# US 2026/0099136 A1 · Semiconductor manufacturing device, semiconductor manufacturing plant, and semiconductor manufacturing method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2026/0099136 A1 - Document ID: US20260099136A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 19/141,408 - Filed: 2023-10-11 - Published: 2026-04-09 - Earliest claimed: 2022-12-23 - Assignees: Sumco Corporation - Applicants: Sumco Corporation - Inventors: Yu MINAMIDE; Naoyuki WADA - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20260099136A1 ## CPC - G05B 19/41815: {characterised by the cooperation between machine tools, manipulators and conveyor or other workpiece supply system, workcell} - G05B 19/41865: {characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow} - H10P 72/0454: {surrounding a central transfer chamber} - G05B 2219/45031: Manufacturing semiconductor wafers - H10P 72/0612: {Production flow monitoring, e.g. for increasing throughput} - G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G) - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 ## Abstract A semiconductor manufacturing including plurality of processors and a number of loader-unloaders exceeding thereof. Each object to be treated is transported to a processor in a single unit and treated, and then is transported to the loader-unloader. The manufacturing lot of the object to be treated by each processor is carried into each loader-unloader while the remaining loader-unloader is left empty, thereafter each of the processors starts treatment, and while the object to be treated is being treated by each processor, based on manufacturing information of the object to be treated for each processor, the processor that finishes treatment relatively early is predicted, and before finishing the treatment by each processor, the manufacturing lot to be treated by the processor that has been predicted to finish treatment relatively early is carried into the loader-unloader that is currently empty. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A semiconductor manufacturing device comprising a plurality of processors and a number of loader-unloaders exceeding thereof, for an object to be treated that is transported according to a production plan determined as desired, where a processor for treating carries an object to be treated, which is determined for each manufacturing lot, into the loader-unloader in a unit of the manufacturing lot, each object to be treated is transported to the processor in a single unit and treated, and then is transported to the loader-unloader, wherein the manufacturing lot of the object to be treated by each processor is carried into each loader-unloader while the remaining loader-unloader is left empty, thereafter each of the processors starts treatment; while the object to be treated is being treated by each processor, the processor that finishes treatment relatively early is predicted based on manufacturing information of the object to be treated for each processor; and before finishing the treatment by each processor, the manufacturing lot to be treated by the processor that has been predicted to finish treatment relatively early is carried into the loader-unloader that is currently empty regardless of the order of the production plan. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The semiconductor manufacturing device according to claim 1, wherein when the processor starts treatment for a last or a second from the last object to be treated of the manufacturing lot that is present in the loader-unloader, the processor that finishes treatment relatively early is predicted. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The semiconductor manufacturing device according to claim 1, wherein the manufacturing information of the object to be treated comprises a processing time for the object to be treated and the number of objects to be treated to be included in a processing order or the manufacturing lot. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The semiconductor manufacturing device according to claim 1, wherein when the treatment of one manufacturing lot is finished in one processor, the treatment of another manufacturing lot is started by the one processor when another manufacturing lot to be treated by the one processor is present in any of the loader-unloaders. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) A semiconductor manufacturing plant where a plurality of semiconductor manufacturing devices according to claim 1 are installed. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The semiconductor manufacturing plant according to claim 5 comprising: an integrated controller that aggregates the manufacturing information of the processor sent from the plurality of semiconductor manufacturing devices and predicts the processor that finishes treatment relatively early; a production management device that instructs the plurality of semiconductor manufacturing devices, based on the prediction of the integrated controller, to carry the manufacturing lot to be treated by the processor that has been predicted to finish treatment relatively early into the loader-unloader that is currently empty before finishing treatment by each processor; and a transport device that carries the manufacturing lot into the plurality of semiconductor manufacturing devices based on the instruction from the production management device. ### Claim 7 A semiconductor manufacturing method that uses a semiconductor manufacturing device provided with a plurality of processors and a number of loader-unloaders exceeding thereof, for an object to be treated that is transported according to a production plan determined as desired, carries, by the processor for treating, the object to be treated which is determined for each manufacturing lot into the loader-unloader in a unit of the manufacturing lot, thereafter transports, to the processor, and treats each object to be treated in a single unit, and then transports each object to be treated to the loader-unloader, the method comprising: starting the treatment by each processor after the manufacturing lot of the object to be treated by each processor is carried into each loader-unloader while the remaining loader-unloader is left empty; predicting the processor that finishes treatment relatively early, while the object to be treated is being treated by each processor, based on the manufacturing information of the object to be treated for each processor; and carrying, before finishing treatment by each processor, the manufacturing lot to be treated by the processor that has been predicted to finish treatment relatively early into the loader-unloader that is currently empty regardless of the order of the production plan. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The semiconductor manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein when the processor starts treatment for a last or a second from the last object to be treated of the manufacturing lot that is present in the loader-unloader, the processor that finishes treatment relatively early is predicted. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The semiconductor manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein the manufacturing information of the object to be treated comprises a processing time for the object to be treated and the number of objects to be treated to be included in a processing order or the manufacturing lot. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The semiconductor manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein when the treatment of one manufacturing lot is finished in one processor, the treatment of another manufacturing lot is started by the one processor when another manufacturing lot to be treated by the one processor is present in any of the loader-unloaders.