Mapping system

Abstract

MAPPING SYSTEM CAPABLE OF CORRECTLY DETECTING STORAGE STATE OF OBJECTS STORED IN CONTAINER EVEN IN STATE WHERE CONTAINERS STORING DIFFERENT OBJECTS ARE MIXED AND CONVEYED IN SEMICONDUCTOR FACTORY SOLUTION: A mapping system comprising: a substrate information acquisition unit configured to acquire substrate information which is information on a substrate accommodated in a predetermined container which is any one of containers installed in a state of being transported or transportable in a factory; a mapping threshold determination unit configured to determine a mapping threshold to be used in mapping of the predetermined container using the substrate information; and a mapping unit configured to perform mapping on the predetermined container using the mapping threshold.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a mapping system for detecting the containment state of an object within a container. [Background technology]

[0002] Load port devices and other devices that transfer plate-like objects (substrates) are equipped with mapping devices that detect the accommodation status of the substrates accommodated in a container. The mapping device detects the number and positions of the substrates accommodated in the container, and also detects whether the substrates are accommodated properly in the container (see Patent Document 1). Substrates detected by the mapping device include silicon substrates (including silicon wafers) and processed silicon substrates, as well as thin plate-like materials such as glass substrates.

[0003] Meanwhile, as the substrates transported in semiconductor processing plants become larger and thinner, the containers and the substrates housed in them are becoming more diverse. For example, a container for housing 200 mm (8 inches) and 0.625 mm thick silicon wafers and a container for housing 300 mm (12 inches) and 0.775 mm thick silicon wafers may be transported simultaneously in a semiconductor processing plant, with the two types of containers being alternately delivered to a given load port device. Furthermore, there are also cases where substrates with rectangular planar shapes or thinner than the silicon wafers mentioned above are transported.

[0004] In mapping devices used in semiconductor processing factories, it can be difficult to distinguish between detection results for a faulty state, such as when two substrates are stored on one shelf in a container, and normal detection results. For example, if the target object is a wide, thin substrate, the central part that is not supported by the container shelf may bend downward, and even if one substrate is properly stored on one shelf, the detection signal may be similar to that of a faulty storage state, where two smaller substrates are stored on one shelf. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-35384 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present disclosure relates to a mapping system that can correctly detect the storage state of objects stored in containers even when containers storing different objects are mixed and transported within a semiconductor factory. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the mapping system according to the present disclosure comprises: a substrate information acquisition unit that acquires substrate information, which is information about substrates contained in a predetermined container that is any one of containers that are being transported or installed in a transportable state within a factory; a mapping threshold determination unit that determines a mapping threshold to be used when mapping the predetermined container using the substrate information; and a mapping unit that performs mapping for the predetermined container using the mapping threshold value.

[0008] The mapping system according to the present disclosure acquires substrate information, which is information about substrates contained in any container transported within a factory, and determines a mapping threshold for mapping a specific container based on the substrate information. This enables the mapping unit to perform mapping using a mapping threshold optimized for the substrates contained in the specific container. Therefore, the mapping system according to the present disclosure can accurately detect the storage status of objects contained in containers even when containers containing different objects are mixed and transported within a semiconductor factory.

[0009] Furthermore, for example, the substrate information acquisition unit a unique code acquisition unit that acquires a unique code of a predetermined container that is any one of containers that are being transported or installed in a transportable state within a factory; a substrate information storage unit that stores the unique code and the substrate information of the predetermined container related to the unique code in association with each other; The system may further include an information reading unit that uses the unique code acquired by the unique code acquisition unit to read out the substrate information of the specified container corresponding to the unique code from the substrate information storage unit.

[0010] Such a substrate information acquisition unit can obtain substrate information about the substrates contained in a specified container simply by obtaining the unique code of the specified container from that container, so the container itself only needs to hold a small amount of information, simplifying the system.

[0011] The substrate information may include information regarding the thickness of the substrate accommodated in the predetermined container, The substrate information may include information about the material of the substrate contained in the predetermined container.

