| US 7,522,968 B2 | ||
| Scheduling method for processing equipment | ||
| Steve S. Hongkham, San Ramon, Calif. (US); Eric A. Englhardt, Palo Alto, Calif. (US); Michael R. Rice, Pleasanton, Calif. (US); Helen R. Armer, Cupertino, Calif. (US); and Chongyang Chris Wang, San Jose, Calif. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif. (US) | ||
| Filed on Jul. 10, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/775,365. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 60/806906, filed on Jul. 10, 2006. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2008/0051929 A1, Feb. 28, 2008 | ||
| Int. Cl. G06F 19/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 700—100 | 17 Claims |
| 1. A method for increasing the processing throughput of multiple lots of semiconductor wafers through a cluster tool while
maintaining a constant wafer history for each lot, comprising:
defining a first substrate processing sequence that has two or more processing steps;
defining a second processing sequence that has two or more processing steps, wherein at least one of the processing steps
in the second substrate processing sequence has a processing time that is different than all of the processing steps within
the first substrate processing sequence or the second substrate processing sequence has a different number of processing steps
than the first substrate processing sequence;
processing a first batch of substrates in the cluster tool using the first substrate processing sequence;
processing a second batch of substrates in the cluster tool using the second substrate processing sequence, wherein the start
of the first process step on the first substrate in the second batch is controlled relative to the start of the first process
step on the last substrate in the first batch of substrates so that each substrate in the first batch of substrates has the
same processing time for each processing step in the first substrate processing sequence, each substrate in the second batch
of substrates has the same processing time for each processing step in the second substrate processing sequence, the relative
time between each of the processing steps that each substrate in the first batch experiences is generally constant, and the
relative time between each of the processing steps that each substrate in the second batch experiences is generally constant;
transferring each substrate of the first batch of substrates and the second batch of substrates through the cluster tool using
a first robot assembly at a maximum robot limited throughput for the first substrate processing sequence and the second substrate
processing sequence; and
implementing skip steps in the first substrate processing sequence and the second substrate processing sequence when sending
each of the first batch of substrates and the second batch of substrates through the cluster tool such that an average substrate
throughput of the cluster tool is equal to or greater than an average substrate throughput of a subsequent processing tool.
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