System and method for improving equipment communication in semiconductor manufacturing equipment
First Claim
1. A system for connecting semiconductor manufacturing equipment to a host and at least a first client via virtual channels, the system comprising:
- a first application agent, a host agent, and an equipment agent configured to communicate with the first client, the host, and the manufacturing equipment, respectively;
a first application queue, a host queue, and an equipment queue configured to hold messages received from and sent to the first application agent, the host agent, and the equipment agent, respectively;
a management information base configured to store information identifying a first virtual channel linking the first client with the manufacturing equipment via the first application queue and the equipment queue, and a second virtual channel linking the host with the manufacturing equipment via the host queue and the equipment queue; and
a dispatcher configured to use the information from the management information base to route messages between the first client and the manufacturing equipment via the first virtual channel and to route messages between the host and the manufacturing equipment via the second virtual channel.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Provided is a system and method for connecting semiconductor manufacturing equipment to a host and one or more clients. In one example, the system includes an application queue, a host queue, and an equipment queue configured to hold messages received from and sent to an application agent, a host agent, and an equipment agent, respectively. A management information base may be configured to store information identifying a first virtual channel linking the client with the manufacturing equipment via the application queue and the equipment queue, and a second virtual channel linking the host with the manufacturing equipment via the host queue and the equipment queue. A dispatcher may be configured to use information from the management information base to route messages between the client and the manufacturing equipment via the first virtual channel and to route messages between the host and the manufacturing equipment via the second virtual channel.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for connecting semiconductor manufacturing equipment to a host and at least a first client via virtual channels, the system comprising:
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a first application agent, a host agent, and an equipment agent configured to communicate with the first client, the host, and the manufacturing equipment, respectively;
a first application queue, a host queue, and an equipment queue configured to hold messages received from and sent to the first application agent, the host agent, and the equipment agent, respectively;
a management information base configured to store information identifying a first virtual channel linking the first client with the manufacturing equipment via the first application queue and the equipment queue, and a second virtual channel linking the host with the manufacturing equipment via the host queue and the equipment queue; and
a dispatcher configured to use the information from the management information base to route messages between the first client and the manufacturing equipment via the first virtual channel and to route messages between the host and the manufacturing equipment via the second virtual channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer executable method for simultaneously connecting semiconductor manufacturing equipment having a single communication port to a plurality of clients, the method comprising:
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receiving a first message, by a communication agent, from one of the plurality of clients;
enqueuing, by the first agent, the first message in a communication queue associated with the communication agent;
identifying the first message as a next message to transfer by a dispatcher;
dequeuing, by the dispatcher, the first message from the communication queue and enqueueing the first message in an equipment queue associated with the manufacturing equipment; and
dequeueing the first message, by an equipment agent, from the equipment queue and sending the first message to the manufacturing equipment. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An equipment switch for connecting a piece of manufacturing equipment with multiple clients, the switch comprising:
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at least one processor; and
at least one memory accessible to the processor and containing instructions for execution by the processor, the instructions including;
instructions for an equipment status process identifying an equipment status of the manufacturing equipment, wherein the equipment status process is in communication with at least one of the clients;
instructions for an equipment control process for controlling the manufacturing equipment, wherein the equipment control process is in communication with at least one of the clients;
instructions for a data collection process for collecting data from the manufacturing equipment, wherein the data collection process is in communication with at least one of the clients;
instructions for a recipe management process for supplying a recipe to the manufacturing equipment, wherein the recipe management process is in communication with at least one of the clients;
instructions for filtering messages passing between the equipment status process, equipment control process, data collection process, recipe management process, and the at least one client; and
instructions for dispatching messages between the equipment status process, equipment control process, data collection process, recipe management process, and the at least one client. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification