Development and Evaluation of a Blockchain Concept for Production Planning and Control in the Semiconductor Industry

Abstract

Blockchain technology promises several benefits for operations management, but reported use cases, concepts and applications are rare. This contribution indicates the findings from a case study of analyzing the suitability of blockchain technology for semiconductor manufacturing at the 300 mm wafer frontend facility of Infineon Technologies in Dresden, Germany. This plant contains one of the most highly automated fabrication lines in the industry. Here, several different and isolated digital software tools are used to control manufacturing, all accessing centralized databases with different views and restrictions. We assess if and how a blockchain solution could and should be designed to enhance the analytic capabilities for this facility using the design science approach and evaluate the economic value of the designed application using the analytical hierarchy process.