Semiconductor Industry Mechatronics as a Game-Changer for Rapid Time-to-Market

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The semiconductor industry is picking up the pace: How linear axes, mechatronic solutions, and subsystems are shortening the time from the lab to mass production and boosting the performance of machines and systems.

Demand for increasingly powerful chips, memory, and electronic components is on the rise. According to a McKinsey analysis, the global semiconductor market is projected to grow from $775 billion to as much as $1.6 trillion between 2024 and 2030 under a base-case scenario. To keep pace with this rapid development, machine manufacturers and OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) suppliers must develop their equipment even faster, accelerate prototyping, and shorten the time to series production. Time to market is becoming a key competitive factor.

How Linear Technology and Mechatronics Contribute

Anyone looking to industrialize machine and plant designs more quickly needs modular, compact, and adaptable automation solutions. Their quality, performance, and efficiency also depend on the linear technology and mechatronics used, with each phase of the value stream presenting its own challenges. For example, the front end requires an optimal combination of precision and reliability, while the back end demands maximum throughput and highly dynamic movements.

To accelerate go-to-market under the respective conditions with a high degree of standardization, Bosch Rexroth relies on three pillars: a globally available portfolio of compact, cleanroom-certified linear technology components; mechatronic assemblies based on standard components; and ready-to-install, tested subsystems that can be brought to series production in the shortest possible time. These three approaches, which vary in their level of integration, offer equipment manufacturers a high degree of flexibility and have proven themselves in practice. Over the past 25 years, Bosch Rexroth has commissioned more than 150,000 assemblies in the industry.

How Linear Modules Streamline Engineering

The first step toward shorter development times involves industry-specific assemblies, such as electromechanical cylinders or linear modules. For example, the PSK precision series—with a steel main body and integrated guide rails—ensures exceptionally high precision and rigidity in the vertical axes of wafer and pin lifts. Larger-scale movements, such as those encountered in wafer handling, can be optimally achieved using Compact modules, which combine high dynamics and power density.

In addition to directly driven linear modules for precision and high-speed applications, equipment manufacturers frequently use linear motor axes and linear actuators, as well as mechatronic handling systems that include drive technology. Profile rail guides with integrated measurement systems and high-precision ball screws have also proven their worth. For the interlinking of systems and processes, equipment manufacturers will also find cleanroom-compatible assembly, transfer, and material-handling systems in the Rexroth portfolio, ranging all the way to flexible 7-axis cobots from Kassow Robots.

Certified Quality for All Payload Classes

Rexroth's broad portfolio of linear technology covers the entire spectrum of the semiconductor and electronics value chain. In addition to linear guides and precision lead screws, equipment manufacturers will find a selection of linear axes and components that have been tested by Fraunhofer IPA in accordance with ISO 14644-1 and certified for cleanroom classes up to ISO 3. For special environmental conditions such as cleanrooms, vacuum environments, or contact with corrosive substances, standard variants with special coatings or made from special materials are available. Examples include the NRTVG guide carriage, which is made entirely of metal, and special lubricants such as the cleanroom grease Castrol Tribol GR 215.

Mechatronic Subsystems as Game-Changers

The most comprehensive way to reduce the effort required for development, design, and validation is through co-development of ready-to-install subsystems (subassemblies). Joint solution development with Bosch Rexroth based on standard components—including precise motion control—makes sense when system complexity increases and the customer wants to focus more on the actual manufacturing process. As part of such a go-to-market partnership, Rexroth experts combine technically coordinated standard products from linear technology, drive technology, and control technology into ready-to-install subsystems.

Real-World Examples: Wafer Handling

Such pre-engineered subsystems can be quickly adapted to specific process requirements and integrated into the new machine with minimal effort. Typical front-end examples include wafer lifts for cleaning, etching, deposition, or chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), as well as multi-axis loading and unloading systems.

Thanks to the flexible combination of linear axes, mechatronic modules, servomotors, and other components of the open automation platform ctrlX AUTOMATION, Bosch Rexroth can quickly develop high-performance subassemblies that meet the highest standards for uniformity, precision, and reliability. For example, processes such as spraying, dipping, or dosing must be carried out with positional accuracy in the micrometer range.

In addition, the installation space for mechatronics is often limited, which is why—in wet etching, for example—the vertical movement of the spray arms is achieved using compact linear modules from the PSK precision series. Many other development challenges were also solved using Rexroth standard components, including vibration issues, resistance to corrosive chemicals, and integration into wet lab handling systems and robotic transfer modules.

Co-development is often twice as fast

The time savings achievable through co-development range from rapid concept evaluation to the development of initial solution approaches and the creation of functional prototypes. In most cases, the Semicon experts at Bosch Rexroth can present an initial solution proposal or proof-of-concept within just 48 hours and produce a customer-specific prototype in less than three months—regardless of whether the project involves a new application or machine optimization in terms of installation space, precision, or cycle time.

Based on practical experience, the time from the initial idea to production readiness can often be cut in half. A key factor in this is support for rollouts, which are often global in scope. To meet the high demands for availability, quality, and reproducibility, Bosch Rexroth operates an international network of development, application, and manufacturing sites tailored to the needs of the semiconductor and electronics industries. This enables jointly developed concepts to be rapidly validated and scaled “copy exact” as standardized, reproducible machine designs.

Conclusion: Three Approaches Based on the Level of Integration

Collaborating with a full-service provider and an industry-experienced development partner for motion control tasks saves time and enables equipment manufacturers to reduce the workload on their own development teams, focus more intently on the process, and confidently position themselves in the race for the fastest time-to-market in semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. At Bosch Rexroth, they’ll find the right level of support for every degree of integration: from precision linear technology components for in-house development work, to accelerated engineering with linear modules and standardized mechatronics solutions, to efficient co-development based on proven subassemblies that achieve maximum throughput and yield. (mc)

*Jan Kazmaier is Senior Sales Manager for the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry at Bosch Rexroth AG