determining energy consumption by the HVAC system of cleanrooms; significant results of work in this area were obtained by Hu et al [9][10][11]. In Reference [9], the authors presented a validated FES (Fab Energy Simulation) simulation tool to determine energy consumption in an application for a semiconductor manufacturing fab.…”