Processor, device management controller, program and method for manufacturing semiconductor device

Abstract

To easily grasp whether or not a processor can stably operate.SOLUTION: A processor has at least a device state monitoring control part for monitoring soundness of device data obtained from an operation state of a component constituting the device. The device state monitoring control part is configured to derive information obtained by evaluating an operation state of the device on the basis of a plurality of device state monitoring result data acquired by the device state monitoring control part. The device state monitoring control part is further configured to: obtain standard data to be a standard corresponding to the device data from a master device; and compare the device data with the standard data to determine whether or not the device data is abnormal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to grasping the operating state of a substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate, for example, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs a film forming process on a substrate. [Background technology]

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing field, device manufacturers (manufacturers of semiconductor equipment) are primarily responsible for managing equipment information in order to improve the utilization rate and production efficiency of substrate processing equipment.The basic monitoring method generally used is to collect information on semiconductor manufacturing equipment on a server and use statistical analysis technology to detect equipment anomalies.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method for managing the integrity of data, Patent Document 2 describes a technology related to anomaly analysis when an abnormality occurs in data, and Patent Document 3 describes a technology for maintaining and managing components that constitute a substrate processing apparatus. In these technologies, a management device connected to the substrate processing apparatus manages the operating status of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0004] However, as device miniaturization continues to advance, the amount of data generated by equipment is likely to increase, creating a need for production management that allows equipment to monitor itself without increasing the burden on device manufacturers. Furthermore, as we enter an era of enhanced IoT (Internet of Things), there is a demand for technology that processes data on the equipment side. Therefore, measures to ensure stable equipment operation are required. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5855841 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5546197 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 3300816 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present disclosure provides information indicating whether a substrate processing apparatus can operate stably. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, The device has at least an equipment status monitoring control unit that monitors the soundness of equipment data obtained from the operating status of the components that make up the device, and is configured to derive information that evaluates the operating status of the device based on multiple equipment status monitoring result data acquired by the equipment status monitoring control unit, and the equipment status monitoring control unit is configured to obtain standard data that corresponds to the equipment data from a master device, compare the equipment data with the standard data, and determine whether the equipment data is abnormal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide information indicating whether or not a substrate processing apparatus can operate stably. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a substrate processing apparatus suitably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure; [Figure 2] 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a substrate processing apparatus suitably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a control system preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a main controller preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a substrate processing system suitably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of a device management controller that is preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of a consolidated screen display program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a summary screen of the operational status of devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 1 is an illustrative example of a list of diagnostic method items for the operating status of a device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a data consistency operation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display screen for file matching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram of file matching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram of maintenance parts management according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a device state monitoring control unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram for monitoring a device status according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating device state monitoring according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a process flow diagram of data analysis support control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a summary screen of the operational status of devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] (Overview of substrate processing equipment) An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. First, a substrate processing apparatus (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as an apparatus) 1 in which the present invention is implemented will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0011] The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a housing 2 , and a front entrance 4 for maintenance purposes is opened at the bottom of a front wall 3 of the housing 2 , and the front entrance 4 is opened and closed by a front door 5 .

[0012] A pod loading / unloading opening 6 is opened in the front wall 3 of the housing 2 so as to connect the inside and outside of the housing 2, and the pod loading / unloading opening 6 is opened and closed by a front shutter 7. A load port 8 is installed in front of the pod loading / unloading opening 6, and the load port 8 is configured to align a pod 9 placed thereon.

[0013] The pod 9 is a sealed substrate transport container, and is designed to be carried onto and removed from the load port 8 by an in-process transport device (not shown).

[0014] A rotary pod shelf 11 is installed in the upper part of the housing 2 at approximately the center in the front-to-rear direction, and the rotary pod shelf 11 is configured to store a plurality of pods 9 .

[0015] The rotating pod shelf 11 comprises a vertically erected support column 12 that rotates intermittently, and multiple shelves 13 that are supported radially at upper, middle, and lower positions on the support column 12. The shelves 13 are configured to store multiple pods 9 placed on them.

[0016] A pod opener 14 is provided below the rotary pod shelf 11, and the pod opener 14 is configured to place the pod 9 thereon and to be able to open and close the lid of the pod 9.

[0017] A pod transfer mechanism 15 is installed between the load port 8, the rotary pod shelf 11, and the pod opener 14. The pod transfer mechanism 15 is configured to hold a pod 9 and move up and down, and to move back and forth horizontally, so as to transfer the pod 9 between the load port 8, the rotary pod shelf 11, and the pod opener 14.

[0018] A sub-housing 16 is provided at the bottom, approximately in the center in the front-to-rear direction, extending to the rear end of the housing 2. A pair of wafer loading / unloading openings (substrate loading / unloading openings) 19 are opened in a front wall 17 of the sub-housing 16, arranged in two stages, one above the other, for loading and unloading wafers (hereinafter also referred to as substrates) 18 into and out of the sub-housing 16. A pod opener 14 is provided for each of the substrate loading / unloading openings 19.

[0019] The pod opener 14 includes a mounting table 21 on which the pod 9 is mounted, and an opening / closing mechanism 22 that opens and closes the lid of the pod 9. The pod opener 14 is configured to open and close the wafer entrance / exit of the pod 9 by opening and closing the lid of the pod 9 mounted on the mounting table 21 using the opening / closing mechanism 22.

[0020] The sub-housing 16 forms a transfer chamber 23 that is airtight from the space (pod transfer space) in which the pod transfer mechanism 15 and the rotary pod shelf 11 are disposed. A wafer transfer mechanism (substrate transfer mechanism) 24 is installed in the front region of the transfer chamber 23, and the substrate transfer mechanism 24 is equipped with a required number of wafer loading plates 25 for loading substrates 18 (five in the figure). The wafer loading plates 25 are movable in a horizontal direction, rotatable in a horizontal direction, and can also be raised and lowered. The substrate transfer mechanism 24 is configured to load and unload substrates 18 onto a boat (hereinafter also referred to as a substrate holder) 26.

[0021] A standby section 27 for accommodating the boat 26 and allowing it to wait is configured in the rear region of the transfer chamber 23, and a vertical processing furnace 28 is provided above the standby section 27. The processing furnace 28 has a processing chamber 29 formed therein, and the lower end of the processing chamber 29 forms a furnace opening portion that can be opened and closed by a furnace opening shutter 31.

[0022] A boat elevator 32 for raising and lowering the boat 26 is installed between the right end of the housing 2 and the right end of the standby section 27 of the sub-housing 16. A seal cap 34 serving as a lid is attached horizontally to an arm 33 connected to the lifting platform of the boat elevator 32. The lid 34 supports the boat 26 vertically and can airtightly close the furnace throat when the boat 26 is loaded into the processing chamber 29.

[0023] The boat 26 is configured to hold a plurality of wafers 18 (for example, about 50 to 125) in multiple stages in a horizontal position with their centers aligned.

[0024] A clean unit 35 is disposed opposite the boat elevator 32. The clean unit 35 is composed of a supply fan and a dust filter to supply clean air 36, which is a purified atmosphere or an inert gas.

[0025] The clean air 36 blown out from the clean unit 35 is circulated to the wafer transfer mechanism 24 and the boat 26, and then sucked in by a duct not shown and exhausted to the outside of the housing 2, or is blown out into the transfer chamber 23 by the clean unit 35.

[0026] Next, the operation of the device 1 will be described.

[0027] When the pod 9 is supplied to the load port 8, the pod loading / unloading opening 6 is opened by the front shutter 7. The pod 9 on the load port 8 is carried into the interior of the housing 2 through the pod loading / unloading opening 6 by the pod transfer device 15 and placed on a designated shelf 13 of the rotating pod shelf 11. After being temporarily stored on the rotating pod shelf 11, the pod 9 is transferred by the pod transfer device 15 from the shelf 13 to one of the pod openers 14 and then transferred to the placement table 21, or is transferred directly from the load port 8 to the placement table 21.

[0028] At this time, the wafer loading / unloading port 19 is closed by the opening / closing mechanism 22, and clean air 36 is circulated and filled in the transfer chamber 23. For example, by filling the transfer chamber 23 with nitrogen gas as the clean air 36, the oxygen concentration is set to 20 ppm or less, which is much lower than the oxygen concentration in the pod transfer space inside the housing 2 (air atmosphere).

[0029] The open end face of the pod 9 placed on the mounting table 21 is pressed against the edge of the opening of the wafer loading / unloading port 19 in the front wall 17 of the sub-housing 16, and the lid is removed by the opening / closing mechanism 22, opening the wafer entrance / exit.

[0030] When the pod 9 is opened by the pod opener 14, the substrates 18 are removed from the pod 9 by the substrate transfer mechanism 24 and transferred to a notch alignment device (not shown). After the notch alignment device aligns the substrates 18, the substrate transfer mechanism 24 transports the substrates 18 into the waiting section 27 at the rear of the transfer chamber 23 and loads them into the boat 26.

[0031] After transferring the substrate 18 to the boat 26 , the substrate transfer mechanism 24 returns to the pod 9 and loads the next substrate 18 into the boat 26 .

[0032] While the substrate transfer mechanism 24 in one (upper or lower) pod opener 14 is loading substrates 18 into the boat 26, another pod 9 is transported from the rotating pod shelf 11 to the other (lower or upper) pod opener 14 by the pod transport device 15 and transferred thereto, and the other pod opener 14 simultaneously begins opening the pod 9.

[0033] When a predetermined number of substrates 18 are loaded into the boat 26, the furnace opening of the processing furnace 28, which has been closed by the furnace opening shutter 31, is opened by the furnace opening shutter 31. Then, the boat 26 is raised by the boat elevator 32 and loaded into the processing chamber 29.

[0034] After loading, the furnace throat is airtightly closed by the seal cap 34. In this embodiment, at this timing (after loading), a purging step (pre-purging step) is performed in which the gas in the processing chamber 29 is replaced with an inert gas.

[0035] The processing chamber 29 is evacuated to a desired pressure (vacuum level) by a gas exhaust mechanism (not shown). The processing chamber 29 is heated to a predetermined temperature by a heater drive unit (not shown) to achieve a desired temperature distribution. A processing gas controlled to a predetermined flow rate is supplied to the processing chamber 29 by a gas supply mechanism (not shown).

[0036] The processing gas supplied to the processing chamber 29 comes into contact with the surface of the substrate 18, and a predetermined process is performed on the surface of the substrate 18. Furthermore, the processing gas after the reaction is exhausted from the processing chamber 29 by the gas exhaust mechanism.

[0037] After a preset processing time has elapsed, the gas supply mechanism supplies inert gas from an inert gas supply source (not shown), and the processing chamber 29 is replaced with the inert gas, and the pressure in the processing chamber 29 is returned to normal pressure (after-purge process). Then, the boat elevator 32 lowers the boat 26 via the lid 34.

[0038] To remove the processed substrates 18, the procedure described above is reversed, and the substrates 18 and pod 9 are discharged to the outside of the housing 2. Unprocessed substrates 18 are further loaded into the boat 26, and the batch processing of substrates 18 is repeated.

[0039] (Functional configuration of control system 200) Next, the functional configuration of a control system 200 centered around a main controller 201 as an operation unit will be described with reference to Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the control system 200 includes the operation unit 201, a transport system controller 211 as a transport control unit, a process system controller 212 as a processing control unit, and an equipment management controller 215 as a data monitoring unit. In this embodiment, the control system 200 is housed within the equipment 1.

[0040] The operation unit 201 is electrically connected to the transport control unit 211 and the processing control unit 212 via a LAN line such as 100BASE-T, and is therefore configured to be able to send and receive data from each device, download and upload files, etc.

[0041] Here, the equipment data refers to data generated when the equipment 1 is in operation, for example, data generated by operating each component when the equipment 1 processes the substrate 18. Examples of such data include data (monitor data) related to substrate processing such as the processing temperature, processing pressure, and processing gas flow rate when the equipment 1 processes the substrate 18, data (process data) related to the quality of the manufactured product substrate such as the film thickness of the film formed and the cumulative value of the film thickness, and data (component data) related to the components of the equipment 1 such as the quartz reaction tube, heater, valve, MFC, etc.

[0042] In this embodiment, the equipment data also includes data (facility data) provided to the equipment 1 from the customer factory, such as data on power, water, gas flow rate, and exhaust equipment. The equipment data also includes fault information data, such as data on alarm monitoring while a process recipe is being executed (alarm occurrence information data), maintenance information while a process recipe is not being executed (event data), and data on abnormality analysis (abnormality analysis data).

[0043] The operation unit 201 is provided with a port as an attachment unit into which a recording medium (for example, a USB memory) serving as an external storage device is inserted or removed. An operating system (OS) corresponding to this port is installed in the operation unit 201. An external host computer and a management device are also connected to the operation unit 201 via, for example, a communication network. Therefore, even if the device 1 is installed in a clean room, the host computer can be located in an office or the like outside the clean room. The management device is connected to the device 1 via a LAN line and has a function of collecting device data from the operation unit 201.

[0044] The device management controller 215 is connected to the operation unit 201 via a LAN line, and is configured to collect device data from the operation unit 201, and derive indicators showing the operational status of the device based on data created by processing the device data. The device management controller 215 will be described in detail later.

[0045] The transfer control unit 211 is configured to be connected to and control a substrate transfer system 211A that is mainly composed of the rotary pod shelf 11, the boat elevator 32, the pod transfer device 15, the substrate transfer mechanism 24, the boat 26, and a rotation mechanism (not shown). In particular, the transfer control unit 211 is configured to control the transfer operations of the boat elevator 32, the pod transfer device 15, and the substrate transfer mechanism 24 via a motion controller 211a.

