A material scheduling method and a semiconductor process equipment

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a material scheduling method and a semiconductor process equipment, the method comprising: determining the material transmission path information of the current operation task; the material transmission path information is used to limit the equipment structures that the material needs to pass through and the order in which it passes through the equipment structures; respectively determining the storage space characteristic information and material storage status information of each equipment structure; generating a global action sequence for material scheduling of the current operation task based on the material transmission path information, the storage space characteristic information and the material storage status information; the global action sequence for material scheduling includes the material scheduling actions that each equipment structure needs to execute; and controlling each equipment structure to perform material scheduling according to the global action sequence for material scheduling. By adopting the above method, a global optimal scheduling action sequence for one-time output material scheduling can be realized according to the characteristics of the equipment hardware structure, which can greatly improve the production capacity of machine processing materials.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a material scheduling method and a semiconductor process equipment. Background Art

[0002] At present, the plasma degumming equipment uses a search tree method based on the material path to output the scheduling action sequence. First, the algorithm records the location of the material as the root node of the search tree. Second, each time the material moves, the search tree will generate a new leaf node, and the equipment status will be updated synchronously. Finally, when the task requirements are met, the search tree will no longer generate new nodes. At this time, the algorithm traverses all paths from the root node to the leaf node of the search tree and selects the shortest path as the selection result. Figure 1 Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a search tree generation method. The figure illustrates a portion of the search tree generation process. Generally, the algorithm simulates material movement four steps at a time. This means the algorithm can only guarantee that the output action sequence is a local optimum within four steps, but cannot guarantee that the output sequence is a global optimum sequence for the movement of equipment and materials from their source to their destination.

[0003] The action sequence output by the existing material scheduling algorithm is not the globally optimal sequence. If material scheduling is performed according to this action sequence, equipment operation will result in waste of production capacity. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, embodiments of the present invention are proposed to provide a material scheduling method and corresponding semiconductor process equipment that overcome the above problems or at least partially solve the above problems.

[0005] To solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a material scheduling method, which is applied to semiconductor process equipment. The semiconductor process equipment includes multiple equipment structures for performing material operations respectively. The method includes:

[0006] Determine the material transmission path information for the current task; the material transmission path information is used to define the equipment structure that the material needs to pass through and the order in which it passes through the equipment structure;

[0007] respectively determining storage space characteristic information and material storage status information of each equipment structure;

[0008] Generate a material scheduling global action sequence for the current task based on the material transmission path information, the storage space characteristic information, and the material storage status information; the material scheduling global action sequence includes the material scheduling actions required to be executed by each equipment structure;

[0009] Control each equipment structure to perform material scheduling according to the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0010] Optionally, the equipment structure includes a process chamber, and generating a material scheduling global action sequence for a current task based on the material transmission path information, the storage space characteristic information, and the material storage status information includes:

[0011] Determining the next scheduled material based on the storage space characteristic information and the material storage status information and a preset material selection rule; wherein the preset material selection rule is used to determine the next scheduled target material based on a principle of maximizing the production capacity of the semiconductor process equipment and / or a principle of maximizing the utilization rate of the process chamber;

[0012] Determining a scheduling action for the next scheduled material according to the material transmission path information;

[0013] All of the scheduling actions are used to generate the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0014] Optionally, the adopting all the scheduling actions to generate the material scheduling global action sequence includes:

[0015] Establishing a root node of the search tree; the root node is used to record the initial storage status information of the material;

[0016] Determine a new child node generated by the search tree according to the scheduling action of the next scheduled material output each time; the child node is used to record the updated material storage status information after each simulated execution of the scheduling action;

[0017] After all material scheduling actions are calculated, the last child node generated by the search tree is determined;

[0018] All paths from the root node to the last child node of the search tree are traversed, and an action sequence corresponding to the shortest path among all the paths is determined as the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0019] Optionally, before determining a new child node generated by the search tree, the method further includes:

[0020] Determine whether the path from the root node to the child node is a path;

[0021] If so, generate the child node;

[0022] If not, a child node is regenerated, and the process returns to the step of determining whether the path from the root node to the child node is a path.

[0023] Optionally, the equipment structure further includes a wafer box, a calibration module, and a wafer transfer robot arm, and the preset material selection rule includes a material selection rule set based on the availability of both arms of the wafer transfer robot arm, which includes:

[0024] The target material for the next scheduling is determined according to the material storage status of the wafer box, the calibration module, the wafer transfer robot arm and the process chamber.

[0025] Optionally, determining the target material for next scheduling according to the material storage status of the wafer box, the calibration module, the wafer transfer robot arm, and the process chamber includes:

[0026] Determining whether the robotic arm has material;

[0027] If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the current operation task is a multi-operation task, and whether the process chamber has the last material;

[0028] If the current task is a multi-task and the process chamber has the last material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next scheduling; otherwise, whether the robot arm has the material and whether the wafer box has the material are determined;

[0029] If the robot arm does not have any material and the wafer box has any material, then determining one material of the wafer box as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, determining whether the calibration module has the last material;

[0030] If the calibration module has the last material, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the robot arm has material, whether the wafer box has material, and whether the process chamber has material are determined;

[0031] If the robot arm does not have material, the wafer box does not have material, and the process chamber has material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material to be scheduled next.

[0032] Optionally, the equipment structure further includes a wafer box, a calibration module, and a wafer transfer robot arm, and the preset material selection rule includes a material selection rule set based on the availability of a single arm of the wafer transfer robot arm, which includes:

[0033] Determining the number of available slots in the process chamber;

[0034] determining the number of available chambers of the process chamber;

[0035] Determine the task type of the current job task;

[0036] The target material for the next scheduling is determined according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers and the task type.

[0037] Optionally, determining the target material for next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes:

[0038] In the case where the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a multi-job task or the number of available chambers is multiple and each available chamber has only one slot available, first determine whether the robot arm has material;

[0039] If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has multiple materials and whether the calibration module has material, or, in the case of multiple tasks, whether the calibration module has material to be transferred to the process chamber;

[0040] If the process chamber has multiple materials and the calibration module has materials, or, in a multi-task scenario, the calibration module has materials that need to be transferred to the process chamber, the materials in the process chamber are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has materials.

[0041] If the calibration module has materials, the materials in the calibration module are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the wafer box has materials is determined;

[0042] If the wafer box has materials, the materials in the wafer box are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next.

[0043] Optionally, determining the target material for next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes:

[0044] In the case where the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a multi-job task or the number of available chambers is multiple and only one slot of the multiple available chambers is disabled, first determine whether the robot arm has material;

[0045] If the robot arm has material, the material in the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material, and whether the calibration module has material. Or, in the case of multiple tasks, it is determined whether the process chamber to which the material of the calibration module needs to be transferred is full of material.

