Water replenishment control method for semiconductor process equipment and semiconductor process equipment

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a water replenishment control method for semiconductor process equipment, a diffusion process method, and semiconductor process equipment. The water replenishment control method includes: obtaining water replenishment time period information that requires reservation for each furnace tube; updating a current reservation queue based on the water replenishment time period information that requires reservation for each furnace tube; and setting the available or unavailable state of a liquid evaporator for each furnace tube based on the reserved water replenishment time period information in the updated reservation queue, so that the liquid evaporator can only replenish water to one furnace tube at a time. By obtaining the water replenishment time period information of the furnace tubes that require reservation in advance, the present invention allows each reserved furnace tube to replenish water in chronological order, avoiding manual intervention in the process. By setting the available or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each furnace tube, the liquid evaporator can only be occupied by one furnace tube at a time, reducing the probability of process waiting during the process and improving production efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor process equipment, and in particular to a water replenishment control method, a diffusion process method and semiconductor process equipment for semiconductor process equipment. Background Art

[0002] The sharp drop in the price of crystalline silicon solar cell products has promoted the development of low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell technology. In this situation, the N-pert cell with a double-sided fine grid line structure takes into account the two major characteristics of low cost and high efficiency. In the N-pert structure, the formation of the PN junction and the back field is the key to obtaining a high-efficiency cell, and the PN junction is usually formed by using boron atom doping using boron diffusion equipment.

[0003] In boron expansion equipment, each tube typically has a bubbler that uses N2 to carry water vapor to perform the water replenishment step during the boron expansion process, without interfering with each other. To reduce costs or save equipment space, some manufacturers replace the bubbler with a single controlled evaporator mixer (CEM) across multiple tubes. During this shared process, the water and gas flow rates in the CEM are adjusted based on the number of tubes currently using the CEM to stabilize the N2 and water vapor flow to each tube. To ensure a constant amount of N2 and water vapor flow to each tube, the CEM is mutually exclusive during the water replenishment phase, ensuring that only one tube is using the CEM at a time. However, the duration of each CEM and the number of tubes in the queue are uncertain, resulting in unpredictable process wait times and the need for manual monitoring of the process control process. Unpredictable and long wait times can have unpredictable impacts on process results, increasing labor costs, significantly impacting process stability, and reducing production efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, embodiments of the present invention are proposed to provide a water replenishment control method, a diffusion process method and a semiconductor process equipment for overcoming or at least partially resolving the above problems.

[0005] To solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a water replenishment control method for semiconductor process equipment, wherein the semiconductor process equipment includes a liquid evaporator and a plurality of furnace tubes sharing the liquid evaporator. The method includes:

[0006] Obtaining information about the water replenishment time period that needs to be reserved for each of the furnace tubes;

[0007] Update the current reservation queue according to the water replenishment time period information that each of the furnace tubes needs to reserve;

[0008] According to the updated reserved water replenishment time period information in the reservation queue, the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each of the furnace tubes is set, so that the liquid evaporator can only replenish water to one of the furnace tubes at the same time.

[0009] Optionally, obtaining the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for each furnace tube includes:

[0010] For each of the furnace tubes, the multiple process steps corresponding to the furnace tube are queried in turn, and whether the process step is a water replenishment step is determined according to the process type of the process step, and the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for the furnace tube is determined according to the process start time and end time of the water replenishment step.

[0011] Optionally, updating the current reservation queue according to the water replenishment time period information that each furnace tube needs to reserve includes:

[0012] According to the reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information of each furnace tube that needs to be reserved, reservation processing is performed on each furnace tube, and the current reservation queue is updated according to the reservation processing result.

[0013] Optionally, performing reservation processing on each of the furnace tubes and updating the current reservation queue according to the reservation processing result includes:

[0014] Determine whether there is a conflict between the current reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information required to be reserved for each furnace tube;

[0015] If the current reservation queue conflicts with the water replenishment time period information required for reservation of each furnace tube, the current reservation queue remains unchanged;

[0016] If the current reservation queue does not conflict with the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for any one or more of the furnace tubes, the water replenishment time period information that does not conflict with the furnace tubes that need to be reserved is added to the reservation queue, and the current reservation queue is updated.

[0017] Optionally, setting the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each of the furnace tubes according to the updated reserved water replenishment time period information in the reservation queue so that the liquid evaporator replenishes water to only one of the furnace tubes at a time includes:

[0018] According to the reserved water replenishment time period information, determining whether the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information;

[0019] When the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period, the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period, and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes;

[0020] When the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period information, the liquid evaporator is set to be in an available state for each of the furnace tubes.

[0021] Optionally, when the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period, setting the liquid evaporator to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period when the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes includes:

[0022] When the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information, determining whether the liquid evaporator is in an idle state or an occupied state at the current time;

[0023] If the liquid evaporator is in an idle state at the current time, the liquid evaporator is set to be in an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period arriving at the current time, and to be in an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes;

[0024] If the liquid evaporator is in an occupied state at the current time, determining whether the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is being manually replenished with water;

[0025] If the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is in manual water replenishment, the furnace tube releases the occupation of the liquid evaporator, and the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period arriving at the current time, and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes;

[0026] If the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is not performing manual water replenishment, the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is waited for to release the liquid evaporator. When the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator, the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period arriving at the current time is set to an available state, and the remaining furnace tubes are set to an unavailable state.

[0027] Optionally, when the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period, setting the liquid evaporator to be in an available state for each furnace tube includes:

[0028] When the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period information, determining whether the liquid evaporator is in an idle state or an occupied state at the current time;

[0029] If the liquid evaporator is in an idle state at the current time, setting the liquid evaporator to be in an available state for each of the furnace tubes, and setting the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water for the target furnace tube when the target furnace tube receives a manual water replenishment instruction;

[0030] If the liquid evaporator is in an occupied state at the current time, the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the occupied furnace tube, and the liquid evaporator is set to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes; wait for the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator to release the liquid evaporator, and when the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator, and when the target furnace tube receives a manual water replenishment instruction, set the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water for the target furnace tube.

[0031] Optionally, updating the reservation queue further includes:

[0032] When the process of the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period information is terminated due to a fault, the reserved water replenishment time period information of the furnace tube is removed from the reservation queue.

