Control method and control system for front-end hardware of equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a control method and a control system for equipment front-end hardware, which are used for supporting free combination between EFEM hardware of different brands and different hardware types and supporting rapid switching of the EFEM hardware of different brands and different hardware types so as to improve the adaptability of the control system to the equipment front-end hardware. The method provided by the embodiment of the invention comprises the following steps: acquiring to-be-deployed equipment front-end hardware in the semiconductor equipment, wherein the equipment front-end hardware has a corresponding brand and a hardware type; executing an initialization process of the control system based on the brand and the hardware type corresponding to the equipment front-end hardware, and sequentially performing model initialization, plug-in initialization and drive initialization corresponding to the equipment front-end hardware; and after the initialization process is finished, controlling the equipment front-end hardware to execute different operations through the control system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of semiconductors, and in particular to a control method and control system for device front-end hardware. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous advancement of technology, the variety of semiconductor equipment continues to increase, and the demand for different equipment front-end modules (EFEMs) for semiconductor equipment is also increasing. Different manufacturers offer a wide range of EFEMs. Among them, EFEMs used to perform operations such as wafer transfer, loading, and calibration are also called equipment front-end hardware.

[0003] To accurately control the various operations of the device's front-end hardware and ensure compatibility with semiconductor equipment, developers develop specific control systems for different brands of front-end hardware. Then, before the semiconductor equipment is used, the control system corresponding to the brand of the included front-end hardware is deployed to control the hardware.

[0004] From the above content, it can be seen that the control system is developed for the front-end hardware of a specific brand of equipment, that is, the developed control system cannot support the control of the front-end hardware of equipment of different brands. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a control method and a control system for the front-end hardware of a device, which are used to improve the adaptability of the control system to the front-end hardware of the device.

[0006] A first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a method for controlling device front-end hardware, including:

[0007] Acquire information about device front-end hardware to be deployed in the semiconductor device, wherein the information about the device front-end hardware includes a brand and a hardware type corresponding to the device front-end hardware;

[0008] Executing an initialization process of the control system based on the information of the front-end hardware of the device, the initialization process comprising sequentially performing model initialization, plug-in initialization, and driver initialization corresponding to the front-end hardware of the device;

[0009] After the initialization process is completed, the control system controls the front-end hardware of the device to perform different operations.

[0010] In a specific implementation, the initialization process of the control system is executed based on the information of the front-end hardware of the device, including:

[0011] Create a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under the target model class corresponding to the device front-end hardware;

[0012] If the model instance is created, then create a plug-in instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under the target plug-in class corresponding to the device front-end hardware;

[0013] If the plug-in instance is created, a driver instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware is created under the target driver class corresponding to the device front-end hardware, wherein the driver instance includes a driver required to enable the device front-end hardware corresponding to the information;

[0014] If the driver instance is created, it is determined that the initialization process of the control system is completed.

[0015] In a specific implementation, the method further includes:

[0016] Determining the target model class and the target plug-in class corresponding to the operation type based on the operation type executable by the device front-end hardware;

[0017] Determining the target driver class based on the brand and the target plug-in class;

[0018] The driver is determined based on the brand and the operation type.

[0019] In a specific implementation, the model instance, the plug-in instance, and the driver instance are associated with each other, and controlling the device front-end hardware to perform different operations includes:

[0020] In response to an execution instruction for a target operation, determining a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware required to execute the target operation;

[0021] Based on the method corresponding to the model instance, the plug-in instance corresponding to the model instance is called, and based on the method corresponding to the plug-in instance, the driver instance corresponding to the model instance is called, and based on the driver in the method corresponding to the driver instance, the device front-end hardware corresponding to the information is enabled to perform the target operation.

[0022] In a specific implementation, the method further includes:

[0023] Obtaining, through the driver program in the method corresponding to the driver example, the execution result of the target operation executed by the corresponding device front-end hardware;

[0024] The execution result is returned to the model instance through the plug-in instance, and the execution result is processed based on the corresponding method in the model instance.

[0025] A second aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a control system, including:

[0026] An acquiring unit, configured to acquire information about device front-end hardware to be deployed in a semiconductor device, wherein the information about the device front-end hardware includes a brand and a hardware type corresponding to the device front-end hardware;

[0027] An initialization unit, configured to execute an initialization process of the control system based on information of the front-end hardware of the device, wherein the initialization process includes sequentially performing model initialization, plug-in initialization, and driver initialization corresponding to the front-end hardware of the device;

[0028] The control unit is used to control the front-end hardware of the device to perform different operations through the control system after the initialization process is completed.