[0046] If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has material, or, in a multi-task, the process chamber to which the material of the calibration module needs to be transferred is full of material, the material of the process chamber is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material and whether the calibration module has material;

[0047] If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has material, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the calibration module has material is determined;

[0048] If the calibration module has materials, the materials in the calibration module are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the wafer box has materials is determined;

[0049] If the wafer box has materials, the materials in the wafer box are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next.

[0050] Optionally, determining the target material for next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes:

[0051] In the case where the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a single-operation task or the number of available chambers is one, first determine whether the robot arm has materials;

[0052] If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the process chamber has material is determined, and whether the calibration module has material is determined;

[0053] If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the calibration module has material is determined;

[0054] If the calibration module has materials, the materials in the calibration module are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the wafer box has materials is determined;

[0055] If the wafer box has materials, the materials in the wafer box are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next.

[0056] Optionally, determining the target material for next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes:

[0057] In the case where the number of available slots is equal to the number of all slots, if the number of available chambers is multiple, first determine whether the robotic arm has materials;

[0058] If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether all the process chambers have material is determined, and whether the calibration module has material is determined;

[0059] If both the process chambers have materials and the calibration module has materials, the materials in the process chambers are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has materials;

[0060] If the calibration module has materials, the materials in the calibration module are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the wafer box has materials is determined;

[0061] If the wafer box has materials, the materials in the wafer box are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next.

[0062] Optionally, determining the target material for next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes:

[0063] In the case where the number of available slots is equal to the number of all slots, if the number of available chambers is one or the task type is a multi-operation task, first determine whether the robot arm has materials;

[0064] If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material and whether the calibration module has an odd-numbered material, or, in the case of a single job task, whether the process chamber has multiple materials and whether the calibration module has material;

[0065] If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has an odd-numbered material, or, in a single job task, the process chamber has multiple materials and the calibration module has material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material and whether the calibration module has an even-numbered material.

[0066] If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has an even-numbered material, or if the process chamber has no material and the calibration module has an even-numbered material, the material of the calibration module is determined as the target material to be scheduled next.

[0067] Optionally, determining the material transmission path information of the current task includes:

[0068] Get the material path editing information entered by the user;

[0069] The material transmission path information is generated using the material path editing information.

[0070] Optionally, determining the scheduling action of the next scheduled material according to the material transmission path information includes:

[0071] If the material transfer path information indicates that the processed material does not pass through the calibration module during the process of being transferred from the process chamber back to the wafer box, determining whether a preset temporary storage trigger condition is met;

[0072] If the conditions are met, the processed material is placed in the calibration module, and the calibration module is controlled not to calibrate the placed material.

[0073] Optionally, the temporary storage triggering condition includes:

[0074] Not all of the multiple available slots of the process chamber have materials to be processed; the process chamber is used to perform a processing process when all the available slots have materials to be processed.

[0075] An embodiment of the present invention further discloses a semiconductor process equipment, comprising a plurality of equipment structures for performing material operations respectively, and the semiconductor process equipment further comprises:

[0076] A controller is used to determine the material transmission path information of the current operation task; the material transmission path information is used to limit the equipment structure that the material needs to pass through and the order in which it passes through the equipment structure; the storage space characteristic information and material storage status information of each equipment structure are determined respectively; based on the material transmission path information, the storage space characteristic information and the material storage status information, a global action sequence of material scheduling for the current operation task is generated; the global action sequence of material scheduling includes the material scheduling actions that need to be performed by each equipment structure; and each equipment structure is controlled to perform material scheduling according to the global action sequence of material scheduling.

[0077] Optionally, the equipment structure includes a process chamber, and the controller is used to determine the next scheduled material based on the storage space characteristic information and the material storage status information and a preset material selection rule; wherein the preset material selection rule is used to determine the next scheduled target material based on the production capacity maximization principle of the semiconductor process equipment and / or the utilization maximization principle of the process chamber; determine the scheduling action of the next scheduled material based on the material transmission path information; and use all of the scheduling actions to generate the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0078] Optionally, the controller is used to establish a root node of a search tree; the root node is used to record the initial material storage status information; based on the scheduling action of the next scheduled material output each time, a new child node generated by the search tree is determined; the child node is used to record the updated material storage status information after each simulated execution of the scheduling action; when the scheduling actions of all materials are calculated, the last child node generated by the search tree is determined; all paths of the search tree from the root node to the last child node are traversed, and the action sequence corresponding to the shortest path along all the paths is determined as the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0079] Optionally, the controller is used to determine whether the path from the root node to the child node is a path; if so, generate the child node; if not, regenerate a child node and return to the step of determining whether the path from the root node to the child node is a path.

[0080] Optionally, the equipment structure also includes a wafer box, a calibration module, and a wafer transfer robot arm. The preset material selection rules include material selection rules set based on the available state of both arms of the wafer transfer robot arm. The controller is used to determine the target material for the next schedule based on the material storage status of the wafer box, the calibration module, the wafer transfer robot arm and the process chamber.

[0081] Optionally, the controller is used to determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the current operation task is a multi-operation task, and whether the process chamber has the last material; if the current operation task is a multi-operation task and the process chamber has the last material, the material of the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the robot arm has materials, and whether the wafer box has materials; if the robot arm does not have materials and the If the wafer box has material, one material in the wafer box is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has the last material; if the calibration module has the last material, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the robot arm has material, whether the wafer box has material, and whether the process chamber has material; if the robot arm does not have material, the wafer box does not have material, and the process chamber has material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule.

[0082] Optionally, the equipment structure also includes a wafer box, a calibration module, and a wafer transfer robot arm. The preset material selection rules include material selection rules set based on the single-arm available state of the wafer transfer robot arm. The controller is used to determine the number of available slots in the process chamber; determine the number of available chambers in the process chamber; determine the task type of the current job task; and determine the target material for the next schedule based on the number of available slots, the number of available chambers and the task type.

[0083] Optionally, the controller is used to, when the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a multi-job task or the number of available chambers is multiple, and each available chamber has only one slot available, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the material of the robot arm as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has multiple materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multi-job tasks, determine whether the calibration module has materials that need to be transferred to the process chamber. materials in the process chamber; if the process chamber has multiple materials and the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multiple job tasks, the calibration module has materials that need to be transferred to the process chamber, the materials in the process chamber are determined as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, the materials in the calibration module are determined as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, the materials in the wafer box are determined as the target materials for the next schedule.

