Wafer cassette scheduling method, wafer cassette scheduling device and electronic equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to a wafer cassette scheduling method, a wafer cassette scheduling device and electronic equipment, when a wafer cassette is scheduled, a target scheduling machine needing to be scheduled is determined at a current site, and the site type of a to-be-scheduled site of the target wafer cassette of the target scheduling machine is determined; determining a target conveying machine table to be dispatched of the target wafer box in the candidate stations with the same station type, and determining a target conveying bin corresponding to the target conveying machine table; then, the target wafer box is directly conveyed from the target dispatching machine table to the target conveying bin, so that the target wafer box can be directly conveyed from the target conveying bin to the target conveying machine table for operation. According to the embodiment, the transportation efficiency of the wafer box can be improved, the transportation cost in the wafer box cleaning process is reduced, and the applicability is high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor production processes, and in particular to a wafer box scheduling method, a wafer box scheduling device and an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] Wafer boxes are containers for storing and transporting wafers. Storage bins are where wafer boxes are stored at different processing sites. Wafers or wafer boxes stored in storage bins are transported to different process sites according to the production process. Storing wafers in wafer boxes can ensure that wafers are not easily bumped or scratched during transportation or storage.

[0003] As a storage container for wafers, wafer boxes may be dirty during the production and transportation of wafers. In order to prevent dirty wafer boxes from contaminating wafers, dirty wafer boxes need to be cleaned. However, whether cleaning dirty wafer boxes or re-entering the clean wafer boxes into the production line, the wafer boxes need to be transported between the current machine, the storage bin near the current machine, the storage bin near the next machine, and the next machine in sequence, resulting in the wafer boxes needing to be transported multiple times during cleaning, resulting in a waste of transportation resources, resulting in low transportation efficiency and high transportation costs for wafer box cleaning. Summary of the invention

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a wafer box scheduling method, a wafer box scheduling device and an electronic device that can improve the wafer box transportation efficiency and reduce the transportation cost during the wafer production and transportation process to address the above technical problems.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a wafer box scheduling method, the method comprising:

[0006] Determine a target scheduling machine to be scheduled at the current site, and determine the site type of the target wafer box to be scheduled site in the target scheduling machine;

[0007] Determine a target transport machine from candidate sites of the same type as the site, and determine a target transport warehouse corresponding to the target transport machine;

[0008] The target wafer box is directly transported from the target scheduling machine to the target transport chamber, so that the target wafer box is transported from the target transport chamber to the target transport machine.

[0009] In some embodiments, determining the target transport machine among candidate sites of the same site type includes:

[0010] Use available machines in all candidate sites as candidate machines;

[0011] Determine the wafer box requirements corresponding to each candidate machine, and determine the target transport machine among all candidate machines based on the wafer box requirements.

[0012] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0013] determining a wafer box type of a target wafer box;

[0014] A scheduling priority for the wafer box type is determined in each wafer box demand, and a target transport machine is determined from the candidate machines according to each scheduling priority.

[0015] In some embodiments, determining a target transport bin corresponding to a target transport machine includes:

[0016] The storage bin corresponding to the target transport machine is used as a candidate storage bin;

[0017] The scheduling distances between the target wafer box and each candidate storage bin are determined, and the target storage bin is determined among all the candidate storage bins according to each scheduling distance.

[0018] In some embodiments, determining a target dispatching machine at a current site includes:

[0019] Get all the machines to be scheduled at the current site;

[0020] Determine the wafer box load corresponding to each waiting-to-be-scheduled machine, and determine the scheduling order of each waiting-to-be-scheduled machine according to the wafer box load; and determine the target scheduling machine among each waiting-to-be-scheduled machine according to the scheduling order.

[0021] In some embodiments, obtaining all machines to be scheduled at the current site includes:

[0022] During the preset scheduling period, all machines requesting equipment unloading at the current site are marked as machines to be scheduled.

[0023] In some embodiments, when the site type of the current site is a cleaning site, determining the wafer box load corresponding to each to-be-scheduled machine includes:

[0024] For each machine to be scheduled, the water level value of the machine to be scheduled is determined, and the wafer box load corresponding to the machine to be scheduled is determined according to the water level value.

[0025] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0026] Determine the minimum water level value corresponding to each machine to be dispatched;

[0027] If there is a machine to be scheduled whose water level value is lower than the minimum water level value corresponding to the machine to be scheduled, the machine to be scheduled will be prioritized as the target scheduling machine.

[0028] In some embodiments, determining the lowest water level value corresponding to each machine to be scheduled includes:

[0029] Determine the cleaning rate of each machine to be scheduled, and determine the minimum water level value based on the cleaning rate.

[0030] In a second aspect, the present application further provides a wafer box scheduling device, the device comprising:

[0031] A first determination module is configured to determine a target scheduling machine to be scheduled at a current site, and determine a site type of a target wafer box to be scheduled site in the target scheduling machine;

[0032] A second determination module is configured to determine a target transport machine from candidate sites of the same site type, and determine a target transport warehouse corresponding to the target transport machine;

[0033] The transport module is configured to transport the target wafer box from the target scheduling machine directly to the target transport chamber, so that the target wafer box is transported from the target transport chamber to the target transport machine.

