Substrate Processing System Buffer Module Redirection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing systems face challenges in maintaining high throughput when modules become unusable due to malfunctions or maintenance, as they require exclusion from the carrying schedule and lack effective measures for handling substrates held in unusable modules.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing system with a controller that manages carrying cycles and distribution of substrates within multimodule units, ensuring that substrates are redirected to usable modules, minimizing the increase in carrying cycles and maintaining throughput by assigning specific distribution orders and using a second carrying mechanism to transfer substrates from unusable modules to downstream ends.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a module becomes unusable due to malfunction or maintenance, then the module must be excluded from the carrying schedule, but this causes substrates to be held in the unusable module and reduces throughput
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a buffer module as an intermediary to temporarily hold substrates when a processing module becomes unusable. The buffer module acts as a mediator between the unusable module and the rest of the system, allowing substrates to be transferred to the buffer instead of being stuck in the unusable module. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining system reliability (module can be excluded for maintenance) while preserving productivity (substrates continue flowing through the buffer).
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-assigning buffer modules to receive substrates from unusable modules before the unusable modules are taken out of service. The carrying schedule is updated in advance to redirect substrates to buffer modules, preventing substrates from being held in unusable modules and maintaining continuous throughput.
2Ease of repair
If the carrying schedule is adjusted to exclude unusable modules, then the modules can be maintained or repaired, but this increases the complexity of schedule management and substrate distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the carrying schedule management into two independent parts: (1) the main carrying schedule that operates normally, and (2) the buffer module management that handles unusable modules. This segmentation allows the main system to continue operating with minimal changes while buffer modules independently manage substrates from unusable modules, reducing the overall complexity of schedule management.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer module serves as an intermediary that simplifies repair operations. By redirecting substrates to buffer modules, the unusable modules can be taken out of service without disrupting the main carrying schedule. The buffer module mediates between the unusable module and the downstream processes, making maintenance operations simpler and less complex.
3Productivity
If buffer modules are introduced to handle substrates from unusable modules, then substrates can continue processing, but the number of buffer modules needed increases system complexity and space requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes buffer modules universal by enabling them to handle substrates from multiple different unusable modules. Instead of dedicating one buffer module to each unusable module, a single buffer module can serve multiple unusable modules by dynamically adjusting its carrying schedule. This multi-functionality reduces the total number of buffer modules needed, thereby reducing space requirements while maintaining continuous processing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of buffer module allocation from static (one buffer per unusable module) to dynamic (buffers reassigned based on carrying order). By changing how buffer modules are allocated and managed, the system reduces the total number of buffers needed while maintaining continuous processing throughput.
4Productivity
If substrates are redirected to buffer modules when modules become unusable, then throughput is maintained, but the carrying cycle time increases due to additional transfer steps
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-planning substrate distribution to buffer modules and pre-assigning carrying orders. By calculating and setting the carrying schedule in advance, the system minimizes idle time and unnecessary transfers when modules become unusable. This preliminary planning reduces the additional time penalty that would otherwise be incurred during runtime adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuity of useful action by ensuring that substrates are continuously transferred through buffer modules without interruption. The carrying means continuously operates to transfer substrates from unusable modules to buffer modules and then to downstream modules, eliminating idle time and maintaining throughput despite the additional transfer step.
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing system, which repeats a carrying cycle in which a substrate is carried sequentially in a carrying order indicated by module numbers assigned to the modules, respectively, from the module of a lower module number to that of a higher module number, and is capable of processing substrates at a high throughput even if some modules become unusable and, thereafter, become usable. A controller controls a carrier such that the carrier carries a substrate taken out from the module preceding a multimodule unit including a plurality of modules to the module nest in the carrying order to the module of the multimodule unit from which a substrate is carried out at time nearest to time when the substrate was carried out from the module preceding the multimodule.