Patent ID: 6192291
Filing Date: 2001-02-20
Classification: G05B,H01L,Y02P

Abstract:
A method of controlling semiconductor fabricating equipment, the method comprising:taking a plurality of IDs assigned to wafers in a single lot, respectively, and correlating the wafer IDs with process step IDs assigning to each wafer the relative location of the wafer in the lot and processing data for each wafer;correlating the process step IDs with process program IDs, respectively, each process program ID providing a program of how the semiconductor manufacturing equipment is to be operated to process a wafer in a manner based on said processing data;formulating the correlated process program and process step IDs into process condition data for use in controlling the semiconductor fabricating equipment to individually process the wafers of the lot according to the programs provided by the process program IDs correlated to the wafers on the basis of the process step IDs;determining whether a track-in signal, indicative of the approval of the process condition data, has been issued;if the track-in signal has been issued, downloading the process condition data into a server of the semiconductor fabricating equipment;whenever the process condition data is downloaded, changing any portion of an equipment control message, stored in the server, which is in disagreement with the downloaded process condition data to produce a new equipment control message; andcontrolling the semiconductor fabricating equipment to individually process the wafers of the lot, according to the programs provided by the process program IDs, by downloading the new equipment control message into the semiconductor fabricating equipment.