[0046] The process control unit 212 includes a temperature controller 212a, a pressure controller 212b, a gas flow rate controller 212c, and a sequencer 212d. The temperature controller 212a, the pressure controller 212b, the gas flow rate controller 212c, and the sequencer 212d constitute a sub-controller and are electrically connected to the process control unit 212, enabling transmission and reception of data from each device, downloading and uploading of files, etc. Although the process control unit 212 and the sub-controller are illustrated as separate entities, they may also be configured as an integrated unit.

[0047] A heating mechanism 212A including a heater, a temperature sensor, etc. is connected to the temperature controller 212a. The temperature controller 212a is configured to adjust the temperature inside the processing furnace 28 by controlling the temperature of the heater of the processing furnace 28. The temperature controller 212a is configured to control the power supplied to the heater wire while controlling the thyristor.

[0048] A gas exhaust mechanism 212B including a pressure sensor, an APC valve as a pressure valve, and a vacuum pump is connected to the pressure controller 212b. The pressure controller 212b is configured to control the aperture of the APC valve and the operation of the vacuum pump based on the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor so that the pressure inside the processing chamber 29 becomes a desired pressure at a desired timing.

[0049] The gas flow controller 212c is configured with an MFC (MASS Flow Controller). The sequencer 212d is configured to control the supply and stop of gas from the process gas supply pipe and the purge gas supply pipe by opening and closing a valve 212D. The process control unit 212 is also configured to control the MFC 212c and the sequencer 212d so that the flow rate of the gas supplied into the process chamber 29 is set to a desired flow rate at a desired timing.

[0050] The operation unit 201, the transport control unit 211, the process control unit 212, and the device management controller 215 according to this embodiment can be realized using a normal computer system, rather than a dedicated system. For example, each controller that executes a predetermined process can be configured by installing a program for executing the above-described processes from a recording medium (such as a USB memory) that stores the program into a general-purpose computer.

[0051] The means for providing these programs is arbitrary. As described above, the programs can be provided via a predetermined recording medium. Alternatively, the programs can be provided via a communication line, a communication network, a communication system, or the like. In this case, the programs can be posted on a bulletin board on a communication network, and the programs can be provided via the network by superimposing them on a carrier wave. The programs provided in this manner can be started and executed under the control of the OS in the same way as other application programs, thereby executing predetermined processes.

[0052] (Configuration of main controller (operation unit) 201) Next, the configuration of the operation unit 201 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0053] The operation unit 201 is configured to include a main control unit 220, a hard disk 222 as a main control storage unit, an operation display unit 227 including a display unit that displays various information and an operation unit that accepts various instructions from the operator, and a transmission / reception module 228 as a main control communication unit that communicates inside and outside the device 1. Note that the operator includes not only the device operator, but also the device manager, device engineer, maintenance person, and worker. The main control unit 220 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 224 as a processing unit and memory (RAM, ROM, etc.) 226 as a temporary storage unit, and is configured as a computer with a clock function (not shown).

[0054] The hard disk 222 stores various files, such as recipe files that define the processing conditions and processing procedures for substrates, control program files for executing these recipe files, parameter files that define the parameters for executing the recipes, error processing program files and error processing parameter files, as well as various screen files including input screens for inputting process parameters, various icon files, etc. (none of which are shown).

[0055] The operation display unit 227 serving as a display device is configured to display an operation screen for operating the device 1. The operation screen of the operation display unit 227 is, for example, a touch panel using a liquid crystal display. Note that the operation display unit 227 may be configured to include a display unit such as a liquid crystal display and a user interface unit including devices such as a keyboard and a mouse.

[0056] The operation display unit 227 includes an operation unit and a display unit. The operation screen of the operation display unit 227 can also be provided with operation buttons as an input unit for inputting operation instructions to the substrate transport system 211A and the substrate processing system (heating mechanism 212A, gas exhaust mechanism 212B, and gas supply system 212C).

[0057] The operation display unit 227 accepts instructions input by the operator from the operation screen and transmits the input instruction data to the operation unit 201. The operation display unit 227 also accepts instructions to execute a file such as a recipe expanded in the memory 226 or an arbitrary substrate processing recipe (also called a process recipe) from among a plurality of recipes stored in the main control storage unit 222, and transmits the instructions to the main control unit 220.

[0058] A switching hub or the like is connected to the main controller communication unit 228, and the operation unit 201 is configured to transmit and receive data to and from an external computer and other controllers within the device 1. The operation unit 201 also transmits device data such as the status of the device 1 to an external higher-level computer, for example, a host computer, via a network not shown.

[0059] (Substrate processing method) Next, a substrate processing method having a predetermined processing step performed using the apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described. Here, the predetermined processing step is, for example, a substrate processing step (here, a film forming step) that is one step in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device.

[0060] When a substrate processing process is performed, a substrate processing recipe (process recipe) corresponding to the substrate processing to be performed is downloaded, for example, from the operation unit 201 to a memory such as RAM in the process control unit 212. This enables the operation unit 201 to issue operation instructions to the process control unit 212 and the transfer control unit 211 while the recipe is being executed. The substrate processing process includes at least a loading process, a film formation process, an unloading process, and a recovery process. The substrate processing process may also include a transfer process (which may include a process of inserting a substrate into the apparatus 1).

[0061] (transfer process) The operation unit 201 issues a drive instruction for the substrate transfer mechanism 24 to the transport control unit 211. Then, in accordance with the instruction from the transport control unit 211, the substrate transfer mechanism 24 starts the process of transferring the substrates 18 from the pod 9 on the delivery stage 21 as a placement table to the boat 26. This transfer process is continued until all the planned substrates 18 have been loaded into the boat 26. do.

[0062] (Carry-in process) Once the loading of the substrates 18 into the boat 26 is completed, the boat elevator 32, which operates in accordance with instructions from the transfer control unit 211, raises the boat 26 while holding the substrates 18. The boat 26 is loaded into a processing chamber 29 formed within the processing furnace 28. Once the boat 26 is completely loaded, the lid 34 is configured to airtightly close the lower end of a manifold serving as a furnace throat flange provided at the bottom of the processing furnace 28.

[0063] (Film forming process) The pressure adjusting device is feedback-controlled based on pressure information measured by the pressure sensor in accordance with instructions from the pressure control unit 212b so that the pressure in the processing chamber 29 becomes a predetermined film formation pressure (degree of vacuum). Also, the power supply to the heater is feedback-controlled based on temperature information detected by a temperature sensor serving as a temperature detector in accordance with instructions from the temperature control unit 212a so that the temperature in the processing chamber 29 becomes a predetermined temperature (film formation temperature).

[0064] Next, in accordance with instructions from the transfer control unit 211, the rotation mechanism starts to rotate the boat 26 and the substrates 18. Then, while maintaining a predetermined pressure and a predetermined temperature, a predetermined gas (processing gas) is supplied to the plurality of substrates 18 held in the boat 26, and the substrates 18 are subjected to a predetermined process (for example, a film formation process).

[0065] (Export process) When the film formation process for the substrates 18 placed on the boat 26 is completed, in accordance with instructions from the transport control unit 211, the rotation mechanism of the boat 26 and the substrates 18 is stopped, the boat elevator 32 lowers the lid 34 to open the lower end of the manifold, and the boat 26 holding the processed substrates 18 is transported outside the processing furnace 28.

[0066] (Recovery process) The boat 26 holding the processed substrates 18 is cooled extremely effectively by the clean air 36 blown out from the clean unit 35. Then, when the boat 26 is cooled to, for example, 150°C or less, the processed substrates 18 are removed from the boat 26 and transferred to the pod 9, after which new unprocessed substrates 18 are transferred to the boat 26.

[0067] By executing the process recipe and repeating the above steps, the apparatus 1 according to this embodiment can, for example, form a film on the substrate 18 with high throughput.

[0068] (Configuration of substrate processing system) Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a substrate processing system used in this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 5, in this substrate processing system, a master apparatus 1(0) and repeat apparatuses 1(1) to 1(6) are connected via a network. In the example of Fig. 5, there are six repeat apparatuses 1, 1(1) to 1(6), but the number is not limited to six.

[0069] The master device 1(0) is a substrate processing apparatus (device) that has standard device data and files. The master device 1(0) and repeat devices have the same hardware configuration as the devices and have a device management controller 215. The master device 1(0) is, for example, the first device 1 that has been adjusted so that the device data is appropriate. The repeat devices are, for example, the second and subsequent devices 1, and receive copies of the device data and files held by the master device 1(0) from the master device 1(0) via the network and store them in the memory units of the repeat devices, respectively.

[0070] In this embodiment, the device management controller 215 is installed inside the device 1. Furthermore, by connecting the master device 1(0) and the device management controllers 215 installed in each device 1 via a network, each device 1 can share device data and files of the master device. Furthermore, since each device 1 can share device data and files of the master device 1(0), the configuration makes it easy to perform file matching, anomaly cause analysis, device status monitoring, etc.

[0071] This allows each device 1 to monitor whether it is in an operational state that allows stable operation of the device 1. In other words, it is possible to monitor whether the device 1 can continue to operate normally, whether it is approaching a failure state, etc.

[0072] File matching is when device 1 matches various pieces of information about itself with various pieces of information about the master device 1(0), specifically by copying files from the master device 1(0) and comparing and collating them with files from the master device 1(0). In addition, file matching has the advantage that it does not require the use of a USB memory stick to copy device data, making it easy for maintenance personnel from the device manufacturer to perform the work.

[0073] (Functional configuration of the device management controller 215) 6 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the device management controller used in this embodiment. The device management controller 215, which serves as a health check controller that checks the health status (overall operational status of the device) of the device 1, is configured to derive information evaluating various operational statuses of the device 1 (for example, information that serves as an index of stable operation of the device 1 derived from at least one of data showing the results obtained by monitoring the consistency status of device data between the device 1 and the master device 1(0), the amount of change over time in the device data of the device 1, the deterioration status of parts that make up the device 1, and the occurrence status of failures in the device 1).

[0074] The device management controller 215 may be configured to quantify the information evaluating the overall operational status of the device 1 and display it so that it can be grasped at a glance, for example, on an aggregate screen of the operational status of the device 1 (FIGS. 8 and 18) described below, or may be configured to monitor the operational status of the device 1 based on the quantified numerical value of the information evaluating the overall operational status of the device 1, and to issue an alarm (for example, sounding or displaying an alarm) if stable operation is not possible or there is a risk of stable operation being impossible.

[0075] In addition, the equipment management controller 215 is configured to allow the four functions (data consistency, parts management, equipment status monitoring, and data analysis support) described below, which are necessary to derive indicators for stable operation of the equipment 1, to be operated on the operation display unit 227 of the equipment 1.

[0076] 6, the device management controller 215 includes a plurality of control units selected from the group consisting of a screen display unit 215a, a screen display control unit 215b, a data consistency control unit 215c, a parts management control unit 215d, a device status monitoring control unit 215e, and a data analysis control unit 215f, a communication unit 215g that transmits and receives device data of the device 1 to and from the operation unit 201, and a storage unit 215h that stores at least the device data. In this embodiment, the four functions (data consistency, parts management, device status monitoring, and data analysis support) are executed by separate control units, but all of the functions may be included in a single control unit. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the number of functions is not limited to four, and multiple functions may be included.

[0077] The equipment management controller 215 is configured to have a plurality of control units selected from the group consisting of a data consistency control unit 215c that determines the validity of equipment data supplied from factory equipment, a parts management control unit 215d that monitors the degree of deterioration and wear of parts data on the status of component parts that make up the equipment, an equipment status monitoring control unit 215e that monitors the soundness of equipment data obtained from the operating status of component parts that make up the equipment, and a data analysis control unit 215f that monitors the occurrence status of equipment fault information.

[0078] The equipment management controller 215 is configured to derive information evaluating the operational status of the equipment based on a plurality of monitoring result data selected from the group consisting of the maintenance timing monitoring result data acquired by the parts management control unit 215d, the equipment status monitoring result data acquired by the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e, and the power usage monitoring result data determined by the data consistency control unit 215c. Note that the main control memory unit 222 or the temporary memory unit 226 may be used instead of the memory unit 215h.

[0079] As described above, the monitoring result data includes equipment status monitoring result data, which is data showing the results of comparing pre-specified equipment data with standard data corresponding to the equipment data, power usage monitoring result data, which is data showing the results of matching equipment data held by the equipment with reference data that serves as a basis for the equipment data, maintenance timing monitoring result data, which is data showing the results of comparing part data, which indicates the status of component parts among the equipment data, with threshold data that indicates maintenance timing, and fault information monitoring result data, which indicates the frequency of occurrence of fault information data within a certain specified period. These monitoring result data are sometimes simply referred to as monitoring result data.

[0080] The equipment management controller 215 is configured to execute a data consistency program to realize a data consistency control unit 215c before the start of a process, such as when the equipment 1 is started up, to execute a parts management program to realize a parts management control unit 215d, and to execute an equipment status monitoring program to realize an equipment status monitoring control unit 215e while the equipment 1 is operating. Furthermore, the equipment management controller 215 is configured to execute an alarm monitoring program and a data analysis program to realize a data analysis control unit (alarm monitoring control unit) 215f while the equipment 1 is operating or stopped, and to execute a screen display program to realize a screen display control unit 215b.

[0081] The device management controller 215 has the same hardware configuration as the operation unit 201. The device management controller 215 may have a function as a database that collects device data and stores it in a storage unit 215h, and can process the stored device data into graphs and display them on the screen display unit 215a or the operation display unit 227.

