JP2012023401A - Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and display method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which can improve yield by displaying existence or non-existence of a wafer in relation to a process progress of the wafer to precisely inform an operator of a processing state of wafers to avoid disposal of nondefective products even when the device stops.SOLUTION: The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus comprises a transport table 29 in which a transport recipe for each wafer is designated, location management tables 22a-22c for storing location information of a wafer with respect to each transport recipe and a process status table 25' for storing location information and a process status with respect to each wafer number, and location information monitoring means 21' for monitoring a location and a process status of each wafer and displaying a process progress of each wafer though different transport recipes are set for individual wafers.

Description

The present invention relates to a single-wafer type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that processes wafers one by one in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus such as a CVD apparatus, and in particular, displays the presence or absence of a wafer in the apparatus and the progress of the wafer process. The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a display method thereof that can accurately notify the operator of a wafer processing state even when the apparatus is stopped, prevent a non-defective product from being disposed of, and improve the yield.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 19, there has been a single wafer type CVD apparatus for processing wafers one by one. FIG. 19 is a plan view showing a configuration of a conventional single wafer CVD apparatus. As shown in FIG. 19, the conventional single wafer CVD apparatus includes a cassette chamber (cassette chamber, CC) 5a (CC1) and 5b (CC2) for storing a wafer cassette, and a reaction furnace (process chamber, PC) for processing. ) 6a (PC1) and 6b (PC2), and a transfer chamber (load lock chamber, LC) 7. In addition to the above configuration, the PC 3 may be connected as the reaction furnace 6c.

  In the transfer chamber 7, a CC arm 71 for loading / unloading wafers from / from the cassette chamber 5, a PC arm 72 for loading / unloading wafers into / from the reaction furnace 6, a storage cassette (SC) 73 for holding wafers, and wafers And an alignment unit (AU) 74 that performs the above-described alignment.

  In the conventional CVD apparatus having the above configuration, the wafer taken into the transfer chamber 7 from the cassette chamber 5 a by the CC arm 71 is transferred to the PC arm 72 via the storage cassette 73. The PC arm 72 transports the wafer to the reaction furnace 6a or 6b in accordance with a predesignated recipe, and when the designated processing is completed, the wafer is transferred to the storage cassette 73 by the PC arm 72, and another CC arm 71 performs another process. It is carried out to the cassette chamber 5b in which the cassette is set.

  A display unit such as a CRT for displaying the status of the apparatus is provided on the front surface of the single-wafer CVD apparatus (not shown), and displays the operating status of the apparatus and the process recipe. .

  Here, a display method in a conventional single wafer CVD apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing a display example in a conventional single wafer CVD apparatus. In a conventional single wafer CVD apparatus, a detection point for detecting the position of a wafer is provided in advance in the apparatus, the presence or absence of a wafer is detected for each detection point, and the detected wafer position is displayed on a monitor screen. It was. As shown in FIG. 20, a device image viewed from above is drawn on the monitor screen, and display areas 9a to 9o corresponding to the respective detection points are provided in the device image. When there is a wafer, the display area 9 is displayed. It was displayed in red and in white when there was none.

  Next, a control unit that performs display control of the wafer position inside the conventional single wafer CVD apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control unit that performs display control of a wafer position in a conventional single-wafer CVD apparatus. As shown in FIG. 21, the control unit detects the presence or absence of a wafer at each detection point a to o (not shown) in the CVD apparatus, and data from the position detection unit 1. The processing control unit 11 that creates display data of the display areas 9a to 9o corresponding to each detection point, the display table 12 that stores the display data, and the data read from the display table 12 and output to the display unit 8 The display control unit 4 and the display unit 8 made up of a CRT or the like.

  In the above configuration, the position detection unit 1 detects the presence / absence of a wafer at each detection point a to o in the CVD apparatus at regular intervals, and sends detection data for each detection point to the processing control unit 11.

  The processing control unit 11 creates display data for each display area based on the position information from the position detection unit 1, stores the display data in the display table 12, and instructs the display control unit 3 to perform display. Here, for each detection point, when the information from the position detection means 1 is “with wafer”, the processing control unit 11 sets the display color of the corresponding display area 9 to “red” and “without wafer”. Creates display data so that the display color is “white”.

  Upon receiving a display instruction from the processing control unit 11, the display control unit 4 reads display data from the display table 12, outputs it to the display unit 8, and displays it. In this way, the position of the wafer inside the CVD apparatus is displayed.

  However, in the conventional single wafer CVD apparatus and the display method therefor, only the presence / absence of a wafer at each detection point is displayed. For some wafers, the progress of processing could not be accurately grasped, and all wafers were handled as defective products.