[0012] Since substrates of different thicknesses will bend differently when housed in a container, the substrate information including information about the thickness of the substrate allows such a mapping system to correctly detect the housing state of the substrate housed in the container. The same applies to the material of the substrate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a semiconductor factory that employs a mapping system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing information transmission performed by each unit included in the mapping system shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of substrate information of the mapping system. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a mapping threshold table used in a process in which a mapping threshold determination unit in a mapping system determines a mapping threshold using substrate information. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the relationship between the value of the detection signal by the mapping unit and the mapping threshold. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the difference in the curved state depending on the thickness of the substrate accommodated in the container. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a mapping arm included in the mapping system shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing a first state in the mapping operation of the mapping unit included in the mapping system shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a second state in the mapping operation of the mapping unit included in the mapping system shown in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing a third state in the mapping operation of the mapping unit included in the mapping system shown in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing information transfer performed by each unit included in the mapping system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing information transfer performed by each unit included in the mapping system according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present disclosure will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a semiconductor factory 90 that employs a mapping system 10 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor factory 90 has a plurality of process tools 13. Each process tool 13 performs a predetermined process on various substrates, including silicon wafers. Examples of the process tools 13 include, but are not limited to, a film formation tool, an exposure tool, an etching tool, a cutting tool, a molding tool, and combinations of these tools.

[0015] Substrates to be processed or used in the processing in each process tool 13 are transported in a state housed in a container 80. The semiconductor factory 90 has a container transport system 16 such as an OHT, which transports the containers 80 and the substrates housed in the containers 80 to the process tools 13 arranged in the factory 90.

[0016] Each process tool 13 is equipped with a load port device 50 that receives a container 80 from the container transport system 16 and prepares the process tool 13 to remove the substrate accommodated in the container 80 from the container 80. The load port device 50 also has a mapping unit 60 that performs mapping on a predetermined container 82, as will be described later with reference to Figures 7 to 10 (see Figures 2 and 7 to 10).

[0017] Here, in the present disclosure, mapping performed by the mapping unit 60 refers to the mapping unit 60 detecting the storage state of substrates in a predetermined container 82. More specifically, the mapping unit 60 can detect and determine, for each storage shelf included in a predetermined container 82, whether the substrates are stored in the correct state, whether the substrates are stored in the wrong state, or whether no substrates are stored at all, using a detection unit 64 (described later) or the like. Note that the semiconductor factory 90 is not limited to being provided with the mapping unit 60 in the load port device 50, and the mapping unit 60 may be provided in other devices that detect the placement state of substrates on storage shelves of containers 80 or the like.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 1, the factory 90 has a process equipment control unit 14 that controls each process equipment 13. More specifically, the process equipment control unit 14 controls each functional part of the corresponding process equipment 13, and controls the movement of substrates within the process equipment 13 and the processing of the substrates. In the example shown in Fig. 1, a process equipment control unit 14 is provided corresponding to each process equipment 13. However, a process equipment control unit 14 does not necessarily have to be provided in a one-to-one correspondence with a process equipment 13, and one process equipment control unit 14 may control multiple process equipment 13.

[0019] The factory 90 also has a host computer 12. The host computer 12 controls all of the equipment in the factory 90 by issuing commands to, for example, the container transport system 16, the process equipment control unit 14, etc., and by receiving information from, for example, the container transport system 16, the process equipment control unit 14, etc. As shown in Fig. 1, the host computer 12 is communicatively connected to the container transport system 16, the process equipment control unit 14, etc., via a cable capable of transmitting signals, a wireless communication network, etc.

[0020] 2 is a conceptual diagram showing information transmissions (information transmissions (1) to (5)) performed by the various components of the mapping system 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the mapping system 10 installed in a factory 90 includes a mapping unit 60 included in a load port device 50 or the like, a substrate information acquisition unit 20 that acquires information about substrates contained in a predetermined container 82 that is the target of mapping, and a mapping threshold determination unit 30 that determines a mapping threshold from the substrate information.