[0082] In this embodiment, the equipment management controller 215 is provided separately from the operation unit 201 having the substrate processing function and the upper reporting function, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, it goes without saying that the operation unit 201 may monitor equipment data including fault information data such as component data related to component lifespan, equipment status monitoring data related to equipment status monitoring, and alarm occurrence information data related to alarm monitoring, and the operation unit 201 may also have a function for data consistency between equipment. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the four functions of the equipment management controller 215 (data consistency, component management, equipment status monitoring, and data analysis support) may be configured to be incorporated into any of the operation unit 201, the transfer control unit 211, and the process control unit 212.

[0083] (Screen display section 215a) The screen display unit 215a is configured to display result data of various data (described later) on an aggregate screen (FIGS. 8 and 18) of the operation status of the device 1 (described later), etc. However, if an external terminal or the operation display unit 227 is used as the display device, the screen display unit 215a may be omitted. Note that the operation display unit 227 may be used instead of the screen display unit 215a, or may be replaced by a terminal or the like connected for viewing the screen.

[0084] (Screen display control unit 215b) The screen display control unit 215b executes a screen display program to process various data such as an aggregate screen of the operational status of the device 1 into data for screen display, to create and update screen display data, and to control the display of the data on the operation display unit 227.

[0085] (Screen display control function) Next, the screen display control function in this embodiment, that is, the processing flow of the screen display program executed by the screen display control unit 215b of the device management controller 215, will be described with reference to Fig. 7. In this embodiment, the function of displaying an aggregate screen (Figs. 8 and 18) of the operation status of the device 1, which will be described later, will be described.

[0086] 7, in this screen display program, the aggregated screen display step (step S11 in FIG. 7), the monitoring result data acquisition step (S12), the data judgment step (S13), and the judgment result display step (S14) are executed in this order. Note that this embodiment is not limited to this order of steps, and for example, the aggregated screen display step (S11) may be configured to be executed after the data judgment step (S13).

[0087] First, an aggregated screen display step (S11) is executed, whereby pre-selected screens such as those shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 18 are displayed on the operation screen.

[0088] Next, in the monitoring result data acquisition step (S12), the screen display control unit 215b acquires from the memory unit 215h the monitoring result data to be used for displaying as an aggregate screen on the operation display unit 227 in this embodiment, from the monitoring result data output by the four control units (data consistency control unit 215c, parts management control unit 215d, device status monitoring control unit 215e, and data analysis control unit 215f) shown in FIG. 6.

[0089] Next, a data determination step (S13) is executed to determine and score the monitoring result data acquired in S12. In the data determination step (S13), it is determined whether the result data output by the data consistency control unit 215c, the parts management control unit 215d, the device status monitoring control unit 215e, and the data analysis control unit 215f is normal or abnormal, and to what extent the abnormality exists.

[0090] The scoring of the monitoring result data that is determined to be abnormal is calculated using points assigned according to predetermined rules for each piece of monitoring result data output by the data consistency control unit 215c, the parts management control unit 215d, the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e, and the data analysis control unit 215f.

[0091] In addition, the points are weighted by each control unit, and the points allocated to monitoring result data determined to be abnormal by the device status monitoring control unit 215e are higher than the points allocated to monitoring result data determined to be abnormal by the parts management control unit 215d.

[0092] Next, in a judgment result display step (S14), the screen display control unit 215b updates and displays the summary screen of the operating status of the device 1 displayed in S11 based on the judgment result and the scoring result in the data judgment step (S13).

[0093] (Data consistency control unit 215c) The data matching control unit 215c compares the equipment data related to customer power held by the device 1 with reference data, which is the reference value (range) shown in an initial value table for checking the customer power range, when the device 1 is set up (for example, when it is started up for the first time). The data matching control unit 215c compares the actual measurement values ​​of the items related to power held by the device 1 with the reference data, and determines whether the values ​​are normal or abnormal based on the degree of deviation from the reference data. This function is incorporated into the device management controller 215 when the device 1 is installed, and the equipment data is monitored. The equipment data held by the device 1 may be compared with the current actual measurement values ​​of the master device 1(0) as reference data when the device 1 is installed.

[0094] The data consistency control unit 215c checks whether the equipment data related to power usage is within the range of the reference values ​​shown in the initial value table or within ±3% of the current value of the master device, and stores the result as power usage monitoring result data in the storage unit 215h. Specifically, the equipment data diagnosed as deviating from the reference data and the number of equipment data deviating from the reference data are stored as power usage monitoring result data in the storage unit 215h. At this time, the data consistency control unit 215c is configured to store the data deviating from the reference value and the data deviating from the current value of the master device so that they can be distinguished from each other (i.e., they can be identified from each other).

[0095] Furthermore, by comparing the equipment data with the reference data before starting the process of the apparatus 1, the data consistency control unit 215c can prevent the process recipe from being executed while the equipment data remains abnormal.

[0096] In addition, the monitoring of equipment data before the start of a process in device 1 may be configured to be performed not only by the data matching control unit 215c, but also by a control unit other than the data matching control unit 215c, for example, the device status monitoring control unit 215e.

[0097] Furthermore, the data matching control unit 215c is configured to execute a data matching program to perform a file matching function that copies and compares files of the device 1 received from the operation unit 201 with files of the master device 1(0). Details of this file matching function will be described later.

[0098] (Parts management control unit 215d) The parts management control unit 215d executes a parts management program to perform a maintenance timing monitoring function, and updates the parts data stored in the storage unit 215h based on the parts data (for example, the number of times a part has been used and the amount of time it has been used) of the device 1 received from the operation unit 201. The parts management control unit 215d is also configured to build a mechanism for predicting when the number of times a part has been used and the amount of time it has been used will reach the manufacturer's recommended replacement value, based on changes in the number of times a part has been used and the amount of time it has been used.

[0099] The processing flow of maintenance timing monitoring by the parts management control unit 215d in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0100] 13, the processing control unit 212 periodically reports device data to the operation unit 201 (step S51 in FIG. 13). The operation unit 201 extracts part data to be monitored from the collected device data, and periodically reports this part data to the device management controller 215 (parts management control unit 215d) (S52). Note that the part management control unit 215d may extract the part data from the device data.

[0101] The component management control unit 215d compares the collected component data (device data) with a threshold value set for each component data (S53). This threshold value may be a value recommended by the component manufacturer, or may be a value obtained by adjusting the recommended value based on usage history. If the component data does not exceed this threshold value (No in S54), the process returns to S53, and the result (normal) of the comparison between the component data and the threshold value corresponding to the component data is stored in the storage unit 215h as maintenance timing monitoring result data.

[0102] On the other hand, if the part data exceeds this threshold (Yes in S54), information that the threshold has been exceeded is notified to the operation unit 201, and the result (abnormality) of comparing the part data with the threshold corresponding to the part data is stored in the storage unit 215h as maintenance timing monitoring result data (S55).Then, the operation unit 201 displays a warning on the operation display unit 227 indicating that the part data of the maintenance part has exceeded the threshold (S56).

[0103] The operation unit 201 refers to the device management data stored in advance in the main control storage unit 222 and determines whether the state of the module configured with the maintenance part whose part data exceeds the threshold is a state in which maintenance can be designated, such as a state waiting for the next operation to be executed (S57). If the state is such that transition to maintenance is possible (Yes in S57), it issues an instruction to designate maintenance (S58). If the state is not such that transition to maintenance is possible (No in S57), it waits until the state is such that transition to maintenance is possible.

[0104] When the process control unit 212 receives a maintenance instruction from the operation unit 201, it transitions the state of the corresponding module to a maintenance waiting state (S59), notifies the operation unit 201 of the transition to the maintenance waiting state (S60), and disables the execution of the next operation in the corresponding module. Note that a module is a component of the device 1, and does not necessarily correspond to "Module" in Fig. 8.

[0105] After issuing a maintenance instruction in S58, when the operation unit 201 receives a notification from the process control unit 212 that the system should transition to a maintenance waiting state, the operation unit 201 designates the module to be maintained (S61).

[0106] After the maintenance is designated, maintenance is performed on the process module designated for maintenance (S62). For example, if the cumulative film thickness of the process module is abnormal, a cleaning recipe is executed, or recovery processing such as replacing the boat 26 is performed. After the recovery processing, a predetermined setup operation is performed, and the maintenance is completed (S63).

[0107] After maintenance has been performed on the target module, the operator issues a maintenance cancellation command on the operation screen of the operation display unit 227. In response, the operation unit 201 issues a maintenance cancellation command to the process control unit 212 (S64). The process control unit 212 changes the state of the target module to a state waiting for the next operation to be executed, and makes the module available to the process control unit 212 (S65).

[0108] The operation unit 201 displays a screen for prompting initialization of the part data of the maintenance target (S66), and determines whether or not the part data of the maintenance target needs to be initialized (S67). If initialization is not required (No in S67), the processing of this flowchart is terminated, and if there is part data that needs initialization (Yes in S67), the part to be initialized is selected.

[0109] When the parts to be initialized are selected, the operation unit 201 instructs the parts management control unit 215d to initialize the part data of the maintenance parts related to the maintenance-completed module (S68). The parts management control unit 215d initializes the part data to be initialized based on the instruction from the operation unit 201 (S69).

[0110] For example, the monitor value (e.g., the number of uses) of the component data to be initialized is cleared to zero (sometimes called reset). Note that the operation unit 201 may be configured to accept input from the operator via the operation display unit 227 and clear the monitor value of the component data to zero, which makes it possible to grasp the operating status of the component more efficiently from the viewpoint of monitoring the component lifespan.

[0111] Furthermore, with this initialization, the parts management control unit 215d is configured to perform processing to return the maintenance timing monitoring result data that was determined to be abnormal as a result of the threshold comparison in S53 to normal.

[0112] According to the parts management processing of the parts management control unit 215d in this embodiment, the parts management control unit 215d can grasp the recommended maintenance timing before a maintenance part breaks down, which makes it possible to achieve more stable operation of the device 1 and reduce the lot-out ratio of product boards.

[0113] According to the parts management processing of the parts management control unit 215d in this embodiment, the parts management control unit 215d switches the operation display unit 227 to the parts maintenance screen of the target module and initializes the parts data of the maintenance parts related to the target module, so that when the device 1 is returned to a module that can be produced after maintenance, the maintenance designation can be reliably cancelled.

[0114] According to the parts management processing of the parts management control unit 215d in this embodiment, the parts management control unit 215d can display part data of maintenance parts (for example, the number of times used) on a time axis in a graph on the operation display unit 227. Therefore, it is possible to predict the maintenance timing of the monitor values ​​of the parts to be monitored on the screen of the operation display unit 227, and to prepare the maintenance parts in advance.

[0115] (Device status monitoring control unit 215e) The device status monitoring control unit 215e executes the device status monitoring program to perform the device status monitoring function. The device status monitoring control unit 215e receives device data of the device 1 from the operation unit 201 every moment, updates the device data stored in the storage unit 215h, and constantly monitors the device data of the device 1 based on, for example, standard data obtained from the master device 1(0), that is, standard data that the device 1 should aim for (for example, a time-dependent waveform of the reaction room temperature, an upper limit value, a lower limit value, etc.). In other words, the device data of the device 1 is constantly compared with the standard data and monitored. This makes it possible to monitor the device status with fewer false alarms.

[0116] Next, the device status monitoring program executed by the device status monitoring control unit 215e will be described with reference to Figures 14 and 15. The device status monitoring program is stored in the memory (for example, the storage unit 215h) of the device management controller 215, and realizes the device status monitoring control unit 215e.

[0117] 14, the device status monitoring control unit 215e includes a setting unit 311, a band generating unit 312, an FDC (Fault Detection & Classification) monitoring unit 313, a counting display unit 314, and a diagnosing unit 315. The FDC monitoring unit 313 includes a comparing unit 313a, a counting unit 313b, and a determining unit 313c.

[0118] The setting unit 311 instructs the band generation unit 312, the FDC monitoring unit 313, and the diagnosis unit 315 to set band management designated by input (input of operation command, etc.) from the operation display unit 227, etc.

[0119] The band generation unit 312 generates bands based on the standard data and the specified upper and lower limit values ​​set by the setting unit 311. Here, a band refers to a range determined by providing a width for a waveform based on the standard data (data possessed by a standard device, for example, master data of master device 1(0)). Specifically, it refers to a range determined by specifying an upper limit value, a lower limit value, or both upper and lower limit values ​​based on the values ​​of each data point that constitutes the standard data.

[0120] Furthermore, the device data designated as the monitoring target by the device status monitoring control unit 215e is device status monitoring data, and data indicating the results of monitoring the device status monitoring data by the device status monitoring control unit 215e is device status monitoring result data. Hereinafter, the standard data will be described as master data.

[0121] The FDC monitoring unit 313 compares the band generated by the band generating unit 312 with device data (device status monitoring data) constantly generated from the device 1, and determines that the device data is abnormal if the device data deviates from the band a predetermined number of times or more. Furthermore, if an abnormality is detected, the FDC monitoring unit 313 is configured to display, for example, that an abnormality has been detected on the operation display unit 227. Here, a data point that deviates from the band when comparing the band with the device data is called an out-of-band point.

[0122] The count display unit 314 is configured to display the number of outliers counted by the FDC monitoring unit 313 for each batch process on the operation display unit 227. The diagnosis unit 315 diagnoses a statistic consisting of the number of outliers using an abnormality diagnosis rule. If an abnormality is diagnosed, the diagnosis unit 315 is configured to display, for example, on the operation display unit 227, a message indicating that an abnormality has been detected.

[0123] (FDC monitoring department) The FDC monitoring unit 313 monitors the device data by comparing the device data received from the operation unit 201 with a band generated based on master data that serves as a criterion for determining the device data.

[0124] The comparison unit 313a compares the data points constituting the master data at intervals (for example, 1 second) to determine whether the device data falls outside the band, and stores the comparison results in the storage unit 215h. The comparison unit 313a repeats the comparison of the data points of the device data with the band until the specified device data is no longer acquired, regardless of the number of data points that fall outside the band.

