Abstract: A method of monitoring and controlling a manufacturing process is described. The value of a process variable is measured and treated. A measurement-based value is normalized using a normalization parameter associated with the process variable. Instances in which the normalized value fails to satisfy an acceptance criterion are identified so that, for example, corrective actions can be taken or the quality of the manufactured product can be diagnosed.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for improving the efficiency of a product manufacturing process such as a semiconductor fab process, wherein a given step of the process has a quality result which can be actually measured on each product or group of products, and wherein the process comprises a subsequent, adjustable step, the method comprising:—providing a correlation model of the behavior of said given step as a function of available parameters;—for each product or group of products at the output of said manufacturing step, computing a predicted quality result based on said correlation model as a function of the actual values of the parameters during the manufacturing step, and—providing the quality result to a control system for adjusting said subsequent step.