Scheduling method and apparatus for semiconductor processing equipment, semiconductor processing equipment

Abstract

The application discloses a semiconductor processing equipment scheduling method and device, and a semiconductor processing equipment, wherein the scheduling method comprises the following steps: S130, judging whether a wafer box currently exists on a loading table and whether a first mechanical arm carries a wafer in the wafer box currently on the loading table, if yes, executing step S140, and if no, executing step S150; S140, calculating a wafer moving sequence of the wafer carried on the first mechanical arm, storing the wafer moving sequence currently calculated into a moving control sequence, and executing the step S150; S150, judging whether all wafer boxes and all wafers in the moving control sequence currently reach a terminal point, if yes, completing scheduling, and if no, entering a circulating traversal process. The application can improve the transmission efficiency of a corresponding machine.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor, in particular to a scheduling method and device of semiconductor processing equipment and semiconductor processing equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the semiconductor processing equipment, the vertical furnace oxidation equipment makes the required silicon dioxide film layer on the silicon wafer by precise control of gas, pressure and temperature, and the silicon dioxide film layer can protect, passivate, insulate and buffer the silicon wafer. The working process of the vertical furnace oxidation equipment is as follows: the wafer box (FOUP) loaded with wafers is placed on the load port of the vertical furnace oxidation equipment, the FOUP robot enters the stocker of the vertical furnace oxidation equipment, then the wafer robot transfers the wafers to the process chamber for oxidation process, after the oxidation process is completed, the reverse transfer is performed to load the wafers into the wafer box and transport out of the vertical furnace oxidation equipment. The oxidation process is controlled by the process module, the transfer of the wafer box and the wafer is controlled by the transfer module, and the scheduling calculator in the transfer module uniformly links to calculate and schedule the transfer task.

[0003] The inventor found that the transfer module triggers the scheduling calculator to recalculate once for each new scheduling task received. Before scheduling calculation, the corresponding machine needs to input the wafer box information, wafer information and related transmission path of the newly issued task, as well as the wafer box information, wafer information and related transmission path of the unfinished task into the scheduling calculator, and then the scheduling algorithm uniformly links to calculate the Move sequence of the wafer box and the wafer, and then outputs to the machine. The execution module of the machine executes the corresponding action according to the Move sequence to realize wafer scheduling.

[0004] The wafer scheduling process involves a first task (Job task) and a second task (Carrier task), the second task including a task of moving a FOUP from a carrier position to an oxidation equipment in a vertical furnace or moving a FOUP from the oxidation equipment in the vertical furnace to the carrier position, and the first task including a task of transferring a FOUP and a wafer inside the oxidation equipment in the vertical furnace to perform a process, i.e., transferring a wafer into a reaction chamber for an oxidation process, and a task of transferring in reverse after the oxidation process is completed. In the process of calculating the Move movement sequence, the scheduling calculator needs to loop through the FOUP and the wafer in each task. In some solutions, because the FOUP in the second task needs to be traversed first in the loop traversal process, and then the wafer in the first task is traversed, in the traversal process of scheduling calculation, only when no FOUP can be moved in the second task, the first task is entered to calculate the Move movement sequence of the FOUP in the first task. At this time, in the execution process of the first task, the customer issues n second tasks, and the scheduling calculation result is to calculate the FOUP Move (FOUP movement sequence) of the n second tasks first, and then calculate the FOUP Move of the first task. When the machine is executed, the FOUP robot will preferentially complete the execution action of the FOUP in the second task, and then complete the execution action of the FOUP in the first task, causing the FOUP in the first task to be unable to move for about n minutes, and further causing the corresponding wafer to be unable to be transferred into the reaction chamber or the FOUP on the loading table, and the related task time will be prolonged by about n minutes. It can be seen that the above scheduling solution easily affects the transmission efficiency of the machine, and reduces the production capacity of the semiconductor processing equipment such as the oxidation equipment in the vertical furnace. SUMMARY

[0005] Therefore, the present application provides a scheduling method and device of a semiconductor processing equipment and a semiconductor processing equipment to solve the problem that the conventional solution easily affects the transmission efficiency of the machine and reduces the production capacity of the semiconductor processing equipment such as the oxidation equipment in the vertical furnace.

[0006] The present application provides a scheduling method of a semiconductor processing equipment, comprising:

[0007] S130, judging whether the loading table currently exists a FOUP and whether the first robot carries a wafer currently in the FOUP on the loading table, if the loading table currently exists a FOUP and the first robot carries a wafer currently in the FOUP on the loading table, step S140 is executed, if the loading table currently does not exist a FOUP or the first robot does not carry a wafer currently in the FOUP on the loading table, step S150 is executed;

[0008] S140, calculate a wafer moving sequence of a wafer carried on the first robot, store the wafer moving sequence currently calculated into a moving control sequence, and perform the step S150; the wafer moving sequence is used to record a transmission path of a corresponding wafer; and the moving control sequence is used to schedule wafers and / or wafer boxes;

[0009] S150, determine whether all wafer boxes and all wafers in the current moving control sequence reach an end point, if yes, complete scheduling, if not, enter a loop iteration process; the loop iteration process comprises sequentially iterating a first task in a wafer box variable, a second task in the wafer box variable, and a first task in a wafer variable, to update a wafer box moving sequence corresponding to a wafer box needing to be moved first or a wafer moving sequence corresponding to a wafer in each iteration process to the moving control sequence, schedule wafers and / or wafer boxes according to the current moving control sequence, and continue to perform the step S150; the wafer box variable is used to record wafer box parameters participating in scheduling calculation; the wafer variable is used to record wafer parameters participating in scheduling calculation; the first task refers to a task of transmitting wafers and wafer boxes between the loading table and a process chamber in the semiconductor device; the second task refers to other wafer box transmission tasks in the semiconductor processing device except the wafer box transmission task in the first task; and the wafer box moving sequence is used to record a transmission path of a corresponding wafer box.

[0010] Optionally, the loop iteration process specifically comprises:

[0011] S160, iterate the first task involved in the wafer box variable, if the iteration result does not exist a movable wafer box, perform the step S170, if the iteration result exists a movable wafer box, obtain a wafer box moving sequence corresponding to a wafer box needing to be moved first in the movable wafer box, store the wafer box moving sequence currently obtained into the moving control sequence, schedule wafers and / or wafer boxes according to the current moving control sequence, and return to perform the step S150;

[0012] S170, iterate the second task involved in the wafer box variable, if the iteration result does not exist a movable wafer box, perform the step S180, if the iteration result exists a movable wafer box, obtain a wafer box moving sequence corresponding to a wafer box needing to be moved first in the movable wafer box, store the wafer box moving sequence currently obtained into the moving control sequence, schedule wafers and / or wafer boxes according to the current moving control sequence, and return to perform the step S150;

[0013] S180, traversing the first task involved by the wafer variable, if there is no movable wafer in the traversal result, returning to execute the step S150, if there is a movable wafer in the traversal result, obtaining the wafer moving sequence corresponding to the wafer needing to be moved first in the movable wafer, storing the wafer moving sequence currently obtained into the moving control sequence, scheduling the wafer and / or the wafer box according to the moving control sequence currently, and returning to execute the step S150.