[0125] When the comparison unit 313a has completed the comparison of all data points for the set device data, the counting unit 313b counts the total number of points outside the band based on the comparison results stored in the storage unit 215h. The counting unit 313b also associates the device data value, the master data value, the band corresponding to this master data (upper limit value and lower limit value for the master data), and the counted value, and stores them in the storage unit 215h as associated data.

[0126] The determination unit 313c determines that the device data is abnormal if the count value counted by the counting unit 313b exceeds a predetermined value, and determines that the device data is normal if the count value is equal to or less than the predetermined value. The result of this determination is stored in the storage unit 215h as device status monitoring result data.

[0127] 15 is a flowchart of the monitoring by the FDC monitoring unit 313. The flow of monitoring by the FDC monitoring unit 313 will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0128] In step 101 (S101), the comparison unit 313a reads out the values ​​of the device data (device status monitoring data) of the items set as the monitoring targets (diagnosis target items) from the storage unit 215h.

[0129] In step 102 (S102), the comparison unit 313a uses a band generated based on master data that is the standard for judging the device data (device status monitoring data) of the monitoring target, and compares the value of the device data acquired in step S101 with the band. Specifically, it compares whether the value of the device data exceeds the upper limit or lower limit set as the band.

[0130] If the comparison result shows that the value of the device data falls within the band range, i.e., if the value of the device data is equal to or less than the upper limit value and equal to or greater than the lower limit value, the process proceeds to step 103. On the other hand, if the comparison result shows that the value of the device data does not fall within the band range, i.e., if the value of the device data exceeds the upper limit value or is less than the lower limit value, the process proceeds to step 104.

[0131] In step 103 (S103), the comparison unit 313a determines that the value of the device data acquired in step 200 is a normal point, and stores the comparison result (OK) in the storage unit 215h.

[0132] On the other hand, in step 104 (S104), the comparison unit 313a determines that the value of the device data acquired in step 101 is an abnormal outlier, and stores the comparison result (NG) in the storage unit 215h.

[0133] In step 105 (S105), the comparison unit 313a checks whether the next data point is stored as device data in the memory unit 215h, and if it is stored, proceeds to step 101, and if the next data point is not stored as device data, proceeds to step 106.

[0134] In step 106 (S106), the counting unit 313b counts the number of points determined to be outliers in step 104 based on the comparison result stored in the storage unit 215h.

[0135] In step 107 (S107), the determination unit 313c compares the count value counted in step 106 with a threshold value, which is a predetermined number of times. If the count value is equal to or less than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step 108, and if the count value exceeds the threshold value, the process proceeds to step 109.

[0136] In step 108 (S108), the determining unit 313c determines that the device data is normal, and ends monitoring of this device data.

[0137] In step 109 (S109), the determining unit 313c determines that the device data is abnormal, displays a message on the operation display unit 227 indicating that an abnormality has been detected, and ends monitoring of this device data.

[0138] In this processing flow, the device data and the comparison results may be stored in the main control storage unit 222 instead of the storage unit 215h.

[0139] The above has described band management, which is one type of FDC executed by the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e. However, conventional FDC is U.FDC (User FDC), which monitors data focused on the user side (device manufacturer side), and is not suitable for monitoring components of the substrate processing apparatus 1, such as the degree of wear of the components. In other words, U.FDC using SPC is insufficient as a function for monitoring the equipment status. Therefore, in the present invention, a technology for monitoring the equipment status using a unique FDC (S.FDC (Special FDC)) has been developed, which will be described below.

[0140] (MFC (MASS Flow Controller) zero point correction) An example of monitoring the state of MFC zero point correction as an S.FDC will be described with reference to FIG. 16. This monitoring is performed by the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e. Through this monitoring, the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e predicts the batch for which zero point correction should be performed by determining the slope of the MFC flow voltage relative to the batch processing number. A batch refers to the period from when the wafers 18 are loaded into the boat 26 to when the wafers 18 are removed from the boat 26 after being processed in the processing chamber 29.

[0141] The vertical axis of Figure 16 is the flow voltage output from the MFC when the flow rate of the gas flowing through the MFC is zero. This flow voltage indicates the magnitude of the flow rate of the gas flowing through the MFC, and should ideally be zero. The horizontal axis of Figure 16 indicates the number of substrate processing batches in equipment 1. Batch processing in equipment 1 is performed in the order of batch No. 999, 998, 3, 2, and 1.

[0142] As shown in Figure 16, the MFC flow voltage increases as the batch processing is repeated, that is, the zero point of the MFC shifts. Zero point correction corrects this shift. The MFC flow voltage, which is monitored by the apparatus status monitoring control unit 215e, is also included in the apparatus status monitoring data. Therefore, data indicating the result of comparing this MFC flow voltage with a threshold value (upper limit value) is also included in the apparatus status monitoring result data.

[0143] In this embodiment, the threshold (upper limit) of the MFC flow voltage for zero point correction is set to 0.05 V. Furthermore, of the many MFCs in the device 1, only the MFCs related to the quality of the substrate are monitored for MFC flow voltage. Although not described here, this can also be applied to zero point correction of pressure sensors.

[0144] The apparatus status monitoring control unit 215e acquires the MFC flow voltage before the recipe starts and when the flow rate of the gas flowing through the MFC is zero during recipe execution, stores the acquired flow voltage in the memory unit 215h, and compares the acquired flow voltage with a threshold. If the acquired flow voltage exceeds the threshold, data indicating that the flow voltage of the MFC being monitored is abnormal is stored in the memory unit 215h as apparatus status monitoring result data, and zero point correction is performed after the recipe is completed. Note that the MFC flow voltage may be configured to be stored in the main control memory unit 222 instead of the memory unit 215h.

[0145] The timing when the flow rate of gas flowing through an MFC is zero is when both the primary-side (upstream gas flow) open / close valve and the secondary-side (downstream gas flow) open / close valve of that MFC are closed. The equipment status monitoring control unit 215e calculates in advance the timing when the MFC flow rate becomes zero during recipe execution, that is, the time when both the primary-side valve and the secondary-side valve are closed, and at that time, it obtains the MFC flow voltage from the MFC and compares it with a threshold value.

[0146] The apparatus status monitoring control unit 215e is configured to compare the maximum flow voltage among the multiple MFC flow voltages acquired for one MFC in one batch process with a threshold value. Therefore, if the threshold value is exceeded even once, the apparatus status monitoring control unit 215e determines that the MFC flow voltage is abnormal and stores data indicating that the MFC flow voltage is abnormal in the storage unit 215h. Note that if the acquired flow voltage does not reach the threshold value, data indicating that the flow voltage of the MFC being monitored is normal is stored in the storage unit 215h as apparatus status monitoring result data.

[0147] Furthermore, the apparatus status monitoring control unit 215e stores the maximum flow voltage among the multiple MFC flow voltages acquired in one batch process for one MFC in the memory unit 215h. Then, for each batch or for each of multiple batches, the slope of the MFC flow voltage versus batch number (horizontal axis in FIG. 16) is calculated, and from that slope, the batch in which the MFC flow voltage will reach the threshold, that is, the batch in which zero point correction should be performed, is predicted, and the prediction result is displayed on the operation display unit 227. For example, it is displayed as shown by the dashed circle A in FIG. 16. Circle A indicates the batch in which the MFC flow voltage will reach the threshold.

[0148] The apparatus status monitoring control unit 215e may simply send the graph data shown in Fig. 16 to the screen display control unit 215b, rather than predicting the batch in which the MFC flow voltage will reach the threshold. In this case, based on the graph data received from the apparatus status monitoring control unit 215e, the screen display control unit 215b displays the graph shown in Fig. 16 on the operation display unit 227. An operator such as a maintenance worker then looks at the graph and determines the batch for which zero point correction should be performed.

[0149] The apparatus state monitoring control unit 215e performs such MFC flow rate and voltage monitoring for all MFCs related to the quality of the substrate. Also, the above-described MFC flow rate and voltage monitoring may be incorporated into the recipe.

[0150] According to the equipment status monitoring process of the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e in this embodiment, the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e is configured to use FDC to perform abnormality diagnosis based on the equipment data (equipment status monitoring data) of the monitored object for each of a plurality of equipment data (reaction chamber temperature, pressure, etc.), thereby enabling more accurate monitoring of the equipment status and making it easier to grasp the cause of the abnormality before the abnormality becomes apparent.

[0151] Furthermore, the device status monitoring control unit 215e is configured to be able to use not only the well-known U.FDC, which is a data abnormality diagnosis method used by the user of device 1, but also S.FDC, which is a data abnormality diagnosis method created independently by the manufacturer of device 1, making it easier to grasp the causes of abnormalities more broadly and precisely.

[0152] (Data analysis control unit 215f, alarm monitoring control unit) The data analysis control unit 215f is configured to execute a data analysis program so that when an abnormality (for example, an abnormality in the film thickness of a substrate, which is a product) occurs, analysis data for a maintenance person to analyze the cause of the abnormality is displayed on the operation display unit 227. In addition, the data analysis control unit 215f functions as an alarm monitoring control unit, as will be described later.

[0153] (Analysis support function) Here, the processing flow of the analysis support function executed by the data analysis control unit 215f will be described with reference to FIG.

[0154] (Data receiving step (S121)) First, the data analysis control unit 215f receives apparatus data (fault information data) indicating the progress status of the process recipe or an abnormal state of the apparatus 1 from the operation unit 201, the process control unit 211, and the transfer control unit 212 via the communication unit 215g, and stores the data in the storage unit 215h. The received fault information data is supplemented with configuration identification information that identifies the component parts of the apparatus 1 that is the data generation source, recipe identification information that identifies the recipe that the apparatus 1 was executing when the data was generated, data time information that identifies the time the data was generated, and abnormality identification information that identifies the abnormality. Note that the main control storage unit 222 may be configured to be used instead of the storage unit 215h.

[0155] (Verification item table creation process (S122)) When the data analysis control unit 215f receives input of basic information including the above-mentioned anomaly identification information, configuration identification information, and recipe identification information, it references the configuration part acquisition table stored in the storage unit 215h to acquire the configuration part identification information associated with the configuration identification information. Next, the data analysis control unit 215f references the anomaly analysis information table stored in the storage unit 215h to extract the verification item identification information associated with both the anomaly identification information and the configuration part identification information. Then, it creates a verification item table.

[0156] (Verification item table display step (S123)) Then, the data analysis control unit 215f causes the created verification item table to be displayed on the operation display unit 227.

[0157] (Recipe-specific information acquisition step (S124)) Next, the data analysis control unit 215f accepts a selection operation from the maintenance technician regarding the verification item specification information displayed in the verification item table via the operation display unit 227. Then, the data analysis control unit 215f acquires recipe specification information from the basic information.

[0158] (Recipe search process from production history information (S125)) The data analysis control unit 215f refers to the production history information and searches for the presence or absence of recipe specification information stored in the basic information. The search is performed, for example, by searching back from the most recent recipe to older recipes among the multiple recipes recorded in the production history information. Then, when the data analysis control unit 215f detects the recipe specification information stored in the basic information from the production history information, it acquires the start time and end time of the recipe specified by the recipe specification information.

[0159] (Data reading step (S126)) The data analysis control unit 215f reads out, from the storage unit 215h, data that occurred between the acquired start time and end time and that is associated with both the recipe specifying information and the verification item specifying information as fault information monitoring result data.

[0160] When the production history information is referred to and the recipe specified by the recipe specification information has been executed multiple times, the data analysis control unit 215f reads out the fault information monitoring result data for a predetermined number of times (for example, 10 times going back from the most recent recipe). That is, the data analysis control unit 215f repeats step S126 a predetermined number of times.

[0161] (Graph creation and display process (S127)) The data analysis control unit 215f then graphs the read fault information monitoring result data by overlapping them in time series while aligning the recipe start times based on the data time information associated with the data. The data analysis control unit 215f then displays the created time series graph on the operation display unit 227.

[0162] The data analysis control unit 215f according to this embodiment is configured to reference the anomaly analysis information table, extract verification item specifying information associated with both the anomaly specifying information and the component specifying information, and display the extracted verification item specifying information to create and display the verification item table. This allows the maintenance personnel to know all the verification items necessary for performing an anomaly analysis, enabling them to perform an anomaly analysis accurately.

[0163] Furthermore, since the verification item table only lists verification item identification information that is associated with both the abnormality identification information and the component part identification information, maintenance personnel are prevented from performing verification items that do not need to be performed, and unnecessary time is avoided from being wasted on abnormality analysis.

[0164] The data analysis control unit 215f according to this embodiment is configured to accept a selection operation of the check item specifying information displayed in the check item table, read out data (fault information monitoring result data) associated with both the recipe specifying information and the check item specifying information from the database, and create a time series graph by overlaying the read out fault information monitoring result data in a time series while aligning the recipe start times based on the data time information, and display the graph on the operation display unit 227. This contributes to shortening the analysis time and reducing analysis errors due to variations in the skills of maintenance personnel.

[0165] The data analysis control unit 215f according to this embodiment is configured to be able to repeatedly read out a predetermined number of pieces of data (for example, 10 pieces of data going back from the most recent recipe) when creating a time series graph. The data analysis control unit 215f is then configured to create a time series graph by graphing the read fault information monitoring result data in a chronological order while aligning the recipe start times based on the data time information, and display the graph on the operation display unit 227. This makes it possible to reduce the workload of maintenance personnel who perform abnormality analysis in acquiring data.

[0166] Example 1 Next, based on the processing flow of the screen display program shown in FIG. 7, we will explain the process of displaying the summary screen of the operational status of the device 1 shown in FIG. 8 on the operation display unit 227, and the process of deriving information evaluating the operational status of the device 1 using the diagnostic method item list shown in FIG. 9.