[0021] In the mapping system 10, the mapping threshold determination unit 30 is primarily configured as a device by the process equipment control unit 14. In contrast, the substrate information acquisition unit 20 is configured in cooperation with the process equipment control unit 40, the host computer 12, the load port equipment 50, etc. Through cooperation with these devices, the substrate information acquisition unit 20 acquires substrate information 22, which is information about substrates contained in a predetermined container 82 (see FIG. 2), which is any one of the containers 80 (see FIG. 1) that are being transported or installed in a transportable state within the factory 90.

[0022] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the substrate information acquisition unit 20 according to the first embodiment includes a unique code acquisition unit 42, a substrate information storage unit 44, and an information reading unit 48. The unique code acquisition unit 42 acquires a FOUP number 83 as a unique code for a specific container 82, which is any one of the containers 80 being transported or installed in a transportable state within the factory 90 (information transmission (1)). In the example shown in FIG. 2, the process equipment control unit 14 controls the reading unit of the corresponding load port equipment 50 to acquire the FOUP number 83 as a unique code for identifying the specific container 82 placed on the load port equipment 50 by scanning an identification tag or identification code provided on the specific container 82. In this manner, the process equipment control unit 14 and the load port equipment 50 cooperate to configure the unique code acquisition unit 42.

[0023] However, the unique code acquisition unit 42 is not limited to being configured only by the process equipment control unit 14 and the load port equipment 50, etc., and may, for example, be configured by the host computer 12 and the container transport system 16 working together. The unique code may be any code that identifies any one of the containers 80 that are being transported or installed in a transportable state within the factory 90, and may be a number other than the FOUP number 83, a symbol or other code, or a code that combines a number and a symbol.

[0024] The substrate information storage unit 44 in the substrate information acquisition unit 20 stores the FOUP number 83 of each container 80 and the substrate information 22 of a specific container 82 associated with the FOUP number 83. In the example shown in Fig. 2, a storage unit included in the host computer 12 constitutes the substrate information storage unit 44. Fig. 3 shows an enlarged view of the substrate information 22 shown in Fig. 2, and represents an example of the substrate information 22 stored by the host computer 12 as the substrate information storage unit 44.

[0025] As conceptually shown by a substrate information table 21 in Fig. 3, the substrate information storage unit 44 stores, in association with each other, a FOUP number 83 of each container 80 and substrate information 22, which is information about substrates housed in a specific container 82 associated with the FOUP number 83. Examples of information included in the substrate information 22 include, as shown in Fig. 3, information 24 about the thickness of the substrates housed in the specific container, information 26 about the material of the substrates housed in the specific container, information 28 about the planar size of the substrates housed in the specific container 82, information about the planar shape (circular, square, rectangular) of the substrates housed in the specific container 82, and information about the processing status of the substrates.

[0026] 2 uses the FOUP number 83 acquired by the unique code acquisition unit 42 to read out, from the substrate information storage unit 44, substrate information 22 of a predetermined container 82 corresponding to the unique code, FOUP number 83. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the process equipment control unit 14 reads out information from the storage unit of the host computer 12, thereby reading out the substrate information 22 stored in the substrate information storage unit 44 (information transmission (2) and information transmission (3) in FIG. 2). Therefore, in the substrate information acquisition unit 20 shown in FIG. 2, the process equipment control unit 14 and the host computer 12 work together to form the information reading unit 48.

[0027] 2 constitutes a mapping threshold determination unit 30, which uses the substrate information 22 acquired by the substrate information acquisition unit 20 to determine a mapping threshold 32 (see FIG. 4) to be used when mapping a predetermined container 82. The mapping threshold 32 determined by the process equipment control unit 14 is transmitted to the mapping unit 60, which actually performs mapping for the predetermined container 82 (information transmission (4) in FIG. 2).

