Essential SMSs: Developing a Service Management Scheme for Semiconductor Factory Management Systems

摘要

This work proposes an SMS for semiconductor factory management systems by applying the Jini and design by Contract technologies and by developing the GEV. The SMS has error-detecting and function-replacing capabilities. The SMS detects the malfunctioning of an equipment manager (sendee) and sends an event notice to the factory manager (client). The factory manager will then search for a spare EM and transfer the backup status and parameters of the malfunctioning EM to the spare one. The spare equipment manager can then continue to monitor the equipment, starting from the point where the malfunctioning one terminated. The GEV in the SMS archives the credit values of all of the equipment managers so that the factory manager can select better equipment managers for service by checking their credit values. A formula for the improvement in reliability due to the SMS is derived and an illustrative example is presented. The illustrative example and the evaluation of the reliability improvement reveal that the proposed SMS provides an efficient, reliable, fault-tolerant, and cost-effective mechanism for semiconductor factory management systems. Currently, this illustrative example is successfully implemented and demonstrated at the Automation Laboratory, Institute of Manufacturing Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China. The core technology of SMS will be transferred to and commercialized by Charming Systems Corporation.