[0033] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0034] When the reserved water replenishment time period in the reservation queue is empty, and after the target furnace tube receives a water replenishment instruction, determining whether the target furnace tube is in a process state;

[0035] If it is in process state, the furnace tube with the target set is prohibited from replenishing water;

[0036] If it is not in the process state, determining whether the furnace tube of the liquid evaporator for the target is in an available state;

[0037] If it is in an available state, the target furnace pipe is set to be replenished with water;

[0038] If it is in an unavailable state, the furnace pipe for which the target is set is prohibited from replenishing water.

[0039] Optionally, an embodiment of the present invention further discloses a diffusion process method, the diffusion process method comprising multiple process steps, the multiple process steps including a water replenishment step, the water replenishment step being controlled by the water replenishment control method as described above, the diffusion process method comprising:

[0040] When the furnace tube is executing a process, if the next process step is the water replenishment step, obtaining the corresponding available state of the furnace tube;

[0041] Determining whether the furnace tube corresponding to the liquid evaporator is in an available state;

[0042] If it is in an available state, the corresponding furnace tube is set to jump to the next process step after completing the current process step;

[0043] If it is in an unavailable state, setting the corresponding furnace tube to maintain the current process step and wait;

[0044] If the next process step is not the water replenishment step, the corresponding furnace tube is configured to jump to the next process step after completing the current process step.

[0045] Optionally, the present invention further discloses a semiconductor process equipment, comprising a liquid evaporator, a controller, and a plurality of furnace tubes sharing the liquid evaporator, wherein the controller is configured to control the liquid evaporator to replenish water to each of the furnace tubes, and the controller is configured to:

[0046] Obtaining the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for the corresponding furnace tube;

[0047] Update the current reservation queue according to the water replenishment time period information that each of the furnace tubes needs to reserve;

[0048] According to the updated reserved water replenishment time period information in the reservation queue, the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each of the furnace tubes is set, so that the liquid evaporator only replenishes water to one of the furnace tubes at the same time.

[0049] Optionally, the controller is also used to query the multiple process steps corresponding to each furnace tube in turn, determine whether the process step is a water replenishment step according to the process type of the process step, and determine the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for the furnace tube according to the process start time and end time of the water replenishment step.

[0050] Optionally, the controller is further configured to perform reservation processing on each of the furnace tubes according to the reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information that each of the furnace tubes needs to reserve, and update the current reservation queue according to the reservation processing result.

[0051] Optionally, the controller is further configured to determine whether there is a conflict between the current reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information required to be reserved for each furnace tube;

[0052] If the current reservation queue conflicts with the water replenishment time period information required for reservation of each furnace tube, the current reservation queue remains unchanged;

[0053] If the current reservation queue does not conflict with the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for any one or more of the furnace tubes, the water replenishment time period information that does not conflict with the furnace tubes that need to be reserved is added to the reservation queue, and the current reservation queue is updated.

[0054] Optionally, the controller is further configured to determine whether the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information according to the reserved water replenishment time period information;

[0055] When the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period, the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period, and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes;

[0056] When the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period information, the liquid evaporator is set to be in an available state for each of the furnace tubes.

[0057] Optionally, the controller is further configured to determine whether the liquid evaporator is in an idle state or an occupied state at the current time when the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information;

[0058] If the liquid evaporator is in an idle state at the current time, the liquid evaporator is set to be in an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period arriving at the current time, and to be in an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes;

[0059] If the liquid evaporator is in an occupied state at the current time, determining whether the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is being manually replenished with water;

[0060] If the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is in manual water replenishment, the furnace tube releases the occupation of the liquid evaporator, and the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period arriving at the current time, and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes;

[0061] If the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is not performing manual water replenishment, the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is waited for to release the liquid evaporator. When the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator, the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period arriving at the current time is set to an available state, and the remaining furnace tubes are set to an unavailable state.

[0062] Optionally, the controller is further configured to determine whether the liquid evaporator is in an idle state or an occupied state at the current time when the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period information;

[0063] If the liquid evaporator is in an idle state at the current time, setting the liquid evaporator to be in an available state for each of the furnace tubes, and setting the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water for the target furnace tube when the target furnace tube receives a manual water replenishment instruction;

[0064] If the liquid evaporator is in an occupied state at the current time, the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the occupied furnace tube, and the liquid evaporator is set to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes; wait for the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator to release the liquid evaporator, and when the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator, and when the target furnace tube receives a manual water replenishment instruction, set the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water for the target furnace tube.

[0065] Optionally, the controller is further configured to remove the reserved water replenishment time period information of the furnace tube from the reservation queue when the process of the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period information is terminated due to a fault.

[0066] Optionally, the controller is further configured to, when the reserved water replenishment time period information in the reservation queue is empty and after the target furnace tube receives a water replenishment instruction, determine whether the target furnace tube is in a process state;

[0067] If it is in process state, the furnace tube with the target set is prohibited from replenishing water;

[0068] If it is not in the process state, determining whether the furnace tube of the liquid evaporator for the target is in an available state;

[0069] If it is in an available state, the target furnace pipe is set to be replenished with water;

[0070] If it is in an unavailable state, the furnace pipe for which the target is set is prohibited from replenishing water.

[0071] Optionally, the controller is further configured to, when the furnace tube is executing a process, if the next process step is the water replenishment step, obtain the corresponding available state of the furnace tube;

[0072] Determining whether the furnace tube corresponding to the liquid evaporator is in an available state;

[0073] If it is in an available state, the corresponding furnace tube is set to jump to the next process step after completing the current process step;

[0074] If it is in an unavailable state, setting the corresponding furnace tube to maintain the current process step and wait;

[0075] If the next process step is not the water replenishment step, the corresponding furnace tube is configured to jump to the next process step after completing the current process step.