[0028] 4 shows an example of a mapping threshold table 31 that conceptually illustrates a process in which the process equipment control unit 14, functioning as the mapping threshold determination unit 30, determines the mapping threshold 32 using the substrate information 22. As shown in FIG. 4, the mapping threshold determination unit 30 has a mapping threshold table 31 that associates combinations of each piece of information that makes up the substrate information 22, such as information 24 about the substrate thickness, information 26 about the substrate material, and information 28 about the planar size of the substrate, with appropriate values ​​of the mapping threshold 32 in each case.

[0029] The mapping threshold determination unit 30 can apply the substrate information 22 acquired by the substrate information acquisition unit 20 to a mapping threshold table 31 shown in Fig. 4 and determine the mapping threshold 32 to be used when mapping a predetermined container 82. Here, the mapping threshold 32 refers to a threshold used when the mapping unit 60 determines the accommodation state of the substrate from the output result of the detection unit 64 that performs mapping. The mapping threshold 32 can be, for example, a range of shielding distances (a combination of a lower limit and an upper limit) within which the signal from the detection unit 64 of the mapping unit 60 is shielded by a substrate normally accommodated on a predetermined shelf in the container 80.

[0030] FIG. 6(a) schematically illustrates a state in which a substrate 87 having a thickness T1 is stored on a shelf of a container 80. When mapping is performed on the substrate 87 shown in FIG. 6(a), the signal from the detection unit 64 of the mapping unit 60 is shielded by the substrate 87 over a length corresponding to the shielding distance TD1, and this signal is indicated as the output of the detection unit 64. For example, if the shielding distance TD1 output from the detection unit 64 is between the lower limit and the upper limit of the mapping threshold 32, the mapping unit 60 determines that the substrate 87 is stored in the correct state. On the other hand, if the shielding distance TD1 output from the detection unit 64 is smaller than the lower limit of the mapping threshold 32, the mapping unit 60 can determine that the substrate is not stored on the corresponding shelf. Furthermore, if the shielding distance TD1 output from the detection unit 64 is greater than the upper limit of the mapping threshold 32, the mapping unit 60 can determine that the substrate is stored in the wrong state on the corresponding shelf, such as two substrates stacked on top of each other.

[0031] 2, in the mapping system 10, the mapping unit 60 is incorporated as part of a load port device 50 that docks a container 80 to a predetermined process equipment 13. The mapping unit 60 performs mapping on a predetermined container 82 placed on the load port device 50 using a mapping threshold 32 determined by a process equipment control unit 14 serving as a mapping threshold determination unit 30.

[0032] 8 is a conceptual diagram showing a first stage of the mapping operation of the mapping unit 60 of the load port apparatus 50 shown in FIG. 2, and is a partial cross-sectional view of the load port apparatus 50 as seen from the side (the negative X-axis direction). As shown in FIG. 8, the mapping unit 60 is provided around the door 52 of the load port apparatus 50.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 1 , the load port device 50 is attached to a process tool 13 via an EFEM (not shown) or the like in a semiconductor factory 90 and used. The load port device 50 functions as an interface unit for transferring substrates, such as silicon wafers, housed in a container 80 and transported within the semiconductor factory 90 from the container 80 to a processing space within the process tool 13. Examples of containers 80 that are installed in the factory 90 while being transported or ready to be transported include FOUPs, FOSBs, SMIFs, and open cassettes. The containers 80 within the factory 90 may also include a mixture of containers that house substrates of different sizes, such as FOUPs that house 300 mm (12-inch) silicon wafers and containers that house 200 mm (8-inch) silicon wafers.

[0034] 8, a predetermined container 82 can accommodate substrates 85 at predetermined intervals along the first direction, which is the negative direction of the Z axis. Furthermore, a main opening for removing the substrates 85 is formed on the side of the container 82 (the positive direction of the Y axis).

[0035] As shown in FIG. 8, in addition to the mapping unit 60, the load port device 50 has a mounting unit 56 on which a specified container 82 is placed, a frame unit 54 that is attached to close the opening of the EFEM, and a door 52 that opens and closes the lid 82a of the specified container 82 and the frame opening of the frame unit 54.

