JP3275968B2 - Equipment control method in production line - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus control method for a production line having a cell controller for controlling a plurality of apparatuses in a production line, and more particularly, to a plurality of production apparatuses in a production line for producing an integrated circuit or the like. The present invention relates to an apparatus control method in a production line in which a method of configuring an apparatus control program as an apparatus control means in a cell controller for controlling an inspection apparatus is improved.
Generally, each device connected to the cell controller has different communication control specifications (protocol used for communication, data format of message, device control procedure). As described above, it is necessary to efficiently develop a control device program for uniformly controlling a group of devices having different communication control specifications and device control procedures.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, interest in automation of various production lines has increased, and systems for controlling production lines by computer control have been put into practical use. For example, the automation of LSI manufacturing lines has been reported at the International Conference on Automated IC Manufacturing sponsored by the US Electrochemical Society [ECS Fall Meeting. Vol.88-2, p566 (198
8)]. FIG. 4 shows the configuration. In the figure, one computer at a factory control level executes scheduling and controls each individual device. A device control computer at a cell control level (the area computer and the transfer control computer in the diagram, hereinafter simply referred to as a cell controller) Call). The cell controller controls each device and collects data based on this information. For example, in an integrated circuit manufacturing system, exposure and development, heat treatment, film formation, etching,
A cell controller is provided for each process such as inspection, and controls and processes of the same type of device in the block are performed. Control in each device connected below the cell controller is executed by a control program of each device (hereinafter, referred to as an in-device program).

On the other hand, for communication between an in-apparatus program and an apparatus control program, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus communication standard (S) is used.
(ECS) is published as an industry standard. This standard is an SEC that defines hardware and communication protocols.
Sl and SECSll that specifies the data format and function of the communication message. However, since SECSll is a loose standard, commercially available devices have different usages of communication messages (selection of message type, format, etc.) and control procedures for each device, and also have differences in the number of messages that can be transmitted and received. For example, there is an apparatus which cannot transmit a notification such as completion of wafer loading and start of wafer processing as a message from the apparatus. Further, even if the message can be transmitted, the “device status” of S1, S5
There is an apparatus that uses the “exception notification” of “No.” or “collected data” of S6 by interpreting it as a part of processing data. Further, as for the data format to be transmitted and received as a message, some devices define current, voltage, and the like as data items for each data, and set such a plurality of data as one data item. Some devices are available. In the latter case, since each piece of data is connected, the necessary data cannot be directly extracted from the data item, and the data must be decomposed. A device that outputs only the processing data to the RS232C port (SEC)
Various devices that do not conform to the SECS standard, such as devices that do not conform to the Sll message standard) and devices that use a LAN such as Ethernet, are used. Further, there is a case where there is no communication interface and it is desired to store the processing data stored in the floppy disk in the database.

[0004]

As described above, since the communication control specifications with the devices to be connected are various, the device control program in the cell controller for controlling these devices is required to have the communication control specifications and control procedures for each device. However, there is a problem that it takes time and effort to develop a program because it is necessary to individually produce the program so as to meet the requirements.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above,
An object of the present invention is to provide a device control method in a manufacturing line that simplifies development of control means for various types of devices having different communication specifications, control procedures, and the like, and facilitates addition of new devices.

Another object of the present invention is to improve the operation rate of the entire manufacturing line by quickly changing the connection relationship between a cell controller and a device due to a layout change or a cell controller failure. An object of the present invention is to provide a device control method in a line.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus control method in a production line according to the present invention is an apparatus control method in a production line having a cell controller for controlling a plurality of apparatuses in the production line, The cell controller has device control means, which communicates with the host computer and other cell controllers .
And trust, management of the progress of the reception and processing of schedule information
Report and process data items sent from each device
Select and convert the format and store it in the database
A common device control means for performing a common process in each cell controller includes processing for, a different message for each device instrumentation
Control and data collection by assembling and interpreting according to
To report the progress to the common device control means. The individual device control means and the conversion of the communication data format between the device control means and the individual device control means in each device and the communication of the data are performed. Communication control means for performing the communication.

