Abstract:
A semiconductor electronic device structure includes an active area array disposed in a substrate, an isolation structure, a plurality of recessed gate structures, a plurality of word lines, and a plurality of bit lines. The active area array a plurality of active area columns and a plurality of active area rows, defining an array of active areas. The substrate has two recesses formed at the central region thereof. Each recessed gate structure is respectively disposed in the recess. A protruding structure is formed on the substrate in each recess. A STI structure of the isolation structure is arranged between each pair of adjacent active area rows. Word lines are disposed in the substrate, each electrically connecting the gate structures there-under. Bit lines are disposed above the active areas, forming a crossing pattern with the word lines.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The instant disclosure relates to a carrier arrangement system and a method of arranging carriers, and pertains particularly to a carrier arrangement system and a method of arranging carriers adapted to a carrier storage apparatus. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    During a manufacturing process of a semiconductor with high-density integrated circuit, hundreds of steps are carried out. Wafers on the same batch need to be transported from one of a plurality processing machines to another to finish all the steps required. 
         [0005]    A plurality of semiconductor wafers can be housed in a front opening unified pod (FOUP), and a plurality of FOUPs may be carried around in various rooms or between various processing machines in response to the processing stage of the semiconductor wafers in each of the FOUPs. In addition, after the completion of the instant stage of the process, the FOUPs with the semiconductor wafers may be moved into a storage apparatus due to the production capacity or other reasons. 
         [0006]    When the wafers housed in the FOUPs need to continue a commanded processing stage, it is important to efficiently transport and allocate the FOUPs to the appropriate process area or process machine. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The embodiment of the instant disclosure provides a carrier arrangement system and a method of arranging carriers. When the carrier storage apparatus is in the idle status, the carrier arrangement system is for arranging the carriers in a plurality of storage sections according to the relative priorities of the carriers and the relative priorities of the storage sections. 
         [0008]    The carrier arrangement system in accordance with the instant disclosure is adapted to a carrier storage apparatus for carrying carriers in a plurality of storage sections. The carriers each have a relative priority denoted by a first positive integer, and the storage sections each have a relative priority denoted by a second positive integer. The carrier arrangement system comprises a handling unit, a control unit coupled to the handling unit, and a processing unit coupled to the control unit. The handling unit is for moving the carriers. The control unit is for controlling the handling unit to move the carriers stored in the storage sections when the carrier storage apparatus is idle. The processing is for regularly updating the relative priorities of the carriers. The control unit is for controlling the handling unit to move the carriers of the relative priority N in the storage section of the relative priority M to another of the storage sections, in which N and M are positive integer and N is not equal to M. 
         [0009]    Another aspect of the instant disclosure provides a method of arranging carriers. The method of arranging carriers is adapted to a carrier storage apparatus configured to execute storage and retrieval commands for carrying carriers in a plurality of storage sections. The carriers each have a relative priority denoted by a first positive integer, and the storage sections each have a relative priority denoted by a second positive integer. The method of arranging carriers comprises the following steps: first, checking if the carrier storage apparatus has completed the storage and retrieval commands and enters an idle status; updating the relative priorities of the carriers in the storage sections; moving the carrier of the relative priority N in the storage section of the relative priority M to another of the storage sections when the carrier storage apparatus is in the idle status, in which N and M are positive integers and N is not equal to M. 
         [0010]    These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in, or will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of, the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. the invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates a function block diagram of a carrier arrangement system in accordance with an embodiment the instant disclosure. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2D  illustrate perspective views of carriers stored in a plurality of storage sections in accordance with the instant disclosure. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3-1  and  FIG. 3-2  illustrate a flowchart of a method of arranging carriers in accordance with an embodiment the instant disclosure. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  illustrates a flowchart of the method of arranging carriers in accordance with another embodiment the instant disclosure. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  illustrates a flowchart of a method of updating relative priorities of the carriers in accordance with an embodiment the instant disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0017]    The instant disclosure will be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments are provided herein for purpose of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the precise form disclosed. 
