JP2010040917A - Device operation management method and device operation management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently and accurately specify a time zone where a device operating ratio decreases, and to efficiently analyze a factor of the decrease in device operating ratio. <P>SOLUTION: A device operation management method for a semiconductor manufacturing device having a processing chamber for performing wafer processing comprises: dividing a prescribed specified time into a plurality of prescribed unit times and calculating a ratio of a time for which a wafer is present in the semiconductor manufacturing device to each of the prescribed unit times as a total operating ratio of each prescribed unit time; calculating a ratio of a time for which the wafer is present in the processing chamber to each of the prescribed unit time as a partial operating ratio by prescribed unit time; calculating a first feature quantity showing correlation between the total operation rate and the partial operating ratio by prescribed unit times; comparing the first feature quantity with a predetermined threshold by prescribed unit time; and specifying a prescribed unit time including an operating ratio decrease time zone where the wafer processing is stopped in a state where the wafer is not carried in the processing chamber on the basis of results of comparisons. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus operation management method and an apparatus operation management system for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as an apparatus) has a processing chamber that performs predetermined processing on a wafer. An apparatus having a plurality of processing chambers is called a multi-chamber apparatus. In some multi-chamber apparatuses, a plurality of processing chambers perform the same processing, and some perform different processing.

  In general, the case where the apparatus stops operating during wafer processing is divided into the following two cases. One is a case where a severe failure has occurred. If a serious failure occurs, the wafer processing cannot be resumed until the device is forcibly terminated and the wafer in the device is taken out and the cause of the failure is removed. The other is a case where a mild disorder has occurred. When a minor failure occurs, the wafer processing is temporarily interrupted, but the operator can restore the apparatus by taking some measures and restart the wafer processing. That is, it is not necessary to forcibly terminate the apparatus and take out the wafer from the apparatus. As described above, the recovery method differs between the severe failure and the mild failure.

  In order to improve the productivity, that is, the device operation rate, it is essential to identify the cause of the failure and take measures accordingly. When a serious failure occurs, in addition to the time when the apparatus is forcibly terminated, the start time, end time, and work contents of the apparatus restoration work performed by the worker are often stored as work history information. Therefore, after the fact, it is possible to analyze the stop time of the apparatus and the cause of the stop, that is, the cause of the decrease in the apparatus operation rate, based on the work history information.

  On the other hand, when a minor failure occurs, the apparatus can be easily restored by an operator's operation in many cases, so that the work content is hardly left as work history information. In addition, there is no method for accurately collecting the time at which the device is temporarily stopped or recovered due to a minor failure from the device. Therefore, it is difficult to take a measure for preventing the occurrence of the same minor failure since it is impossible to analyze the stop time and the cause of the occurrence of the device due to the minor failure after the fact. This means that the higher the frequency of occurrence of minor faults, the more the apparatus operating rate decreases.

Conventionally, as shown in, for example, Patent Document 1, an operation analysis method and an analysis system provided with a throughput analysis unit for identifying a device that hinders improvement in throughput in a production process and analyzing the factor are disclosed. Has been. However, it has not been possible to identify the time zone in which the device operation rate has decreased due to the above-mentioned minor failure and to analyze the factors that have decreased the device operation rate.
JP 2004-326297 A

  The present invention provides an apparatus operation management method and an apparatus operation management system that can efficiently and accurately specify a time zone during which the apparatus operation rate has decreased, and that can efficiently analyze the factors that decrease the apparatus operation rate.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus operation management method for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having a processing chamber for performing wafer processing, wherein a predetermined designated period is divided into a plurality of predetermined unit times, and the predetermined unit time is obtained. Every time, the ratio of the time during which the wafer was present in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus to the predetermined unit time is calculated, and this ratio is set as the overall operating rate for each predetermined unit time, and for each predetermined unit time. And calculating a ratio of the time that the wafer was present in the processing chamber to the predetermined unit time, and calculating the ratio as a partial operation rate for each predetermined unit time, and for each predetermined unit time. Calculating a first feature amount indicating a correlation between the overall operation rate and the partial operation rate, comparing the first feature amount with a predetermined threshold value for each predetermined unit time, and a result of the comparison On the basis of the, Serial wafer identifies a predetermined unit time including the processing the wafer processing underutilization time zone has been stopped in a state that is not carried into the chamber, apparatus operation management process, characterized in that there is provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the time slot | zone in which the apparatus operation rate fell can be identified efficiently and correctly, and the factor of the apparatus operation rate fall can be analyzed efficiently.

