Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
  • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B9/00—Safety arrangements
  • G05B9/02—Safety arrangements electric
  • G05B9/03—Safety arrangements electric with multiple-channel loop, i.e. redundant control systems
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
  • G05B11/00—Automatic controllers
  • G05B11/01—Automatic controllers electric
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L69/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
  • H04L69/30—Definitions, standards or architectural aspects of layered protocol stacks
  • H04L69/32—Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level

Definitions

• the present invention relates to failsafe operation of controller components introduced between a controller host or first device and a tool or second device.
• it relates to establishing a direct connection between the first and second device upon failure of a controller that mediates data transfers between the first and second device.
• One environment in which this invention is useful is a semiconductor manufacturing fab having a host and tools/sensors, into which an intelligent controller is added between using a controller to mediate communications among a tool, sensors associated with the tool and data users, such as a host system or distributed processors.
• Moore's law promises exponential growth in computer power at diminishing prices. This dynamic growth of processing power might lead one to think that semiconductor device manufacturing would be an adventuresome business, like wild-catting for oil. Just the opposite is true. Because manufacturing batches are very valuable and manufacturing processes are sensitive to even small mistakes, semiconductor device manufacturing is a conservative business. Qualification cycles and standards for new equipment and modifications of old equipment are lengthy and demanding. Even a small change is vetted extensively, before being released to production.
• sensors that monitor the tools (e.g., FTIR sensors, mass spectrographs, thermocouples) and hosts or distributed processors that store and analyze data from the sensors regarding tool operation.
• FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a controller using a single type of communication channel to communicate with a tool, sensor, and tool host.
• FIG. 4 illustrates using multiple types of communication channels.
• Sensors may either respond to the chamber conditions or act on exhaust from the chamber.
• Sensors that respond to chamber conditions may include a wafer monitor 116 that looks through a window 126 into the chamber 125 to look at film thickness, patterns and other properties (e.g., EPI-Online(TM)), a process monitor 127 such an optical emission monitor with an interference filter or interferometer, for etch process control, and a pressure transducer 137.
• Sensors that act on exhaust from the chamber 125 include a leak detector 146, a vacuum gauge 157 and an exhaust monitor 158. These sensors may interact with a pressure controller 148 and control valve 147, and with vacuum components and/or subsystems 156.
• a failsafe switch may applied whenever an intermediate device is interposed between a first device or network, such as the fab side network, and second device or network, such as the tool network, that could communicate with each other without the intermediate device.
• a controller that collects readings from a tool or sensor, stores them and makes them available on request is one example.
• a controller that supplements data available from a sensor is another example.
• the controller 303 uses a SECS protocol 307, 309 to communicate with both the tool 301 and the sensor 302.
• the connection 308 between the tool 301 and sensor 302 may involve any type of energy or force normally sensed, including any of the sensations identified in the discussion of FIG. 1.
• FIG; 4 a more complex combination of SECS and network communications are illustrated.
• the only SECS communications channel 307 in this scenario is between the controller 303 and host 301.
• a tool side network 409 connects the controller with sensors 302A-B, managed switch 413 and network attached storage (NAS) 415.
• NAS network attached storage
• ARP table is up to date, a direct connection is readily established. Restarting a session is sometimes referred to as robust messaging.
• This embodiment of failsafe has a number of interesting characteristics, some of which are shared by alternate embodiments. No software needs to be added to the first of second device (host or tool). The host and tool are on the same subnet, so that they will be able to communicate in case of a failsafe direct connection. The intermediate device or controller is on the same subnet as the tool and host. The host and tool could "see each other” if the controller were started up in failsafe mode. An active session would automatically be retried by the tool, host or both, when operation switches over from normal mode to failsafe mode.
• establishing a direct communications session between the first and second devices may not require updating in either the first or second devices any tables that correlate network addresses to data link layer addresses. That is, ARP tables may not need be updated. It may be a necessary update any tables that correlate IP and MAC addresses.
• the first and second devices and the intermediate devices all may operate within the same network subnet.
• Another method embodiment is a failover method of establishing a communications link between a host and tool after failure of an intelligent controller coupled between the host and the tool. This method includes adopting at a first port of the intelligent controller a first hardware level identifier otherwise used by the tool and advertising the first port to the host as being addressed using the first hardware level identifier.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
• Small-Scale Networks (AREA)
• Safety Devices In Control Systems (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=35733409

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (18)

Family Cites Families (11)

• 2004
  • 2004-09-23 US US10/948,085 patent/US7219255B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 2005
  • 2005-07-25 TW TW094125156A patent/TWI388955B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-07-25 KR KR1020077004806A patent/KR101205518B1/ko not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-07-25 WO PCT/US2005/026375 patent/WO2006014888A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2005-07-25 GB GB0701480A patent/GB2432921B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-07-25 JP JP2007523703A patent/JP4598072B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-07-25 DE DE112005001808T patent/DE112005001808T5/de not_active Withdrawn

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