Close-up of a robot working on a semiconductor board with glowing digital effects.
Semiconductor

Maximize the efficiency
of your factory

with end-to-end digital processes

Digitalization and AI unlock new opportunities for resilient and efficient manufacturing – the key is having the right expertise for complex fab environments.

Semiconductor production is under intense pressure to transform: global supply chain risks, geopolitical tensions, and increasing sustainability requirements are impacting highly capital-intensive front-end fabs with long cycle times, tight specifications, and demanding yield targets. Meeting these challenges requires a rethink of process integration, automation levels, and data-driven collaboration between production, engineering, maintenance, and quality.

Digital solutions are the key enabler along the entire process chain. They create transparency, optimize complex processes, and make globally distributed production networks more resilient and efficient in the face of external and internal disruptions. Automation and AI are driving the development toward highly networked “smart fabs” and even the lights-out vision, in which processes from front-end to back-end are controlled dynamically, rule-based, and fully autonomously in real time. The following aspects are becoming increasingly important in this context (click on the markers for more details):

Digital levers

for efficient and resilient manufacturing
Circular infographic around a microchip showing eight concepts: automation, efficiency, control, and maintenance.

Those who take advantage of these trends early on will secure decisive competitive advantages in an industry that thrives on yield, time to market, and absolute process stability.

Energy and resource efficiency

Transparent data on energy consumption and material usage for each individual process step, tool, and product makes the "cost of operations" measurable and controllable and supports ESG and sustainability goals. Energy costs can be precisely allocated to each individual product, enabling dynamic pricing for end customers.

Predictive maintenance & digital twins

IoT technologies, condition monitoring, virtual metrology, and digital twins of equipment, process modules, and entire fabs enable precise condition monitoring of key tools, optimized maintenance windows, and flexible, production-oriented, and fully automated maintenance planning—with fewer unplanned downtimes and resulting maximum OEE metrics.

Complexity Reduction

Semiconductor manufacturing is characterized by heterogeneous process steps, diverse tool types, and large data volumes. Centralized data platforms, standardized interfaces (e.g., OPC UA, SEMI standards), and AI-supported analyses, such as for yield root cause analyses, anomaly detection, or virtual measurements, make this complexity manageable and controllable.

Process control and stability

Real-time monitoring of critical process parameters (CPPs) and advanced process control (APC) ensure process windows, parameter compliance, and component performance along the entire value chain—from wafer to packaging.

Cleanroom and sub-fab management

Digital platforms enable the monitoring and control of critical environmental and surrounding parameters and supply systems. This allows excursion risks to be identified early on and cleanroom conditions to be proactively managed, ensuring that the required process environments are maintained in an energy-efficient manner.

Comprehensive automation & equipment integration

The consistent implementation of automation standards (e.g., SECS/GEM, GEM300, EDA/Interface A) enables consistent, standardized equipment interfaces and efficient integration of heterogeneous plant landscapes.

Traceability & Ramp-up

Seamless traceability of materials and process steps, as well as digitally supported ramp-up processes, shorten the time to yield and are crucial for the competitiveness of new technologies.

Digital assistance and knowledge management

Data platforms, AI-based chatbots, guided troubleshooting flows, digital SOPs, and checklists support maintenance and process engineers in troubleshooting, tool qualification, and training. A fully digitally controlled out-of-control action plan minimizes unplanned production disruptions. Critical factory know-how remains preserved and accessible despite skills shortages, shift work, and demographic change.

Our services

We support you in the digital transformation of your semiconductor manufacturing – from brownfield fabs with mixed tool parks to greenfield lights-out concepts. Through the holistic integration of all relevant production data (e.g., ERP, MES, AMHS/OHT/AGV, and equipment automation) and the establishment of a central data platform, we create the basis for the use of innovative technologies. With customized software solutions, we optimize processes and fab-specific applications that deliver measurable added value for your production. In addition, we use AI-based approaches for predictive maintenance, predictive quality, and root cause analysis to detect anomalies early on, avoid unplanned downtime, and address yield losses more quickly.

  • End-to-end digitalization services

    We accompany you along your digitalization roadmap—from the initial Fab Maturity Analysis to the productive rollout—for secure, flexible, and future-proof production with clearly defined automation and data architectures.

  • Strategic consulting & discovery

    In our project vision and requirements workshops, we work with your stakeholders to develop a target vision for your smart factory roadmap and provide specific recommendations for action to address your specific challenges, e.g., with a focus on ramping up new lines, yield optimization through data-driven root cause analysis, or stabilizing critical process windows.