[0008]

According to the device control method in the production line of the present invention, when the communication control specification of each device is different from the standard specification, a communication control program conforming to the specification is started, and the communication data from the device is transferred to the standard format (integrated). In the circuit manufacturing line, the data format of SECSll is standard). For this reason, the upper individual device control means can transmit and receive data in a standard data format regardless of the difference in communication control specifications. Therefore, the interpretation (extraction of control parameters) of different messages for each device, the assembly, and the creation of a control procedure using these control parameters are facilitated, and the development of a device control program in the cell controller corresponding to each device. Can be performed efficiently. Further, in the case of connection change or addition of a new device, it is easy to carry out since only the individual device control means needs to be changed (added).

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a cell controller used for an apparatus control method in a production line according to an embodiment of the present invention. In general, a production line has a number of cell controllers as shown in FIG. 1, each of which controls a plurality of different devices. In FIG. 1, a cell controller 2 is connected to a host computer 3 and also to a plurality of devices 5 to be controlled.

The cell controller 2 has a device control program 7. The device control program 7 includes: (1) a common device that executes common processing in each cell controller, such as a communication process with a scheduler or another cell controller. A control program 13; (2) a plurality of individual device control programs 15 for extracting parameters from communication messages different for each device and implementing a control procedure; and (3) communicating with each device 5 and changing its data format. It is composed of three layers of a plurality of communication control programs 17 to be converted into a standard format. In the example shown in the figure, in addition to the device control program 7 , the cell controller 2 includes a database 9 and a user interface program 11. The former accumulates the processing result data of each device, and the latter displays the processing result / progress status and control commands (processing start command,
(Processing stop instruction, etc.).

A common device control program 13 , which is a device control program at the highest level of the three layers, is activated by one cell controller, communicates with the host, receives schedule information, and manages and reports the progress of wafer processing. In addition to this, it stores processing result data in the database 9 and performs communication processing with the user interface program 11. The common device control program 13 controls the plurality of devices 5 via the individual device control programs 15 of the devices connected to the own cell controller. The device connected to the own cell controller is identified by referring to a unique number (or name) defined in the database and a correspondence table (device connection relation table) of the connected cell controller.

The common device control program 13 can manage a plurality of devices in common by specifying a communication partner and creating a management table for each device. As an example, the following describes how to manage the progress and how to store data in the database.

The schedule information sent from the scheduler is classified and stored for each device number in the above-described device connection relation table, and manages the processing order (or the scheduled processing start time). The progress of the wafer processing is managed by using this schedule information and setting a flag at the end of each processing to manage the current situation. At this time, if the results are reported not only for the end of all the processes but also for each process such as the end of wafer loading and the start of the wafer process, a table for managing the progress is prepared in accordance with the results. Each time a flag is set in the corresponding column, detailed progress management can be performed. When each device is controlled via the individual device control program 15, such as when the device is started, a control command is issued to the individual device control program 15 corresponding to the device number.

In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, various processes such as film formation, exposure, etching, and inspection are performed. Therefore, the contents of the processing results collected differ depending on the device. For example,
The film forming apparatus collects data such as the processing temperature, the type of gas used, and the gas flow rate, and the exposure apparatus collects data such as exposure time, light intensity, and drawing position. On the other hand, in the inspection in the course of manufacturing, the distribution of the thickness of the formed film, the size of the formed pattern, the amount and distribution of dust, and the like are measured. In the final stage, its electrical characteristics (leak, operation time, etc.) are measured. When these data are stored in the database, the data items to be collected differ from device to device as described above. When a physical quantity such as a temperature is transmitted from the device 5 to the device control program 7, some devices transmit the data as real number data, and some devices transmit the data as a character string using an ASCll code. As described above, the data format (the distinction between the character type and the integer type and the number of digits) may be different from the format stored in the database. Therefore, from the processing data transmitted from the device as follows,
Select the data item, convert the format, and store the data in the database.