  For example, in a recipe where processing is performed as reactors PC1 → PC2 → PC3, if a wafer is stopped immediately after a certain wafer has finished processing PC2, the wafer is defective or good if it passes through PC3. It is impossible to determine whether or not the wafer can be handled, and all the wafers remaining in the apparatus at the time of stopping the apparatus are handled as defective products and discarded, which causes a decrease in yield.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and displays the presence / absence of a wafer in the apparatus and the process progress status of the wafer so that the operator can be informed of the wafer processing status accurately even when the apparatus is stopped. An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a display method for the same, which can prevent a non-defective product from being disposed of and can improve the yield.

The present invention for solving the problems of the above conventional example is an image of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus viewed from above on a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for performing processing and a transfer chamber. Drawing, providing a plurality of display areas inside the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image, displaying the position of the wafer with the outline of the display area for each display area, and displaying the presence / absence of the wafer and the process progress status in color To do.

According to the present invention, in a display method for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image viewed from above is drawn on a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for performing processing and a transfer chamber, and the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image Is provided with a plurality of display areas, the position of the wafer is displayed by the outline of the display area for each display area, and the presence / absence of the wafer and the progress of the process are displayed in color.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image viewed from above is drawn on a monitor screen of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for performing processing and a transfer chamber, and the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image is displayed inside the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image. A plurality of display areas are provided, and the presence / absence of a wafer and the process progress of the wafer are displayed in color for each display area.

According to the present invention, in a display method for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image viewed from above is drawn on a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for performing processing and a transfer chamber, and the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image A plurality of display areas are provided inside the display, and the presence / absence of a wafer and the process progress status of the wafer are displayed in color for each display area.

The present invention provides a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which a plurality of display areas are provided on a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for processing and a transfer chamber, and the position of a wafer is defined by the outline of the display area for each display area. And displaying the progress of the wafer process in color.

The present invention provides a display method for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, wherein a plurality of display areas are provided on a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for performing processing and a transfer chamber, and the position of a wafer is displayed for each display area. The process progress status of the wafer is displayed in color.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a plurality of display areas are provided on a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for performing processing and a transfer chamber, and the presence / absence of a wafer for each display area and the process progress of the wafer. The situation is displayed in color.

The present invention provides a display method for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, wherein a plurality of display areas are provided on a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for performing processing and a transfer chamber, and the presence or absence of a wafer for each display area and the wafer. The process progress status is displayed in color.

According to the present invention, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image viewed from above is drawn on a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for performing processing and a transfer chamber, and a plurality of displays are displayed inside the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image. Since the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the display method thereof display an area, display the wafer position for each display area with the outline of the display area, and display the presence / absence of the wafer and the progress of the process in color, the position of the wafer in the apparatus, The operator can obtain the presence / absence of the wafer and the progress of the process of the wafer, and the yield can be improved by accurately determining the non-defective product / defective product when the apparatus is stopped.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is schematic structure explanatory drawing of the single wafer type CVD apparatus which is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus based on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display in the CVD apparatus of this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display method of each display area. It is a block diagram of the configuration of the control unit of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment. It is a conceptual explanatory view of the position management table 22 of this Embodiment. 6 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of a situation table 25. FIG. 3 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of a process correspondence table 28. FIG. FIG. 7 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of a display table 27 corresponding to the situation table 25 in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a wafer number designation process in position information monitoring means 21. It is a flowchart figure which shows the positional information write-in process in the positional information monitoring means 21. FIG. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process in the process information monitoring means 24 of this Embodiment. 7 is a flowchart showing processing in display processing means 26. FIG. It is a block diagram of the configuration of the control unit of another embodiment. It is a conceptual explanatory drawing of the conveyance table 29 of another embodiment. It is a conceptual explanatory view of position management tables 22a-22c of another embodiment. It is a conceptual explanatory view of situation table 25 'of another embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows a process when the positional information monitoring means 21 'of another embodiment receives data from the loader monitoring means 10. FIG. It is a flowchart figure which shows a process when the position information monitoring means 21 'of another embodiment receives data from the position detection means 1. It is a top view which shows the structure of the conventional single wafer type CVD apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display in the conventional single wafer type CVD apparatus. It is a configuration block diagram of a control unit that performs display control of a wafer position of a conventional single wafer CVD apparatus.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The single-wafer CVD apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention draws an apparatus image on a monitor screen, and provides a plurality of display areas corresponding to each detection point provided on the wafer conveyance path inside the apparatus image. Furthermore, the display area is divided so as to correspond to each process, and not only the presence / absence of a wafer at each detection point, but also the process progress status for each wafer is displayed in an easy-to-understand manner by color.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration explanatory diagram of a single wafer CVD apparatus which is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the basic structure of the single wafer type CVD apparatus of the present embodiment is almost the same as that of the conventional single wafer type CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 19, and the cassette chambers 5a and 5b and the reaction It comprises furnaces 6a (PC1) and 6b (PC2), a transfer chamber 7, and cooling chambers 15a and 15b for cooling wafers taken out from the reaction furnace 6, and a wafer cassette is taken in and out of each cassette chamber 5. A cassette loader 13 for moving the wafer cassette and a cassette elevator 14 for moving the wafer cassette up and down are provided. Further, a piping section for supplying gas to the reaction furnace 6 and a control system for each reaction furnace 6 are provided, and a display section 8 is provided on a panel on the front surface of the apparatus.

