Method and apparatus for the integration of sensor data from a process tool in an advanced process control (APC) framework

摘要

A method and apparatus for integrating tool sensor data in an Advanced Process Control (APC) application. A sensor receives operational state data of a processing tool related to the manufacture of a processing piece. The state data is sent from the sensor to a data server and accumulated therein. The data server processes the state data and forwards the data to an APC framework. The APC framework then forwards the state data to a fault detection unit. The fault detection unit determines if a fault condition exists with the processing tool based upon the state data. A predetermined action is performed on the processing tool in response to the presence of a fault condition. In accordance with one embodiment, the predetermined action is to shutdown the processing tool so as to prevent further production of faulty wafers.