[0036] The mapping unit 60 shown in FIG. 8 includes a mapping frame 63, a detection unit 64 attached to the mapping frame 63, a moving means 62 for moving the detection unit 64, a sensor position detection unit 61 for detecting the position of the detection unit 64, and a mapping control unit 65 for controlling the mapping operation. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the detection unit 64 attached near the upper end of the mapping frame 63 shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the detection unit 64 of the mapping unit 60 includes a light-emitting unit 64a and a light-receiving unit 64b for receiving light from the light-emitting unit 64a. The mapping unit 60 performs mapping of a predetermined container 82 by detecting the timing and time when a detection axis 64c formed between the light-emitting unit 64a and the light-receiving unit 64b is shielded by a substrate 85 contained in the predetermined container 82.

[0037] 8 to 10, an example of the mapping operation by the mapping unit 60 will be described below. As shown in Fig. 8, in the first stage of the mapping operation, the door 15 closes the opening of the frame unit 54, and the mapping frame 63 is positioned at a predetermined distance in the positive Y-axis direction from the opening of the frame unit 54. In contrast, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, when mapping the inside of a predetermined container 82, the mapping frame 63 moves from the state shown in Fig. 8 in a second direction (negative Y-axis direction) that is approximately perpendicular to the first direction, and then moves in the first direction (negative Z-axis direction).

[0038] 8, a predetermined container 82 containing a plurality of substrates 85 is placed on the placement section 56 of the load port device 50, but the lid 82a of the predetermined container 82 is closed, and the predetermined container 82 is not connected to the frame section 54 of the load port device 50. Furthermore, in the state shown in FIG. 8, the mapping section 60 itself has not yet started the mapping operation.

[0039] Fig. 9 shows a second stage in the mapping operation of the mapping unit 60. In the second stage shown in Fig. 9, a predetermined container 82 placed on the mounting unit 56 is connected to the frame unit 54, and the lid 82a of the predetermined container 82 is opened by the door 52. After the door 52 engages with the lid 82a of the predetermined container 82 while engaged with the frame unit 54 as shown in Fig. 8, the door drive means pulls the door 52 in the positive direction of the Y axis as shown in Fig. 8, thereby opening the lid 82a of the predetermined container 82.

[0040] Furthermore, the moving means 62 of the mapping unit 60 moves the vicinity of the upper end of the mapping frame 63 in the second direction (negative direction of the Y axis), and inserts at least a part of the detection unit 64 fixed to the mapping frame 63 into the predetermined container 82. As a result, the detection axis 64c of the detection unit 64 is positioned above the substrate 85 contained in the predetermined container 82.

[0041] Fig. 10 shows a third stage in the mapping operation by the mapping unit 60. In the third stage shown in Fig. 10, the moving means 62 moves the mapping frame 63 in the first direction (negative direction of the Z axis), thereby moving the detection unit 64, which was located at a position higher than the substrate 85 stored on the top shelf in Fig. 9, to a position lower than the substrate 85 stored on the bottom shelf as shown in Fig. 10.

[0042] That is, the moving means 62 moves the detection axis 64c of the detection unit 64 along the first direction, which is the arrangement direction, so as to sequentially intersect with each of the substrates 85 accommodated on the shelf of a predetermined container 82. At this time, the detection unit 64 outputs a detection signal that changes as the detection axis 64c is shielded by the substrate 85 to the mapping control unit 65 shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. In addition, the mapping unit 60 has a sensor position detection unit 61, and the sensor position detection unit 61 detects the position of the detection unit 64 in the Z-axis direction and outputs the result to the mapping control unit 65.