  And in the CVD apparatus of this Embodiment, about the wafer carried in in the apparatus once, the process in the reaction furnace 6 and the cooling chamber 15 is continuously performed to a maximum of 4 processes (4 processes: P1-P4). It is something that can be done. As in the prior art, the order of transfer to the processing chambers of the reaction furnace 6 and the cooling chamber 15 is set in advance by the transfer recipe, and what kind of processing is performed in each processing chamber. Is set by a process recipe, and the respective reactors 6 and the like are controlled in accordance with the process recipe to perform processing. When the operator designates a process for each cassette, the control unit selects a transfer recipe and a process recipe and performs processing. Such a control method is the same as the conventional method.

  In addition, detection points A to T (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of a wafer are provided in the apparatus as in the prior art, and the position of the wafer in the apparatus is monitored.

  Here, display examples in the CVD apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a display example in the CVD apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a display method of each display area 9. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, an apparatus image is drawn as in the conventional example, and the position of the wafer and the progress of the process are displayed in the apparatus image. That is, two cassette chambers are displayed at the bottom of the screen, the cooling chamber 15a is displayed on the left, the reaction furnace 6a is displayed on the upper left, the reaction furnace 6b is displayed on the upper right, and the cooling chamber 15b is displayed on the right. The central part connecting each reactor and the cooling chamber is an image of the transfer chamber 7.

  Then, display areas 9A to 9T corresponding to detection points A to T (not shown) for detecting the presence / absence of a wafer provided in the apparatus are set, and the presence / absence of a wafer and the progress of the process at each detection point are set. It is what is displayed. For example, the display area 9A indicates the presence / absence of a wafer at the detection point A and the process progress status.

  Next, a display example in each display area 9 which is a characteristic part of the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the display area 9 is composed of four divided areas 9a, 9b, 9c, and 9d. Each divided area corresponds to each of processes 1 to 4 (P1 to P4). The status of each process is displayed by color. That is, the divided area 9a corresponds to the process 1, the divided area 9b corresponds to the process 2, the divided area 9c corresponds to the process 3, and the divided area 9d corresponds to the process 4.

  In the present embodiment, when there is a wafer at the corresponding detection point, the outline of the display area is displayed in a circle, and the progress of the process corresponding to each divided area is displayed in color. Here, the control unit is set in advance so that yellow represents a process being executed, blue represents a normal process end, red represents a process abnormal end, green represents a mid-process end, and black represents no process. This display color can be changed by the user.

  For example, when the outline of the display area 9N is displayed, the divided area 9Na is blue, and the divided area 9Nb is displayed in yellow, “the wafer is at the detection point N, the process 1 is normal. The process 2 is ended and the process 2 is currently being executed. "

  As a result, even when multiple processes are performed in the apparatus, the operator can accurately grasp the progress of each process for each wafer in the apparatus, and even when an abnormality occurs in the apparatus and it stops. Not all defective products can be processed, but the subsequent processing can be performed after making an accurate judgment on each wafer.

  Next, the control unit of the CVD apparatus according to the present embodiment for realizing the above display method will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a configuration block diagram of a control unit of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit of the present embodiment creates position detection means 1 that detects the position of the wafer, loader monitoring means 10 that monitors the loading of the wafer, and display data that is output to the monitor screen. The monitor screen control unit 2, the process monitoring unit 3 that monitors processes in the reaction furnace 6 and the cooling chamber 15, and the display control unit 4 that controls display on the display unit 8 (not shown). .

  Further, the monitor screen control unit 2 includes a position information monitoring means 21 for monitoring the position information of the wafer in the apparatus, a position management table 22 for storing the position information, and individual numbers (wafer numbers) for the wafers in the apparatus. ), A process information monitoring unit 24 that receives process information from the process monitoring unit 3 and monitors the process information, and a process correspondence table 28 that stores the processing room name for each process. , A status table 25 for storing position information and process information for each wafer number, a display processing means 26 for generating display data, and a display table 27 for storing display data.