[0014] Optionally, the step S160 further comprises:

[0015] S161, traversing the first task involved by the wafer box variable;

[0016] S162, judging whether the first task is currently traversed, if yes, executing the step S163, if not, executing the step S170;

[0017] S163, obtaining the wafer box with the highest transmission priority in all the first tasks currently traversed;

[0018] S164, calculating the wafer box moving sequence corresponding to the wafer box with the highest transmission priority, storing the wafer box moving sequence currently calculated into the moving control sequence, scheduling the wafer and / or the wafer box according to the moving control sequence currently, and returning to execute the step S150.

[0019] Optionally, the step S170 further comprises:

[0020] S171, traversing the second task involved by the wafer box variable;

[0021] S172, judging whether the second task is currently traversed, if yes, executing the step S173, if not, executing the step S180;

[0022] S173, obtaining the wafer box with the highest transmission priority in all the second tasks currently traversed;

[0023] S174, calculating the wafer box moving sequence corresponding to the wafer box with the highest transmission priority, storing the wafer box moving sequence currently calculated into the moving control sequence, scheduling the wafer and / or the wafer box according to the moving control sequence currently, and returning to execute the step S150.

[0024] Optionally, the step S180 further comprises:

[0025] S181, traversing the first task involved by the wafer variable;

[0026] S182, judging whether the first task is currently traversed, if yes, performing step S183, if not, performing step S150;

[0027] S183, obtaining a wafer with the highest transmission priority from all the first tasks currently traversed;

[0028] S184, calculating a wafer movement sequence corresponding to the wafer with the highest transmission priority, storing the wafer movement sequence currently calculated into the movement control sequence, scheduling wafers and / or wafer boxes according to the movement control sequence currently calculated, and returning to perform step S150.

[0029] Optionally, before step S130, the scheduling method further comprises: S110, storing the wafer box parameters participating in the scheduling calculation into the wafer box variable; S120, storing the wafer parameters participating in the scheduling calculation into the wafer variable.

[0030] Optionally, before step S110, the scheduling method further comprises: S101, obtaining a new task issued by a host computer, triggering the scheduling calculation; the new task comprises the first task and / or the second task currently obtained by the host computer.

[0031] Optionally, after step S101, the scheduling method further comprises: S102, determining the wafer box parameters currently participating in the scheduling calculation according to the wafer box parameters in the new task and the wafer box parameters in the current unfinished task; S103, determining the wafer parameters currently participating in the scheduling calculation according to the wafer parameters in the new task and the wafer parameters in the current unfinished task.

[0032] The application also provides a scheduling device of a semiconductor processing equipment, which comprises a first judging module, a storage module and a second judging module.

[0033] The first judging module is used for judging whether a wafer box exists in a loading table currently and whether a first robot carries a wafer currently in the wafer box in the loading table, if the wafer box exists in the loading table currently and the first robot carries the wafer currently in the wafer box in the loading table, the storage module performs corresponding functions, if the wafer box does not exist in the loading table currently or the first robot does not carry the wafer currently in the wafer box in the loading table, the second judging module performs corresponding functions.

[0034] The storage module is configured to calculate a wafer movement sequence of a wafer carried by the first robot, store the current calculated wafer movement sequence into a movement control sequence, and enter the second judging module to perform a corresponding function; the wafer movement sequence is configured to record a transmission path of a corresponding wafer; and the movement control sequence is configured to schedule wafers and / or wafer boxes.

[0035] The second judging module is configured to judge whether all wafer boxes and all wafers in the current movement control sequence reach an end point, if yes, complete scheduling, if not, enter a loop iteration process; the loop iteration process is configured to sequentially loop through a first task in a wafer box variable, a second task in the wafer box variable, and a first task in a wafer variable, to update a wafer box movement sequence corresponding to a wafer box that needs to be moved first or a wafer movement sequence corresponding to a wafer in each iteration process to the movement control sequence, schedule wafers and / or wafer boxes according to the current movement control sequence, and continue to enter the second judging module to perform a corresponding function; the wafer box variable is configured to record wafer box parameters participating in scheduling calculation; the wafer variable is configured to record wafer parameters participating in scheduling calculation; the first task refers to a task of transmitting wafers and wafer boxes between the loading platform and the process chamber in the semiconductor device; the second task refers to other wafer box transmission tasks in the semiconductor processing device except the wafer box transmission task in the first task; and the wafer box movement sequence is configured to record a transmission path of a corresponding wafer box.

[0036] The application also provides a semiconductor processing device, which comprises the scheduling device, the process chamber, the first robot and the loading platform of any one of the semiconductor processing devices.

[0037] The scheduling device is configured to output a movement control sequence to guide the first robot to perform a movement action.

[0038] The process chamber is configured to perform a semiconductor processing process.

[0039] The loading platform is arranged outside the process chamber and is configured to place a wafer box and open a wafer box door of the wafer box for the first robot to grab wafers.

[0040] The first robot is arranged between the loading platform and the process chamber and is configured to transmit wafers between the loading platform and the process chamber.

[0041] Optionally, the semiconductor processing device further comprises a host computer; the host computer is configured to acquire a new task for scheduling the wafer box and / or the wafer, and issue the new task to the scheduling device; and the new task comprises a first task and / or a second task.

[0042] Optionally, the semiconductor processing equipment further comprises a storage rack, a carrying position and a second robot;

[0043] The storage rack is arranged on a side of the loading platform away from the process chamber, and is used for temporarily storing the wafer box;

[0044] The carrying position is arranged on the periphery of the semiconductor processing equipment, and is used for receiving the wafer box transmitted to the semiconductor processing equipment by an external equipment;

[0045] The second robot is arranged between the carrying position and the storage rack, and is used for transmitting the wafer box between the carrying position and the storage rack, and transmitting the wafer box between the storage rack and the loading platform.

[0046] The above semiconductor processing equipment, the scheduling method and the device of the semiconductor processing equipment, when the wafer box exists on the loading platform, and the first robot carries the wafer in the wafer box currently on the loading platform, the wafer moving sequence of the wafer on the first robot is calculated, the wafer moving sequence currently calculated is stored to the moving control sequence, and then the circulation traversal process is entered, so that the calculation process can be shortened, and the loading platform can be prevented from being in an idle state for a long time in the corresponding scheduling process; the circulation traversal process adopted can realize that the second task is added in the first task execution process, so that the second robot can preferentially execute the first task, and executes the second task in an idle state, so that the waiting time of the first task can be reduced, and the transmission efficiency of the machine table is improved. It can be seen that the present application can improve the transmission efficiency of the corresponding machine table from the aspects of shortening the calculation process and reducing the waiting time of the related task, and thus the production capacity of the semiconductor processing equipment such as the vertical furnace oxidation equipment is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0047] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiment description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can also be obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative labor.