[0034] In a third aspect, the present application further provides an electronic device, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the steps of the method of the first aspect when executing the computer program.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which implements the steps of the method of the first aspect when executed by a processor.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product, including a computer program, which implements the steps of the method of the first aspect when executed by a processor.

[0037] The wafer box scheduling method, wafer box scheduling device and electronic device, when scheduling the wafer box, first determine the target scheduling machine to be scheduled at the current site, and determine the site type of the target wafer box to be scheduled site of the target scheduling machine. Then determine the target transport machine to be scheduled for the target wafer box in the candidate site with the same site type, and determine the target transport warehouse corresponding to the target transport machine. Then, directly transport the target wafer box from the target scheduling machine to the target transport warehouse, so that the target wafer box can be directly transported from the target transport warehouse to the target transport machine for operation. Compared with the traditional wafer box transportation method, this embodiment can directly transport the wafer box from the currently working machine to the storage warehouse corresponding to the next working machine, and directly transport the wafer box from the storage warehouse to the next working machine, thereby improving the transportation efficiency of the wafer box. In addition, since the scheduling method of this embodiment reduces the number of wafer box transportations, it also reduces the transportation cost in the wafer box cleaning process, and has strong applicability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the related technologies, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the related technical descriptions are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0039] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a wafer box scheduling method in the prior art;

[0040] Figure 2 is a flow chart of a wafer box scheduling method in some embodiments;

[0041] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a wafer box scheduling method in some embodiments;

[0042] Figure 4 A flowchart of a wafer box scheduling method in some other embodiments;

[0043] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of scheduling wafer boxes to be cleaned in some embodiments;

[0044] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of scheduling of cleaned wafer boxes in some embodiments;

[0045] Figure 7 is a structural block diagram of a wafer box scheduling device in some embodiments;

[0046] Figure 8 1 is a diagram of the internal structure of an electronic device in some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0048] During the wafer production and processing, in order to protect the wafers transported between the stations and ensure that the wafers do not collide or scratch during transportation, FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod, hereinafter referred to as wafer box) can be used as a container for storing and transporting wafers to improve the reliability of wafer production and transportation. The wafer production and processing system includes multiple stations, each of which is used to perform different operations, such as lithography stations, deposition stations, cleaning stations, etc. Each station can include several machines that perform the operations of the station, as well as several storage bins for storing upper and lower machine equipment.

[0049] Since the wafer box may be dirty during use, some sites need to use clean wafers to store the processed wafers. Therefore, when the wafer box is used up at some sites and enters the next site, the dirty wafer box to be cleaned needs to be cleaned and then added to the production line again after cleaning. The cleaning of the wafer box requires the dirty wafer box to be transported to the cleaning site for cleaning, and then the cleaned wafer box is transported to the processing site that needs a clean wafer box.

[0050] Traditional cleaning scheduling methods for wafer boxes are as follows: Figure 1 As shown, after the wafers stored in the wafer box are loaded onto the processing machine, the empty wafer box to be cleaned is first transported from the processing machine to the storage bin near the processing machine, then transported from the storage bin near the processing machine to the storage bin near the cleaning machine, and then transported from the storage bin near the cleaning machine to the cleaning machine for cleaning. Correspondingly, when the wafer box needs to re-enter the production line after cleaning at the cleaning machine, the cleaned wafer box is first transported from the cleaning machine to the storage bin near the cleaning machine, then transported from the storage bin near the cleaning machine to the storage bin near the processing machine, and finally transported from the storage bin near the processing machine to the processing machine to store the processed wafers. It can be seen that currently, the wafer box needs to be transported multiple times for one cleaning, which has low transportation efficiency, resulting in waste of transmission resources, and high transportation efficiency and low cost.

[0051] In view of the above problems, this application proposes a wafer box scheduling method, such as Figure 2 As shown in the flowchart of the scheduling method, it includes steps 202 to 206. Among them:

[0052] Step 202 , determining a target scheduling machine to be scheduled at the current site, and determining the site type of the target wafer box to be scheduled site in the target scheduling machine.

[0053] The target scheduling machine is used to characterize the machine that needs to schedule and transport wafer boxes at the current site. Since each site includes several machines and several storage bins, the operation process, machine load, and processing process of each machine may be the same or different. When there are multiple machines that need to be scheduled at the current site, it is necessary to first determine the target scheduling machine for the current site. After the target scheduling machine is determined, the target wafer box to be scheduled is determined in the target scheduling machine, and the site type of the target wafer box to be scheduled is determined.

[0054] Exemplarily, if the current site is a processing site for lithography, deposition, etc., after the wafer box is transported to the current site for processing, if the wafer box needs to be cleaned, the machine corresponding to the wafer box is used as the target scheduling machine, and the wafer box that needs to be cleaned is used as the target wafer box. At this time, the site type of the site to be scheduled is the cleaning site. If the current site is a cleaning site, the wafer box is cleaned at the current site, and the wafer box that needs to be re-added to the production line after the current site is cleaned is used as the target wafer box. At this time, the target wafer box needs to be scheduled to the processing site to store the processed wafers, and the site type of the site to be scheduled is the processing site.

