Predictika · Semiconductor manufacturing equipment

An AI sales agent's fab tool order, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares an order for a Tokyo Electron (TEL) coater/developer, etch system, single-wafer cleaning system or batch thermal processing system for a 300 mm logic fab: the tool family and model, wafer size, process, capacity, substrate and whether the tool is new. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the comparison tables published on tel.com and returns a verdict, every reason and the table figure it computed. The customer is fictional.

Scope: TEL coater/developers, etch systems, single-wafer cleaning systems and batch thermal processing systems: family, model, wafer size, process, throughput, chambers, batch load, temperature, substrate and availability. See everything this validator covers

This validator models orders of 17 TEL tools, based on the comparison tables on tel.com, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Coater/developers — LITHIUS Pro DICE, Pro AP, Pro Z, Pro V, Pro and LITHIUS: the wafer sizes, the processes each lists (EUV, immersion, ArF, KrF, i-line, spin-on carbon, polyimide, package, spin-on dielectric and OCCF) and the throughput each table states; the LITHIUS is listed as certified used only.
  • Etch systems — Tactras, Episode UL and Certas on 300 mm wafers: the processes each lists (dielectric, conductor, RIE, chemical dry etch) and the chamber limit each table states.
  • Single-wafer cleaning — CELLESTA i MD, CELLESTA i and CELLESTA MS2: pre- and post-clean, wet etch and physical clean, the throughput each table states and the chamber limit where one is stated; where it is not, a person confirms the chamber count.
  • Batch thermal processing — EVAROS, TELINDY PLUS, TELFORMULA, TELINDY PLUS IRad and ALPHA-8SE i: wafer sizes, processes, the production load per batch and the temperature range each table states.
  • What the order says about itself — the family against the model, the substrate (silicon only outside the coaters, where a person confirms any other) and the capacity figure the agent writes into the order, compared with the table.

Any order of these TEL tools that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: other TEL products, prices (TEL does not publish them), delivery, site and utility requirements, service contracts, and process results beyond the tables.

The AI sales agentBuilds the tool order from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

7 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  

    
What this means
Run the validator to see the outcome
The explanation appears here once the validator returns.

    

  

  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
Click to expand
    
Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
A process that depends on the modelOnly with workarounds
Each model lists its own processes, and an order names the process separately from the model. A rules-based CPQ needs a rule per model and process pair, and the process is often not a field at all.		The model and the process arrive in one request and are compared against the table on every call.
Limits that change with the modelOnly with care
Throughput, chamber limit, batch load and temperature range each differ by model and by family. A rule can encode each case, but they must be kept in step with the tables.		The model is read together with the order and the limit that applies is computed on every call.
A capacity the agent statesOnly with care
The stated capacity is a free-entry field; a rule has to know which model and which kind of limit it refers to, then compare.		The stated capacity is a field in the request, compared with the table figure for the model on every call.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a person often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
Click to expand
    
Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1The LITHIUS Pro DICE lists EUV, immersion, ArF, KrF, i-line and spin-on carbon processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
2The LITHIUS Pro AP lists polyimide, package, spin-on dielectric and OCCF processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
3The LITHIUS Pro Z lists EUV, immersion, ArF, KrF, i-line and spin-on carbon processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
4The LITHIUS Pro V lists immersion, ArF, KrF, i-line and spin-on carbon processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
5The LITHIUS Pro lists immersion, ArF, KrF, i-line and spin-on carbon processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
6The LITHIUS lists immersion, ArF, KrF and i-line processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
7The Tactras lists dielectric, conductor and reactive ion etch processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
8The Episode UL lists dielectric, conductor and reactive ion etch processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
9The Certas LEAGA lists dielectric and chemical dry etch processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
10The CELLESTA-i MD lists pre-clean, post-clean and wet etch processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
11The CELLESTA-i lists pre-clean, post-clean and wet etch processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
12The CELLESTA MS2 lists physical force cleaning processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
13The EVAROS lists oxide, nitride and poly processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
14The TELINDY PLUS lists thermal ALD, LPCVD, oxidation and anneal processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
15The TELFORMULA lists oxide, anneal, nitride, poly, TEOS and high-k processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
16The TELINDY PLUS IRad lists plasma-assisted ALD processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
17The ALPHA-8SE i lists oxide, anneal, nitride, poly, TEOS, HTO and high-k processes; the process the order needs is not among them.
18The model ordered belongs to a different tool family than the one the order names.
19The order has wafers of 200 mm; this model takes 300 mm wafers only.
20The order has wafers of 150 mm; this model takes 200 mm or 300 mm wafers.
21The order has wafers of 300 mm; this model takes 150 mm or 200 mm wafers.
22The order needs 301 wafers an hour; the TEL table gives 300 wafers an hour for this model.
23The order needs 441 wafers an hour; the TEL table gives 440 wafers an hour for this model.
24The order needs 651 wafers an hour; the TEL table gives 650 wafers an hour for this model.
25The order needs 801 wafers an hour; the TEL table gives 800 wafers an hour for this model.
26The order needs 201 wafers an hour; the TEL table gives 200 wafers an hour for this model.
27The order has 7 chambers; the TEL table allows up to 6 for this model.
28The order has 13 chambers; the TEL table allows up to 12 for this model.
29The order has 21 chambers; the TEL table allows up to 20 for this model.
30The TEL table states no chamber count for this CELLESTA model; a person should confirm it.
31The order loads 201 wafers a batch; the TEL table gives a production load of up to 200 for this model.
32The order loads 126 wafers a batch; the TEL table gives a production load of up to 125 for this model.
33The order loads 51 wafers a batch; the TEL table gives a production load of up to 50 for this model.
34The order loads 151 wafers a batch; the TEL table gives a production load of up to 150 for this model.
35The order needs 801 degrees C; the TEL table gives a range up to 800 degrees C for this model.
36The order needs 1101 degrees C; the TEL table gives a range up to 1100 degrees C for this model.