License Authentication Device for Semiconductor Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing apparatuses lack effective mechanisms to prevent unauthorized use of software by ensuring secure authentication of license expiration dates, which is crucial for semiconductor manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A license authentication device that includes a license information storage, log data acquisition unit, and license expiration date determination unit to verify if the execution times of semiconductor manufacturing processes have not exceeded the stored license expiration date, thereby preventing unauthorized use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing substrate processing apparatuses use conventional software authentication methods, then basic license control is implemented, but unauthorized use cannot be effectively prevented due to lack of secure authentication mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary authentication by acquiring log data containing execution time information before determining license validity. The license expiration date determination unit uses this pre-acquired time data to verify whether the application execution time has not passed the license expiration date, preventing unauthorized use before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces log data as an intermediary element that contains execution time information. This log data serves as a mediator between the application execution and the license validation process, enabling secure authentication by providing verifiable time stamps that prove when the software was actually executed.
2Reliability
If the system implements comprehensive log data acquisition and time verification, then unauthorized software use is prevented, but the authentication process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The license authentication device performs multiple functions using a unified approach: it acquires log data, extracts execution time information, compares it with license expiration dates, and determines authentication results. This multi-functional design consolidates what could be separate complex systems into a single integrated device.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its own log data acquisition capability to generate and verify time stamps internally. The license authentication device self-services by maintaining its own execution time records and using these records to perform authentication, reducing dependency on external complex verification systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A license authentication device includes a memory that stores a license file including a license expiration date of an application that adjusts a parameter of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in a semiconductor factory; and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor acquires log data when the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus executes a processing; and determines whether or not a time included in the log data has passed the license expiration date stored in the license information storage.