[0076] The embodiments of the present invention include the following advantages:

[0077] Embodiments of the present invention provide a water replenishment control method for semiconductor process equipment, a diffusion process method, and a semiconductor process equipment. The water replenishment control method includes: obtaining water replenishment time period information that each furnace tube needs to reserve; updating a current reservation queue based on the water replenishment time period information that each furnace tube needs to reserve; and setting the available or unavailable state of a liquid evaporator for each furnace tube based on the reserved water replenishment time period information in the updated reservation queue, so that the liquid evaporator can only replenish water to one furnace tube at a time. By obtaining the water replenishment time period information of the furnace tubes that need to be reserved in advance, the present invention allows each reserved furnace tube to replenish water in chronological order, avoiding manual intervention in the process and reducing labor costs. By setting the available or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each furnace tube, the liquid evaporator can only be occupied by one furnace tube at a time, reducing the risk of time conflicts caused by multiple tubes occupying the liquid evaporator during the process, minimizing the probability of process waiting during the process, and improving production efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0078] Figure 1 This is a flow chart of the steps of a water replenishment control method for semiconductor process equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0079] Figure 2 This is a framework diagram between the upper computer and the lower computer provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0080] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of another method for controlling water replenishment of semiconductor process equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0081] Figure 4 This is a time distribution diagram of the process steps of a furnace tube provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0082] Figure 5 This is an information flow chart of the lower computer determining the water replenishment time period required to be reserved for each furnace tube provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0083] Figure 6 The embodiment of the present invention provides water replenishment time period information of a furnace tube calculated by the lower computer;

[0084] Figure 7 This is the updated water replenishment time period information of the reservation queue provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0085] Figure 8 This is the water replenishment time period information updated in real time by the reservation queue provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0086] Figure 9 This is the water replenishment time period information of the reservation queue updated in real time under abnormal working conditions provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0087] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of the steps of the lower computer performing process skipping provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0088] Figure 11 This is a flow chart of the steps of a spreading process provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0089] Figure 12 This is a structural block diagram of a semiconductor process equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0090] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0091] In the prior art, in order to reduce costs and save equipment space, a CEM (Controlled Evaporator Mixer) is used by multiple tubes to replace the bubbling bottle of each tube. At the same time, when multiple tubes share the liquid evaporator, in order to ensure that the amount of N2 and water vapor introduced into each tube is fixed each time, the water replenishment stage between the tubes is mutually exclusive to ensure that only one furnace tube uses the liquid evaporator at a time. However, the waiting time and the duration of the water replenishment stage between the tubes cannot be determined, and manual monitoring is required to complete the water replenishment of each furnace tube, which results in high labor costs and unpredictable impacts on process results, thereby reducing production efficiency.

[0092] One of the core concepts of an embodiment of the present invention is to propose a water replenishment control method for semiconductor process equipment, by obtaining the water replenishment time period information that each furnace tube needs to reserve, and updating the reservation queue based on the obtained water replenishment time period information, thereby realizing time-sharing multiplexing of multiple tubes for liquid evaporators.

[0093] Reference Figure 1 , shows a flow chart of steps of a water replenishment control method for semiconductor process equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the semiconductor process equipment includes a liquid evaporator and multiple furnace tubes sharing the liquid evaporator. The method may include the following steps 101-103:

[0094] Step 101: Obtain information on the water replenishment time period that needs to be reserved for each furnace tube.

[0095] In the embodiment of the present invention, referring to Figure 2 The software framework for multiple furnace tubes to be controlled by corresponding slave computers, the slave computers to communicate with the master computer, and the master computer to communicate with the slave computers is shown. The master computer may include the following three programs:

[0096] The liquid evaporator control system communicates with the liquid evaporator and the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) through a serial port. It is used to read the temperature and flow parameters of the liquid evaporator and provides a liquid evaporator debugging interface for advanced users. The liquid evaporator control system is connected to the slave computer corresponding to each furnace tube to provide the slave computer with relevant parameters of the liquid evaporator.

[0097] The upper computer control software is connected to the lower computer corresponding to each furnace tube to provide the user with an equipment operation interface and to display the current status of each furnace tube in real time.

[0098] The liquid evaporator scheduling system is connected to the lower computer corresponding to each furnace tube. It is used to allocate and manage liquid evaporator resources before the process starts, and control the skip events and manual water replenishment events during the process to avoid conflicts in the use of liquid evaporators between furnace tubes.

[0099] Each slave computer includes a slave computer control software and is connected to the corresponding furnace tube. It can obtain the time parameters of the water replenishment time period of the corresponding furnace tube, and carry the water replenishment time period parameters of the corresponding furnace tube to the upper computer for process application before the start of water replenishment; the slave computer communicates with the liquid evaporator scheduling system to obtain the current status of whether the liquid evaporator is available.

[0100] It should be noted that, generally, the number of furnace tubes in a semiconductor process equipment can be set according to demand. The number of furnace tubes in the embodiment of the present invention is explained by taking 5 as an example, and the furnace tubes are numbered 1-5.

[0101] The lower computer can obtain the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for the corresponding furnace tube and send it to the upper computer. This time period information can be calculated by the lower computer by querying the process time of each process step of the furnace tube;

[0102] It should be noted that the time period information includes the start time (unit, s), end time, and tube number of each water replenishment step in this process or manual process. The start time or end time refers to how many seconds are left from the current time. For example, the start time of the water replenishment step of furnace tube No. 1 is 90s, which means that there are 90 seconds left to execute this water replenishment step from the current moment. The end time of the water replenishment step of furnace tube No. 1 is 270s, which means that there are 270 seconds left to end this water replenishment step from the current moment.

[0103] Step 102: Update the current reservation queue according to the water replenishment time period information that each furnace tube needs to reserve.

[0104] In the embodiment of the present invention, the reservation queue refers to the water replenishment time period queue in the process that has been reserved. When the reservation queue is empty, the upper computer can directly add the water replenishment time period information of each furnace tube that needs to be reserved to the reservation queue, and arrange them in the order of the water replenishment time period information to form a new reservation queue. The upper computer continuously updates the water replenishment time period information of the reserved furnace tubes in real time through the lower computer;

[0105] When the reservation queue is not an empty set, the upper computer forms a new reservation queue by comparing the difference between the reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information that each boiler tube needs to reserve, and continuously updates the water replenishment time period information of the reserved boiler tubes in real time through the lower computer.