  Before describing the embodiments of the present invention, the background of how the present inventor made the present invention will be described. As described above, when the wafer processing is stopped due to a minor failure and the operation rate of the apparatus is lowered, it is difficult to analyze the occurrence state and cause of the failure after the fact. However, the inventor has focused on the fact that wafer processing stops, whether severe or minor. Further, attention has been paid to the case where the wafer processing is stopped when the wafer processing is stopped without being transferred into the processing chamber, and when the wafer processing is stopped while the wafer is being transferred into the processing chamber. Then, the present inventors have found a method for specifying a time zone in which these two cases have occurred by a unique method based on wafer movement path information described later. However, in order to specify efficiently, it is necessary to narrow down enormous wafer movement path information. Therefore, the present inventor first narrowed down the wafer movement path information by specifying a rough time zone in which the above two cases occurred, for example, the day by an original method, and then based on the narrowed wafer movement path information. I came up with a way to identify the exact time zone. The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The first embodiment is a device operation management method for identifying a time zone in which the device operation rate has decreased and analyzing a factor for decreasing the device operation rate based on the specified time zone and device alarm information. The second embodiment is an apparatus operation management system that performs the method according to the first embodiment.

  In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component which has the same function, and the same description is not repeated except the case where it refuses. Moreover, all numerical values in the description of the embodiments are exemplary values, and the present invention is not limited to these values.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment will be described. First, a schematic configuration of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a multi-chamber apparatus 10 having three processing chambers. As can be seen from this figure, the device 10 includes a load port 3 and a main body 5. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the load port 3 has carriers 2A, 2B, and 2C that accommodate lot A, lot B, and lot C, each of which includes a plurality of wafers 1, 1,. The main body 5 includes three processing chambers A, B, and C and a transfer arm 4. The transfer arm 4 moves the wafer 1 from the carrier to the processing chamber, from the processing chamber to another processing chamber, or from the processing chamber to the carrier. As an example of the wafer path, the wafer 1 in the carrier 2A is first transferred into the processing chamber A, subjected to a predetermined process, and then moved to the processing chamber B. Next, after a predetermined processing is performed in the processing chamber B, the processing chamber C is moved. Next, after a predetermined process is performed in the processing chamber C, it is returned to the carrier 2A. When the wafer 1 follows the path as described above, the apparatus 10 records wafer movement path information (wafer tracking information) for each wafer. This wafer movement path information records the time when the wafer 1 is carried into the carrier and the processing chamber and the time when the wafer 1 is carried out from the carrier and the processing chamber. FIG. 2 shows an example of this wafer movement path information. As can be seen from this figure, the wafer carry-in time T _{wafer No, in} and the carry-out time T _{wafer No, out} are recorded for each wafer for the carrier and each processing chamber A, B, C.

  In the method according to the present embodiment, a time zone in which the apparatus operating rate has decreased is specified based on this wafer movement path information. This identification method is divided into two stages. That is, the day when the device operation rate has decreased is first specified, and then the time zone is specified.

  First, a description will be given of a method for specifying the day when the apparatus operating rate is reduced. In this method, the overall apparatus operation rate and the processing chamber operation rate are calculated using the above-described wafer movement path information, and the date when the apparatus operation rate has decreased is specified based on these operation rates. 3 and 4 show flowcharts of the specifying method. FIG. 3 shows a flow for specifying a day when the apparatus operating rate is lowered due to the wafer processing being stopped without being transferred into the processing chamber. On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows a flow for specifying a day when the apparatus operation rate is lowered by the wafer processing being stopped in a state where the wafer is loaded into the processing chamber.

  First, the flow of FIG. 3 will be described.