       The First Embodiment of the Instant Disclosure 
       [0018]    Please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  illustrates a function block diagram of a carrier arrangement system in accordance with an embodiment the instant disclosure. The carrier arrangement system  1  is adapted to a carrier storage apparatus  2 , wherein the carrier storage apparatus  2  is configured to execute storage and retrieval commands for carrying carriers  3  (as shown in  FIGS. 2A to 2D ) into or out of a storage unit  21 , which includes a plurality of storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213  (as shown in  FIGS. 2A to 2D ). The carrier arrangement system  1  includes a handling unit  11 , a control unit  12  coupling to the handling unit  11 , and a processing unit  13  coupling to the control unit  12 . 
         [0019]    Please refer to  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2D .  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2D  illustrate perspective views of carriers stored in a plurality of storage sections in accordance with the instant disclosure. In the exemplary disclosure, the carrier storage apparatus  2  can be a fixed buffer apparatus disposed in a wafer fabrication facility, and the carriers are front opening unified pods (FOUPs). The carrier storage apparatus  2  has at least one entrance port  22  and at least one exit port  23  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). The carriers  3  can be transported into the carrier storage apparatus  2  through the entrance port  22  or out of the carrier storage apparatus  2  through the exit port  23 . In addition, the carriers  3  can be transported between other process tools in the wafer fabrication facility, and/or the entrance port  22  or the exit port  23  via an overhead transport system  4 . 
         [0020]    As shown in  FIG. 2A , the storage unit  21 , for example, includes three of the storage sections such as a high storage section  211 , a medium storage section  222 , and a low storage section  213 . The storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213  each have a plurality of storing rooms, and the carriers  3  each can be stored in one of the storing rooms. 
         [0021]    The storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213  each have a relative priority. Specifically, the relative priority of the high storage section  211  is the highest. The relative priority of the low storage section  213  is the lowest. The relative priority of the medium storage section  212  is between that of the high storage section  211  and that of the low storage section  213 . The relative priorities of the storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213  are determined according to the distances between each of the storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213  and the exit port  23 . For example, the distance between the high storage section  211  and the exit port  23  is the shortest, and the distance between the low storage section  213  and the exit port  23  is the farthest. In addition, the carriers  3  each have a relative priority, which will be described in detail later. 
         [0022]    The handling unit  11  can be a crane and includes a main arm  111  and a secondary arm  112 , which both can move between two storing racks of the storage unit  21 . The processing unit  13  is for updating the relative priorities of the carriers  3  stored in the storage unit  21  at regular time intervals. 
         [0023]    Specifically, the processing unit  13  can update the relative priorities of each of the carriers  3  stored in the storage unit  21  according to a level of importance of the carrier  3 , such as high level, medium level or low level, and to how long the carrier  3  has been stored in the storage unit  21 . The level of importance of each of the carrier  3  is related to the characteristic of the silicon wafers held in the carrier  3 , such as the process stage of the silicon wafers held in the carrier  3 , whether the silicon wafers held in the carrier  3  are testing samples, which customer the silicon wafers held in the carrier  3  are supplied to, and whether the silicon wafers held in the carrier  3  are urgent. 
         [0024]    Please refer to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  illustrates a flowchart of a method of updating relative priorities of the carriers in accordance with another embodiment the instant disclosure. The processing unit  13  can determine a first weighting value of each of the carriers  3  stored in the storage unit  21  according to the level of importance of the carrier  3 , and determine a second weighting value of each of the carriers  3  stored in the storage unit  21  according to how long the carrier  3  has been stored in the storage unit  21 . The first weighting value and the second weighting value are parameters for updating the relative priority of each of the carriers  3 . 
         [0025]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , for example, the first weighting value of the carrier  3  with low level of importance is determined as 20 to 40; the first weighting value of the carrier  3  with medium level of importance is determined as 40 to 60; and first weighting value of the carrier  3  with high level of importance is determined as 60 to 80. Moreover, the second weighting value of the carrier  3  which has been stored in the storage unit  21  for over 7 days is determined as 0; the second weighting value of the carrier  3  which has been stored in the storage unit  21  for 5 to 7 days is determined as 5; the second weighting value of the carrier  3  which has been stored in the storage unit  21  for 3 to 5 days is determined as 10; the second weighting value of the carrier  3  which has been stored in the storage unit  21  for 1 to 3 days is determined as 15; and the second weighting value of the carrier  3  which has been stored in the storage unit  21  for less than 1 day is determined as 20. In the instant embodiment, the processing unit  13  determines the relative priority of each of the carrier  3  according to the sum of the first weighting value and the second weighting value respectively. 
