Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/KR101009384B1/en
Timestamp: 2020-01-25 02:13:23
Document Index: 369288626

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'art.\n1', 'art 200']

KR101009384B1 - Method for automatic configuration of a processing system - Google Patents
Method for automatic configuration of a processing system Download PDF
KR101009384B1
KR101009384B1 KR1020057015178A KR20057015178A KR101009384B1 KR 101009384 B1 KR101009384 B1 KR 101009384B1 KR 1020057015178 A KR1020057015178 A KR 1020057015178A KR 20057015178 A KR20057015178 A KR 20057015178A KR 101009384 B1 KR101009384 B1 KR 101009384B1
KR1020057015178A
KR20050104375A (en
휴 에이. 람
홍유 여
제임스 에드워드 윌리스
케빈 앤드류 챔니스
데이비드 팻크
사토시 하라다
3세 흄 에드워드 칼
2003-02-18 Priority to US60/448,319 priority
2003-07-31 Priority to US60/491,286 priority
2004-02-12 Application filed by 도쿄엘렉트론가부시키가이샤 filed Critical 도쿄엘렉트론가부시키가이샤
2005-11-02 Publication of KR20050104375A publication Critical patent/KR20050104375A/en
2011-01-19 Publication of KR101009384B1 publication Critical patent/KR101009384B1/en
The present invention relates to a method for automatically configuring an advanced process control (APC) system for a semiconductor manufacturing environment in which an auto-configuration script is generated to execute an auto-configuration program. The auto-configuration script activates default values for input into the auto-configuration program. The auto-configuration script is executed to generate an enabled parameter file output from the auto-configuration program. The enabled parameter file identifies the parameters for generating an SPC chart.
METHOOD FOR AUTOMATIC CONFIGURATION OF A PROCESSING SYSTEM
This International Application is published in US Provisional Application No. 60 / 448,319, filed February 18, 2003 entitled "Method for automatic configuration of a processing system"; And US Provisional Application No. 60 / 491,286, entitled "Method for automatic configuration of a processing system," filed July 31, 2003, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
This application is incorporated by reference in US Patent Provisional Application No. 60 / 414,425, filed Sep. 30, 2002 entitled "Method and apparatus for the monitoring and control of a semiconductor manufacturing process"; US Provisional Application No. 60 / 393,104, filed July 3, 2002 entitled "Method and apparatus for automatic sensor installation"; US Provisional Application No. 60 / 393,091, filed July 3, 2002 entitled "Method for Dynamic Sensor Configuration and Runtime Execution"; US Provisional Application No. 60 / 383,619, filed May 29, 2002 entitled "Method and Apparatus For Monitoring Tool Performance"; US Provisional Application No. 60 / 374,486, filed April 23, 2002 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Simplified System Configuration”; US Provisional Application No. 60 / 368,162, filed March 29, 2002 entitled "Method For Interaction With Status and Control Apparatus"; And US Provisional Application No. 60 / 404,412, filed August 20, 2002 entitled "Method for processing data based on the data content." The entire contents of all of these applications are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a method for automatically configuring a processing system, and more particularly to a method for automatically configuring a processing system for run-to-run control.
Generally, computers are used to control, monitor, and / or initiate manufacturing processes, such as operations in a semiconductor manufacturing plant. Various input / output (I / O) devices are used to control and monitor process flow, wafer status, and maintenance schedules. Various tools exist within the semiconductor manufacturing plant to complete these complex steps, from critical operations such as etching of materials to material deposition and device inspection. Most tool installation is accomplished using a display screen that is part of the graphical user interface (GUI) of the control computer that contains the installation software. Installation of semiconductor processing tools is a time consuming procedure.
With semiconductor processing, the processing conditions change over time. In many cases, changes in process data that reflect deterioration of processing characteristics cannot be detected by simply referring to the displayed process data. It is difficult to detect early stage abnormalities and degradation due to the characteristics of the process. Often, there is a need for prediction and pattern recognition provided by Advanced Process Control (APC).