(1) The overall apparatus operation rate is calculated every day over a specified period (step S101). The overall apparatus operation rate is defined as a value obtained by dividing the time during which the apparatus is in operation on that day by 24 hours, which is a unit time. Here, the operating state of the apparatus is a state in which a wafer exists in the main body 5 of the apparatus 10. If even one wafer exists in the main unit 5, it is regarded as an operating state of the apparatus. The time during which the apparatus is in operation is calculated from the wafer movement path information. As an example of the calculation method, the time from when the wafer is first unloaded from the carrier to the last time the wafer is loaded into the carrier is obtained. For example, in FIG. 2, when the Lot A-Waf 1 wafer is unloaded from the carrier 2A for the first time on the day and the Lot A-Waf n wafer is returned to the carrier 2A at the end of the day, the time that the apparatus was in operation is T _{An, in} −T _{A1, out} . However, when the wafer of Lot A-Waf 1 is unloaded from the carrier 2A, if the wafer remains in the main body unit 5, it is assumed that the apparatus 10 has been in operation since 0:00. Similarly, when the wafer of Lot-Wafn is returned to the carrier 2A, if the wafer remains in the main body unit 5, it is assumed that the apparatus is in operation until 24:00 on that day.
The operating state of the apparatus may be a state where a wafer exists in the apparatus 10. That is, a state where a wafer exists in the load port 3 may be included in the operating state. In this case, the time during which the apparatus is in operation is the time from when the first carrier (2A, 2B, 2C) of the day is loaded into the load port 3 until the last carrier of the day is unloaded from the load port 3. It becomes. The time when the carrier is carried into and out of the load port 3 is acquired by an event alarm from carrier management, for example.

となる（αは処理チャンバ名）。
複数の処理チャンバがある場合は、処理チャンバごとに本ステップの計算を行う。 (2) Next, the processing chamber operation rate is calculated every day over a specified period (step S102). The processing chamber operating rate is defined as a value obtained by dividing the time during which the processing chamber is in an operating state on that day by a unit time of 24 hours. Here, the operation state of the processing chamber is a state in which the wafer exists in the processing chamber. If even one wafer exists in the processing chamber, it is considered that the processing chamber is operating. The time during which the processing chamber is in operation is calculated from the wafer movement path information. As an example of the calculation method, the time spent in the processing chamber is obtained for each wafer processed on that day, and the sum of these times is calculated. For example, in FIG. 2, when n wafers from Lot A-Waf 1 to Lot A-Waf n were processed in the processing chamber on that day, the time that the processing chamber was in operation was

(Α is the name of the processing chamber).
When there are a plurality of processing chambers, the calculation of this step is performed for each processing chamber.

(3) Next, a feature amount is calculated for each specified period from the calculated overall apparatus operation rate and processing chamber operation rate (step S103). This feature amount is calculated in order to specify the day when the processing chamber operation rate is significantly reduced with respect to the entire apparatus operation rate. Various features can be used as the feature quantity indicating the correlation between the overall apparatus operation rate and the processing chamber operation rate. For example, the difference or ratio between the overall apparatus operating rate and the processing chamber operating rate can be used. In addition, the average or variance of the difference (or ratio) between the entire apparatus operation rate and the processing chamber operation rate in the specified period is obtained, and the difference between the value and the difference (or ratio) between the entire apparatus operation rate and the processing chamber operation rate is calculated. It is good also as a feature-value. Note that a plurality of feature quantities may be calculated and used for later comparison.
When there are a plurality of processing chambers, the calculation of this step is performed for each processing chamber.

(4) Next, the calculated feature value is compared with a preset threshold value for each day, and it is checked whether there is a day when the feature value is larger than the threshold value (step S104). If there is a day when the feature amount is larger than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S105, and if not, the process ends. Depending on the feature amount, if there is a day when the feature amount is smaller than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S105, and otherwise, the process ends.
When a plurality of feature amounts are calculated in step S103, the feature amounts may be compared with corresponding threshold values. For example, a threshold value Th1 between the overall apparatus operation rate and the processing chamber operation rate and a threshold value Th2 between the overall apparatus operation rate and the processing chamber operation rate are set in advance, and the difference between the overall apparatus operation rate and the processing chamber operation rate is set. And the threshold Th1, and the ratio of the entire apparatus operating rate and the processing chamber operating rate to the threshold Th2.
When there are a plurality of processing chambers, this step is compared for each processing chamber.

(5) Specify the day when the feature amount is larger (or smaller) than the threshold as the day when the device operation rate is reduced (step S105).

