Method of weighted combination specs for enhanced manufacturing yield

a manufacturing yield and combination spec technology, applied in the field of manufacturing processes, can solve the problems of undesired skew (weight) of some performance parameters over others, low hga component yield, and no systematic approach to address the interdependence of those spec parameters, so as to enhance the downstream product yield and performance without significantly affecting the yield of components, and enhance the yield of components without significantly affecting the yield of downstream products.

US20060111869A1Inactive Publication Date: 2006-05-25WESTERN DIGITAL TECH INC
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
US · United States
Patent Type
Applications(United States)
Current Assignee / Owner
Publication Date
2006-05-25
Estimated Expiration
Not applicable · inactive patent

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Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide methods for enhancing the downstream product yield without significantly affecting the yield of components from which downstream products are made or enhancing yield of the components without significantly affecting the downstream product yield and performance. In one embodiment, a method comprises obtaining a failure rate of the downstream manufacturing process as a function of each of a plurality of component performance parameters of the current manufacturing process of the component; optimizing weighted factors based on correlation between the current manufacturing process of the component and the downstream product, the weight factors each corresponding to one of the plurality of component performance parameters; and calculating figure of merits (FOM) with respect to the plurality of component performance parameters of the current manufacturing process of the component, the FOM including the weighted factors.
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Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] NOT APPLICABLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to manufacturing processes and, more particularly, to improving the manufacturing yield using weighted combination specs.

[0003] Improving the manufacturing yield has obvious economic benefits. In the context of recording devices such as magnetic hard disk drive apparatuses, HGA (Head Gimbal Assembly) disposition in DET (Dynamic Electrical Testing) is performed mostly via wall specs of individual test parameters. To ensure outgoing HGA quality and HDD (hard disk drive as downstream product with multiple HGAs) yield, it is necessary to have a tight wall spec of individual test parameters using this approach, which leads to lower HGA component yield.

[0004] Efforts have been made to look into combining more than one DET parameters. There is, however, no systematic approach to address the interdependence of those spec parameters. As a result, the convention...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0023]FIG. 1 shows a flow diagram of a method of enhancing the manufacturing yield of a downstream product with respect to a current manufacturing process of a component according to an embodiment of the invention. For the current manufacturing process of the component, a number of performance parameters will affect the component yield. In the example of the HDD manufacturing process flow, the current manufacturing process may be for the HGA component and the downstream process may be for the HDD product. The initial parameter selection for the HGA manufacturing process may be based on DET methodology (for example, HDD / DET correlation and mechanism of device operation) and tester control (for example, repeatability). Statistical software tools can further fine-tune the parameter selection.

[0024] In step 102, the downstream product failure rate FR(xi) is correlated with each individual current process performance parameter (or component performance parameter). The yield is equal to ...