[0106] Step 103 : according to the reserved water replenishment time period information in the updated reservation queue, the liquid evaporator is set to an available state or an unavailable state for each furnace tube, so that the liquid evaporator can only replenish water to one furnace tube at a time.

[0107] The liquid evaporator scheduling system in the upper computer can set the status of each furnace tube of the equipment according to the water replenishment time period information that has been reserved in the reservation queue. The status can be liquid evaporator available or liquid evaporator unavailable. Then the upper computer can allocate liquid evaporator resources to the furnace tubes according to the liquid evaporator available status or unavailable status of the furnace tubes and the order of the water replenishment time of the furnace tubes in the reservation queue, so that the liquid evaporator resources can only be occupied by one furnace tube at the same time.

[0108] It should be noted that the preset time for distributing the liquid to the evaporator in advance in the embodiment of the present invention can be set according to user needs and is not limited here.

[0109] In an embodiment of the present invention, information about the water replenishment time period that needs to be reserved for each furnace tube is obtained; based on the information about the water replenishment time period that needs to be reserved for each furnace tube, the current reservation queue is updated; based on the reserved water replenishment time period information in the updated reservation queue, the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each furnace tube is set, so that the liquid evaporator can only replenish water to one furnace tube at a time. The present invention obtains the water replenishment time period information of the furnace tubes that need to be reserved in advance, so that each reserved furnace tube replenishes water in chronological order, thereby avoiding manual intervention in the process. By setting the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each furnace tube, the liquid evaporator can only be occupied by one furnace tube at a time, thereby reducing the risk of time conflicts when multiple tubes occupy the liquid evaporator during the process, minimizing the probability of process waiting during the process, reducing labor costs, and improving production efficiency.

[0110] Reference Figure 3 , shows a flowchart of steps of another water replenishment control method for semiconductor process equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The semiconductor process equipment includes a liquid evaporator and multiple furnace tubes sharing the liquid evaporator. The multiple furnace tubes are respectively controlled by corresponding slave computers, and the slave computers communicate with the upper computer. The method may include the following steps 201-207:

[0111] Step 201: For each furnace tube, query the multiple process steps corresponding to the furnace tube in turn, determine whether the process step is a water replenishment step based on the process type of the process step, and determine the water replenishment time period information that the furnace tube needs to reserve based on the process start time and end time of the water replenishment step.

[0112] In an embodiment of the present invention, each furnace tube has multiple process steps. In one example, assuming that furnace tube No. 1 has seven process steps, such as Figure 4 , shows the time distribution diagram of the process steps of furnace tube No. 1, Figure 4 The serial numbers 1-7 refer to the first to seventh process steps, the types include whether water replenishment is required or not, the time refers to the duration of the step, the start time refers to the time when the process step starts, and the end time refers to the time when the process step ends.

[0113] After receiving the process request from the upper computer, the lower computer will query each process step of the furnace tube in turn, such as Figure 5 The present invention shows a flowchart of a lower computer determining the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for each furnace tube in an embodiment of the present invention. The lower computer first queries the first process step, clears the water replenishment time period information table, sets the time accumulation variable S0=0, and determines whether the step is an empty step. If not, it continues to determine whether the step is a water replenishment step. If not, S0=S0+the process duration of this step, and queries the next step; if it is a water replenishment step, the water replenishment start time is S0, and the water replenishment end time is S0+the process duration of this step. The water replenishment start time, water replenishment end time, and tube number of the water replenishment step are added to the water replenishment time period information table, and the next step is queried until all process steps are queried. That is, when the process step is an empty step, the water replenishment time period information table of the furnace tube is output. After the lower computer queries the water replenishment time period information tables of all furnace tubes, it obtains the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for each furnace tube.

[0114] In one example, when the lower computer queries the water replenishment time period information of pipe No. 1, it first queries the first process step, the process time of this step is 60s, the first process step is a step that does not require water replenishment, and the cumulative variable S0=0+60=60s; then it queries the second process step, the process time of this step is 60s, the second process step is also a step that does not require water replenishment, and the cumulative variable S0=60+60=120s; and queries the third process step, the third process step is a step that requires water replenishment, the process time of this step is 600s, the water replenishment start time=120s, and the water replenishment end time=S0+600=120+600=720s, and adds (Pipe No. 1, 120, 720,) to the water replenishment time period information table. After querying the seventh step in sequence, the water replenishment time period information of Pipe No. 1 can be obtained, such as Figure 6 The water replenishment time period information of pipe No. 1 is shown.

[0115] Step 202: Perform reservation processing on each furnace tube according to the reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information that each furnace tube needs to reserve, and update the current reservation queue according to the reservation processing result.

[0116] In an embodiment of the present invention, there may already be a reservation queue in the upper computer queuing for water replenishment. After the upper computer receives the information of the water replenishment time period that needs to be reserved, it compares the reservation queue with the information of the water replenishment time period that needs to be reserved for each furnace tube, and makes a reservation for the liquid evaporator based on the difference. According to the reservation result, the reservation queue is updated.

[0117] In one embodiment, step 202 may include sub-steps S21 to S23;

[0118] Sub-step S21, determining whether there is a conflict between the current reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information required to be reserved for each furnace tube;

[0119] Sub-step S22: If the current reservation queue conflicts with the water replenishment time period information required for reservation of each furnace tube, the current reservation queue remains unchanged;

[0120] In one example, assume that the water replenishment time slots required for each furnace tube are already in the reservation queue. In other words, the water replenishment time slots required for each furnace tube are already occupied. This indicates that there is a conflict between the reservation queue and the water replenishment time slots required for each furnace tube. In this case, the reservation queue remains unchanged, the lower computer corresponding to the furnace tube does not start the process, and the reservation queue remains unchanged. The lower computer continues to send the water replenishment time slot information required for the furnace tube to the upper computer until the water replenishment time slot information required for the furnace tube no longer conflicts with the reservation queue.

[0121] Sub-step S23, if the current reservation queue does not conflict with the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for any one or more furnace tubes, the water replenishment time period information that does not conflict with the furnace tubes that need to be reserved is added to the reservation queue, and the current reservation queue is updated.