  FIG. 5 shows the processing chamber operating rate and the overall apparatus operating rate of a certain processing chamber when the designated period is from May 1st to May 31st. Here, the difference between the overall apparatus operation rate and the processing chamber operation rate is used as a feature amount, and when the threshold is set to 30%, the feature amount is 35% on May 14 and exceeds the threshold value, so the device operation rate decreases. Was identified as a day.

  According to the above method, it is possible to specify the day when the apparatus operation rate is lowered by stopping the wafer processing without carrying the wafer into the processing chamber. Further, when there are a plurality of processing chambers, it is possible to know in which processing chamber the wafer was stopped without being loaded. For example, in the case of the apparatus 10 of FIG. 1, the processing chamber operating rates are obtained for the processing chambers A, B, and C, and the feature amounts are calculated using the respective processing chamber operating rates and the entire apparatus operating rate of the apparatus 10. As a result, when the feature amount calculated from the processing chamber operation rate of the processing chamber B and the overall apparatus operation rate is larger than the threshold value, it can be seen that the wafer is stagnated without being loaded into the processing chamber B.

  Next, a description will be given of a method for specifying a day when the apparatus operating rate is lowered by stopping the wafer processing while the wafer is loaded into the processing chamber. FIG. 4 shows the flow of this method. When the apparatus has a plurality of processing chambers, the flow of FIG. 4 is performed for each processing chamber.

(1) An average wafer processing time for each processing condition is calculated for each day over a specified period (step S201). The average wafer processing time is a value calculated by dividing the operation time of the processing chamber under a certain processing condition by the number of wafers processed under the processing condition on that day, and corresponds to an actual value. The processing conditions here refer to, for example, process conditions for determining the film forming speed and film quality.
The operation time of the processing chamber is obtained by the method described when the above-described processing chamber operation rate is obtained. Note that the number of processed wafers is obtained from production information (volume).

(2) Next, a net process time corresponding to the processing condition is acquired from recipe information for each processing condition set in advance (step S202). This net time is a value assumed as a wafer processing time under the processing conditions, and corresponds to a theoretical value.

(3) Next, a feature amount is calculated for each day over a specified period from the calculated average wafer processing time and net time (step S203). This feature amount is calculated in order to identify a day in which the time actually required for wafer processing is remarkably long with respect to the net time. Various features can be used as the feature quantity indicating the correlation between the average wafer processing time and the net time. For example, a ratio or difference between average wafer processing time and net time can be used. Note that a plurality of feature quantities may be calculated and used for later comparison.

(4) Next, the calculated feature value is compared with a preset threshold value, and it is checked whether there is a day when the feature value is larger than the threshold value (step S204). If the feature amount is larger than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S205, and if not, the process ends. Depending on the feature amount, if there is a day when the feature amount is smaller than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S205, and otherwise, the process ends.
When a plurality of feature amounts are calculated in step S203, the feature amounts may be compared with corresponding threshold values. For example, a threshold value Th3 of the difference between the average wafer processing time and the net time and a threshold value Th4 of the ratio of the average wafer processing time and the net time are set in advance, and the difference between the average wafer processing time and the net time is compared with the threshold value Th3. Further, a comparison between the ratio of the average wafer processing time and the net time and the threshold value Th4 may be performed.

(5) Specify the day when the feature amount is larger (or smaller) than the threshold as the day when the device operation rate is reduced (step S205).

  FIG. 6 shows the actual value of the number of processed wafers and the theoretical value of the number of processed wafers based on the net time when the designated period is from May 1st to May 31st. Here, when the value obtained by dividing the average wafer processing time by the net time is used as the feature amount and the threshold value is set to 70%, the feature amount is 67.5% on May 14 and falls below the threshold value. Was identified as the day of decline.

  According to the above method, it is possible to specify the day when the apparatus operating rate is lowered by stopping the processing in a state where the wafer is loaded into the processing chamber. Further, when there are a plurality of processing chambers, it is possible to know in which processing chamber the wafer was loaded and stopped.

  In the above description, the day (24 hours) is the unit time, but the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, it may be 8 hours or 12 hours.

  Next, a method for specifying in which time zone of the day specified by the above method the apparatus operating rate has decreased will be described with reference to FIGS.