Facility control is often performed by a number of different control systems with various controllers. Some control systems may have a man-machine interface, such as a touch screen, while other control systems may collect and display only one process variable. The monitoring system should be able to collect tabulated data for the process control system. The data collection of the monitoring system may select various data sets, including univariate and multivariate data, various data processes, including analysis and display of the data, and / or select process variables for collection. It must be able to handle a variety of data selection capabilities, including capabilities. If process data is automatically displayed and detected, the optimal process conditions of the mass-production line can be set and controlled via a statistical process control (SPC) chart. Inefficient monitoring of a plant can result in downtime and increase the overall operating cost of the plant.
The automatic configuration method of the processing system includes generating an auto-configuration script that executes an auto-configuration program. The auto-configuration script activates default values for input into the auto-configuration program. The auto-configuration script is executed to generate an enabled parameter file output from the auto-configuration program. The enabled parameter file identifies the parameters for generating an SPC chart.
1 is a schematic block diagram of an advanced process control (APC) system in a semiconductor manufacturing environment;
2 is a flowchart for explaining an automatic configuration of an APC system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a flowchart illustrating the automatic generation of SPC charts in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; And
4 is a flowchart illustrating the automatic calculation of control limits for an SPC chart in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
1 illustrates an example block diagram of an APC system in a semiconductor manufacturing environment. In the illustrated system, the semiconductor manufacturing environment 100 includes a semiconductor processing tool 110, multiple process modules 120 (PM1-PM4), a sensor 130, a sensor interface 140, and an APC system 145. . For example, sensor 130 may be an optical emission spectroscopy (OES) sensor that monitors plasma conditions, a voltage / current probe (VIP) that monitors RF signals, and / or other process parameters such as pressure, mass flow rate and temperature. It may include an analog sensor for measuring them. The APC system 145 may include an interface server (IS) 150, an APC server 160, a client workstation 170, a GUI 180, and a database 190. For example, IS 150 may include a real-time memory database, often referred to as a "hub."
Additionally, APC server 145 can be coupled to an intranet, for example, which further provides an internet server (not shown) for accessing the Internet. The intranet provides interconnectivity at a customer site, for example a device maker site. Moreover, the APC system 145 may be remotely accessible by a computer system (not shown) that is remotely located, for example, at a vendor site, such as an instrument manufacturer. The remotely located computer system can access data in the APC system and can further provide control information to the APC system 145 via the Internet.
In the illustrated system, a single tool 110 is shown with four process modules 120. The APC system 145 may interface with a number of processing tools, including cluster tools having one or more process modules. For example, the tool can be used to perform etching, deposition, diffusion, coating, oxidation, cleaning, ashing, measuring, transfer, loading and unloading processes. In addition, APC system 145 may collect, process, store, display, input, and output data from these processing tools, process modules, and sensors.
Additionally, processing tool 110 may include a tool agent (not shown), which may be a software process running on one tool 110 and may also be data acquisition. Event information, context information, and start-stop timing commands that are used to synchronize the information may be provided to the tool process. APC system 145 may also include an agent client (not shown), which may be a software process that may be used to provide a connection to a tool agent.
In this embodiment, APC server 160 automates the configuration of the APC system, allowing automatic generation of APC charts to be configured and immediately enabling the next installation. At installation, the installer of the software may be required to provide information about the hardware configuration (such as IP address, number and type of process modules 120). At installation, the system can be automatically configured for default data collection. The default configuration may enable data collection of all tool level trace parameters and computation of all summary parameters. Alternatively, the default configuration may include one or more external sensors.
After installation, the APC system can be automatically configured for default detection using SPC run rule evaluation. Each of the available summary statistics (mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum, etc.) for each of the available trace parameters is a candidate for automatic SPC chart generation. Tool level trace parameters include measured and reported values of process variables such as for etch system, gas flow rate, RF power, RF reflection power, peak-to-peak voltage, pressure, temperature, etc. can do. The mapping of available parameters and statistics to enabled parameters is based on the installer's or operator's recommendations and process specific requirements.
Automatic configuration can be re-run at any time after installation if the selection of parameters changes.
