TWI749992B - Wafer manufacturing management method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

A managing system and a manufacturing system adapted to manage processes of work stations. The managing system includes: obtaining, by a central control server, a work station request corresponding to an object; controlling the work stations to detect queue statuses of the work stations; and in response to the work station request, selecting, by the central control server, a selected work station from the work stations according to the queue statuses, for controlling the object to be processed by the selected work station.

Description

Management method and system for wafer manufacturing

The present invention relates to a method and system, and particularly relates to a management method and production system.

In some specific industries, such as the electronic assembly industry, high-precision wafer manufacturing needs often follow a specific manufacturing sequence to maintain the quality of the manufactured wafers. However, the time spent in the processing or processing procedures of each workstation in the manufacturing process is not equal. Therefore, the total waiting time of each wafer during the production process will be significantly affected by certain processing or processing procedures. The ground stretches, resulting in a decrease in production efficiency.

The invention provides a management method and a production system, which can dynamically adjust the manufacturing process sequence of objects and simultaneously perform effective management and control.

The management method of the present invention is suitable for managing the processing of multiple workstations. The management method includes: obtaining the workstation request corresponding to the object through the central control server; enabling the workstation to detect the queue status; receiving the queue status of the workstation through the central control server; and responding Upon request of the workstation, the central control server selects the selected workstation from the workstations according to the queue status to control the object to enter the selected workstation.

The production system of the present invention is suitable for processing objects, and the production system includes a workstation and a central control server. The workstation detects the queue status. The central control server is coupled to the workstation to obtain the queue status. When the central control server obtains the workstation request of the corresponding object, it responds to the workstation request. The central control server selects the selected workstation from the workstations according to the queue status to control the object to enter the selected workstation.

Based on the above, the management method and production system can dynamically adjust the manufacturing process sequence of the objects and simultaneously perform effective management and control, effectively reducing the production waiting time of each object, and thereby improving production efficiency.

1, 3a, 3b, 3c: production system

10, 30: Central control server

11-1~11-n, 31-1~31-6: Workstation

OBJ: Object

S11~S14, S20~S29, S251, S252: steps

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a production system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a management method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3A is a schematic diagram of a production system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3B is a schematic diagram of a production system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3C is a schematic diagram of a production system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a management method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a production system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. production system 1 It can be used for the processing of OBJ objects. The production system 1 includes a central control server 10 and workstations 11-1~11-n. Workstations 11-1~11-n can detect their respective queue status. The central control server 10 is coupled to the workstations 11-1 to 11-n, and obtains the queue status detected by the workstations 11-1 to 11-n. In this way, when the object OBJ wants to enter one or more of the workstations 11-1 to 11-n for processing, the central control server 10 can obtain a workstation request corresponding to the object OBJ. In response to the workstation request, the central control server 10 can select the selected workstation according to the queue status of the workstations 11-1 to 11-n, and control the object OBJ to enter the selected workstation for processing.

In one embodiment, the object OBJ can be a semi-finished wafer to be processed, and the workstations 11-1~11-n can perform, for example, but not limited to, silicon nitride deposition, cassette exchange, particle removal, and thickness of the object OBJ. Processing operations such as measurement, defect measurement, boron and phosphorus impurity silicon oxide dielectric layer deposition.

In general, the workstations 11-1 to 11-n in the production system 1 can perform processing operations of different contents on the object OBJ, and the workstations 11-1 to 11-n have no order requirements for the processing operations of the object OBJ. In an example, the object OBJ first enters the workstation 11-1 or enters the workstation 11-2 for processing operations, and it does not affect the processing result of the object OBJ generated by the production system 1. In other words, after the object OBJ has undergone the processing operations of all workstations 11-1~11-n in the production system 1, the object that enters the workstation 11-1 first or the object that enters the workstation 11-2 first can produce the same or similar objects The result of processing. Therefore, when the production system 1 wants to perform processing operations on the object OBJ, or the object OBJ wants to enter one or more workstations in the production system 1 for processing operations, the production system 1 can adaptively arrange the entry of the object OBJ Workstations to reduce the overall waiting time of the production system 1, thereby effectively using the production capacity of the production system 1 and improving the utilization rate of the workstations of the production system 1.