  7 uses the wafer movement path information of the date and the processing chamber specified by the method shown in the flow of FIG. 3, and the wafer operation is stopped without the wafer being carried into the processing chamber. Shows how to identify the time zone. Hereinafter, it demonstrates along this figure.

(1) The value of the integer j is set to 1 (step S106).

(2) The time zones NS (1), NS (2),..., NS (N-1) where the wafer has not stayed in the processing chamber are extracted (step S107).

(3) Next, using the extracted non-staying time zone NS (i) (i = 1, 2,..., N−1), the feature quantity X (i) (i = 1, 2,. .., N-1) is calculated (step S108). The feature amount here is calculated in order to specify a time zone in which the wafer processing is stagnant without actually carrying the wafer into the processing chamber. For example, the non-staying time period | NS (i) | can be used as such a feature amount. This time is obtained by calculating the difference from the time when the previous wafer was unloaded from the processing chamber to the time when the next wafer was loaded into the processing chamber. That is, it is obtained by the following equation.
| NS (i) | = T _{Ai + 1, in} (α) − T _{Ai, out} (α) (i = 1, 2, ..., N-1)
Here, T _{Ai + 1, in} (α) represents the time when the wafer No. i + 1 of lot A was loaded into the processing chamber α, and T _{Ai, out} (α) represents the wafer No. i of lot A. This represents the time when the material was unloaded from the processing chamber α. N is the total number of wafers processed in the processing chamber on the day when the apparatus operating rate decreases.
In addition, the difference between the average or variance of | NS (i) | (i = 1, 2,..., N−1) and | NS (i) | .
In this way, feature quantities X (1), X (2),..., X (N−1) are obtained.

(4) Next, if the integer j is N−1 or less, the process proceeds to step S110, and if not, the process ends (step S109).

(5) The calculated feature value X (i) is compared with a threshold value corresponding to the feature value (step S110). This threshold value is preset for each feature amount. If the feature amount is larger than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S111. Otherwise, the integer j is incremented by 1, and the process proceeds to step S109. Depending on the threshold value, if the feature amount is smaller than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S111. Otherwise, the integer j is incremented by 1, and the process proceeds to step S109. If a plurality of feature amounts are calculated in step S108, the feature amounts may be compared with corresponding threshold values.

(6) A time zone in which the feature amount X (i) is larger (or smaller) than the threshold value is specified as a time zone in which the apparatus operating rate is reduced (step S111). Thereafter, the integer j is incremented by 1, and the process returns to step S109.

  Next, another method for specifying a time zone in which the apparatus operating rate has decreased will be described. FIG. 8 shows that the apparatus operation rate is lowered by stopping the wafer processing while the wafer is loaded into the processing chamber using the date specified by the method shown in the flow of FIG. 4 and the wafer movement path information of the processing chamber. Shows how to identify the time zone. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG.

(1) The integer j is set to 1 (step S206).

(2) Extract S (1), S (2),..., S (N) during which the wafer stayed in the processing chamber. (Step S207).

(3) Next, the feature amount Y (i) is calculated using the extracted stay time zones S (1), S (2),..., S (N) (step S208). The feature amount here is calculated in order to specify a time zone in which the wafer processing is actually stagnant while the wafer is loaded into the processing chamber. For example, the time | S (i) | of the staying time zone can be used as such a feature amount. This time is obtained by calculating the difference from the time when the wafer is loaded into the processing chamber to the time when the wafer is unloaded from the processing chamber. That is, it is obtained by the following equation.
｜ S (i) | = T _{Ai, out} (α) − T _{Ai, in} (α) (i = 1, 2, ..., N)
Here, T _{Ai, out} (α) represents the time when the wafer No. i of lot A was unloaded from the chamber α, and T _{Ai, in} (α) represents the wafer No. i of lot A in the chamber α. Indicates the time when the item was brought in. N is the total number of wafers processed in the processing chamber on the day when the apparatus operating rate decreases.
In addition, the difference between the average or variance of | S (i) | (i = 1, 2,..., N−1) and | S (i) | .
In this way, feature quantities Y (1), Y (2),..., Y (N) are obtained.

(4) Next, if the integer j is less than or equal to N, the process proceeds to step S210, and if not, the process ends (step S209).