[0029] In a specific implementation, the initialization unit is specifically configured to create a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under a target model class corresponding to the device front-end hardware;

[0030] If the model instance is created, then create a plug-in instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under the target plug-in class corresponding to the device front-end hardware;

[0031] If the plug-in instance is created, a driver instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware is created under the target driver class corresponding to the device front-end hardware, wherein the driver instance includes a driver required to enable the device front-end hardware corresponding to the information;

[0032] If the driver instance is created, it is determined that the initialization process of the control system is completed.

[0033] In a specific implementation, the model instance, the plug-in instance, and the driver instance are associated with each other, and the control unit is specifically configured to determine, in response to an execution instruction for a target operation, a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware required to execute the target operation;

[0034] Based on the method corresponding to the model instance, the plug-in instance corresponding to the model instance is called, and based on the method corresponding to the plug-in instance, the driver instance corresponding to the model instance is called, and based on the driver in the method corresponding to the driver instance, the device front-end hardware corresponding to the information is enabled to perform the target operation.

[0035] In a specific implementation, the hardware control system includes a model layer, a plug-in layer and a driver layer. The model layer includes models corresponding to different operation types, the plug-in layer includes plug-ins corresponding to different models, the driver layer includes drivers corresponding to different plug-ins, and the plug-in layer is an intermediate layer.

[0036] In a specific implementation, the device front-end hardware includes: transmission hardware, flipping hardware, loading hardware, and calibration hardware. The model corresponding to the transmission hardware includes a transmission model, the model corresponding to the flipping hardware includes a flipping model, the model corresponding to the loading hardware includes a loading model, and the model corresponding to the calibration hardware includes a calibration model.

[0037] The plug-in corresponding to the transport model includes a transport plug-in, the plug-in corresponding to the flip model includes a flip plug-in, the plug-in corresponding to the loading model includes a carrier identity reading plug-in and a loading plug-in, and the model corresponding to the calibration model includes a calibration plug-in and a wafer identity reading plug-in;

[0038] The drive corresponding to the transport plug-in includes a transport drive, the drive corresponding to the flip plug-in includes a flip drive, the drive corresponding to the carrier identity reading plug-in includes a carrier identity reading drive, the drive corresponding to the loading plug-in includes a loading drive, the drive corresponding to the wafer identity reading plug-in includes a wafer identity reading drive, and the drive corresponding to the calibration plug-in includes a calibration drive.

[0039] A third aspect of the present application provides a computer device, including:

[0040] CPU, memory and input / output interfaces;

[0041] The memory is a transient storage memory or a persistent storage memory;

[0042] The central processing unit is configured to communicate with the memory and execute instructions in the memory to perform the method described in the first aspect.

[0043] A fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect.

[0044] A fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a computer storage medium, wherein the computer storage medium stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the method described in the first aspect.

[0045] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that the embodiments of the present application have the following advantages: obtaining information about the front-end hardware of the device to be deployed in the semiconductor device, the information about the front-end hardware of the device includes the brand and hardware type corresponding to the front-end hardware of the device; executing the initialization process of the control system based on the information about the front-end hardware of the device, the initialization process includes sequentially performing model initialization, plug-in initialization and driver initialization corresponding to the front-end hardware of the device; after the initialization process is completed, controlling the front-end hardware of the device to perform different operations. In this application, before the control system is used, the control system is not initialized and cannot control the front-end hardware of the device to perform operations. The control method of the embodiment of the present application allows the control system to automatically execute the initialization process based on the brand and hardware type corresponding to the front-end hardware of the device. This ensures that the control system after the initialization process is completed can achieve accurate control of the front-end hardware of the device, effectively improving the adaptability of the control system to the front-end hardware of the device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] Figure 1 A system architecture diagram of the control system disclosed in the embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 2 A schematic flow chart of a method for controlling the front-end hardware of a device disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of a control system disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a computer device disclosed in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0051] The embodiments of the present application provide a control method and a control system for the front-end hardware of a device, which are used to improve the adaptability of the control system to the front-end hardware of the device.

[0052] In order to better implement the control method of the front-end hardware of the device in this application, please refer to Figure 1 The present invention provides a control system architecture, which is integrated into a device control module and includes a model layer, a plug-in layer, and a driver layer. Each plug-in layer serves as an intermediate layer for the control system to control the front-end hardware of the device, providing different plug-in interfaces to the model layer and the driver layer.