  In addition, the process monitoring unit 3 includes a process monitoring unit 31 that monitors the process in the reaction furnace 6a (PC1), a process monitoring unit 32 that monitors the process in the reaction furnace 6b (PC2), and a process in the cooling chamber 15a. The process monitoring means 33 for monitoring the process and the process monitoring means 34 for monitoring the processing in the cooling chamber 15b.

  Next, each component of the control unit shown in FIG. 4 will be specifically described. The loader monitoring means 10 monitors whether or not a wafer has been carried into the transfer chamber 7 from the cassette chamber 5. When a wafer is carried in, the loader monitoring means 10 sends “wafer carry-in” data to the position information monitoring means 21. To do.

  The position detection means 1 is the same as the conventional position detection means 1 shown in FIG. 21, and the wafer is detected at regular intervals for each of the detection points A to T provided on the wafer conveyance path inside the apparatus. Whether or not it exists is detected, and detection data for each detection point is sent as position information to the position information monitoring means 21 of the monitor screen controller 2.

  The position information monitoring means 21 of the monitor screen control unit 2 includes wafer number designation processing for giving a wafer number necessary for processing to a wafer carried into the transfer chamber, and position information for each detection point received from the position detection means 1. The position information writing process for storing them in the position management table 22 and the situation table 25 is performed.

  Here, the position management table 22 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the position management table 22. As shown in FIG. 5, the position management table 22 includes “detection points” arranged in the order of transfer according to the transfer recipe, “detection data” indicating the presence / absence of a corresponding wafer, and “wafer No.” of the wafer when there is a wafer. . ”Is stored, and“ detection data ”includes“ previous ”for storing the previous detection result and“ current ”for storing the current detection result.

  A “loader” is provided as the head of the “detection point”, and this is a point indicating that a wafer has been taken out from the wafer cassette. When the position information monitoring means 21 receives the wafer loading data from the loader monitoring means 10, the value of the wafer number counter 23 is written as the wafer number corresponding to the detection point “loader” in the position management table 22. I have to. In the “detection data” corresponding to each detection point, “1” indicates “with wafer” and “0” indicates “without wafer”.

  In the example of FIG. 5, for example, at the detection point J, the previous detection result is “no wafer”, the current detection result is “wafer present”, and the wafer number of the wafer is “2”. Show.

  In the position management table 22, the detection points are arranged in the order of conveyance. Therefore, if attention is paid to one wafer, the wafer is carried into the conveyance chamber 7 from the detection point (loader) at the head of the table, and is sequentially moved to the lower point. It moves and is taken out from the detection point at the end. Accordingly, when there are a plurality of transfer recipes, the position management table 22 corresponding to each is provided, but here, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, only one transfer recipe is provided.

  The operation of the position information monitoring unit 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. When the wafer information is received from the loader monitoring unit 10, the position information monitoring unit 21 sets the wafer number counter 23 to +1 as a wafer number designation process, and corresponds to “loader” in the position management table 22. The value of the counter 23 is written as “wafer number”, and the wafer number is given to the wafer carried into the apparatus (in the transfer chamber).

  Further, when the position information monitoring unit 21 receives the position information from the position detection unit 1, as the position information writing process, the “previous” corresponding to the detection point is updated to “current”, and the received detection data is updated. Store this time. In particular, when the detection data changes from “0” to “1”, the wafer number of the wafer at the previous detection point is stored in the wafer number of that point, and the wafer position information is stored. It updates and instructs the display processing means 26 to create display data. The details of the wafer number designation process and the position information writing process in the position information monitoring means 21 will be described later.

  The wafer number counter 23 gives a unique number necessary for processing to each wafer carried into the apparatus. In this embodiment, a maximum of four wafers are provided in the apparatus (the transfer chamber and each process). No. 1 to 4 are given as wafer numbers. That is, every time a new wafer is taken into the transfer chamber, that is, when wafer loading data is received from the loader monitoring means 10, the value of the wafer number counter 23 is incremented by 1, and the unique number in the apparatus is assigned to the wafer. Is to give. The wafer number counter 23 is controlled by the position information monitoring means 21 so as to return to No. 1 after No. 4 again.