[0055] It should be noted that, for the convenience of description, this embodiment and subsequent embodiments are described by taking the scheduling of wafer box cleaning before and after as an example, that is, the scheduling between the processing site and the cleaning site as an example. In practical applications, the current site and the site to be scheduled can also be other site types, and this embodiment is not limited to the cleaning scheduling control of the wafer box.

[0056] Step 204 , determining a target transport machine among candidate sites of the same site type, and determining a target transport bin corresponding to the target transport machine.

[0057] The target transport machine indicates the machine to which the wafer box needs to be transported after the scheduling operation. The target transport warehouse is a storage warehouse corresponding to the target transport machine and arranged near the target transport machine. The wafer box is transported to the target transport machine through the target transport warehouse to load the wafers to be cleaned or the cleaned wafers on the target transport machine.

[0058] When determining the target transport machine, all machines that can receive the target wafer box can be counted in the candidate sites of the same type as the site to be scheduled, and then the target transport machine for the best transport of the target wafer box can be determined among all the machines that can receive the schedule according to factors such as the machine's load and distance. After determining the target transport machine, it is also necessary to determine the target transport warehouse corresponding to the target transport machine, so that the target wafer box is first transported to the target transport warehouse during scheduling, and then transported from the target transport warehouse to the target transport machine.

[0059] Step 206 , directly transporting the target wafer box from the target scheduling machine to the target transport chamber, so that the target wafer box is transported from the target transport chamber to the target transport machine.

[0060] After determining the target scheduling machine at the current site and the target transport machine to be transported, the target wafer box of the target scheduling machine is directly transported from the target scheduling machine to the target transport warehouse near the target transport machine, so that the target wafer box can be transported from the target transport warehouse to the target transport machine.

[0061] This is different from the traditional external process of first transporting the dirty and empty wafer boxes to the storage bin near the current machine, then transporting the empty wafer boxes from the storage bin to the storage bin near the cleaning machine, and then transporting the wafer boxes from the storage bin near the cleaning machine to the cleaning machine. Figure 3 As shown, in this embodiment, when the wafer box is transported from the processing machine to the cleaning machine, the dirty empty wafer box of the processing machine is directly transported from the processing machine to the storage bin near the cleaning machine, and then the wafer box is transported from the storage bin near the cleaning machine to the cleaning machine for cleaning. Correspondingly, when the wafer box is transported from the cleaning machine to the processing machine, the clean empty wafer box of the cleaning machine is also directly transported from the cleaning machine to the storage bin near the processing machine, and then the wafer box is transported from the storage bin near the processing machine to the processing machine.

[0062] Compared with the traditional scheduling method, the scheduling method of this embodiment directly schedules the wafer boxes unloaded from the processing machine to the storage bin near the cleaning machine, thereby improving the transportation efficiency of the wafer boxes. In addition, the working cost of the overhead crane used for transportation in the production system is relatively high. The scheduling method of this embodiment reduces the number of wafer box transportations, greatly reduces the transportation cost in the wafer box cleaning process, and has strong applicability.

[0063] In some specific embodiments, in step 204, a target transport machine is determined in candidate sites of the same site type, including: taking available machines in all candidate sites as candidate machines, determining the wafer box requirements corresponding to each candidate machine, and determining the target transport machine among all candidate machines according to the wafer box requirements.

[0064] Available machines represent the machines that can be operated in the candidate site. Since each site includes multiple machines and multiple storage bins, the process, standards, and requirements of each machine are different. Therefore, it is necessary to first determine the candidate machines of the available machines in the candidate site and determine the wafer box requirements corresponding to each candidate machine.

[0065] Wafer box demand can indicate the number of wafer boxes required by a machine. For example, the wafer box demand corresponding to a cleaning machine indicates the number of wafer boxes that can be cleaned by the machine. The wafer box demand corresponding to a processing machine indicates the number of wafer boxes required to store wafers processed by the machine.

[0066] When scheduling wafer boxes, this embodiment schedules wafer boxes according to the wafer box demand of each machine, and preferentially schedules wafer boxes to machines or sites with large demand, so as to improve the processing efficiency of the production line.

[0067] In other embodiments, the method further includes: determining the wafer box type of the target wafer box; determining a scheduling priority for the wafer box type in each wafer box requirement, and determining a target transport machine in the candidate machines according to each scheduling priority.

[0068] The types of wafer boxes used to store wafers in different production processes may also be different. For example, when there are special requirements for the temperature or humidity of wafer storage, the corresponding wafer box types are also different. According to the type of wafer box required by the target delivery site, the scheduling priority corresponding to the type of wafer box is determined, so that when scheduling the wafer box, it can be scheduled according to the scheduling priority of the wafer box, and the wafer box with a high scheduling priority can be scheduled first.

[0069] When scheduling wafer boxes, this embodiment determines the scheduling priority according to the wafer box type of each machine to ensure that wafer boxes with high scheduling priority are scheduled first. While reducing the number of wafer box scheduling times, the scheduling process can also be optimized in combination with the wafer box type to further improve the scheduling efficiency of the wafer boxes.

[0070] In other embodiments, determining a target transport bin corresponding to a target transport machine includes: taking a storage bin corresponding to the target transport machine as a candidate storage bin; determining a scheduling distance between a target wafer box and each candidate storage bin, and determining the target storage bin among all candidate storage bins according to each scheduling distance.

