Automated material handling system and method of use

A method of using an automated material handling system to process wafers within a wafer fabrication facility comprising the steps of:

• a) providing an automated material handling system having
• a FOUP management system for managing a plurality of multiple lot FOUPs, wherein each of the plurality of multiple lot FOUPs has associated tag information for one or a plurality of lots disposed within each multiple lot FOUP
• a real time dispatching system having an operation job supervisor for controlling dispatching of wafer lot orders,
• an automatic material handling system integration system having a stocker, the stocker having
• two stocker load ports,
• an embedded sorter, wherein the embedded sorter has four embedded load ports, and
• a FOUP transportation system,
• a material execution system, and
• a computer integrated manufacturing system;
• b) transferring a multiple lot FOUP from the FOUP management system to the embedded sorter;
• c) using the embedded sorter to perform at least one FOUP automation scenario defined by the manufacture execution system on the multiple lot FOUP disposed within the embedded sorter;
• d) completing at least one FOUP automation scenario on a FOUP disposed within the embedded sorter;
• and
• e) transferring a sorted multiple lot FOUP from the embedded sorter to the FOUP transportation system.

A method of using an automated material handling system to process wafers within a wafer fabrication facility comprising the steps of:

• a) providing an automated material handling system having
• a FOUP management system for managing a plurality of multiple lot FOUPs,
• a real time dispatching system having an operation job supervisor for controlling dispatching of wafer lot orders,
• an automatic material handling system integration system having a stocker, the stocker having
• two stocker load ports,
• an embedded sorter, wherein the embedded sorter has four embedded load ports, and
• a FOUP transportation system,
• a material execution system, and
• a computer integrated manufacturing system;
• b) transferring a multiple lot FOUP from the FOUP management system to the embedded sorter, the multiple lot FOUP having associated tag information for one or a plurality of lots disposed within the multiple lot FOUP, wherein the step of transferring a multiple lot FOUP from the FOUP management system to the embedded sorter load has the substeps of:
• i) using the real time dispatch system to determine a wafer lot order destination for a wafer lot disposed within a multiple lot FOUP,
• ii) using the operation job supervisor to transfer lots disposed within the multiple lot FOUP according to the lot destination of at least one of the two stocker load ports communicated by the real time dispatch system to the operation job supervisor,
• iii) transferring the multiple lot FOUP from one of the two stocker load ports to at least one of the four embedded sorter load ports disposed within the embedded sorter when the real time dispatch specifies the embedded sorter as the lot destination;
• c) using the embedded sorter to perform at least one FOUP automation scenario defined by the manufacture execution system on the multiple lot FOUP disposed within the embedded sorter, the step of using the embedded sorter to perform at least one FOUP automation scenario preferably has the substeps of:
• i) reading tag information from the multiple lot FOUP for one or a plurality of lots disposed within the multiple lot FOUP,
• ii) sending the tag information from the multiple lot FOUP to the computer integrated manufacturing system,
• iii) using the computer integrated manufacturing system to query a recipe combination and an associated FOUP automation scenario from the manufacture execution system to the embedded sorter,
• iv) using the computer integrated manufacturing system to communicate to the operation job supervisor to supply an empty FOUP from the FOUP management system to at least one of the embedded sorter's four load ports,
• v) using the automatic material handling system integration system to transfer an empty FOUP from the FOUP management system to at least one of the four embedded sorter load ports, and
• vi) performing at least one FOUP automation scenario operation on the empty FOUP and on the multiple lot FOUP having the associated tag information in accordance with the associated FOUP automation scenario defined by the manufacture execution system, the FOUP operation scenario selected from the group consisting of a FOUP separation scenario, a FOUP exchange scenario, a FOUP combination scenario, a FOUP cleaning due scenario, and a wafer map verification scenario,
• d) completing at least one FOUP automation scenario on a FOUP disposed within the embedded sorter;
• and
• e) transferring a sorted multiple lot FOUP from the embedded sorter to the FOUP transportation system, the step of transferring the sorted multiple lot FOUP from the embedded sorter to the FOUP transportation system having the substeps of:
• i) tracking a sorted multiple lot FOUP that completed the FOUP automation scenario out of the embedded sorter using the computer integrated manufacturing system,
• ii) sending a move out request to the operation job supervisor from the embedded sorter to transfer the sorted multiple lot FOUP to a piece of fabrication equipment, and
• iii) using the operation job supervisor to send the sorted multiple lot to a piece of fabrication equipment via the FOUP transportation system, wherein the substep of using the operation job supervisor to send the sorted multiple lot FOUP to a piece of fabrication equipment via the FOUP transportation system has a further step of:
• using an overhead shuttle in communication with an overhead transport system to send the sorted multiple lot FOUP to at least one of the two stocker load ports.