         [0026]    Please refer again to  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2D , in the instant embodiment, corresponding to the storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213  of the storage unit  21 , the processing unit  13  determines the relative priority of each of the carrier  3  as high priority, medium priority, or low priority. In other words, the carrier  3  stored in the storage unit  21  each can be determined as a high carrier, a medium carrier, or a low medium, wherein the relative priority of the high carrier is the highest, the relative priority of the low carrier is the lowest, and the relative priority of the medium carrier is between that of the high carriers and that of the low carriers. For example, the sum of the first and the second weighting value of the high carrier is 80 to 100; the sum of the first and the second weighting value of the medium carrier is 50 to 79; and the sum of the first and the second weighting value of the low carrier is 20 to 49. the carriers  3  in the storage unit  21  as shown in  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2D  are each referenced by a number which is corresponding to the sum of the first and the second weighting value. 
         [0027]    It is worth noting that, the processing unit  13  updates the first and the second weighting values of each of the carriers  3  in the storage unit  21  to update the relative priority of each of the carriers  3  at regular time intervals, such as every 5 minutes, according to the updated information the processing unit  13  obtained. 
         [0028]    In addition, the processing unit  13  is also for determining the relative priorities of the storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213 . In another exemplarily embodiment, the processing unit  13  is for dividing the storage unit  21  into the plurality of the storage sections, such as the storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213 . 
         [0029]    The control unit  12  is for controlling the handling unit  11  to move the carriers  3  stored in the storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213  when the carrier storage apparatus  2  is idle according to the relative priorities of the carriers  3  and relative priorities of the storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213 . 
         [0030]    The control unit  12  can be coupled to a user interface  14 , which may include an input device (such as a keyboard), an output device (such as a printer), and a displaying device (such as a monitor with a screen for displaying information to the user). In an exemplarily embodiment, the levels of importance of the carriers  3  can be updated by the user, and the information related to the levels of importance of the carriers  3  can be input into the control unit  12  by the user through the user interface  14 . 
         [0031]    The following describes the operation of the carrier arrangement system  1  and a method of arranging carriers adapted to the carrier storage apparatus  2  of the present disclosure. Please refer concurrently to  FIGS. 2A to 2D ,  FIG. 3-1 , and  FIG. 3-2 .  FIG. 3-1  and  FIG. 3-1  illustrate a flowchart of a method of arranging carriers in accordance with an embodiment the instant disclosure. 
         [0032]    Please refer to step S 100  in  FIG. 3-1 , firstly, the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if there is any of the storage and retrieval commands has not been executed by the carrier storage apparatus  2 . Not until the carrier storage apparatus  2  completes executing the storage and retrieval commands and enters an idle status, does the carrier storage apparatus  2  move the carriers  3  in the storage unit  21  for arranging the carriers  3 . In other words, when the carrier storage apparatus  2  enters the idle status, no carrier  3  is carried into or out of the storage unit  21 . 
         [0033]    Please refer concurrently to  FIG. 2A  and step S 101  in  FIG. 3-1 , next, the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the high storage section  211  has the low carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the carrier storage apparatus  2  has completed the storage and retrieval commands and enters the idle status. 
         [0034]    Please refer to step S 102  in  FIG. 3-1 , then, the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the low storage section  213  is full of the carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the high storage section  211  has the low carriers  3  (such as the carrier  3  referenced by number  38  in  FIG. 2A ). In other words, the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if there is any unoccupied storing room in the low storage section  213 . 
         [0035]    Please refer concurrently to  FIGS. 2A to 2B  and step S 103  in  FIG. 3-1 , then, the carrier arrangement system  1  moves the low carrier  3  in the high storage section  211  to the low storage section  213  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the low storage section  213  is not full of the carriers  3 . 
         [0036]    Please refer concurrently to  FIG. 2C  and step S 104  in  FIG. 3-2 , then, the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the low storage section  213  has the high carriers  3 . 
         [0037]    Please refer to step S 105  in  FIG. 3-2 , then, the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the high storage section  211  is full of the carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the low storage section  213  has the high carriers  3  (such as the carrier  3  referenced by number  92  in  FIG. 2C ). 