[0084] Optionally, the controller is used to, when the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, first determine whether the robot arm has materials if the task type is a multi-job task or the number of available chambers is multiple, and only one slot of the multiple available chambers is disabled; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multi-job tasks, determine whether the process chamber to which the materials of the calibration module need to be transferred is full of materials; if the process chamber has materials and the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multi-job tasks , if the process chamber to which the material of the calibration module needs to be transferred is full of materials, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has materials, and whether the calibration module has materials; if the process chamber has materials and the calibration module has materials, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, the material in the wafer box is determined as the target material for the next schedule.

[0085] Optionally, the controller is used to, when the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a single-job task or the number of available chambers is one, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the process chamber has materials and the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the process chamber as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the calibration module as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, determine the materials of the wafer box as the target materials for the next schedule.

[0086] Optionally, the controller is used to, when the number of available slots is equal to the number of all slots, if the number of available chambers is multiple, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether all the process chambers have materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials; if all the process chambers have materials and the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the process chambers as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the calibration module as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, determine the materials of the wafer box as the target materials for the next schedule.

[0087] Optionally, the controller is used to, when the number of available slots is equal to the number of all slots, first determine whether the robot arm has materials if the number of available chambers is one or the task type is a multi-job task; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next scheduling; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has materials, and determine whether the calibration module has odd-numbered materials, or, in the case of a single-job task, determine whether the process chamber has multiple materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the process chamber If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has odd-numbered material, or, in a single job task, the process chamber has multiple materials and the calibration module has material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material, and whether the calibration module has even-numbered material; if the process chamber has material and the calibration module has even-numbered material, or, the process chamber does not have material and the calibration module has even-numbered material, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule.

[0088] Optionally, the controller is configured to obtain material path editing information input by a user; and generate the material transmission path information using the material path editing information.

[0089] Optionally, the controller is used to determine whether a preset temporary storage trigger condition is met if the material transfer path information indicates that the processed material does not pass through the calibration module when being transferred from the process chamber back to the wafer box; if so, the processed material is placed in the calibration module, and the calibration module is controlled not to calibrate the placed material.

[0090] Optionally, the temporary storage triggering condition includes:

[0091] Not all of the multiple available slots of the process chamber have materials to be processed; the process chamber is used to perform a processing process when all the available slots have materials to be processed.

[0092] The embodiments of the present invention include the following advantages:

[0093] In an embodiment of the present invention, a global action sequence for material scheduling can be output based on the storage space characteristics of each device structure in semiconductor processing equipment. This method can achieve a one-time output of a globally optimal scheduling action sequence for material scheduling based on the hardware structure characteristics of semiconductor processing equipment, significantly improving the throughput of processing materials on the equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0094] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of how a search tree is generated;

[0095] Figure 2 It is a hardware structure diagram of a plasma degumming machine;

[0096] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a material transmission path;

[0097] Figure 4 This is a flow chart of the steps of a material scheduling method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0098] Figure 5 is a flowchart of another material scheduling method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0099] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a material path editing interface according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0100] Figure 7 This is a flow chart of a material selection rule according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0101] Figure 8 is a logic diagram of another material selection rule according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0102] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a material scheduling process according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0103] Figure 10 This is a flow chart of creating a global action sequence for material scheduling according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0104] Figure 11 It is a structural block diagram of a semiconductor process equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0105] To make the above-mentioned objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It is obvious that the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0106] Reference Figure 2The figure shows a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a plasma degumming machine. The plasma degumming machine can load 3 wafer boxes (Foup), which has 1 wafer transfer robot arm (TM Robot), 1 aligner (Aligner) and 2 process chambers (ProcessModule, PM for short). Each wafer box can hold 25 pieces of material and is compatible with 8-inch and 12-inch sizes; the robot arm is used to transfer materials and is divided into two fingers A / B, each finger can carry one piece of material; the material needs to be calibrated in the aligner before it is transferred to the process chamber, and the aligner can carry a maximum of one piece of material at a time; each process chamber has two slots, which can hold two pieces of material to execute the process. Figure 3 Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a material transfer path. Materials can be transferred from a wafer cassette via a robotic arm to a calibrator for calibration. From the calibrator, they are then transferred via a robotic arm to a process chamber for processing. Once the process is complete, the materials are transferred back to the wafer cassette via a robotic arm, completing all material transfer steps.

[0107] Currently, a search tree based on material paths is used to output the material scheduling action sequence. First, the algorithm records the material's location as the root node of the search tree. Each time the material moves, the search tree generates a new leaf node, and the equipment status is updated simultaneously. Ultimately, when the task's required search steps are reached, the search tree no longer generates new nodes. At this point, the algorithm traverses all paths from the root to the leaf nodes of the search tree and selects the shortest path as the result. Generally, the algorithm simulates material movement four steps at a time, meaning it can only guarantee that the output action sequence is a locally optimal solution within four steps. It cannot guarantee that the output sequence is the globally optimal sequence for the equipment and material from leaving the source to returning to the destination.

[0108] The action sequence output by the existing material scheduling algorithm is not the globally optimal sequence. If material scheduling is performed according to this action sequence, equipment operation will result in waste of production capacity.

[0109] In addition, the existing material scheduling algorithm sets each material scanned by the equipment as its monitoring object. Every time the material position changes, the scheduling algorithm is synchronously updated. The existing algorithm generally determines the timing of processing the next material based on the previous material position. When the machine chamber has a storage location, the robot will remove the material from the source and place it into the chamber. After the material enters the chamber, the process begins. After the process is completed, the material is removed from the chamber by the robot and returned to the FOUP. This continues until all materials are processed and returned to the FOUP, at which point the algorithm stops calculating. The following shows the execution sequence of the mobilization actions for materials A and B:

[0110] (1) Material A is taken out from FOUP---→PM1(Slot1)---→;

[0111] (2) Material B is taken out from FOUP---→PM1(Slot2)---→;

[0112] (3) Material A --- → Robot ---- → FOUP;

[0113] (4) Material B---→Robot----→FOUP.

[0114] In terms of the execution sequence, material A is removed from the FOUP and placed in a slot in PM1 for processing. After processing is complete, material A is removed from the chamber and transferred to the robot. Material B is then removed from the FOUP and placed in another slot in PM1 for processing. Finally, the robot returns materials A and B to the FOUPs. This demonstrates that while the machine chamber hardware structure allows for simultaneous processing of two materials in a PM, existing technology only uses one slot in the chamber for material processing at a time.

[0115] The existing robot can carry two pieces of material at the same time, but the existing material scheduling algorithm only takes one piece of material at a time, resulting in the PM only having one slot to perform process operations at a time, which greatly reduces the machine's production capacity.

[0116] Based on this, the present invention intends to provide a material scheduling method and corresponding semiconductor process equipment that overcome the above problems or at least partially solve the above problems.

[0117] A core concept of this embodiment is to output a global action sequence for material scheduling for the current task based on the storage space characteristics of each device structure in semiconductor processing equipment. This method, based on the hardware characteristics of semiconductor processing equipment, can output a globally optimal action sequence for material scheduling in one go, significantly improving the throughput of processing materials.

