Event Log Analyzer for Fault Cause Identification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current wafer processing technologies face inefficiencies in analyzing event logs to determine the cause of faults or alarms, as they require manual analysis by process engineers and tool support engineers, leading to labor-intensive and error-prone processes, making it difficult to distinguish between hardware and process recipe issues.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that apply statistical analysis to tool event logs to calculate fail rates and graphically represent the dependence of fail rates on tools and recipes, providing a user interface to indicate whether faults are caused by hardware or process issues, using a hardware-recipe analyzer system that includes correlators, run detectors, alarm detectors, and fail calculators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual analysis of event logs is performed by process engineers and tool support engineers, then fault causes can be determined, but the process becomes labor intensive and error prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical analysis with automated computational analysis. The system uses software to automatically parse event logs, correlate events with hardware and recipe data, and generate fault cause determinations, eliminating the need for manual engineering analysis while maintaining or improving accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an automated analysis system as an intermediary between raw event logs and fault cause determination. This intermediary system processes the logs through structured algorithms, event correlation rules, and data matching mechanisms to produce objective fault assessments without direct human intervention.
2Reliability
If manual analysis is used to determine fault causes, then detailed examination is possible, but it results in inefficient use of tool event logs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary organization and structuring of event log data before analysis. The system pre-processes logs by categorizing events, tagging them with metadata, and organizing them according to hardware components and recipe parameters, making subsequent fault analysis faster and more reliable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces time-consuming manual examination with automated computational processing that can analyze large volumes of event log data instantaneously, eliminating delays while maintaining thoroughness through systematic coverage of all relevant data points.
3Measurement precision
If event logs are analyzed manually, then engineers can identify faults, but it is difficult to distinguish between hardware and process recipe issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the analysis process into distinct components: hardware event correlation, recipe event correlation, and integrated fault determination. By separating hardware-related events from recipe-related events and analyzing them through dedicated pathways, the system clearly distinguishes between hardware and process recipe issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different analysis rules and criteria to different types of events based on their source. Hardware events are evaluated against hardware-specific patterns and thresholds, while recipe events are evaluated against process parameters and recipe definitions, enabling precise fault source identification.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a method for providing a user interface to graphically indicate a cause for fault-related events includes providing a user interface to illustrate a plurality of fault-related events for a plurality of recipes performed on a plurality of manufacturing process hardware tools, presenting in the user interface the plurality of recipes in a first axis and the plurality of manufacturing process hardware tools in a second axis, and graphically indicating in the user interface whether the plurality of fault-related events were caused by one of the plurality of manufacturing process hardware tools or one of the plurality of recipes performed on the one manufacturing process hardware tools.