  • Data integration & platforms

    We break down data silos, connect heterogeneous systems (e.g., legacy equipment according to SEMI standards), and create a central database for transparency, reporting, and advanced analytics. In doing so, we also take into account edge and cloud architectures, data governance, and access models for engineering, operations, and IT.

  • Value-adding applications

    We develop customized applications for your production processes—such as engineering dashboards, asset management, and predictive maintenance solutions—to simplify and accelerate the activities of those involved in the process.

  • Modernization of legacy systems

    We optimize and modernize existing factory applications, such as historically developed MES extensions, custom scheduling solutions, or local tool tracking systems, to ensure performance, stability, security, and future viability without threatening ongoing operations.

  • Cloud

    We develop customized cloud and hybrid cloud solutions for analytics, reporting, and AI services, ensuring flexibility and data sovereignty with vendor-neutral multi-cloud approaches. Security and compliance by design guarantee robust architectures and efficient, compliant processes.

  • Quality assurance & first-time right

    With our testing services, we ensure quality throughout the entire software lifecycle—from fab-critical systems to edge applications. From software health checks, test analysis, test management, and test automation to end-user and shop floor testing, we ensure that solutions run stably and perform well in the highly sensitive fab environment.

  • Cybersecurity

    We support you in all areas of cybersecurity in the OT and IT environment of the factory—from the segmentation of production networks and the hardening of interfaces to equipment and AMHS to logging, monitoring, and incident response processes.

  • UI/UX

    Our usability and design services increase the user-friendliness of Fab applications and ensure greater efficiency through intuitive user interfaces, optimized workflows for shift and engineering teams, and clear visualization of complex status and KPI information (e.g., WIP heat maps, bottleneck charts).

  • GenAI

    In the development context, generative AI sets new standards in software development and increases productivity and quality throughout the entire DevOps process—from requirements analysis and code generation to test automation and documentation. In close collaboration with our customers, we use GenAI to improve software quality, shorten time to market, and accelerate release cycles for fab-critical applications.

Your benefits

By joining forces with us, you gain a partner who combines technological excellence with a deep understanding of front-end manufacturing, cleanroom operations, and equipment integration. Our experts bring innovative approaches and a wide range of tools and frameworks to the table to implement projects quickly, efficiently, and to the highest quality standards.

  • Icon with cogwheel and ascending bars

    Increase in yield and reduction of scrap

    Thanks to improved data availability, integrated analytics solutions, and AI-supported error analysis, the causes of yield losses—from systematic process drifts to sporadic excursions—can be identified and rectified more quickly.

  • Icon with a cogwheel in the centre rising from a square to symbolise transparency

    Enhanced transparency and controllability in complex fabs

    End-to-end software solutions, fab-specific KPIs, automated workflows, and real-time monitoring create structure, increase efficiency, and enable fast, data-driven decision-making in everyday shift and management operations.

  • Icon with lines running horizontally through a circle to symbolise acceleration

    Accelerated digitization projects with low risk

    ZEISS combines software expertise with in-depth manufacturing knowledge, enabling requirements to be understood more quickly, solutions to be implemented precisely, and typical project risks—such as during cutovers or integration into existing fabs—to be reduced.

  • Icon with a tick symbol in the centre and dice around the outside to symbolise scalability

    Future-proof, scalable architecture

    Modern, modular software architectures and API-first approaches make it possible to efficiently connect new locations, lines, or technologies and roll them out worldwide—from pilot projects in a single factory to global template rollouts.

  • Icon with a cogwheel containing a dollar sign stands for fast ROI

    Quick ROI, even in brownfield sites

    Through modular, tailor-made solution components, short implementation cycles, and a focus on specific use cases (e.g., predictive maintenance for bottleneck tools, excursion management, ramp-up analytics), we deliver value-adding quick wins in existing production environments—while laying the foundation for long-term smart factory visions.

  • Icon with clipboard, light bulb and hook to signal rapid readiness

    Seamless start at Greenfield

    In the greenfield area, we build scalable, standards-compliant architectures (SECS/GEM, EDA, OPC UA) directly to efficiently implement new fabs, lines, or locations—with seamless integration of MES, AMHS, and APC for maximum efficiency, time-to-yield from day one, and future-proof expandability.

Let’s work together

to increase the efficiency of your fab, for better scaling and resilience

Fill out the form below to schedule a consultation with our experts and learn how we can help you realize your vision for digitalized medical technology products and solutions.

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Ron Schütze Key Account Manager
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Kay Fischer Key Account Manager

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