TEL Semiconductor tools are abysmal

[TuckFel]

I have worked as a software automation engineer for most of the large IC makers in the world as a vendor, contractor, etc. and I have to say the worse tool vendor in every almost ever case has been Tokyo Electron (TEL). I have personally seen several fabs virtually shutdown for days, due to TEL's tools not meeting process quals, having broken robots and hardware, etc. What really sets TEL apart though, is just how poor of quality tool software they actually deliver to customer sites. Their software is the buggiest, least stable and least SEMI standards compliant in the industry. I know they are a virtual monopoly in many sectors but to have the market penetration they do, I really believe they must give a large amount of stock to people responsible for making purchasing decisions, for the IC makers. Basically my advise to anyone thinking of purchasing a TEL tool, DONT do it unless you have no other choice.

 

[TuckFel]

Oh yeah forgot to mention this especially applies to their 300 mm tools (not saying their 200mm are much better). And I forgot to mention they are also the worse vendor when it comes to software support. Allow at least two to three weeks before you will get any corresponse from them about their software problems and allow at least three months for a software patch (which 8 times out of 10 doesn't fix the problem but only causes more).

 

[elfgriper]

TuckFel,
I feel your pain. Hardware even it it's bad can just be changed out more frequently or have it's maintenance schedule time decreased. Software on the other hand is diffcult because on one walks around with source code and compliers to fix these types of problems. I like to have conference call so that the software guys and the managers can duke it out. It can be amusing to watch.
-elf