[0122] In one example, assuming that furnace tubes 3 and 4 are in the reservation queue, furnace tube 1 has two water replenishment time period information, and one of the two water replenishment time period information for furnace tube 1 is before furnace tube 4; the other is after furnace tube 4 and furnace tube 3; then the time period information for furnace tube 1 that needs water replenishment does not conflict with the reservation queue, and the time period information for furnace tube 1 that needs water replenishment is added to the reservation queue for update, such as Figure 7 The figure shows the water replenishment time period information after the reservation queue is updated. At this time, furnace tube No. 1 can start the process and continuously update the reserved queue in real time according to the progress of the process. For example, when the first process step of furnace tube No. 1 runs for 30s, the start time of the first water replenishment section becomes = the remaining time of the first step 30s + the process time of the second step 60s = 90s, and the end time of the first water replenishment section becomes = the remaining time of the second step 90s + the process time of the third step 600s = 690s, that is, the first water replenishment time period information is updated to (tube No. 1, 90, 690), and similarly, the second water replenishment time period information is updated to (tube No. 1, 1470, 1770). Figure 8 It shows the real-time updated water replenishment time period information of the reservation queue.

[0123] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the reserved queue will be continuously updated according to the time of the process, throughout the entire process.

[0124] In one embodiment of the present invention, updating the reservation queue further includes:

[0125] When the process of the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period information is terminated due to a fault, the reserved water replenishment time period information of the furnace tube is removed from the reservation queue.

[0126] In the embodiment of the present invention, under normal circumstances, the process will be as follows Figure 4 and Figure 8 The reserved queues in the system are used to occupy and release the liquid evaporator. However, when an abnormal working condition occurs, the reserved queues will be processed according to the abnormal working condition. For example, when the first process step of the No. 1 furnace tube is terminated due to an alarm after running for 30 seconds, the upper host will remove the water replenishment time period information of the abnormal furnace tube from the reserved queue. Figure 9 It shows the water replenishment time period information of the reservation queue updated in real time under abnormal working conditions.

[0127] In one example of the present invention, when a fault occurs in the corresponding furnace tube in the reserved water replenishment time period information, the upper computer sends the status of whether the liquid evaporator is available to each furnace tube in the updated reserved water replenishment time period information, and allocates the liquid evaporator according to the updated reserved water replenishment time period information; and at a preset time before the liquid evaporator starts to be used, the upper computer reserves the liquid evaporator for the target furnace tube in advance, and the liquid evaporator is in an available state for the target furnace tube.

[0128] Assume that the reservation queue for the process is Figure 8 When the process is terminated after the No. 1 furnace tube has been running for 30 seconds, the host computer will remove the water replenishment time period information of the No. 1 furnace tube from the reservation queue. At this time, the reservation queue is updated to Figure 9 The time period information in the time period information is the updated reserved water replenishment time period information. The upper computer sends the status of whether the liquid evaporator is available to the No. 4 furnace tube and the No. 3 furnace tube in the updated reserved water replenishment time period information. Assuming that both are available, the liquid evaporator is allocated in the order of the time period information, and a preset time before the liquid evaporator starts to be used is set, assuming it is 20s. The upper computer reserves the liquid evaporator for the No. 4 furnace tube in advance, so that it can be prepared to deal with emergencies such as abnormal process termination in the process, thereby improving the stability of the process.

[0129] Step 203: Based on the reserved water replenishment time period information, determine whether the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information.

[0130] Since the water replenishment start time and end time in the scheduled water replenishment time period both refer to the number of seconds left from the current time, the upper computer will determine whether the current time reaches the scheduled water replenishment time period information based on the number of seconds left from the water replenishment start time.

[0131] Step 204: When the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period, the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period, and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes;

[0132] When there is 0s left in the water replenishment start time, it means that the current time has reached the reserved water replenishment time period information. The upper computer can set the available status of the liquid evaporator to the furnace tube according to whether there is a furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator and the reserved water replenishment time period information, so that the liquid evaporator can only be occupied by one furnace tube at the same time.

[0133] In one embodiment, step 206 may include sub-steps S31 to S35;

[0134] Sub-step S31, when the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information, determining whether the liquid evaporator is in an idle state or an occupied state at the current time;

[0135] Sub-step S32: if the liquid evaporator is currently in an idle state, setting the liquid evaporator to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the scheduled water replenishment time period at the current time, and setting the remaining furnace tubes to an unavailable state;

[0136] If the liquid evaporator is idle at the current time, it means that no furnace tube occupies the liquid evaporator. The upper computer sets the liquid evaporator to be available for the furnace tube corresponding to the scheduled water replenishment time period in the reservation queue, and sets the liquid evaporator to be unavailable for the remaining furnace tubes, that is, the furnace tube corresponding to the water replenishment time period that has not arrived is set to be unavailable. At this time, the furnace tubes in the reservation queue are replenished in chronological order, for example Figure 8 In the process, water is replenished in the order of No. 1 pipe - No. 4 pipe - No. 1 pipe - No. 3 pipe.

[0137] Sub-step S33, if the liquid evaporator is currently in the occupied state, determining whether the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is being manually replenished with water;

[0138] In an embodiment of the present invention, water replenishment can be divided into automatic water replenishment and manually controlled water replenishment. If the liquid evaporator is currently occupied, it means that a furnace tube is using the liquid evaporator for water replenishment. At this time, water replenishment is performed according to the process priority, and it is determined whether the occupied furnace tube is a manually controlled water replenishment furnace tube.

[0139] In sub-step S34, if the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is in manual water replenishment, the furnace tube releases the occupation of the liquid evaporator, sets the furnace tube corresponding to the scheduled water replenishment time period at the current time to an available state, and sets the remaining furnace tubes to an unavailable state;

[0140] If the occupied furnace tube is being manually replenished with water, the manually occupied tube will stop replenishing water directly, and the occupied status of the occupied tube to the liquid evaporator will be canceled. In accordance with the principle of priority of the process reserved queue, the liquid evaporator will be set to be available for the reserved furnace tubes in the reserved queue. At this time, the furnace tubes in the reserved queue can be replenished with water in the order of reservation. The specific order will not be repeated here, and the furnace tubes that have not been successfully reserved will be set to unavailable state, and the furnace tubes that have not been successfully reserved are prohibited from replenishing water.

