Cluster tool module communication based on a high-level fieldbus

A cluster tool for semiconductor manufacturing is an integrated device that consists of several single wafer processing modules and a wafer transport module based on a robot. The distributed module controllers are integrated by an inter-module communication network and are coordinated by a centralized controller, called a cluster tool controller (CTC). Since the CTC monitors and coordinates the distributed complex module controllers for advanced process control, complex communication messaging and services between the CTC and the module controllers are required. A SEMI standard, CTMC (cluster tool module communication), specifies application-level communication service requirements for inter-module communication. We propose the use of high-level fieldbuses–for instance, PROFIBUS-FMS–for implementing CTMC since the high-level fieldbuses are well suited for complex real-time distributed manufacturing control applications. We present a way of implementing CTMC using PROFIBUS-FMS as the communication enabler. We first propose improvements of a key object of CTMC for material transfer and the part transfer protocol to meet the functional requirements of modern advanced cluster tools. We also discuss mapping objects and services of CTMC to PROFIBUS-FMS communication objects and services. Finally, we explain how to implement the mappings.