[0071] The site includes several machines and storage bins. Each machine also corresponds to multiple storage bins that can store processed or unprocessed wafers of the machine. The wafers are stored in wafer boxes. After the target transport machine is determined, the storage bins corresponding to the site and the target transport machine are used as candidate storage bins, and the scheduling distance between each candidate storage bin and the target transport wafer box is determined, so that when scheduling the target wafer box, the storage bin with a small scheduling distance is scheduled first, and the storage bin is determined as the target storage bin.

[0072] This embodiment determines the target storage bin for transporting the target wafer box according to the distance between the target wafer box and the storage bin, optimizes the transport process of the target wafer box, and preferentially dispatches the target wafer box to the target storage bin with a short scheduling distance, thereby further improving the scheduling efficiency of the wafer box and reducing the scheduling cost.

[0073] In some other embodiments, the determination of the target transport site and the target transport warehouse can be comprehensively determined in combination with the above-mentioned wafer box requirements, scheduling priorities and scheduling distances to obtain the target transport site and target transport warehouse that can simultaneously meet multiple scheduling strategies.

[0074] In addition, the number and content of the scheduling strategies for determining the target transport machine in this embodiment are not limited. In practical applications, the frequency of use of the equipment can also be combined to select a machine with a low frequency of use as the target transport machine from the candidate machines to increase the service life of each machine. Or, according to the degree of urgency, a machine with a high operating priority can be selected from the candidate machines as the target transport machine. At the same time, any number of strategies can be selected according to the situation to determine the target transport machine, that is, multiple scheduling strategies can be determined at the same time, such as determining the target transport machine based on the distance between the candidate machine and the target wafer box and the wafer box demand of the candidate machine.

[0075] This embodiment determines a scheduling strategy according to different scheduling standards, determines a target transport machine that meets the scheduling standards among candidate machines according to the scheduling strategy, and determines a target transport warehouse according to the target transport machine, which can meet different scheduling requirements and improve overall transportation and production efficiency.

[0076] In some other implementations, when the target transport machine and target transport bin are determined based on multiple scheduling strategies such as wafer box demand, scheduling priority and scheduling distance, the priority level of each scheduling strategy can be determined; and the execution order of each scheduling strategy can be determined based on the priority level.

[0077] For example, a scheduling strategy includes the wafer box demand and scheduling distance of the candidate machines. If a compromise on the scheduling distance is allowed during scheduling, the wafer boxes are preferentially scheduled to the machines with large wafer box demand, that is, the priority of the wafer box demand of the candidate machine is set to be greater than the priority of the distance between the candidate storage bin and the target wafer box. When determining the target delivery site according to the scheduling strategy, all candidate machines are first adjusted to the candidate machines with large wafer box demand according to the wafer box demand, and then the machine with the smallest scheduling distance is determined as the target delivery machine among the candidate machines with large wafer box demand according to the scheduling distance between the candidate storage bin corresponding to the machine and the target wafer box.

[0078] This embodiment determines the target moving machine through different scheduling strategies or strategy combinations. On the basis of reducing the number of overhead crane transportation times, it can also meet the scheduling needs under different scheduling objectives, such as improving overall production efficiency, machine utilization, etc., and has strong applicability.

[0079] In some specific implementations, each scheduling strategy may be used as an optimization target, and a target transport machine may be determined from among the candidate machines based on a multi-objective genetic algorithm.

[0080] Genetic algorithm is a method that uses natural biological laws to optimize and solve practical problems. Multi-objective genetic algorithm is an algorithm that uses genetic algorithm to solve optimization problems with multiple objectives. Generally speaking, the various objectives in multi-objective optimization algorithms are often conflicting. Through multi-objective genetic algorithm, multiple optimization objectives can be balanced to obtain a set of optimal solutions that meet multiple optimization objectives at the same time.

[0081] Taking the NSGA-Ⅱ algorithm as a multi-objective genetic algorithm as an example, the algorithm is based on non-dominated sorting and congestion calculation, and can efficiently solve multi-objective optimization problems, obtain a set of Pareto optimal solutions, and maintain the diversity of solutions through appropriate selection, crossover and compilation operations. This embodiment determines the target transportation site based on the multi-objective genetic algorithm, and can balance between different scheduling strategies to obtain the optimal solution that meets each scheduling strategy, thereby improving the transportation efficiency of the wafer box.

[0082] In other embodiments, the target scheduling machine is determined at the current site in step 202, including: obtaining all the machines to be scheduled at the current site; determining the wafer box load corresponding to each machine to be scheduled, and determining the scheduling order of each machine to be scheduled according to the wafer box load; and determining the target scheduling machine among the machines to be scheduled according to the scheduling order.

[0083] The target scheduling machine indicates the machine that needs to transport the wafer box to the next station at the current station. Since each station includes multiple machines, when transportation resources are tight, the scheduling order of the machines can be determined according to the wafer box load corresponding to each machine in the current station. Then, the target scheduling machine is determined according to the scheduling order of each machine, that is, according to the wafer box load of each machine. For the cleaning machine, the wafer box load here indicates the number of wafer boxes that have been cleaned, and for the processing machine, the wafer box load here indicates the number of wafer boxes to be cleaned.

