Capacity auction method and system providing enhanced fabrication facility utilization

摘要

Within both a method for operating a fabrication facility and a system for operating the fabrication facility there is employed an auctioning of at least a portion of the total fabrication facility available capacity when operating the fabrication facility. By employing the auctioning of the at least the portion of the total fabrication facility available capacity the fabrication facility when operating the fabrication facility, the fabrication facility may be operated with enhanced fabrication facility utilization. The method and the system are particularly applicable to operating microelectronic fabrication facilities. Similarly, the method and the system preferably employ a distributed communications network, and in particular an Internet distributed communications network.