JPH02109315A - Circuit board processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To have smooth system processing by furnishing a communication controlling unit, which performs communication controls between a circuit board processing line and a block computer, communication controls between it and a host computer, and further condition monitoring and automatic response. CONSTITUTION:A communication controlling unit 400 performs communication controls between a circuit board processing line 100 and a block computer 200 and also communication controls between it 200 and a host computer 300. Further the unit 400 monitors the condition of the circuit board processing line 100 at certain intervals, and if there is any change in the current condition, the block computer 200 is informed of it. The unit 400 further makes automatic response to those predetermined specific ones of the messages which are transmitted from the host computer. Thus burden on the block computer is reduced to accomplish smooth system processing.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a substrate processing system used in the field of semiconductor manufacturing, particularly for hosting a substrate processing line that performs required processing on substrates. It relates to a system that is centrally managed by a computer.

<Prior art> Conventionally, as this type of substrate processing system, the system shown in Fig. 6(a)
As shown in FIG. 6, there is a system in which the substrate processing line 100 and the host computer 300 are directly connected online, and as shown in FIG. There is also a system in which a block computer 200 is interposed.

In the former system, a controller (not shown) provided in the substrate processing line 100 controls the substrate processing line 100, interacts with the operator, and controls the host computer 3.
Since it is necessary to communicate with 00 in parallel, the program of the controller becomes complicated, and there is a drawback that it takes a lot of effort to respond to changes in system specifications.

On the other hand, according to the latter system, the processing is distributed by having the professional computer 200 carry out communication with the operator and communication with the base/reverse processing line 100 and the host combinator 300. , has the advantage that the program is simpler than the former system. Therefore, the latter system is often adopted in recent automated substrate processing processes such as semiconductor manufacturing factories.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, even with the latter system mentioned above, the following problems are pointed out.

That is, this system causes the block computer 200 to perform processing related to data communication, but since there is a considerable amount of communication programs, the CP LJ in the block computer 200 has less time dedicated to communication processing. It gets quite long. Therefore, there is a problem in that it takes a long time for other processing to be performed by the block computer 200 (for example, program editing by an operator or pig transfer in response to a request from the host computer 300).

Furthermore, if an abnormality occurs in data communication, the CPU of the block computer 200 may not be able to be removed from data communication processing, resulting in a situation where other processing is completely interrupted.

The present invention was made in order to solve these problems, and it reduces the burden on communication processing from among the processing performed by conventional block computers, and allows operators to perform programs such as Wfi and It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing system that can smoothly process data requests from a host computer.

Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, the substrate processing system according to the present invention includes a substrate processing line that performs a series of processing on substrates, a block computer that manages the substrate processing line, and an integrated system for controlling the substrate processing line via the block combinator. A communication system for controlling communication between the substrate processing line and the block computer and controlling communication between the block computer and the host computer in a substrate processing system comprising: a host computer for managing the substrate processing line; 1 unit, and the communication control unit monitors the state of the substrate processing line at predetermined time intervals, and when there is a change in the state, the state monitoring means notifies the block computer of the change; The present invention is characterized by comprising an automatic response means for automatically responding to a predetermined specific message among the messages transmitted from the host computer.

<Operation> According to the present invention, protocol level control, error checking, etc. are performed by a communication control unit provided separately from the block computer. Further, the communication control unit 2 monitors the state of the substrate processing line at regular intervals, and notifies the block computer only when there is a change. Furthermore, the communication control unit 2 can respond to a predetermined specific message.
Automatically respond without going through a block computer. In this way, the processing load on the block computer is significantly reduced by the communication control unit, monitoring the status of the substrate processing line, and automatically responding to the host computer.

<Example> Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The substrate processing system according to this embodiment includes a substrate processing line 100 that applies photoresist to a substrate and heat-processes it;
The substrate processing line 100 is centrally controlled through the block combinator 200 and the block computer 200, which provide various processing conditions and commands to the substrate processing line 100. (2) a host computer 300, the substrate processing line 100, and a block computer 200;
1 includes a communication control unit 400 that intervenes between the host computers 300 and performs communication control.