First, a data format definition file indicating the structure of data sent from a device is registered in advance for each device. In this file, each data item and its data format are registered. On the other hand, data to be stored in the database, its format, and a storage data definition file that specifies which data item in the data format definition file corresponds to the data are separately registered. At this time, the format of each data may be different from the format sent from the device. For example, the temperature and the like are sent from the device in the form of characters, but it is possible to register such that it is stored in the database in the form of real numbers. By doing so, the conversion process can be omitted when data is later taken out and statistically processed. Also, in the specification of the storage data definition file, not all data sent from the device is necessarily stored, and data can be selected. Next, during actual wafer processing, data is stored in the following procedure. The data sent from the device at the end of wafer processing is
A data file is created at a predetermined location for each device, and the data file is reported to the common device control program. The common device control program receives the data file, decomposes and interprets the data in the data file with reference to the data format definition file, and stores the data in the database with reference to the format file. In this way, the processing by the supply control program can be commonly performed regardless of the structure of data from the device.

Before describing the individual device control program 15, the communication control program 17 will be described. In a communication control program, a program in each device and a higher-level device control program (individual device control program) can communicate in a standard data format (SECSII which is a standard communication standard in the case of an integrated circuit manufacturing device). Performs communication processing including data format conversion. According to the communication control specification of each device, a corresponding program is selected from a plurality of communication control programs 17 shown below, and communication parameters (port number, device ID , port rate, timeout value, number of retries, etc.) are set. To start. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the communication control program 17 corresponding to various communication control specifications.

FIG. 2A shows the case of the standard communication control specification. One device is connected to the input / output port of the cell controller 2 by one cable, and communication between a control program in the device and an individual device control program is performed one-to-one.

FIG. 2B shows a case where one computer controls a plurality of devices of the same type and information of these devices is communicated on one line. The communication control program 17 refers to the device ID information included in the message and controls the destination so as to allocate the message to the corresponding individual device control program 15 (and vice versa). Therefore,
One communication control program 17 communicates with a plurality of individual device control programs 15 and the same number of devices 5 .

FIG. 2C shows a case where data is transmitted in a data format that does not conform to the standard communication control specifications. Only data is in a format that does not conform to the SECSll standard, and RS232
A device that outputs to the C port corresponds to this. In such a case, the communication control program 17 performs structuring of data and addition of a header portion so as to conform to the SECSll standard. In the data format conversion, the data structure sent from the device side and the data structure sent to the individual device control program 15 after the conversion are registered in advance using the definition files 21 and 23 as shown in FIG.
The communication control program 17 interprets and converts each data with reference to this definition file. If you do this,
The same communication control program can be used by changing (or specifying at the time of startup) the definition file for communication with a plurality of devices using the same hardware but different data contents.

FIG. 3A shows a case in which there is no interface for directly transmitting data or the like from the apparatus, and data once stored in a floppy is transmitted to a database. A personal computer or the like is used as a virtual device.
Communicates with The communication control program 17 reads the device data on the floppy, adds and structures a header portion to conform to a standard data format (SECSll standard), and performs communication.

Also in this case, the same communication control program can be used for communication with a plurality of devices having different data contents by using a definition file as in FIG. 2C.

FIG. 3B shows a case where a network such as MAP or Ethernet is used for communication with the apparatus. In the communication control program 17, after receiving data in accordance with the protocol of each network, a standard data format (S
It is converted to conform to the ECSll standard). Also in this case, by using the definition file as in FIG. 2C, the same communication control program can be used for communication with a plurality of devices having different data contents.

When a plurality of types of networks are used, a communication control program corresponding to each type of network is required.

FIG. 3C shows inspection result data such as length measurement,
This is a case where the amount of data to be transferred using the network is enormous, such as exposure data of EB. In this case,
It takes time and communication time to structure and transmit all data in accordance with the SECSll standard. For this reason, the name of the data file to be transmitted is transmitted by SECSll (upper column in the figure), and the file itself is transmitted by another data transfer method such as file transfer (lower column in the figure). Data transfer can be performed efficiently. Here, in the drawing, the two use the same type of network, but different networks may be used for the latter using dedicated high-speed transmission lines.

In this case, since the description has been made assuming the production line of the integrated circuit, the standard standard SECS is used.
Is described as a standard communication control specification. However, it goes without saying that other standard hardware and message formats may be used.

