Experiment management system and method thereof in semiconductor manufacturing environment

• US 7,133,735 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2005
• Issued: 11/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Yang, Huei-Wen, Kuo, Wen-Chang, Huang, Chien-Chung, Huang, Yi-Lin
• Primary Examiner(s): Masinick, Michael D.
• Application Number:
  US11/043,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20060167578A1
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 700/95, 700/97, 700/103, 438/15, 438/16
• US Class Current: 700/103
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41865 characterised by job scheduling, process planning, material flow
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32086 Integrate process planning and job shop scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32306 Rules to make scheduling decisions
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45031 Manufacturing semiconductor wafers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A system and method thereof for experiment management. A storage device stores an experiment plan record, a merge constraint and an integration rule. A processing unit configured to acquire a first experiment plan from the experiment plan record, and a second experiment plan. The processing unit generates an integrated experiment plan by merging the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan according to the merge constraint and the integration rule, and stores the integrated experiment plan to the storage device.

Claims

1. A system of experiment management, the system comprising:

a storage device capable of storing an experiment plan record, a merge constraint and an integration rule; and

a processing unit configured to acquire a first experiment plan from the experiment plan record, and a second experiment plan, generate an integrated experiment plan by merging the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan according to the merge constraint and the integration rule, and store the integrated experiment plan to the storage device,

wherein the merge constraint defines rules that any two experiment plans can be merged, the integration rule determines the content of the integrated experiment plan based on the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the merge constraint defines that the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan can be merged when both the first and second experiment plans use the same technology and optical mask.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the merge constraint defines that both the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan having mergable processing steps can be merged.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the merge constraint defines that the second experiment plan can be merged into the first experiment plan having no destructive test.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the processing unit transmits a merge notice prompting that the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan can be merged, and receives a confirmation message corresponding to the merge notice, the confirmation message represents acceptance of the merge action.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the integration rule determines sample quantity, route type, and/or experiment time for the integrated experiment plan.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the integration rule acquires a maximum sample quantity of the first and second experiment plans as an integrated sample quantity for the integrated sample plan.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the integration rule determines processing steps for the integrated experiment plan based on processing steps in the first and second experiment plans.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a manufacturing execution system (MES) or a computer incorporation manufacturing (CIM) system loading and performing the integrated experiment plan.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the MES or CIM system performs the integrated experiment plan with a semiconductor fabrication tool.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the second experiment plan is acquired from the experiment plan record, and the integrated experiment plan is generated using a batch processing mechanism.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the second experiment plan is acquired from an operator via a user interface, and the integrated experiment plan is generated using an ad hoc processing mechanism.

13. A method of experiment management, the method comprising using a computer to perform the steps of:

acquiring a first experiment plan and a second experiment plan;

generating an integrated experiment plan by merging the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan according to a merge constraint and an integration rule, wherein the merge constraint defines rules that any two experiment plans can be merged, the integration rule determines the content of the integrated experiment plan based on the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan; and

storing the integrated experiment plan.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the merge constraint defines that the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan can be merged when both the first and second experiment plans use the same technology and optical mask.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the merge constraint defines that both the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan having mergable processing steps can be merged.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the merge constraint defines that the second experiment plan can be merged into the first experiment plan having no destructive test.

17. The method of claim 13 further comprising the steps of:

transmitting a merge notice prompting that the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan can be merged; and

receiving a confirmation message corresponding to the merge notice, the confirmation message representing acceptance of the merge action.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein the integration rule determines sample quantity, route type, and/or experiment time for the integrated experiment plan.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein the integration rule acquires a maximum sample quantity of the first and second experiment plans as a integrated sample quantity for the integrated sample plan.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein the integration rule determines processing steps for the integrated experiment plan based on processing steps in the first and second experiment plans.

21. The method of claim 13 further comprising a step of loading and performing the integrated experiment plan by a manufacturing execution system (MES) or a computer incorporation manufacturing (CIM) system.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the MES or CIM system performs the integrated experiment plan with a semiconductor fabrication tool.

23. A machine-readable storage medium for storing a computer program which when executed performs a method of experiment management, the method comprising the steps of:

acquiring a first experiment plan and a second experiment plan;

generating an integrated experiment plan by merging the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan according to a merge constraint and an integration rule, wherein the merge constraint defines rules that any two experiment plans can be merged, the integration rule determines the content of the integrated experiment plan based on the first experiment plan and the second experiment plan; and

storing the integrated experiment plan.