[0118] Reference Figure 4 , shows a flow chart of the steps of a material scheduling method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to semiconductor process equipment. The semiconductor process equipment includes multiple equipment structures for performing material operations respectively, and specifically may include the following steps:

[0119] Step 401: Determine the material transmission path information of the current task.

[0120] The material transmission path information is used to define the equipment structure that the material needs to pass through and the order in which it passes through the equipment structure.

[0121] In an embodiment of the present invention, material transmission path information of a current operation task may be determined.

[0122] Step 402: Determine the storage space characteristic information and material storage status information of each equipment structure.

[0123] In an embodiment of the present invention, the semiconductor process equipment includes a plurality of equipment structures, and storage space characteristic information of materials stored in each equipment structure and material storage status information of each equipment structure can be obtained.

[0124] Step 403: Generate a global action sequence for material scheduling of the current task based on the material transmission path information, the storage space characteristic information, and the material storage status information.

[0125] Among them, the global action sequence of material scheduling includes the material scheduling actions that each equipment structure needs to execute.

[0126] In an embodiment of the present invention, after determining the material transmission path information, the storage space characteristic information of each equipment structure and the material storage status information, the above information can be used to determine the global action sequence of material scheduling for the current operation task.

[0127] Step 404: Control each of the equipment structures to perform material scheduling according to the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0128] In the embodiment of the present invention, each equipment structure in the semiconductor process equipment can be controlled to perform material scheduling in sequence according to the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0129] In summary, in this embodiment of the present invention, a global action sequence for material scheduling can be output based on the storage space characteristics of each device structure in semiconductor processing equipment. This method can achieve a one-time output of a globally optimal scheduling action sequence for material scheduling based on the hardware structure characteristics of semiconductor processing equipment, significantly improving the throughput of processing materials on the equipment.

[0130] Reference Figure 5 , shows a flowchart of another material scheduling method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to semiconductor process equipment. The semiconductor process equipment includes multiple equipment structures for performing material operations respectively, and specifically may include the following steps:

[0131] Step 501: Determine the material transmission path information of the current task.

[0132] The material transmission path information is used to define the equipment structure that the material needs to pass through and the order in which it passes through the equipment structure.

[0133] In an optional embodiment, the semiconductor process equipment has a material path editing module. For step 501, the following sub-steps may be performed:

[0134] Sub-step S11, obtaining the material path editing information input by the user.

[0135] Sub-step S12: using the material path editing information to generate the material transmission path information.

[0136] In an embodiment of the present invention, in order to meet the various needs of users using semiconductor equipment, it supports users to customize the material transmission path in the equipment. The user can input the material path editing information in the material path editing module of the semiconductor equipment to generate the corresponding material transmission path information using the material path editing information. Figure 6 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a material path editing interface according to an embodiment of the present invention. Users may have different requirements for the material transmission path of the equipment at different times. Users can edit the required material path in the editing interface according to the equipment status.

[0137] Step 502: Determine the storage space characteristic information and material storage status information of each equipment structure respectively.

[0138] In embodiments of the present invention, storage space characteristic information and material storage status information can be determined for each device structure in semiconductor processing equipment. For example, if the device structure may include process chambers, the number of process chambers and the number of slots in each process chamber can be determined, as well as the material storage status within the process chambers.

[0139] Step 503: Determine the next material to be scheduled based on the storage space characteristic information and the material storage status information and a preset material selection rule.

[0140] The preset material selection rules are used to determine the target material for the next scheduling based on the principle of maximizing the production capacity of semiconductor process equipment and / or the principle of maximizing the utilization rate of the process chamber.

[0141] In the embodiment of the present invention, the next material to be scheduled can be determined based on the storage space feature information and material storage status information of each equipment structure in combination with preset material selection rules.

[0142] In order to ensure that the output action sequence is the global optimal solution, a preset material selection rule is introduced, which can help select the current best scheduling material.

[0143] In an optional embodiment, taking the above-mentioned plasma stripper as an example, its equipment structure includes a process chamber, a wafer box, a calibration module, and a wafer transfer robot arm. The preset material selection rules include material selection rules set based on the availability of both arms of the wafer transfer robot arm, which include:

[0144] The target material for the next scheduling is determined according to the material storage status of the wafer box, the calibration module, the wafer transfer robot arm and the process chamber.

[0145] In the embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 Taking the plasma degumming machine shown as an example, the corresponding material selection rules are set when the two arms are available, specifically:

[0146] Determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the current operation task is a multi-operation task, and determine whether the process chamber has the last material; if the current operation task is a multi-operation task and the process chamber has the last material, determine the materials of the process chamber as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the robot arm has materials, and determine whether the wafer box has materials; if the robot arm does not have materials and the wafer box has materials, determine one material of the wafer box as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the calibration module has the last material; if the calibration module has the last material, determine the materials of the calibration module as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the robot arm has materials, determine whether the wafer box has materials, and determine whether the process chamber has materials; if the robot arm does not have materials, the wafer box does not have materials, and the process chamber has materials, determine the materials of the process chamber as the target materials for the next schedule.

[0147] Reference Figure 7 The figure shows a flow chart of a material selection rule of an embodiment of the present invention. If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, the next judgment content is executed. If the current job task is a multi-job task, and the process chamber has the last material, the material of the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, the next judgment content is executed. If the robot arm does not have material, and the wafer box has material, a material of the wafer box is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, the next judgment content is executed. If the calibration module has the last material, the material of the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, the next judgment content is executed. If the robot arm does not have material, the wafer box does not have material, and the process chamber has material, the material of the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule.

[0148] For example, Figure 2Taking the plasma stripper as an example, the calculation process for this material selection rule is explained. First, the user can edit the material transfer path through the material path editing interface: FOUP—Robot—Aligner—Robot—PM—Robot—FOUP. The initial material storage state of the semiconductor process equipment is that all materials are in the FOUP. Based on the material selection rule, a material (P1_1) is first selected from the FOUP as the initial material for the job and an action is created. Then, based on the user-edited material transfer path, the next destination for this material is determined to be the Robot. This material (P1_1) can then be transferred to the Robot, completing the first scheduling action. This means that material P1_1 has been transferred to the Robot. After this action is generated, the current material storage state is that one material (P1_1) is on the Robot, while the remaining materials remain in the FOUP. The next material to be created is then selected based on the material selection rule. This rule states that if a material is already on the Robot, the material on the Robot is selected as the optimal scheduling material. Therefore, the next scheduling action that can be output is to place the material (P1_1) on the Robot onto the Aligner. After this action is completed, the material storage status of the current device is that material (P1_1) is on the Aligner, and the remaining materials are in the FOUP. Based on the current material storage status of the device, the rule selects the next material (P1_2) in the FOUP as the optimal scheduling material. Material (P1_2) can be transferred to the Robot, thus completing the creation of all scheduling actions based on the optimal scheduling material selected by the material selection rule.

