Validating process data in manufacturing process management
First Claim
1. A method for validating process data, the method comprising the steps of:
- first determining whether a reference in the process data to a first set of process instructions satisfies a set of syntax criteria;
second determining whether the reference to the first set of process instructions specifies a valid version of the set of process instructions;
third determining whether a reference in the process data to a set of process identification data satisfies the set of syntax criteria;
fourth determining whether the reference in the process data to the set of process identification data specifies a valid version of the set of process identification data; and
validating the process data based on the first, second, third, and fourth determining steps.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An approach for managing a manufacturing process is provided. A specification and recipe management system (RSMS) manages the validation of new specifications that reference one or more recipes and one or more contexts stored in a recipe management system (RMS). The validation of new specifications includes verifying that RMS code blocks contained in the new specification can be processed by the RMS. Also, the versions of recipes and contexts referenced in the specification are checked to ensure that they are either the current, valid version number or a valid new version number. The RSMS provides a specification browser for examining cross-reference information for specifications, recipes and contexts. The cross-reference information specifies recipes and contexts referenced in a selected specification, subject to a recipe/context filter. In addition, the cross-reference information identifies specifications that reference a selected recipe or a selected context, subject to a specification filter. A project editor allows specifications, recipes and contexts to be grouped into projects for release. The versions of recipes and context referenced by the specifications contained in the project are compared to ensure that the same version of a recipe is referenced by all of the specifications in a project and that all specification referencing changing recipes or contexts are in the project.
54 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for validating process data, the method comprising the steps of:
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first determining whether a reference in the process data to a first set of process instructions satisfies a set of syntax criteria; second determining whether the reference to the first set of process instructions specifies a valid version of the set of process instructions; third determining whether a reference in the process data to a set of process identification data satisfies the set of syntax criteria; fourth determining whether the reference in the process data to the set of process identification data specifies a valid version of the set of process identification data; and validating the process data based on the first, second, third, and fourth determining steps. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for validating process data, wherein the execution of the one or more sequences of one or more instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:
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first determining whether a reference in the process data to a first set of process instructions satisfies a set of syntax criteria; second determining whether the reference to the first set of process instructions specifies a valid version of the set of process instructions; third determining whether a reference in the process data to a set of process identification data satisfies the set of syntax criteria; fourth determining whether the reference in the process data to the set of process identification data specifies a valid version of the set of process identification data; and validating the process data based on the first, second, third, and fourth determining steps. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer system configured to validate and release process data, the computer system comprising:
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a) a validation process configured for validating the process data by performing the steps of i) determining whether a reference in the process data to a set of process instructions satisfies a set of syntax criteria, ii) determining whether the reference to the set of process instructions specifies a valid version of the set of process instructions; and b) a release process configured for approving the process data by performing the step of designating the version of the set of process instructions as the valid version for the set of process instructions. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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22. A method for verifying a semiconductor process specification used in the fabrication of a semiconductor device, the method comprising the steps of:
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determining whether a reference in the specification to a recipe that specifies a sequence of process instructions satisfies a set of syntax criteria; determining whether the reference in the specification to the recipe specifies a valid version of the recipe; determining whether a reference in the specification to a context that specifies semiconductor process identification data satisfies the set of syntax criteria; determining whether the reference in the specification to the context specifies a valid version of the context; and validating the specification based upon one or more of the determining steps. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A semiconductor process management system comprising:
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a) a recipe management system (RMS) that contains one or more recipes and one or more contexts, wherein each recipe specifies a sequence of process instructions and wherein each context specifies process identification data; b) a processing station for performing a processing step on a semiconductor device in response to processing one or more recipes and one or more contexts; c) a processing manager that contains one or more specifications, wherein each specification contains references to one or more recipes and one or more contexts; and d) a recipe and specification management system (RSMS) for verifying one or more specifications used during the fabrication of the semiconductor device. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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Specification