[0048] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a vertical furnace oxidation equipment;

[0049] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a transmission task of a vertical furnace oxidation equipment;

[0050] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a scheduling method flow of a semiconductor processing equipment according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a scheduling method flow of a semiconductor processing equipment according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a scheduling method of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a scheduling method of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a scheduling device of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] The inventors have found that Figure 1 The inventors have found that the vertical oxidation apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a semiconductor processing apparatus. Figure 1The vertical oxidation equipment includes a load port, a second robot, a stocker, a load lock, a first robot, and a process chamber. The load port includes a load port A (LPA) and a load port B (LPB). The LPA and the LPB are bridges between an automated factory end overhead hoist and the vertical oxidation equipment. The overhead hoist can place a wafer cassette on the LPA or the LPB, and can also take the wafer cassette away from the LPA or the LPB. The LPA and the LPB have door opening mechanisms, and can open a door of the wafer cassette. The wafer cassette has 25 slots, and each slot can be used to store a corresponding wafer. The load lock includes a load lock C (LLC) and a load lock D (LLD). The LLC and the LLD can place a wafer cassette, and have door opening mechanisms. The LLC and the LLD are bridges for wafers to enter the process chamber. The first robot can take and place wafers in the wafer cassette in the LLC or the LLD, and can transfer the wafers to a boat in the process chamber. The stocker has 18 wafer cassette shelves, and each wafer cassette shelf can be used to temporarily store a wafer cassette. The second robot is used to transfer wafer cassettes between the LPA, the LPB, the LLC, the LLD, and the wafer cassette shelves of the stocker. The first robot is used to transfer wafers in the wafer cassette. The first robot can transfer wafers in the wafer cassette in the LLC or the LLD to the boat in the process chamber, and can transfer wafers on the boat in the process chamber to the wafer cassette in the LLC or the LLD. The first robot also has a Map function for the boat in the process chamber and a Map function for the wafer cassette in the LLC or the LLD. The first robot can identify the position and / or the number of wafers, and other transmission parameters, through the Map function. The process chamber is a chamber for processing wafers. The process chamber has a boat for placing wafers. The number of wafers placed on the boat is determined by the number of slots of the boat.

[0056] Reference Figure 2 As shown, the transmission tasks of the vertical oxidation equipment include a first (Job) task and a second (Carrier) task. Each task has materials participating in the task and a transmission path. The materials and the transmission path are input into a scheduling calculator, and the wafer cassette movement sequence of the wafer cassette and the wafer movement sequence of the wafer can be calculated.

[0057] The second task includes the following five tasks, which are tasks of transferring the wafer box outside the vertical oxidation equipment. These tasks can be triggered by the dispatching calculation after the host computer receives the transmission instruction such as the customer instruction and then issues the instruction. (1) HoldCarrierIn task: the STM transfers the FOUP from the LPA or LPB to the Shelf of the Stocker for temporary storage; here the FOUP transmission path is: LPA / LPB-Stocker. (2) OnceCarrierIn task: when the LLC or LLD meets the Map condition, the STM transfers the FOUP temporarily stored in the Stocker to the LLC or LLD for Map; here the FOUP transmission path is: Stocker-LLC / LLD. (3) ContinueCarrierIn task: after the FOUP Map succeeds, the STM transfers the FOUP from the LLC or LLD to the Stocker for the first task; the FOUP transmission path is: LLC / LLD-Stocker. (4) CancelCarrierIn task: after the FOUP Map fails, the STM transfers the FOUP from the LLC or LLD to the LPA or LPB, and then the crane is pulled away; the FOUP transmission path is: LLC / LLD-LPA / LPB. (5) CarrierOut task: after the FOUP completes the first task, the STM transfers the FOUP from the Stocker to the LPA or LPB, and then the crane is pulled away; the FOUP transmission path is: Stocker-LPA / LPB. Wherein the Map success includes that the transmission parameters obtained when the WTM executes the Map function are legal, such as that the wafer position and / or quantity and other transmission parameters are all accurate, and the Map failure includes that at least one of the transmission parameters such as the wafer position and / or quantity and other transmission parameters obtained when the WTM executes the Map function is incorrect.

[0058] The first task includes the transmission of the wafer between the wafer box on the LLC or LLD and the process chamber in the vertical oxidation equipment and the wafer box transmission task involved in the process. The first task includes the Charge phase and the DisCharge phase. The Charge phase includes the wafer transmission to the PM boat and the related wafer box transmission process before the oxidation process is performed. The DisCharge phase includes the wafer transmission from the PM boat to the corresponding wafer box and the related wafer box transmission process after the oxidation process is performed. The transmission action in the Charge phase can include the WTM grabbing the wafer from the wafer box on the LLC / LLD and transmitting it to the PM boat, and then the STM transmitting the wafer box with the wafer from the LLC / LLD to the Stocker. The transmission action in the DisCharge phase can include the WTM transmitting the wafer from the PM boat to the wafer box on the LLC / LLD, and then the STM transmitting the wafer box with the wafer from the LLC / LLD to the Stocker. Specifically, the FOUP transmission path of the first task is: Stocker-LLC / LLD-Stocker-LLC / LLD-Stocker, and the wafer transmission path is: LLC / LLD-Boat-LLC / LLD. In the Charge phase, after the STM transmits the FOUP from the Stocker to the LLC or LLD, the WTM transmits all the wafers participating in the process to the PM boat, and then the STM transmits the FOUP from the LLC or LLD to the Stocker. The FOUP transmission path is: Stocker-LLC / LLD-Stocker, and the wafer transmission path is: LLC / LLD-Boat. In the DisCharge phase, after the process is completed, the STM transmits the FOUP from the Stocker to the LLC or LLD, the WTM transmits all the wafers on the boat to the FOUP of the LLC or LLD, and finally the STM transmits the FOUP from the LLC or LLD to the Stocker. The FOUP transmission path is: Stocker-LLC / LLD-Stocker, and the wafer transmission path is: Boat-LLC / LLD.

[0059] The inventors have found that Figure 1The scheduling scheme of the vertical oxidation equipment is studied. It is found that, in addition to the background technology described above, when the machine is executed, the second robot first completes the execution action of the wafer box of the second task, and then completes the execution action of the wafer box of the first task, which causes the wafer box of the first task to be unable to move for about n minutes, affecting the transmission efficiency of the machine. It is also found that when LLD is performing a wafer transfer, the second robot takes the wafer box of LLC back to the wafer storage rack. At this time, if the scheduling calculator receives a second task and triggers scheduling calculation, it will first determine whether there is a wafer box in LLC / LLD performing wafer transfer, then calculate all wafer movement sequences involving the wafer box in LLD, then enter the first loop iteration process to calculate all wafer movement sequences of the second task, and then enter the second loop iteration process to calculate the wafer movement sequences corresponding to the wafer transfer of LLD to the wafer storage rack and the subsequent wafer movement sequences of the first task. When the machine is executed, the first robot will first complete the wafer transfer of the wafer box in LLD, and at the same time, the second robot will complete the wafer transfer of the wafer box of the second task. Then the second robot takes the wafer box in LLD back to the wafer storage rack, and then transfers the other wafer boxes to LLC and LLD for the Charge phase or DisCharge phase of the first task. In this process, LLC is always in an idle state, causing waste of module resources, and the time of the Charge phase or DisCharge phase is extended by about 2 minutes, which also affects the transmission efficiency of the machine to some extent and reduces the equipment productivity.

[0060] To solve the above problems, when there is a wafer box on the loading table and the first robot carries a wafer in the wafer box currently on the loading table, the wafer movement sequence of the wafer on the first robot is calculated, the currently calculated wafer movement sequence is stored in the movement control sequence, and then the loop iteration process is entered. This can avoid the idle state of the loading table, reduce the waste of module resources, save the time of the first task, and improve the transmission efficiency of the machine. The loop iteration process adopted can enable the second robot to execute the first task preferentially and execute the second task when idle, which can further reduce the waiting time of the first task and improve the transmission efficiency of the machine. It can be seen that the above semiconductor equipment scheduling method can improve the transmission efficiency of the corresponding machine from the aspects of shortening the calculation process and reducing the waiting time of related tasks, and can improve the productivity of the vertical oxidation equipment and other semiconductor processing equipment.

