JPH096409A - Production line control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To attain man-hour saving by the improvement of a production efficiency and the reduction in an additional job of an operator by collecting an installation requiring the operation of the operator and an installation having provision for automation into one area and managing them by the control system. CONSTITUTION: The system is composed of a preserving installation 102 having a reception and discharge mechanism storing tentatively a processed object being a semi-product, a manufacture installation 104 processing automatically the processed object, a manual operation installation requiring the worker such as a check installation 106, a transportation installation 103 for the processed object, a reception discharge installation 105 conducting reception and discharge of the processed object between the operator and the transportation installation 103, and a controller 101 connected to all the installations via a network. Then the installation requiring the operation of the operator and the installation enable to cope with automation are collected in one area and the controller 101 acquires the process of the processed object in the preserving installation, the processable installation and the processing conditions from a host system. The transportation installation 103 transports the processed object automatically up to the automation equipment based on the information, carried up to the reception discharge installation 105 in the non-automation installation and then delivered to the operator.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automated control system for a production line in which facilities requiring workers during processing and facilities compatible with automation coexist.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Automation in a production line is disclosed in JP-A-3-
As disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 245957, manufacturing facilities and transportation have been actively promoted for the purpose of labor saving by improving work efficiency and throughput. But,
Some production processes require workers, which is an obstacle to the automation of production lines. For example, inspection work includes sensory inspection such as visual inspection. Although the work frequency is lower than that of product processing, inspection work is required to maintain product quality. Further, the determination of the inspection may require not only the management based on the standard value but also the determination based on the situation of the inspection result up to the previous time. In this way, when automation is performed for a line where there are processes that are difficult to promote in terms of technology and investment as represented by inspection work, the work area and automation of processes that require manual work The equipment area to be used is separated in the line, and manual work has been realized as an object of automation.

[0003]

A flow shop typified by a conveyor line has a simple transport mechanism and control, and is easy to automate. However, as described above, in the job shop production mode having a process in which there is a work using equipment that is not automated or equipment with a low level of automation, products of high-mix low-volume production are handled. With such lines, the flow of products is complicated, and the challenge is to build an efficient automated line.

Further, since the inspection work and the like are not completed only by the inspection work such as grasping the processing state of the manufacturing equipment and reflecting the result of the inspection result on the manufacturing equipment by changing the processing condition, the work accompanying the inspection is attached. Another challenge is to improve efficiency through automation.

Further, it is necessary to provide an automated line that can flexibly change the system without major modification of the control device, even when the facility that is low in automation and cannot be installed in the automated line is replaced with a highly automated facility. .

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] Storage means having a receiving and receiving mechanism for temporarily storing a semi-finished product to be processed, a manufacturing means section for processing the product to be processed, and an operator to operate the product to be processed. A processing means section for processing, a carrying means section for carrying the object to be processed, a delivery means section for delivering the object to be processed between an operator and the carrying mechanism, and all these means are connected by a network. Use automated equipment that is configured by the control means part that is present, equipment that is not automated, or equipment that has a low level of automation.

[0007]

[Function] The equipment that requires operator's operation and the equipment that can be automated are collected in one area, and the control device acquires the process, processable equipment, and processing conditions of the object in the storage equipment from the host system. To do. Based on this information, the automation equipment automatically transports it at the transport facility. The non-automated equipment is transported to the transfer equipment by the transfer equipment, and from there, it is handed over to the workers and the non-automated equipment is started.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a line configuration which is an embodiment.

1 is a production line having a job shop production system in which a group of production facilities for performing the same type of processing is put together (hereinafter, referred to as a production line).
It is called a bay). The bay 1 is a storage facility 102 having a delivery mechanism for temporarily storing a plurality of objects to be processed that have been brought in from other than the bay 1 or are being processed in the bay 1 or have been processed, and one or more processes are provided in the bay. There are a plurality of manufacturing equipments 104 for processing the object, a transfer mechanism 103 for transferring the object to be processed between the storage equipments 102 and the manufacturing equipments 104, a manual work equipment 106 requiring an operator such as an inspection equipment, and a transfer equipment with the operator. A transfer facility 105 for transferring the processed object to and from the mechanism is arranged, and further, tracking of the processed object existing in the bay, which is connected to these by a network, and status management and operation instructions of the manufacturing facility 104, the transport mechanism 103 and the like are performed. It is composed of a control device 101 that operates in real time.

Further, the control device 1 uses a network to
It is connected to a progress management system that manages the progress of the process of the object to be processed in the line, and a manufacturing condition system 108 that manages the instructions of the equipment that can be processed in the processing step and the manufacturing conditions in the equipment. Information on the object to be processed managed in the bay 1 is acquired from these systems.

A semiconductor line will be specifically described below as an example. The semiconductor line uses a production system that collects manufacturing equipment that performs the same type of processing such as photolithography, CVD (chemical vapor deposition), etching, and oxidation diffusion in bay units.