Once installed, at run-time, new recipes are encountered, so an APC chart can be automatically generated to track controlled or uncontrolled enabling parameters during process steps such as RF steps in an etching system. Can be. Controlled parameters include trace parameters with set points. These parameters are controlled on the tool within some tolerances based on the percentage deviation from the setpoint or the absolute deviation from the setpoint. For a given recipe and process step, some controlled parameters may have a setpoint of zero. In this case, the ratio deviation technique from the set point cannot be used because it needs to be divided by zero. Uncontrolled parameters include trace parameters without setpoints. Typically, the value of these parameters is dependent on the set point of the controlled parameters. After a configurable number of wafers are accumulated in each automatically generated chart, and when an automatic operation flag is enabled for the parameter, upper and lower control limits can be automatically calculated and the chart Enabled for alarms based on SPC run rule evaluation.
At installation, the installer provides information regarding the hardware configuration of the tool, including the type of module being installed. For example, a number of questions may be used and the installer may be prompted to answer. The selection of a particular type of process module then automatically configures a default data collection plan for that process module. The default data collection plans are based on the information provided by the installer, process engineer and possibly process requirements. Not all parameters specified in the data collection plan are enabled for automatic SPC chart generation. The list of parameters enabled for automatic SPC charting can be provided by the auto-configuration script and based on best known practices or process requirements. Automatic configuration scripts can be run at any time after installation.
Default selection of enabled parameters is provided based on best known practices. However, the installer can override the default values using an auto-configuration data file, such as an Excel spreadsheet, provided for the purpose of selecting a different set of enabled parameters. Enabled parameters are the parameters selected for automatic SPC chart generation.
Initial values for the enable / disable flags are set by an auto-configuration script based on the choices made in an autoconfiguration data file such as an Auto Configuration Excel spreadsheet.
2 illustrates a flowchart 200 illustrating these inter-relationships. For example, an autoconfiguration data file containing parameters enabled at 210 may be generated by an installer using a spreadsheet, and a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file 230 with parameters enabled at 220. ) Is generated. The list of enabled parameters 230 is read by the auto-configuration program 240 upon execution of the auto-configuration script 250, the information provided in the CSV file 230 overrides the default values, A table of enabled parameters 260 is created in the permanent database.
In addition, the automatic configuration script includes: (1) requesting information about the tool configuration as required to support this feature; (2) configuring default data collection plans per process module based on the installer's choice of module type; (3) basing default data collection plans for best known practices as provided by an operator (or installer); (4) providing default data collection plans that include default step trimming information; (5) provide information needed by the system to select enabled parameters for automatic SPC chart generation using auto-configuration data files such as Excel spreadsheets, based on module type and best known practices. that; (6) providing the possibility to replace the default set of enabled parameters with the set provided by the process user at the next installation at some point in time, provided that the replacement set of parameters is in an auto-configuration data file such as an Excel spreadsheet To be specified; (7) providing the availability of a list of enabled parameters for automatic SPC chart generation in a permanent database; And / or (8) provide a system level mechanism for enabling / disabling “automatic SPC chart generation”.
3 illustrates a flowchart illustrating a method 300 for automatic generation of an SPC chart. At 305, an automatic SPC algorithm is initiated, and at 310 an auto-generated mode inquiry is performed; For example, the installer or operator may be required to answer one or more questions. Otherwise, the method 300 ends at 360. If an automatic generation mode is required, a decision is made at 315 to identify parameters that cause SPC charts to be automatically generated.
At 320, the eligibility of each parameter for SPC chart generation is evaluated. If the parameter is considered eligible, the next parameter is addressed at 345. If the parameter is considered eligible, an inquiry is performed to determine if an SPC chart exists for the parameter at 325. If not, an SPC chart is created at 330 and the next parameter is addressed at 345. If there is an SPC chart, at 335 a parameter is posted to the SPC chart.
At 340, a query is performed to determine if a control limit exists for a given SPC chart. If a control limit exists, then at 345 the next parameter is addressed. If no control threshold exists, then at 350, an inquiry is made to determine if the SPC chart has a sufficient number of data points to compute the control thresholds. If so, control limits are computed at 355. If not, the next parameter is addressed at 345. If the last parameter is reviewed at 345 and no additional parameters are present, the method 300 terminates at 360.