[0061] With reference to the drawings, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all the other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of the present application. In the case of no conflict, each of the described embodiments and the technical features thereof can be combined with each other.

[0062] The first aspect of the present application provides a scheduling method of a semiconductor processing equipment, which can be executed by the semiconductor processing equipment or a scheduling device thereof. Referring to Figure 3 The scheduling method includes steps S130 to S150.

[0063] S130, it is judged whether the load table currently exists a wafer box and the first mechanical hand carries a wafer currently in the wafer box on the load table. If the load table currently exists a wafer box and the first mechanical hand carries a wafer currently in the wafer box on the load table, step S140 is executed. If the load table currently does not exist a wafer box or the first mechanical hand does not carry a wafer currently in the wafer box on the load table, step S150 is executed.

[0064] Wherein, the load table includes LoadLockC and LoadlLockD, LoadLockC can be abbreviated as LLC, LoadlLockD can be abbreviated as LLD, the load table can place a wafer box, which is a bridge for wafers to enter a process chamber. The first mechanical hand, which can be denoted as WTM, is used to transfer wafers in a wafer box. The first mechanical hand can pick and place wafers in a wafer box on the load table and transfer wafers between the wafer box on the load table and the process chamber.

[0065] S140, the wafer movement sequence of the wafer carried on the first mechanical hand is calculated, the currently calculated wafer movement sequence is stored to the movement control sequence, and step S150 is executed.

[0066] Wherein, the wafer movement sequence is used to record the transmission path of the corresponding wafer, which can specifically include a task control sequence representing the movement of the corresponding wafer from the starting position to the target position, so as to Figure 1Taking the vertical oxidation equipment shown as an example of a semiconductor processing apparatus, the wafer movement sequence can include a task control sequence in which a wafer on a first robotic arm moves from a wafer cassette on an LLC or LLD to a boat in the process chamber, and after the wafer completes the oxidation process in the process chamber, it moves from the boat in the process chamber back to a wafer cassette on an LLC or LLD. This task control sequence can define parameters such as the wafer transport path and related materials. The movement control sequence is used to instruct the corresponding machine to schedule wafers and / or wafer cassettes. The movement control sequence can be denoted as "moves" and can include multiple wafer movement sequences corresponding to multiple wafers and / or multiple wafer cassette movement sequences corresponding to multiple wafer cassettes. The wafer cassette movement sequence is used to record the transport path of the corresponding wafer cassette, and specifically can include a control sequence representing the movement of the corresponding wafer cassette from a starting position to a target position. The wafer cassette movement sequence can correspond to a second task or a first task. Figure 1 Taking the vertical oxidation apparatus shown as an example of a semiconductor processing device, when the wafer cassette movement sequence corresponds to the second task, the wafer cassette movement sequence may include a task control sequence in which a wafer cassette moves from the LLA to the wafer cassette buffer stage in the wafer rack. When the wafer cassette movement sequence corresponds to the first task, the wafer cassette movement sequence may include a task control sequence in which a wafer cassette moves from the wafer cassette buffer stage in the wafer rack to the LLC or LLD, and after the wafer in the wafer cassette is removed, the wafer cassette moves from the LLC or LLD to the wafer cassette buffer stage in the wafer rack. After the corresponding wafer completes the oxidation process, the wafer cassette moves from the wafer cassette buffer stage in the wafer rack to the LLC or LLD, and after the wafer is loaded into the wafer cassette, the wafer cassette moves from the LLC or LLD to the wafer cassette buffer stage in the wafer rack. This task control sequence may define parameters such as the wafer cassette's transport path and related materials in the second or first task. The aforementioned movement control sequence is sent to the control module of the vertical oxidation equipment, a semiconductor processing device. The control module can control the first robotic arm to move the corresponding wafer from its starting position to its target position according to the wafer movement sequence, thus transferring the wafer. It can also control the second robotic arm to move the corresponding wafer cassette from its starting position to its target position according to the wafer cassette movement sequence, thus transferring the wafer cassette. The second robotic arm, which can be denoted as STM, is used to transfer wafer cassettes between the LPA, LPB, LLC, LLD, and wafer rack buffer stages; it can also be called a FOUP robotic arm.

[0067] The step S140 is to calculate the wafer moving sequence of the wafer on the first robot when the loading table has the wafer box and the first robot carries the wafer in the wafer box on the loading table, store the wafer moving sequence to the moving control sequence, and then enter the loop iteration process. Compared with the process of calculating the wafer moving sequence of all wafers in the wafer box on the loading table and updating the wafer moving sequence to the moving control sequence, the calculation process can be shortened, the loading table can be prevented from being idle for a long time in the corresponding scheduling process, and the purpose of reducing the waste of module resources can be achieved.

[0068] S150, judging whether all wafer boxes and all wafers in the current moving control sequence reach the end point, if yes, completing the scheduling, if not, entering the loop iteration process; the loop iteration process includes sequentially iterating the first task in the wafer box variable, the second task in the wafer box variable and the first task in the wafer variable, updating the wafer box moving sequence corresponding to the wafer box needing to be moved first or the wafer moving sequence corresponding to the wafer to the moving control sequence in each iteration process, scheduling the wafers and / or wafer boxes according to the current moving control sequence, and continuing to execute the step S150.

[0069] The wafer box variable is used to record the wafer box parameters participating in the scheduling calculation, which can include all wafer boxes involved in the current first task and / or second task and the like; the wafer box variable can be recorded as allfoups. Optionally, the wafer box parameters can also include the moving sequence of each wafer box involved, and the wafer box needing to be moved first can be determined according to the moving sequence. The moving sequence can include the moving priority or the transmission priority and the like.

[0070] The first task refers to the task of transmitting the wafers and wafer boxes between the loading table and the process chamber in the semiconductor equipment, which can specifically include the task of transmitting the wafers between the wafer box on the loading table and the process chamber in the semiconductor equipment and the wafer box transmission task involved in the wafer transmission process. The second task includes other wafer box transmission tasks except the wafer box transmission task in the first task.

[0071] The wafer variable is used to record the wafer parameters participating in the scheduling calculation, which can include all wafers involved in the current first task and the like; the wafer variable can be recorded as allwafers. Optionally, the wafer parameters recorded by the wafer variable can also include the moving sequence of the corresponding wafer, and the wafer needing to be moved first can be determined according to the moving sequence. The moving sequence can include the moving priority or the transmission priority and the like.

[0072] The end point includes the last node that the wafer box or wafer in the transmission task needs to reach; for the second task, the end point can be represented as Figure 2 the LPA or LPB node of the CarrierOut task shown in FIG. 1; for the first task, the end point can be represented as Figure 2 the DisCharge stage shown in FIG. 1, the second robot transmits the wafer box loaded with the wafer from the LLC / LLD to the cassette holder. All the wafer boxes and all the wafers in the movement control sequence reach the end point, representing that the scheduling of the wafer box and the wafer is currently completed.