In detail, workstations 11-1 to 11-n all have their own queues. When the object OBJ, for example, enters the workstation 11-1 for processing operations, the object OBJ needs to enter the queue corresponding to the workstation 11-1 and wait until the workstation 11-1 completes the processing operations of other objects in the queue before the object OBJ , The processing operation of the object OBJ will be carried out. The workstations 11-1~11-n can detect their respective queue states and provide their respective queue states to the central control server 10. The queue states detected by the workstations 11-1~11-n can include The number of queues and processing time. The number of queues is the number of objects in the queue waiting for processing operations, and the processing time is the time required for each workstation to perform processing operations.

After the central control server 10 receives the queue status provided by the workstations 11-1~11-n, the central control server 10 can calculate each workstation 11-1 according to the number of queues in the queue status and the processing time ~11-n total waiting time. Further, the central control server 10 can select the minimum total waiting time from the total waiting time, and the central control server 10 can also select the workstation with the minimum total waiting time as the selected workstation. In this way, the central control server 10 can control the object OBJ to enter the selected workstation with the minimum total waiting time for processing operations, which effectively reduces the object waiting time of the production system 1 and improves the capacity utilization rate.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a management method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The management method shown in FIG. 2 can be applied to the production system 1 shown in FIG. 1. Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 together to understand the description of the management method below.

In detail, the management method includes steps S11 to S14. In step S11, the production system 1 can obtain the workstation request corresponding to the object OBJ through the central control server 10. In one embodiment, the workstation request of the object OBJ may include a workstation flag. The central control server 10 of the production system 1 can, according to the workstation flag of the object OBJ, know which workstations the object OBJ intends to perform processing operations corresponding to, or which workstations the object OBJ has undergone processing operations.

In step S12, the production system 1 can enable the workstations 11-1 to 11-n to detect the queue status. In one embodiment, the queue status detected by the workstations 11-1-11-n may include the number of queues and the processing time. The number of queues can be used to indicate the number of objects waiting to be processed in the queue of each workstation, and the processing time can be the time required for each workstation to perform processing operations.

In step S13, the production system 1 responds to the workstation request, and the central control server 10 can receive the queue status of the workstations 11-1 to 11-n.

In step S14, the production system 1 can use the central control server 10 to select a selected workstation from the workstations 11-1 to 11-n according to the queue status to control the object OBJ to enter the selected workstation for processing operations. In an embodiment, the central control server 10 can calculate the total waiting time of the workstations 11-1~11-n according to the number of queues in the queue state and the processing time, and the central control server 10 can be further configured by the workstations 11- Select the workstation with the smallest total waiting time from 1~11-n as the selected workstation. The central control server 10 can control the object OBJ to enter the queue of the selected workstation and wait for the processing operation.

In one embodiment, the central control server 10 may select the selected workstation according to the workstation flag of the object OBJ and the queue status of the workstations 11-1 to 11-n. more detail In other words, the workstation flag can be multiple digital record values, which are used to record the completion status of the object OBJ at the workstations 11-1 to 11-n. For example, the workstation flag of the object OBJ can be initially set to zero. After the object OBJ completes the processing operation, for example, the workstation 11-1, the workstation flag of the object OBJ in the workstation 11-1 can be modified to one accordingly. In this way, the central control server 10 can know that the object OBJ has performed and has not yet performed processing operations according to the workstation flag corresponding to the object OBJ.

Further, the central control server 10 can select one or more candidate workstations for which the object OBJ has not yet processed from the workstations 11-1 to 11-n according to the workstation flag of the object OBJ. Then, the central control server 10 selects the selected workstation from the candidate workstations according to the queue status of the candidate workstation, and controls the object OBJ to enter the queue of the selected workstation to wait for the processing operation.

In this way, the production system 1 can ensure that the waiting time of the object OBJ is the shortest, and the production system 1 can effectively prevent all subsequent objects entering the production system 1 from being delayed by the single workstation when a large number of queues are waiting for a single workstation. As a result, the production capacity of other workstations in the production system 1 is idle and the production waiting time of objects increases.

