1. Purpose of the gate
Risk production start is the first time the fab commits its line to customer product wafers rather than to its own test vehicles. It opens the Risk Production stage. The word risk is deliberate: the process is qualified, but the design kit is not yet final, yield is still rising, and the line has not run at volume. Customers who start here accept that in exchange for being early, and the gate makes sure the terms of that exchange are written down and understood on both sides.
The review therefore has two halves. The commercial half confirms that each customer has signed a risk production agreement that states what is still open: which kit items may change, what yield or parametric spread can be expected, how wafers outside specification are handled, and how changes will be notified. The operational half confirms that the fab is ready: every tool in the flow is qualified for production use, every material is qualified with its supplier, the capacity plan reserves the starts customers have been promised, and a fab readiness review has been held with its actions tracked.
The criteria are: technology qualification approved; risk production agreements signed with each customer; and a fab readiness review held, with actions.
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