(5) The calculated feature value Y (i) is compared with a threshold value corresponding to the feature value (step S210). This threshold value is preset for each feature amount. If the feature amount is larger than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S211; otherwise, the integer j is incremented by one and the process proceeds to step S209. Depending on the threshold value, if the feature quantity is smaller than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S211; otherwise, the integer j is incremented by one and the process proceeds to step S209. If a plurality of feature amounts are calculated in step S208, the feature amounts may be compared with corresponding threshold values.

(6) A time zone in which the feature amount Y (i) is larger (or smaller) than the threshold value is specified as a time zone in which the apparatus operating rate is reduced (step S211). Thereafter, the integer j is incremented by 1, and the process returns to step S209.

  FIG. 9 is a graph showing the wafer stay status in a certain chamber based on the wafer movement path information. A line segment in the graph indicates a time during which one wafer stayed in the chamber. The time zone specified by the above method is indicated by the shaded portion. By the method described with reference to FIG. 8, a time zone that is significantly longer than other line segments is specified as a time zone during which the wafer is stagnant in the chamber. Further, according to the method described with reference to FIG. 7, a time zone in which a line segment is remarkably vacant is specified as a time zone in which the wafer is stagnant without being loaded into the chamber.

  According to the above identification method, it is possible to narrow down enormous wafer movement path information by first identifying the day and the processing chamber when the apparatus operation rate has decreased. By examining the narrowed wafer movement path information in detail, it is possible to efficiently and accurately specify the time zone in which the apparatus operating rate has decreased.

  Next, a method for analyzing the cause of the decrease in the device operating rate using the time zone specified by the above specifying method and the alarm information of the device will be described. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG. This figure shows a flow of a method for analyzing a factor of lowering the apparatus operation rate.

(1) The apparatus alarm information issued by the apparatus is extracted during the designated period before and after the time period specified in the above-described steps S111 and S211 (step S301). It should be noted that only before the specified time zone or after the specified time zone may be the period for extracting the device alarm information.

(2) Next, based on the extracted device alarm information, the number of occurrences in a total time unit is totaled for each alarm item (step S302).

(3) Next, device alarms that have occurred intensively before and after the specified time period are extracted as factors that cause a reduction in the device operation rate (step S303). Specifically, an apparatus alarm that has occurred exceeding a predetermined threshold is extracted.

  FIG. 11 shows the aggregated device alarm information and the analysis result of the operating rate lowering factor. In this example, it is assumed that the specified time zone is 11:00, the total time unit is 1 hour, and the extraction period is 11 hours before the special time zone (from 0 to 10:00) and after 12 hours (from 12:00 to 23:00). As can be seen from this figure, “temperature [1] abnormality” and “temperature [2] abnormality” alarms that occurred before the specified time period are extracted as factors that cause a reduction in the device operation rate. .

  According to the above analysis method, by extracting device alarms that occur intensively before and after the time period when the device operation rate has decreased, factors that are likely to be the direct cause of the decrease in device operation rate Can be analyzed efficiently. In addition, by extracting device alarms that occur intensively before and after the time zone of a minor fault, the cause of the minor fault can be analyzed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to efficiently and accurately specify the time zone in which the apparatus operation rate has decreased without missing the influence of a minor failure from a huge amount of wafer movement path information. Then, by analyzing the apparatus alarm information issued before and after the specified time zone, it is possible to efficiently analyze the factor that the apparatus operation rate has decreased from the enormous apparatus alarm information. Furthermore, by improving the apparatus based on the factor obtained as a result of the analysis, the apparatus operating rate (productivity) can be improved.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. As described above, the present embodiment is an apparatus operation management system that performs the apparatus operation management method according to the first embodiment. FIG. 12 shows the configuration of the apparatus operation management system according to this embodiment. As can be seen from this figure, the apparatus operation management system includes an apparatus 11, an apparatus management server 12, a production host server (MES) 13, an operation management server 14, and a terminal device 15.

  The apparatus 11 is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and transmits wafer movement path information, apparatus alarm information, and the like to the apparatus management server 12.

  The apparatus management server 12 transmits the wafer movement path information and the apparatus alarm information to the operation management server 14.