         [0038]    Please refer concurrently to  FIGS. 2C to 2D  and step S 106  in  FIG. 3-2 , then, the carrier arrangement system  1  moves the high carrier  3  in the low storage section  213  to the high storage section  211  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the high storage section  211  is not full of the carriers  3 . 
         [0039]    Note that, no matter whether the carrier storage apparatus  2  enters the idle status or not, the processing unit  13  of the carrier arrangement system  1  regularly updates the relative priorities of the carriers  3  in the storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213 . Moreover, the control unit  12  of the carrier arrangement system  1  controls the handling unit  11  to arrange the carriers  3  in the storage unit  21  according to the updated relative priorities of the carriers  3 . 
         [0040]    To sum up, when the carrier storage apparatus  2  is in the idle status, the carrier arrangement system  1  can arrange the carriers  3  in the storage unit  21 , such as to move the low carrier  3  in the high storage section  211  to the low storage section  213 , and to move the high carrier  3  in the low storage section  213  to the high storage section  211 . 
         [0041]    The following describes the carrier arrangement system  1  and the method of arranging carriers in accordance with other embodiments of the present disclosure. In light of the above embodiment, it can be seen that the relationship between the components of the carrier arrangement system  1  and the relationship between the steps of the method of arranging carriers can be modified according to need. It&#39;s worth noting that, other features not mentioned in the following embodiments can be the same as that of the above embodiment. 
       The Second Embodiment of the Instant Disclosure 
       [0042]    Please refer to step S 201  in  FIG. 3-2 , wherein the step S 201  is following the step S 105 . The carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the medium storage section  212  is full of the carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the high storage section  211  is full of the carriers  3 . 
         [0043]    Please refer to step S 202  in  FIG. 3-2 , next, the carrier arrangement system  1  moves the high carrier  3  in the low storage section  213  to the medium storage section  212  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  is not full of the carriers  3 . On the other hand, the carrier arrangement system  1  temporarily terminates the step of moving the carriers  3  in the storage unit  21  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  is full of the carriers  3 . 
       The Third Embodiment of the Instant Disclosure 
       [0044]    Please refer to step S 301  in  FIG. 3-2 , wherein the step S 301  is following the step S 104 . The carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the medium storage section  212  has the high carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the low storage section  213  does not have the high carriers  3 . 
         [0045]    Please refer to step S 302  in  FIG. 3-2 , then, the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the high storage section  211  is full of the carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  211  has the high carriers  3 . 
         [0046]    Please refer to step S 303  in  FIG. 3-2 , then, the carrier arrangement system  1  moves the high carriers  3  in the medium storage section  212  to the high storage section  211  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the high storage section  211  is not full of the carriers  3 . On the other hand, the carrier arrangement system  1  temporarily terminates the step of moving the carriers  3  in the storage unit  21  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the high storage section  211  is full of the carriers  3 . 
       The Fourth Embodiment of the Instant Disclosure 
       [0047]    Please refer to step S 401  in  FIG. 3-2 , wherein the step S 401  is following the step S 301 . The carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the low storage section  213  has the medium carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  does not have the high carriers  3 . 
         [0048]    Next, please refer to step S 402  in  FIG. 3-2 , the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the medium storage section  212  is full of the carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the low storage section  213  has the medium carriers  3 . 
         [0049]    Please refer to step S 403  in  FIG. 3-2 , then, the carrier arrangement system  1  moves the medium carriers  3  in the low storage section  213  to the medium storage section  212  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  is not full of the carriers  3 . On the other hand, the carrier arrangement system  1  temporarily terminates the step of moving the carriers  3  in the storage unit  21  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  is full of the carriers  3 , or that the low storage section  213  does not have the medium carriers  3 . 
       The Fifth Embodiment of the Instant Disclosure 
       [0050]    Please refer to step S 501  in  FIG. 3-1 , wherein the step S 501  is following the step S 102 . The carrier arrangement system  1  the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the medium storage section  212  is full of the carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the low storage section  213  is full of the carriers  3 . 
         [0051]    Next, please refer to step S 502  in  FIG. 3-1 , the carrier arrangement system  1  moves the low carriers  3  in the high storage section  211  to the medium storage section  212  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  is not full of the carriers  3 . Subsequently, the carrier arrangement system  1  executes the step S 104  in  FIG. 3-2 . On the other hand, the carrier arrangement system  1  directly executes the step S 104  in  FIG. 3-2  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  is full of the carriers  3 . 