[0043] The mapping control unit 65, for example, calculates shielding distances TD1, TD2 (see FIG. 6) using the detection signal from the detection unit 64 and position information from the sensor position detection unit 61, and compares the shielding distances TD1, TD2 with the mapping threshold 32 (see FIG. 4) determined by the mapping threshold determination unit 30 shown in FIG. 2 to detect the accommodation state of the substrates 85 accommodated in the predetermined container 82 (information transmission (5) in FIG. 2). Note that the mapping control unit 65 of the mapping unit 60 shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 is composed of, for example, a microcontroller, a memory, etc. Furthermore, the mapping control unit 65 may be configured integrally with the load port control unit that controls the entire load port apparatus 50.

[0044] FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the relationship between the shielding distances TD1 and TD2 detected by the detection unit 64 of the mapping unit 60 and the appropriate mapping threshold 32. FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) are conceptual diagrams illustrating an example of the shielding distance TD1 detected by the mapping unit 60 for each substrate 87 contained in the container 80 when the thickness T1 of the substrate 87 is 2 mm, as shown in FIG. 6(a). When the thickness T1 of the substrate is relatively thick, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the deflection of the substrate contained in the container 80 is relatively small. Therefore, when the thickness T1 of the substrate 87 is 2 mm, the normal storage state of the substrate can be detected by setting the mapping threshold 32 to ±0.2 mm from the reference thickness of the substrate 87, as shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b). The second row in FIG. 5(b) shows that two substrates 87 are contained in a stack, and the detected shielding distance TD1 exceeds the upper limit of the mapping threshold 32, allowing the mapping unit 60 to correctly detect an abnormal storage state.

[0045] 5(c) and 5(d) are conceptual diagrams showing an example of the shielding distance TD2 detected by the mapping unit 60 for each substrate 88 contained in the container 80 when the thickness T2 of the substrate 88 is 1 mm, as shown in FIG. 6(b). When the thickness T2 of the substrate is relatively thin, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the substrate contained in the container 80 is subject to significant bending. Therefore, if the thickness T2 of the substrate 88 is 1 mm and the mapping threshold 32 is set to ±0.2 mm from the reference value for the thickness of the substrate 88, as in the case where the thickness T1 of the substrate 87 is 1 mm, the detected shielding distance TD2 exceeds the range defined by the mapping threshold 32, as in the case of the first-tier substrate 88 in FIG. 5(c), even though the substrate 88 is normally contained, and the mapping unit 60 determines that the first tier in FIG. 5(c) is in an abnormal storage state, a problem occurs.

[0046] For this reason, the mapping unit 60 shown in FIG. 2 and other figures does not uniformly set the mapping threshold 32, but instead determines the mapping threshold 32 for each individual container 80 using substrate information 22, which is information about the substrates 85 housed in a given container 82. For example, if the thickness T2 of the substrate 88 is 1 mm, as shown in FIGS. 5(c) and 5(d), the mapping threshold 32 can be set to 0.8 to 1.5 mm, which is minus 0.2 mm to plus 0.5 mm from the reference thickness of the substrate 88, thereby detecting a normal substrate housing state. Note that the second row in FIG. 5(d) shows that two substrates 88 are housed one on top of the other, and the detected shielding distance TD2 exceeds the upper limit of the mapping threshold 32, allowing the mapping unit 60 to correctly detect an abnormal housing state. In this way, the mapping threshold determination unit 30 can set an arbitrary mapping threshold 32. For example, the range from the reference thickness of the substrate 88 to the upper limit of the mapping threshold 32 can be made larger than the range from the reference thickness of the substrate 88 to the lower limit of the mapping threshold 32.

[0047] 2 and other figures, the mapping system 10 acquires substrate information 22, which is information about substrates contained in any container 80 transported within the factory 90, and determines a mapping threshold for mapping a specific container 82 based on the substrate information 22. This enables the mapping unit 60 to perform mapping using a mapping threshold optimized for the substrates 85, 87, and 88 contained in the specific container 82. Therefore, the mapping system 10 can correctly detect the storage state of the objects contained in the container 80 even in a situation where containers containing objects of different materials and shapes are mixed and transported within the semiconductor factory 90.

