Wireless wafer carrier identification and enterprise data synchronization
First Claim
1. A semiconductor fabrication enterprise for portably and wirelessly communicating with a wafer carrier and an enterprise information system comprising:
- an enterprise information system;
a transportable WIP carrier having an RF tag containing WIP identifying data; and
,a wireless interrogation device adapted to read WIP identifying data from the RF tag and wirelessly communicate with the enterprise information system to receive WIP data from the enterprise information system corresponding to the WIP identifying data, both of said read and receive operations portably performable.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A semiconductor fabrication enterprise includes fabrication equipment, transportable containers for work—in—process and an enterprise information system. The transportable containers have associated radio frequency tags having identification codes uniquely identifying the carriers in the fabrication process. The enterprise information system contains data corresponding to each such identification code. The identification codes are read by a radio frequency interrogation device, and the radio frequency interrogation device carries out transactions with the enterprise data system to transfer the data corresponding to the identification codes to the radio frequency interrogation device. The radio frequency tags may be adapted for read/write functionality allowing for writing data to the radio frequency tags and synchronization of radio frequency tag data and enterprise information system data.
-
Citations
25 Claims
-
1. A semiconductor fabrication enterprise for portably and wirelessly communicating with a wafer carrier and an enterprise information system comprising:
-
an enterprise information system; a transportable WIP carrier having an RF tag containing WIP identifying data; and
,a wireless interrogation device adapted to read WIP identifying data from the RF tag and wirelessly communicate with the enterprise information system to receive WIP data from the enterprise information system corresponding to the WIP identifying data, both of said read and receive operations portably performable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A WIP information system for a semiconductor fabrication enterprise for portably and wirelessly communicating with a work-in-progress (WIP) container and an enterprise data source cornprising:
-
a WIP container adapted for the transportation of WIP through a semiconductor fabrication process; a RF tag having readable memory programmed with a unique identification code, said RF tag being attached to the WIP container; an enterprise data source including WIP data corresponding to the identification code; and
,a RE interrogation device adapted to read the identification code from the RF tag and wirelessly communicate the identification code to the enterprise data source to request and receive the WIP data corresponding to the identification code, said read and request and receive operations portably performable within said semiconductor fabrication enterprise while said RF interrogation device is portably handheld. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. Method for wireless and portable data communication in a semiconductor fabrication enterprise for wirelessly and portably communicating with a work-in-progress (WIP) carrier and an enterprise data source comprising the steps:
-
providing a WIP carrier for WIP, the carrier having attached thereto a RE tag; assigning to the RE tag a unique identification code; providing an enterprise data source including data corresponding to the identification code; approaching said WIP carrier to read the identification code from the RF tag with a RE interrogation device, said RE interrogation device portably handheld; wirelessly requesting with the RE interrogation device from the enterprise data source the data corresponding to the identification code; and
,wirelessly providing to the RE interrogation device the data corresponding to the identification code from the enterprise data source; wherein said steps of reading, requesting and providing are performable while said RE interrogation device is portably handheld. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification