Cycle Time: Cycle time is the total time taken from a lot start of blank silicon wafers

into the fabrication process until the fabrication of the devices on the wafers is
complete. Cycle time is especially important in the semiconductor industry is
because prices of products are the highest in the early part of their lifecycle,
therefore earning the most revenue. Cycle time also affects other aspects such as
yield and qualification of products and tools. To improve yield, more knowledge
concerning the process has to be attained, of which the analysis can only be done
only after a lot has went through the full process. Therefore, cycle time directly
affects the learning speed of the process. Products and tools also have to be
qualified before entering the market and being released for production respectively.
Hence, the speed of qualification heavily depends on cycle time which affects how
fast the production or test lots are able to undergo analysis.
Misprocess: Misprocesses are deviations during wafer fabrication mainly arising due
to human processing errors. This often results in downgrading, reworking or wafer
loss (scrap). If a misprocessed wafer is allowed to continue down the production
process, many redundant and costly processing might be needed. As a result, wafer
misprocessing can have significant economic impact for the company. Therefore,
certain methodologies and steps are taken to reduce or eliminate the risk of wafer
misprocess.