  The production host server 13 includes a production information database 131 and a recipe information database 132, and manages lot progress. Further, the number of wafers processed for each processing chamber and processing condition included in the production information database 131 and the net time for each processing chamber and processing condition included in the recipe information database 132 are transmitted to the operation management server 14.

  The operation management server 14 includes a wafer movement path information database 141, an apparatus alarm information database 142, an operation information database 143, and a threshold information database 144. The threshold information database 144 stores a threshold for comparison with the feature amount. The operation management server 14 receives the wafer movement path information and the apparatus alarm information from the apparatus management server 12 and stores them in the wafer movement path information database 141 and the apparatus alarm information database 142, respectively. Further, the operation management server 14 includes an operation rate calculation program, an operation rate decrease date specifying program, an operation rate decrease time zone specifying program, and an apparatus alarm totaling program for executing the apparatus operation management method according to the first embodiment. Have. The operating rate calculation program calculates the overall operating rate of the apparatus 11 and the processing chamber operating rate for each processing chamber of the apparatus 11 based on the wafer movement path information database 141. The operating rate decrease date specifying program is a program for executing the method shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 described in the first embodiment. In this program, the device operation rate decreased during the specified period based on the overall device operation rate and processing chamber operation rate calculated by the operation rate calculation program, and the net time and the number of wafers processed for each processing condition. Identify the day. The operating rate reduction time zone specifying program is a program for executing the method shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 described in the first embodiment. This program specifies the time zone in which the apparatus operating rate has decreased based on the date and processing chamber information specified by the operating rate decrease date specifying program and the information in the wafer movement path information database 141. The apparatus alarm totaling program is a program for executing the method shown in FIG. 10 described in the first embodiment.

  The terminal device 15 accepts various parameter settings and commands from the operator. The input parameters include a period for checking the operating rate decrease date, a threshold value, a feature amount to be used, a specified period for counting device alarms, and a counting time unit. The terminal device 15 displays information from various servers on a display.

  Next, the operation of the apparatus operation management system will be described.

  When the operator inputs the above parameters and analysis command to the terminal device 15, the information is transmitted to the operation management server 14. The operation management server 14 that has received the analysis command stores the overall apparatus operation rate and the processing chamber operation rate of the apparatus 11 calculated using the operation rate calculation program in the operation information database 143. Next, the date when the device operation rate is reduced is specified using the operation reduction date specifying program. Next, a time zone in which the apparatus operating rate has been reduced is specified using an operation reduction time zone specifying program. Next, by using the apparatus alarm totaling program, apparatus alarms that are intensively generated before and after the time period when the apparatus operation rate has decreased are extracted as factors of the operation rate decrease.

  All processing results of the operation management server 14 are displayed on the display of the terminal device 15. In other words, the processing results shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 9 and 11 are displayed on the display in response to an operator request. As a result, the operator can easily grasp visually the day and time zone when the device operation rate has decreased, and can also know the cause of the decrease in the device operation rate.

  Note that the analysis command may be periodically transmitted from the terminal device 15 to the operation management server 14 using a timer without using an operator.

  Further, the configuration of the system shown in FIG. 12 is merely an example, and various configurations can be adopted. For example, the device management server 12 and the operation management server 14 may be combined into one server.

  In addition, a plurality of devices 11, 11,... Are connected to the device management server 12, and the time period during which the device operation rate decreases is analyzed for each device and the factors are analyzed. You may make it display the processing result for every apparatus.

