Material scheduling monitoring method and semiconductor process equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a material scheduling monitoring method and semiconductor process equipment. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a notification sent by monitored equipment after completing a process action for a material; wherein the notice at least carries the identification information of the material, the identification of the cavity for executing the process action and the completion time of the process action; based on the notification, material structure information corresponding to a cavity pair where the cavity executing the process action is located is updated, and the material structure information comprises identification information of the material and actual waiting time of the material between two cavities corresponding to the cavity pair; and outputting overtime alarm information in response to the fact that the updated actual waiting time is greater than a preset time interval threshold value of the corresponding cavity pair. According to the invention, whether the time for carrying out the next process after the current process is executed by the material is delayed or not can be found in time, and the overtime alarm information is output when the delay occurs, so that a user can take corresponding measures in time and stop loss in time.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In the semiconductor field, wafers of different process technologies require strict control over the order, time, and time interval between each two process steps of the chamber of the semiconductor process equipment. The current material scheduling algorithm is prone to delays in the time for the next process after the current wafer completes the current process due to various reasons, such as the user's flexible machine chamber configuration, diverse scheduling weight allocation requirements, and complex process steps under different wafer process technologies.

[0003] When such problems occur, the scheduling will not stop or alarm. The scheduling module believes that the path it has calculated is correct. Even if the time interval between two process steps is restricted during scheduling, it has already calculated the time interval of the process steps that are not required by the user under the wrong step. When there is a problem with the scheduling logic, the time interval of the process steps may no longer be calculated or the calculation result is unreliable. Therefore, the user cannot timely discover and handle the abnormality only through the scheduling itself. Secondly, the causes of delays are usually short-lived, random, and uncontrollable. For example, the vacuum manipulator (Wafer Transfer Robot, referred to as WTR) is occupied and cannot be timely extracted and execute the transfer of the wafer that has completed the process, or the next chamber reaches the non-processable conditions and needs to be cleaned. These recoverable abnormalities, so when the abnormal recovery scheduling continues the wafer transfer process, the time interval of the process steps of the current wafer can no longer meet the process requirements, which is usually difficult for users to discover.

[0004] Therefore, when the scheduling algorithm encounters the above-mentioned delay problem and cannot save itself, there is an urgent need for a solution that can promptly detect the above-mentioned delay problem and notify the user to take corresponding measures to stop the loss in time. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a material scheduling monitoring method and semiconductor process equipment, so as to promptly discover the problem that the time for the next process after the current wafer completes the current process is delayed.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present application embodiment adopts the following technical solutions: In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a material scheduling monitoring method, comprising: receiving a notification issued by a monitored device after completing a process action for a material; wherein the notification carries at least: identification information of the material, identification of a cavity performing the process action and completion time of the process action; based on the notification, updating material structure information corresponding to a cavity pair in which the cavity performing the process action is located, wherein the material structure information includes identification information of the material and an actual waiting time of the material between two cavities corresponding to the cavity pair; in response to the updated actual waiting time being greater than a preset time interval threshold of the corresponding cavity pair, outputting a timeout alarm message.

[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a semiconductor process equipment, comprising: a controller, which is arranged in a host computer and / or a slave computer of the semiconductor process equipment, and the controller is used to implement the steps of the material scheduling monitoring method as described in the embodiment of the first aspect of the present application.