Fig. 3A is a schematic diagram of a production system 3a according to an embodiment of the present invention. The production system 3a includes a central control server 30 and workstations 31-1~31-6. In detail, the workstations 31-1~31-6 can perform different processing operations. In one embodiment, the workstation 31-1 can perform silicon nitride deposition (silicon nitride deposition) processing operations, the workstation 31-2 can perform front opening unified pod change (foup change) processing operations, and the workstation 31-3 can remove particles (particle remove) processing operations, workstation 31-4 can perform thickness measurement processing operations, workstation 31-5 can perform defect inspection processing operations, and workstation 31-6 can perform boron and phosphorus impurities Processing operation of BPTEOS deposition.

In one embodiment, after the object OBJ enters the production system 3a, it must first enter the workstation 31-1, then enter the group formed by the workstations 31-2 to 31-5, and finally enter the workstation 31-6. In other words, after the object OBJ completes the processing operations of the workstation 31-1, there is no order restriction on the processing operations performed by the workstations 31-2~31-5, as long as the processing operations performed by the workstations 31-2~31-5 are After the processing operation of the workstation 31-1, and before the processing operation of the workstation 31-6.

In addition, in an embodiment, the central control server 30 can set or change the workstation flag of the object OBJ according to the nature of the processing operations of the workstations 31-1 to 31-6. For example, the workstation 31-4 may be a processing operation for thickness measurement. In one embodiment, the central control server 30 may perform the thickness measurement processing operation on only a part of the object OBJ in a sampling manner. Therefore, the central control server 30 can set whether each object OBJ entering the production system 3a needs to perform the thickness measurement processing operation of the workstation 31-4 according to a preset or random number. When the central control server 30 determines that the object OBJ is to be sampled for thickness measurement, the central control server 30 sets or changes the workstation flag of the object OBJ so that the object OBJ corresponds to the workstation flag of the workstation 31-4 is set to wait Complete (for example, digital record value 0). Conversely, when the central control server 30 determines that the thickness measurement processing operation of the workstation 31-4 is not performed on the object OBJ, the central control server 30 can set or change the workstation flag of the object OBJ as completed (for example, the digital record value 1).

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a production system 3b according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The production system 3b includes a central control server 30 and workstations 31-1~31-5. In this embodiment, the order of the handover operations performed by the workstations 31-1 and 31-2 can be exchanged, so the workstations 31-1 and 31-2 can form a group, and the tasks performed by the workstations 31-4 and 31-5 The order of handover operations can be exchanged, so workstations 31-4 and 31-5 can form another group. In this way, the central control server 30 can first control the object OBJ to complete the processing operations of the group formed by the workstations 31-1 and 31-2, then enter the workstation 31-3, and finally enter the workstation 31-4, 31-5. The formed group.

Therefore, in the production system 3b, the central control server 30 can flexibly control the workstation where the object OBJ enters according to the processing operation properties of the workstations 31-1 to 31-5, so as to increase the utilization rate of the workstations of the production system 3b.

FIG. 3C is a schematic diagram of a production system 3c according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The production system 3c includes a central control server 30 and workstations 31-1~31-6. In this embodiment, the workstations 31-2~31-5 can form a group together. The group includes two subgroups. One subgroup includes the workstations 31-2, 31-3 and the other subgroup. The group includes workstations 31-4 and 31-5. When the object completes the processing operation of the workstation 31-1 and enters the group formed by the workstations 31-2~31-5, the central control server 30 can control the object OBJ according to the queue status of the workstations 31-2~31-5 Enter the subgroup of 31-2, 31-3 or enter the subgroup of 31-4, 31-5.

In an embodiment of FIG. 3C, in the subgroups of the workstations 31-2 and 31-3, the object OBJ needs to be processed by the workstation 31-2 before the workstation is executed. The processing operation of 31-3, and in the subgroups of workstations 31-4 and 31-5, the object OBJ needs to be processed by the processing operation of the workstation 31-4 and then the processing operation of the workstation 31-5. That is, the workstations in the two subgroups have requirements for the order of execution. For example, workstations 31-2 and 31-3 can perform N well implant processing operations, and workstations 31-4 and 31-5 can perform P well implant processing operations operate.