[0048] 5, the material and planar size of the substrate also cause differences in the way the substrate bends in the storage state and in optical properties such as scattering of light from the light-emitting unit 64a of the detection unit 64. Therefore, by determining the mapping threshold using such substrate information 22 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the mapping system 10 can correctly detect the storage state of the object stored in the container 80.

[0049] Furthermore, the substrate information acquisition unit 20 of the mapping system 10 shown in Figure 2 can obtain substrate information 22 regarding the substrate contained in a specified container 82 simply by acquiring the unique code of the specified container 82 from that container, so the container 80 itself only needs to hold a small amount of information, simplifying the system.

[0050] As described above, the mapping system 10 according to the present disclosure has been described using specific embodiments, but it goes without saying that the technical scope of the mapping system according to the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes many other embodiments and examples. For example, in the mapping system 10 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit of the host computer 12 stores the substrate information 22. However, the storage unit of the process equipment control unit 114 may store the substrate information 22.

[0051] 11 is a conceptual diagram showing information transmission performed by each unit included in a mapping system 110 according to the second embodiment. The mapping system 110 differs from the mapping system 10 shown in FIG. 2 in that a memory unit of a process equipment control unit 114 stores substrate information 22, but is otherwise similar to the mapping system 10. The description of the mapping system 110 will focus on the differences from the mapping system 10, and commonalities with the mapping system 10 will be denoted by the same reference numerals as in the mapping system 10, and description thereof will be omitted.

[0052] 11, the substrate information acquisition unit 120 is configured so that the process equipment control unit 114 and the load port equipment 50 cooperate with each other. That is, the unique code acquisition unit 42 of the substrate information acquisition unit 120 acquires the FOUP number 83 as a unique code by the process equipment control unit 114 receiving the FOUP number 83 of a predetermined container 82 placed on the corresponding load port equipment 50 from the process equipment control unit 114 (information transmission (1) in FIG. 11).

[0053] 11 has a storage unit that stores FOUP numbers 83 of the containers 80 in the semiconductor factory 90 in association with substrate information 22 (see FIG. 3), which is information about substrates housed in the containers associated with the FOUP numbers 83. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 11, the storage unit included in the process equipment control unit 114 constitutes the substrate information storage unit 144.

[0054] 11, the process equipment control unit 114 reads the substrate information 22 from a memory unit included in the process equipment control unit 114, thereby reading out the substrate information 22 (information transfer (2) and information transfer (3) in FIG. 11). Therefore, in the substrate information acquisition unit 120 shown in FIG. 11, the process equipment control unit 114 alone constitutes the information reading unit 148.

[0055] The mapping threshold determination unit 30 and the mapping unit 60 of the mapping system 110 are similar to the mapping threshold determination unit 30 and the mapping unit 60 of the mapping system 10 shown in FIG. 2. In the mapping system 110 shown in FIG. 11, each process equipment control unit 114 has substrate information 22, which makes it possible to reduce the communication load, particularly on the host computer 12, in the semiconductor factory 90. In addition, the mapping system 110 shown in FIG. 11 has similarities with the mapping system 10 shown in FIG. 2, and thus achieves the same effects as the mapping system 10. Note that, as shown in FIG. 2, the mapping system 10 in which the host computer 12 centrally manages the substrate information 22 can quickly and easily change and update the substrate information 22.

[0056] 12 is a conceptual diagram showing information transmission performed by each unit included in a mapping system 210 according to the third embodiment. The mapping system 210 differs from the mapping system 10 shown in FIG. 2 in that the storage unit of the load port equipment control unit 251, which is the control unit of the load port equipment 250, stores the substrate information 22, but is otherwise similar to the mapping system 10. The description of the mapping system 210 will focus on the differences from the mapping system 10, and commonalities with the mapping system 10 will be assigned the same reference numerals as in the mapping system 10, and description thereof will be omitted.

[0057] 12, the substrate information acquisition unit 220 is configured solely by the load port apparatus 50. That is, in the unique code acquisition unit 242 of the substrate information acquisition unit 220, the load port apparatus control unit 251 controls the scanning device and the like of the load port apparatus 250 to read the FOUP number 83 of a predetermined container 82 placed on the load port apparatus 250 and acquire the FOUP number 83 as a unique code (information transmission (1) in FIG. 12).