[0073] The scheduling method of the semiconductor processing equipment, when the loading table has the wafer box and the first robot carries the wafer in the wafer box currently on the loading table, calculates the wafer movement sequence of the wafer on the first robot, stores the obtained wafer movement sequence to the movement control sequence, and then enters the loop iteration process, which can shorten the calculation process and avoid the long idle state of the loading table in the corresponding scheduling process; the loop iteration process iterates the first task in the wafer box variable, the second task in the wafer box variable, and the first task in the wafer variable in turn, so as to update the movement sequence corresponding to the wafer box or wafer that needs to be moved first to the movement control sequence in each iteration process. The movement control sequence obtained in this way can not only record the corresponding wafer box movement sequence and wafer movement sequence completely, but also save the waiting time of the first task and improve the transmission efficiency of the machine table.

[0074] In one embodiment, referring to Figure 4 The loop iteration process can specifically include S160 to S180.

[0075] S160, iterate the first task involved in the wafer box variable, if the iteration result does not exist a movable wafer box, execute step S170, if the iteration result exists a movable wafer box, obtain the wafer box movement sequence corresponding to the wafer box that needs to be moved first in the movable wafer box, store the wafer box movement sequence currently obtained to the movement control sequence, schedule the wafer and / or wafer box according to the movement control sequence currently, and return to execute the step S150.

[0076] The iteration result does not exist a movable wafer box represents that the wafer box variable does not involve the first task; the iteration result exists a movable wafer box represents that the wafer box variable involves the first task for moving the wafer box.

[0077] In one example, as Figure 5 The step S160 further includes:

[0078] S161, iterate the first task involved in the wafer box variable;

[0079] S162, determining whether the first task is currently traversed, if yes, performing step S163, if not, performing step S170;

[0080] S163, obtaining a wafer box with the highest transport priority among all the first tasks currently traversed;

[0081] S164, calculating a wafer box moving sequence corresponding to the wafer box with the highest transport priority, storing the wafer box moving sequence currently calculated into the moving control sequence, scheduling wafers and / or wafer boxes according to the moving control sequence currently, and returning to perform step S150.

[0082] S170, traversing the second task involved by the wafer box variable, if the traversal result does not exist a movable wafer box, performing step S180, if the traversal result exists a movable wafer box, obtaining a wafer box moving sequence corresponding to the wafer box needed to be moved first among the movable wafer boxes, storing the wafer box moving sequence currently obtained into the moving control sequence, scheduling wafers and / or wafer boxes according to the moving control sequence currently, and returning to perform step S150.

[0083] Wherein the traversal result does not exist a movable wafer box represents that the wafer box variable does not involve the second task; the traversal result exists a movable wafer box represents that the wafer box variable involves the second task for moving the wafer box.

[0084] In one example, as shown in FIG. 17, step S170 further comprises: Figure 5

[0085] S171, traversing the second task involved by the wafer box variable;

[0086] S172, determining whether the second task is currently traversed, if yes, performing step S173, if not, performing step S180;

[0087] S173, obtaining a wafer box with the highest transport priority among all the second tasks currently traversed;

[0088] S174, calculating a wafer box moving sequence corresponding to the wafer box with the highest transport priority, storing the wafer box moving sequence currently calculated into the moving control sequence, scheduling wafers and / or wafer boxes according to the moving control sequence currently, and returning to perform step S150.

[0089] ​S180, traversing the first task involved by the wafer variable, if there is no movable wafer in the traversal result, returning to execute the step S150, if there is a movable wafer in the traversal result, obtaining the wafer moving sequence corresponding to the wafer needing to be moved first in the movable wafer, storing the wafer moving sequence obtained currently to the moving control sequence, scheduling the wafer and / or the wafer box according to the moving control sequence currently, and returning to execute the step S150.

[0090] Wherein, the absence of the movable wafer in the traversal result represents that the wafer variable is not involved in the first task; and the presence of the movable wafer in the traversal result represents that the wafer variable is involved in the first task for moving the wafer.

[0091] In one example, as shown in Figure 5 The step S180 further comprises:

[0092] S181, traversing the first task involved by the wafer variable;

[0093] S182, judging whether the first task is currently traversed, if yes, executing the step S183, if not, executing the step S150, and judging again whether all the wafer boxes and the wafers reach the end point, if all the wafer boxes and the wafers reach the end point, representing that the scheduling is completed, and the traversal can be ended, at this time, the flow ends.

[0094] S183, obtaining the wafer with the highest transmission priority in all the first tasks currently traversed;

[0095] S184, calculating the wafer moving sequence corresponding to the wafer with the highest transmission priority, storing the wafer moving sequence calculated currently to the moving control sequence, scheduling the wafer and / or the wafer box according to the moving control sequence currently, and returning to execute the step S150.

[0096] The steps S160, S170 and S180 above form the loop traversal flow of the wafer scheduling process of the application, S160 is A2 part in the loop traversal flow, that is, traversing the first task in the wafer box variable first, S170 is B2 part in the loop traversal flow, that is, traversing the second task involved by the wafer box variable again, and S180 is C2 part in the loop traversal flow, that is, traversing the first task in the wafer variable. The loop traversal flow above can add the second task in the execution process of the first task, so that the second mechanical arm can execute the first task preferentially, and execute the second task when idle, which can reduce the waiting time of the first task, and improve the transmission efficiency of the machine.

[0097] The cycle traversal process used by the inventor in the research process includes three parts A1, B1 and C1. The A1 part needs to traverse the second task related to the wafer box variable, the B1 part needs to traverse the first task in the wafer box variable, and the C1 part needs to traverse the first task in the wafer variable. Compared with the cycle traversal process used by the inventor in the research process, the cycle traversal process provided in the application will only enter the B2 part to calculate the wafer box moving sequence of the second task when the A2 part cannot obtain the movable first task wafer box. The specific scheduling example can be described as follows: during the execution of the first task, that is, in the Charge phase or the DisCharge phase, the host computer issues the CarrierIn tasks of two wafer boxes of LPA and LPB. The scheduling algorithm used by the inventor in the research process first calculates the moving sequence of the two wafer boxes of the CarrierIn task, and then calculates the moving sequence of the wafer box that can be moved in the first task. When the machine is executed, the second robot will preferentially complete the execution action of the two wafer boxes of the CarrierIn task, and then complete the execution action of the wafer box of the first task, causing the wafer box of the first task to be unable to move for about 2 minutes, thereby causing the corresponding wafer to be unable to be transported, and the time of the Charge phase or the DisCharge phase will be extended by about 2 minutes. If the host computer continues to issue n second tasks, the time of the Charge phase or the DisCharge phase will be extended by about n minutes. In the cycle traversal process provided in the application, the wafer box moving sequence corresponding to the wafer box that can be moved in the first task is calculated first, and then the moving sequence of the two wafer boxes of the CarrierIn task is calculated. In this way, when the machine is executed, the second robot preferentially executes the first task, and executes the two CarrierIn tasks when it is idle, so that the phenomenon of waiting for the first task due to the insertion of the second task does not occur. After the second robot executes the first task to move the wafer box to LLC or LLD, the first robot executes the wafer moving part in the first task, that is, moves the wafer in the corresponding wafer box, and the second robot executes the two CarrierIn tasks under the condition of being idle. In this way, the first task and the second task can be executed in parallel, effectively reducing the waiting time of the first task and improving the transmission efficiency of the machine.

