Methods and apparatus for assembling and operating electronic device manufacturing systems

A method for assembling an electronic device manufacturing system comprising:

• stocking one or more pre-certified, modular, abatement subsystems;
• identifying performance requirements of the abatement subsystem;
• selecting one or more of the stocked components to satisfy the performance requirements;
• constructing the abatement subsystem from components which comprise one or more of the stocked components;
• and
• certifying the constructed abatement subsystem for inclusion in said electronic device manufacturing system.

A method for operating one or more electronic device manufacturing systems comprising:

• performing a series of electronic device manufacturing process steps with at least two process tools, wherein the at least two process tools produce effluent as a byproduct;
• abating the effluent from a first process tool with a first abatement tool and abating the effluent from a second process tool with a second abatement tool;
• supplying a first abatement resource to the first abatement tool from a first abatement resource supply and supplying a second abatement resource to the second abatement tool from a second abatement resource supply, wherein the first and second abatement resources are the same type of resource;
• changing the abatement resource supply from at least one of the first abatement resource supply and the second abatement resource supply to a third abatement resource supply, wherein the third abatement resource supply is contains the same resource as the first and second resource supplies and is connected to both the first abatement tool and the second abatement tool serving simultaneously as a backup supply to the first and second abatement resource supplies and wherein changing the abatement resource supply comprises:
• interrupting a flow of at least one of the first and second abatement resources from the first and second abatement resource supplies;
• and
• beginning a flow of the abatement resource from the third abatement resource supply;
• and
• continuing to perform the series of process steps with the first and second process tools, while changing, and after changing, the abatement resource supply.