[0084] For example, when the wafer box load corresponding to machine A at the current site is three wafer boxes and the wafer box load corresponding to machine B is five wafer boxes, when machines A and B need to be scheduled, machine B can be set as the target scheduling machine, and then machine A can be set as the target scheduling machine to ensure the scheduling efficiency of the wafer boxes.

[0085] It should be noted that, in order to improve transportation efficiency, the target wafer boxes of the same target scheduling machine will be scheduled to be transported to the same target transport machine, or to different machines corresponding to the same storage bin. In some other implementations, the target transport machine can be determined according to the wafer box load corresponding to the target scheduling machine. For example, when there are five wafer boxes that need to be scheduled on the target scheduling machine, the corresponding target transport machine preferably also needs to be able to receive operations on the five wafer boxes to ensure scheduling efficiency.

[0086] In some specific embodiments, obtaining all the machines to be scheduled at the current site includes: marking all the machines at the current site that request device unloading as machines to be scheduled within a preset scheduling period.

[0087] The equipment unloading request is an instruction issued by the current machine when the operation of the wafer box corresponding to the machine is completed and it needs to be transported to the next machine. Taking the cleaning of dirty empty wafer boxes as an example, after the wafers in the wafer box are loaded onto the machine for processing, the empty wafer box loaded with wafers needs to be transported to the cleaning machine for cleaning. When the control system receives a request for equipment unloading from a machine at the current site, it means that the wafers in the wafer box corresponding to the machine have been loaded onto the machine, and the wafer box needs to be cleaned and a clean wafer box is used to store the wafers processed by the machine. At this time, the machine is marked as a machine to be scheduled.

[0088] The preset scheduling cycle represents a preset cycle for scheduling the wafer box. In this embodiment, the wafer box is scheduled and controlled according to the preset scheduling cycle, and different target delivery sites are determined for the target wafer box to be scheduled. Within the preset scheduling cycle, all the machines to be scheduled of the current machine are determined according to the equipment unloading request received by the control system.

[0089] In some example embodiments, when the site type of the current site is a cleaning site, the wafer box load corresponding to each machine to be scheduled is determined, including: for each machine to be scheduled, determining the water level value of the machine to be scheduled, and determining the wafer box load corresponding to the machine to be scheduled according to the water level value.

[0090] The current station is a cleaning station, which means that the wafer box is cleaned at the current station. After the cleaning operation is completed, the wafer box to be scheduled needs to be scheduled to the processing station that needs a clean empty wafer box. At this time, the wafer box load of the machine to be scheduled can be determined by the water level value of the machine to be scheduled.

[0091] Exemplarily, for a cleaning machine, when the cleaning operation is completed, the water level value of the cleaning machine is related to the number of cleaning objects on the cleaning machine. That is, when the water level value of the cleaning machine is high at the end of the cleaning operation, it means that the machine has few cleaning objects and a large amount of water is left. When the water level value of the cleaning machine is low, it means that the machine has many cleaning objects and a small amount of water is left. Correspondingly, when the current site is a cleaning site, the machine to be scheduled is a cleaning machine. When the water level value of the machine to be scheduled is low, it means that the machine has a large load of wafer boxes to be scheduled, and the machine can be prioritized as the target scheduling machine.

[0092] In some other embodiments, when the site type of the site to be scheduled is a cleaning site, the scheduling strategy can also be determined according to the water level value of the candidate machine in the candidate site. As mentioned above, if the water level value of the candidate machine is high, it means that the candidate machine has a small number of objects to be cleaned, that is, the wafer box load is small, and the candidate machine with a high water level value can be preferentially selected as the target transport machine.

[0093] In some specific embodiments, the method further includes: determining the minimum water level value corresponding to each machine to be scheduled; if there is a machine to be scheduled whose water level value is lower than the minimum water level value corresponding to the machine to be scheduled, the machine to be scheduled is preferentially determined as the target scheduling machine.

[0094] Each cleaning machine has different cleaning processes and cleaning parameters. In order to more accurately determine the wafer box load of the cleaning machine, in addition to comparing the water level values ​​of each machine, the corresponding minimum water level value of each machine can also be compared to better determine the target scheduling machine.

[0095] Exemplarily, assuming that the lowest water level value of the cleaning machine M is a0, and the current water level value is a1, when a1 is less than a0, it means that the cleaning machine has many cleaning objects, and the cleaning machine is prioritized as the target scheduling machine.

[0096] In some other implementations, the water level value of the cleaning machine may be comprehensively compared with the minimum water level value of each cleaning machine, and the machine with a low water level value that is lower than the minimum water level value may be preferentially selected as the target scheduling machine.

[0097] In some exemplary embodiments, determining the minimum water level value corresponding to each machine to be scheduled includes: determining a cleaning rate of each machine to be scheduled, and determining the minimum water level value according to the cleaning rate.