The substrate processing line 100 includes a first track 110 and a second track 120 each having a similar configuration, and a main control unit 1 that centrally controls each track 110 and 120.
However, in the present invention, the number of trunks and the configuration of each trunk can be set arbitrarily.

Each trunk 110, 120 includes a loader unit Ill which sequentially supplies substrates from a cassette (not shown) containing a plurality of substrates constituting 10 trunks, and a photoresist onto each substrate supplied from the loader unit 1.11. A spinner unit 112 coats the photoresist, a heat treatment unit 113 heats the substrate coated with photoresist, and an unloader unit 114 stores the heat treated substrate in another cassette.

The block computer 200 includes Cr! A T2O1° keyboard 202 and a magnetic disk 203 storing substrate processing conditions are attached.

The communication system '4n unit 400 is connected to the substrate processing line 100.
A first channel unit 410 relating to bidirectional serial communication with the host computer 300, a second channel unit 420 relating to bidirectional serial communication with the host computer 300, and a second channel unit 420 relating to the bidirectional serial communication with the host computer 300. The storage unit 430 stores the status of each unit of the Rai-Kari 00.

Further, the first and second channel units 0420 and the block computer 200 are connected by a path line. Note that the communication control n unit 40 described above
0 is realized by software using a microcomputer, but for ease of understanding, blocks for each function are shown here.

The first channel unit 410 includes a control section 411, a timer 412, a transmitting section 413, and a receiving section 414, each of which performs the following processing.

That is, the control unit 411 performs fa) exchanging commands with the block computer 200, and (b) exchanging commands with the block computer 200.
Setting of a character string indicating the start of transmission, (C) Control of the transmitting/receiving units 413 and 414, (d) Setting/cancellation of the timer 412, (e) Setting of a character string for monitoring the status of the substrate/board processing line lOO Polling, (f) Substrate processing line 1
Collect detailed data of each unit that makes up 00.

The timer 412 is (al transmission/reception timer)
(b) Monitor the polling execution interval, etc.

The transmitting unit 413 performs (a) transmitting a character string set by the control unit 411, (b) transmitting a control character set by the receiving unit 414, and the like.

The receiving unit 414 performs (a) reception of control characters transmitted from the substrate processing line 100, (2) reception of data and an error check thereof, and (C) retry check when an error occurs.

On the other hand, the second channel unit 420
, a timer 422, a transmitter 423, and a receiver 424, each of which performs the following processing.

That is, the control unit 421 (a) exchanges commands with the block computer 200, and (b) transmits the transmission unit 42.
Setting of control n characters to 3, (C) Sending/receiving section 423
(d) setting/cancelling the timer 422, (e) responding to inquiries from the host computer 300, etc.

The timer 422 monitors transmission/reception timeouts.

The transmitter 423 transmits the character string set by the controller 421, and so on.

The receiving unit 424 includes (a) a host computer 30;
Receipt of control characters sent from 0, (+)) also 1-
Performs evening reception, etc.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

First, with reference to FIG. 2, the operation of the communication control unit 400 relating to communication with the substrate processing line 100, particularly the first channel unit 410, will be explained.

First, the first channel unit 410 of the communication control unit 400 is initialized (step S1).

For example, when an operator operates the keyboard 202 attached to the block computer 200, the serial communication baud rate, transmission/reception time-out time, polling period, etc. that have already been manually entered on the magnetic disk 203 can be changed to the block combiator 200 and Through the control section 411 of the first channel unit 410,
The timer 412 is set.

Next, the control f111 part is the block combiator 20
Determine whether or not there is a command from timer 412 (step S2). If there is no command, determine whether to start polling based on the output signal from timer 412 (step 53). 4
12 is a control unit 411 that sends a polling start signal approximately every 2 seconds.
It is output to.

Until the polling start signal is output, the control unit 41
1 waits for a command from the block combinator 200, and the substrate processing line 100 also communicates with i! i'l
The control unit 411 only needs to wait for a command from the block computer 200 because the substrate processing line 100 does not spontaneously transmit data.

