Lots dispatching method for variably arranging processing equipment and/or processing conditions in a succeeding process according to the results of a preceding process and apparatus for the same

A lot dispatching method for dispatching first lots which have been processed by a first process in which a plurality of first processing equipment are simultaneously operated to a second process that is subsequent to the first process and in which a plurality of second processing equipment are simultaneously operated, comprising:

• measuring respective inspection items of lots respectively processed by the first and second processing equipment;
• calculating skews of the inspection items which are deviation values between measured values of the inspection item after the first process and measured values of the inspection item after the second process with respect to an identical lot, the deviation values being generated by a plurality of pairs of processing equipment that is comprised of one of the first processing equipment and one of the second processing equipment, based on measured data of said measuring;
• determining a span of respective pairs of processing equipment wherein
• span=A−(R+TG),
• wherein A is a measured value of the inspection item of the first lots, TG is a target value of the inspection item of the second process, and R is a latest representative value of skews generated by each pair of processing equipment;
• determining a dispatching order of respective second processing equipment which are paired with one of the first processing equipment which has processed the first lots, wherein the dispatching order is determined by absolute values of the spans, wherein a relatively low absolute value of the span is given priority;
• and
• dispatching respective first lots to a second processing equipment according to the dispatching order.

A lot dispatching method for dispatching current lots, in a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing process having at least a first process and a second process that is subsequent to the first process, comprising:

• classifying values of an inspection item into several groups according to magnitude and preparing a plurality of process conditions for the second process, each of the processing conditions corresponding to a respective one of the several groups, wherein the process conditions have compensating characteristics to minimize a difference between a standard value of a group corresponding to a process condition and a target value of the inspection item;
• measuring the inspection item with respect to the current lots after the first process;
• selecting one of the process conditions corresponding to a measured value obtained during said measuring;
• and
• dispatching the current lots to the second process and setting the second process to a selected process condition.

A lot dispatching method for dispatching a current lot which has been processed by a first processing equipment using a first process to a second process that is subsequent to the first process and in which a plurality of second processing equipment are simultaneously operated, comprising:

• measuring an inspection item of lots processed by the first processing equipment and an inspection item of lots processed by a second processing equipment;
• classifying values of the inspection item into several groups according to magnitude and preparing a plurality of process conditions for the second process, wherein the process conditions have compensating characteristics which minimize a difference between a standard value of a group corresponding to each of the process conditions and a target value of the inspection item;
• determining whether a measured value of the inspection item of the current lot corresponds to a first case in which the measured value satisfies a product standard but does not satisfy a control standard that is set more strictly than the product standard or corresponds to a second case in which the measured value satisfies the control standard;
• selecting one of the process conditions based on the measured value of the inspection item of the current lot, dispatching the current lot to the selected second process and setting the second process to the selected process condition, if the current lot is determined to correspond to the first case;
• and
• dispatching the current lot to a second processing equipment which compensates deviations of the inspection item from the target value of the inspection item to a smallest value if the current lot is determined to correspond to the second case, wherein the deviations are generated by the first processing equipment with respect to the current lot.

A lot dispatching system for dispatching a first lot that has been processed by a first process to a second process in a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing process having at least the first process and the second process that is subsequent to the first process, comprising:

• a first stage having a plurality of first equipment that are the same and that perform the first process on a second lot;
• a second stage having a plurality of second equipment that are the same and that perform the second process on the second lot;
• a measuring unit that measures an inspection item with respect to a lot processed by the first and second processes;
• and
• a controller that stores the measured data transferred from said measuring unit, that evaluates a process capability of each of the second processing equipment to compensate a deviation of the inspection item from a target value of the inspection item with respect to the first lot, that determines a dispatching order of the first lot to the second processing equipment according to the evaluated process capability, and that controls a dispatching process of the first lot to an available one of the second processing equipment which is designated by the dispatching order, the deviation of the inspection item being generated by the first processing equipment.

A lot dispatching system for dispatching a current lot which has been processed by a first process to a second process in a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing process, the second process being performed after the first process, comprising:

• a measuring unit that measures an inspection item of the current lot;
• first processing equipment that performs the first process on the current lot;
• second processing equipment that performs the second process on the current lot;
• and
• a controller that classifies values of the inspection item into a plurality of groups according to magnitude, that prepares a plurality of process conditions corresponding to the groups for the second process, the process conditions having compensating characteristics which minimize a difference between a standard value of a group corresponding to a process condition and a target value of the inspection item, that selects a process condition from among the process conditions based on a magnitude of measured data transferred from said measuring unit, and that dispatches the current lot to the second process and sets the second process to the selected process condition.

A lot dispatching system for dispatching a first lot which has been processed by a first process to a second process that is subsequent to the first process in a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing process, comprising:

• a first stage having at least one first processing equipment that are the same and that perform the first process on a second lot;
• a second stage having a plurality of second processing equipment that are the same and that perform the second process on the second lots;
• a measuring unit that measures an inspection item of lots processed by the first and second processes;
• and
• a controller that stores measured data received from said measuring unit, classifies values of the inspection item into a plurality of groups according to magnitude,
• prepares a plurality of process conditions corresponding to the groups for the second process, wherein the process conditions have compensating characteristics which minimize a difference between a standard value of the groups corresponding to a process condition and a target value of the inspection item,
• judges whether a measured value of the inspection item of the first lot corresponds to a first case wherein the measured value satisfies a product standard but does not satisfy a control standard which is set more strictly than the product standard or corresponds to a second case wherein the measured value satisfies the control standard,
• evaluates process capabilities of the second processing equipment to compensate a deviation of the first lot from the target value as generated by said first processing equipment with respect to the target value of the inspection item according to the stored measured data, when the measured value of the inspection item of the first lot is judged to correspond to the second case,
• determines a dispatching order of the first lot with respect to the plurality of second processing equipment according to the evaluated process capabilities,
• dispatches the first lot to an available one of the second processing equipment which is designated by the dispatching order, and
• selects one process condition from among the plurality of process conditions based on magnitude of the measured data transferred from said measuring unit, dispatches the first lot to the second process and sets the second process to the selected process condition, when the measured value of the inspection item of the first lot is judged to correspond to the first case.