[0141] In sub-step S35, if the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is not being manually replenished with water, wait for the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator to release the liquid evaporator. When the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator, set the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved replenishment time period at the current time to be in an available state, and set the remaining furnace tubes to an unavailable state.

[0142] In one example, assuming that furnace tube No. 2 is an occupied furnace tube and is using the liquid evaporator for automatic water replenishment, the upper computer waits for the completion of water replenishment of furnace tube No. 2, that is, the completion of the occupation of the liquid evaporator, and sets the liquid evaporator to be available for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period at the current time. At this time, the furnace tubes corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period in the reserved queue can be replenished in the order of reservation, and the specific order will not be repeated here. The furnace tubes corresponding to the furnace tubes that have not arrived at the reserved water replenishment time period are set to be unavailable, and the furnace tubes corresponding to the furnace tubes that have not arrived at the reserved water replenishment time period are prohibited from replenishing water.

[0143] Step 205 : When the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period, the liquid evaporator is set to be in an available state for each furnace tube.

[0144] When the water replenishment start time is not 0, it means that the current time has not reached the reserved water replenishment time period information. The upper computer can control the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water according to whether there is a furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator and the reserved water replenishment time period information, and when the preset requirements are met, so that the liquid evaporator can only be occupied by one furnace tube at the same time.

[0145] In one embodiment, step 207 may include sub-steps S41-S43;

[0146] Sub-step S41, when the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period information, determining whether the liquid evaporator is in an idle state or an occupied state at the current time;

[0147] Sub-step S42: If the liquid evaporator is currently in an idle state, setting the liquid evaporator to an available state for each furnace tube, and when the target furnace tube receives a manual water replenishment instruction, setting the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water for the target furnace tube;

[0148] In an embodiment of the present invention, the target furnace tube refers to the furnace tube specified by the user; in one example, if the current time is in an idle state, it means that at the current time, the liquid evaporator can be manually controlled to replenish water for each furnace tube. At this time, the upper computer sets the liquid evaporator to an available state for each furnace tube, and can manually control the replenishment of water for any one of the furnace tubes according to user needs, regardless of whether the appointment is successful.

[0149] Sub-step S43: if the liquid evaporator is currently in an occupied state, the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the occupied furnace tube, and the liquid evaporator is set to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes; wait for the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator to release the liquid evaporator, and when the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator and the target furnace tube receives a manual water replenishment instruction, set the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water for the target furnace tube.

[0150] If the current time is in the occupied state, due to the principle of process priority, the liquid evaporator is set to be available for the occupied furnace tube, and the liquid evaporator is set to be unavailable for the remaining furnace tubes. When the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator, that is, the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator releases the liquid evaporator, the upper computer can set the liquid evaporator to be available for each furnace tube, and can manually control the water replenishment of any one of the furnace tubes according to user needs, regardless of whether the reservation is successful.

[0151] In one embodiment, the method further includes:

[0152] When the reserved water replenishment time period information in the reservation queue is empty, and after the target furnace tube receives the water replenishment instruction, it is determined whether the target furnace tube is in the process state;

[0153] If it is in process state, the furnace tube with the set target is prohibited from replenishing water;

[0154] If it is not in the process state, then determine whether the furnace tube of the liquid evaporator for the target is in the available state;

[0155] If it is in available state, the target furnace pipe is set to replenish water;

[0156] If it is in unavailable state, the furnace pipe with the set target is prohibited from replenishing water.

[0157] like Figure 10 , shows a flow chart of the steps of manual water replenishment controlled by the lower computer in an embodiment of the present invention. In the current time period, the reservation queue is empty, and the liquid evaporator is available to all furnace tubes at this moment. After the lower computer receives the water replenishment instruction sent by the upper computer, in order to protect personal safety, it must be ensured that the manual water replenishment is performed when the process is not in progress. Therefore, it is first determined whether the current furnace tube is in the process state. If the current furnace tube is in the process state, water replenishment is prohibited; if the current furnace tube is not in the process state, it is determined whether the liquid evaporator is available for the furnace tube. If it is available, the lower computer controls the corresponding furnace tube to replenish water; if it is not available, the lower computer controls the corresponding furnace tube to prohibit water replenishment until the liquid evaporator is available for the furnace tube, and the lower computer controls the corresponding furnace tube to replenish water.

[0158] It should be noted that since manual water replenishment is an uncontrollable time, the liquid evaporator scheduling system can directly set the entire time period 0-32767s as the water replenishment time period. The water replenishment time period can be set according to user needs. During this time period, the liquid evaporator is available for manual water replenishment boiler tubes, but unavailable for other tubes. Other boiler tubes cannot be manually replenished with water. Since the process priority is the highest, this time period will not affect the water replenishment during the process. When there is a queue in the reservation queue, the manual water replenishment tube will release the liquid evaporator resources in time.

[0159] like Figure 11 A flowchart of a diffusion process method provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The diffusion process method includes multiple process steps, including a water replenishment step. The water replenishment step is controlled using the above-mentioned water replenishment control method. The diffusion process method includes the following steps:

[0160] Step 301, when the furnace tube is executing a process, if the next process step is a water replenishment step, obtain the available status of the corresponding furnace tube;

[0161] Step 302, determining whether the liquid evaporator is in a usable state for the corresponding furnace tube;

[0162] Step 303: If the state is available, the corresponding furnace tube is set to execute the current process step and then jump to the next process step; if the state is unavailable, the corresponding furnace tube is set to maintain the current process step and wait;

[0163] Step 304: If the next process step is not a water replenishment step, the corresponding furnace tube is set to skip to the next process step after completing the current process step.

[0164] In an embodiment of the present invention, when a certain furnace tube executes a diffusion process step, if the next step is a water replenishment step, the lower computer obtains the liquid evaporator availability status of the furnace tube from the liquid evaporator scheduling system, and is allowed to jump to the step only when it is available. Otherwise, the state before the jump is maintained, and the liquid evaporator availability status of the furnace tube is continuously obtained from the liquid evaporator scheduling system until the liquid evaporator is available for the pipe and the next step is jumped to; if the next step is not a water replenishment step, the next process step is directly jumped to.