Further description will be given by taking a bay in which photolithography processing is performed as an example. In a semiconductor pre-process production line, a carrier cassette stores a plurality of thin film-formed silicon wafers, which are objects to be processed, to form one transfer unit (hereinafter referred to as a lot). There is a manufacturing facility in which coating, photosensitization, and development processes are performed in the manufacturing facility to form a circuit pattern. It is possible to store a plurality of reticles that are the basis of the circuit pattern in the photosensitive equipment, and different equipment and processes can be processed by one equipment. Then, after the processing is completed, in order to confirm whether the circuit pattern is printed according to the standard, a dimension inspection of the pattern line width, an inspection to confirm that the deviation between the pattern and the underlying film is within the allowable value, There is a visual inspection to inspect for defects and the like. Particularly in the visual inspection, the operator visually confirms defects on the wafer surface with a metallurgical microscope, so it is very difficult to automate the inspection equipment and incorporate the inspection work into the automation line.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, according to the control system of the present invention, it is possible to realize a line configuration in which automation in the photolithography bay and work requiring an operator coexist.

The control system of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the photolithography bay. An automated manufacturing facility 104 is arranged in the bay, and the lot is transported by the transport facility 103. The non-automated facility 106 is provided in an area different from the automated facility 104, and exchanges lots with the transfer facility 103 via the transfer device 105. Normally, an unmanned guided vehicle (AGV) with a manipulator is used as the carrier, and if the work in the non-automated facility 106 that requires manual work is in the traveling area of the carrier or the wafer carrier handling area, It is difficult to ensure safety, but by dividing the area as in the present invention, the worker and the transportation facility are physically separated, and a safe working environment can be realized.

From a bay other than the bay 1, lots are loaded into the storage facility 102 by an automatic transport facility or an operator.
At the time of delivery, the storage facility 102 automatically recognizes the lot ID of the lot and reports it to the control device 101 via the network. The control device 101 uses the lot ID as a key to acquire from the progress management system 107 the product type code relating to the lot, the current work-in-progress process code, and some process codes to be processed in the bay 1 (see FIG. 3). . Further, from the manufacturing condition system, several processable manufacturing facility codes corresponding to the process to be processed in the bay acquired from the progress management system 107 and their manufacturing conditions are acquired.

The control unit 101 uses this information and the state information of the equipment in the bay acquired via the network and the storage equipment 1
The production schedule in the bay is calculated from the lot and the state in 02 or the state of the lot in the manufacturing facility 104, or the lot in the storage facility 102 is based on the production plan planned by the line operator. It processes sequentially.

Based on the plan, when it is decided to process a lot of a certain process 1, one of the manufacturing facilities 104a to 104c capable of processing the process 1 is in the state of waiting for a product or in the process but is the earliest. Manufacturing equipment 10 that can start construction
Select 4a. Then, the storage facility 102 issues a lot transport instruction to the production facility 104a to the transport facility 103, and the lot is automatically transported. When the lot is put into the manufacturing equipment 104a, the control device 101 instructs the manufacturing equipment 104a on-line via the network the manufacturing conditions acquired from the manufacturing condition system 108.

When the manufacturing apparatus 104a completes the processing, the actual processing data is reported online from the manufacturing equipment 104a to the control apparatus 101, and the progress management system 107 is also used.
Also reported to the controller 101 and the progress management system 104.
Update lot tracking information. Then, the work-in-process shifts to the next step 2.

Then, a case where the step 2 is a work by an operator such as an inspection as shown in FIG. 3 will be described below.

In the case of an automated manufacturing facility, a transportation instruction may be issued to the transportation facility 103 using the facility code acquired from the manufacturing condition system 108. However, those requiring a complete operator's operation such as a metal microscope for visual inspection of the surface of the wafer, and communication through a network that allows some automation but cannot be transferred to the transfer facility 103. In the case of equipment and the like, these equipment groups are collected in the worker area 109. Lots are transferred between the transfer facility 103 and the worker 110 via the transfer facility 105. At this time, the equipment code of the equipment in the worker area 109 is the equipment code of the delivery equipment 105.
Register at 08. As a result, the control device 101 can issue a transfer instruction to the transfer facility 105 to the transfer facility 103.

In addition, the equipment 106 in the worker area 109
Even if “a” is changed to automation-compatible equipment, the equipment code of the manufacturing condition system 108 is transferred to the equipment 105.
It is possible to realize a flexible automation line that does not need to change any software in the control device 101 simply by changing from the equipment to the equipment 106a.

Next, the work in the photolithography bay will be concretely described by using the non-automated equipment.

In the photolithography process, a uniform thin photosensitive film (photoresist) is applied and formed on the surface of the wafer by a coating device, and an exposure device causes laser light to pass through a reticle on which a circuit pattern has been drawn to the photosensitive film on the wafer. Irradiate. At this time, the portion corresponding to the pattern on the reticle becomes a shadow on the wafer and is not irradiated with the laser beam, so that the photosensitive film does not chemically change, but other portions chemically change. Further, the developing device dissolves and removes the photosensitive film in the portion where the chemical change has occurred, thereby forming a circuit pattern on the wafer.

