Substrate Cleaning System Priority Controller Interference Avoidance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional substrate cleaning systems face inefficiencies due to potential collisions between cleaning devices, leading to longer processing times and reduced throughput, as they often require sequential operation or rejection of interference-causing recipes, necessitating labor-intensive reconfiguration of driving recipes.

Innovation Solution

A substrate cleaning system that prioritizes cleaning devices, calculates and sets waiting times based on interference potential, and strategically positions lower-priority devices to avoid collisions, allowing simultaneous operation while minimizing waiting times and labor in recipe creation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If cleaning devices are operated simultaneously according to predetermined driving recipes, then productivity is improved, but cleaning devices may collide and interfere with each other

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesubstrate cleaning throughputVSAvoidcleaning device collision avoidance

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The controller calculates potential interference between cleaning devices in advance based on their driving recipes, and determines waiting times before execution. This preliminary analysis prevents collisions while allowing simultaneous operation, resolving the contradiction between productivity improvement and collision avoidance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts the operation timing of cleaning devices by introducing calculated waiting times to lower-priority devices. This dynamic timing adjustment maintains high productivity through parallel operation while ensuring reliability by preventing device collisions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If cleaning devices are operated sequentially to avoid interference, then reliability is improved, but cleaning time increases and productivity decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecleaning device collision avoidanceVSAvoidsubstrate cleaning throughput

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The controller performs preliminary interference calculation and determines optimal waiting times for each device before execution. This allows the system to achieve reliable collision-free operation while maintaining high productivity through coordinated simultaneous operation, rather than sequential operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables continuous parallel operation of multiple cleaning devices by introducing minimal calculated waiting times, rather than forcing sequential operation. This maintains the continuity and efficiency of useful action while ensuring reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

3Reliability

If driving recipes are manually reconfigured to avoid interference, then reliability is improved, but time and labor are increased

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecleaning device interference avoidanceVSAvoidrecipe creation time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The controller automatically calculates interference and determines waiting times based on the input driving recipes, without requiring manual operator intervention. This self-service approach eliminates time-consuming manual recipe reconfiguration while ensuring reliable interference avoidance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback to operators about potential interference and automatically adjusts timing, eliminating the need for manual recipe modification. This feedback mechanism resolves the contradiction by automating the interference avoidance process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS8043436B2Substrate cleaning system, substrate cleaning method, subtrate cleaning program, and program recording medium

Publication Date: 2011.10.25 TOKYO ELECTRON LTD

AI summary

A substrate cleaning system according to the present invention comprises cleaning devices, and a controller for controlling the driving of the cleaning devices in accordance with driving recipes predetermined. The controller prioritizes the cleaning devices, calculates, on the basis of a driving recipe for a cleaning device having a higher priority and a driving recipe for a cleaning device having a lower priority, a time in which the two cleaning devices can interfere with each other, and sets the calculated time as a waiting time. The cleaning device having the higher priority is made to start cleaning a substrate from a predetermined cleaning-starting position, while the cleaning device having the lower priority is kept waiting in a predetermined waiting position. When or after the waiting time has elapsed since the cleaning device having the higher priority started cleaning, the cleaning device having the lower priority is made to move from the waiting position and start cleaning the substrate.