[0165] In the embodiment of the present invention, the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for each furnace tube is obtained; the reservation queue is updated according to the reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for each furnace tube; and the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each furnace tube is set according to the reserved water replenishment time period information in the reservation queue, so that the liquid evaporator can only be occupied by one furnace tube at a time. The present invention obtains the water replenishment time period information of the furnace tubes that need to be reserved in advance, so that each reserved furnace tube replenishes water in chronological order, thereby avoiding manual intervention in the process. By setting the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each furnace tube, the liquid evaporator can only be occupied by one furnace tube at a time, reducing the risk of time conflict when multiple tubes occupy the liquid evaporator during the process, minimizing the probability of process waiting during the process, reducing labor costs, and improving production efficiency.

[0166] 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.

[0167] Reference Figure 12 , shows a block diagram of the structure of a semiconductor process equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention, the semiconductor process equipment includes a liquid evaporator, a controller, and multiple furnace tubes sharing the liquid evaporator, the controller is used to control the liquid evaporator to replenish water to each of the furnace tubes, and the controller is used to:

[0168] Obtaining the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for the corresponding furnace tube;

[0169] Update the current reservation queue according to the water replenishment time period information that each of the furnace tubes needs to reserve;

[0170] According to the updated reserved water replenishment time period information in the reservation queue, the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each of the furnace tubes is set, so that the liquid evaporator only replenishes water to one of the furnace tubes at the same time.

[0171] In one embodiment of the present invention, the controller is also used to query the multiple process steps corresponding to each furnace tube in turn, determine whether the process step is a water replenishment step according to the process type of the process step, and determine the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for the furnace tube according to the process start time and end time of the water replenishment step.

[0172] In one embodiment of the present invention, the controller is further used to perform reservation processing on each of the furnace tubes according to the reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information that each of the furnace tubes needs to reserve, and update the current reservation queue according to the reservation processing result.

[0173] In one embodiment of the present invention, the controller is further configured to determine whether there is a conflict between the current reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information required to be reserved for each of the furnace tubes;

[0174] If the current reservation queue conflicts with the water replenishment time period information required for reservation of each furnace tube, the current reservation queue remains unchanged;

[0175] If the current reservation queue does not conflict with the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for any one or more of the furnace tubes, the water replenishment time period information that does not conflict with the furnace tubes that need to be reserved is added to the reservation queue, and the current reservation queue is updated.

[0176] In one embodiment of the present invention, the controller is further configured to determine whether the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information according to the reserved water replenishment time period information;

[0177] When the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period, the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period, and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes;

[0178] When the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period information, the liquid evaporator is set to be in an available state for each of the furnace tubes.

[0179] In one embodiment of the present invention, the controller is further configured to determine whether the liquid evaporator is in an idle state or an occupied state at the current time when the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information;

[0180] If the liquid evaporator is in an idle state at the current time, the liquid evaporator is set to be in an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period arriving at the current time, and to be in an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes;

[0181] If the liquid evaporator is in an occupied state at the current time, determining whether the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is being manually replenished with water;

[0182] If the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is in manual water replenishment, the furnace tube releases the occupation of the liquid evaporator, and the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period arriving at the current time, and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes;

[0183] If the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is not performing manual water replenishment, the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is waited for to release the liquid evaporator. When the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator, the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period arriving at the current time is set to an available state, and the remaining furnace tubes are set to an unavailable state.

[0184] In one embodiment of the present invention, the controller is configured to determine whether the liquid evaporator is in an idle state or an occupied state at the current time when the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period information;

[0185] If the liquid evaporator is in an idle state at the current time, setting the liquid evaporator to be in an available state for each of the furnace tubes, and setting the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water for the target furnace tube when the target furnace tube receives a manual water replenishment instruction;

[0186] If the liquid evaporator is in an occupied state at the current time, the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the occupied furnace tube, and the liquid evaporator is set to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes; wait for the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator to release the liquid evaporator, and when the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator, and when the target furnace tube receives a manual water replenishment instruction, set the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water for the target furnace tube.

[0187] In one embodiment of the present invention, the controller is further used to remove the reserved water replenishment time period information of the furnace tube from the reservation queue when the process of the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period information is terminated due to a fault.

[0188] Optionally, the controller is further configured to, when the reserved water replenishment time period information in the reservation queue is empty and after the target furnace tube receives a water replenishment instruction, determine whether the target furnace tube is in a process state;

[0189] If it is in process state, the furnace tube with the target set is prohibited from replenishing water;

[0190] If it is not in the process state, determining whether the furnace tube of the liquid evaporator for the target is in an available state;

[0191] If it is in an available state, the target furnace pipe is set to be replenished with water;

[0192] If it is in an unavailable state, the furnace pipe for which the target is set is prohibited from replenishing water.

[0193] In one embodiment of the present invention, the controller is further configured to, when the furnace tube is performing a process, if the next process step is the water replenishment step, obtain the corresponding available state of the furnace tube;

[0194] Determining whether the furnace tube corresponding to the liquid evaporator is in an available state;

[0195] If it is in an available state, the corresponding furnace tube is set to jump to the next process step after completing the current process step;

[0196] If it is in an unavailable state, setting the corresponding furnace tube to maintain the current process step and wait;

[0197] If the next process step is not the water replenishment step, the corresponding furnace tube is configured to jump to the next process step after completing the current process step.

[0198] An embodiment of the present invention discloses a semiconductor process equipment, comprising a liquid evaporator, a controller, and multiple furnace tubes sharing the liquid evaporator. The controller is configured to: obtain water replenishment time period information for the corresponding furnace tube; update a current reservation queue based on the water replenishment time period information for each furnace tube; and set the liquid evaporator's available or unavailable status for each furnace tube based on the reserved water replenishment time period information in the updated reservation queue, so that the liquid evaporator replenishes water to only one furnace tube at a time. By obtaining the water replenishment time period information for the furnace tubes requiring reservations in advance, the present invention allows each reserved furnace tube to replenish water in chronological order, thereby avoiding excessive manual intervention and reducing labor costs during the process. By setting the liquid evaporator's available or unavailable status for each furnace tube, the liquid evaporator can only be occupied by one furnace tube at a time, reducing the risk of time conflicts between multiple furnace tubes occupying the liquid evaporator during the process, minimizing the probability of process waiting during the process, and improving production efficiency.

