Semiconductor Equipment Breakdown Assessment via Process Flow Trend Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for assessing the breakdown status of semiconductor manufacturing machines rely heavily on professional expertise and specific thresholds, making them inefficient and non-transferable across different manufacturing processes, and are dependent on electrical signals or output light parameters.
Innovation Solution
A measurement method and device that acquire process flows, analyze procedure attributes, generate features from sensing information, establish trend distributions, and determine warning messages based on these features, allowing for a more automated and process-independent assessment of equipment breakdown.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional methods use electrical signals or output light parameters for breakdown assessment, then measurement can be performed, but the method requires specific settings for specific products and heavily depends on professional knowledge
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by creating a standardized breakdown assessment framework that can be applied across different semiconductor manufacturing machines and processes. Instead of developing separate assessment methods for each product type, the system uses a common methodology that adapts to different machines through standardized process flows and sensing information collection, making the assessment system universally applicable while maintaining accuracy for specific product types
2Ease of operation
If predefined standard thresholds are used for specific manufacturing processes, then assessment can be performed, but these thresholds cannot be applied to other manufacturing processes and depend on expert experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by dynamically adjusting assessment thresholds and parameters based on the specific manufacturing process being evaluated. Rather than using fixed predefined thresholds, the system modifies assessment parameters according to the process type, machine characteristics, and sensed data patterns, enabling the same assessment framework to adapt to different manufacturing processes while maintaining ease of operation through automated parameter selection
3Measurement precision
If expert interpretation is required to obtain malfunction or aging levels, then accurate assessment can be achieved, but the process is time-consuming and requires years of experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the breakdown assessment system to automatically interpret sensing information and determine malfunction or aging levels without requiring expert intervention. The system uses automated algorithms to analyze process flows, compare sensed data against standards, and generate assessment results independently, eliminating the time-consuming manual interpretation process while maintaining accurate detection of malfunction levels through objective data-driven analysis
Data Source
AI summary
A breakdown measuring method and a breakdown measuring device are disclosed. The breakdown measuring method includes the following steps: capturing a plurality of process flows, each of the process flows includes at least one recipe step; analyzing a flow attribute corresponding to each of the process flows; capturing sensing data corresponding to the at least one recipe step; generating a local feature in a time interval corresponding to each of the process flows according to the corresponding flow attribute, the corresponding at least one recipe step and the corresponding sensing data; generating a trend distribution according to the local features of the process flows; determining whether to send an alarm information based on the trend distribution.