[0098] The cleaning rate of a cleaning machine is related to the cleaning process, cleaning standard, and cleaning method of the machine. A machine with a complex cleaning process, high cleaning standard, and complicated cleaning method has a lower cleaning rate than a machine with a simple cleaning process, low cleaning standard, and simple cleaning method. In this embodiment, the minimum water level value of the cleaning machine is determined according to the cleaning rate of the machine, for example, the minimum water level value of a machine with a high cleaning rate is set higher than the minimum water level value of a machine with a low cleaning rate.

[0099] For example, when the site to be scheduled is a cleaning site, the water level values ​​of the candidate machines X and Y are both 20, wherein the minimum water level value corresponding to the machine X is 15, and the minimum water level value corresponding to the machine Y is 8, indicating that the cleaning rate of the machine X is fast, and the target wafer box can be preferentially transported to the machine X for cleaning.

[0100] In some exemplary embodiments, Figure 4As shown, a wafer box scheduling method is proposed, and the method includes the following steps 402 to 406. Figure 5 The schematic diagram of scheduling the wafer boxes to be cleaned is shown. Figure 6 The diagram shows the scheduling of cleaned wafer boxes.

[0101] Step 402, obtaining all the machines to be scheduled at the current site, determining a target scheduling machine among all the machines to be scheduled, and a target wafer box to be scheduled by the target scheduling machine.

[0102] The target scheduling machine can be determined by the real-time response of the machine equipment unloading request. In this embodiment, the target scheduling machine is determined according to the wafer box load in the machine to be scheduled, that is, the machine with the largest wafer box load is used as the target scheduling machine.

[0103] When scheduling from a processing site to a cleaning site, all machines that request equipment unloading at the processing site, that is, all machines where dirty empty wafer boxes are loaded onto the machine for processing, are used as machines to be scheduled. When scheduling from a cleaning site to a processing site, all machines that request equipment unloading at the cleaning site, that is, all machines where wafer boxes have been cleaned, are used as machines to be scheduled.

[0104] Step 404, determining a scheduling strategy, and determining a target transport machine and a target transport bin corresponding to the target transport machine according to the scheduling strategy.

[0105] like Figure 5 Taking the scheduling of wafer boxes from the processing site to the cleaning site as an example, the scheduling strategy may include the wafer box demand of the cleaning machine, the scheduling priority of the target wafer box to be cleaned, and the distance between the target wafer box to be cleaned and the storage bin corresponding to the cleaning machine. The above scheduling strategy is solved based on the multi-objective optimization genetic algorithm, and the wafer box demand of the cleaning machine is expressed as:

[0106] ;

[0107] in, It indicates the demand for wafer boxes corresponding to the cleaning machine, which is determined by the load of the wafer boxes to be cleaned in the storage bin near the cleaning machine. It indicates the maximum number of wafer boxes that can be received by the cleaning machine, which is also determined by the load of the storage bin near the cleaning machine. Under this goal, the cleaning machine with the smallest number of wafer boxes is selected as the target transport machine.

[0108] The scheduling priority of the target wafer box to be cleaned is expressed as:

[0109] ;

[0110] in, Indicates the wafer box type, Indicates the cleaning priority corresponding to the wafer box type. Indicates the list of wafer boxes to be cleaned, that is, all wafer boxes to be cleaned. Indicates the types of all wafer boxes to be cleaned in the storage bin. Under this target, the wafer box with the highest type priority among the wafer boxes to be cleaned is selected for cleaning first.

[0111] The distance between the target wafer box to be cleaned and the storage bin corresponding to the cleaning machine is expressed as:

[0112] ;

[0113] in, Indicates the distance between the target wafer box and the candidate storage bin. Under this target, the candidate storage bin with the shortest scheduling distance to the target wafer box is selected for priority scheduling and cleaning.

[0114] The constraints are expressed as:

[0115] ;

[0116] Indicates that the cleaning schedule of the wafer box must meet the type restrictions of the candidate storage bins.

[0117] During the above optimization calculation, the optimization priority of the wafer box demand of the cleaning machine is the highest, the optimization priority corresponding to the scheduling priority of the target wafer box to be cleaned is medium, and the optimization priority corresponding to the scheduling distance between the target wafer box to be cleaned and the corresponding storage bin of the cleaning machine is the lowest.

[0118] In some other embodiments, the cleaning scheduling order of the wafer box can also be determined based on the water level value of the cleaning machine and the judgment with the minimum water level value.

[0119] like Figure 6 Taking the scheduling of wafer boxes from the cleaning station to the processing station as an example, the scheduling strategy may include the wafer box demand of the processing machine, the type of the cleaned target wafer box, and the distance between the cleaned target wafer box and the corresponding storage bin of the processing machine.

[0120] The above scheduling strategy is solved based on the multi-objective optimization genetic algorithm, and the type of cleaned target wafer box is expressed as:

[0121] ;

[0122] in, Indicates the wafer box type, Indicates the number of wafer boxes of different categories, Indicates the list of wafer boxes to be processed with priority operation, that is, the priority among all the cleaned wafer boxes, Indicates the types of all cleaned wafer boxes in the storage bin. Under this goal, the wafer box with the highest priority is selected and dispatched to the processing machine first.

[0123] The demand for wafer boxes for processing machines is expressed as:

[0124] ;

[0125] in, Indicates the number of wafer boxes that need to be used in the processing machine. Under this goal, the processing machine with a large load and a large demand for cleaned wafer boxes is selected as the target transport machine for priority scheduling.