[0008] At least one of the above technical solutions adopted in the embodiments of the present application can achieve the following beneficial effects: When monitoring the material scheduling process, the embodiment of the present application receives a notification issued by the monitored device after completing a process action for a material, wherein the notification carries at least: identification information of the material, identification of the cavity that performs the process action and completion time of the process action, updates the material structure information corresponding to the cavity pair where the cavity that performs the process action is located based on the notification, wherein the material structure information includes the identification information of the material and the actual waiting time of the material between the two cavities corresponding to the cavity pair, and outputs a timeout alarm message in response to the updated actual waiting time being greater than the preset time interval threshold of the corresponding cavity pair. The embodiment of the present application pre-configures the time interval threshold of each cavity pair, and updates the actual waiting time of each cavity pair based on the notification issued by the monitored device after completing the process action for a material. By comparing the time interval threshold and the actual waiting time of each cavity pair, it can be timely discovered whether the time for the material to perform the next process after completing the current process is delayed, and outputs a timeout alarm message when a delay occurs, so that the user can take corresponding measures in time to stop the loss in time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings: Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a material scheduling monitoring method provided for one embodiment of the present application; Figure 2A schematic diagram of a material table provided for one embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of paths between cavities provided for one embodiment of the present application; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a data monitoring structure provided for one embodiment of the present application; Figure 5 A schematic flow chart of a material scheduling monitoring method provided for another embodiment of the present application; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of inserting and popping up material structure information provided for one embodiment of the present application; Figure 7 A schematic flow chart of a material scheduling monitoring method provided for another embodiment of the present application; Figure 8 A schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor process equipment provided for one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solution of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in combination with the specific embodiments of the present application and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0011] The terms "first", "second", etc. in this application are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable under appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described here. In addition, the "and / or" in this application represents at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally represents that the front and back associated objects are in an "or" relationship. It should be noted that the data involved in this application are all obtained on the premise of obtaining user authorization.

[0012] The technical solutions provided by various embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0013] Figure 1 A flow chart of a material scheduling monitoring method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the monitoring method for material scheduling of the embodiment of the present application may specifically include the following steps: S101, receiving a notification issued by a monitored device after completing a process action for a material; wherein the notification carries at least: identification information of the material, identification of a cavity performing the process action, and completion time of the process action.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present application, the executor of the material scheduling monitoring method of the embodiment of the present application is a controller, which can be set in the host computer and / or the slave computer of the monitored equipment, that is, the monitored semiconductor process equipment (such as vertical furnace oxidation equipment, etc.).

[0015] In semiconductor process equipment, as material scheduling proceeds, the materials will continue to move, forming different distributions, and corresponding to different process actions (i.e. material actions) during the movement process. In order to record and update the movement, distribution and material action information of the materials, a material table can be used.

[0016] The material table can be generated through the following steps: After each process action is completed, an entry in the material table is generated according to the time corresponding to the process action (trigger_time), the material identification information, the execution module (Module) and the material action information (Action), such as Figure 2 In the material table shown, each line is an entry, and the execution module may include a cavity, a manipulator (ATR, VTR), etc. The identification information of the material can be represented by the material name (MaterialName), the material name number (MaterialNameID), etc. The material table can also record the entire material batch (Lot) number (LotID) of the task, the leader (Actor) who performs this action in the execution module, other participating objects (ActParam) who perform this action in the execution module, and the material action data (ActData) corresponding to this action. The material action information (Action) may include the start process (begin Process), the end process (finished Process), etc.

[0017] After each process action for a material is completed, the semiconductor process equipment sends a corresponding notification to the controller, and the notification carries at least the following information: identification information of the material, identification of the chamber performing the process action, and completion time of the process action.

[0018] It should be noted here that each entry can also be encapsulated into an eventInfo information package, and after each process action is completed, the eventInfo information package is reported to the factory end.

[0019] S102, based on the notification, updating the material structure information corresponding to the cavity pair where the cavity performing the process action is located, wherein the material structure information includes the identification information of the material and the actual waiting time of the material between the two cavities corresponding to the cavity pair.

[0020] In an embodiment of the present application, a plurality of chambers are usually provided in a semiconductor process equipment, and materials can be scheduled and transferred between two different chambers. Such two chambers are called a chamber pair. According to the transfer direction of the materials between the two chambers, the chamber where the transfer starting point is located is defined as the previous chamber (prevChamber), and the chamber where the transfer end point is located is defined as the next chamber (nextChamber). For example, for a scheduling path PC1→PC2→PC3, PC1→PC2 constitutes a chamber pair, in which case PC1 is the previous chamber and PC2 is the next chamber. PC2→PC3 constitutes another chamber pair, in which case PC2 is the previous chamber and PC3 is the next chamber.

[0021] Among them, each cavity pair can be obtained through the following steps: obtain the type and quantity of each cavity in the monitored equipment; construct the maximum set of path combinations for material scheduling according to the type and quantity of each cavity; determine each cavity pair according to the maximum set of path combinations.