       The Sixth Embodiment of the Instant Disclosure 
       [0052]    Please refer to step S 601  in  FIG. 3-1 , wherein the step S 601  is following the step S 101 . The carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the high storage section  211  has the medium carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the high storage section  211  does not have the low carriers  3 . 
         [0053]    Next, please refer to step S 602  in  FIG. 3-1 , the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the medium storage section  212  is full of the carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the high storage section  211  has the medium carriers  3 . 
         [0054]    Please refer to step S 603  in  FIG. 3-1 , then, the carrier arrangement system  1  moves the medium carriers  3  in the high storage section  211  to the medium storage section  212  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  is not full of the carriers  3 . Subsequently, the carrier arrangement system  1  executes the step S 104  in  FIG. 3-2 . On the other hand, the carrier arrangement system  1  directly executes the step S 104  in FIG.  3 - 2  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  is full of the carriers  3 . 
       The Seventh Embodiment of the Instant Disclosure 
       [0055]    Please refer to step S 701  in  FIG. 3-1 , wherein the step S 701  is following the step S 601 . The carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the medium storage section  212  has the low carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the high storage section  211  does not have the medium carriers  3 . 
         [0056]    Next, please refer to step S 702  in  FIG. 3-1 , the carrier arrangement system  1  checks if the low storage section  213  is full of the carriers  3  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  has the low carriers  3 . 
         [0057]    Please refer to step S 703  in  FIG. 3-1 , then, the carrier arrangement system  1  moves the low carriers  3  in the medium storage section  212  to the low storage section  213  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the low storage section  213  is not full of the carriers  3 . Subsequently, the carrier arrangement system  1  executes the step S 104  in  FIG. 3-2 . On the other hand, the carrier arrangement system  1  directly executes the step S 104  in  FIG. 3-2  if the carrier arrangement system  1  confirms that the medium storage section  212  does not have the low carrier  3 , or that the low storage section  213  is full of the carriers  3 . 
       The Eighth Embodiment of the Instant Disclosure 
       [0058]    Please refer to  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  illustrates a flowchart of the method of arranging carriers in accordance with another embodiment the instant disclosure. The method of arranging carriers is adapted to a carrier storage apparatus configured to execute storage and retrieval commands for carrying carriers in a plurality of storage sections, wherein the carriers each have a relative priority denoted by a first positive integer, and the storage sections each have a relative priority denoted by a second positive integer. The method of arranging carriers comprises the following steps: first, checking if the carrier storage apparatus has completed the storage and retrieval commands and enters the idle status (step S 801 ); updating the relative priorities of the carriers in the storage sections (step S 802 ); and moving the carrier of the relative priority N in the storage section of the relative priority M to another of the storage sections when the carrier storage apparatus is in the idle status, wherein N and M are positive integers and N is not equal to M (step S 803 ). 
         [0059]    According to the above embodiments, through the method of arranging carriers and the carrier arrangement system  1 , the carriers  3  in the storage unit  21  can be arranged according to the relative priorities of the carriers  3  and the relative priorities of the storage sections  211 ,  212 , and  213  when the carrier storage apparatus  2  is in the idle status. Specifically, the carrier  3  of the highest relative priority which is stored in the storage section of the lowest relative priority (such as the low storage section  213 ) or in the storage section of the second lowest relative priority (such as the medium storage section  212 ) can be moved to the storage section of the highest relative priority (such as the high storage section  211 ). Thereby, the distance between the carrier  3  of the highest relative priority and the exit port  23  of the storage unit  21  can be shortened. Hence, the carriers  3  in the storage unit  21  can be transported to the exit port  23  more efficiently. In another embodiment, the carrier  3  of the highest relative priority which is stored in the storage section of the lowest relative priority (such as the low storage section  213 ) can be moved to the storage section of the second highest relative priority (such as the medium storage section  212 ), which is closer to the exit port  23 . 
         [0060]    While the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments, numerous modifications and variations will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. It is intended, therefore, that the following claims cover all such modifications and variations that may fall within the true sprit and scope of the invention.