[0126] The distance between the cleaned target wafer box and the storage bin corresponding to the processing machine is expressed as:

[0127] ;

[0128] in, Represents the distance between the target wafer box and the candidate storage bin. Under this goal, the candidate storage bin with the shortest scheduling distance between the target wafer box is selected for priority scheduling.

[0129] The constraints are expressed as:

[0130] ;

[0131] Indicates that the cleaning end scheduling of the wafer box must meet the type restrictions of the candidate storage bins.

[0132] The priorities of the above optimization targets are as follows: the type of the cleaned target wafer box has the highest priority, the wafer box demand of the processing machine has a medium priority, and the distance between the cleaned target wafer box and the storage bin corresponding to the processing machine has the lowest priority.

[0133] Step 406 , directly transport the target wafer box of the target scheduling machine to the target storage bin, and then transport it to the target transport machine through the target storage bin.

[0134] like Figure 5 As shown in the figure, when the wafer boxes to be cleaned are scheduled, the dirty wafer boxes are directly transported to the storage bin near the cleaning machine, and then directly moved from the storage bin to the cleaning machine for cleaning. Figure 6 As shown, when the cleaned wafer boxes are scheduled, the cleaned wafer boxes are directly transported to the storage bin near the processing machine, and then directly transported from the storage bin to the processing machine to load the wafers. The wafer box scheduling method of this embodiment reduces the number of transportation times when the wafer boxes are cleaned, reduces transportation costs, and improves the transportation efficiency and production efficiency of the wafers.

[0135] It should be understood that, although the various steps in the flowcharts involved in the above-mentioned embodiments are displayed in sequence according to the indication of the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence according to the order indicated by the arrows. Unless there is a clear explanation in this article, the execution of these steps does not have a strict order restriction, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in the flowcharts involved in the above-mentioned embodiments can include multiple steps or multiple stages, and these steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and the execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily to be carried out in sequence, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a part of the steps or stages in other steps.

[0136] Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the present application also provides a wafer box scheduling device for implementing the wafer box scheduling method involved above. The implementation solution provided by the device to solve the problem is similar to the implementation solution recorded in the above method, so the specific limitations in one or more wafer box scheduling device embodiments provided below can refer to the limitations of the wafer box scheduling method above, and will not be repeated here.

[0137] In an exemplary embodiment, Figure 7 As shown, a wafer box scheduling device is provided, the device includes: a first determination module 702, a second determination module 704 and a scheduling module 706. Among them:

[0138] The first determination module 702 is configured to determine a target scheduling machine to be scheduled at a current site, and determine a site type of a target wafer box to be scheduled site in the target scheduling machine;

[0139] The second determination module 704 is configured to determine a target transport machine from candidate sites of the same site type, and determine a target transport warehouse corresponding to the target transport machine;

[0140] The scheduling module 706 is configured to directly transport the target wafer box from the target scheduling machine to the target transport chamber, so that the target wafer box is transported from the target transport chamber to the target transport machine.

[0141] In some embodiments, the second determination module 704 is further used to: take available machines in all candidate sites as candidate machines, determine the wafer box requirements corresponding to each candidate machine, and determine the target transport machine among all candidate machines according to the wafer box requirements.

[0142] In some embodiments, the second determination module 704 is further used to: determine the wafer box type of the target wafer box; determine the scheduling priority of the wafer box type in each wafer box demand, and determine the target transport machine in the candidate machines according to each scheduling priority.

[0143] In some embodiments, the second determination module 704 is further used to: use the storage bin corresponding to the target transport machine as a candidate storage bin; determine the scheduling distance between the target wafer box and each candidate storage bin, and determine the target storage bin among all candidate storage bins according to each scheduling distance.

[0144] In some embodiments, the first determination module 702 is also used to: obtain all machines to be scheduled at the current site within a preset scheduling period; determine the wafer box load of each machine to be scheduled, and determine the scheduling order of each machine to be scheduled according to the wafer box load; and determine the target scheduling machine among the machines to be scheduled according to the scheduling order.

[0145] In some embodiments, the first determining module 702 is further configured to: mark all machines requesting device unloading at the current site as machines to be scheduled within a preset scheduling period.

[0146] In some embodiments, when the site type of the current site is a cleaning site, the first determination module 702 is further used to: determine the water level value of each machine to be scheduled, and determine the wafer box load of the machine to be scheduled according to the water level value.

[0147] In some embodiments, the first determination module 702 is further used to: determine the minimum water level value corresponding to each to-be-scheduled machine; if there is a to-be-scheduled machine whose water level value is lower than the minimum water level value corresponding to the to-be-scheduled machine, the to-be-scheduled machine is preferentially determined as the target scheduling machine.

[0148] In some embodiments, the first determination module 702 is further used to: determine the cleaning rate of each machine to be scheduled, and determine the minimum water level value according to the cleaning rate.

[0149] Each module in the wafer box scheduling device can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, or a combination thereof. Each module can be embedded in or independent of a processor in a computer device in the form of hardware, or can be stored in a memory in a computer device in the form of software, so that the processor can call and execute operations corresponding to each module.

