JPH06268043A - Reticle arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To avoid idle condition of an exposing apparatus due to the waiting for arrangement of reticle by carrying the reticle out of the reticle accommodation shelf and then arranging them in the timing synchronized with start of the exposing operation. CONSTITUTION:When working is started or completed in each working process, such start and completion message is reported to a host computer from an input/output termina cn via a communication line (b). In this timing, the host computer(a) judges whether it is a process which requires preparation of reticle or not from the forecasted arriving time of fabrication lot and the forecasted arriving time of reticle. If it is judged as the process to prepare for reticle, a reticle outgoing instruction is notified to the reticle accommodation shelf e1 or e2 connected through the communication line (b), input/output terminal c1 or c2. The reticle accommodation shelf e1 or e2 output the relevant reticle and arranges it to an exposing apparatus for the fabrication lot. Thereby, waiting condition of reticle can be eliminated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reticle setting method in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional distribution method, an operator searches for a reticle to be delivered from an input / output terminal connected to a host computer at a specific time interval regardless of the progress of the manufacturing lot, The reticle to be processed was put out from the storage shelf and delivered to the exposure apparatus for processing the manufacturing lot.

[0003]

An exposure apparatus in a semiconductor device production line requires the use of different reticles as members for each product type, and in recent years it has become more prominent in custom-oriented small-quantity production to achieve multiple product types. Are forced to change their reticles frequently. If the reticle cannot be prepared even when the manufacturing lot arrives at the exposure apparatus, the apparatus becomes empty and the operation rate of the exposure apparatus decreases.

In the conventional servicing method, since the progress of the manufacturing lot and the reticle search / conveyance work of the operator are asynchronous, in some cases, the reticle serving is delayed even though the manufacturing lot arrives at the apparatus. There was a problem that the device was emptied.

Further, when the automation in the factory progresses and one worker is to perform a plurality of tasks, the frequency of reticle search / serving work is reduced due to man-hours. There was a problem that it would not be possible without processing many reticles in the search / serving work, and it would become more and more difficult to meet the arrival timing of the reticle with the manufacturing lot.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems At each work step of a manufacturing lot, a report is sent from an input / output terminal to a host computer at the time of starting and completing the work, and at that timing, the expected arrival time of the manufacturing lot to the exposure apparatus and the reticle By comparing with the expected arrival time to the exposure device, it is determined whether or not the reticle is to be ejected from the storage shelf.If the reticle is to be ejected, the reticle delivery instruction is transmitted to the storage shelf and the reticle is ejected from the storage shelf. Means for arranging the exposure apparatus are provided.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the outline of a reticle serving system used in the method of one embodiment according to the present invention. A host computer a that manages the entire production line of the factory is connected to the input / output terminals c1, c2, ... cn via a communication line b. The input / output terminals c1 and c2 are connected to the communication lines d1 and d2.
Is connected to the reticle storage shelves e1 and e2 via.

FIG. 2 is an example of a timing chart of the reticle serving method according to the present invention. The upper stage shows the manufacturing process of the manufacturing lot, and the middle stage and the lower stage show the movement of the lot and the reticle, respectively. These will be described in time series. The manufacturing lot proceeds according to the defined process sequence as shown in the upper part of FIG. 2, but at the start and end of the work in each work process, the input / output terminals connected via the communication line b in FIG. cn reports this to the host computer a. At that timing, the host computer a determines whether or not the process should prepare the reticle based on the expected arrival time of the manufacturing lot and the expected arrival time of the reticle, and determines that the reticle should be prepared. Communication line b, input / output terminal c1
Or reticle storage shelves e1 or e connected via c2
The reticle storage shelf e1
Alternatively, at e2, the reticle is unloaded and the reticle is placed in the exposure apparatus where the manufacturing lot processes.

[0009]

As described above, according to the present invention, the reticle used as a member during the exposure operation of the manufacturing lot is put out and arranged from the reticle storage shelf at the timing when the exposure operation is started, thereby waiting for the reticle to be set. It is possible to avoid the vacancy of the exposure apparatus due to, and thus improve the operation rate of the exposure apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a reticle serving system used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart of the reticle serving system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

a Host computer that manages the entire production line of the factory b Communication line that connects the host computer and the input / output terminal c1, c2 ... cn Input / output terminal d1, d2 Connection between the input / output terminal and the reticle storage shelf Communication line e1, e2 Reticle storage shelf

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location H01L 21/027

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A host computer for managing the entire production line, an input / output terminal connected to the host computer via a communication line, and a reticle storage shelf connected to the input / output terminal via the communication line. In the reticle distribution method used in semiconductor device manufacturing, the I / O terminal reports to the host computer at the start and end of each work step of the manufacturing lot, and the expected arrival time of the manufacturing lot to the exposure equipment Compare with the expected arrival time of the reticle to the exposure device,
A reticle serving method characterized by determining whether or not the reticle is to be delivered from the storage shelf, transmitting a reticle delivery instruction to the storage shelf when delivering, and delivering the reticle from the storage shelf to the exposure device. .