[0199] 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.

[0200] 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.

[0201] 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.

[0202] 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.

[0203] 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.

[0204] 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.

[0205] 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.

[0206] 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.

[0207] The above is a detailed introduction to the water replenishment control method, diffusion process method and 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 general technical personnel in this field, based on the ideas of the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

Claims

1. A water replenishment control method for semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: The semiconductor process equipment includes a liquid evaporator and a plurality of furnace tubes sharing the liquid evaporator, and the method includes: Obtaining information about the water replenishment time period that each of the furnace tubes needs to reserve; Update the current reservation queue according to the water replenishment time period information that each of the furnace tubes needs to reserve; According to the updated reserved water replenishment time period information in the reservation queue, the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each of the furnace tubes is set, so that the liquid evaporator can only replenish water to one of the furnace tubes at the same time.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The obtaining of the water replenishment time period information required for each furnace tube includes: For each of the furnace tubes, the multiple process steps corresponding to the furnace tube are queried in turn, and whether the process step is a water replenishment step is determined according to the process type of the process step, and the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for the furnace tube is determined according to the process start time and end time of the water replenishment step.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The updating of the current reservation queue according to the water replenishment time period information that each furnace tube needs to reserve includes: According to the reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information of each furnace tube that needs to be reserved, reservation processing is performed on each furnace tube, and the current reservation queue is updated according to the reservation processing result.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The performing reservation processing on each of the furnace tubes and updating the current reservation queue according to the reservation processing result includes: Determine whether there is a conflict between the current reservation queue and the water replenishment time period information required to be reserved for each furnace tube; If the current reservation queue conflicts with the water replenishment time period information required for reservation of each furnace tube, the current reservation queue remains unchanged; If the current reservation queue does not conflict with the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for any one or more of the furnace tubes, the water replenishment time period information that does not conflict with the furnace tubes that need to be reserved is added to the reservation queue, and the current reservation queue is updated.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of setting the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each of the furnace tubes according to the reserved water replenishment time period information in the updated reservation queue so that the liquid evaporator replenishes water to only one of the furnace tubes at a time includes: According to the reserved water replenishment time period information, determining whether the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information; When the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information, setting the liquid evaporator to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period when the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period, and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes; When the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period information, the liquid evaporator is set to be in an available state for each of the furnace tubes.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that When the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information, setting the liquid evaporator to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period when the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes includes: When the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period information, determining whether the liquid evaporator is in an idle state or an occupied state at the current time; If the liquid evaporator is in an idle state at the current time, setting the liquid evaporator to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period arriving at the current time, and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes; If the liquid evaporator is in an occupied state at the current time, determining whether the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is being manually replenished with water; If the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is in manual water replenishment, the furnace tube releases the occupation of the liquid evaporator, and the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the furnace tube corresponding to the scheduled water replenishment time period when the current time arrives, and to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes; If the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator is not performing manual water replenishment, wait for the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator to release the liquid evaporator. When the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator, set the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period when the current time reaches the reserved water replenishment time period to an available state, and set the remaining furnace tubes to an unavailable state.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that When the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period, setting the liquid evaporator to be in an available state for each furnace tube includes: When the current time does not reach the reserved water replenishment time period information, determining whether the liquid evaporator is in an idle state or an occupied state at the current time; If the liquid evaporator is in an idle state at the current time, setting the liquid evaporator to be in an available state for each of the furnace tubes, and setting the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water for the target furnace tube when the target furnace tube receives a manual water replenishment instruction; If the liquid evaporator is in an occupied state at the current time, the liquid evaporator is set to an available state for the occupied furnace tube, and the liquid evaporator is set to an unavailable state for the remaining furnace tubes; wait for the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator to release the liquid evaporator, and when the furnace tube occupying the liquid evaporator ends its occupation of the liquid evaporator, and when the target furnace tube receives a manual water replenishment instruction, set the liquid evaporator to manually replenish water for the target furnace tube.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: When the process of the furnace tube corresponding to the reserved water replenishment time period information is terminated due to a fault, the reserved water replenishment time period information of the furnace tube is removed from the reservation queue.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: When the reserved water replenishment time period in the reservation queue is empty, and after the target furnace tube receives a water replenishment instruction, determining whether the target furnace tube is in a process state; If it is in process state, the furnace tube with the target set is prohibited from replenishing water; If it is not in the process state, determining whether the furnace tube of the liquid evaporator for the target is in an available state; If it is in an available state, the target furnace pipe is set to be replenished with water; If it is in an unavailable state, the furnace pipe for which the target is set is prohibited from replenishing water.

10. A diffusion process method, characterized in that: The diffusion process method includes multiple process steps, wherein the multiple process steps include a water replenishment step, and the water replenishment step is controlled by the water replenishment control method according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The diffusion process method includes: When the furnace tube is executing a process, if the next process step is the water replenishment step, obtaining the corresponding available state of the furnace tube; Determining whether the furnace tube corresponding to the liquid evaporator is in an available state; If it is in an available state, the corresponding furnace tube is set to jump to the next process step after completing the current process step; If it is in an unavailable state, setting the corresponding furnace tube to maintain the current process step and wait; If the next process step is not the water replenishment step, the corresponding furnace tube is configured to jump to the next process step after completing the current process step.

11. A semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: The semiconductor process equipment includes a liquid evaporator, a controller, and a plurality of furnace tubes sharing the liquid evaporator, wherein the controller is used to control the liquid evaporator to replenish water to each of the furnace tubes, and the controller is used to: Obtaining the water replenishment time period information that needs to be reserved for the corresponding furnace tube; Update the current reservation queue according to the water replenishment time period information that each of the furnace tubes needs to reserve; According to the updated reserved water replenishment time period information in the reservation queue, the available state or unavailable state of the liquid evaporator for each of the furnace tubes is set, so that the liquid evaporator only replenishes water to one of the furnace tubes at the same time.

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