Provided is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a first device; one or more sensors that detect physical quantities indicating a state of the first device; a first calculation circuit that calculates one or more feature quantities of the first device from the detected physical quantities; and a failure prediction circuit that monitors a temporal change in the one or more feature quantities calculated in the first calculation circuit, and stops receiving a new substrate when a duration for which a degree of deviation of the one or more feature quantities from those at a normal time is increasing exceeds a first time, and/or when a number of increases and decreases per unit time in the degree of deviation of the one or more feature quantities from those at the normal time exceeds a first number.

There is provided a technique that includes a load port on which a plurality of storage containers, each storage container storing a plurality of substrates, are mounted, a plurality of process chambers configured to be capable of accommodating the substrates, a transfer part configured to transfer the substrates stored in each storage container to each of the process chambers; an operation part configured to, when performing the process in a state in which a substrate is not present in each process chamber, count first count data of data tables for corresponding process chambers; a memory configured to store the data tables; and a controller configured to assign first transfer flag data to a data table of a process chamber having largest first count data and configured to control the transfer part based on the first transfer flag data so as to transfer the substrates in the predetermined order.

An article transport facility includes article transport vehicles that travel along a specified travelable path, and a control device that controls the article transport vehicles. The travelable path includes nodes and links each connecting a pair of the nodes. The control device sets a setting path based on a link cost that is set for each of the links. The link cost includes a reference cost and a variable cost. The reference cost is a value that is set based on a reference passage time that is required for a target vehicle to pass through a target link in a state in which another vehicle is not present in the target link. The variable cost is a value that is set based on a vehicle count-related increased time by which an actual passage time is increased relative to the reference passage time according to the number of the other vehicles present in the target link, the actual passage time being a time required for the target vehicle to pass through the target link.

Provided is a method for predicting and classifying yield to determine downstream testing steps. The method comprises obtaining and preprocessing historical input data from a semiconductor fabrication process, setting a yield threshold for a yield classification, and training a model using the historical input data as a training dataset. The model is configured to determine from a set of input data whether any of the wafers or lots have higher yield than the yield threshold and can skip next testing. The yield threshold is optimized during the model training to identify an optimal yield threshold at which total cost of wafer sorting, die assembly, and final test is minimal. The trained model is deployed and used for the yield prediction and classification using real time input data from semiconductor manufacturing, resulting in substantial savings in cost and test time and effectively increasing test capacity.

Embodiments disclosed herein include a processing tool for semiconductor processing. In an embodiment, the processing tool comprises a chamber, and a plurality of witness sensors integrated with the chamber. In an embodiment, the processing tool further comprises a drift detection module. In an embodiment, data from the plurality of witness sensors is provided to the drift detection module as input data. In an embodiment, the processing tool further comprises a dashboard for displaying output data from the drift detection module.

The present disclosure provides a start method and device of a processing task in a semiconductor processing apparatus. The method includes generating a processing area relationship list of a current processing task of the semiconductor processing apparatus; determining all to-be-started processing tasks and generating a processing area relationship list for each of the to-be-started processing tasks, based on the processing area relationship list of the current processing task and the processing area relationship list of each of the to-be-started processing task, determining whether all the to-be-started processing tasks include a startable processing task according to a first predetermined rule, when all the to-be-started processing tasks include a startable processing task, selecting a target startable processing task from all startable processing tasks according to a second predetermined rule, and starting the target startable processing task.

There is provided a technique that includes: at least one process chamber in which at least one substrate is processed; a mounting stage configured to be capable of mounting the at least one substrate on the mounting stage; a transport chamber including a conveyor configured to be capable of holding the mounting stage at least two places in a vertical direction and transporting the mounting stage; and a controller configured to be capable of performing a transport control of the conveyor in the transport chamber.

The subject of this invention is a method for testing the data and control interface of individual machines intended for interconnection in an inline system for solar cell production. Furthermore, an Interface-Tester suitable for executing the testing method is disclosed. The method for testing comprises the steps of feeding a dummy workpiece to the tested machine and connecting the interface tester to the standard interface of the machine. Consecutively the interface tester sends controlling signals to the machine and receives the signals from the tested machine. The received signals are compared to reference signals and evaluated. The interface tester comprises a standard interface for coupling the machines in an inline system for solar cell production. Furthermore, the interface tester is equipped with at least one CPU, a volatile and/or non-volatile memory, communication modules, couplers and connectors and at least one human-machine interface.

A substrate processing apparatus includes first processors, second processors, a transfer module and a controller. Each of the first processors is configured to perform a first processing on a substrate. Each of the second processors is configured to perform a second processing on the substrate on which the first processing is performed. The transfer module is configured to transfer the substrate to the first processors and the second processors. The controller is configured to control the first processors, the second processors and the transfer module. The controller controls a start timing for a first transfer processing of transferring the substrates to the first processor such that a timing of a second transfer processing of transferring the substrate having a liquid film formed thereon to the second processor from the first processor and a timing when another substrate is transferred by the transfer module are not overlapped with each other.

A substrate structure includes at least one detachable first substrate unit and a substrate body. The detachable first substrate unit includes a plurality of corners and a plurality of first engagement portions. Each of the first engagement portions is disposed at each of the corners of the detachable first substrate unit. The substrate body includes a plurality of second substrate units, at least one opening and a plurality of second engagement portions. The opening is substantially defined by a plurality of sidewalls of the second substrate units, and includes a plurality of corners. Each of the second engagement portions is disposed at each of the corners of the opening. The detachable first substrate unit is disposed in the opening, and the second engagement portions are engaged with the first engagement portions.