  In addition, the process monitoring unit 3 monitors the process status in each of the processing chambers of the reaction furnace 6a (PC1), the reaction furnace 6b (PC2), and the cooling chambers 15a and 15b by the process monitoring units 31 to 34, respectively. As information, a processing chamber name (ID unique to each processing chamber) and process data in the processing chamber are sent to the process information monitoring means 24 of the monitor screen control unit 2. Process data includes “Process start” at the start of the process, “Normal end” when the process ends normally, “Abnormal end” when the process stops halfway, There are four types of data “end halfway” when the process is stopped during the process for reasons other than the reactor.

  The process information monitoring unit 24 receives the process information (processing room name and process data) from the process monitoring unit 3, refers to the process correspondence table 28, identifies the process corresponding to the processing room, and sets the process information It is stored in the table 25.

  Here, the situation table 25 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the situation table. The situation table 25 stores wafer position information and process situation data (process data) fetched into the apparatus. As shown in FIG. 6, the wafer number set by the position information monitoring means 21 is stored. For each “position” indicating the current position as a detection point and “process status”, “P1” indicating the status of the process 1, “P2” indicating the status of the process 2, and the status of the process 3 “P3” indicating the status of the process 4 and “P4” indicating the status of the process 4 are stored. With this status table 25, the position and process progress status can be managed for each of up to four wafers in the apparatus.

  The “position” of the status table 25 is written by the information monitoring unit 21 based on the data from the position detection unit 1, and the “process status” is written by the process information monitoring unit 24 based on the data from the process monitoring unit 3. It comes to write.

  Next, the process correspondence table 28 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the process correspondence table 28. As shown in FIG. 7, the process correspondence table 28 stores each “process” (process 1 to process 4) set by a process recipe or the like in association with “processing room name”. When a process not to be executed is set, “no process” is set in this correspondence table instead of the processing room name corresponding to the process. Thereby, the process information monitoring means 24 can specify the process performed in the processing chamber when the processing chamber name is given.

  Next, the operation of the process information monitoring unit 24 will be described with reference to FIG. 4, FIG. 6, and FIG. The process information monitoring unit 24 receives the process information (processing room name and process data) from the process monitoring unit 3 and refers to the process correspondence table 28 shown in FIG. 7 to identify the process corresponding to the processing room. Further, referring to the situation table 25 shown in FIG. 6, the wafer number located in the processing chamber is specified. Then, the process information monitoring unit 24 applies the process status area (“P1”, “P2”, “P3”, “P”) of the status table 25 to the process specified by the process correspondence table 28 of the wafer number. P4 ") is to write the received process data. At this time, when the process data “processing start” is received, “in-execution” data is written in the status table. In addition, “no process” is written in the status table 25 in advance for processes that are “no process” in the process correspondence table 28.

  6 and FIG. 7, when the position of the reaction furnace 6a is represented by the detection point N, the process information monitoring means 24 sends the “reaction furnace 6a, process When the “start” data is received, the process information monitoring means 24 reads “process 2” as the process corresponding to “reactor 6a” from the process correspondence table 28 shown in FIG. 25, “wafer No. 1” is specified as the wafer No. whose “position” is “N” indicating the reactor 6a, and “execution” is performed in the “P2” area of wafer No. 1. "Medium" is written. Then, when the process information monitoring unit 24 writes the data in the status table 25, the process information monitoring unit 24 sends a display data creation instruction to the display processing unit 26. The processing of the process information monitoring unit 24 will be described in detail later.

  The display processing unit 26 creates display data. When a display data creation instruction is received from the position information monitoring unit 21 or the process information monitoring unit 24, the display processing unit 26 creates display data with reference to the situation table 25. Are stored in the display table 27 and a display instruction is sent to the display control unit 4.

  As described above, in the CVD apparatus of the present embodiment, the display areas 9A to 9T corresponding to the detection points A to T are provided, the presence or absence of a wafer is represented by the presence or absence of a round outline of the display area, and each display area 9 Since the process is made to correspond to each of the four divided areas 9a to 9d constituting the image and the process progress status of the wafer is displayed in each divided area 9a to 9d by color, the display processing unit 26 includes: For each display area 9, display data of the contour and the four divided areas 9 a to 9 d are created and stored in the display table 27. The processing of the display processing unit 26 will be described in detail later.

  Here, the display table 27 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of a display table 27 corresponding to the situation table 25 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the display table 27 stores the display data created by the display processing means 26 for each display area 9, and “contour”, “ Each display data of “area a”, “area b”, “area c”, “area d” is stored.

  “Contour” designates whether or not to display the contour, and the display processing means 26 refers to “position” of the situation table 25 and displays the display area 9 corresponding to the detection point on the wafer. Display data is created so as to perform contour display. Here, “1” indicates “with contour display” and “0” indicates “without contour display”.