[0022] Specifically, the chamber type configuration in the semiconductor process equipment is determined when it leaves the factory, such as Figure 3 As shown in the figure, usually one Dx baking chamber, two parallel Pc cleaning chambers (Pc1, Pc2) and three process chambers with different metal targets (Ti, Tiw, Cu) are configured. According to the chamber type configuration and the customer's process sequence, all chambers can be added to the chamber pair path of process monitoring through the configuration file of the lower computer when the factory machine software is deployed, and the maximum set of path combinations for material scheduling is obtained as {Dx→Pc1, Dx→Pc2, Pc1→Ti, Pc1→Tiw, Pc2→Ti, Pc2→Tiw, Ti→Cu, Tiw→Cu}. Then, each chamber pair is determined to be Dx→Pc1, Dx→Pc2, Pc1→Ti, Pc1→Tiw, Pc2→Ti, Pc2→Tiw, Ti→Cu, Tiw→Cu.

[0023] A time interval threshold (timeout) is set in advance for each cavity pair, that is, the time interval from the completion of the process of the previous cavity to the transfer to the next cavity to start the process. The time interval threshold is fixed after being set unless it is reset.

[0024] Based on each cavity pair and the corresponding time interval threshold, a data monitoring structure (Monitor) is constructed, such as Figure 4As shown, the data monitoring structure includes multiple structure objects, which correspond one-to-one to multiple cavity pairs. The members of each structure object include {the identification of the previous cavity, the identification of the next cavity, the time interval threshold, and the material structure information}. Among them, the material structure information (materialTimes) itself is a nested structure {the identification information of the material (material), the actual waiting time (time) of the material between the two cavities corresponding to the cavity pair (that is, between the previous cavity and the next cavity)}. It should be noted here that when the constructed data monitoring structure is initialized, the identification of the previous cavity, the identification of the next cavity, and the time interval threshold have specific values, for example Figure 4 The cavity pair corresponding to the first structure object is Dx→Pc1, so the identifier of the previous cavity is Dx, the identifier of the next cavity is Pc1, the time interval threshold is DxToPc1Time, and the value of the material structure information is blank and needs to be filled in later.

[0025] According to the received notification, the material structure information of the cavity pair corresponding to the identification of the cavity performing the process action in the notification is updated in real time in the data monitoring structure, that is, the identification information and actual waiting time of the material to be transmitted of the corresponding cavity pair are updated.

[0026] S103, in response to the updated actual waiting time being greater than the preset time interval threshold of the corresponding cavity pair, outputting a timeout alarm message.

[0027] In the embodiment of the present application, the updated actual waiting time in the material structure information is compared with the corresponding time interval threshold. If the updated actual waiting time is greater than the time interval threshold, a timeout alarm message is output so that the customer can promptly stop the execution of the remaining process steps and perform cleaning and re-plating operations, etc. If the updated actual waiting time is equal to or less than the time interval threshold, the subsequent updated actual waiting time and the corresponding time interval threshold are continuously compared.

[0028] In summary, the monitoring method for material scheduling of the embodiment of the present application, when monitoring the material scheduling process, receives a notification issued by the monitored device after completing a process action for a material, wherein the notification carries at least: the identification information of the material, the identification of the cavity that performs the process action and the completion time of the process action, updates the material structure information corresponding to the cavity pair where the cavity that performs the process action is located based on the notification, wherein the material structure information includes the identification information of the material and the actual waiting time of the material between the two cavities corresponding to the cavity pair, and outputs a timeout alarm message in response to the updated actual waiting time being greater than the preset time interval threshold of the corresponding cavity pair. The embodiment of the present application pre-configures the time interval threshold of each cavity pair, and updates the actual waiting time of each cavity pair based on the notification issued by the monitored device after completing the process action for a material. By comparing the time interval threshold and the actual waiting time of each cavity pair, it can be timely discovered whether the time for the material to perform the next process after completing the current process is delayed, and outputs a timeout alarm message when a delay occurs, so that the user can take corresponding measures in time to stop the loss in time.

[0029] Figure 5 A flow chart of a material scheduling monitoring method provided in another embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, in Figure 1 Based on the illustrated embodiment, the material scheduling monitoring method of the embodiment of the present application may specifically include the following steps: S601, receiving a notification issued by a monitored device after completing a process action for a material; wherein the notification carries at least: identification information of the material, identification of a cavity performing the process action, completion time of the process action, and material action information corresponding to the process action.

