US 6,711,731 B2Granted

Web based tool control in a semiconductor fabrication facility

AssigneePRI Automation, Inc.

InventorMitchell Weiss

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Abstract

In brief, the present invention provides a system for the interconnection of semiconductor fabrication tools (“process tools”) in a semiconductor fabrication facility by use of a data network and microprocessor based interface (“browser”) associated with each process tool. The data network and microprocessor based interface provide communication in accordance with known standards via Intranet or Internet data transfer links to one or more remotely disposed browsers. Data is immediately available in real time on all aspects of the operation of the fabrication facility. Equipment engineers and process engineers can browse the various process tools from any location. Host communications to and from the tools can be monitored without affect on factory operation. The interface is compatible with standard process tools and factory automation or management software systems.

An apparatus for monitoring the communications between a fabrication host and a plurality of fabrication tools, in a semiconductor fabrication facility, wherein process data is obtained from each of the fabrication tools, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of data capture modules, each of the plurality of data capture modules corresponding to one of the plurality of fabrication tools, each of the plurality of data capture modules coupled to the fabrication host and to the corresponding fabrication tool, wherein data transferred between the fabrication host and the corresponding fabrication tool, which is in a first data format and includes a plurality of current process data, is captured by the data capture module and passed onto the fabrication tool;
a plurality of data translation modules, each one of the plurality of data translation modules coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of data capture modules, wherein the translation module receives the plurality of current process data, which is in a first data format, and is configured and arranged to translate this current process data into a second data format;
a plurality of servers, each of the plurality of servers coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of translation modules and further coupled to at least one other server, wherein each of the plurality of servers receives the plurality of current process data, which is in the second data format;
a plurality of web interfaces, each of the plurality of web interfaces coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of servers and further coupled to at least one other web interface, the web interface configured and arranged to convert the plurality of current process data into a displayable format;
at least one web-browser coupled to at least one of the plurality of web interfaces, wherein the at least one web browser displays at least a portion of the current data transferred between the fabrication host and the corresponding tool in the second data format.

2 more elements

Facts

Application

09/935,919Filed 23 Aug 2001 · us provisional application

Priority

23 Aug 2000

Published

US 2002/0095644 A118 Jul 2002

Granted

23 Mar 2004

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

G05B 19/408
Numerical control [NC], i.e. automatically operating machines, in particular machine tools, e.g. in a manufacturing environment, so as to…
H04L 43/00
Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
G05B 2219/32126
Operator till task planning: hyperlink, access to program modules and to hardware modules in www, web server, browser
G05B 2219/33149
Director till display: publisher subscriber, publisher, leader broadcasts data to followers, subscriber

Abstract

Claims32