The circuit pattern is, for example, 16 megabit DR
In AM, the pattern width is very small, about 0.5 μm, so when laser light is irradiated, the line width is widened due to the deviation from the pattern formed before the photolithography process, the defocus, and the photoresist. Insufficient photosensitivity may occur due to variations in thickness and photosensitivity, which is one of the causes of deterioration of product characteristics and reduction of yield. In order to prevent this, a series of work called a preceding work described below is usually performed to process the lot.

Before processing all the wafers of the lot to be processed, a pattern is formed only on the first wafer of the lot, and the line width of the pattern and the deviation from the underlying film are checked by a scanning electron microscope or a metallographic microscope. Take a measurement. If it is confirmed that the wafers are normally processed, all the remaining wafers in the lot are processed, but if a deviation occurs, the wafer position (offset value) and the exposure time are finely adjusted. Then, the second and third wafers are processed until the line width and the deviation are within the standard value, and when the line width and the deviation are within the standard value, all the wafers are processed. In addition, defects such as uneven coating of photoresist and defects caused by foreign substances attached during processing are extracted by a metallurgical microscope after all wafers are processed. Inspection using a scanning electron microscope or a metallurgical microscope has a strong sense of sensory inspection, and it is difficult to automate with the current technology, and it is a manual operation.

A facility status display device and a worker input device are installed in the delivery facility 105. By displaying the equipment state information in the bay 1 managed by the control device 101 on the equipment state display device, it becomes possible for a worker to grasp the equipment state of the automation line without the worker having to go to the equipment. For example, in determining the result of inspecting the dimensions in the preceding work described above, the exposure time and the offset value of the manufacturing equipment can be confirmed by the equipment status display device from the manufacturing equipment via the network. Then, the exposure time and the offset value of the inspection result equipment are transferred and input from the input device installed in the equipment 105, and the data of the processing condition of the corresponding manufacturing equipment is changed by the remote command. Further, by performing the inspection result from the input device, it is possible to transfer the input device from the input device to the higher-level system through the control device 101 even in an off-line facility, and all the work can be performed at the delivery facility, which improves work efficiency. Greatly improved. In addition, it is possible to contribute to the paperless production of the factory line, and further there is an effect of reducing work mistakes.

Further, similar operations include, for example, many semiconductor manufacturing processes such as measurement of oxide film thickness in an oxidation process for forming an oxide film on a wafer and reflectance measurement in a sputtering process for forming a metal film. The method of this embodiment is applicable.

As described above, the work related to the automation line can be collected and collected in the equipment 105, and the work incidental to the inspection work can be reduced, leading to labor saving.

From the transfer facility 105, information on the work in process in the work area where the worker performs inspection work and the like is sent to the host via the network. Therefore, when planning the construction schedule in bay 1 with the control device,
When the operator in the worker area 109 receives an instruction, or when the preset maximum in-process set value is reached or predicted, the worker area 10 is newly set.
It is also possible to change the scheduling so as to preferentially process other processes in which the lot is not transported by the transport facility 103.

For example, when there are lots processed in a plurality of process flows in the bay 1, and when the in-process maximum value of the worker area 110 is reached, the process flow that does not pass through the worker area 110 is given priority. Change the production schedule to be processed in. As a result, the processing of the worker area 110 becomes a bottleneck, and it is possible to prevent a reduction in throughput.

[0032]

Industrial Applicability According to the present invention, the equipment which requires the operation of the operator and the equipment which can be automated are collected in one area, and are managed by the control system to improve the production efficiency and reduce the incidental work of the operator. It is possible to realize a flexible line that enables labor saving by using.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a production line that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an in-bay information file configuration acquired by the control system according to the embodiment of the present invention from the progress management system and the manufacturing condition system.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a change part of the equipment code table of the manufacturing condition system when the non-automation equipment is replaced with equipment for automation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Bay, 101 ... Control device, 102 ... Storage equipment, 103 ... Conveyance equipment, 104 ... Manufacturing equipment, 105 ... Delivery equipment, 106, 107 ... Progress management system, 108 ... Manufacturing condition system, 109 ... Worker area, 110 …worker.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tomoyuki Masui 5-20-1 Kamimizuhonmachi, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo Stock company Hitachi Ltd. Semiconductor Division

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A storage facility having a receiving and receiving mechanism for temporarily storing a semi-finished product, a manufacturing facility for automatically processing the product, and a processing device for processing the product. A facility, a facility for transporting the object to be processed, a facility for delivering and receiving the object to be treated between a worker and the facility for transportation, and a control device connected to all these facilities via a network. And production line control system. 2. The production line control system according to claim 1, further comprising a function of changing a processing condition of the manufacturing equipment and a processing condition parameter of the equipment. 3. A production line control system in which the manufacturing facility for automatically treating the object to be treated according to claim 1 and the facility for treating the object to be treated by an operator are arranged in different areas. 4. A function of managing the difference between the carry-in amount and the carry-out amount from the transfer facility to the delivery facility according to claim 1, and suppressing the transfer to the transport facility when a certain amount is exceeded. Production control system.