[0053] In practical applications, by classifying existing device front-end hardware according to the types of operations it can perform, we can identify different hardware types, including but not limited to: transport hardware (such as a robotic arm), flip hardware, loading hardware, and calibration hardware. The types of operations that can be performed by transport hardware include but are not limited to transport operations, the types of operations that can be performed by flip hardware include but are not limited to flip operations, the types of operations that can be performed by loading hardware include but are not limited to loading operations, and the types of operations that can be performed by calibration hardware include but are not limited to calibration operations.

[0054] Based on this, the present application notes that when hardware from different brands performs the same operation type, the overall processing flow and processing methods are similar, differing only in some specific implementation differences. Therefore, the present application embodiment abstracts the processing flow and processing methods of different operation types into models corresponding to different operation types (the similar parts when different brands perform the same operation type) and plug-ins (the differences in specific implementations between different brands).

[0055] Following the aforementioned classification of operation types, the model layer of the present embodiment includes models corresponding to different operation types, such as a transfer model corresponding to a transfer operation, a flip model corresponding to a flip operation, a loading model corresponding to a loading operation, and a calibration model corresponding to a calibration operation. Furthermore, the plug-ins corresponding to the transfer model include a transfer plug-in, the plug-ins corresponding to the flip model include a flip plug-in, the plug-ins corresponding to the loading model include a carrier ID reading plug-in and a loading plug-in, and the models corresponding to the calibration model include a calibration plug-in and a wafer ID reading plug-in.

[0056] During the hardware control process, the plug-in primarily controls the corresponding hardware device to perform corresponding operations through the corresponding driver (or driver). Similarly, the driver corresponding to the transport plug-in includes the transport driver, the driver corresponding to the flip plug-in includes the flip driver, the driver corresponding to the carrier ID reader plug-in includes the flip driver, the driver corresponding to the loading plug-in includes the loading driver, the driver corresponding to the wafer ID reader plug-in includes the wafer ID reader driver, and the driver corresponding to the calibration plug-in includes the calibration driver.

[0057] Based on the above control system architecture, please refer to Figure 2 The method for controlling the front-end hardware of the device according to the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0058] 201. Obtain information about the front-end hardware of a device to be deployed in a semiconductor device. The information about the front-end hardware of the device includes the brand and hardware type corresponding to the front-end hardware of the device.

[0059] Users of semiconductor equipment will configure the device front-end hardware that can perform the aforementioned operation type according to the type of operation to be performed, that is, the device front-end hardware of the hardware type corresponding to the type of operation to be performed, that is, the device front-end hardware to be deployed in the semiconductor device. At the same time, according to the above content, even if there are two device front-end hardware of the same hardware type, if the corresponding brands of the two are different, that is, the manufacturers of the two are different, the specific implementation methods of the two when performing the same operation type will also be different. In addition, if two device front-end hardware of the same brand are used to perform different operation types respectively, their specific implementation methods will of course be different. Therefore, in order to ensure accurate control of different front-end device hardware, the brand and hardware type corresponding to the device front-end hardware to be deployed should be obtained. It should be noted that the hardware type described in the previous and following texts corresponds to the operation type, that is, the hardware that performs the operation type of transmission operation is generally a transmission hardware.

[0060] 202. Execute an initialization process of the control system based on the information of the device front-end hardware. The initialization process includes sequentially performing model initialization, plug-in initialization, and driver initialization corresponding to the device front-end hardware.

[0061] According to the aforementioned embodiments, when different device front-end hardware performs operations of the same type, the specific implementation methods are different. Therefore, in order to ensure that the device front-end hardware of different brands and hardware types can accurately execute their corresponding specific implementation methods, it is necessary to execute the control system initialization process according to the brand and hardware type of the device front-end hardware to be deployed. Specifically, according to the aforementioned system architecture embodiment, the control system is divided into three layers. Therefore, each layer needs to be initialized separately to ensure the normal operation of the system architecture. Among them, the initialization of each layer includes but is not limited to the model initialization of the model layer, the plug-in initialization of the plug-in layer, and the driver initialization of the driver layer.

[0062] 203. After the initialization process is completed, the front-end hardware of the control device performs different operations.

[0063] Since step 202 requires initialization of a three-layer structure, the control system initialization process is considered complete only when the initialization of each layer is completed. Since step 202 is implemented based on the brand and hardware type of the device front-end hardware, the control system can effectively control the device front-end hardware in step 201 after the initialization process is completed.

[0064] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application only describe the operations required to control the front-end hardware of a semiconductor device when there is only one device front-end hardware to be deployed. In actual applications, users may need to deploy different brands of device front-end hardware on semiconductor devices. In this case, the control of each device front-end hardware must be implemented using the methods of the real-time examples and related embodiments of the present application. In other words, it is necessary to perform a system initialization process for each device front-end hardware according to the brand and hardware type corresponding to each device front-end hardware in order to achieve control of different device front-end hardware.

