--- alias: semi-feature-sorterscenariosoverview --- # Sorter Integrated MES Scenarios - Overview The goal of Sorter Integrated MES Scenarios is to provide the ability to trigger pre-defined or ad-hoc Sorter Operations, that will require the operator to move the Material to a Sorter Step/Resource to execute the operation. Only after the sorter action is completed, the material can continue the normal Flow. This ensures operational consistency, correct logistics behavior, and proper material flow control. !!! info The current version includes Sorter-integrated Split, Merge and Scan/Read/Map (Validate, Synchronize and Expand) scenarios, including the main logic and IoT equipment integration for these scenarios. *It doesn't fully cover Sorter-based Compose, Transfer, Sort and Flip scenarios.* ## Business Context In Semiconductor Front Ends, manually handling of wafers needs to be avoided, and a Sorter machine should be used instead. This implies that for any change in wafer container (e.g. Split, Transfer, Change Position, etc) should not be triggered immediately in the MES, but instead it should require Sorter operation to be performed. The same logic applies also for predefined actions like Future Splits, Experiments, Compose Lot, etc. Sorters are often also used for their wafer ID reading capabilities, where the machine scans the wafer ID in each container slot, in order to validate, synchronize or create the matching Materials on the MES side. ## Concept This feature adds some Sorter-specific actions like Scan, Sort and Flip, that can be triggered via Future Actions (or Experiment Actions) into a particular Step or Material. Some MES logistic actions like Split, Merge and Transfer can also be overridden, so that these actions are not executed immediately, but are instead set as pending a Sorter job. Only when the action is actually executed on a Sorter, will it be reflected in the MES. Executing a Sorter action requires a Sorter Step and Resource modeled in the MES. For convenience, a dedicated Sorter Off-Flow button is available to temporarily change the MES Materials to a Sorter Step to execute the logistic operation, and then automatically return back to its original location in the main flow. ### Scan Operation The Scan/Read/Map operation takes advantage of the sorter's wafer scribe ID readers to perform a one of the following MES Resource Jobs: Expand; Validate; Synchronize. !!! note The Scan operation takes advantage of the sorter's wafer scribe ID readers to perform a one of the following MES Resource Jobs: expand; validate; synchronize. Even though Sorters are often used for these purposes in Semiconductor Front Ends, this feature can be applied to any other Equipment capable of reading wafer scribe IDs, including dedicated wafer readers. Similarly, it can also be applied to non-wafer materials, like boards, strips or other substrates. The Scan to expand functionality will create (via expand) in the MES the wafers read by the machine in a particular container. The wafers will be added as sub-materials by expanding the lot/batch material quantity into sub-materials and associating the respective container positions. The most common use-cases for this feature is when receiving wafers from the supplier, and when starting a new production lot. > There is an _expand add_ variant, that will add the detected wafers into the lot material quantity instead of moving the quantity from parent into sub-materials. !!! info "Diagram Scan Expand" ![concept-scan-expand](sorterscenarios.images/sorterscenariosoverview/concept-scan-expand.png) The Scan to Validate option, verifies if the wafers' MES Container position matches the real container slot positions. !!! info "Diagram Scan Validate" ![concept-scan-validate](sorterscenarios.images/sorterscenariosoverview/concept-scan-validate.png) The Synchronize option, updates the MES wafers' Container position to match the real container slot positions. !!! info "Diagram Scan Synchronize" ![concept-scan-sync](sorterscenarios.images/sorterscenariosoverview/concept-scan-sync.png) ### Split/Merge Operation Steps can now be configured to require a Sorter machine for logistic operations. In these cases Manual Split/Merge in MES is no longer immediate. Instead it creates a Resource Job to be executed in a Sorter. !!! info "Diagram Split/Merge" ![concept-split_offflow](sorterscenarios.images/sorterscenariosoverview/concept-split_offflow.png) The same applies to a **Future Action** for manual Split or Merge when it is triggered. The Future Action logic will not run and cannot be executed until the materials are in a sorter resource. Once they are, the Future Action will be performed automatically during track-out. ### Sorter Off-flows In case a sorter action is triggered in a non-sorter step, either via Future Action Rule or direct Split/Merge UI actions, the material will be tagged with a Pending Resource Job. These Materials won't be allowed to be Dispatched or Tracked in to any step that doesn't include the Resource Job's Sorter Service. This means that the Material needs to be moved to a Sorter Step/Resource to perform the operation and only after resume its standard Flow. To simplify this process, a Sorter-specific Off-Flow mechanism is available to temporarily move the Material to a Sorter Flow/Step, and then automatically return it back to its original location in the main flow. The Off-Flows can be configured based on the Material context, allowing the Materials to be redirected to specific Sorters depending on the Area or required Sorter capabilities. ### Multi-Run Partial Executions Multi‑Run Partial Execution scenarios apply when the number of containers involved in a sorter resource job exceeds the number of available load ports on the equipment. In such cases, the sorter job cannot be completed in a single run and must be executed across multiple consecutive runs. Each run processes a subset of the containers until all required material movements have been physically completed.