In this way, after the object OBJ completes the processing operation of the workstation 31-1, the central control server 30 can rely on the queue status of the workstations 31-2 and 31-3 in the subgroup and the workstation 31- in another subgroup. 4. The queue status of 31-5 is used to determine which subgroup has the smallest total waiting time, and this subgroup is selected as the selected subgroup. The central control server 30 can control the object OBJ to first enter the selected subgroup for processing operations, and then enter another subgroup for processing operations.

Furthermore, after the object OBJ enters the subgroup formed by the workstations 31-2 and 31-3, the central control server 30 may control the object OBJ to perform processing operations in a preset order, for example, enter the workstation 31 first After -2, enter workstation 31-3 or vice versa. Similarly, in the subgroup formed by the workstations 31-4 and 31-5, the central control server 30 can also control the object OBJ to enter the workstations 31-4 and 31-5 in a preset order.

The manner in which the central control server 30 calculates the minimum total waiting time of the subgroups can be adjusted or modified according to design requirements. In one embodiment, the central control server 30 calculates the minimum total waiting time of the subgroups formed by the workstations 31-2 and 31-3, and calculates the minimum total waiting time of the subgroups formed by the workstations 31-4 and 31-5. When waiting time, the central control server 30 can add up the waiting time of the workstations 31-2 and 31-3 as the total waiting time of the subgroup. The central control server 30 can add up the waiting time of the workstations 31-4 and 31-5 to As the total waiting time for this subgroup. The central control server 30 can compare the total waiting time of the two subgroups to determine the minimum total waiting time.

In an embodiment, since the workstations 31-2 and 31-4 are respectively the two workstations that are executed first in sequence in the two subgroups. Therefore, the central control server 30 can set the waiting time of the workstation 31-2 as the waiting time of the subgroup to which it belongs, and set the waiting time of the workstation 31-4 as the waiting time of another subgroup. In this way, the central control server 30 can compare the waiting time of the two subgroups to determine the minimum total waiting time, and control the object OBJ to enter the subgroup with the minimum total waiting time.

In another embodiment of FIG. 3C, there is no order requirement for the processing operations performed between the workstations 31-2 and 31-3, and there is no order requirement for the processing operations performed between the workstations 31-4 and 31-5. . In this way, the central control server 30 can select which of the workstations 31-2~31-5 has the smallest total waiting time, and set the subgroup to which the workstation with the smallest total waiting time belongs as the selected subgroup. The control object OBJ enters the selected subgroup. In this embodiment, of course, the central control server 30 can also calculate the total waiting time of the workstations in the subgroup as the total waiting time of the subgroup, and accordingly select which subgroup has the smallest total waiting time.

Therefore, when there is no sequence requirement for the processing operations performed between the multiple subgroups in the production system 3c, the central control system 3c can control the object OBJ to enter one of the subgroups, and the processing of the subgroup is to be completed After the operation, it enters another subgroup to increase the flexibility of the production system 3c to arrange the object OBJ for processing operations.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a management method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The management method shown in Fig. 4 can be applied to the production systems 1, 3a~3c shown in Figs.

Figure 4 contains steps S20~S29. In step S20, the management method starts to execute. In step S21, the central control server can obtain a workstation request corresponding to the object OBJ, where the workstation request may include multiple workstation flags corresponding to the workstations in the production system. In step S22, the workstation can detect the queue status, and receive the queue status of the workstation through the central control server.

In step S23, the central control server can determine whether the production system allows adjustment of the workstation sequence. In one embodiment, the production system may receive a user instruction to enable the setting of adjusting the workstation sequence. In one embodiment, the production system can measure the average production time of the object. When the measured average production time is greater than the preset time, the production system can automatically start the dynamic adjustment of the workstation sequence settings.