[0065] In the embodiments of the present application, the control system is not initialized before use and is unable to control the device's front-end hardware to perform operations. The control method of the embodiments of the present application allows the control system to automatically execute the initialization process based on the brand and hardware type of the device's front-end hardware. This ensures that after the initialization process, the control system can accurately control the device's front-end hardware, effectively improving the control system's adaptability to the device's front-end hardware.

[0066] As can be seen from the preceding embodiments, during the initialization process, the control system needs to be initialized for each device front-end hardware. If each device front-end hardware is initialized to generate a control system, then if there are N devices with ready-to-deploy front-end hardware, N control systems can be generated. This implementation method of initializing multiple control systems, each of which controls only one device front-end hardware, consumes a large amount of resources and is impractical.

[0067] In order to solve the above problem, in some specific implementation methods, the aforementioned step 202 can be implemented in the following manner: under the target model class corresponding to the device front-end hardware, create a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware; if the model instance is created, then under the target plug-in class corresponding to the device front-end hardware, create a plug-in instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware; if the plug-in instance is created, then under the target driver class corresponding to the device front-end hardware, create a driver instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware, and the method of driving the instance includes the driver corresponding to the brand of the device front-end hardware; if the driver instance is created, it is determined that the initialization process of the control system is completed.

[0068] Specifically, according to the aforementioned system architecture related embodiments, when different device front-end hardware performs operations of the same operation type, the overall processing flow and processing method are similar; and when there are multiple different device front-end hardware performing the same operation type, it is necessary to accurately call the corresponding device front-end hardware. Based on this, the embodiment of the present application will construct different model classes based on the type of operation to be performed, wherein the method of each model class contains the processing flow required to perform the operation of the corresponding operation type, that is, the code. In addition, based on the properties of the class, it can be known that each class instance will inherit all the properties of the class (including but not limited to the class methods). Therefore, the present application creates a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under the target model class. When the device front-end hardware is required to perform an operation of the operation type corresponding to the target model class, the model instance of the device front-end hardware can be called, and the corresponding operation can be performed based on the corresponding method of the model instance.

[0069] Similarly, the method of each plug-in class contains different specific implementation methods of different brands of device front-end hardware when performing corresponding operations. The embodiment of the present application can execute different specific implementation methods by calling the plug-in instance of the device front-end hardware and based on the method corresponding to the plug-in instance. It should be noted that the processing flow of operations of different operation types can be split into multiple sub-operations according to the specific implementation methods of different brands of hardware used to perform the corresponding operation types at different steps. Therefore, the plug-in class corresponding to each operation type can also be a plug-in class corresponding to each sub-operation type. For example, the loading operation can be split into a carrier identity recognition sub-operation and a loading sub-operation, wherein the loading sub-operation is the step that actually performs wafer loading, and the carrier identity recognition sub-operation is used to determine whether the carrier used is the required carrier.

[0070] In some specific implementations, the specific implementations of different brands of device front-end hardware when performing corresponding operations can be encapsulated into the methods of the plug-in instances corresponding to the corresponding brands of device front-end hardware. Alternatively, the specific implementations of each brand of device front-end hardware when performing corresponding operations can be encapsulated in the methods of the plug-in class, so that the methods of each plug-in instance inherit the specific implementations of each brand of device front-end hardware when performing corresponding operations.

[0071] Specifically, in the second approach, different brands of device front-end hardware can use different implementations of the same operation to distinguish them through judgment logic. The logic for encapsulating different implementations is roughly as follows: If the brand corresponding to the current plug-in instance (the device front-end hardware to which it belongs) is brand A, then implementation A is executed; if the brand corresponding to the current plug-in instance (the device front-end hardware to which it belongs) is brand B, then implementation B is executed. This shows that the second approach can accurately execute the specific implementations unique to the device front-end hardware to which the current plug-in instance belongs, even when the methods corresponding to different plug-in instances are the same.

[0072] In addition, since different driver instances correspond to different device front-end hardware, and different brands of device front-end hardware have different drivers. Therefore, in order to ensure the architectural consistency between different layers and the accurate calling of device front-end hardware, the embodiment of the present application constructs driver instances corresponding to different operation types. The method of each driver instance includes the driver required to control the corresponding device front-end hardware. Furthermore, if the plug-in instance of the plug-in layer corresponds to the corresponding sub-operation, then the driver instance of the driver layer also corresponds to the corresponding sub-operation, and the method of the driver instance corresponding to the different sub-operations includes the driver that controls the device front-end hardware to perform the corresponding sub-operation.