[0167] Furthermore, in this embodiment, of the four functions (data consistency, parts management, equipment status monitoring, and data analysis support) possessed by the equipment management controller 215, the equipment status monitoring result data output by the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e, the maintenance timing monitoring result data output by the parts management control unit 215d, and the fault information monitoring result data output by the data analysis control unit 215f are used to derive information indicating the operational status of the equipment 1.

[0168] First, an aggregated screen display step (S11) shown in Fig. 7 is executed. As a result, for example, an icon file including a Health Check View screen (abnormal site display screen), a Supply Check screen (supply status display screen), a Health Summary screen (health status summary display screen), and a Detail Information screen (detailed information display screen) shown in Fig. 8 is read out from the storage unit 215h, and each of the screens is collectively displayed on the screen of the operation display unit 227.

[0169] Next, in the monitoring result data acquisition step (S12) shown in Fig. 7, the screen display control unit 215b acquires, as necessary, from the storage unit 215h, the diagnosis result data (monitoring result data) output by the data consistency control unit 215c, the parts management control unit 215d, the device status monitoring control unit 215e, and the data analysis support control unit 215f, in accordance with the diagnostic method items in the diagnostic method item list shown in Fig. 9. Hereinafter, even if not otherwise specified, the monitoring result data output by each control unit is configured to be stored in the storage unit 215h every time it is output.

[0170] (Diagnosis target items on the Detail Information screen) First, the subject of equipment status monitoring will be described with reference to FIG. 8. On the detailed information display screen, the reaction chamber, transfer chamber, loader chamber, transport system, and customer power are shown as the configuration "divisions" of the equipment 1. Furthermore, the temperature, pressure, gas, exhaust pressure, and water are shown as the "Module" of the reaction chamber. Furthermore, the O2 (oxygen) concentration, pressure, and temperature are shown as the "Module" of the transfer chamber. Furthermore, the N2 (nitrogen) exhaust volume and exhaust pressure are shown as the "Module" of the loader chamber. Furthermore, a pod opener is shown as the "Module" of the substrate transport system. Furthermore, the gas, pressure, exhaust pressure, PUMP, and water are shown as the "Module" of the customer power.

[0171] These "Modules" are monitored by control units such as the parts management control unit 215d and the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e, that is, diagnostic items that are diagnostic targets for the health state of the equipment (targets for evaluating stable operation). In the example of Fig. 8, for example, diagnostic targets for the reaction chamber as a "classification" are the reaction chamber temperature, reaction chamber pressure, flow rate of gas (process gas, dilution gas, etc.) supplied to the reaction chamber, exhaust pressure for exhausting gas from the reaction chamber, and flow rate of cooling water supplied to components of the reaction chamber.

[0172] The gas and pressure of the diagnostic target items of customer power as a "category" are respectively the flow rate and pressure of the gas (process gas and dilution gas) supplied from the customer equipment to the equipment 1. The exhaust pressure is the pressure exhausted from the equipment 1 to the customer equipment, and water is the flow rate of the cooling water supplied from the customer equipment to the equipment 1. Customer power is equipment data related to items supplied by the equipment user, and is also called equipment data (utility data).

[0173] As shown in Figure 8, the diagnostic items related to customer power are separated from other diagnostic items and displayed together in one place. This makes it clear whether, when an equipment abnormality occurs, the location of the problem is a part related to customer power for which the customer is responsible, or a part for which the equipment manufacturer is responsible.

[0174] (Diagnosis method item on the Detail Information screen) Next, a diagnostic method item list as a criterion for the control units such as the parts management control unit 215d and the device status monitoring control unit 215e to diagnose device data will be described with reference to Fig. 9. The diagnostic method item list has an item number (No.) column, a diagnostic item column indicating the diagnostic method item, a diagnostic method column indicating the content of the diagnostic method and how to perform the diagnosis, and a score column (a deduction method is shown in the example of Fig. 9).

[0175] The diagnostic method items (U.FDC, S.FDC) of item number 1 (No. 1) and item number 2 (No. 2) are items for diagnosing abnormalities in the amount of change in equipment data over time by comparing the amount of change with the upper limit or lower limit or upper limit and lower limit of standard data, and are monitored by the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e. FDC is a technology that continuously monitors characteristic values ​​output from the equipment 1, and when an abnormality is detected in the monitored value (i.e., equipment data), that is, when the monitored value deviates from the standard data by a predetermined value or more, classifies the type of abnormality by statistically processing the results, and diagnoses the cause of the abnormality and the abnormal part.

[0176] This FDC does not include the parts described below, i.e., it does not include a diagnosis of part life (number of uses or duration of use). If an abnormality is detected by the FDC, the device 1 is still operational and does not immediately result in an abnormality in the product, so no alarm accompanied by a buzzer sound is issued.

[0177] U.FDC is a diagnostic method item for checking whether the state of the equipment 1 is such that the quality of the product (e.g., a substrate on which a film is formed) of the equipment 1 can be continuously and normally maintained. U.FDC is a diagnostic method item created and used by the user of the equipment 1, and is known as a diagnostic method that uses general SPC (Statistical Process Control: a statistical technique). U.FDC is a diagnostic method item that directly affects the quality of the product, and for example, checks the temperature, pressure, etc. of the reaction chamber.

[0178] U.FDC diagnoses whether the temperature of the reaction chamber is between preset upper and lower limits. In the example of Figure 9, U.FDC diagnoses using SPC rule 1 (exceeding 3σ). U.FDC is narrowed down to the minimum SPC items required in the semiconductor manufacturing field (e.g., reaction chamber temperature and pressure, oxygen concentration in the substrate transfer chamber, etc.), and is easy to use because users can simply specify the recipe / step / item (temperature, etc.) to set it up.

[0179] S.FDC is a diagnostic method item for checking whether the status of components of the device 1 (for example, an on-off valve, heater, or MFC) is within a normal range, and is a diagnostic method item created by the manufacturer of the device 1. S.FDC is, for example, a diagnostic method related to the zero-point correction of an MFC, and diagnoses whether the flow voltage of the MFC when the flow rate is zero is between a preset upper and lower limit value. S.FDC is a diagnostic method item that is standard equipment in the device management controller 215 and is dedicated to that device, and because it is dedicated to that device, it is configured with monitoring content that is suitable for that device. The user can set and use the S.FDC diagnostic method item by switching between enable and disable, but the diagnostic content cannot be changed.

[0180] Parts in item number 3 (No. 3) is a diagnostic method item created and used by the manufacturer of the device 1, and is an item for diagnosing the maintenance timing of parts by comparing part data (usage time, number of uses, etc.) related to the lifespan of the parts that make up the device 1 with the recommended values ​​of the parts manufacturer. For example, the time when the number of uses reaches the recommended value of the parts manufacturer is diagnosed as the time for maintenance. Furthermore, based on the usage record up to that point, the time when the number of uses reaches 90% or 120% of the recommended value of the parts manufacturer may be diagnosed as the time for maintenance. In this way, the maintenance timing is determined based on the recommended values ​​of the parts manufacturer.

[0181] The parts are monitored by the parts management control unit 215d. When the parts management control unit 215d determines that the number of uses has reached the maintenance time for the part, it determines that there is an abnormality, and stores this as maintenance time monitoring result data in the storage unit 215h. However, even if the parts management control unit 215d detects an abnormality in a part, this does not immediately result in an abnormality in the product, so the parts management control unit 215d does not issue an alarm accompanied by a buzzer sound.

[0182] The target parts are mainly drive system parts such as air valves, air cylinders, motor drivers, etc. For example, the number of times the drive system parts are used is counted and monitored to see if it has reached the manufacturer's recommended value (threshold value). Parts as diagnostic method items are incorporated into the device management controller 215 when the device 1 is installed, and are managed automatically without the user being aware of it.

[0183] Item No. 4, Alarm, is a diagnostic method item that diagnoses the state of the device 1 based on the number of occurrences of abnormal information (fault information) that renders the device 1 inoperable. Alarm is configured not to overlap with U.FDC, S.FDC, and Parts in items 1 to 3 above (i.e., it relates to an abnormality different from U.FDC, S.FDC, and Parts in items 1 to 3), and is configured to determine only specific faults and to exclude duplicate fault information due to the same cause.

[0184] The alarm is triggered by a buzzer sound, and is triggered, for example, when a sensor detects an abnormality if a substrate is not placed in a predetermined position on the boat 26 during substrate transfer. Also, an alarm is triggered when a sensor detects an abnormality if the reaction chamber temperature does not rise to a predetermined temperature at the start of substrate processing. Also, an alarm is triggered when a sensor detects an abnormality if the door of the transfer chamber 23 does not close.

[0185] The alarm is monitored by the controllers of the device 1 other than the device management controller 215 (such as the operation unit 201, the transport control unit 211, and the processing control unit 212), and when an abnormality is detected, a buzzer sounds and fault information data is notified to the data analysis control unit 215f. Based on the received fault information data, the data analysis control unit 215f classifies the fault information data that has occurred in the device 1 by category of the target part (division or module), as shown on the detailed information display screen in Fig. 8, and monitors the occurrence trend by category.

[0186] This function is incorporated into the device management controller 215 when the device 1 is installed, and is managed automatically without the user being aware of it. In this way, the data analysis control unit 215f functions as an alarm monitoring control unit that monitors the occurrence of fault information data in the device 1.

[0187] The fault information data may be monitored by an alarm in a control unit other than the data analysis control unit 215f.

[0188] (Diagnosis of target items on the Supply Check screen) The data matching control unit 215c diagnoses the items to be diagnosed that are displayed on the supply status display screen before starting substrate processing in the apparatus 1. Here, before starting substrate processing includes before substrates are loaded into the apparatus, such as when starting up the apparatus after delivery, and when substrates are being transported.

[0189] On the supply status display screen shown in Fig. 8, the six items to be diagnosed are raw material gas (shown as Precursor in Fig. 8), cooling water (shown as Cooling Water Flow in Fig. 8), N2 gas supply rate to the reaction chamber (shown as LTP Purge & Blower in Fig. 8), exhaust rate (shown as Exhaust in Fig. 8), exhaust rate of the vacuum pump (shown as Pump in Fig. 8), and N2 gas flow rate to the transfer chamber (shown as FAN in Fig. 8). These six items are equipment data, and some of them overlap with the "Module" of customer equipment on the detailed information display screen mentioned above, that is, the items to be diagnosed.

[0190] The data matching control unit 215c sets the reference values ​​shown in the initial value table for customer use power confirmation or the current actual measurement values ​​of the master device 1(0) as the reference data. For example, before the device 1 starts a process, the equipment data corresponding to the items to be diagnosed shown in FIG. 8 is compared with the reference data. The actual measurement values ​​of each item are compared with the reference data (the reference values ​​shown in the initial value table for customer use power confirmation or the actual measurement values ​​of the master device 1(0)), and the data matching control unit 215c determines an abnormality depending on the degree of deviation from the actual measurement values.

[0191] The screen display control unit 215b is configured to acquire each diagnostic result data related to U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, and Alarm for each diagnostic target item from the storage unit 215h. For example, in the case of reaction chamber temperature, diagnostic result data (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm) for device data related to temperature such as the set value (set temperature) and current value of each zone (e.g., U (upper) zone, CU (upper middle) zone, CL (lower middle) zone, L (lower) zone) in a vertical reaction chamber is acquired.

[0192] Here, the diagnostic result data related to U.FDC and S.FDC is device status monitoring result data, the diagnostic result data related to Parts (component management) is maintenance timing monitoring result data, and the diagnostic result data related to Alarm (fault information management) is fault information monitoring result data.

[0193] Also, diagnostic result data to be used on the supply status display screen is acquired. As described above, this diagnostic result data is the result of comparing the equipment data related to power usage from the customer with the reference data, and is data related to the items to be diagnosed, namely, gas (GAS), pressure, exhaust pressure, PUMP, water, precursor, cooling water flow, LTP purge & blower, exhaust, pump, and fan. This diagnostic result data of the equipment data related to power usage from the customer is power usage monitoring result data.

[0194] Next, a data determination step (S13) is executed to determine and score the diagnostic result data acquired in S12. In the data determination step (S13), it is determined whether the diagnostic result data for the diagnostic target item is normal or abnormal, and to what extent the abnormality is.

[0195] (Judgment for diagnostic target items on the Detail Information screen) In the judgment for the diagnosis target items on the detailed information display screen, the diagnosis result data (diagnosis result data related to U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, and Alarm) for each diagnosis target item is judged and scored.

[0196] For example, when the item to be diagnosed is the reaction chamber temperature, the screen display control unit 215b judges and scores the diagnosis result data for the reaction chamber temperature according to the point deduction method in the score column of Figure 9 using the diagnosis result data received from the device status monitoring control unit 215e and stored in the memory unit 215h.

[0197] Specifically, the screen display control unit 215b judges the abnormal data to be highly abnormal (×) when there are two or more abnormal data in the diagnostic method item list shown in Fig. 9, and subtracts the score defined in the "×" column of the score column in Fig. 9 from the full score (100 points). Also, if there is one abnormal data (diagnostic result data judged to be abnormal), it judges the abnormal data to be slightly abnormal (△) and subtracts the score defined in the "△" column in Fig. 9 from the full score. Also, if there is no abnormal data, it judges the abnormal data to be normal (○) and gives the full score.

[0198] Furthermore, the screen display control unit 215b determines that the data is not subject to judgment (-) when there is no diagnostic result data to be judged, such as when the item is not the subject of diagnosis in the first place, or when diagnostic result data related to the diagnostic target item has not been acquired. The judgment results and the scoring results are stored in the storage unit 215h.

