MR Headset Control for Opaque Semiconductor Equipment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Semiconductor manufacturing equipment is complex and large, with opaque walls, making it difficult to determine its operational state through visual inspection, and conventional control platforms are limited in displaying and controlling multiple components simultaneously, lacking customizable interfaces and 3D rendering capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A Mixed Reality (MR) control platform that uses an MR headset to render operational information and control features in an MR environment, allowing operators to view sensor data, internal components, and control semiconductor manufacturing tools from different angles, with customizable user interfaces and 3D representations of internal elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes opaque walls and complex structures, then equipment safety and functionality are improved, but visual inspection capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy (digital twin) of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment that replicates its physical structure, operational state, and internal components. This virtual model allows operators to inspect and analyze equipment without physically accessing or exposing the actual equipment, thus maintaining safety while enabling comprehensive visualization through the MR interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a Mixed Reality interface as an intermediary between the operator and the physical equipment. This MR interface overlays virtual information and 3D representations onto the physical environment, allowing operators to see through or around opaque structures without removing them, thus maintaining equipment integrity while improving visibility.
2Device complexity
If conventional control platforms display information on fixed display screens, then information presentation is simple, but operator accessibility and control capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D display screens to a 3D Mixed Reality environment where control interfaces and operational data are rendered in three-dimensional space. This allows operators to interact with controls from multiple angles and perspectives, improving accessibility without significantly increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The MR control platform serves multiple functions simultaneously: it displays operational data, provides 3D visualizations of internal components, enables control operations, and offers customizable interfaces all within a single unified system, replacing multiple separate conventional control elements.
3Productivity
If semiconductor manufacturing equipment is physically large, then processing capability is improved, but operator access and monitoring deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a scaled virtual representation of the large physical equipment that can be viewed and manipulated in the MR environment. This virtual model allows operators to access and monitor all components of the large equipment from a convenient distance, eliminating the need to physically approach or climb near hazardous or inaccessible areas while maintaining full operational access.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments herein relate to a Mixed Reality (MR) control platform to operate a semiconductor manufacturing tool in an MR environment and to display data associated with the semiconductor manufacturing tool. In son embodiments, the MR control platform comprises an MR control system and an MR headset. The MR control system can obtain sensor data representative of sensor output from a semiconductor manufacturing tool. The MR control system can determine operational information associated with the semiconductor manufacturing tool and based on the sensor data. The MR control system can cause the operational information to be transmitted to the MR headset. The MR headset can receive the operational information associated with the semiconductor manufacturing tool from the MR control system. The MR headset can cause content associated with the operational information and one or more control features to be rendered in an MR environment.