[0073] Furthermore, in order to make full use of the layered system architecture of the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also includes the following steps: based on the operation type executable by the device front-end hardware, determine the target model class and target plug-in class corresponding to the operation type; based on the brand and the target plug-in class, determine the target driver class; based on the brand and the operation type, determine the driver program.

[0074] Specifically, each plug-in class and model class corresponds to any operation type. Therefore, each model class corresponding to the operation type executable by the device front-end hardware should be determined as the target model class, and each corresponding plug-in class should be determined as the target plug-in class. If the method of the plug-in class encapsulates the different specific implementation methods of each brand of device front-end hardware when performing the corresponding operation, then the method of each plug-in instance under the same plug-in class is the same, and the same applies to the model instance. In addition, since different brands require different drivers to perform the same operation, the driver in the driver instance method corresponding to the device front-end hardware of different brands needs to be determined based on the brand and hardware type. In fact, in order to avoid frequent modifications to the software code of the control system, the driver that controls the device front-end hardware of different brands and hardware types can be provided to the control system in the form of a plug-in for the corresponding driver instance to call, thereby improving the efficiency of the control system initialization and thereby improving the deployment efficiency of the device front-end hardware.

[0075] It should be noted that in some specific implementations, a plug-in class can be used as an object in a method corresponding to a model class, or as an object in the operation processing flow of any operation type, to establish an association between plug-in instances and model instances of the same device front-end hardware. Specifically, the plug-in instance of the plug-in class in each model instance method and the model instance corresponding to the method to which it belongs correspond to the same device front-end hardware.

[0076] On the basis of the aforementioned embodiment, in some specific implementations, the aforementioned step 203 can be specifically implemented according to the following steps: in response to an execution instruction for the target operation, determine the model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware that executes the target operation; call the plug-in instance corresponding to the model instance based on the method corresponding to the model instance, and call the driver instance corresponding to the model instance based on the method corresponding to the plug-in instance, and call the corresponding device front-end hardware based on the driver in the method corresponding to the driver instance to execute the target operation.

[0077] In order to accurately retrieve the corresponding model instance, plug-in instance and driver instance when calling a specific device front-end hardware to perform a target operation, when creating each instance of the device front-end hardware (model instance, plug-in instance and driver instance) in the aforementioned step 202, it is necessary to save the association between each instance and the association with the corresponding device front-end hardware. Generally, the association between the driver instance and the corresponding plug-in instance and model instance can be recorded or determined by using reflection technology to construct a driver instance. Among them, the mobilization of different instances needs to be implemented through the interface of the class to which the instance belongs. Specifically, when performing the target operation, according to the system framework, the model instance needs to be called first, and implemented through the interface of the class to which the model instance belongs; then, the plug-in instance needs to be called, and implemented through the interface of the class to which the plug-in instance belongs; then, the driver instance needs to be called to control the device front-end hardware to perform a specific operation, and implemented through the interface of the class to which the driver instance belongs; finally, the driver instance controls the device front-end hardware to perform the target operation through the driver in its method.

[0078] It should be noted that the interface specifications and interface parameters of the interfaces corresponding to different classes (model class, plug-in class, and driver class) can be included in the methods of the corresponding model class. It is understandable that the interface mentioned here can be a call function, parameter identifier, program flag, etc.

[0079] Furthermore, the embodiment of the present application also includes the following steps: obtaining the execution result of the target operation executed by the corresponding device front-end hardware through the driver in the method corresponding to the driver instance; returning the execution result to the model instance through the plug-in instance, and processing the execution result based on the corresponding method in the model instance.

[0080] Generally, when the target operation requires the device's front-end hardware to execute multiple steps to achieve it, the next step may need to be determined based on the results of the previous step executed by the device's front-end hardware, combined with the different situations contained in the processing flow for the target operation in the corresponding model instance method. In other words, the execution result needs to be processed based on the corresponding method in the model instance. For example, if the transfer operation requires the following steps: 1. Move the transfer hardware to the initial position below the wafer; 2. Lift the wafer from the initial position; 3. Move the transfer hardware to the upper position of the target position; 4. Place the wafer at the target position. In this case, after the model instance controls the driver instance through the plug-in instance to execute step 1, the transfer hardware needs to determine whether the step is completed. If the execution result is failure, the corresponding execution result is fed back to the model instance through the driver instance and the plug-in instance. The model instance then controls the driver instance to execute step 1 again through the plug-in instance and receives the execution result again. If the execution result is success, step 1 is completed and step 2 continues according to the process until steps 1-4 are completed, and the target operation is completed. The steps required for the transfer operation, as well as the logic that requires feedback of a correct execution result before the next step can be executed, are recorded in the model instance method. The model instance corresponding to the transfer operation includes the transfer model instance, the corresponding plug-in instance includes the transfer plug-in instance, and the corresponding driver instance includes the transfer driver instance.