[0150] In an exemplary embodiment, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device may be a control terminal, and its internal structure diagram may be as shown in FIG. Figure 8As shown. The electronic device includes a processor, a memory, an input / output interface (Input / Output, referred to as I / O) and a communication interface. Among them, the processor, the memory and the input / output interface are connected through a system bus, and the communication interface is connected to the system bus through the input / output interface. Among them, the processor of the electronic device is used to provide computing and control capabilities. The memory of the electronic device includes a non-volatile storage medium and an internal memory. The non-volatile storage medium stores an operating system, a computer program and a database. The internal memory provides an environment for the operation of the operating system and the computer program in the non-volatile storage medium. The database of the electronic device is used to store wafer box status related data. The input / output interface of the electronic device is used to exchange information between the processor and an external device. The communication interface of the electronic device is used to communicate with an external terminal through a network connection. When the computer program is executed by the processor, a wafer box scheduling method is implemented.

[0151] Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 8 The structure shown in the figure is merely a block diagram of a partial structure related to the scheme of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the electronic device to which the scheme of the present application is applied. The specific electronic device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or have a different arrangement of components.

[0152] In an exemplary embodiment, an electronic device is provided, including a memory and a processor, wherein a computer program is stored in the memory, and the processor implements the steps in the above-mentioned method embodiments when executing the computer program.

[0153] In one embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps in the above method embodiments are implemented.

[0154] In one embodiment, a computer program product is provided, including a computer program, which implements the steps in the above method embodiments when executed by a processor.

[0155] It should be noted that the information (including but not limited to device status information, device working information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) involved in this application are all information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the collection, use and processing of relevant data must comply with relevant regulations.

[0156] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and the computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Among them, any reference to the memory, database or other medium used in the embodiments provided in this application can include at least one of non-volatile and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, optical memory, high-density embedded non-volatile memory, resistive random access memory (ReRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), phase change memory (PCM), graphene memory, etc. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory, etc. As an illustration and not limitation, RAM can be in various forms, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The database involved in each embodiment provided in this application may include at least one of a relational database and a non-relational database. Non-relational databases may include distributed databases based on blockchains, etc., but are not limited to this. The processor involved in each embodiment provided in this application may be a general-purpose processor, a central processing unit, a graphics processor, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic device, a data processing logic device based on quantum computing, etc., but are not limited to this.

[0157] The technical features of the above embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0158] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A wafer box scheduling method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Determine a target scheduling machine to be scheduled at the current site, and determine the site type of the target wafer box to be scheduled site in the target scheduling machine; Determine a target transport machine from candidate sites of the same type as the site, and determine a target transport warehouse corresponding to the target transport machine; The target wafer box is directly transported from the target scheduling machine to the target transport chamber, so that the target wafer box is transported from the target transport chamber to the target transport machine.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of determining a target transport machine from candidate sites of the same type as the site includes: Taking all available machines in the candidate sites as candidate machines; The wafer box requirements corresponding to each of the candidate machines are determined, and a target transport machine is determined from among all the candidate machines according to the wafer box requirements.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determining a wafer box type of the target wafer box; The scheduling priority of the wafer box type is determined in each of the wafer box requirements, and the target transport machine is determined from the candidate machines according to each of the scheduling priorities.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of determining a target transport bin corresponding to the target transport machine includes: Taking the storage bin corresponding to the target transport machine as a candidate storage bin; The scheduling distance between the target wafer box and each of the candidate storage bins is determined, and a target transport bin is determined among all the candidate storage bins according to each of the scheduling distances.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Determining the target dispatching machine at the current site includes: Obtain all the machines to be scheduled at the current site; Determine the wafer box load corresponding to each of the to-be-scheduled machines, and determine the scheduling order of each of the to-be-scheduled machines according to the wafer box load; and determine the target scheduling machine among the to-be-scheduled machines according to the scheduling order.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The obtaining of all the machines to be scheduled at the current site includes: In a preset scheduling period, all machines in the current site that request device unloading are marked as the machines to be scheduled.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that When the site type of the current site is a cleaning site, determining the wafer box load corresponding to each of the to-be-scheduled machines includes: For each of the machines to be scheduled, the water level value of the machine to be scheduled is determined, and the wafer box load corresponding to the machine to be scheduled is determined according to the water level value.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine the lowest water level value corresponding to each of the machines to be scheduled; If there is a machine to be scheduled whose water level value is lower than the minimum water level value corresponding to the machine to be scheduled, the machine to be scheduled will be preferentially determined as the target scheduling machine.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The step of determining the lowest water level value corresponding to each of the machines to be scheduled includes: The cleaning rate of each of the machines to be scheduled is determined, and the minimum water level value is determined according to the cleaning rate.

10. A wafer box scheduling device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A first determination module is configured to determine a target scheduling machine to be scheduled at a current site, and determine a site type of a target wafer box to be scheduled site in the target scheduling machine; A second determination module is configured to determine a target transport machine from candidate sites of the same site type as the site, and determine a target transport warehouse corresponding to the target transport machine; The transport module is configured to transport the target wafer box directly from the target scheduling machine to the target transport chamber, so that the target wafer box is transported from the target transport chamber to the target transport machine.

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