Recognizing this position, more and more IC manufacturers are beginning to specify control networks within the tools, as well as in the plant infrastructure for their new plant and equipment acquisitions. It will be unacceptable at worst, and transitional at best. Either way, it will be too costly. We use Echelon's L ON W ORKS control networks to replace complex wiring, improve equipment diagnostics and reduce installation time. We expect the control network to lower production costs, simplify repairs,and improve equipment uptime.
Interoperability is key requirement for adoption of control networks in the semiconductor industry.
It provides a native application framework in the form of LonMark objects supporting SEMI device models. There are more than 3,000 application developers and over 3 million L ON W ORKS based devices installed world-wide. Echelon is a privately held company headquartered in Palo Alto, California with international offices in China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Minor changes to the original article were made by the author.