Group autonomy policy
One policy model for the group with per-fab override and approval chains. Recipe windows, limits and tool-state checks reviewed and versioned like code.
Enterprise
One policy. Every module. Every fab.
Multi-fab IDMs and foundries standardise on Waferira for the governance as much as the control: one autonomy policy with per-fab override, one IP-isolated audit trail, a fleet-managed fab edge, and process, device and yield models that stay private to each site.
Illustrative scenario: Module M2 · 300 mm · metal-1 · lot L-48213, one lot through metal-1, one approval gate
Enterprise features
What the Enterprise tier adds
Items marked planned follow the 6 to 12 month roadmap.
SSO, SCIM and parameter-level RBAC
Named approvers, role-based access down to the recipe parameter. Planned for the 6 to 12 month release.
Fab-edge fleet management
Model versions promoted by module with canary rollout and automatic fallback across every fab. On-prem control plane for IP-sensitive sites.
Custom process, device and yield models
Per-fab models built on the fab's own recipes, devices and outcomes and kept private to that tenant.
Cross-fab benchmarks
Yield, excursions, cycle time and virtual-metrology accuracy compared across fabs without moving recipes or designs across tenant boundaries. Data-network tiers are planned.
Dedicated engineer, SLAs
A dedicated deployment engineer, quarterly model review per fab and SLA terms set per agreement.
Deployment
Where it runs
The fab edge is always local and IP-isolated. The control plane can be cloud, on-prem or unreachable.
| Option | Fab edge | Control plane | For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud control plane | GPU nodes at the tool, inside the fab | Waferira cloud, per-tenant isolation | Fabs whose security review allows it; training stays per tenant |
| On-prem control plane | GPU nodes at the tool, inside the fab | In the fab's own data centre | IP-sensitive fabs and strict security reviews |
| Edge-only degradation | Tools stay on their own controllers and qualified recipes | Unreachable | What happens on any control-plane loss |
Enterprise
Standardise autonomy across the group
One policy model, one audit trail, one benchmark across every module in every fab, with the process, device and yield models kept private to each site.
- SSO and role-based access down to the recipe parameter, planned for the 6 to 12 month release
- Group-wide autonomy policy with per-fab override and approval chains
- Cross-fab benchmarking on yield, excursions, cycle time and virtual-metrology accuracy without moving recipes across tenants
- On-prem control plane and fab-edge deployment for IP-sensitive fabs
- Edge autonomy that survives control-plane loss by leaving each tool on its own controller and qualified recipe
- Dedicated deployment engineer and quarterly model review per fab
Run timeline · scenario
One scenario run, step by step
Every Waferira run is an ordered, inspectable sequence. This is run_7b2e9c on Module M2 · 300 mm · metal-1 · lot L-48213. Scenario completes in 10 steps with one approval gate. Overlay and CD predicted inside spec, one reticle-repeater signature caught and held for review, dispatch re-optimised, lot released with full genealogy.
run_7b2e9c
Module M2 · 300 mm · metal-1 · lot L-48213
illustrative scenario
SUCCEEDED
-
01
ingest.lot
SUCCEEDED
0.7 s
Fab Orchestrator · Pulled lot L-48213 from fab MES: 25 wafers, 300 mm, metal-1 layer, route, reticle, overlay and CD spec and the standing cycle-time target. Locked the target envelope for the run.
-
02
twin.simulate
SUCCEEDED
38 s
Fab Twin · Simulated 64 candidate correctable, recipe and dispatch sets on the as-run fab twin and ranked them on predicted overlay residual, CD uniformity, excursion risk and cycle time.
-
03
litho.correctables
SUCCEEDED
1 m 20 s
Litho-and-Overlay · Per-field overlay correctables and a focus-dose trim written to scanner SCN-07 over SECS/GEM after the previous lot's residual trended toward the control limit. Predicted overlay residual back inside spec.