[0098] In one example, the above steps S130 and S140 are further illustrated by the following wafer scheduling instance: when the LLD is in the process of transferring wafers, it is assumed that 19 wafers on the boat have completed the wafer transfer, 1 wafer on the first robot, and 5 wafers in the wafer box are left to be transferred, the second robot takes the wafer box of the LLD back to the storage rack, at this time the host computer issues 1 second task. If the scheme in the research process of the inventor is adopted, the wafer movement sequence of the wafer on the first robot and the wafer movement sequence of the 5 wafers in the wafer box transferred to the boat are calculated first, then the A1 part of the loop iteration process is entered, the wafer box movement sequence of the second task is calculated, then the B1 part of the loop iteration process is entered, and the wafer box movement sequence of the wafer box transferred to the storage rack in the LLD is calculated; when the machine table is controlled according to the movement control sequence, the wafer on the first robot and the 5 wafers in the wafer box of the LLD are transferred first, at the same time the second robot transfers the wafer box of the second task, then the second robot takes the wafer box in the LLD back to the storage rack, and then the other wafer boxes are transferred to the LLC and the LLD respectively, and then the first task is executed; in this process, the LLC is always in an idle state, causing waste of module resources, and the time of the first task needs to be extended by about 2 minutes. The above steps S130 and S140 only need to calculate the wafer movement sequence of the wafer on the first robot, and then the A2 part of the loop iteration process can be entered to shorten the calculation process before entering the loop iteration process. Since the wafer box of the LLD has 5 wafers that have not been transferred, the wafer box cannot be moved, so the wafer box movement sequence of the other wafer box of the first task to the LLC is calculated, then the B2 part of the loop iteration process is entered, the wafer box movement sequence of all the wafer boxes involved in the second task is calculated, and the corresponding movement control sequence is updated; according to the movement control sequence, the wafer on the first robot is transferred first, at the same time the second robot transfers the other wafer box of the first task to the LLC, so that the second robot transfers the wafer box of the second task, so that the LLC can avoid being in an idle state, reducing the waste of module resources, reducing the time of the first task by about 2 minutes, and improving the transfer efficiency of the machine table.

[0099] In one embodiment, referring to Figure 6 Before step S130, the scheduling method further comprises:

[0100] S110, storing the wafer box parameters participating in the scheduling calculation to the wafer box variable;

[0101] S120, storing the wafer parameters participating in the scheduling calculation to the wafer variable.

[0102] The embodiment can accurately determine the FOUP variables and wafer variables. After obtaining the FOUP variables and wafer variables, the semiconductor processing equipment or the scheduling device thereof can input the FOUP variables and wafer variables into a scheduling calculator therein, so that the scheduling calculator performs steps S130 to S180 according to the FOUP variables and wafer variables to determine a movement control sequence and guide the corresponding machine to schedule the wafer and / or FOUP.

[0103] In one example, as shown in FIG. 1, before step S110, the scheduling method further comprises: S101, obtaining a new task issued by a host computer to trigger the scheduling calculation; the new task comprises a first task and / or a second task currently obtained by the host computer. Optionally, the host computer comprises a user interaction interface which can receive a new task input by a user. Optionally, the host computer can also be connected to other scheduling control terminals to receive a new task sent by the scheduling control terminals. Figure 6

[0104] In one example, after step S101, the scheduling method further comprises:

[0105] S102, determining FOUP parameters currently participating in the scheduling calculation according to FOUP parameters in the new task and FOUP parameters in a current unfinished task;

[0106] S103, determining wafer parameters currently participating in the scheduling calculation according to wafer parameters in the new task and wafer parameters in the current unfinished task.

[0107] wherein the unfinished task refers to a task being executed by the machine and a task waiting to be executed when the current new task arrives at the scheduling device; the task being executed can comprise FOUP information, wafer information and a transmission path not yet executed of the task being executed; the task waiting to be executed can comprise all FOUP information, all wafer information and a complete transmission path involved in the task not yet started to be executed. The example can guarantee the integrity of the FOUP parameters and wafer parameters currently participating in the scheduling calculation.

[0108] ​The above-described scheduling method for semiconductor processing equipment, when a wafer cassette exists on the loading stage and the first robotic arm carries a wafer currently in the wafer cassette on the loading stage, calculates the wafer movement sequence of the wafer on the first robotic arm, stores the obtained wafer movement sequence in the movement control sequence, and then enters the loop traversal process. This shortens the calculation process and avoids the loading stage being idle for too long during the corresponding scheduling process. The loop traversal process can add a second task during the execution of the first task, allowing the second robotic arm to prioritize the execution of the first task and execute the second task when idle, which reduces the waiting time of the first task and improves the transmission efficiency of the machine. It is evident that the above-described scheduling method for semiconductor equipment can improve the transmission efficiency of the corresponding machine and increase the production capacity of semiconductor processing equipment such as vertical oxidation equipment by shortening the calculation process and reducing the waiting time of related tasks.

[0109] This application provides a scheduling device for a semiconductor processing apparatus in a second aspect, such as Figure 7 As shown, the scheduling device includes a first judgment module 230, a storage module 240, and a second judgment module 250;

[0110] The first judgment module 230 is used to determine whether there is a wafer cassette on the loading stage and whether the first robot arm is carrying a wafer currently in the wafer cassette on the loading stage. If there is a wafer cassette on the loading stage and the first robot arm is carrying a wafer currently in the wafer cassette on the loading stage, the storage module performs the corresponding function. If there is no wafer cassette on the loading stage or the first robot arm is not carrying a wafer currently in the wafer cassette on the loading stage, the second judgment module performs the corresponding function.

[0111] The storage module 240 is used to calculate the wafer movement sequence of the wafer carried on the first robotic arm, store the currently calculated wafer movement sequence in the movement control sequence, and enter the second judgment module to execute the corresponding function; the wafer movement sequence is used to record the transmission path of the corresponding wafer; the movement control sequence is used to schedule the wafer and / or wafer cassette.

[0112] The second judging module 250 is configured to judge whether all the wafer boxes and all the wafers in the current mobile control sequence reach the end point, if yes, the scheduling is completed, if not, the loop iteration process is entered; the loop iteration process is configured to sequentially loop through the first task in the wafer box variable, the second task in the wafer box variable and the first task in the wafer variable, to update the wafer box moving sequence corresponding to the wafer box which needs to be moved first or the wafer moving sequence corresponding to the wafer in each iteration process to the mobile control sequence, to schedule the wafers and / or wafer boxes according to the current mobile control sequence, and to continue to enter the second judging module to perform the corresponding function; the wafer box variable is configured to record the wafer box parameters participating in the scheduling calculation; the wafer variable is configured to record the wafer parameters participating in the scheduling calculation; the first task refers to the task of transporting wafers and wafer boxes between the loading table and the process chamber in the semiconductor equipment; the second task refers to other wafer box transportation tasks in the semiconductor processing equipment except the wafer box transportation task in the first task; the wafer box moving sequence is configured to record the transportation path of the corresponding wafer box.

[0113] Optionally, the scheduling device can be provided with a scheduling calculator, and the second judging module 250 can be arranged in the scheduling calculator, so that the scheduling calculator calculates the mobile control sequence.

