EP0810632A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Method and apparatus for transferring wafers in a wafer processing facility
Assignee: Applied Materials Inc
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Filing: 1997-05-21
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2017-05-21
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus, method and medium is provided for increasing the efficiency with which wafers are transferred among different processing chambers in a wafer processing facility. A multi-slot cooling chamber allows multiple wafers to be cooled while other wafers are subjected to processing steps in other chambers. Each wafer in the processing sequence is assigned a priority level depending on its processing stage, and this priority level is used to sequence the movement of wafers between chambers. A look-ahead feature prevents low-priority wafer transfers from occurring if such transfers would occur just prior to the scheduling of a high-priority wafer transfer.
Inventors
- 👤 Zhihong J. Lin
- 👤 Chongyang Wang
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 23:07
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P72/00; H10P72/04; H10P72/0451; H10P72/0452; H10P72/0454; G; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/06; H10P72/06; H10P72/0612; H10P72/30; H10P72/33; H10P72/3304; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S414/00; Y10S414/135; Y10S414/136; Y10S414/137; Y10S414/138; Y10S414/139; Y10S414/14; Y10S414/141; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/53; Y10T29/53087
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
111 words
Method for transferring wafers in a wafer processing facility comprising a plurality of process chambers, each process chamber for performing a different process on a wafer contained therein, the method comprising the steps of: (1) assigning a different priority level to each of a plurality of wafers in the wafer processing facility according to a processing stage to which each respective wafer has progressed through the process chambers; (2) determining which wafer of the plurality of wafers in the one or more process chambers is assigned a highest priority level; and (3) initiating a wafer transfer between two of the process chambers for the wafer having the highest assigned priority level.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
26 words
Method according to claim 1, wherein after step (1) it is determined that a process in one or more of the process chambers has been completed.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
65 words
Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wafer processing facility comprises a cooling chamber for cooling a wafer previously processed in one of the process chambers, wherein step (1) comprises the step of assigning a lower priority level to a wafer which has been transferred to the cooling chamber than to a wafer which has not yet been transferred to the cooling chamber.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
82 words
Method according to claim 3, wherein the cooling chamber comprises a plurality of slots for holding a plurality of wafers, the method further comprising the step of, prior to step (3), determining whether a latency associated with the transfer to he initiated in step (3) would exceed a remaining process time for a process occurring in any plurality of process chambers, and, responsive to a determination that such a latency would exceed the remaining process time, delaying the transfer in step (3).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
Method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of determining whether all of the slots in the multi-slot cooling chamber are full and, responsive to such a determination, transferring one of the wafers from the multi-slot cooling chamber without regard to the latency determination associated with the transfer.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
58 words
Method according to claim 1, wherein step (1) comprises the step of assigning a first priority level to a wafer which has already been processed in one of the process chambers, and assigning a second priority level higher than the first priority level to a wafer which has not yet been processed in one of the process chambers.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
59 words
Method according to claim 1, wherein step (1) comprises the step of assigning a first priority level to a wafer which has already been processed in one of the process chambers, and assigning a second priority level higher than the first priority level to a wafer which is a dummy wafer used to clean one of the process chambers.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
88 words
Method according to claim 1, wherein step (1) comprises the step of assigning a first priority level to a wafer which has been cooled, a second priority level higher than the first priority level to a wafer which has not yet been processed in any of the process chambers, and a third priority level higher than both the first and second priority levels to a revisit wafer which has been processed in one of the processing chambers and requires further processing in another one of the processing chambers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
52 words
Method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of initiating movement of an elevator movement mechanism prior to or concurrently with the initiation of the wafer transfer, wherein the elevator movement mechanism moves a wafer slot into a position to receive or dispens a wafer as part of the wafer transfer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
30 words
Appartus for controlling the transfer of wafers in a wafer processing facility comprising a computer programmed for carrying out the method according to any of the claims 1 to 8.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
114 words
Apparatus for controlling the transfer of wafers in a wafer processing facility comprising a plurality of process chambers, each process chamber for performing a different process on a wafer contained therein, the apparatus comprising: means for assigning a different priority level to each of a plurality of wafers in the wafer processing facility according to a processing stage to which each respective wafer has progressed through the processing chambers; means for determining which wafer of the plurality of wafers in the one or more process chambers is assigned a highest priority level; and means for initiating a wafer transfer between two of the process chambers for the wafer having the highest assigned priority level.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
Apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising means for determining that a process in one of the process chambers has been completed.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
64 words
Apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the wafer processing facility comprises a cooling chamber for cooling a wafer previously processed in one of the process chambers, and wherein the means for assigning assigns a lower priority level to a wafer which has been transferred to the cooling chamber than to a wafer which has not yet been transferred to the cooling chamber.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
62 words
Apparatus according to any of the claims 11 to 13, further comprising means for determining whether a latency associated with the wafer transfer to be initiated would exceed a remaining process time for a process occurring in any the plurality of process chambers, and, responsive to a determination that such a latency would exceed the remaining process time, delaying the wafer transfer.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
56 words
Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the means for assigning assigns a first priority level to a wafer which has already been processed in one of the process chambers, and assigning a second priority level higher than the first priority level to a wafer which has not yet been processed in one of the process chambers.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
57 words
Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the means for assigning assigns a first priority level to a wafer which has already been processed in one of the process chambers, and assigning a second priority level higher than the first priority level to a wafer which is a dummy wafer used to clean one of the process chambers.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
86 words
Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the means for assigning assigns a first priority level to a wafer which has been cooled, a second priority level higher than the first priority level to a wafer which has not yet been processed in any of the process chambers, and a third priority level higher than both the first and second priority levels to a revisit wafer which has been processed in one of teh processing chambers and requires further processing in another one of the processing chambers.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
47 words
Apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a computer-controlled elevator mechanism which moves a wafer slot into position to receive or dispense a wafer as part of a wafer transfer, wherein the elevator mechanism is actuated prior to or concurrently with the initiation of the wafer transfer.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
33 words
Apparatus according to any of the claims 11 to 18, further comprising a cooling gas generator coupled to the multi-slot wafer cool down chamber, for increasing the cooling rate of wafers stored therein.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
80 words
A wafer processing facility comprising: a plurality of process chambers, each process chamber for performing a different process on a wafer contained therein; a wafer dispensing mechanism which holds and dispenses wafers from a plurality of stored unprocessed wafers; a wafer transfer mechanism, operable to transfer wafers between any two of the process chambers and between the wafer dispensing mechanism and any one of the process chambers; and an apparatus according to any one of the claims 11 to 19.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
78 words
A wafer processing facility comprising: a plurality of process chambers, each process chamber for performing a different process on a wafer contained therein under computer control; a wafer dispensing mechanism which holds and dispenses a wafer from a plurality of stored unprocessed wafers; a multi-slot wafer cool down chamber having a plurality of slots for holding a plurality of wafers during a cool down period; and an apparatus according to any one of the claims 11 to 19.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
32 words
A computer readable medium having a computer programm for carrying out the method according to any of the claims 1 to 9 encoded therein for controlling the apparatus according to claim 10.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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