[0149] In another optional embodiment, the preset material selection rule further includes a material selection rule set based on the availability status of a single arm of the wafer transfer robot arm, which includes:

[0150] Determine the number of available slots of the process chamber; determine the number of available chambers of the process chamber; determine the task type of the current job task; and determine the target material for the next scheduling based on the number of available slots, the number of available chambers and the task type.

[0151] In an embodiment of the present invention, the wafer transfer robot in semiconductor processing equipment can be a dual-arm robot. If one arm becomes damaged during use, the user can disable one arm and use the other arm for material dispatch. Based on this special scenario, a set of material selection rules is established based on the availability of a single arm.

[0152] In the embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 Taking the plasma degumming machine shown as an example, the corresponding material selection rules are set when the single arm is available, specifically:

[0153] The determining the target material for the next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes:

[0154] When the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a multi-job task or the number of available chambers is multiple and each available chamber has only one slot available, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next scheduling; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has multiple materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multi-job tasks, determine whether the calibration module has materials to be transferred to the process chamber; if the process chamber has multiple materials and the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multi-job tasks, the calibration module has materials to be transferred to the process chamber, determine the materials of the process chamber as the target materials for the next scheduling; otherwise, determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the calibration module as the target materials for the next scheduling; otherwise, determine whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, determine the materials of the wafer box as the target materials for the next scheduling.

[0155] In the case that the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a multi-job task or the number of available chambers is multiple, and only one slot of the multiple available chambers is disabled, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next scheduling; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multi-job tasks, determine whether the process chamber to which the materials of the calibration module need to be transferred is full of materials; if the process chamber has materials and the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multi-job tasks, the calibration module If the process chamber to which the material of the block needs to be transferred is full of materials, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has materials, and it is determined whether the calibration module has materials; if the process chamber has materials and the calibration module has materials, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, the material in the wafer box is determined as the target material for the next schedule.

[0156] When the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a single-job task or the number of available chambers is one, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the process chamber has materials and the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the process chamber as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the calibration module as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, determine the materials of the wafer box as the target materials for the next schedule.

[0157] When the number of available slots is equal to the number of all slots, if there are multiple available chambers, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether all the process chambers have materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials; if all the process chambers have materials and the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the process chambers as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the calibration module as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, determine the materials of the wafer box as the target materials for the next schedule.

[0158] In the case where the number of available slots is equal to the number of all slots, if the number of available chambers is one or the task type is a multi-job task, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next scheduling; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials with odd numbers, or, in the case of a single job task, determine whether the process chamber has multiple materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the process chamber has materials and the materials If the calibration module has an odd-numbered material, or, in a single job task, the process chamber has multiple materials and the calibration module has material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material, and whether the calibration module has an even-numbered material; if the process chamber has material and the calibration module has an even-numbered material, or, the process chamber does not have material and the calibration module has an even-numbered material, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule.

[0159] Reference Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a logic diagram of another material selection rule according to an embodiment of the present invention. The rule is applicable to semiconductor process equipment in a single-arm available state, such as Figure 2 The plasma stripper shown. In general, the next target material to be scheduled can be determined based on the number of available slots in the process chamber, the number of available chambers, and the task type. Task types include multi-tasks and single-tasks, specifically referring to the task volume issued by semiconductor process equipment, such as tasks issued by a LoadPort. Multiple materials refer to two or more materials.

[0160] Step 504: Determine the scheduling action for the next scheduled material based on the material transmission path information.

[0161] In the embodiment of the present invention, the scheduling action of the next scheduled material can be determined according to the material transmission path information.

[0162] For step 504, the following sub-steps may be performed:

[0163] Sub-step S21 : if the material transfer path information indicates that the processed material does not pass through the calibration module during the process of being transferred from the process chamber back to the wafer box, it is determined whether a preset temporary storage trigger condition is met.

[0164] Sub-step S22: If the conditions are met, the processed material is placed in the calibration module, and the calibration module is controlled not to calibrate the placed material.

[0165] The material transmission path can include the following two types (the robot arm transmission part is omitted in the middle):

[0166] (1)FOUP——Aligner——PM——FOUP;

[0167] (2)FOUP——Aligner——PM——Aligner——FOUP.

[0168] The difference between these two material transfer paths mainly lies in whether the materials need to pass through the Aligner before being returned to the FOUP. If the path of the equipment materials sent by the user is the first path, based on production capacity considerations, some materials will be required to pass through the Aligner again before being returned to the FOUP after the process is completed in the process chamber. At this time, the Aligner acts as a temporary storage area for materials (generally called a buffer area). At this time, the Aligner is only used to temporarily store materials and no material calibration is performed. That is, if the material transfer path information is that the processed materials do not pass through the calibration module during the process of being transferred from the process chamber back to the wafer box, it is determined whether the preset temporary storage trigger condition is met; if the preset temporary storage trigger condition is met, the processed materials are placed in the calibration module, and the calibration module is controlled not to calibrate the placed materials. Among them, the temporary storage trigger condition can be set according to the specific situation of the equipment operation.

[0169] In an optional embodiment, the temporary storage triggering condition includes:

[0170] Not all of the multiple available slots in the process chamber have materials to be processed.

[0171] The process chamber is used to perform a processing process when all available slots have materials to be processed.

[0172] In an embodiment of the present invention, processing begins only when all available slots in the process chamber are filled with material to be processed. To maximize throughput, when available slots in the process chamber have vacancies, the calibration module can be used as a temporary storage area for material, allowing the material to be placed in the process chamber as quickly as possible.