[0114] The specific definition of the scheduling device of the semiconductor processing equipment can refer to the definition of the scheduling method of the semiconductor processing equipment in the above, which will not be repeated here. Each module in the above semiconductor processing equipment scheduling device can be realized by software, hardware and their combination in whole or in part. Each unit can be embedded in or independent of the processor in the computer device in hardware form, or can be stored in the memory in the computer device in software form, so as to call and execute the operation corresponding to each unit by the processor.

[0115] In a third aspect, the present application provides a semiconductor processing equipment comprising the scheduling device of the semiconductor processing equipment, the process chamber, the first robot and the loading table of any one of the above embodiments;

[0116] The scheduling device is configured to output a mobile control sequence to guide the first robot to perform a moving action to schedule the wafers.

[0117] The process chamber is configured to perform a semiconductor processing process; wherein the semiconductor processing process can include an oxidation process. Specifically, the process chamber is provided with a boat for placing wafers.

[0118] The loading stage is located outside the process chamber and is used to place wafer cassettes and open their wafer cassette doors to allow the first robotic arm to grasp the wafers. Specifically, the loading stage includes LoadLockC (LLC) and LoadLockD (LLD), where the LLC and LLD can hold the wafer cassettes and act as a bridge for the wafers to enter the process chamber. The loading stage may be equipped with a door opening mechanism for opening the wafer cassette doors.

[0119] The first robotic arm is positioned between the loading stage and the process chamber for transferring wafers between the loading stage and the process chamber. For example, the first robotic arm can grab a wafer from a wafer cassette of LLC or LLD and transfer the wafer to a boat in the process chamber. After the wafer is processed in the process chamber, the wafer on the boat is moved to a wafer cassette on LLC or LLD.

[0120] In one embodiment, the semiconductor processing device further includes a host computer; the host computer is used to acquire new tasks for scheduling wafer cassettes and / or wafers, and to issue the new tasks to the scheduling device; the new tasks include a first task and / or a second task.

[0121] In one embodiment, reference Figure 1 As shown, the semiconductor processing equipment also includes a wafer rack, a support position, and a second robotic arm.

[0122] The wafer storage rack is located on the side of the loading stage away from the process chamber and is used to temporarily store the wafer cassette. Specifically, the wafer storage rack is equipped with multiple wafer cassette buffer stations, each of which is used to temporarily store one wafer cassette.

[0123] The carrier position is located on the periphery of the semiconductor processing equipment and is used to receive wafer cassettes transmitted to the semiconductor processing equipment by external devices. External devices may include overhead cranes or other equipment used in automated factories to move wafer cassettes within the semiconductor processing equipment. Specifically, the carrier position includes LoadPort A (LPA) and LoadPort B (LPB). LPA and LPB act as a bridge between the overhead cranes and the vertical oxidation equipment in the automated factory. External devices such as overhead cranes can place wafer cassettes onto LPA or LPB, and can also remove wafer cassettes from LPA or LPB. LPA and LPB have door opening mechanisms that can open the wafer cassette doors.

[0124] The second robot is arranged between the carrying position and the storage rack, and is configured to transfer the FOUP between the carrying position and the storage rack, and between the storage rack and the loading platform. For example, the second robot can move the FOUP on the carrying position to the FOUP buffer table of the storage rack, and move the FOUP on the FOUP buffer table to the loading platform, and so on. Further, the above movement control sequence can also be used to guide the second robot to perform the movement action to schedule the FOUP.

[0125] The semiconductor processing apparatus includes the scheduling device of the semiconductor processing apparatus of any of the above embodiments, and has all the beneficial effects of the scheduling device of the semiconductor processing apparatus of any of the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0126] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a semiconductor processing apparatus, which includes a processor and a storage medium; the storage medium stores program codes; the processor is configured to invoke the program codes stored in the storage medium to execute the scheduling method of the semiconductor processing apparatus of any of the above embodiments. The semiconductor processing apparatus has all the beneficial effects of the above scheduling method, which will not be repeated here.

[0127] Optionally, the semiconductor processing apparatus further includes a host computer; the host computer is configured to obtain a new task for scheduling the FOUP and / or the wafer, and issue the new task to the processor; the new task includes the first task and / or the second task.

[0128] The above describes in detail the scheduling method and device of the semiconductor processing apparatus and the semiconductor processing apparatus provided by the present application, and the principles and implementation manners of the present application are described by applying specific examples. It should be noted that the description of each embodiment in the present application has its own emphasis, and the parts not described or recorded in detail in a certain embodiment can be referred to the related description of other embodiments.

[0129] Although the present application has been shown and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art based on the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. The present application includes all such modifications and alterations and is limited only by the scope of the following claims. In particular, with respect to the various functions performed by the above described components, the terms (e.g., "means for") used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the exemplary implementations illustrated herein.

[0130] That is, the above merely describes the embodiments of the present application, and does not limit the patent scope of the present application, and any equivalent structure or equivalent process conversion using the content of the present application specification and drawings, such as the mutual combination of technical features between embodiments, or direct or indirect application in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

[0131] Furthermore, although the terms first and second, etc. can be employed in this disclosure to describe various information, these terms are not intended to denote or imply a relative importance or a quantity of the information. Thus, the features defined with the terms "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more, unless otherwise specifically limited.

[0132] In this application, the word "exemplary" is used to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any implementation described as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. The application is to be implemented in a manner that encompasses all such possibilities. In the above description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details were set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present application. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present application can be practiced without using these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and processes are not elaborated as they would be apparent to those with skill in the art. Thus, the present application is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A scheduling method for a semiconductor processing device, characterized in that, The scheduling method includes: S130: Determine whether there is a wafer cassette on the loading stage and whether the first robot arm is carrying a wafer currently in the wafer cassette on the loading stage. If there is a wafer cassette on the loading stage and the first robot arm is carrying a wafer currently in the wafer cassette on the loading stage, then proceed to step S140. If there is no wafer cassette on the loading stage or the first robot arm is not carrying a wafer currently in the wafer cassette on the loading stage, then proceed to step S150. S140, calculate the wafer movement sequence of the wafer carried on the first robotic arm, store the currently calculated wafer movement sequence in the movement control sequence, and execute step S150; the wafer movement sequence is used to record the transmission path of the corresponding wafer; the movement control sequence is used to schedule the wafer and / or wafer cassette. S150, determine whether all wafer cassettes and all wafers in the current movement control sequence have reached their destinations. If yes, the scheduling is completed; otherwise, proceed to the loop traversal process. The loop traversal process includes sequentially traversing the first task in the wafer cassette variable, the second task in the wafer cassette variable, and the first task in the wafer variable. In each traversal, the wafer cassette movement sequence corresponding to the wafer cassette that needs to be moved first, or the wafer movement sequence corresponding to the wafer, is updated to the movement control sequence. The wafers and / or wafer cassettes are scheduled according to the current movement control sequence, and the process continues. Execute step S150; the wafer cassette variable is used to record the wafer cassette parameters participating in the scheduling calculation; the wafer variable is used to record the wafer parameters participating in the scheduling calculation; the first task includes the task of transferring wafers between the wafer cassette on the loading stage and the process chamber in the semiconductor equipment and the task of moving the wafer cassette from the wafer cassette buffer stage in the wafer rack to the loading stage; the second task refers to other wafer cassette transfer tasks in the semiconductor processing equipment other than the wafer cassette transfer task in the first task; the wafer cassette movement sequence is used to record the transfer path of the corresponding wafer cassette.

