JP2523638B2 - Semiconductor equipment operation data collection method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a semiconductor equipment operation data collection method, and more specifically, for collecting process data obtained from a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and stably operating the manufacturing apparatus. The present invention relates to a semiconductor equipment operation data collection method.

[Conventional technology]

In the manufacture of semiconductors, using a plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatus corresponding to a plurality of manufacturing processes and a semiconductor carrier carrier for automatically carrying, for example, a cartridge type semiconductor carrier for storing semiconductors between them, A system for managing semiconductor manufacturing based on control by a central computer is adopted. An example of this type of system is described in JP-A-59-50533. The invention described in the above publication includes a plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses, at least one central computer for managing them, and a carrier accommodating semiconductors. In a semiconductor manufacturing system provided with a carrier transfer device having means for moving the carrier between devices and information transfer means for transferring information, every time the carrier is moved between the semiconductor manufacturing device and the carrier transfer device. In addition, the lot identification code information is automatically transmitted to at least the central computer of the semiconductor housed in the carrier. As a result, no special lot identification device is required on the side of each semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and the carrier is moved to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the work instruction corresponding to the lot is automatically transferred.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The conventional semiconductor manufacturing management system described above is for delivering identification information and work instructions for each lot, and since there is no system for managing the process setting conditions and work records in wafer units necessary for process monitoring, The identification of each wafer, the setting of work conditions and the work record thereof are not collected in real time, and the carrier transfer device for moving the semiconductor has an information transmission means. Since the carrier device is operated so that the wafers are collectively carried, there is a problem that the management reliability of each wafer is lowered.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in particular, enables stable operation and monitoring of a processing device, enables early detection of an abnormal processing device, and shortens the period of failure analysis. A method of collecting semiconductor equipment operation data that can be realized at low cost is provided.

[Means for solving problems]

The above-described object of the present invention is to provide at least the semiconductor wafer manufacturing apparatus and at least one or more computers for managing process data obtained from these apparatuses each time a semiconductor wafer is processed. The identification code, the process setting condition and the work record are transmitted to the computer through the information transmission means, and the bar code label is used to print the bar code so that the information collected by the computer does not depend on the program. This is achieved by changing the label that has been set.

[Action]

The present invention relates to semiconductor wafer processing performed between a plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses and at least one or more computers for managing process data from these apparatuses, based on process setting conditions designated by the computers. Every time an operation is performed, at least the identification code of the wafer, the process setting condition, and the operation record information are changed by transmitting the change information to the computer by using the barcode, and the change information is transmitted. Further, the operation table and the process progress table for each wafer are updated to stably operate the apparatus.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, a case where one embodiment of the present invention is applied to a wafer manufacturing process of a semiconductor manufacturing line will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in which the data collecting method of the present invention is implemented. A computer 1 for system management and input / output of process set values and work records respectively managed by the computer 1 are online. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus such as a plurality of wafer processing apparatuses 21 to 2n corresponding to various kinds of processing of semiconductor wafers each provided with the interface 4 to be performed in 1 above, an inspection apparatus 31 and 32, and an online interface 4 of each apparatus 2 and 3. The information transmission path 5 is provided between the interface 4 and the computer 1.

FIG. 2 shows the processing contents of the management data in the present invention.

In order to manage the process data, the computer 1 records the processing date, wafer No, process setting conditions and work record for each wafer processing apparatus 21 to 2n, the wafer process path 11, the equipment name and the processing status. wafer W _1, W ₂ ... W and _n another step progress table 12 is provided, the information transmission path 5 through the interface 4, at least that of the wafer identification code (the wafer No.) wafer processing system 21 that 2n are received and sent as a work instruction request for the wafer to the computer 1 that manages the process data, and the work instruction (process setting condition) for the wafer is received from the computer 1. After the processing is completed, the wafer processing apparatuses 21 to 2n (or the inspection apparatuses 31 and 32) transmit at least the work record of the finished wafer and the work completion signal to the computer 1 through the interface 4 and the information transmission path 5, and The processing status of the separate process progress table 12 is updated from the “in-process” shaded circle to the “processed” black circle. After updating from the white circle of “Processing end” as described above, the destination instruction to the next process of the end wafers W _{1 to} W _{n and} the equipment is received from the computer 1, and the destination instruction information and the table 11 of the end wafers are received. The updated information of the semiconductor wafer processing device 21
~ 2n or transmitted to the inspection device 31, 32.

When changing the work record and the processing status of the operation table 11 and the wafer-specific process progress table 12 of the wafer processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2, a bar code output device 6 is used as shown in FIG. The label is issued, the barcode label is read by the barcode reader 7, and the computer 1 is passed through the information transmission path 5 through the interface 4 by the guide screen of the computer.
To enter. The above-mentioned change in the number of input items and the number of digits of data does not depend on the program and is performed by changing the bar code label.

In other words, the above-described process monitoring system makes it possible to collect work settings on a wafer-by-wafer basis and work results based on the settings in real time without human intervention. Since it is automatically performed without human intervention, human error can be prevented. By implementing the above system, it is possible to more quickly grasp the relationship between the inspection data and the work result or the cause and effect of the process setting condition, and it is possible to correct or change the setting condition.

Note that the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is intended for a certain basic process (for example, photolithography), but it is possible to construct a montering system for other processes as well, and It is also possible to exchange process setting conditions and wafer identification information between the systems.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the semiconductor process monitoring system of the present invention, since no special wafer identification device is required on each semiconductor manufacturing device side, an inexpensive system can be configured. And, the setting of process parameters and the passing of work results are done automatically without using the program by using the bar code label, human error is prevented, and process parameters for stable operation of the processing equipment are monitored. Therefore, the abnormality detection device can be detected early and the failure analysis period can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

Each of the drawings shows an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a semiconductor process monitoring system, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the contents of data exchange between a computer and a processing or inspection device, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a more specific configuration diagram of the processing or inspection device. 1 ... Computer, 21-2n ... Wafer processing equipment, 31, 3
2 ... Inspection device, 4 ... Online interface, 5 ... Information transmission path, 11 ... Wafer processing device operation table, 12 ... Wafer-specific process progress table.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A semiconductor wafer is manufactured between a plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses and at least one or more computers for managing process data from these apparatuses based on process setting conditions designated by the computers. Every time a processing operation is performed, at least the change of the identification code of the wafer and the process setting condition and the operation result information is changed to the computer by using the bar code, and the change information is transmitted to the computer. A method for collecting data for semiconductor equipment, characterized in that an operation table and a process progress table for each device and wafer are updated to ensure stable operation of the device.