  “Area a” to “Area d” designate display colors in the divided areas 9 a to 9 d, and the display processing means 26 refers to “process status” in the status table 25 to position the wafer. The process status data corresponding to the detection point to be read is read, and each process data of process 1 in “area a”, process 2 in “area b”, process 3 in “area c”, and process 4 in “area d” is supported. Store the displayed color. The display color is set in advance in the display processing unit 26 corresponding to the process status. “In-execution” is yellow, “normal end” is blue, “abnormal end” is red, “halfway end” is green, “No process” is set to be represented in black.

  In the case of the divided area corresponding to the process scheduled to be executed and no outline display, the display color is set to the same color as the background, and the display table 27 stores a blank. Further, by changing the setting contents in the display processing means 26, the display color corresponding to the process status can be freely changed.

  For example, in the display table 27 shown in FIG. 8, as the display data of the display area N, there is a wafer at the detection point N from the situation table 25 of FIG. 6, so that “contour” is “1” and “area a” is the situation. Corresponding to “normal end (OK)” of “P1” in the table 25, “blue”, “area b” corresponding to “running” of “P2” “yellow”, “area c” “P3” “Area” stores “blank”, and “area d” stores “black” corresponding to “no process” of “P4”.

  The display control unit 4 is the same as the conventional one. When a display instruction is received from the display processing unit 26, the display data is read from the display table 27 and output to the display unit 8 (not shown) for display. It has become.

  Next, processing in the position information monitoring unit 21, the process information monitoring unit 24, and the display processing unit 26 will be specifically described. First, processing of the position information monitoring unit 21 of the monitor screen control unit 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the wafer number designation process of the position information monitoring means 21, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the position information writing process of the position information monitoring means 21.

  As described above, when the position information monitoring means 21 receives the wafer carry-in data from the loader monitoring means 10, the position information monitoring means 21 performs the wafer number designation process, and receives the detection point and the detection data from the position detection means 10. Information writing processing is performed. First, wafer number designation processing will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the “wafer loading” data is received from the loader monitoring means 10 (100), the position information monitoring means 21 updates the value n of the wafer number counter 23 with n + 1 (n ← n + 1). ) (102).

  Then, it is determined whether n = 5 (104). If n = 5 is not satisfied (NO), n is stored in “wafer No.” corresponding to “loader” in the position management table 22 (108). Finish the process. If n = 5 in process 104 (YES), n is set to 1 (n ← 1) (106), and the process proceeds to process. Thus, when the wafer number counter 23 counts up to 4, the wafer number counter 23 returns to 1. In this way, the wafer number designation process is performed.

  Next, the position information writing process will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, when the position information monitoring unit 21 receives detection data as position information from the position detection unit 1 and detection data indicating the presence or absence of a corresponding wafer (120), The “previous detection result (previous)” corresponding to the detection point is updated with “current detection result (current)” (122).

  Then, the position information monitoring unit 21 stores the received wafer detection data in “current time” corresponding to the detection point of the position management table 22 (124). Then, it is determined whether or not “current” is “1” (126). If it is not “1” (in the case of NO), the process is terminated. If “current” is “1” (in the case of YES), it is further determined whether or not “previous” is “0” (128), and if “previous” is not “0” (NO) ), The process is terminated.

  In the process 128, when “previous” is “0” (in the case of YES), the position information monitoring means 21 reads “wafer” corresponding to the detection point immediately before the detection point from the position management table 22. "No." is read and the read wafer number is written in "Wafer No." at the detection point (130). Then, “wafer No.” of the previous detection point is set to blank (132), the detection point is written in “position” corresponding to the wafer No. in the status table 25 (134), and display processing means A display data creation instruction is sent to the terminal 26 (136), and the process ends. In this way, the position information writing process in the position information monitoring means 21 is performed.

  Next, processing in the process information monitoring unit 24 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing in the process information monitoring unit 24 of the present embodiment. When the process information monitoring unit 24 receives the process room name and process data as process information from the process monitoring unit 3 (200), the process information monitoring unit 24 receives the process number i (i = i = i) corresponding to the process room name received from the process correspondence table 28. 1 to 4) are read (202), and referring to the "position" of the situation table 25, the wafer number located in the processing chamber is specified (204).

  Then, the received process data is written in the process status “Pi” of the wafer No. (206). That is, any of “in progress”, “normal end”, “abnormal end”, and “intermediate end” is written in any of “P1”, “P2”, “P3”, and “P4” corresponding to the wafer number. Then, a display data creation instruction is sent to the display processing means 26 (208), and the process ends. In this way, the process information monitor 24 is processed.

