Setting up Sorter Scenarios#

Planned Sorter operations can be pre-defined via Future Actions or Experiment Actions. Sorter Steps/Resources can be placed as part of the main Flow, or defined in mini temporary flows to allow ad-hoc execution of Sorter operations.

The Sorter execution Steps themselves, need to have dedicated Services assigned in the context. These services must have the attribute "SemiResourceJobType" set with the intended Sorter Job Type - "Sorter Scan", "Sorter Split" or "Sorter Merge".

The setup required to trigger a Sorter operation changes slightly depending on the kind of action - the next sub-sections describe the configuration process for each operation.

Scan#

Scan operations can only be triggered via Future/Experiment Actions. To trigger scan operations is necessary to:

1. Create Future Action or Experiment Step Action
2. Select trigger step where scan should occur
3. Set Action: Execute Rule
4. Choose intended scan rule: SemiFutureActionScanValidate, SemiFutureActionScanSynchronize, SemiFutureActionScanExpand or SemiFutureActionScanExpandAdd.

Scan Future Actions can be defined at Step or Material level. The Scan Expand requires the Lot Material to have quantity predefined, that will be converted into sub-materials. There is an Expand Add variant allows adding any scanned sub-materials freely even on lots with zero quantity. The Expand operations assume that the scanned wafers are don't exist in the system yet, and will be created during execution.

When material reaches the trigger step, a Resource Job will be created automatically and the Material will need to be tracked in a Sorter to proceed.

Split/Merge#

On Steps where a Sorter is required to perform a a Split/Merge operation, the Step attribute SemiRequiresSorterForLogistics needs to be set to true. This will cause the Split/Merge operation to be postponed in the MES until it is physically executed on a Sorter.

This setup will cover unplanned Splits and Merges, done manually at runtime in the user interface. However, for Splits/Merges triggered via Future Actions or Experiments, only physical splits executed with Manual Future Actions are supported.

Future Actions for Split/Merge operations can only be defined within the Material​ page, in the Future Action​ section, and configure an action with the execution type set to Manual:

For Experiment-triggered Split/Merge actions, besides the SemiRequiresSorterForLogistics, the trigger steps also need to have the Default Future Logistic Action Execution Mode​ set to Manual.

The Experiment Step Action itself, can use implicit or explicit Split/Merge actions, but to trigger the Sorter logic, the Split/Merge Type​ must be set to Physical.

Logical Splits assumes the wafers remaining in the same container positions, without the need for physical wafer transfers on a Sorter.

Off-flows Context setup#

The possible Sorter-specific Off-Flows can be configured in the Semi Resource Job Off Flow Context Smart Table. This table is resolved when a Sorter action is triggered in a non-sorter Step, to determine to which Flow the Material should temporarily jump into, in order to execute the Sorter action.

The setup can be simple, with the same Off-Flows for all cases, or can be overridden based on context. For example, to use different flows based on Area and Step. The table also supports multiple lines with the same key, meaning that multiple Off-Flow options can be configured for the same Context, an the user will decide which one to use during execution.

The Flows themselves can also be simple mini-flows with a single Step with a Sorter Resource services, but can also have additional preparation or post-sorting steps (e.g. for bagging containers) if needed.