[0081] Before the above-mentioned transmission operation, the loading operation of the embodiment of the present application also includes the following steps: 1. Open the wafer box; 2. Find the position of the wafer to be loaded; Take the wafer to be loaded from the wafer box according to the position of the wafer to be loaded; 4. Close the wafer box. At this time, after the model instance controls the driver instance to execute step 2 through the plug-in instance, the transmission hardware needs to determine whether the step is completed. If the execution result is an execution failure, the corresponding execution result is fed back to the model instance through the driver instance and the plug-in instance. The model instance will control the driver instance to execute step 2 again through the plug-in instance and receive the execution result again. If the execution result is a successful execution, step 2 is completed and step 3 is continued to be executed according to the process until steps 1-4 are all executed, and the target operation is completed. Among them, the steps required for the loading operation, and the logic that the next step can only be executed when the execution result that needs to be fed back is correct, will be recorded in the method of the model instance. Among them, the target operation is a loading operation, and the model instance corresponding to the loading operation includes a loading model instance, the corresponding plug-in instance includes a loading plug-in instance, and the corresponding driver instance includes a loading driver example.

[0082] In addition, if the control system includes calibration hardware, such as a calibrator, before executing steps 3 and 4 included in the transfer operation, the flipping operation also includes the following steps: 1. The transfer hardware moves the wafer to the calibrator; 2. Finds the marker in the wafer; 3. Rotates the calibrator so that the marker in the wafer is aligned with the corresponding marker in the calibrator. At this time, after the model instance controls the driver instance to execute step 3 through the plug-in instance, the transfer hardware needs to determine whether the step is completed. If the execution result is failure, the corresponding execution result is fed back to the model instance through the driver instance and the plug-in instance. The model instance will then control the driver instance to execute step 3 again through the plug-in instance, or return to execute step 2 and then execute step 3, and receive the execution result again. If the execution result is successful, step 2 is completed and step 3 is continued according to the process until steps 1-3 are all completed. The target operation is completed and steps 3 and 4 in the transfer operation are continued. Among them, the steps required for the loading operation and the logic that requires feedback of the execution result that the next step can only be executed when the execution result is correct will be recorded in the method of the model instance. The target operation is a calibration operation, the model instance corresponding to the calibration operation includes a calibration model instance, the corresponding plug-in instance includes a calibration plug-in instance, and the corresponding driver instance includes a calibration driver instance.

[0083] It should be noted that multiple device front-end hardware controlled by the same control system can be used together to perform operations of the same type. For example, in this embodiment, the calibration operation is performed by the calibration hardware and the transmission hardware together.

[0084] To sum up, when the front-end hardware of devices of different brands and / or different hardware types performs operations of the corresponding operation type, the key step that determines whether to execute the next step by the execution result can be any step in the execution of the operation process and is not limited here.

[0085] Based on the aforementioned embodiments and system architecture design, the embodiments of the present application can allow users to more conveniently test different parts of the front-end hardware of different devices. Specifically, the user can select the target hardware through the hardware selection area of the debugging interface, and use any of the multiple interfaces corresponding to the target hardware displayed in the hardware callable interface display area as the target interface, and use the target values of different parameters of the target interface in the hardware interface parameter setting area. Finally, based on the target values, the target interface of the target hardware is tested to determine whether the target interface of the target hardware is working properly.

[0086] See also Figure 3 , an embodiment of the present application provides a control system, including:

[0087] An acquiring unit 301 is configured to acquire information about the front-end hardware of a device to be deployed in a semiconductor device, wherein the information about the front-end hardware of the device includes a brand and a hardware type corresponding to the front-end hardware of the device;

[0088] Initialization unit 302, configured to execute a control system initialization process based on the information of the device front-end hardware, wherein the initialization process includes sequentially initializing the model, plug-in, and driver corresponding to the device front-end hardware;

[0089] The control unit 303 is used to control the front-end hardware of the device to perform different operations through the control system after the initialization process is completed.