  Next, processing in the display processing means 26 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing in the display processing means 26. Upon receiving a display data creation instruction from the position information monitoring unit 21 or the process information monitoring unit 24 (300), the display processing unit 26 first reads the top display area from the display table 27 (302). Then, referring to the situation table 25, it is determined whether or not the detection point corresponding to the display area is described in the “position” of the situation table 25 (304).

  If it is described (in the case of YES), the display processing means 26 reads the process statuses “P1”, “P2”, “P3”, “P4” of the wafer located at the detection point from the status table 25. (310) The “contour” of the display area of the display table 27 is set to “1” (312).

  Further, the display processing means 26 displays the process data “P1”, “P2”, “P3”, “P4” read from the status table 25 in “area a” to “area d” of the display area of the display table 27. Is stored (314), and it is determined whether display data has been created for all display areas (320). If all the display areas have not been completed, the process returns to the process 302 and the same process is performed for the next display area. If it is finished, a display instruction is output to the display control unit 4 (322), and the process is finished.

  Further, when the detection point corresponding to the display area is not described in the “position” of the status table 25 in the process 304 (in the case of NO), the “contour” of the display area of the display table 27 is set to “ It is set to “0” (316). Then, the background color is stored in “area a” to “area d” of the display area of the display table 27 (318), and the process proceeds to processing 320. In this way, the processing of the display processing means 26 is performed.

  According to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment and the display method therefor, the monitor screen control unit 2 that controls the monitor screen stores the position and process status of each wafer carried into the apparatus. A situation table 25 is provided, and the position information monitoring means 21 of the monitor screen control unit 2 assigns a unique wafer number to each wafer in the apparatus, monitors the position for each wafer, writes it in the situation table 25, and processes The information monitoring means 24 monitors the process status and writes process data for each wafer in the status table 25, and the display processing means 26 refers to the status table 25 and the presence or absence of a wafer in the display area 9 corresponding to the detection point. If there is a wafer, display data for displaying a color corresponding to the process status of the wafer is created for each of the divided areas 9a to 9d. Therefore, the position of the wafer and the process status of the wafer are monitored in correspondence to each other so that not only the position of the wafer in the apparatus but also the progress of processing of each wafer can be displayed sequentially. Even when the operation is stopped, it is possible to accurately inform the operator of the processing status for each wafer, to prevent the non-defective product from being disposed of, and to improve the yield.

  In the present embodiment (first embodiment), the transfer recipe has been described as one type. Next, as another embodiment (second embodiment), a transfer recipe is prepared for each wafer. The case of changing will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit according to another embodiment. In another embodiment (second embodiment), when a transfer recipe different for each wafer is set for each of about 25 wafers that can be stored in one wafer cassette, the position of the wafer The process status is displayed, and the same display as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is realized.

  Here, it is assumed that three different transfer recipes are set for each wafer, and that there are 25 wafers in the cassette. As shown in FIG. 13, in another embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the present embodiment, a transfer table 29 that associates wafer numbers with transfer recipes, and a position management table 22a corresponding to each transfer recipe, 22b and 22c are provided. A situation table 25 ′ is provided instead of the situation table 25.

  Here, the conveyance table 29, the position management tables 22a to 22c, and the situation table 25 ′, which are characteristic parts of another embodiment, will be described with reference to FIGS. 14, 15, and 16. FIG. FIG. 14 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the transport table 29, FIG. 15 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the position management tables 22a to 22c, and FIG. 16 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of the situation table 25 ′.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the transfer table 29 designates according to which transfer recipe each wafer is transferred for about 25 wafers stored in the wafer cassette. The transfer recipe is stored correspondingly.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the position management tables 22a to 22c are position management tables corresponding to the transfer recipes a, b, and c, respectively, and the position management table of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 22 is the same configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the situation table 25 ′ has substantially the same configuration as the situation table 25 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 6, but in another embodiment, it is applied to all the wafers in the cassette. Since numbers are assigned individually, the position and process status are stored for wafer Nos. 1-25.

  Next, processing of the position information monitoring unit 21 ′ according to another embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing processing when the position information monitoring means 21 ′ receives data from the loader monitoring means 10. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing processing when data is received from the position detection means 1. It is. In another embodiment (second embodiment), when the position information monitoring unit 21 ′ receives data from the loader monitoring unit 10, the position information monitoring unit 21 ′ designates the wafer number as in the first embodiment. As a feature of this embodiment, after that, the transfer recipe of the wafer is read with reference to the transfer table 29, and the position management table 22 corresponding to the transfer recipe is specified. Also, when position information is received from the position detection means 1, the position management table 22 is specified and then the wafer position information is written.