[0173] Reference Figure 9 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a material scheduling process according to an embodiment of the present invention. There are two materials P1_1 and P1_2 in the two slots of the PM1 chamber of the semiconductor process equipment. The robot has a material P1_3 waiting to be put into the PM1 chamber for operation. The aligner has a material P1_4 that has been calibrated (see Figure 9As shown in (a)). When materials P1_1 and P1_2 have completed the process in the chamber, the robot arm will exchange P1_3 with material P1_1 in slot 1 of PM1 chamber. After the exchange is completed, P1_3 will enter one of the slots of PM1 chamber (see Figure 9 As shown in (b) in the figure, if we follow the user-edited path (FOUP - Aligner - PM - FOUP), material P1_1 should be directly put back into the FOUP. This action will cause the other slot of the PM1 chamber to wait for P1_4 to be transferred to the slot before the process can be started. Therefore, in order to maximize the production capacity, maximize the use of the chamber, and reduce the idle time of the chamber, material P1_1 is immediately exchanged with P1_4 on the Aligner after being taken to the robot arm (see Figure 9 (c) in the figure), and then P1_4 is immediately exchanged with P1_2 in the PM1 chamber, so that PM1 can immediately start the process. At this time, the Aligner becomes a temporary storage point for P1_1. When the next material P1_5 is taken out from the FOUP, P1_5 will exchange with the material P1_1 on the Aligner (see Figure 9 As shown in (d), while P1_5 is performing alignment in the aligner, the robotic arm can place P1_1 back into the FOUP. This significantly reduces the number of times the robotic arm must make round trips between the FOUP and the aligner, improving chamber utilization and reducing chamber idle time. P1_2 can be immediately placed back into the FOUP after completing its processing in the chamber, eliminating the need for intermediate placement in the aligner.

[0174] If the path of the material sent to the device by the user is the second path, it means that the material must be calibrated by the Aligner before being returned to the FOUP. At this time, the role of the Aligner is to calibrate the material. The equipment will strictly transfer the material according to the material transfer path. All materials will enter the Aligner for calibration after the process is completed in the chamber. When the robotic arm is idle, the material will be taken out of the Aligner and returned to the FOUP.

[0175] Step 505: Use all the scheduling actions to generate the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0176] Among them, the global action sequence of material scheduling includes the material scheduling actions that each equipment structure needs to execute.

[0177] In the embodiment of the present invention, all scheduling actions may be used to determine the global action sequence of material scheduling.

[0178] For step 505, the following sub-steps may be performed:

[0179] Sub-step S31, establishing the root node of the search tree.

[0180] Sub-step S32: determining a new child node generated by the search tree according to the scheduling action of the next scheduled material output each time.

[0181] Sub-step S33, after the scheduling actions of all materials are calculated, the last child node generated by the search tree is determined.

[0182] Sub-step S34, traversing all paths from the root node to the last child node of the search tree, and determining the action sequence corresponding to the shortest path along all the paths as the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0183] The root node is used to record the initial material storage status information; the child node is used to record the updated material storage status information after each simulation execution scheduling action.

[0184] In the embodiment of the present invention, a search tree method may be used to output a global action sequence for material scheduling.

[0185] In an optional embodiment, before determining a new child node generated by the search tree, the method further includes:

[0186] Determine whether the path from the root node to the child node is a path; if so, generate the child node; if not, regenerate a child node and return to the step of determining whether the path from the root node to the child node is a path.

[0187] Reference Figure 10 As shown, it is a flowchart of creating a global action sequence for material scheduling according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, a search tree root node is established as the initial state. As the mobilization action is output, each time an action step is generated, a child node is added to the search tree. Before each action sequence is generated, it is determined whether the path from the root node to the child node of the search tree is a passage. If it is not a passage, it means that the currently generated path is deadlocked, then this path branch is exited, a new child node is regenerated, and it is determined again whether the path from the root node to the child node is a passage, until all scheduling actions for all materials are calculated. Different from the prior art, in order to ensure that the output action sequence is the global optimal solution, a material selection rule is introduced to select the best scheduling material, so that the search tree generates child nodes within the specified range, and finally the path from the root node to the last child node of the search tree is traversed, and the shortest path is used as the optimal path for the action.

[0188] Step 506: Control each of the equipment structures to perform material scheduling according to the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0189] In an embodiment of the present invention, after the global action sequence of material scheduling is determined, each device structure in the semiconductor device may be controlled to perform material scheduling in sequence according to the global action sequence of material scheduling.

[0190] In summary, in an embodiment of the present invention, a global action sequence for material scheduling for the current job task can be output based on the storage space characteristic information of each device structure of the semiconductor process equipment. Using the above method, a globally optimal scheduling action sequence for material scheduling can be output in one go based on the hardware structural characteristics of the semiconductor process equipment, significantly improving the material processing capacity of the machine. This method implements automated material transfer control for multi-chamber semiconductor process equipment, supports user-defined material transfer paths within the equipment, and outputs a globally optimal scheduling action sequence based on the user-defined material transfer path. This eliminates the need for locally optimal action sequence creation, maximizing the material processing capacity of the machine.

[0191] It should be noted that for the sake of simplicity, the method embodiments are described as a series of actions. However, those skilled in the art should be aware that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited by the order of the actions described, because according to the embodiments of the present invention, certain steps can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. Secondly, those skilled in the art should also be aware that the embodiments described in this specification are all preferred embodiments, and the actions involved are not necessarily required by the embodiments of the present invention.

[0192] Reference Figure 11 , shows a structural block diagram of a semiconductor process equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the semiconductor process equipment 1101 includes a plurality of equipment structures for performing material operations respectively, and also includes:

[0193] Controller 11011 is used to determine the material transmission path information of the current operation task; the material transmission path information is used to limit the equipment structure that the material needs to pass through and the order in which it passes through the equipment structure; the storage space characteristic information and material storage status information of each equipment structure are determined respectively; based on the material transmission path information, the storage space characteristic information and the material storage status information, a material scheduling global action sequence for the current operation task is generated; the material scheduling global action sequence includes the material scheduling actions that need to be performed by each equipment structure; and the each equipment structure is controlled to perform material scheduling according to the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0194] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the equipment structure includes a process chamber, and the controller is used to determine the next scheduled material based on the storage space characteristic information and the material storage status information and a preset material selection rule; wherein the preset material selection rule is used to determine the next scheduled target material based on the production capacity maximization principle of the semiconductor process equipment and / or the utilization maximization principle of the process chamber; determine the scheduling action of the next scheduled material based on the material transmission path information; and use all of the scheduling actions to generate the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0195] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is used to establish a root node of a search tree; the root node is used to record the initial material storage status information; based on the scheduling action of the next scheduled material output each time, a new child node generated by the search tree is determined; the child node is used to record the updated material storage status information after each simulated execution of the scheduling action; when the scheduling actions of all materials are calculated, the last child node generated by the search tree is determined; all paths of the search tree from the root node to the last child node are traversed, and the action sequence corresponding to the shortest path along all the paths is determined as the material scheduling global action sequence.

[0196] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is used to determine whether the path from the root node to the child node is a path; if so, generate the child node; if not, regenerate a child node and return to the step of determining whether the path from the root node to the child node is a path.

[0197] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the equipment structure also includes a wafer box, a calibration module, and a wafer transfer robot arm. The preset material selection rules include material selection rules set based on the available state of both arms of the wafer transfer robot arm. The controller is used to determine the target material for the next schedule based on the material storage status of the wafer box, the calibration module, the wafer transfer robot arm and the process chamber.