When polling start No. 43 is output from the timer 412, the control? The J section 411 is connected to the substrate processing line 100,
The controller 41 sequentially inquires about the status of the first and second trunks 110 and 120 (step S4). SRM
to transmit. Status/lead message SRM is
As shown in Figure 4 (al), the text start character STX
, a status lead character SR1 designated track number, and a text termination character ETX.

The main control unit 130 of the substrate processing line +00 that received the status/read message SRM controls each track 11.
A status transfer message STM indicating the status of each unit is transmitted every 0.120 to the first channel unit 410 of the communication control unit 400. Status Transfer Message ST
M is the text start letter S, as shown in Figure 4 (bl)
It consists of TX, status transfer character ST, mode numbers and status characters of units 1 to n, and text termination character ETX.

Here, the mode number is a code indicating what kind of function the unit has (for example, a loader, a spinner, etc.). On the other hand, the unit number is a consecutive number for each unit.

The status includes ``Not Ready'' indicating that the unit is not ready, t# ``Ready 1'' indicating that the unit is ready, ``BusyJ'' indicating that the unit is in operation,
There is an "alarm J" indicating that an abnormality has occurred, and a "complete J" indicating that the state is finished.

The status information transmitted from the substrate processing line 00 is first taken into a reception buffer (not shown) provided in the reception section 414, and then stored in the storage section 430 for each unit via the control section 411. be done. Regulation? Part 1 (old 1) compares, for each unit, the status information transmitted from the substrate processing line 100 and taken into the reception buffer each time polling is executed, and the status information stored in the storage unit 430 due to the previous polling. However, when there is a change in the status of a certain unit, the status information in the storage section 430 corresponding to that unit is updated to new status information.

The seventh control section 411, into which the status information is taken, is
Loader unit 111 or unloader unit 11
4 is "V complete" (step S5). If r complete 1, the control section 411 sends a message to the main control section 130 of the substrate processing line 100 via the transmission section 413. Transmit the lot data read message L RM to the main ililIm
The lot data transfer message LTM is received from Department +30 (Step S6).

The lot data read message LRM is shown in Figure 4 (
As shown in C), text start character STX, lot data lead character LR, track number, unit number,
It is composed of text ETX.

In addition, lot data transfer mensage L
As shown in FIG. 4(d), TM includes text start character STX, lot data transfer character LT, track number, unit number, loft number, recipe number,
It consists of the number of substrates to be processed and the text termination character ETX. Here, the recipe number is a number indicating substrate processing conditions predetermined for each unit of each track.

The loft data described above is once taken into the receiving section 414 and then sent to the block computer 2 via the control section 411.
Sent to 00. As a result, block computer 2
00 stores this lot data in an internal storage unit (not shown) and displays it on the CRT 201 if necessary.

If it is determined in step S5 that r is not complete J, and after step S6 is completed, it is determined whether the status of any unit is not r alarm J (step S7).

If the status of any unit is r alarm J, the control unit 4】] transmits an alarm data read message ARM to the main control unit 130 of the substrate processing line 100, and displays the detailed contents of the unit in which the abnormality has occurred. The alarm data transfer message ATM containing the information is received from the main control unit 130 (step S8).

As shown in FIG. 4 (el), the alarm data read message ARM consists of a text start character STX, an alarm data lead character AR, a trunk number, and a text end character ETX.・Mensage ATV is shown in Figure 4 (f
As shown in FIG. 1, it consists of a text start character STX, an alarm data transfer character AT, the number of alarms, the number of the trunk where each alarm has occurred, a unit number, an alarm code, and a text end character ETX. Here, the alarm code is a code predetermined according to the type of abnormal state occurring in each unit.

The above-described alarm data is once received by the receiving section 414 and then sent to the block computer 200 via the control section 411. The block computer 200 stores this alarm and displays on the CRT 2O1 that an abnormality has occurred in the substrate processing line 100.