  As shown in FIG. 17, when the “wafer loading” data is received from the loader monitoring means 10 (400), the position information monitoring means 21 ′ sets the value n of the wafer number counter 23 to n + 1 (402). . Then, the transfer recipe corresponding to the wafer No. n is read from the transfer table 29 (404), the position management table 22 corresponding to the read transfer recipe is specified (406), and the “loader” of the position management table 22 is specified. As the corresponding “wafer No.”, wafer No. n is written (408), and the process is terminated.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 18, when the detection point and the detection data are received from the position detection means 1 (500), the position information monitoring means 21 ′ “previous” corresponding to the detection point in the position management tables 22a to 22c. Is updated with “this time” (502). Then, it is determined whether the detected data is “0” or “1” (504). If it is “0”, “0” is stored in “current” (506), and the process is terminated.

  If the detected data is “1” in the process 504, the position information monitoring unit 21 ′ indicates that the “current” of the detection point or the previous detection point in the position management tables 22 a to 22 c is “1”. The position management table 22 is selected (510). Then, “1” is stored in “current” corresponding to the detected point in the selected position management table 22 (512), and “0” is stored in “current” corresponding to the detected point in the other position management table 22. Store (514).

  Then, it is determined whether “previous” corresponding to the detected point in the selected position management table 22 is “0” or “1” (516). If “1”, the process is terminated. If it is “0”, the “wafer No.” of the previous detection point is read in the selected position management table 22 and written to the “wafer No.” of the detection point (518). The “wafer No.” of the detection point is set to blank (520).

  Then, the detection point is written in the “position” corresponding to the wafer number in the status table 25 ′ (522), and a display data creation instruction is sent to the display processing means 26 (524). In this way, the processing of the position detecting means 21 'according to another embodiment is performed.

  According to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the display method therefor according to another embodiment (second embodiment), the transfer table 29 designating the transfer recipe for each wafer and the wafer position information for each transfer recipe are stored. Position management tables 22a to 22c and a situation table 25 'for storing position information and process status for each wafer number are provided, and the position and process status of each wafer are monitored. Even when a recipe is set, the process progress status for each wafer can be displayed, and the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

  The present invention displays the presence / absence of a wafer inside the apparatus and the process progress of the wafer, and even when the apparatus is stopped, the operator can be informed of the wafer processing status accurately. This is suitable for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus capable of preventing the above-described problems and improving the yield.

  1 ... position detection means, 2 ... monitor screen control unit, 3 ... process monitoring unit, 4 ... display control unit, 5 ... cassette chamber, 6 ... reactor, 7 .. .. Transport chamber, 8 ... Display section, 9 ... Display area, 10 ... Loader monitoring means, 13 ... Cassette loader, 14 ... Cassette elevator, 15 ... Cooling chamber, 21 .. Position information monitoring means, 22 ... Position management table, 23 ... Wafer number counter, 24 ... Process information monitoring means, 25 ... Status table, 26 ... Display processing means, 27 .. Display table 28 ... Process correspondence table 29 ... Transport table 31-34 ... Process monitoring means 71 ... CC arm 72 ... PC arm 73 ... Storage cassette 74 ... Alignment unit

Claims (8)

On a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for processing and a transfer chamber,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image viewed from above is drawn, a plurality of display areas are provided inside the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image, and the position of the wafer is displayed by the outline of the display area for each display area. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which displays a process progress status in color. On a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for processing and a transfer chamber,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image viewed from above is drawn, a plurality of display areas are provided in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image, the position of the wafer is displayed by the outline of the display area for each display area, and the presence or absence of the wafer A display method of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, characterized by displaying a process progress status in color. On a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for processing and a transfer chamber,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image viewed from above is drawn, a plurality of display areas are provided inside the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image, and the presence / absence of a wafer and the process progress of the wafer are displayed in color for each display area. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment. On a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for processing and a transfer chamber,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image viewed from above is drawn, a plurality of display areas are provided in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus image, and the presence / absence of a wafer and the process progress of the wafer are displayed in color for each display area. A display method for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. On a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for processing and a transfer chamber,
2. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of display areas, wherein the position of a wafer is displayed by the outline of the display area for each display area, and the process progress of the wafer is displayed in color. On a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for processing and a transfer chamber,
A display method for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of display areas; a wafer position is displayed for each display area by an outline of the display area; and a process progress status of the wafer is displayed in color. On a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for processing and a transfer chamber,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising a plurality of display areas, and displaying the presence / absence of a wafer and the process progress of the wafer in color for each display area. On a monitor screen of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including at least a process chamber for processing and a transfer chamber,
A display method for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of display areas; and the presence / absence of a wafer and the process progress of the wafer are displayed in color for each display area.

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