[0199] In the example of Figure 8, first, the diagnostic result data for the reaction chamber temperature item is judged and scored. If there is even one diagnostic method item that indicates an abnormality for the reaction chamber temperature item, the reaction chamber temperature data is judged to be abnormal. Also, if there are no abnormalities in all diagnostic method items (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm) related to the reaction chamber temperature data, it is judged to be normal.

[0200] After the evaluation and scoring of the diagnostic result data for the reaction chamber temperature item is completed, the next diagnostic target item (e.g., reaction chamber pressure) is evaluated and scored in the same way for each diagnostic method item related to the reaction chamber pressure. In this way, the evaluation and scoring of the diagnostic result data (i.e., quantification of the health state) are performed for each diagnostic method item for all diagnostic target items.

[0201] (Scoring process for Detail Information screen and Health Summary screen) Here, the scoring process for the detailed information display screen and the health status summary display screen will be described in detail. In this process, the screen display control unit 215b performs scoring as shown in the following steps S201 to S205.

[0202] (S201) First, for the reaction chamber temperature item, the negative scores for U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, and Alarm are calculated and summed. In the example of Figure 8, two or more pieces of data for S.FDC are abnormal (×), so the negative score for S.FDC is 30 points (see Figure 9).

[0203] In addition, one piece of data for Parts is abnormal (△), so the minus score for Parts is 10 points. U.FDC and Alarm have no minus scores. Therefore, the total minus score for the reaction chamber temperature item is 40 points, and the score is 60 points (100 - 40).

[0204] (S202) This judgment and calculation is performed for all items to be diagnosed, that is, all modules on the Detail Information screen (from the temperature of the reaction chamber to the water used by the customer, as shown in Figure 8), and scores are obtained for all items to be diagnosed and stored in memory unit 215h.

[0205] (S203) Next, the sum of the negative scores for each diagnostic method item (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm) for all items to be diagnosed is calculated and stored in the storage unit 215h.

[0206] For example, for U.FDC, the sum of the negative scores for all items to be diagnosed (from the temperature of the reaction chamber to the water for customer use) is calculated. In the example of Figure 8, one piece of data for the reaction chamber exhaust pressure item is abnormal (△), and one piece of data for the exhaust pressure item for customer use is abnormal (△), so the total negative score for U.FDC is 30 points.

[0207] Similarly, the total negative score for S.FDC, the total negative score for Parts, and the total negative score for Alarm are calculated. In the example of Figure 8, the negative score for S.FDC is 30 points, the negative score for Parts is 20 points, and the negative score for Alarm is 5 points.

[0208] (S204) Next, for the negative scores of each diagnostic method item (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm), the current value for that day, the average value for that day, the average value for the most recent week, and the average value for the most recent month are calculated and stored in the memory unit 215h. The average value for the most recent week is the average of the average value (or maximum value) for one day over one week, and the average value for the most recent month is the average of the average value (or maximum value) for one day over one month.

[0209] (S205) Next, the current values ​​for each negative score for each diagnostic method item (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm) on that day are totaled, and this total is subtracted from the perfect score (100 points) to calculate the health index (evaluation index of the overall operational status of the device) for the device 1. In the example of FIG. 8, a health index of 95 points is displayed on the health status summary display screen. Note that this 95 points is an example and does not match the score on the detailed information display screen.

[0210] In Example 1, the number of abnormal data items is used to distinguish between "△" and "×", but this is not limited to this format. If there is one or more abnormal items, it may be defined as "×", and if there is one or more warning items indicating that an abnormality is approaching, it may be defined as "△".

[0211] In addition, in the above description, in S203, the sum of the negative scores for each diagnostic method item (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm) is calculated and stored in memory unit 215h, but it may also be configured to calculate the sum of the scores (100 points - negative score) for each diagnostic method item and store it in memory unit 215h.

[0212] In addition, in the above explanation, in S204, for the negative scores of each diagnostic method item (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm), the current value for the day, the average value for the day, the average value for the most recent week, and the average value for the most recent month are calculated and stored in the memory unit 215h, but it is also possible to configure the score (100 points - negative score) of each diagnostic method item to be the current value for the day, the average value for the day, the average value for the most recent week, and the average value for the most recent month, and store them in the memory unit 215h.

[0213] (Judgment for diagnostic items on the Supply Check screen) In addition, in the data determination step (S13), the diagnostic result data to be used on the supply status display screen is determined, i.e., it is determined whether or not the actual measured value at the start of substrate processing for each diagnostic item exceeds a predetermined threshold value (e.g., ±3%) of the reference value shown in the initial value table or the value of the master device.

[0214] In the example of Figure 8, it is determined that for Cooling Water Flow, there are two events (indicated by A) where the value at the start of the process for Device 1 exceeds ±3% from the reference value shown in the initial value table, for LTP Purge & Blower, there is one event (indicated by B) where the value at the start of the process for Device 1 exceeds ±3% from the value of the master device, and for Exhaust, there is one event (indicated by A) where the value at the start of the process for Device 1 exceeds ±3% from the reference value shown in the initial value table.

[0215] (Judgment result display step: S14) Next, in the judgment result display step (S14), the screen display control unit 215b reads out the judgment results and scoring results of the data judgment step (S13) from the memory unit 215h, and updates and displays the detailed information display screen, abnormal area display screen, health condition overview display screen, and supply status display screen shown in Figure 8.

[0216] (Updated Detail Information screen) When updating the detailed information display screen, for the diagnostic result data in each diagnostic method item column (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm) for each diagnostic target item, if it is normal, "○" is displayed, if two or more items are judged to be abnormal, "×" is displayed, if one item is judged to be abnormal, "△" is displayed, and if there is no diagnostic result data to be judged, "-" is displayed in each diagnostic method item column (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm) on the Detail Information screen. In addition, the score for each diagnostic target item is displayed in the Score column on the detailed information display screen.

[0217] In more detail, if the diagnostic result data relating to U.FDC or S.FDC has no abnormality judgment (no abnormal data), it will display "○", if one device status monitoring data has an abnormality judgment (abnormal data exists), it will display "△", and if two or more device status monitoring data have an abnormality judgment (abnormal data exists), it will display "×". This makes it easy to detect abnormal conditions relating to U.FDC or S.FDC. This can be understood as follows.

[0218] Also, if the diagnostic result data for parts is not judged to be abnormal (exceeding the threshold), "○" is displayed, if one piece of part data is judged to be abnormal (exceeding the threshold), "△" is displayed, and if two or more pieces of part data are judged to be abnormal (exceeding the threshold), "×" is displayed. This makes it easy to understand abnormal conditions related to part lifespan.

[0219] Furthermore, for diagnosis result data related to alarms, if there is no fault information data, a "○" is displayed, if there is one fault information data, a "△" is displayed, and if there are two or more fault information data, an "×" is displayed. If the identifier (ID) of the fault information data is the same, it is diagnosed as one fault occurring regardless of the number of alarms that have occurred. This makes it easy to grasp abnormal conditions related to fault information occurrence conditions.

[0220] Additionally, on the detailed information display screen, "x" is displayed in red and "△" in yellow. In the Score column, if the score is less than 100 points but 80 points or more, it is displayed in yellow, and if it is less than 80 points, it is displayed in red.

[0221] When a cell displaying "x" or "△" is clicked on the detailed information display screen, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to further display detailed information about the item to be diagnosed. This allows the user to see which part of the reaction chamber (upper, middle, lower, etc.) is causing the abnormality in temperature, for example, if the item to be diagnosed is the reaction chamber temperature.

[0222] (Updated Health Check View screen) Furthermore, the screen display control unit 215b may be configured to display an overall view of the apparatus 1 while marking or coloring units (shown as "Divisions" in FIG. 8) or items (shown as "Modules" in FIG. 8) containing diagnostic result data determined to be abnormal, i.e., components of the apparatus 1 determined to be abnormal, so that they can be identified as abnormal, and update and display the abnormal portion display screen. In the example of FIG. 8, the reaction chamber unit (A in the drawing) is displayed in red in the overall perspective view of the apparatus 1. Note that the abnormality determination display is appropriately set so that it is displayed, for example, when there are two or more abnormalities in each of the diagnostic method items such as FDC, Parts, and Alarm, or when the score in the Score column is below a predetermined point.

[0223] (Updated Health Summary screen) The screen display control unit 215b is also configured to display changes in health status related to U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, and Alarm for the current day, the past week, or the past month on the health status summary display screen. In the example of Fig. 8, the screen display control unit 215b calculates the score for the current day, the average score for the past week, and the average score for the past month for each diagnostic method item (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm), as described above, and displays these as bar graphs on the health status summary display screen. The vertical axis of the bar graph represents relative values ​​for comparison, with 0 to 4 on the vertical axis corresponding to scores of 0 to 100.

[0224] This health status is calculated by subtracting the negative scores for U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, and Alarm for the current day, the past week, and the past month from a perfect score (100 points). This allows the operator to easily grasp the equipment health status for the current day, the past week, and the past month for each diagnostic method item (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm).

[0225] The number of U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, and Alarms and their negative scores for the current day, the past week, or the past month may be displayed as bar graphs on the health status overview screen. This makes it easy to grasp abnormal status changes for U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, and Alarms.

[0226] The screen display control unit 215b is also configured to update the health index, which indicates the health state of the device, on the health state summary display screen and display it as a numerical value. In the example of Fig. 8, "95 points" is displayed in the upper right corner of the health state summary display screen. This health index is a total score obtained by aggregating each diagnostic method item (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm, Score), as shown in S205 above.

[0227] This allows the operator to easily grasp the health status of the device for that day at a glance. The health index may be displayed not as a number but as a bar graph including the past few weeks or days. Displayed in this manner, it is easy to see the progress of the device health status over the past week, for example. Furthermore, if the health index falls below a predetermined threshold, the device 1 may be configured to sound a buzzer to issue an alarm to prompt the operator to check the health status of the device 1.

[0228] (Supply Check screen update) Furthermore, the screen display control unit 215b updates and displays the supply status display screen based on the diagnosis result data of the equipment data related to the diagnosis target items, Precursor, Cooling Water Flow, LTP Purge & Blower, Exhaust, Pump, and FAN, acquired in the diagnosis result data acquisition step (S12). At this time, the screen display control unit 215b displays an icon indicating the occurrence of an abnormality for each piece of diagnosis result data diagnosed as abnormal among the equipment data.

[0229] For example, if the actual measurement value of the above-mentioned diagnostic target item differs from the reference value shown in the initial value table by more than ±3%, icon A indicating this is displayed in correspondence with the corresponding item on the supply status display screen. Also, if the actual measurement value of each diagnostic target item differs from the value of the master device by more than ±3%, icon B indicating this is displayed in correspondence with the corresponding item on the supply status display screen. Icons A and B are, for example, graphic representations of exclamation marks, and are displayed in different colors so that they can be distinguished from each other. In the example of FIG. 8, icons A and B are indicated by A and B, respectively.

[0230] In this way, in the judgment result display step (S14), the screen display control unit 215b is configured to process and display each screen file acquired in the aggregated screen display step (S11) based on the data acquired in the diagnosis result data acquisition step (S12) and the judgment results and scoring results of the data judgment step (S13).

[0231] In this embodiment, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display the aggregate screen shown in FIG. 8, but the illustrated example of FIG. 8 is merely an example for explaining the present invention.

[0232] For example, six items are defined as equipment data on the supply status display screen, but this is not limited to this form. The detailed information display screen, abnormality area display screen, and health status summary display screen are also similarly not limited to this embodiment. For example, on the detailed information display screen, units (shown as categories in FIG. 8) and items (shown as modules in FIG. 8) are set arbitrarily. Furthermore, if customer power is to be excluded from the health check of the device 1, the detailed information display screen can be configured to exclude customer power, which is a category.

[0233] In the example of Figure 8, a total of four screens are displayed: an abnormal area display screen, a supply status display screen, a health status summary display screen, and a detailed information display screen. However, it is also possible to configure the system to display any one of these four screens, or to display any multiple of these four screens.

[0234] According to the screen display process of the screen display control unit 215b in the first embodiment, one or more of the following effects are achieved.

[0235] According to the first embodiment, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display a score, a negative score, or the number of abnormalities for each diagnostic method item (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts, Alarm) on the health status summary display screen, so that the device health status on the day, the device health status for the past week, and the device health status for the past month can be easily grasped for each diagnostic method item.

[0236] According to the first embodiment, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display, on the detailed information display screen, the diagnosis results of the diagnostic method item (FDC) that performs abnormality diagnosis based on device data, the diagnosis results of the diagnostic method item (Parts) related to the usage time or number of times of use of the parts that make up the device 1, and the diagnosis results of the diagnostic method item (Alarm) related to the number of occurrences of alarms (fault information) of the device 1, for each of the multiple diagnostic target items, so that the diagnosis results of each diagnostic method item for each diagnostic target item can be easily grasped.

[0237] Furthermore, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display a score indicating the health level (normality level) for each diagnostic target item, so that the health level for each diagnostic target item can be easily grasped.

[0238] Example 2 Next, a process for displaying an operational status summary screen of the device 1 shown in Fig. 18 on the operation display unit 227 and a process for deriving information evaluating the operational status of the device 1 using the diagnosis target items shown in Fig. 18 will be described based on the processing flow of the screen display program shown in Fig. 7. Here, in Example 2, the diagnosis method in Fig. 9 is the same as in Example 1. Other parts that overlap with Example 1 will be omitted as appropriate, and Example 2 will be described below.

[0239] In this embodiment, out of the four functions (data consistency, parts management, equipment status monitoring, and data analysis support) possessed by the equipment management controller 215, the equipment management controller 215 is configured to derive information indicating the operational status of the equipment 1 based on the equipment status monitoring result data output by the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e, the maintenance timing monitoring result data output by the parts management control unit 215d, and the power usage monitoring result data output by the data consistency control unit 215c.