[0198] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is used to determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the current operation task is a multi-operation task, and whether the process chamber has the last material; if the current operation task is a multi-operation task and the process chamber has the last material, the material of the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the robot arm has materials, and whether the wafer box has materials; if the robot arm does not have materials, material and the wafer box has material, then one material in the wafer box is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has the last material; if the calibration module has the last material, then the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the robot arm has material, whether the wafer box has material, and whether the process chamber has material; if the robot arm does not have material, the wafer box does not have material, and the process chamber has material, then the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule.

[0199] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the equipment structure also includes a wafer box, a calibration module, and a wafer transfer robot arm. The preset material selection rules include material selection rules set based on the single-arm available state of the wafer transfer robot arm. The controller is used to determine the number of available slots in the process chamber; determine the number of available chambers in the process chamber; determine the task type of the current job task; and determine the target material for the next schedule based on the number of available slots, the number of available chambers and the task type.

[0200] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is used to, when the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, first determine whether the robot arm has materials if the task type is a multi-job task or the number of available chambers is multiple, and each available chamber has only one slot available; if the robot arm has materials, determine the material of the robot arm as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has multiple materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multi-job tasks, determine whether the calibration module has materials to be transferred. to the material of the process chamber; if the process chamber has multiple materials and the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multiple job tasks, the calibration module has materials that need to be transferred to the process chamber, the material of the process chamber is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, the material of the calibration module is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, the material of the wafer box is determined as the target material to be scheduled next.

[0201] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is used to, when the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a multi-job task or the number of available chambers is multiple, and only one slot of the multiple available chambers is disabled, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next scheduling; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multi-job tasks, determine whether the process chamber to which the materials of the calibration module need to be transferred is full of materials; if the process chamber has materials and the calibration module has materials, or, in the case of multi-job tasks, determine whether the materials in the process chamber to which the materials of the calibration module need to be transferred are full of materials; During the operation task, if the process chamber to which the material of the calibration module needs to be transferred is full of materials, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has materials, and whether the calibration module has materials; if the process chamber has materials and the calibration module has materials, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, the material in the wafer box is determined as the target material for the next schedule.

[0202] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is used to, when the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a single-job task or the number of available chambers is one, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the process chamber has materials and the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the process chamber as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the calibration module as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, determine the materials of the wafer box as the target materials for the next schedule.

[0203] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is used to, when the number of available slots is equal to the number of all slots, if the number of available chambers is multiple, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether all the process chambers have materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials; if all the process chambers have materials and the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the process chambers as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the calibration module has materials, determine the materials of the calibration module as the target materials for the next schedule; otherwise, determine whether the wafer box has materials; if the wafer box has materials, determine the materials of the wafer box as the target materials for the next schedule.

[0204] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is used to, when the number of available slots is equal to the number of all slots, if the number of available chambers is one or the task type is a multi-job task, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; if the robot arm has materials, determine the materials of the robot arm as the target materials for the next scheduling; otherwise, determine whether the process chamber has materials, and determine whether the calibration module has odd-numbered materials, or, in the case of a single job task, determine whether the process chamber has multiple materials, and determine whether the calibration module has materials; if the If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has an odd-numbered material, or, in a single job task, the process chamber has multiple materials and the calibration module has material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next schedule; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material, and whether the calibration module has an even-numbered material; if the process chamber has material and the calibration module has an even-numbered material, or, the process chamber does not have material and the calibration module has an even-numbered material, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material for the next schedule.

[0205] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is used to obtain material path editing information input by a user; and generate the material transmission path information using the material path editing information.

[0206] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the controller is used to determine whether a preset temporary storage trigger condition is met if the material transfer path information indicates that the processed material does not pass through the calibration module during the process of being transferred from the process chamber back to the wafer box; if so, the processed material is placed in the calibration module, and the calibration module is controlled not to calibrate the placed material.

[0207] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the temporary storage triggering condition includes:

[0208] Not all of the multiple available slots of the process chamber have materials to be processed; the process chamber is used to perform a processing process when all the available slots have materials to be processed.

[0209] In summary, in this embodiment of the present invention, a global action sequence for material scheduling can be output based on the storage space characteristics of each device structure in semiconductor processing equipment. This method can achieve a one-time output of a globally optimal scheduling action sequence for material scheduling based on the hardware structure characteristics of semiconductor processing equipment, significantly improving the throughput of processing materials on the equipment.

[0210] As for the device embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment.

[0211] An embodiment of the present invention also provides an electronic device, comprising: a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored in the memory and capable of running on the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, the various processes of the above-mentioned material scheduling method embodiment are implemented and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0212] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the various processes of the above-mentioned material scheduling method embodiment are implemented and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0213] As for the device embodiment, since it is basically similar to the method embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the partial description of the method embodiment.

[0214] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referenced to each other.

[0215] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention may be provided as methods, apparatus, or computer program products. Thus, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a fully hardware embodiment, a fully software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0216] The embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, terminal devices (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing terminal device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing terminal device generate instructions for implementing the process in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0217] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing terminal device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce a manufactured product including an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0218] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing terminal device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable terminal device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for executing on the computer or other programmable terminal device to implement the process. Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A step that specifies a function in one or more boxes.

[0219] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, those skilled in the art may make additional changes and modifications to these embodiments once they become aware of the basic creative concepts. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments and all changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0220] Finally, it should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or terminal device that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or terminal device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or terminal device that includes the element.

[0221] The above is a detailed introduction to a material scheduling method and a semiconductor process equipment provided by the present invention. Specific examples are used herein to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method of the present invention and its core idea. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, according to the ideas of the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scopes. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