[0030] In an embodiment of the present application, the received notification may also include material action information corresponding to the process action. Step S601 is substantially the same as step S101 in the above embodiment and will not be described in detail here.

[0031] In the above embodiment, step S102 of “updating the material structure information corresponding to the cavity pair where the cavity performing the process action is located based on the notification” may specifically include the following steps S602 - S606 .

[0032] S602, when the material action information is to end the process, determine the identification information of the material corresponding to the material action information and the identification of the corresponding cavity.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present application, if the material action information corresponding to the process action carried in the received notification is to end the process, then the identification information of the material in the notification and the identification of the cavity that performs the process action are determined, that is, the identification information of the material and the identification of the cavity corresponding to the material action information, indicating that the material has ended the process in the cavity, for example, material A has ended the process in cavity Dx.

[0034] S603, updating the identification information of the material in the corresponding material structure information to the identification information of the corresponding material, and the identification of the previous cavity of the cavity pair corresponding to the corresponding material structure information is consistent with the identification of the corresponding cavity.

[0035] In the embodiment of the present application, a cavity pair whose identification of the previous cavity is consistent with the identification of the corresponding cavity determined in step S602 is found in the data monitoring structure, and the material structure information corresponding to the cavity pair is determined as the corresponding material structure information. The identification information of the material in the corresponding material structure information is updated to the identification information of the corresponding material determined in step S602.

[0036] S604, when the material action information is the end of the process, start timing for the corresponding material to obtain the timing time.

[0037] In the embodiment of the present application, for example, if it is monitored that material A has finished the process in cavity Dx, the timing of material A starts, and the timing time starts from 0 and gradually accumulates.

[0038] S605, when the material action information corresponding to the corresponding material is the start process, the timing of the corresponding material ends.

[0039] In the embodiment of the present application, for example, if it is monitored that material A has started the process in the next chamber Pc1, the timing of material A is ended.

[0040] S606, during the timing process, the actual waiting time in the corresponding material structure information is updated in real time to the timing time.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present application, during the timing process, that is, after material A finishes the process in cavity Dx and before material A starts the process in the next cavity Pc1, the continuously accumulated timing time is updated in real time to the actual waiting time in the material structure information corresponding to the cavity pair Dx→Pc1.

[0042] For example, Figure 6 As shown, material A ends the process in cavity Dx, that is, material A enters cavity Dx→Pc1, then Figure 4The material identification information and actual waiting time in the material structure information of the first structure object in the data monitoring structure shown will be updated to the identification information and timing time of material A. After material A enters cavity Pc1 and ends the process, that is, material A moves to the next cavity pair Pc1→Ti, then Figure 4 The material structure information of the third structure object in the data monitoring structure shown will pop up the material structure information of the last material that left, and insert and update the material structure information of the material A that is about to enter.

[0043] S607: In response to the updated actual waiting time being greater than the preset time interval threshold of the corresponding cavity pair, outputting a timeout alarm message.

[0044] In the embodiment of the present application, step S607 is the same as step S103 in the above embodiment and will not be described again here.

[0045] Further, such as Figure 7 As shown, the "start timing the corresponding material to obtain the timing time" in the above step S604 may specifically include the following steps: S801, obtaining the current time of the system.

[0046] In an embodiment of the present application, the current time curTime of the system can be obtained.

[0047] S802, calculating the time difference between the current time of the system and the recorded historical current time of the system.

[0048] In an embodiment of the present application, the time difference between the current time curTime of the system and the previously recorded current time of the system, that is, the historical current time lastTime of the system, is span, span=curTime-lastTime.

[0049] S803, updating the recorded historical current time of the system to the current time of the system.

[0050] In the embodiment of the present application, the previously recorded historical current time lastTime of the system is updated to the current time curTime of the system, that is, lastTime=curTime.

[0051] S804, calculating the sum of the actual waiting time and the time difference in the corresponding material structure information to obtain the timing time.

[0052] In the embodiment of the present application, the sum of the actual waiting time time and the time difference span recorded in the material structure information is calculated to obtain the timing time time0, time0=time+span.

[0053] Subsequently, the actual waiting time in the material structure information is updated to the timing time. In response to the updated actual waiting time being greater than the time interval threshold, a timeout alarm message is output. In response to the updated actual waiting time being equal to or less than the time interval threshold, the process returns to execute step S801 to obtain the current time of the system. As the system time is continuously updated, the timing time gradually accumulates.