[0240] First, an aggregated screen display step (S11) shown in Fig. 7 is executed. As a result, icon files including a Health Check View screen (abnormal site display screen), a Supply Check screen (supply status display screen), a Health Summary screen (health status summary display screen), a Total Scoring Table screen (detailed information display screen), and a Parameter Matching screen (file collation and comparison display screen) are read out from the storage unit 215h, and the respective screens are displayed together on the screen of the operation display unit 227, for example, as shown in Fig. 18.

[0241] The Total Scoring Table screen (detailed information display screen) shows the same diagnostic target items as the Detail Information screen (detailed information display screen) in Example 1, and the diagnostic methods (U.FDC, S.FDC, Parts) are also the same; only the name of the screen is different. Note that although only the reaction chamber is shown as a category in Figure 18, other diagnostic target items can be displayed on the screen by scrolling using a scroll portion not shown.

[0242] Furthermore, the Supply Check screen (supply status display screen) has the same diagnostic target items as the previous screen, except that it adds categories (referred to as Category in FIG. 18) and diagnostic results (referred to as Check Status in FIG. 18) as items. Note that this Supply Check screen (supply status display screen) can also be scrolled using a scroll section (not shown) to display other diagnostic target items on the screen.

[0243] In addition, the Health Summary screen (health status overview display screen) has been simplified to only display information evaluating the overall operational status of the device in accordance with Example 1, and the Health Check View screen (abnormal area display screen) is the same as in Example 1.

[0244] The Parameter Matching screen (file matching comparison display screen) displays the results (matching rate) of file matching performed by the data consistency control unit 215c (described later) in the form of files stored in each controller (control unit) of the device 1. Note that the results of this file matching are not related to the quantification of information indicating the operational status of the device 1. Here, OU indicates the operation unit 201, Robo indicates the transport control unit 211, PMC indicates the processing control unit 212, and SYSTEM indicates the device management controller 215.

[0245] Next, in the monitoring result data acquisition step (S12) shown in FIG. 7, data acquisition related to screen files other than the Parameter Matching screen (file collation and comparison display screen) is the same as in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0246] In this embodiment, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to obtain the results of file matching performed by the data matching control unit 215c from the storage unit 215h as necessary.

[0247] (Tool matching function) Next, the tool matching function of the data matching control unit 215c will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0248] In this embodiment, the repeat device directly communicates with the master device and acquires the necessary data from the master device, thereby achieving tool matching by the repeat device itself, without relying on a management device or a host computer, which is a type of higher-level computer.

[0249] As shown in Figure 10, the name and IP address (Internet Protocol Address) of the master device 1(0) can be set as initial information in the main control memory unit 222 of a repeat device, for example, repeat device 1(2). The name and IP address of the master device 1(0) are set by an operator, for example, from the operation display unit 227 of the repeat device 1(2), but they may also be configured to be distributed from the master device 1(0) to the repeat device 1(2). The reason why two pieces of information, the IP address and the name, are used to connect to the master device 1(0) is because the system is set up so that the device name is verified after a communication connection is established with the master device 1(0) via the IP address. This prevents incorrect connections due to incorrect IP address settings, and allows the operator to perform matching (data consistency) work without being aware of the master device.

[0250] In the data matching control shown in FIG. 10, the data matching control unit 215c of the device 1 including the repeat device 1(2) reads out the recipe file and the parameter file from the main control memory unit 222 of the master device 1(0), stores them in the main control memory unit 222 of the device 1, and performs file matching.

[0251] In file matching, the recipe file of the master device 1(0) is copied to become the recipe file of device 1, and the parameter file of the master device 1(0) and the parameter file of device 1 are compared and collated.

[0252] It is also possible to configure the device 1(0) so that the recipe file and parameter file received from the master device 1(0) are stored in the storage unit 215h of the device 1, rather than in the main control storage unit 222, and file matching is performed.

[0253] The reason why parameter files are compared rather than copied is that after the delivery of the first unit of the device 1, the user acquires optimal parameters while operating the device 1 and manages them as know-how. If such circumstances do not exist, parameter files may be copied rather than compared, as with recipe files. Conversely, it is also possible to configure recipe files to be compared rather than copied.

[0254] When data matching control (tool matching) is being performed, as shown in Fig. 11, a progress chart of file matching with the master device 1(0) (recipe file is copied from the master device 1(0), and parameter file is compared with the master device 1(0)) is displayed on the operation display unit 227. This allows the worker to easily know the progress of the recipe file copying and parameter comparison work, and also allows the worker to easily resume the recipe file copying and parameter comparison work.

[0255] In the example of FIG. 11, recipe file 1 (Recipe 1) to recipe file 10 (Recipe 10) are copied from the corresponding recipe files of master device 1(0), and parameter file 1 (Parameter 1) to parameter file 11 (Parameter 11) of repeat device 1(2) are compared with the corresponding parameter files of master device 1(0).

[0256] For example, for recipe file 1, 160 of the total 200 files were successfully copied, giving a successful copy rate (matching rate) of 80%. In the "Matching Rate" column for recipe file 1, the successful copy rate (hatched pattern rising to the right in the figure), the copy failure rate (dotted pattern in the figure), the copy failure rate (hatched pattern rising to the left in the figure), and the copy incomplete rate (white background pattern in the figure) are displayed in bar graphs from left to right in the "Matching Rate" column.

[0257] In an actual screen, it is preferable to color-code the ratio of copies that were successfully made in blue, the ratio of copies that failed in yellow, the ratio of copies that could not be made in red, and the ratio of copies that were incomplete in white.

[0258] For example, in the case of a process recipe, copying is not possible when the combination file does not exist in the copy destination device 1. Copying is incomplete when an operator interrupts copying, etc. If copying is not possible or copying is incomplete, copying can be resumed by removing the cause of the copying inability or by performing a predetermined operation, for example, by clicking on the incomplete area in the "matching rate" column on the screen of the operation display unit 227.

[0259] For the other recipe files 2 to 10, the "Matching Rate" column is displayed as a bar graph in the same manner as recipe file 1. The "File" column displays an overall matching rate of 85%, which indicates the matching rate for all recipe files (recipe files 1 to 10).

[0260] Also, for example, for parameter file 1, out of a total of 244 files, the number of files for which the comparison results were normal (that is, the file contents were identical) was 231, and the ratio of files for which the comparison results were normal (matching rate) was approximately 95%. In the "matching rate" column for parameter file 1, the ratio of files for which the comparison results were normal (hatched patterns rising to the right in the figure) and the ratio of files for which the comparison results were abnormal (hatched patterns rising to the left in the figure) are displayed in bar graphs from left to right.

[0261] For the other parameter files 2 to 11, the "Matching Rate" column is displayed as a bar graph in the same manner as for parameter file 1. The "Parameter" column displays an overall matching rate of 92%, which indicates the matching rate for all parameter files (parameter files 1 to 11).

[0262] Furthermore, as indicated by the arrow attached to the bar graph of parameter file 9, if the comparison result is abnormal, the differences between the parameter files can be displayed in detail by clicking on the abnormal area of ​​the bar graph on the screen of operation display unit 227.

[0263] 12 is a process flow diagram of file matching according to this embodiment. This process flow is executed by the data matching control unit 215c.

[0264] First, the first recipe file is copied (step S21 in FIG. 12). If the recipe file cannot be copied (Yes in S22), a red display flag is turned ON (S23), and the process proceeds to step S27. If the recipe file can be copied (No in S22), a check is made to see if the copy failed, and if the copy failed (Yes in S24), a yellow display flag is turned ON (S25), and the process proceeds to step S27. If the copy did not fail (No in S24), a blue display flag is turned ON (S26), and the process proceeds to step S27.

[0265] In step S27, it is checked whether copying of all recipe files has been completed. If copying of all recipe files has not been completed (No in S27), the process returns to S21, and copying of the next recipe file is performed.

[0266] When copying of all recipe files has been completed (Yes in S27), the first parameter file is compared (S28). If there are differences in the parameter files (Yes in S29), the red display flag is turned ON (S30) and the process proceeds to step S32. If there are no differences (No in S29), the blue display flag is turned ON (S31) and the process proceeds to step S32.

[0267] In step S32, it is checked whether or not comparison of all parameter files has been completed. If comparison of all parameter files has not been completed (No in S32), the process returns to S28, and the next parameter file is compared.

[0268] When the comparison of all parameter files has been completed (Yes in S32), the matching progress screen shown in Fig. 11 is displayed on the screen of the operation display unit 227. At this time, for files for which the blue display flag, red display flag, or yellow display flag is ON, the matching rate column in Fig. 11 is displayed in blue, red, and yellow, respectively. Furthermore, for files for which the comparison is incomplete, the matching rate column in Fig. 11 is displayed in white. After that, this process ends.

[0269] Furthermore, when the matching process of the data matching control unit 215c described above is completed (Yes in S32), the data matching control unit 215c stores all the results of the matching process, including the overall matching rate indicating the matching rate, in the storage unit 215h.

[0270] According to the matching process of the data consistency control unit 215c in this embodiment, the data consistency control unit 215c is configured to copy and compare files of device 1 with files of the master device, thereby increasing the reliability of files of device 1.

[0271] According to the matching process of the data consistency control unit 215c in this embodiment, the data consistency control unit 215c is configured to display whether a file cannot be copied, whether the copy has failed, whether the copy is incomplete, and whether there are any differences, making it easy to understand whether the file cannot be copied, whether the copy has failed, whether the copy is incomplete, and whether there are any differences.

[0272] According to the matching process of the data consistency control unit 215c in this embodiment, the data consistency control unit 215c is configured to display details when a part indicating a difference in a displayed file is clicked, so that the details of the file differences can be easily grasped.

[0273] In addition, the screen display control unit 215b in this embodiment is configured to obtain the overall matching rate obtained by matching the entire file by the data consistency control unit 215c from the memory unit 215h and display the matching rate on the file matching and comparison display screen.

[0274] Next, a data determination step (S13) is executed to determine and score the diagnostic result data acquired in S12. As in the first embodiment, in the data determination step (S13), it is determined whether the diagnostic result data for the diagnostic target item is normal or abnormal, and to what extent the abnormality is.

[0275] (Judgment for diagnostic items on the Total Scoring Table screen) In the judgment for the diagnostic target items on the detailed information display screen, a judgment is made for each diagnostic result data (diagnosis result data related to U.FDC, S.FDC, and Parts) for each diagnostic target item.

[0276] Specifically, the screen display control unit 215b judges the diagnostic result data related to U.FDC and S.FDC as being highly abnormal (×) if there are five or more abnormal data (diagnostic result data judged to be abnormal), as being slightly abnormal (△) if there are one to four abnormal data, and as being normal (◯) if there is no abnormal data. Note that one point is assigned for each abnormal data.

[0277] Furthermore, the screen display control unit 215b determines that the data is not subject to judgment (-) when there is no diagnostic result data to be judged, such as when the item is not considered to be a diagnostic target in the first place, or when diagnostic result data related to the diagnostic target item has not been acquired. Hereinafter, x may be referred to as an error icon, △ as a warning icon, ○ as a normal icon, and - as an exclusion icon. The judgment results and scoring results are stored in the memory unit 215h. The scoring results will be described later.

[0278] The screen display control unit 215b is also configured to display the results of the determination on the detailed information display screen, and in the example of Fig. 18, it shows that one abnormal data item was found as a result of diagnosing the device data related to the boat of the item (Module) using the U.FDC shown in Fig. 9. In other words, since 99 (100-1) is displayed on the health status summary display screen, it is estimated that the number of abnormal data items is one.

[0279] Next, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to determine the degree of abnormal data in the diagnosis result data related to Parts (parts management). If there are 20 or more items of abnormal data (diagnosis result data determined to be abnormal), the screen display control unit 215b determines it as being highly abnormal (×), if there are 1 to 19 items of abnormal data, it determines it as being slightly abnormal (△), and if there is no abnormal data, it determines it as being normal (◯). In the example of FIG. 18, since the data is not subject to data determination, an exclusion icon (-) is displayed for all items.

[0280] Note that 1 point is allocated for 1 to 4 abnormal data items, 2 points for 5 to 9 abnormal data items, 3 points for 10 to 14 abnormal data items, and 4 points for 15 to 19 abnormal data items. In short, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to determine that up to 20 abnormal data items are slightly abnormal, and to display a warning icon (△) on the detailed information display screen.

[0281] In addition, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display, on the abnormal part display screen, the component parts corresponding to the diagnostic result data that have been determined to be abnormal and that have been output by the parts management control unit 215d and the device status monitoring control unit 215e, so that they can be identified.

[0282] (Judgment for diagnostic items on the Supply Check screen) In the data determination step (S13), the diagnostic result data (power usage monitoring result data) output by the data consistency control unit 215c is determined. That is, the screen display control unit 215b determines whether the actual measurement value at the start of substrate processing for each diagnostic target item exceeds the reference data and a predetermined threshold value (for example, ±3%). In the example of Fig. 18, the diagnostic result data for all items is within the threshold value.

[0283] The screen display control unit 215b is configured to display an icon (icon A) indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the corresponding judgment result (Check Status) cell if the value at the start of the device 1 process deviates from the reference data (reference value shown in the initial value table). When the A icon is selected on the screen, more detailed information about the target item is displayed. For example, multiple pieces of equipment data are associated with one item, and abnormal data among this equipment data (power usage monitoring result data determined to be abnormal) is displayed in a distinguishable manner, such as by being colored red. Note that one point is assigned for each piece of colored equipment data (abnormal data).