If it is determined in step S7 that no alarm has occurred in any unit, or in step S8
After completing the process, the process returns to step S2 and waits for a command from the block computer 200.

Note that during polling, the receiving unit 4 detects that there is an error in the data transmitted from the substrate processing line 100.
14, the data reception is re-executed a predetermined number of times (for example, three times). If correct data cannot be received even after re-executing the process a predetermined number of times, the receiving unit 414 sends an error code to the block computer 200 via the control unit 411 and performs polling again. Block computer 20 sent error code
0 indicates that an error has occurred on the CRT2O1.

By the way, if it is determined in step S2 that there is a command from the block computer 200, the process advances to step S9 and the command is executed.

From the block computer 200 to the communication control unit 40
The commands given to the first channel unit 410 of No. 0 include (1) setting the baud rate, (2) setting/changing/cancelling the timer, (3) sending a write (W) command, and (4) receiving (R). There are commands such as sending a command, (5) forced work correction, and (6) reset.

In step S9), the block computer 200
After executing the process according to the command given from
It is determined whether the command is a received (R) command (step 510).

If it is a received command, a transfer message T corresponding to the transmitted command is sent back, so the reception process for this is performed (step Sll). Specifically,
The l.transfer data is once taken into the reception buffer of the reception section 414, and further this data is transmitted to the block combinator 200 via the control section 411. The block computer 200 stores the transfer data and displays it on the CRT 2O1 if necessary.

After the progressive Sll is completed, and if it is determined in step S10 that it is not a received command, the process returns to step S2 and waits for the next command from the block computer 200.

Next, the operation of the communication control J unit 400, particularly the second channel unit 420, relating to serial communication with the host computer 300 will be explained with reference to FIG.

First of all, is it a correspondence system? The second channel unit 420 of the 71 unit 400 is initialized (step 521). In this step S21, the operator operates the keyboard 202 attached to the block computer 200 to input information that has already been input to the magnetic disk 203. baud rate of serial communication, timeout time for sending and receiving, automatic response to inquiries from the host computer 300, online communication with the host computer 300,
Offline etc. are set.

Next, the control unit 421 determines whether there is a command from the block computer 200 (the
2) If there is no command, the host computer 300
It is determined whether there is an online/offline inquiry from the block combiator 200 (step 523). If there is no inquiry, the process returns to step S22 and waits for a command from the block combinator 200.

When there is an online/offline inquiry from the host computer 300, it is determined whether to automatically respond to the inquiry (step 524), step S2
If automatic response is set in step 4, the block computer 200 automatically responds to an inquiry from the host computer 300 regarding whether or not the block computer 200 and the host computer 300 are connected online (step 525).

In this embodiment, system online/offline is set as the automatic response, but other information such as the status of the substrate processing line 100 may also be automatically responded.

If it is determined in step S24 that automatic response is not set, the content of the inquiry from the host computer 300 is reported to the block computer 200 (step 526), and this is executed after waiting for support from the block computer 200. (Step 527).

By the way, in step S22, if there is a command from the block combinator 200! Jl[tli, the process advances to step 52B, executes the command, and then returns to step S22.

From the block combinator 200 to the communication control unit 40
Commands given to the second channel unit 420 include, in addition to the above-mentioned commands related to initial settings, a send command for sending long data and a send command for sending short data.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5, a description will be given of a typical communication unit 1 when this system is in an online state.

(2) A recipe request (corresponding to "Ready J" in the status information) is issued from the substrate processing line 100 by polling performed by the communication control unit 400 (step S4 in FIG. 2).

■ When there is a recipe request from the substrate processing line 100,
The block computer 200 sends the second channel unit 4 to the host computer 300.
20 (Step S22.52B in Figure 3)
.

■ The host computer 300 that received the recipe request blocks the recipe number 2 of the processing loft.
Send to 00.

(2) The block computer 200 reads the recipe data corresponding to this recipe number 1 from the n-air disk 203 and loads it into the substrate processing line lOO (step S9 in FIG. 2).

■ When the recipe data is loaded, the host computer 300 issues a start command.