In step S24, the production system can determine whether the object is going to enter the group, the object is already in the group, or the object has left the group. Taking the production system 3a depicted in Figure 3A as an example, when the object OBJ has completed the processing operation of the workstation 31-1 and has not entered any of the workstations 31-2~31-5, the central control server 30 can determine that the object OBJ is " Enter the group of workstations 31-2~31-5". After the object OBJ has entered any of the workstations 31-2 to 31-5 for processing operations, the central control server 30 can determine that the object OBJ is "already in the group of the workstations 31-2 to 31-5". After the object OBJ has performed the processing operations of each of the workstations 31-2~31-5, the central control server 30 can determine that the object OBJ has completed the processing operations of the group of workstations 31-2~31-5, and the object OBJ is "Leave the group of workstations 31-2~31-5".

After the central control server determines that the object is in the group, it executes step S25 to set the workstation flag of the object. Specifically, step S25 includes steps S251 and S252. In step S251, the central control server may set the workstation flag of the object as an initial value. In step S252, the central control server can determine whether the object is sampled at each workstation. Taking the production system 3a depicted in FIG. 3A as an example, in step S251, the central control server 30 may set the object OBJ corresponding to the workstation flags of the workstations 31-2~31-5 as the initial value (for example, digital Record value 0). In step S252, when the central control server 30 determines that the object OBJ needs to be sampled by the workstation 31-4 and performs thickness measurement processing operations, the central control server 30 can maintain the workstation flag corresponding to the workstation 31-4 as the start Value (for example, digital record value 0). Conversely, when the central control server 30 determines that the object OBJ does not need to be sampled by the workstation 31-4, the central control server 30 can adjust the workstation flag corresponding to the workstation 31-4 as completed (for example, the digital record value 1). Therefore, in step S25, the central control server 30 can set the workstation flag of the object OBJ according to the operation requirement.

The central control server determines in step S24 that the object is in the group, or after completing step S25, it executes step S26. In step S26, the central control server can determine whether the object has completed the processing operation of each workstation in the group according to the workstation flag. In one embodiment, the central control server can check whether each workstation flag is set as completed. In another embodiment, when the workstation flag is not completed with the digital value 0 and the recording is completed with the digital value 1, the central control server can check the product of all the workstation flags. The central control server can determine that the object has not completed the group when the product is zero The processing operations of all workstations in the group, and when the product is not zero, it is determined that the object has completed the processing operations of all workstations in the group.

After the central control server determines that the object has not completed the processing operations of all workstations in the group, step S27 is executed. In step S27, the central control server may determine the minimum total waiting time. In one embodiment, the central control server can select workstations where the object has not yet been processed according to the workstation flag, and calculate the total waiting time of each workstation based on the queue status of these workstations, and then select the smallest total The workstation with the waiting time is regarded as the selected workstation.

In step S28, the central control server can control the object to enter the workstation with the minimum total waiting time for processing operations.

In addition, when the central control server determines in step S24 that the object is leaving the group, or the central control server determines in step S26 that the object has completed the processing operations of all workstations in the group, step S29 is executed to end the management method.

In summary, the production system and management method of the present invention can dynamically adjust the manufacturing process sequence of objects and simultaneously perform effective management and control, so as to reduce the waiting time of objects entering the production system, thereby effectively utilizing the production capacity of the production system and improving production efficiency. Improve the workstation utilization rate of the production system.

S11~S14: steps

Claims (11)