[0090] In a specific implementation, the initialization unit 302 is specifically configured to create a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under a target model class corresponding to the device front-end hardware;

[0091] If the model instance is created, create a plug-in instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under the target plug-in class corresponding to the device front-end hardware;

[0092] If the plug-in instance is created, a driver instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware is created under the target driver class corresponding to the device front-end hardware. The driver instance includes a driver required to enable the device front-end hardware corresponding to the information.

[0093] If the driver instance is created, it is determined that the initialization process of the control system is completed.

[0094] In a specific implementation, the model instance, the plug-in instance, and the driver instance are associated with each other, and the control unit 303 is specifically configured to determine, in response to an execution instruction for a target operation, a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware required to execute the target operation;

[0095] Based on the method corresponding to the model instance, the plug-in instance corresponding to the model instance is called, and based on the method corresponding to the plug-in instance, the driver instance corresponding to the model instance is called, and based on the driver in the method corresponding to the driver instance, the device front-end hardware corresponding to the information is enabled to perform the target operation.

[0096] In a specific implementation, the hardware control system includes a model layer, a plug-in layer and a driver layer. The model layer includes models corresponding to different operation types, the plug-in layer includes plug-ins corresponding to different models, the driver layer includes drivers corresponding to different plug-ins, and the plug-in layer is an intermediate layer.

[0097] In a specific implementation, the front-end hardware of the device includes: transmission hardware, flipping hardware, loading hardware, and calibration hardware. The model corresponding to the transmission hardware includes a transmission model, the model corresponding to the flipping hardware includes a flipping model, the model corresponding to the loading hardware includes a loading model, and the model corresponding to the calibration hardware includes a calibration model.

[0098] The plug-in corresponding to the transport model includes a transport plug-in, the plug-in corresponding to the flip model includes a flip plug-in, the plug-in corresponding to the loading model includes a carrier identity reading plug-in and a loading plug-in, and the model corresponding to the calibration model includes a calibration plug-in and a wafer identity reading plug-in;

[0099] The driver corresponding to the transport plug-in includes the transport driver, the driver corresponding to the flip plug-in includes the flip driver, the driver corresponding to the carrier identity reading plug-in includes the carrier identity reading driver, the driver corresponding to the loading plug-in includes the loading driver, the driver corresponding to the wafer identity reading plug-in includes the wafer identity reading driver, and the driver corresponding to the calibration plug-in includes the calibration driver.

[0100] Figure 4 4 is a schematic diagram of a computer device structure provided in an embodiment of the present application. The computer device 400 may include one or more central processing units (CPUs) 401 and a memory 405. The memory 405 stores one or more application programs or data.

[0101] Memory 405 may be volatile or persistent storage. The program stored in memory 405 may include one or more modules, each of which may include a series of instruction operations on the computer device. Furthermore, central processing unit 401 may be configured to communicate with memory 405 and execute the series of instruction operations in memory 405 on computer device 400.

[0102] The computer device 400 may also include one or more power supplies 402, one or more wired or wireless network interfaces 403, one or more input and output interfaces 404, and / or one or more operating systems, such as Windows Server™, Mac OS X™, Unix™, Linux™, FreeBSD™, etc.

[0103] The CPU 401 can execute the aforementioned Figures 1 to 3 The operations performed by the computer device in the illustrated embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0104] It should be noted that although the steps in the flowcharts involved in the various embodiments are drawn in sequence as indicated by the arrows, unless otherwise specified herein, there is no strict order restriction on the execution of these steps, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a portion of the steps in the flowcharts involved in the various embodiments may 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. The order of execution of these steps or stages is not necessarily sequential, but can be executed in rotation or alternation with other steps or at least a portion of steps or stages in other steps.

[0105] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0106] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0107] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0108] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0109] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM, read-only memory), random access memory (RAM, random access memory), disk or optical disk, and other media that can store program code.

[0110] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product containing instructions. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer executes the control method of the device front-end hardware as described above.

Claims

1. A method for controlling the front-end hardware of a device, characterized in that: Applied to a control system, the method includes: Acquire information about device front-end hardware to be deployed in the semiconductor device, wherein the information about the device front-end hardware includes a brand and a hardware type corresponding to the device front-end hardware; Executing an initialization process of the control system based on the information of the front-end hardware of the device, the initialization process comprising sequentially performing model initialization, plug-in initialization, and driver initialization corresponding to the front-end hardware of the device; After the initialization process is completed, the control system controls the front-end hardware of the device to perform different operations.