-
04
etch.uniformity
SUCCEEDED
58 s
Etch-and-Depo · Chamber B on etcher ETCH-12 showed an edge-fast uniformity drift in FDC. Pressure and RF trims written within the qualified recipe window; predicted CD uniformity recovered.
-
05
cmp.removal
SUCCEEDED
46 s
CMP-and-Implant · Downforce and platen-speed trim on CMP-03 against the virtual removal-rate estimate to hold post-CMP thickness and dishing inside the window.
-
06
inspect.classify
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Defect-and-Inspect · Inline optical, e-beam review and SEM imagery fused at the tool edge. 1,412 events classified, most dispositioned nuisance; one reticle-repeater signature on three dies flagged for review.
-
07
vm.score
SUCCEEDED
2.1 s
Metrology-and-Virtual · Virtual metrology scored every wafer at post-etch and post-CMP from tool-sensor and FDC signatures. Two wafers routed to physical metrology on predicted variance; the rest sampled at plan.
-
08
approve.human
APPROVAL
1 m 04 s
Fab Orchestrator · The reticle-repeater signature called for a reticle inspection hold and a recipe move outside the qualified window. Held for the module process engineer and approved at 03:14:27.
-
09
dispatch.route
SUCCEEDED
4.3 s
Yield-and-Dispatch · Dispatch re-optimised across 1,840 lots in WIP under reticle, chamber and qualification constraints. The lot routed to the qualified chamber with the shortest predicted queue; AMHS move issued to the stocker.
-
10
lot.release
SUCCEEDED
1 m 05 s
Quality-and-Conformance · Lot L-48213 moved on: genealogy written (recipe moves, correctables, FDC signatures, VM scores, defect map, approvals) and checked against the layer spec.
Guardrails
An agent that can move a recipe needs a leash
Waferira writes to production tools over SECS/GEM. Every capability is scoped to a qualified recipe window, every write is policy-checked against tool state, and every action is written to an append-only, IP-isolated audit log the fab owns.
- Recipe bounds. Each agent writes only inside the qualified recipe window for that tool, with explicit per-parameter limits.
- Policy and tool-state checks before every write. Autonomy level, tool state, qualification, interlocks and shift are evaluated before a recipe moves.
- Human-in-the-loop gates. Holds, out-of-window moves and lot release wait for a named approver, with OCAP linkage on every excursion.
- Immutable, IP-isolated audit log. Append-only and exportable. Every action records source signals, retrieved procedures with citations, predicted impact, allowed range, rollback condition, approver and lot scope.
- Rollback. Declared rollback conditions return a recipe to its previous qualified version; loss of the edge node leaves the tool on its own controller and recipe.
- Tenant and IP isolation. Recipes, device designs, defect libraries and process memory never cross a customer boundary. Inference and feature storage stay at the fab edge; an on-prem control plane is available for IP-sensitive fabs.
Compliance posture
| Item | Scope | Status |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type I and fab-security review | Control plane | QUEUED Planned, first 6 months |
| SOC 2 Type II | Control plane | QUEUED Planned, 6 to 12 months |
| SSO and RBAC | Console and approvals | QUEUED Planned, 6 to 12 months |
| IP-isolation and security assurance package | Fab security and IT and OT review | QUEUED Planned, 6 to 12 months |
| SEMI-standards-cited reasoning | Recipes, integration specs, OCAPs | RUNNING In the design, every answer cites its source |
| Per-tenant IP isolation | Data, models, memory | RUNNING In the design from day one |
| On-prem and fab-edge deployment | IP-sensitive fabs | RUNNING Design option |
Autonomy
Four levels, set per agent and per tool
A fab does not go from manual APC to unattended control in one step. Waferira makes the level explicit, auditable and reversible at any time. The first release runs shadow mode, then assist mode, then graduated autonomy for low-risk APC, defect and metrology loops.
