According to Joel Galliher, semiconductor industry manager, Bosch Rexroth Corp., the semiconductor industry is moving away from its focus of perfecting microelectronic processes. As wafers become larger and feature smaller widths, issues like productivity, throughput, reliability, and automation have gained importance.

Moving wafers into and out of a fabrication tool, positioning and repositioning them within the tool, and changing setups and job parameters significantly influence the overall productivity of the tool.