2. The method for controlling the front-end hardware of the device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The initialization process of executing the control system based on the information of the front-end hardware of the device includes: Create a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under the target model class corresponding to the device front-end hardware; If the model instance is created, then create a plug-in instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under the target plug-in class corresponding to the device front-end hardware; If the plug-in instance is created, a driver instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware is created under the target driver class corresponding to the device front-end hardware, wherein the driver instance includes a driver required to enable the device front-end hardware corresponding to the information; If the driver instance is created, it is determined that the initialization process of the control system is completed.

3. The method for controlling the front-end hardware of the device according to claim 2, characterized in that: Also includes: Determining the target model class and the target plug-in class corresponding to the operation type based on the operation type executable by the device front-end hardware; Determining the target driver class based on the brand and the target plug-in class; The driver is determined based on the brand and the operation type.

4. The method for controlling the front-end hardware of the device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The model instance, the plug-in instance, and the driver instance are associated with each other, and the controlling of the device front-end hardware to perform different operations includes: In response to an execution instruction for a target operation, determining a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware required to execute the target operation; Based on the method corresponding to the model instance, the plug-in instance corresponding to the model instance is called, and based on the method corresponding to the plug-in instance, the driver instance corresponding to the model instance is called, and based on the driver in the method corresponding to the driver instance, the device front-end hardware corresponding to the information is enabled to perform the target operation.

5. The method for controlling the front-end hardware of the device according to claim 4, characterized in that: Also includes: Obtaining, through the driver program in the method corresponding to the driver example, the execution result of the target operation executed by the corresponding device front-end hardware; The execution result is returned to the model instance through the plug-in instance, and the execution result is processed based on the corresponding method in the model instance.

6. A control system, characterized in that: include: An acquiring unit, configured to acquire information about device front-end hardware to be deployed in a semiconductor device, wherein the information about the device front-end hardware includes a brand and a hardware type corresponding to the device front-end hardware; An initialization unit, configured to execute an initialization process of the control system based on information of the front-end hardware of the device, wherein the initialization process includes sequentially performing model initialization, plug-in initialization, and driver initialization corresponding to the front-end hardware of the device; The control unit is used to control the front-end hardware of the device to perform different operations through the control system after the initialization process is completed.

7. The control system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The initialization unit is specifically used to create a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under the target model class corresponding to the device front-end hardware; If the model instance is created, then create a plug-in instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware under the target plug-in class corresponding to the device front-end hardware; If the plug-in instance is created, a driver instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware is created under the target driver class corresponding to the device front-end hardware, wherein the driver instance includes a driver required to enable the device front-end hardware corresponding to the information; If the driver instance is created, it is determined that the initialization process of the control system is completed.

8. The control system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The model instance, the plug-in instance, and the driver instance are associated with each other, and the control unit is specifically configured to determine, in response to an execution instruction for a target operation, a model instance corresponding to the device front-end hardware required to execute the target operation; Based on the method corresponding to the model instance, the plug-in instance corresponding to the model instance is called, and based on the method corresponding to the plug-in instance, the driver instance corresponding to the model instance is called, and based on the driver in the method corresponding to the driver instance, the device front-end hardware corresponding to the information is enabled to perform the target operation.

9. The control system according to any one of claims 6 to 7, characterized in that: The hardware control system includes a model layer, a plug-in layer and a driver layer. The model layer includes models corresponding to different operation types, the plug-in layer includes plug-ins corresponding to different models, the driver layer includes drivers corresponding to different plug-ins, and the plug-in layer is an intermediate layer.

10. The control system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The front-end hardware of the device includes: transmission hardware, flipping hardware, loading hardware and calibration hardware. The model corresponding to the transmission hardware includes a transmission model, the model corresponding to the flipping hardware includes a flipping model, the model corresponding to the loading hardware includes a loading model, and the model corresponding to the calibration hardware includes a calibration model. The plug-in corresponding to the transport model includes a transport plug-in, the plug-in corresponding to the flip model includes a flip plug-in, the plug-in corresponding to the loading model includes a carrier identity reading plug-in and a loading plug-in, and the model corresponding to the calibration model includes a calibration plug-in and a wafer identity reading plug-in; The drive corresponding to the transport plug-in includes a transport drive, the drive corresponding to the flip plug-in includes a flip drive, the drive corresponding to the carrier identity reading plug-in includes a carrier identity reading drive, the drive corresponding to the loading plug-in includes a loading drive, the drive corresponding to the wafer identity reading plug-in includes a wafer identity reading drive, and the drive corresponding to the calibration plug-in includes a calibration drive.

11. A computer storage medium, characterized in that The computer storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the method for controlling the front-end hardware of the device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images