[0284] (Scoring process on Health Summary screen) Next, the scoring process of the health status summary display screen will be described in detail. The health index, which is an evaluation index of the overall operational status of the device, is expressed by the following formula using the subtraction method, for example.

[0285] Health Index = Perfect score (100) - (Number of power usage monitoring result data judged as abnormal + Number of equipment status monitoring result data judged as abnormal (U.FDC) + Number of equipment status monitoring result data judged as abnormal (S.FDC) + Number of parts subtracted)

[0286] Here, the Parts subtraction number is the number by which the number of maintenance timing monitoring result data determined to be abnormal increases by approximately 5 times: 1 point subtracted when the number is 1 to 4, 2 points subtracted when the number is 5 to 9, 3 points subtracted when the number is 10 to 14, 4 points subtracted when the number is 15 to 19, 5 points subtracted when the number is 20 to 24, etc.

[0287] That is, in FIG. 18, the health index is 100-(0-1-0-0)=99.

[0288] Furthermore, the subtraction numbers calculated from the number of equipment status monitoring result data judged to be abnormal and the number of power usage monitoring result data judged to be abnormal can be calculated simply by counting the number of abnormalities, so no special care is required. However, the Parts subtraction number must be calculated for each item to be diagnosed and then added up, so care is required.

[0289] Next, in the judgment result display step (S14), the screen display control unit 215b reads out the judgment results and scoring results of the data judgment step (S13) from the memory unit 215h, and updates and displays the detailed information display screen, abnormal area display screen, health condition overview display screen, and supply status display screen shown in Figure 18.

[0290] (Updated Total Scoring Table screen) When updating the detailed information display screen, the screen display control unit 215b displays "○" for the diagnostic result data in each diagnostic method item (U.FDC, S.FDC) column for each diagnostic target item if the data is normal, "×" if five or more items are judged to be abnormal, "△" if one to four items are judged to be abnormal, and "-" if there is no diagnostic result data to be judged.

[0291] Furthermore, the screen display control unit 215b displays "○" and "-" for the diagnostic result data in the diagnostic method item (Parts) column of the detailed information display screen in the same way as for the diagnostic method items (U.FDC, S.FDC), and displays "×" if 20 or more items of the diagnostic result data in the diagnostic method item (Parts) column are judged to be abnormal, and displays "△" if 1 to 19 items are judged to be abnormal.

[0292] Note that an Alarm (fault management) column may be added and displayed as in the first embodiment, and a score column may be added and displayed to display the scores for each diagnostic target item. In this case, however, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to execute S201 to S205 described in the first embodiment.

[0293] Also, similar to Example 1, when a cell displaying an "X" or "△" is clicked on the detailed information display screen, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to further display detailed information about the item to be diagnosed.

[0294] (Updated Health Check View screen) As in Example 1, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display an overall view of the device 1 while also displaying units (shown as sections in FIG. 18) and items (shown as modules in FIG. 18) containing diagnostic result data that has been determined to be abnormal, that is, components of the device 1 that have been determined to be abnormal, in a manner that makes it possible to determine that they are abnormal.

[0295] (Updated Health Summary screen) The screen display control unit 215b is configured to derive information indicating the operational status of the device 1 by using the device status monitoring result data output by the device status monitoring control unit 215e, the maintenance timing monitoring result data output by the parts management control unit 215d, and the power usage monitoring result data output by the data consistency control unit 215c.

[0296] Specifically, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display the health index (index indicating the health state) of the device 1 by a subtraction method using the device status monitoring result data determined to be abnormal and output by the device status monitoring control unit 215e, the maintenance timing monitoring result data determined to be abnormal and output by the parts management control unit 215d, and the power usage monitoring result data determined to be abnormal and output by the data consistency control unit 215c.

[0297] (Supply Check screen update) In addition, the screen display control unit 215b updates and displays the supply status display screen based on the diagnosis result data of the equipment data related to the diagnostic target items, that is, the precursor (Precursor in FIG. 8), the cooling water (Cooling Water Flow in FIG. 8), the purge temperature (LTP Purge & Blower in FIG. 8), the exhaust (Exhaust in FIG. 8), and the pump (Pump in FIG. 8), which are acquired in the diagnosis result data acquisition step (S12).

[0298] (Updated Parameter Matching screen) In addition, the screen display control unit 215b updates and displays the file comparison display screen based on data indicating the overall matching rate among the data resulting from file matching for the items PMC, SYSTEM, OU, and Robo that are the file matching targets acquired in the diagnosis result data acquisition process (S12).

[0299] As described above, according to the second embodiment, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display the result of comparing the parameter files of the equipment 1 (repeat equipment) and the master equipment before starting substrate processing, so that if the matching rate is low, it is possible to take measures such as not starting substrate processing until the file is matched with the master equipment. Furthermore, if the parameter file is related to a recipe file for substrate processing, if the matching rate is low, it is possible to prevent lot out by prohibiting execution of the recipe.

[0300] According to the second embodiment, the screen display control unit 215b uses the power usage monitoring result data, which indicates the result of comparing the equipment data provided by the customer factory with the reference data, to derive information indicating the operational status of the device 1, so that the overall operational status of the device can be evaluated more accurately.

[0301] In the above-described embodiment, the device management controller 215 may be configured to notify the upper controller of information indicating the operating status of the device 1.

[0302] Furthermore, in the present embodiment as described above, for example, when quantitatively calculating information indicating the operational status of device 1, a subtraction method (a method of subtracting from a perfect score) is used, but the present invention is not limited to this calculation method, and for example, points may be added according to the number of abnormalities.

[0303] The device management controller 215 in this embodiment provides one or more of the following advantages.

[0304] (1) According to this embodiment, the system is configured to derive information evaluating the operational status of the equipment based on a plurality of monitoring result data selected from the group consisting of the maintenance timing monitoring result data acquired by the parts management control unit 215d, the equipment status monitoring result data acquired by the equipment status monitoring control unit 215e, and the power usage monitoring result data determined by the data consistency control unit 215c. Therefore, the equipment management controller 215 can centrally manage the overall status of the equipment, and can more accurately evaluate the overall operational status of the equipment.

[0305] (2) The screen display control unit 215b is configured to display the health index on the health status summary display screen, so that the operating status of the device can be quantitatively grasped at a glance.

[0306] (3) The screen display control unit 215b is configured to display the component parts of the device 1 that contain diagnostic result data that have been determined to be abnormal on the abnormal part display screen in a manner that makes it possible to determine that they are abnormal, so that it is easy to understand which parts are abnormal.

[0307] (4) The screen display control unit 215b is configured to display on the supply status display screen that the actual measured value of the equipment data at the start of the process of the device 1 exceeds a predetermined threshold value with respect to the reference data, so that it is easy to understand that the equipment data at the start of the process of the device 1 is abnormal.

[0308] (5) Furthermore, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display on the supply status display screen that the actual measured values ​​of the equipment data are abnormal for each diagnosed item, so that it is easy to identify which diagnosed items are abnormal.

[0309] (6) Furthermore, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display the S.FDC, which is a diagnostic method created and used by the manufacturer of the device 1, in addition to the U.FDC, which is a diagnostic method created and used by the user of the device 1, for diagnostic method items that perform abnormality diagnosis by comparing standard data based on the amount of change over time in the device data. Therefore, the S.FDC diagnostic results for each diagnostic target item can be easily grasped.

[0310] (7) Furthermore, the screen display control unit 215b is configured to display the U.FDC and S.FDC separately, so that the diagnosis results of the U.FDC and S.FDC for each diagnostic target item can be easily grasped.

[0311] (8) The screen display control unit 215b is configured to display, on the detailed information display screen, the diagnosis results of the diagnostic method items (FDC) that perform abnormality diagnosis based on device data for each of a plurality of diagnostic target items, and the diagnosis results of the diagnostic method items (Parts) related to the usage time or number of uses of the parts that make up the device 1. Therefore, the diagnosis results of each diagnostic method item for each diagnostic target item can be easily grasped.

[0312] The substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied not only to semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses that manufacture semiconductors but also to apparatuses that process glass substrates, such as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) devices, etc. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to various substrate processing apparatuses, such as exposure apparatuses, lithography apparatuses, coating apparatuses, and processing apparatuses that utilize plasma.

[0313] Furthermore, the film formation process can also be a process for forming a thin film such as CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) or PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition), a process for forming an oxide film or a nitride film, or a process for forming a film containing a metal. [Explanation of symbols]

[0314] 1...substrate processing apparatus (apparatus), 201...main controller (operation unit), 215...apparatus management controller, 215b...screen display control unit, 215c...data matching control unit, 215d...component management unit A logic control unit, 215e...device status monitoring control unit, 215h...storage unit, 227...operation display unit.

Claims

1. an equipment management controller having at least an equipment status monitoring control unit that monitors the soundness of equipment data obtained from the operating states of components that make up the equipment; The device management controller The apparatus is configured to derive information evaluating the operational status of the apparatus based on a plurality of apparatus status monitoring result data acquired by the apparatus status monitoring control unit, The device status monitoring control unit is a processing device configured to obtain standard data corresponding to the device data from a master device, compare the device data with the standard data, and determine whether the device data is abnormal.

2. The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the device management controller is configured to reflect the number of device data determined to be abnormal among the device status monitoring result data in the information evaluating the operational status of the device.

3. and a display device for displaying a result of comparing a file held by the device with a file held by the master device.

2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said equipment management controller collates all of the files held by said equipment status monitoring control unit and causes said display device to display the percentage of matches.

4. Further, a data matching control unit is provided that monitors equipment data provided from the factory equipment to the device, 2. The processing device according to claim 1, wherein the data matching control unit is configured to compare the equipment data with reference data that serves as a reference for the equipment data, and determine whether the equipment data is abnormal.

5. The processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the equipment management controller is configured to display an icon indicating that an abnormality has occurred depending on whether or not the equipment data determined to be abnormal is present.

6. The device management controller further includes a storage unit that stores device information and address information of the master device, 6. The processing device according to claim 5, wherein the data matching control unit is configured to, while connected to the master device by the address information, compare the device information of the master device with the device information of the master device stored in the memory unit.

7. 7. The processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the data matching control unit is configured to, when the apparatus information matches in the comparison, acquire a recipe file from the master apparatus, copy the acquired recipe file of the master apparatus, and set it as a recipe file for the substrate processing apparatus.

8. Further, a display device is provided with an operation screen for displaying the results of copying or comparing files between devices, 8. The processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the data matching control unit is configured to cause the display device to display a progress status of copying of the recipe file of the master apparatus.

9. 9. The processing device according to claim 7, wherein the data matching control section is configured to cause the display device to display a matching rate between files as a result of copying files between devices.

10. 7. The processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the data matching control unit is configured to, when the apparatus information matches in the comparison, acquire a parameter file from the master apparatus, and compare the acquired parameter file of the master apparatus with a parameter file of the substrate processing apparatus.

11. Further, a display device is provided with an operation screen for displaying the results of copying or comparing files between devices, 10. The processing device according to claim 9, wherein the data matching control unit is configured to cause the display device to display a progress status of matching of the parameter file of the master device.

12. 12. The processing device according to claim 10, wherein the data matching control unit is configured to cause the display device to display a matching rate between files as a result of comparing files between devices.

13. the equipment management controller has a parts management control unit that monitors parts data of components that make up the equipment, 3. The processing device according to claim 2, configured to reflect in information evaluating the operational status of the device the number of part data that are determined to be abnormal by comparing the part data with reference data, among the maintenance timing monitoring result data acquired by the part management control unit. to have

14. 14. The processing device according to claim 13, further comprising a display device that displays on an operation screen at least one screen selected from the group consisting of a screen that displays at least one monitoring result data selected from the maintenance timing monitoring result data and the equipment status monitoring result data, and a screen that quantitatively displays information evaluating the operational status of the equipment.

15. Further, a display device is provided that displays a screen that schematically shows an overall schematic diagram of the device on an operation screen, 2. The processing device according to claim 1, wherein the device management controller, based on at least one of the result data selected from the device status monitoring result data that is determined to be abnormal, displays on the operation screen the component part of the device in which the abnormality has occurred so that it can be determined that the abnormality has occurred.

16. Further, the device has a display device, 14. The processing device according to claim 13, wherein the equipment management controller is configured to cause the display device to display an icon indicating that an abnormality has occurred, depending on whether or not the component monitoring result data is determined to be abnormal.

17. The device has at least an apparatus status monitoring control unit that monitors the soundness of apparatus data obtained from the operating states of components that make up the device, The apparatus is configured to derive information evaluating the operational status of the apparatus based on a plurality of apparatus status monitoring result data acquired by the apparatus status monitoring control unit, The device status monitoring control unit is an equipment management controller configured to obtain standard data corresponding to the device data from a master device, compare the device data with the standard data, and determine whether the device data is abnormal.

18. an equipment management controller having at least an equipment status monitoring control unit that monitors the soundness of equipment data obtained from the operating states of components that make up the equipment; a step of deriving information evaluating the operational status of the equipment based on a plurality of equipment status monitoring result data acquired by the equipment status monitoring control unit; a step in which the parts management control unit diagnoses the diagnostic target items including the component parts according to diagnostic method items and acquires maintenance timing monitoring result data; a step of obtaining standard data corresponding to the device data from a master device; A program for executing a procedure for comparing the device data with the standard data and determining whether the device data is abnormal.

19. a step of deriving information evaluating the operational status of the equipment based on a plurality of equipment status monitoring result data acquired by an equipment status monitoring control unit that monitors the soundness of equipment data obtained from the operating status of components that make up the equipment; a step of obtaining standard data corresponding to the device data from a master device; a step of comparing the device data with the standard data and determining whether the device data is abnormal; processing a substrate using the apparatus based on information evaluating the operational status of the apparatus; A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device having the above structure.

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