[0054] Furthermore, the embodiment of the present application allocates two time managers to the data monitoring structure: a first time manager and a second time manager.

[0055] Correspondingly, the monitoring method for material scheduling of the embodiment of the present application may also include the following steps: recording the time interval threshold value timeout corresponding to each cavity pair set by the user through the first time manager, such as timeout{DxToPc1, DxToPc2, Pc1ToTi, Pc2ToTi, TiToCu, Pc1ToTiw, Pc2ToTiw, TiwToCu}. It should be noted here that after the user sets the first time manager in the interface configuration parameters, it is saved in the storage space corresponding to the data monitoring structure, and will not change until the user changes the value of its configuration parameters in the interface and saves it, otherwise it will not change.

[0056] Correspondingly, the material scheduling monitoring method of the embodiment of the present application may also include the following steps: recording the timing time corresponding to the corresponding material through the second time manager corresponding to the corresponding material. It should be noted here that a separate second time manager needs to be configured for each material. The second time manager is activated when the corresponding material ends the process in the previous cavity, starts timing, and records the timing time. The timing time will be updated in real time as the movement distribution of the material between the front and rear cavities changes. A material structure information materialTimes corresponds to a material timing<material, time> Structure, material represents the specific material, and time is the timing time of the second time manager corresponding to the material.

[0057] Those skilled in the art will understand that when the corresponding material starts the process in the next chamber, the second time manager is controlled to stop timing, or before the corresponding material starts the process in the next chamber, when it is determined that the timing time is greater than the corresponding time interval threshold, the second time manager is controlled to stop timing.

[0058] In summary, the material scheduling monitoring method of the embodiment of the present application pre-configures the time interval threshold of each cavity pair, and updates the actual waiting time of each cavity pair based on the notification issued by the monitored device after completing the process action for a material. By comparing the time interval threshold of each cavity pair and the actual waiting time, it can be timely discovered whether the time for the material to perform the next process after completing the current process is delayed, and output a timeout alarm message when a delay occurs, so that the user can take corresponding measures in time to stop the loss in time. When the material action information in the received notification is to end the process or start the process, the identification information and actual waiting time of the material in the material structure information of the corresponding cavity pair are updated, thereby realizing the monitoring of the actual waiting time. Based on the update of the system time and the time difference before and after the update, the timing of the material after the previous cavity starts the process is realized.

[0059] The present application also provides a semiconductor process equipment. Figure 8 As shown, the semiconductor process equipment 900 includes: a controller 901, which is arranged in the upper computer and / or the lower computer of the semiconductor process equipment 900, and the controller 901 is used to implement the steps of any of the above-mentioned material scheduling monitoring method embodiments.

[0060] The semiconductor process equipment of the embodiment of the present application pre-configures the time interval threshold of each cavity pair, and updates the actual waiting time of each cavity pair based on the notification sent by the monitored device after completing the process action for a material. By comparing the time interval threshold of each cavity pair and the actual waiting time, it can be timely discovered whether the time for the material to proceed to the next process after completing the current process is delayed, and output a timeout alarm message when a delay occurs, so that the user can take corresponding measures in time to stop the loss in time. When the material action information in the received notification is to end the process or start the process, the identification information and actual waiting time of the material in the material structure information of the corresponding cavity pair are updated to realize the monitoring of the actual waiting time. Based on the update of the system time and the time difference before and after the update, the timing of the material after the previous cavity starts the process is realized.

[0061] An embodiment of the present application also proposes a readable storage medium, on which one or more computer programs are stored. The one or more computer programs include instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by a processor in a semiconductor process equipment including multiple application programs, the processor in the semiconductor process equipment can execute the various processes of the above-mentioned material scheduling monitoring method embodiment, and is specifically used to execute the steps of any of the above-mentioned material scheduling monitoring method embodiments.