For example, parameters representing a process step, such as an RF step in an etching process, are automatically posted to the appropriate SPC chart. If the chart does not exist, it is automatically generated without the upper and lower control limits. A new chart is created for each combination of module, recipe, parameter and process step. Thus, if there are 50 recipes and 10 parameters with 5 process steps each, this process will produce 2500 SPC charts (the number of SPC charts generated is the number of parameters x the number of recipes x each recipe Number of process steps). Automatically generated SPC charts should be distinguishable from manually generated charts. SPC charts that do not have upper and lower control limits set will not undergo run rule evaluation and no alarm will be generated. Therefore, a new chart is created for each module, new recipe, each enabled parameter and each process step going through. The charts thus generated will be accessed by the user (using the GUI) in the same way as manually generated SPC charts.
Additional embodiments of an auto-configuration system for the automatic generation of SPC charts for short side parameters representing process steps may include any of the following: (1) Each process step may be a “summary parameter value (eg , Forward RF power to the lower electrode is defined as " threshold " (2) a graphical user interface (GUI) is available to allow a user to select summary parameters used to define process steps; (3) a GUI is available for the user to select a threshold; (4) Each run that represents an RF stage, if at run-time a new recipe is encountered, "Auto SPC chart generation" is "enabled" and the chart (either manually or automatically generated) does not already exist. A chart for the enabled parameter may be automatically generated; (5) each enabled parameter may have a flag to specify manual or automatic threshold settings; (6) If "Automatic Thresholds" is selected, the initially generated SPC chart cannot have upper or lower control limits, and run rule evaluation can be disabled; (7) If "Manual Thresholds" is selected, the thresholds of each chart generated can be set based on the values entered in the spreadsheet, and run rule evaluation can be enabled according to run rule evaluation settings. have; (8) The names of automatically generated SPC charts may be unique; (9) SPC charts thus generated are available for editing using the nominal SPC chart GUI; (10) In addition to SPC charts, analysis plans and strategies can be generated automatically; (11) associated analysis plans and strategies generated accordingly are available for editing using the nominal analysis plan and strategy GUI; (12) Automatically generated SPC charts can be distinguished by manually generated charts and users; (13) associated analysis plans and automatically generated strategies may be distinguished by a user from manually generated analysis plans and strategies; And / or (14) the alarms thus generated may in turn generate notifications and interventions based on setting default notifications and interventions for the “RF Step Parameters” SPC chart.
Note that automatically generated SPC charts appear automatically in Analysis Strategy in the same way as manually generated SPC charts. Once created, a population of charts occurs regardless of the state of the "Automatic SPC Chart Generation" flag. Thus, once created, if populations are no longer required, each SPC chart can be manually disassociated with the Analysis Strategy, and the GUI can provide a means for disassociating the analysis plan and chart from the Analysis Strategy. have.
In order to facilitate the automatic generation of SPC charts and control limits, the limits can be automatically calculated based on the standard deviation of the points assigned to the chart. In this example, parameters representing process steps, such as RF steps in an etching system, are automatically posted to the appropriate SPC chart. When the number of points on the chart reaches a configurable value (e.g., enough for statistical execution), the mean and standard deviation of the points are automatically calculated. The automatic arithmetic routine removes points that do not represent a data set before the calculation of the mean and standard deviation. The number of points existing before the calculation of the limits is specified by "the number of points required before the automatic calculation" and per parameter. The required number of points may be obtained during subsequent and pre-installation, or may include points obtained during pre-population of the database at installation. Pre-population of the database may occur, for example, for a tool that stores historical data prior to APC system installation. The average and standard deviation thus calculated are used to calculate the upper and lower control limits of the SPC chart.
There are two techniques available for automatic calculation of control limits, such as the percentage of the mean and the multiple of the standard deviation from the mean. The upper limit can be calculated as a ratio above the mean value, such as 5% to 10%, or as a specific multiple (factor) of the standard deviation, such as the mean value + 2 to 6σ. The lower limit can be calculated as a ratio below the mean value, such as 5% to 10%, or as a specific multiple of the standard deviation, such as the mean value-2 to 6σ. Ratios for use and multiples for use are specified per parameter, and the GUI screen may provide a means for entering and / or editing ratios and multiples. In addition, warning thresholds may be provided on some SPC charts and may be determined in a similar manner.