Claims

1. A material scheduling method, characterized in that: Applied to semiconductor process equipment, the semiconductor process equipment includes a plurality of equipment structures for performing material operations respectively, and the method includes: Determine the material transmission path information for the current task; the material transmission path information is used to define the equipment structure that the material needs to pass through and the order in which it passes through the equipment structure; respectively determining storage space characteristic information and material storage status information of each of the equipment structures; Generate a material scheduling global action sequence for the current task based on the material transmission path information, the storage space characteristic information, and the material storage status information; the material scheduling global action sequence includes material scheduling actions required to be executed by each of the equipment structures; Control each of the equipment structures to perform material scheduling according to the material scheduling global action sequence.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The equipment structure includes a process chamber, and generating a material scheduling global action sequence for a current task based on the material transmission path information, the storage space characteristic information, and the material storage state information includes: Determining the next scheduled material based on the storage space characteristic information and the material storage status information and a preset material selection rule; wherein the preset material selection rule is used to determine the next scheduled target material based on a principle of maximizing the production capacity of the semiconductor process equipment and / or a principle of maximizing the utilization rate of the process chamber; Determining a scheduling action for the next scheduled material according to the material transmission path information; All of the scheduling actions are used to generate the material scheduling global action sequence.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The step of using all the scheduling actions to generate the material scheduling global action sequence includes: Establishing a root node of the search tree; the root node is used to record the initial storage status information of the material; Determine a new child node generated by the search tree according to the scheduling action of the next scheduled material output each time; the child node is used to record the updated material storage status information after each simulated execution of the scheduling action; After all material scheduling actions are calculated, the last child node generated by the search tree is determined; All paths from the root node to the last child node of the search tree are traversed, and an action sequence corresponding to the shortest path among all the paths is determined as the material scheduling global action sequence.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Before determining a new child node generated by the search tree, the method further includes: Determine whether the path from the root node to the child node is a path; If so, generate the child node; If not, a child node is regenerated, and the process returns to the step of determining whether the path from the root node to the child node is a path.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The equipment structure further includes a wafer box, a calibration module, and a wafer transfer robot arm. The preset material selection rules include material selection rules set based on the availability of both arms of the wafer transfer robot arm, which include: The target material for the next scheduling is determined according to the material storage status of the wafer box, the calibration module, the wafer transfer robot arm and the process chamber.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The determining of the target material for the next scheduling according to the material storage status of the wafer box, the calibration module, the wafer transfer robot arm, and the process chamber includes: Determining whether the robotic arm has material; If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the current operation task is a multi-operation task, and whether the process chamber has the last material; If the current task is a multi-task and the process chamber has the last material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material for the next scheduling; otherwise, whether the robot arm has the material and whether the wafer box has the material are determined; If the robot arm does not have any material and the wafer box has any material, then determining one material of the wafer box as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, determining whether the calibration module has the last material; If the calibration module has the last material, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the robot arm has material, whether the wafer box has material, and whether the process chamber has material are determined; If the robot arm does not have material, the wafer box does not have material, and the process chamber has material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material to be scheduled next.

7. The method according to claim 2 or 5, characterized in that The equipment structure further includes a wafer box, a calibration module, and a wafer transfer robot arm. The preset material selection rule includes a material selection rule set based on the availability of a single arm of the wafer transfer robot arm, which includes: Determining the number of available slots in the process chamber; determining the number of available chambers of the process chamber; Determine the task type of the current job task; The target material for the next scheduling is determined according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers and the task type.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The determining the target material for the next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes: In the case where the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a multi-job task or the number of available chambers is multiple and each available chamber has only one slot available, first determine whether the robot arm has material; If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has multiple materials and whether the calibration module has material, or, in the case of multiple tasks, whether the calibration module has material to be transferred to the process chamber; If the process chamber has multiple materials and the calibration module has materials, or, in a multi-task scenario, the calibration module has materials that need to be transferred to the process chamber, the materials in the process chamber are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has materials. If the calibration module has materials, the materials in the calibration module are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the wafer box has materials is determined; If the wafer box has materials, the materials in the wafer box are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The determining the target material for the next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes: In the case where the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a multi-job task or the number of available chambers is multiple and only one slot of the multiple available chambers is disabled, first determine whether the robot arm has material; If the robot arm has material, the material in the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material, and whether the calibration module has material. Or, in the case of multiple tasks, it is determined whether the process chamber to which the material of the calibration module needs to be transferred is full of material. If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has material, or, in a multi-task, the process chamber to which the material of the calibration module needs to be transferred is full of material, the material of the process chamber is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material and whether the calibration module has material; If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has material, the material in the calibration module is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the calibration module has material is determined; If the calibration module has materials, the materials in the calibration module are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the wafer box has materials is determined; If the wafer box has materials, the materials in the wafer box are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next.

10. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The determining the target material for the next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes: In the case where the number of available slots is not equal to the number of all slots, if the task type is a single-operation task or the number of available chambers is one, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the process chamber has material is determined, and whether the calibration module has material is determined; If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the calibration module has material is determined; If the calibration module has materials, the materials in the calibration module are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the wafer box has materials is determined; If the wafer box has materials, the materials in the wafer box are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next.

11. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The determining the target material for the next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes: In the case where the number of available slots is equal to the number of all slots, if the number of available chambers is multiple, first determine whether the robotic arm has materials; If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether all the process chambers have material is determined, and whether the calibration module has material is determined; If both the process chambers have materials and the calibration module has materials, the materials in the process chambers are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the calibration module has materials; If the calibration module has materials, the materials in the calibration module are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next; otherwise, whether the wafer box has materials is determined; If the wafer box has materials, the materials in the wafer box are determined as the target materials to be scheduled next.

12. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The determining the target material for the next scheduling according to the number of available slots, the number of available chambers, and the task type includes: In the case where the number of available slots is equal to the number of all slots, if the number of available chambers is one or the task type is a multi-operation task, first determine whether the robot arm has materials; If the robot arm has material, the material of the robot arm is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material and whether the calibration module has an odd-numbered material, or, in the case of a single job task, whether the process chamber has multiple materials and whether the calibration module has material; If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has an odd-numbered material, or, in a single job task, the process chamber has multiple materials and the calibration module has material, the material in the process chamber is determined as the target material to be scheduled next; otherwise, it is determined whether the process chamber has material and whether the calibration module has an even-numbered material. If the process chamber has material and the calibration module has an even-numbered material, or if the process chamber has no material and the calibration module has an even-numbered material, the material of the calibration module is determined as the target material to be scheduled next.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein Determining the material transmission path information of the current task includes: Get the material path editing information entered by the user; The material transmission path information is generated using the material path editing information.

14. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The determining the scheduling action of the next scheduled material according to the material transmission path information includes: If the material transfer path information indicates that the processed material does not pass through the calibration module during the process of being transferred from the process chamber back to the wafer box, determining whether a preset temporary storage trigger condition is met; If the conditions are met, the processed material is placed in the calibration module, and the calibration module is controlled not to calibrate the placed material.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The temporary storage triggering conditions include: Not all of the multiple available slots of the process chamber have materials to be processed; the process chamber is used to perform a processing process when all the available slots have materials to be processed.

16. A semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: The semiconductor process equipment includes a plurality of equipment structures for performing material operations respectively, and further includes: A controller is used to determine the material transmission path information of the current operation task; the material transmission path information is used to limit the equipment structure that the material needs to pass through and the order in which it passes through the equipment structure; the storage space characteristic information and material storage status information of each of the equipment structures are determined respectively; based on the material transmission path information, the storage space characteristic information and the material storage status information, a global action sequence of material scheduling for the current operation task is generated; the global action sequence of material scheduling includes the material scheduling actions that each of the equipment structures needs to perform; and each of the equipment structures is controlled to perform material scheduling according to the global action sequence of material scheduling.

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