[0062] The readable storage medium of the embodiment of the present application pre-configures the time interval threshold of each cavity pair, and updates the actual waiting time of each cavity pair based on the notification sent by the monitored device after completing the process action for a material. By comparing the time interval threshold of each cavity pair and the actual waiting time, it can be timely discovered whether the time for the material to proceed to the next process after completing the current process is delayed, and output a timeout alarm message when a delay occurs, so that the user can take corresponding measures in time to stop the loss in time. When the material action information in the received notification is to end the process or start the process, the identification information and actual waiting time of the material in the material structure information of the corresponding cavity pair are updated, thereby realizing the monitoring of the actual waiting time. Based on the update of the system time and the time difference before and after the update, the timing of the material after the previous cavity starts the process is realized.

[0063] The systems, devices, modules or units described in the above embodiments may be implemented by computer chips or entities, or by products with certain functions. A typical implementation device is a computer. Specifically, the computer may be, for example, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a cellular phone, a camera phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable device, or a combination of any of these devices.

[0064] For the convenience of description, the above device is described in various units according to their functions. Of course, when implementing the present application, the functions of each unit can be implemented in the same or multiple software and / or hardware.

[0065] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Moreover, the present application may adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program codes.

[0066] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes 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 device to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes 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.

[0067] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0068] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0069] In a typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPU), input / output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

[0070] Memory may include non-permanent storage in a computer-readable medium, random access memory (RAM) and / or non-volatile memory in the form of read-only memory (ROM) or flash RAM. Memory is an example of a computer-readable medium.

[0071] Computer readable media include permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media that can be implemented by any method or technology to store information. Information can be computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other non-transmission media that can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. As defined in this article, computer readable media does not include temporary computer readable media (transitory media), such as modulated data signals and carrier waves.

[0072] It should also be noted that the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, commodity or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, commodity or device. In the absence of more restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, commodity or device including the elements.

[0073] The present application may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions executed by a computer, such as program modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The present application may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices connected through a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in local and remote computer storage media, including storage devices.

[0074] Each embodiment in this specification is described in a progressive manner, and the same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the system 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.

[0075] The above are only embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various changes and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included within the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A material scheduling monitoring method, characterized in that: include: Receiving a notification issued by the monitored equipment after completing a process action for a material; wherein the notification carries at least: identification information of the material, identification of the cavity performing the process action and completion time of the process action; Based on the notification, updating the material structure information corresponding to the cavity pair where the cavity performing the process action is located, wherein the material structure information includes identification information of the material and actual waiting time of the material between two cavities corresponding to the cavity pair; In response to the updated actual waiting time being greater than the preset time interval threshold of the corresponding cavity pair, a timeout alarm message is output.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The notification also carries material action information corresponding to the process action, and updating the material structure information corresponding to the cavity pair where the cavity performing the process action is located based on the notification includes: When the material action information is to end the process, determine the identification information of the material corresponding to the material action information and the identification of the corresponding cavity; The identification information of the material in the corresponding material structure information is updated to the identification information of the corresponding material, and the identification of the previous cavity of the cavity pair corresponding to the corresponding material structure information is consistent with the identification of the corresponding cavity.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The updating, based on the notification, of the material structure information corresponding to the cavity pair where the cavity performing the process action is located, further includes: When the material action information indicates that the process is finished, the timing of the corresponding material is started to obtain the timing time; When the material action information corresponding to the corresponding material is to start the process, the corresponding material is timed to end; During the timing process, the actual waiting time in the corresponding material structure information is updated in real time to the timing time.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The starting timing of the corresponding material to obtain the timing time includes: Get the current time of the system; Calculate the time difference between the current time of the system and the recorded historical current time of the system; Updating the recorded historical current time of the system to the current time of the system; The sum of the actual waiting time and the time difference in the corresponding material structure information is calculated to obtain the timing time.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that Also includes: In response to the updated actual waiting time being equal to or less than the time interval threshold, returning to the current time step of the acquisition system.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The cavity pairs are obtained by the following steps: Obtaining the type and quantity of each cavity in the monitored device; According to the types and quantities of the cavities, a maximum set of path combinations for material scheduling is constructed; The cavity pairs are determined according to the maximum set of path combinations.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: The time interval threshold corresponding to each cavity pair is recorded by the first time manager.

8. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Also includes: The timing time corresponding to the corresponding material is recorded through a second time manager corresponding to the corresponding material.

9. A semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: include: A controller, wherein the controller is arranged in a host computer and / or a slave computer of the semiconductor process equipment, and the controller is used to implement the steps of the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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