In an alternative embodiment, the new upper control limit (UCL) and the new lower control limit (LCL) are the run of the current substrate as the ratio of the values of the fractions calculated as described above and the old values of the previous substrate run. Is determined. For example, the new control limits include the application of a correction filter, such as an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) filter, including the current observation (i.e. substrate run), the value computed for the current observation (i.e. substrate run), and the filter. You can update the control limits using past values for constants.
Where λ is the EWMA filter coefficient (0 ≦ λ ≦ 1), UCL old and LCL old are the (past) control limits for the previous run, and UCL calculated and LCL calculated are calculated as described above for the current run. Control limits. If λ = 0, the new control limit is the same as the old control lower value, and if λ = 1, the new control limit is the same as the calculated control limit.
After control limits are established, run rule evaluations (of which run rules to use) are specified per parameter. Once the upper and lower control limits have been established for a given chart, run rule evaluation is enabled for that chart. In addition, when upper and lower warning limits are determined for a given chart, the run rule evaluation may also include cases based on the warning limits.
4 illustrates a flow chart providing a method 400 for automatic calculation of control limits for a given SPC chart. At 405, an Auto algorithm is initiated. At 410, average (mean) and standard deviation are calculated for the data presented in the SPC chart. At 415, the data outliers are detected and removed at 420 if necessary.
At 425, a determination of the type of control limits to be established is made. When the standard deviation is used, the upper limit control limit (UCL) is calculated using 'UCL = mean + factor * standard deviation' at 430, and the lower limit control limit (LCL) is calculated at '435 LCL = mean-factor * standard deviation. Is computed using '; The factor here is chosen to impose a number of standard deviations such as three (3). If the ratio of means is used, the upper limit control limit (UCL) is computed using 'UCL = mean +% * average' at 440, and the lower limit control limit (LCL) is calculated as 'LCL = mean-% * average' at 445. Calculated using In an alternative embodiment, as described above, new control limits can be set using historical values described above for the current substrate run, past values for the previous substrate run, and for example for the EWMA filter.
At 450, run rules can be enabled, and at 455, the Auto computation algorithm is terminated. In alternative embodiments, a similar method is used to determine warning limits.
Further embodiments of the auto-configuration system of automatic computation of SPC limits for parameters representing process steps may include any of the following: (1) the "automatic SPC chart computation" flag is "enabled"; Once the auto-SPC chart has accumulated configurable "number of points", the mean and standard deviation of the dataset are automatically calculated; (2) Automatic calculation of mean and standard deviation excludes points that are determined to be outliers or do not represent data; (3) the number of points needed to trigger an automatic calculation of the mean and standard deviation can be specified by the parameter of "number of points"; (4) a GUI is available for entering a parameter of "the number of points"; (5) the parameters of "number of points" thus entered may be a number greater than three (3); (6) The thresholds can be computed automatically based on the ratio deviation from the mean or by factor x standard deviation, and the flag can specify which operation per parameter to use; (7) If the option of standard deviation is selected, the upper limit control limit can be calculated as the mean + " multiple " of standard deviations; (8) If the option of standard deviation is selected, the lower limit control limit can be calculated as the mean- " multiple " of standard deviations; (9) a GUI is available for entering a "multiplier" (or factor) for use in threshold calculations; (10) a GUI is available to enter the "ratio" (%) for use in threshold calculations; (11) a GUI is available to select which computing technique to use; (12) the run rule evaluation can be enabled after the control limits have been set; (13) Run rule selection (of which run rules to evaluate) can be specified by parameters; (14) Run rule selection (of which run rules to evaluate) is available for editing using the GUI; And / or (15) automatically created limits are available for editing using the nominal SPC chart GUI. The parameters are, for example, short or multilateral.
Alternatively, the auto-configuration system may provide the ability to automatically generate an SPC chart during the stability step duration. The stabilization phase duration includes stabilization steps to allow conditions in the process module to stabilize before initiation of processing. The duration of the stable phase is variable and dependent on the recipe setting and the process module state. The tool recipe specifies the longest time for a particular process parameter, such as the pressure in the etching system, for stabilization. Since the trace parameters are changing during the stable phase, the nominal step summary parameters (mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum) have little or no value.
One "stable phase duration" SPC chart per module may be included by default. By default, the "stable phase" SPC chart is associated with a "stable phase duration" parameter per module. Control limits are specified by a "stable phase" SPC chart per module.
