Efficient Approach to Failure Response of Process Module in Dual-Arm Cluster Tools with Wafer Residency Time Constraints
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2021
Abstract
In semiconductor manufacturing, a process module (PM) failure in cluster tools (CTs) happens from time to time. To effectively operate a CT, such a failure should be handled in a proper and timely manner. This issue becomes much more complicated because wafer residency time constraints (WRTCs) must be met to ensure the quality for some wafer fabrication processes. With such constraints, if a tool is operated under a periodic schedule and a PM fails, it is desired that the tool can still operate under a periodic schedule if it is possible. Nevertheless, the periodic schedule after a PM failure must be different from that before its failure since in this case the tool is degraded. Thus, there must be a transient process between them. It is a great challenge to operate a tool such that it can go through such a transient process with WRTCs being always satisfied. This paper aims to solve this problem by proposing PM failure response policies which can successfully transfer a CT to the feasible schedule after failure from the one before a failure. Then, efficient algorithms are developed to improve these response policies. The proposed policies are composed of simple control laws such that they can be realized in real time and online. Illustrative examples are presented to show their applications.
Identifier
85101143120 (Scopus)
Publication Title
IEEE Transactions on Systems Man and Cybernetics Systems
External Full Text Location
https://doi.org/10.1109/TSMC.2019.2899590
e-ISSN
21682232
ISSN
21682216
First Page
1612
Last Page
1629
Issue
3
Volume
51
Grant
61673123
Fund Ref
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Recommended Citation
Qiao, Yan; Zhang, Siwei; Wu, Naiqi; Zhou, Mengchu; Li, Zhiwu; and Qu, Ting, "Efficient Approach to Failure Response of Process Module in Dual-Arm Cluster Tools with Wafer Residency Time Constraints" (2021). Faculty Publications. 4286.
https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/fac_pubs/4286