As described above, the communication control program is independently formed into a hierarchical structure, and the data format of the communication message from the device control program is set to a standard specification (for example, SECS II).
Standard). Therefore, the upper device control program in the cell controller can perform communication with the device in a standard data format regardless of the difference in the communication control specification. At this time, the message content (type of control parameter, data structure, etc.) of each device differs for each device. Therefore, interpretation (extraction of control parameters), execution of control procedures, assembly of control commands, and the like are executed by the individual device control program.

The individual device control program assembles and interprets different messages for each device according to the device, controls the device and collects data, and reports the progress to the common control program. That is, device information such as device status and processing data is extracted from the message sent via the communication control program, and the status of the device is recognized. When the status change is reported from the device or when the device status is confirmed by a request from the common device control program, the individual control program reports the recognized status of the device to the common control program. The notification from the individual device control program to the common device control program uses a common data format for each device, and the difference between the devices is recognized by describing the device number (or name) in the notification.

Further, the individual device control program grasps the state of the device and controls one device by one program according to a predetermined device control procedure based on a processing start command from the common device control program ( Execution of wafer processing). This device control procedure differs for each device. When a message is received from the common device control program or the in-device program, what to process and what to respond is defined for each message.

As described above, since the common device control program and the communication control program are common to each cell controller, device connection changes (from one computer to another computer) due to layout changes, cell controller failures, etc. In this case, the connection can be easily changed because only the individual device control program needs to be transferred.

In FIG. 1, all three-level device control programs are described as being in the same cell controller. However, only the communication control program, or
Even if the individual device control program and the communication control program are placed as separate units near the device and communicate with each other using a network, the device control program can be efficiently developed in the same manner as the method of the present invention. it can.

[0032] As described above, according to the present invention, to floors <br/> layered device control means of the apparatus control cell controller 3. If the communication control specification is different from the standard, the lowermost layer communication control means automatically converts the communication content to the standard data format, so that the upper individual device control means is independent of the difference in the communication control specification, Communication with the control means in the apparatus can be performed in a standard data format. For this reason,
Items necessary for developing control programs for various types of devices having different communication control specifications and control procedures are to extract control parameters from communication messages and execute the control procedures in the individual control means. Thus, the communication control part and the common control part are removed from the individual control means, and
Since the communication control means and the common device control means can be used in common for controlling a plurality of devices, the overall program development fee can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a cell controller used for an apparatus control method in a production line according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a communication control program used in the cell controller shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a communication control program used in the cell controller shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an LSI production system using a conventional cell controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cell controller 3 Host computer 5 Device 7 Device control program 13 Common device control program 15 Individual device control program 17 Communication control program

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G05B 15/00-15/02 H04Q 9/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An apparatus control method in a production line having a cell controller for controlling a plurality of apparatuses in a production line, wherein the cell controller has an apparatus control means, and the apparatus control means includes a host computer and other devices . communicates with the cell controller, vinegar
Manages the progress of receiving and processing schedule information.
Select the processing data items sent from each device
Process to convert the format and store it in the database
Common device control means and the assembly in accordance with the device a different message for each device to perform the common processing in the cell controller including a physical, solutions
Control the device and collect data, and monitor the progress
Individual device control means for reporting to the common device control means, communication between the device control means and the individual device control means in each device Communication control means for converting the data format and communicating the data , An apparatus control method in a production line, comprising: 2. The communication control device according to claim 1, further comprising: means for performing communication according to a standard communication control specification; and, when communicating information with a plurality of devices through one line, controlling each individual device from a device identification number of each device. Means for allocating a message to a means, or determining the destination to perform the reverse processing, and controlling the communication protocol and data when the communication control specifications of the device do not conform to the standard specifications. A device that interprets and converts data to conform to the standard data format, and temporarily stores information on a floppy disk in the device and then connects to the cell controller in a device that does not have an interface to directly transmit data etc. to the cell controller It has been a computer or the like is regarded as a virtual manufacturing device, and means for supporting the communication between the said device and the individual device control means Select the one that meets the communication specification of each device from a number of means, the device control system in a production line of claim 1, wherein the communication by setting parameters.