Further embodiments of an auto-configuration system for the automatic generation of an SPC chart for the stability phase duration may include any of the following: (1) In the following, the stability phase may be a “summary parameter value (eg, lower). Forward RF power for the electrode) is defined as " step less than a threshold value; (2) a GUI is available to allow a user to select summary parameters used to define process steps, such as RF steps in an etching system; (3) a GUI is available to allow the user to select a threshold; (4) the system may have the ability to generate a single parameter that represents the duration of the stabilization phase and is defined as the duration within seconds of the stabilization phase; (5) At run-time, for each of the selected stabilization steps, a new summary variable is generated that represents the duration of the stabilization step, and the results can be posted to the summary operation table (s); (6) thus the selected stable phase duration can be maintained in both the permanent database and the in-memory database; (7) SPC charts per process module can be generated for posting of the stabilization phase duration; (8) the posting of each of the stable phase duration parameters for the SPC chart of "stable phase duration" per process module can be controlled by setting the "stable phase duration" flag; (9) By default, the upper and lower control limits of this chart can set limits in the default “stable phase duration” SPC chart created for this purpose; (10) a GUI is available to allow the user to change the lower and upper control limits of the "stable phase duration" SPC "chart"; (11) Context information (tool, process module, recipe, step, parameter, value, day / hour) of each point sent to the "stable step duration" SPC "chart" may be available from the SPC chart database; (12) Context information of each point sent to the “safety phase duration” SPC chart may be viewable from the SPC chart; (13) At run time, each point that violates the SPC run rule may generate an "alarm"; (14) the available interventions and notifications performed in connection with this alarm may be the same as the current SPC interventions and notifications; (15) the alarm may include context information of the wafer that caused the alarm; And / or (16) default interventions and notifications may be specified by the “Default interventions and notifications for stability phase duration” SPC chart. The SPC chart may be composed of short or multi-sided data.
Alternatively, the auto-configuration system may provide the ability to automatically generate an SPC chart for the JUST PROCESS phase duration. If selected from the list of enabled parameters, a chart can be generated for each non-zero occurrence of parameter "JUST PROCESS". In principle, there can be as many JUST PROCESS times as there are steps. In practice, there can typically be as many as three JUST PROCESS times recorded during the process recipe. In practice, typically only one process recipe step uses an etch process with, for example, endpoint detection, so in practice there may be only one JUST PROCESS time per recipe. If JUST PROCESS is 0, it means that no endpoint has been called. In this case, the JUST PROCESS parameter is ignored by this feature. If enabled, an SPC chart can be generated for each non-zero JUST PROCESS parameters found at run time. By default, the lower and upper control limits of this chart can set limits on the default "JUST PROCESS" SPC "chart" created for this purpose. The SPC chart may be composed of short or multi-sided data.
Further embodiments of the auto-configuration system for the automatic generation of an SPC chart for the JUST PROCESS phase duration may include any of the following: (1) In the following, JUST PROCESS indicates the time at which the endpoint is invoked. Defined as a parameter value recorded once per step, in the APC system there are for example 24 said parameters corresponding to the maximum number of steps allowed in the current tool software; (2) a GUI is available to allow the user to select JUST PROCESS as an enabled parameter for automatic SPC chart generation; (3) At run-time, for each step where the JUST PROCESS parameter is non-zero, an SPC chart can be generated; (4) thus selected JUST PROCESS durations can be maintained in both the permanent database and the in-memory database; (5) a GUI is available to allow the user to change the lower and upper control limits of the "JUST PROCESS" SPC "chart"; (6) Context information (tool, process module, recipe, step, parameter, value, day / hour) of each point sent to the "JUST PROCESS" SPC "chart" may be available from the SPC chart database; (7) the context information of each point sent to the JUST PROCESS SPC chart may be viewable from the SPC chart; (8) At run time, each point that violates the SPC run rule may generate an "alarm"; (9) the available interventions and notifications performed in connection with this alarm may be the same as conventional SPC interventions and notifications; (10) the alarm may include context information of the wafer that caused the alarm; And / or (11) default interventions and notifications may be specified by "default interventions and notifications for JUST PROCESS".
