System and method for monitoring operation conditions of semiconductor manufacturing apparatus

A method of operating an apparatus for manufacturing or analyzing semiconductor wafers, the method comprising:

• transferring a semiconductor wafer by an wafer handler from a first place to a second place;
• detecting sound in a process chamber of the apparatus during transferring the semiconductor wafer;
• acquiring an electrical signal corresponding to the detected sound by a signal processor;
• processing, by the signal processor, the acquired electrical signal;
• detecting an event during the transferring the semiconductor wafer of the apparatus based on the processed electrical signal;
• and
• controlling the transferring the semiconductor wafer according to the detected event,
• wherein processing the electrical signal comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of filtering the electrical signal to remove noise or ambient sound from the detected sound, detecting a position of a source of the detected sound, and processing the electrical signal a frequency domain.

A method of operating a plurality of apparatuses for manufacturing or analyzing semiconductor wafers, the method comprising:

• detecting sound or vibration in a process chamber of each of the plurality of apparatuses during an operation of each of the plurality of apparatuses;
• acquiring an electrical signal corresponding to the detected sound or vibration by a signal processor provided to each of the plurality of apparatuses;
• processing, by the signal processor, the acquired electrical signal;
• outputting, from each of the plurality of apparatuses, the acquired electrical signal to a server,
• wherein the server, based on a change in a characteristic sound or vibration, predicts or estimates a next maintenance timing.