[0058] 12 has a storage unit that stores the FOUP number 83 of each container 80 in the semiconductor factory 90 and the substrate information 22 (see FIG. 3), which is information about the substrates housed in a specific container 82 associated with the FOUP number 83. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 12, the storage unit included in the load port equipment control unit 251 constitutes the substrate information storage unit 244.

[0059] 12, the load port equipment control unit 251 reads out the substrate information 22 from its own memory unit, thereby reading out the substrate information 22 (information transmission (2) and information transmission (3) in FIG. 12). Therefore, in the substrate information acquisition unit 220 shown in FIG. 12, the load port equipment control unit 251 alone constitutes the information reading unit 248.

[0060] The mapping threshold determination unit 230 of the mapping system 210 is configured by a load port equipment control unit 251. That is, the load port equipment control unit 251 determines the mapping threshold 32 (see FIG. 4) to be used when mapping a predetermined container 82, using the substrate information 22 read out from a memory unit of the load port equipment control unit 251 itself. The mapping unit 60 is the same as the mapping unit 60 of the mapping system 10 shown in FIG. 2.

[0061] 12, the mapping system 210 can determine a mapping threshold based on the substrate information 22 of each container 80 and perform mapping using the determined mapping threshold by transmitting or processing information within the load port equipment 50. Therefore, the mapping system 210 can be realized without making any changes to the host computer 12 or the process equipment control unit 14 (see FIG. 2) in the semiconductor factory 90. Furthermore, the mapping system 210 can reduce the communication load in the semiconductor factory 90.

[0062] Note that the configurations included in the above-described mapping systems 10, 110, and 210 are merely examples of mapping systems according to the present disclosure, and may be replaced with other configurations that can solve the problems. For example, the mapping unit 60 shown in Fig. 7 is not limited to an optical detection unit, and may also use a detection unit that uses electromagnetic waves other than light. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 10, 110, 210...Mapping System 12...Host computer 13...Process equipment 14, 114...Process device control section 16...Container transport system 20, 120, 220...Board information acquisition section 21...Board information table 22...Board information 24...Board thickness 26...Substrate material 28...Flat size 30, 230...Mapping threshold determination unit 31...Mapping threshold table 32...Mapping threshold 42, 242...Unique code acquisition unit 44, 144, 244...Board information storage section 48, 148, 248...information reading section 50, 250...Load port equipment 251...Load port device control section 52...door 54...Frame section 56...Placement section 60...Mapping section 61...Sensor position detection unit 62...Transportation 63...Mapping frame 64...Detection unit 64a...Light emitting part 64b...Light receiving section 64c…Detection axis 65...Mapping control section 80…Container 82...Prescribed container 82a…Lid 83...FOUP number (unique code) 85, 87, 88... PCB 90...Factory

Claims

1. a substrate information acquisition unit that acquires substrate information, which is information about substrates contained in a predetermined container that is any one of containers that are being transported or installed in a transportable state within a factory; a mapping threshold determination unit that determines a mapping threshold to be used when mapping the predetermined container using the substrate information; a mapping unit that performs mapping on the predetermined container using the mapping threshold; A mapping system having:

2. The mapping system according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate information includes information about the thickness of the substrate contained in the predetermined container.

3. The mapping system according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate information includes information about the material of the substrate contained in the predetermined container.

4. The substrate information acquisition unit a unique code acquisition unit that acquires a unique code of a predetermined container that is any one of containers that are being transported or installed in a transportable state within a factory; a substrate information storage unit that stores the unique code and the substrate information of the predetermined container related to the unique code in association with each other; The mapping system of claim 1, further comprising an information reading unit that uses the unique code acquired by the unique code acquisition unit to read out the substrate information of the specified container corresponding to the unique code from the substrate information memory unit.

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