  Further, the device 11 may include the functions of the device management server 12 and the operation management server 14. In this case, the apparatus 11 records and accumulates apparatus alarm information and wafer movement path information in the apparatus. The number of wafers processed included in the production information database and the net time included in the recipe information database are received from the production host server 13. Then, using the movement path information, the number of processed wafers and the net time, specify the time zone when the operating rate of the own device has declined, and extract the factors that reduced the operating rate based on the specified time zone and device alarm information Then, the processing result is transmitted to the terminal device 15.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, an apparatus operation management system that performs the apparatus operation management method according to the first embodiment is provided, and the time zone in which the apparatus operation rate has decreased is efficiently and accurately specified. The factor of decrease can be analyzed efficiently.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which has a some process chamber. It is a figure which shows wafer movement path | route information. It is a flowchart which shows the method of specifying the day when an apparatus operation rate fell. It is a flowchart which shows another method of specifying the day when an apparatus operation rate fell. It is a figure which shows the whole apparatus operating rate and processing chamber operating rate for every day in a designated period. It is a figure which shows the theoretical value based on the track record value and the net time of the wafer processing number for every day in the designated period. It is a flowchart which shows the method of specifying the time slot | zone when the apparatus operation rate fell. It is a flowchart which shows another method of specifying the time slot | zone when the apparatus operation rate fell. It is a figure which shows the stay condition of the wafer of a certain chamber. It is a flowchart which shows the method of analyzing the fall factor of an apparatus operation rate. It is a figure which shows the totaled apparatus alarm information and the analysis result of an operation rate fall factor. It is a figure which shows the structure of the apparatus operation management system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wafer 2A, 2B, 2C ... Carrier 3 ... Load port 4 ... Transfer arm 5 ... Main-body part 10, 11 ... Device 12 ... Device management server 13 ... Production host server (MES)
14 ... Operation management server 15 ... Terminal device 131 ... Production information database 132 ... Recipe information database 141 ... Wafer movement path information database 142 ... Device alarm information database 143 ... Operation information Database 144... Threshold information database

Claims (5)

An apparatus operation management method for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having a processing chamber for performing wafer processing,
A predetermined designated period is divided into a plurality of predetermined unit times, and for each predetermined unit time, a ratio of the time during which the wafer exists in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus to the predetermined unit time is calculated, and this ratio And the overall operating rate for each predetermined unit time,
For each predetermined unit time, the ratio of the time that the wafer was present in the processing chamber to the predetermined unit time is calculated, and this ratio is used as the partial operation rate for each predetermined unit time.
For each predetermined unit time, calculate a first feature amount indicating a correlation between the overall operating rate and the partial operating rate,
For each predetermined unit time, the first feature value is compared with a predetermined threshold value,
Based on a result of the comparison, the predetermined unit time including an operation rate reduction time zone in which the wafer processing is stopped in a state where the wafer is not loaded into the processing chamber is specified.
The apparatus operation management method characterized by the above-mentioned. An apparatus operation management method for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having a processing chamber for performing wafer processing,
A predetermined designated period is divided into a plurality of predetermined unit times, and a processing chamber operating time as a time during which a wafer exists in the processing chamber under a certain processing condition is divided into the processing conditions for each predetermined unit time. Calculating an average wafer processing time by dividing by the number of wafers processed in the predetermined unit time by the processing chamber below;
Obtaining a net time which is a theoretical value of the processing time of the wafer under the processing conditions;
For each predetermined unit time, a first feature amount indicating a correlation between the average wafer processing time and the net time is calculated,
For each predetermined unit time, the first feature amount is compared with a predetermined threshold value,
Based on the result of the comparison, the predetermined unit time including an operation rate reduction time zone in which the wafer processing is stopped in a state where the wafer is loaded into the processing chamber is specified.
The apparatus operation management method characterized by the above-mentioned. The apparatus operation management method according to claim 1,
Extracting a non-staying time zone in which the wafer did not stay in the processing chamber from the wafer movement path information in the specified predetermined unit time,
Calculating a second feature amount based on the non-staying time period;
Comparing the second feature amount with a predetermined threshold;
Based on the result of the comparison, the operating rate reduction time zone consisting of at least a part of the non-staying time zone is specified.
The apparatus operation management method characterized by the above-mentioned. The apparatus operation management method according to claim 2,
From the movement path information of the wafer in the specified predetermined unit time, the staying time zone in which the wafer stayed in the processing chamber is extracted,
A second feature value is calculated based on the stay time period;
Comparing the second feature amount with a predetermined threshold;
Based on the result of the comparison, the operating rate decrease time zone consisting of at least a part of the stay time zone is specified.
The apparatus operation management method characterized by the above-mentioned. At least one semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having a processing chamber for processing a wafer and transmitting movement path information of the wafer;
A production host server having a production information database and a recipe information database, and transmitting the number of wafers processed included in the production information database and a net time included in the recipe information database;
An operation management server that identifies a time zone in which the operation rate of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus has decreased, using the movement path information, the wafer processing number, and the net time;
An apparatus operation management system comprising:

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