Ethercat liquid flow controller communication for substrate processing systems

A method of operating a substrate processing system, comprising:

• obtaining updated controller configuration data for each of a plurality of liquid flow controllers (LFCs) of the substrate processing system, wherein the updated controller configuration data for at least one of the plurality of LFCs is different from the updated controller configuration data for another one of the plurality of the LFCs;
• automatically downloading, by each of a plurality of LFCs coupled to an Ethernet for Control Automation Technology (EtherCAT) bus, a copy of the updated controller configuration data through the EtherCAT bus, each of the plurality of liquid flow controllers controlling fluid flow of a separate fluid line from a plurality of fluid lines in the substrate processing system;
• and
• controlling fluid flow through the plurality of fluid lines using the plurality of liquid flow controllers having the updated controller configuration data.

A computer program product, tangible embodied in a non-transitory computer readable media, comprising instructions to cause one or more processors to:

• receive updated controller configuration data for a plurality of liquid flow controllers of a substrate processing system;
• send commands in sequence automatically through an Ethernet for Control Automation Technology (EtherCAT) bus to each of a plurality of liquid flow controllers (LFCs) to cause each of the LFCs in sequence to download a copy of the updated controller configuration data through the EtherCAT bus;
• and
• cause the substrate processing system to process a substrate with fluid flow through each of a plurality of fluid lines in the substrate processing system controlled by a respective LFC having the updated controller configuration data.