Although only specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications may be made to the embodiments without departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications should be considered to be included within the scope of this invention.
In a method for automatically configuring an APC (Advanced Process Control) system for a semiconductor manufacturing environment,
Generating an auto-configuration script, which is a set of instructions for executing an auto-configuration program, wherein the auto-configuration script sets default values that are default values of parameters for input to the auto-configuration program. Generating a configuration script;
Executing the auto-configuration script to generate enabled parameter files output from the auto-configuration program, wherein the enabled parameter file comprises statistical process control among a plurality of parameters: SPC) executing the auto-configuration script to specify enabled parameters for chart generation; And
Generating control limits for one or more of the one or more SPC charts, wherein the generating comprises an automatic calculation of the control limits per execution of the auto-configuration script.
How to automatically configure the APC system comprising a.
Generating an auto-configuration data file configured to be read by the auto-configuration program, the auto-configuration data file comprising at least one of a list of flags and enabled parameters that override the default values. And automatically generating the auto-configuration data file.
Generating at least one SPC chart for at least one of the enabled parameters, wherein the generating comprises automatically generating the SPC chart per execution of the auto-configuration script. A method of automatically configuring an APC system further comprising the step of generating a chart.
And wherein said control limits comprise at least one of an upper control limit and a lower control limit.
And if the required number of data points are obtained in the SPC chart, the control limits are calculated automatically.
Wherein the outliers of the required number of data points are removed.
And wherein the control limits are calculated based on a percentage of the average of the required number of data points in the SPC chart.
And wherein the control limits are calculated based on a product of an input factor and a standard deviation of the required number of data points in the SPC chart.
The upper limit control limit (UCL) is determined by 'UCL = Mean + Percentage * Average' and the lower limit control limit (LCL) is determined by 'LCL = Mean-Percentage * Average'. How to configure
The upper limit control limit (UCL) is determined by 'UCL = mean + factor * standard deviation', and the lower limit control limit (LCL) is determined by 'LCL = mean-factor * standard deviation'. How to configure.
Wherein said percentage is specified by a user.
Wherein said percentage is specified using a spreadsheet, which is an autoconfiguration data file.
Wherein said percentage is specified using a GUI.
Wherein said factor is user-specific.
Wherein the factor is specified using a spreadsheet, which is an autoconfiguration data file.
Wherein said factor is specified using a GUI.
And wherein said required number of data points is specified by a user.
Wherein the required number of data points is specified using a spreadsheet, which is an autoconfiguration data file.
And wherein said required number of data points are specified using a GUI.
And wherein said required number of data points comprises a plurality of data points obtained during pre-population of said APC system's database.
Configuring run rule evaluations as to whether the at least one SPC chart satisfies the upper and lower limits of at least one of the control limits; And
Enabling the run rule evaluation
How to automatically configure the APC system further comprising.
And wherein said run rule evaluations are configured by a user.
And wherein the automatically calculated control limits are determined for a current observation and used to update old control limits from a previous observation.
The new control threshold is equal to (1-λ) * the past value + λ * (the calculated value), where λ is a filter constant and has a range of values from 0 to 1 Way.
The determined upper limit control limit (UCL) is determined for a current observation and is used to update a past upper control limit from a previous observation.
The new upper limit control threshold is equal to (1-λ) * the previous upper limit control limit + λ * (the determined upper limit control limit), wherein λ is a filter constant and has a range of values from 0 to 1. How to configure automatically.
The determined lower control limit (LCL) is determined for the current observation and is used to update the past lower control limit from the previous observation.
The new lower limit control threshold is equal to (1-λ) * the past lower limit control limit + λ * (the lower limit control limit determined), wherein λ is a filter constant and has a range of values from 0 to 1. How to configure automatically.
Wherein said at least one SPC chart is remotely accessible via the Internet.
And wherein said control limits are accessible via the Internet.
KR1020057015178A 2003-02-18 2004-02-12 Method for automatic configuration of a processing system KR101009384B1 (en)
US60/448,319 2003-02-18
US60/491,286 2003-07-31
KR20050104375A KR20050104375A (en) 2005-11-02
KR101009384B1 true KR101009384B1 (en) 2011-01-19
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