■ This start command is transmitted to the substrate processing line 100 via the block computer 200 (step S9 in FIG. 2) # ■ When the substrate processing line 100 starts, the block computer 200 reports the start of processing to the host computer 300. (Step 528 in FIG. 3).

■ When the loader unit (Ill) of the substrate processing line 100 sends out all the substrates, the polling of the communication control unit 400 changes the status of the loader unit 11 to indicate the completion of processing. (2) The loft data is transmitted to the unit 400 (step S4 in FIG. 2), and the loft data is further transmitted to the communication control unit 400 (step S6 in FIG. 2).

■ When an abnormality occurs in the substrate processing line 100, a status (alarm) indicating that an abnormality has occurred is transmitted to the communication control unit 400 by polling of the communication control unit 400 (step S4 in FIG. 2). The detailed contents are transmitted to the communication control unit 400 (step S8 in FIG. 2).

[Phase] The alarm and its contents are transmitted to the host computer 300 by command from the block computer 200 (step 328 in FIG. 3).

o Unloader unit 114 of substrate processing line 100
However, when all processed substrates are stored, a status (complete) indicating the completion of processing is transmitted to the communication control unit 400 by polling of the communication control n unit 400 (step S4 in FIG. 2), and the loft data is It is transmitted to the communication control unit 400 (step S6 in FIG. 2).

@ Status information G indicating the completion of processing of the unloader unit HI4 is transmitted to the host computer 300 by a command from the block computer 200 (step 328 in FIG. 3).

■ When there is a request for board monitor data from the host computer 300, the second channel unit 420 reports this to the block computer 200 (the third Uj
J.Stemp526).

[Phase] The monitor data is the block computer 200
is reported to the host computer 300 (step 527 in FIG. 3).

■ When the host computer 300 wants to issue a command to the block computer 200 or the substrate processing line 100 via the block computer 200, the host computer 300 first sends an online/
Make an offline inquiry.

■ If the communication control unit 7) 400 is set to automatically respond to inquiries, the communication control unit 7)
Unit 400 alone responds online/offline to host computer 300 (step 525 in FIG. 3). If host computer 300 is connected online to block computer 200, the unit 400 responds online/offline to host computer 300 as described above. A response will be given to the command, but it is natural that no response will be made if the user is offline.

In the above embodiment, the substrate processing line! 00, a processing line in which a photoresist is applied to a substrate and heat-treated is taken as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It can also be applied to processing lines.

<Effects of the Invention> As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, a communication control unit provided separately from the block computer can control the substrate processing line, the block computer,
In addition to controlling communication between host computers, it also monitors the status of the substrate processing line and automatically responds to the host computer, reducing the processing load on the block computer. It is possible to smoothly respond to the data request 6.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the processing load on the block computer is reduced, so by simply adding a communication control unit, it is possible to manage a large number of substrate processing lines with one block computer, and the system can be expanded. can be easily done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 5 are explanatory diagrams of one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram thereof, FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart of the communication control unit in communication with the substrate processing line, and FIG. 3 is an illustration of an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart of the operation of the communication control unit in communication with a host computer, FIG. 4 is a format of data related to status monitoring of the substrate processing line, and FIG.
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing general data exchange between a substrate processing line, a block computer, and a host computer. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a conventional substrate processing system. 100...Substrate processing line 200...Block computer 300...Host computer 400...Communication control unit 410...First channel unit...Second channel unit Applicant Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Company agent Patent attorney Tsutomu Sugitani (a) (b)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A substrate comprising a substrate processing line that performs a series of processes on a substrate, a block computer that manages the substrate processing line, and a host computer that comprehensively manages the substrate processing line via the block computer. The processing system includes a communication control unit that controls communication between the substrate processing line and the block computer and between the block computer and the host computer, and the communication control unit controls the substrate processing at predetermined time intervals. condition monitoring means for monitoring the condition of the line and notifying the block computer of any change in the condition; A substrate processing system comprising: automatic response means that automatically responds to a request.