Optimal Cyclic Scheduling of Wafer-Residency-Time-Constrained Dual-Arm Cluster Tools by Configuring Processing Modules and Robot Waiting Time

Wang, Jufeng; Liu, Chunfeng; Zhou, MengChu; Leng, Tingting; Albeshri, Aiiad

doi:10.1109/tsm.2023.3239198

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Then, the conditions given in Algorithm 2 and Lemma 2 are satisfied. Assume that PV = [4,3,2,1]. Thus, an optimal schedule is obtained by Algorithm 2 by setting ω1 = ω4 = 0.0, ω0 = 20.0, ω2 = 15.0, and ω3 = 3.0.…”

Section: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Example 4. For an SACT, SPWFP = (1,2,1). This wafer flow pattern is the same as the one in Example 1.…”

Section: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In semiconductor fabs, as the key equipment for wafer fabrication, cluster tools handle 70-80% of wafer fabrication processes [1]. When semiconductor fabs have to process a large batch of identical wafers, the fabs require a steady-state production system, and cluster tools can do so [2]. For cluster tools, there are two loadlocks (LLs) for holding the wafers, multiple chambers or process modules (PMs) for processing wafers, and one robot for wafer transportation within the tool [3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wafer Delay Minimization in Scheduling Single-Arm Cluster Tools with Two-Space Process Modules

Zou,

Zhang,

Zeng

et al. 2024

Mathematics

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In semiconductor manufacturing, multi-space process modules (PMs) are adopted in some cluster tools for wafer processing. With multi-space PMs, a PM can have multiple wafers concurrently. Also, the internal chamber in a PM should rotate to make the robot able to load/unload a wafer into/from a space in the PM. This means that the wafer staying time in PMs is affected by both the rotation operations of the internal chambers of PMs and the robot tasks. Thus, minimizing the wafer delay time is quite challenging. In this work, for cluster tools with single-arm robots and two-space PMs, efforts are made for wafer delay minimization in scheduling the tools. Specifically, a two-wafer backward strategy is presented to operate the tools in a steady state. Then, the workloads of each processing step and the robot are analyzed. Further, to find optimal schedules with the objective of minimizing the total wafer delay time, efficient algorithms are established. Finally, case studies show that the wafer delay time at some steps can be totally eliminated by the proposed method. In the meantime, in all cases, the proposed method can work well in reducing the total wafer delay time at all steps.

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Section: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Example 4. For an SACT, SPWFP = (1,2,1). This wafer flow pattern is the same as the one in Example 1.…”

Section: Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wafer Delay Minimization in Scheduling Single-Arm Cluster Tools with Two-Space Process Modules

Zou,

Zhang,

Zeng

et al. 2024

Mathematics

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“…With multiple wafer types, wafer delay analysis and workload balancing of parallel PMs were conducted in [17]. Moreover, PM configuring problem of residency time-constrained DACTs was investigated, and a polynomial-complexity algorithm was developed to find optimal cyclic schedules in [18].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual-Arm Cluster Tool Scheduling for Reentrant Wafer Flows

Song

Qiao

et al. 2023

Electronics

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Cluster tools are the key equipment in semiconductor manufacturing systems. They have been widely adopted for many wafer fabrication processes, such as chemical and physical vapor deposition processes. Reentrant wafer flows are commonly seen in cluster tool operations for deposition processes. It is very complicated to schedule cluster tools with reentrant processes. For a dual-arm cluster tool with two-time reentering, the existing studies point out that a one-wafer periodical (1-WP) schedule can be found, and it is optimal in terms of productivity. However, for some wafer fabrication processes, wafers should be processed at some PMs more than two times. This gives rise to a question of whether there still exists a 1-WP schedule for dual-arm cluster tools with the number of reentering times being more than two such that the cycle time of a tool can reach the lower bound. This problem is still open, and this is what this work wants to tackle. For a dual-arm cluster tool with the number of reentering times being k (>2) times, if there does not exist a value f ∈ {1, 2 …} such that k = 3f, theoretical proofs are given to show that a 1-WP schedule can be found, otherwise it does not exist. For cases with a 1-WP schedule, the cycle time can be obtained by analytical expressions. For the cases without a 1-WP schedule, two new methods for a three-wafer periodical schedule are proposed to improve the system productivity by comparing it with an existing three-wafer periodical schedule. The applications of the obtained results are demonstrated by examples. Wafer residency time constraints are required for some wafer fabrication processes. Note that the results obtained in this work cannot be directly applied to cluster tools with both reentrant wafer flows and wafer residency time constraints. Nevertheless, schedulablity and scheduling analyses for that applications can be conducted based on the obtained results in this work.

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“…Given the actual increasingly growing need to manufacture chips, it is obvious that it is important to dedicate efforts to solve some of the problems arising in the industry with more advanced technology [6]. One of the most important steps in the semiconductor manufacturing industry is the process of wet-etching wherein the circuits are printed on wafers [7,8]. This process is performed in an automated cell with one or more robots integrated to move lots between the machines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scheduling of Automated Wet-Etch Stations with One Robot in Semiconductor Manufacturing via Constraint Answer Set Programming

García-Mata,

Burtseva,

Werner

2024

Processes

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Scheduling and optimization have a central place in the research area of computing because it is increasingly important to achieve fully automated production processes to adjust manufacturing systems to the requirements of Industry 4.0. In this paper, we demonstrate how an automated wet-etch scheduling problem for the semiconductor industry can be solved by constraint answer set programming (CASP) and its solver called clingcon. A successful solution to this problem is achieved, and we found that for all tested problems, CASP is faster and obtains smaller makespan values for seven of the eight problems tested than the solutions based on mixed integer linear programming and constraint paradigms. The considered scheduling problem includes a robot for lot transfers between baths. CASP is a hybrid approach in automated reasoning that combines different research areas such as answer set programming, constraint processing, and Satisfiability Modulo Theories. For a long time, exact methods such as constraint programming have displayed difficulties in solving real large-scale problem instances. Currently, the performance of state-of-the-art constraint solvers is comparatively better than a decade ago, and some complex combinatorial problems can be better solved. These theoretical and technical achievements open new horizons for declarative programming applications such as logistics.

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Optimal Cyclic Scheduling of Wafer-Residency-Time-Constrained Dual-Arm Cluster Tools by Configuring Processing Modules and Robot Waiting Time

Cited by 11 publications

References 47 publications

Wafer Delay Minimization in Scheduling Single-Arm Cluster Tools with Two-Space Process Modules

Wafer Delay Minimization in Scheduling Single-Arm Cluster Tools with Two-Space Process Modules

Dual-Arm Cluster Tool Scheduling for Reentrant Wafer Flows

Scheduling of Automated Wet-Etch Stations with One Robot in Semiconductor Manufacturing via Constraint Answer Set Programming

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