A management method for wafer manufacturing, suitable for managing the processing of multiple workstations, includes: obtaining a workstation request corresponding to an object through a central control server; enabling the workstations to detect multiple queue states; The central control server receives the queue states of the workstations; in response to the workstation request, the central control server selects a selected workstation from the workstations according to the queue states to control the workstation The object enters the selected workstation, wherein the workstation request also includes a plurality of workstation flags corresponding to the workstations to record multiple completion states of the object at the workstations, and the workstation flags are respectively multiple digital records Value, wherein the step of selecting the selected workstations from the workstations by the central control server according to the queue states includes: arranging the workstations from the workstations according to the workstation flags by the central control server The selected workstation is selected; and the central control server determines whether the object has completed the processing of all the workstations according to the product of the digital record values. The wafer manufacturing management method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the selected workstation from the workstations according to the queue status by the central control server includes: using the central control server According to a queue quantity and a processing time of each queue state, calculate a plurality of total waiting times of the workstations; and by the central control server according to a minimum total waiting time among the total waiting times In between, the selected workstation with the minimum total waiting time is selected. The wafer manufacturing management method according to claim 1, wherein the workstations include a plurality of first workstations, at least one second workstation, and a plurality of third workstations, and the management method further includes: completing the first workstations on the object After the processing of a workstation, the object is controlled to enter the at least one second workstation by the central control server; and after the processing of the at least one second workstation is completed by the object, the second workstation is controlled by the central control server Select the selected station among the three stations to control the object to enter the selected station. The wafer manufacturing management method according to claim 1, wherein the workstations include a first group formed by a plurality of first workstations and a second group formed by a plurality of second workstations, and the management method It also includes: receiving, by the central control server, a plurality of first queue states of the first workstations and a plurality of second queue states of the second workstations; and according to the central control server The first queue state and the second queue states select the first group or the second group as a selected group to control the object to enter the selected group. The wafer manufacturing management method according to claim 4, wherein the step of selecting the selected group by the central control server according to the first queue states and the second queue states includes: The central control server calculates and adds up the total waiting of the first workstations in the first group according to a queue number and a processing time of each queue state Time, and calculate and add up the total waiting time of the second workstations in the second group; and by the central control server according to a minimum total waiting time among the total waiting times, select Out the selected group with the minimum total waiting time. The wafer manufacturing management method according to claim 4, wherein the step of selecting the selected group by the central control server according to the first queue states and the second queue states includes: The central control server calculates the total waiting time of the first workstation executed first in the first group according to a queue number and a processing time of each queue state, and calculates the second group The total waiting time of the second workstation executed first in the group; and the central control server selects the group to which the workstation with the minimum total waiting time belongs based on a minimum total waiting time among the total waiting times The group is the selected group. The wafer manufacturing management method according to claim 4, wherein the step of selecting the selected group by the central control server according to the first queue states and the second queue states includes: The central control server calculates the total waiting time of the first workstations in the first group and calculates the total waiting time of the first workstations in the first group according to a queue number and a processing time of each queue state, and calculates the The total waiting time of the second workstations; and by the central control server according to a minimum total waiting time among the total waiting times, select the group of the workstation with the minimum total waiting time as the selected Group. A wafer manufacturing system, suitable for processing an object, includes: a plurality of workstations, which detect the status of a plurality of queues; and a central control server, which is coupled to the workstations to obtain the queues When the central control server obtains a workstation request corresponding to the object, it responds to the workstation request. The central control server selects a selected workstation from the workstations according to the queue status, and Control the object to enter the selected workstation, where the workstation request also includes a plurality of workstation flags corresponding to the workstations to record multiple completion states of the object at the workstations, and the workstation flags are respectively multiple According to the digital record value, the central control server also selects the selected workstation from the workstations according to the workstation flags. The central control server determines whether the object has completed all the selected workstations based on the product of the digital record values. Processing of workstations. The wafer manufacturing system according to claim 8, wherein the central control server calculates a plurality of total waiting times of the workstations according to a number of queues and a processing time of each of the queue states, wherein the The central control server selects the selected workstation with the minimum total waiting time according to a minimum total waiting time among the total waiting times. The wafer manufacturing system according to claim 8, wherein the workstations include a plurality of first workstations, at least one second workstation, and a plurality of third workstations, wherein after the object is processed by the first workstations, The central server Control the object to enter the at least one second workstation, wherein after the object finishes processing the at least one second workstation, the central control server selects the selected workstation from the third workstations to control the object to enter the at least one second workstation Select the workstation. The wafer manufacturing system according to claim 8, wherein the workstations include a first group formed by a plurality of first workstations and a second group formed by a plurality of second workstations, wherein the central control The server receives a plurality of first queue states of the first workstations and a plurality of second queue states of the second workstations, wherein the central control server is based on the first queue states and the second queue states The queue state is used to select the first group or the second group as a selected group to control the object to enter the selected group.

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