| Level | What the agent does | What the human does | Where it sits in a pilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 · Advisory | Recommends recipe moves, dispositions and dispatch, with citations | Enters every change manually | Shadow mode, first on the design-partner cell |
| L2 · Supervised | Proposes a recipe write or hold; it executes on approval | Approves each move in the review console | Assist mode, where accuracy and ROI are proven |
| L3 · Bounded | Writes inside the qualified recipe window, tool-state checks and OCAP linkage | Approves holds, out-of-window moves and lot release | Graduated autonomy for low-risk APC, defect and metrology loops |
| L4 · Qualified loops | Runs a qualified loop without prompting, inside its envelope | Sets the envelope; reviews the shift record | Planned; reserved for loops the fab has qualified |
Integrations
It speaks SECS/GEM, not cloud
Waferira reads and writes through the systems already in the fab. No rip and replace, no parallel historian, no new HMI to learn. Vendor names are examples of systems found in front-end fabs; connector availability is confirmed per site.
SECS/GEM on scanners, etchers, deposition, CMP, implanters, furnaces and wet benches
Recipe reads and bounded recipe writes
Advanced and run-to-run process control systems (Applied Materials APF and APC, PDF Solutions, in-house IDM APC)
Model state, correctables, control limits
Inline optical, e-beam and SEM inspection and review tools (KLA, Applied Materials, Hitachi High-Tech, Onto Innovation class systems)
Images, defect maps, ADC classes
Overlay, CD, film and OCD metrology (KLA, Onto Innovation, Nova class systems)
Sampled measurements that ground virtual metrology
Fault-detection and tool-sensor streams per chamber
Per-wafer signatures for virtual metrology and prognostics
Yield and defect analytics (PDF Solutions Exensio, Synopsys, Siemens Camline, INFICON class systems)
Yield, bin and genealogy context
Fab MES and schedulers (Applied SmartFactory, Siemens Camstar, Critical Manufacturing, INFICON FPS class systems)
Lots, routes, WIP, dispatch lists
Stockers, vehicles and FOUP handling (Daifuku class AMHS)
Carrier moves and handling exceptions
FAQ
Straight answers
The questions fab directors and process engineers ask in the first meeting.
Yes, over SECS/GEM, but only inside the qualified recipe window for that tool, with per-parameter limits and tool-state checks, and only at the autonomy level your fab has set. Level 1 is advisory: Waferira recommends and an engineer enters everything. Design partners start there, in shadow mode.
The tool stays on its own controller and its last qualified recipe. Waferira is a supervisory layer on top of the APC, inspection, metrology and MES systems you already run, never a replacement for them, so an outage leaves the module running the way it runs today.
No. Inference and feature storage stay at the fab edge, recipes, device designs, defect libraries and process memory are isolated per tenant, and an on-prem control plane is available for IP-sensitive fabs. Any cross-fab learning is planned, contract-gated and privacy-preserving, and none of it moves recipes or designs.
Advisory recommendations start from the existing APC, metrology and ADC data on the wedge module. Defect classification, virtual metrology and excursion prediction improve as labelled events and lot outcomes accumulate per process family. Rare excursions are augmented synthetically only after validation against real distributions.
You are, the same as with any APC strategy, which is why every write is policy-checked, bounded to the qualified window, logged and reversible, and why holds, out-of-window moves and lot release wait for a named approver with the OCAP linked.
A paid pilot on one process module or tool fleet, scoped to one wedge workflow with a baseline agreed in writing. Shadow mode first, observing and measuring the baseline. Then assist mode, where the agent recommends and your engineer approves and accuracy and ROI are measured. Then bounded autonomy for low-risk APC, defect or metrology loops if the fab is satisfied.
Get started
Standardise the group
Start with one process module or tool fleet and one measurable baseline. A paid, IP-isolated pilot on defect classification, virtual-metrology-driven overlay and CD control or uniformity APC shows the number before you commit further.