2. The scheduling method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The loop traversal process specifically includes: S160, traverse the first task involved by the wafer box variable. If there is no movable wafer box in the traversal result, then execute step S170. If there is a movable wafer box in the traversal result, then obtain the wafer box movement sequence corresponding to the wafer box that needs to be moved first from the movable wafer boxes, store the currently obtained wafer box movement sequence into the movement control sequence, schedule the wafer and / or wafer box according to the current movement control sequence, and return to execute step S150. S170, traverse the second task involved in the wafer box variable. If there is no movable wafer box in the traversal result, then execute step S180. If there is a movable wafer box in the traversal result, then obtain the wafer box movement sequence corresponding to the wafer box that needs to be moved first from the movable wafer boxes, store the currently obtained wafer box movement sequence into the movement control sequence, schedule the wafer and / or wafer box according to the current movement control sequence, and return to execute step S150. S180, traverse the first task involving the wafer variable. If there is no movable wafer in the traversal result, return to execute step S150. If there is a movable wafer in the traversal result, obtain the wafer movement sequence corresponding to the wafer that needs to be moved first from the movable wafers, store the currently obtained wafer movement sequence in the movement control sequence, schedule the wafer and / or wafer cassette according to the current movement control sequence, and return to execute step S150.

3. The scheduling method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Step S160 further includes: S161, Traverse the first task involved in the wafer box variable; S162, determine whether the first task has been traversed. If yes, proceed to step S163; otherwise, proceed to step S170. S163, among all the first tasks currently being traversed, obtain the wafer cassette with the highest transmission priority; S164, calculate the wafer cassette movement sequence corresponding to the wafer cassette with the highest transmission priority, store the currently calculated wafer cassette movement sequence into the movement control sequence, schedule the wafer and / or wafer cassette according to the current movement control sequence, and return to execute step S150.

4. The scheduling method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Step S170 further includes: S171, Traverse the second task involved in the wafer box variable; S172, determine whether the second task has been traversed. If yes, proceed to step S173; otherwise, proceed to step S180. S173, among all the second tasks currently being traversed, obtain the wafer cassette with the highest transmission priority; S174, calculate the wafer cassette movement sequence corresponding to the wafer cassette with the highest transmission priority, store the currently calculated wafer cassette movement sequence into the movement control sequence, schedule the wafer and / or wafer cassette according to the current movement control sequence, and return to execute step S150.

5. The scheduling method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Step S180 further includes: S181, Traverse the first task involving the wafer variables; S182, determine whether the first task has been traversed. If yes, proceed to step S183; otherwise, proceed to step S150. S183, among all the first tasks currently being traversed, obtain the wafer with the highest transmission priority; S184, calculate the wafer movement sequence corresponding to the wafer with the highest transmission priority, store the currently calculated wafer movement sequence into the movement control sequence, schedule the wafer and / or wafer cassette according to the current movement control sequence, and return to execute step S150.

6. The scheduling method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Prior to step S130, the scheduling method further includes: S110, Store the wafer cassette parameters involved in the scheduling calculation into the wafer cassette variable; S120, the wafer parameters involved in the scheduling calculation are stored in the wafer variables.

7. The scheduling method according to claim 6, characterized in that, Prior to step S110, the scheduling method further includes: S101, obtain a new task issued by the host computer and trigger the scheduling calculation; the new task includes the first task and / or the second task currently obtained by the host computer.

8. The scheduling method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Following step S101, the scheduling method further includes: S102, determine the wafer cassette parameters currently participating in the scheduling calculation based on the wafer cassette parameters in the new task and the wafer cassette parameters in the currently incomplete task; S103, determine the wafer parameters currently participating in the scheduling calculation based on the wafer parameters in the new task and the wafer parameters in the currently incomplete task.

9. A scheduling device for a semiconductor processing equipment, characterized in that, The scheduling device includes a first judgment module, a storage module, and a second judgment module; The first judgment module is used to determine whether there is a wafer cassette on the loading stage and whether the first robot arm is carrying a wafer currently in the wafer cassette on the loading stage. If there is a wafer cassette on the loading stage and the first robot arm is carrying a wafer currently in the wafer cassette on the loading stage, the storage module performs the corresponding function. If there is no wafer cassette on the loading stage or the first robot arm is not carrying a wafer currently in the wafer cassette on the loading stage, the second judgment module performs the corresponding function. The storage module is used to calculate the wafer movement sequence of the wafer carried on the first robotic arm, store the currently calculated wafer movement sequence in the movement control sequence, and enter the second judgment module to execute the corresponding function; the wafer movement sequence is used to record the transmission path of the corresponding wafer; the movement control sequence is used to schedule the wafer and / or wafer cassette. The second judgment module is used to determine whether all wafer cassettes and all wafers in the current movement control sequence have reached their destination. If so, the scheduling is completed; otherwise, the loop traversal process is entered. The loop traversal process is used to sequentially traverse the first task in the wafer cassette variable, the second task in the wafer cassette variable, and the first task in the wafer variable, so that in each traversal, the wafer cassette movement sequence corresponding to the wafer cassette that needs to be moved first or the wafer movement sequence corresponding to the wafer is updated to the movement control sequence. The wafers and / or wafer cassettes are scheduled according to the current movement control sequence, and the second judgment module continues to execute the corresponding function. The wafer cassette variable is used to record the wafer cassette parameters participating in the scheduling calculation. The wafer variable is used to record the wafer parameters involved in the scheduling calculation; the first task includes the task of transferring wafers between the wafer cassette on the loading stage and the process chamber in the semiconductor equipment and the task of moving the wafer cassette from the wafer cassette buffer stage in the wafer rack to the loading stage; the second task refers to other wafer cassette transfer tasks in the semiconductor processing equipment other than the wafer cassette transfer task in the first task; the wafer cassette movement sequence is used to record the transfer path of the corresponding wafer cassette.

10. A semiconductor processing apparatus, characterized in that, The semiconductor processing equipment includes a scheduling device, a process chamber, a first robotic arm, and a loading stage as described in claim 9. The scheduling device is used to output a movement control sequence to guide the first robotic arm to perform movement actions; The process chamber is used to perform semiconductor processing processes; The loading platform is located outside the process chamber and is used to place the wafer cassette. The wafer cassette door is opened so that the first robotic arm can grasp the wafer. The first robotic arm is positioned between the loading stage and the process chamber for transferring wafers between the loading stage and the process chamber.

11. The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that, The semiconductor processing equipment further includes a host computer; the host computer is used to acquire new tasks for scheduling the wafer cassette and / or the wafer, and to issue the new tasks to the scheduling device; the new tasks include a first task and / or a second task.

12. The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that, The semiconductor processing equipment also includes a wafer rack, a support position, and a second robotic arm; The wafer storage rack is located on the side of the loading stage away from the process chamber and is used to temporarily store the wafer cassette. The carrier is located on the periphery of the semiconductor processing equipment and is used to receive the wafer cassette transmitted from external devices to the semiconductor processing equipment. The second robotic arm is positioned between the carrier position and the wafer rack, and is used to transfer wafer cassettes between the carrier position and the wafer rack, and between the wafer rack and the loading stage.

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