State Models#

Administration.StateModels

State models provide access to all the system state models and are accessible in the State Models page of the Administration menu.

Browsing State Models#

State Models are associated and organized by Entity Type and the list can be filtered using the appropriate dropdown selection.

The default page in the Administration menu lists all the available State Models:

Select any of the entries to open the details of the state model, together with information on the states, transitions and attributes associated to each of the objects within the selected state model.

Creating a State Model#

StateModel.Create

To create a new State Model, select Create and then follow the Wizard as described below.

1. Provide a Name.
2. Optionally, provide a Description.
3. Select the Entity Type.
4. Optionally, provide the Code State Mapping - refers to a Smart Table that contains the code/reason translations.
5. Select Create and the system will open the visual editor in the Flowchart view.

Flowchart view#

When the visual editor in the Flowchart view is opened, you can see details for every state and transition in the State Model:

In the right panel, there are three main sub-panels, each of them containing pertinent information for easier understanding and editing of the State Model.

Info#

This panel displays general information on the selected object in the State Model:

Navigator#

A scaled view of the canvas can be useful to narrow down on small details while editing big State Models:

View#

You can filter which information to display in the State Model to make it more or less outright informative:

Editing a State Model#

StateModel.Edit

You can edit the State Model states and transitions by selecting Edit on the top ribbon.

In the main window it is possible to:

• Add a new state by dragging the State icon from the right-side panel button. By double-clicking on the state you can change the name and description of a state, and specify whether the state is an Initial or Final state. You can also define a security role for the state. If defined, it indicates that only users belonging to that role can transition the object from that state.

  Info

  A State Model must have one initial state defined.

• Add a transition to connect two states. This can be done by selecting the triangle pointing away from the (source) state and dragging it into another state (target). There is also the possibility of creating self-transitions by carrying out the same procedure but ensuring that the state area is left before entering it again. To edit a transition name and description, you should double-click on the object or right-click on it and select Settings. You can also define a lookup table with the transition reasons to be used (in the case that a reasons lookup table is defined, it is also necessary to define a default reason). In addition, if a role is defined for the transition, only users that belong to that role will be allowed to perform that transition.

• Remove an existing state or transition by right-clicking on the object and selecting Delete from the context menu.

• It is possible to add specific Attributes to States with a wide range of possible types. To edit the State or to add an attribute to it, you can double-click the State box or select the menu dots at the top right corner of the State box that can be selected, and selecting Settings will open a configuration wizard.

Select Save to make the changes effective.

Cloning a State Model#

StateModel.Clone

To clone a new State Model, select Clone and then follow the Wizard as described below.

1. Provide a Name.
2. Select Clone to complete the operation.

Standards#

Critical Manufacturing provides out-of-the-box State Model standards, namely, SEMI E10 and SEMI E58 (includes reason text). These standards are intended to be used with Resources, and when creating a new State Model for a Resource it is mandatory to have the Basic and SEMI E10 attributes:

Both SEMI E10 and SEMI E58 refer to specific standards published by the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) organization that define state models used to represent the various states equipment can be in during operation and to describe the transitions between these states.

SEMI E10 defines various terms and equipment states but was not written specifically for application by automated equipment. SEMI E58 was created to provide a consistent interpretation of these equipment states through formal state model methodology.

Each state is associated with a set of attributes which are used to determine the Resource System State: the attribute Basic specifies wether the Resource should be Up or Down. This attribute is important because there is a DEE rule that synchronizes the Resource System State with the value stored in this attribute.

graph TD
subgraph SEMI E10 and SEMI E58
    A1[NonScheduled] -->|NonScheduled to Standby| A2[Standby]
    A2 --->|Standby to Productive| A3[Productive]
    A2 --->|Standby to UnscheduledDown| A4[Unscheduled Down]
    A2 --->|Standby to ScheduledDown| A5[Scheduled Down]
    A2 -->|Standby to Engineering| A6[Engineering]
    A2 --->|Standby to NonScheduled| A1
    A3 --->|Productive to Standby| A2
    A4 --->|UnscheduledDown to Standby| A2
    A5 --->|ScheduledDown to Standby| A2
    A3 --->|Productive to UnscheduledDown| A4
    A4 --->|UnscheduledDown to Productive| A3
    A6 --->|Engineering to Standby| A2
    A6 --->|Engineering to UnscheduledDown| A4
    A4 --->|UnscheduledDown to Engineering| A6
end

class A1,A2,A3,A6 mermaid_state
class A4,A5 mermaid_entitylinked
class N1,N2 mermaid_businessdata

SEMI E10#

**Specification for Definition and Measurement of Equipment Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) **

SEMI E10 provides a framework for measuring and reporting the reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. It is widely used in the semiconductor industry to establish consistent and comparable metrics for assessing the performance of equipment over time.

States#

SEMI E10 defines a set of equipment operational states to categorize the time and activities of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. These states provide a standardized way to measure and report equipment performance, including availability, utilization, and downtime. The major states as defined by SEMI E10 are:

Productive States

These states indicate that the equipment is operational and contributing to production:

• Production:

  • The equipment is actively processing material (e.g., wafers) and performing its intended function.
  • This is the primary productive state, where the equipment is producing output.

• Engineering:

  • The equipment is being used for activities such as testing, qualification, or engineering work, which may not directly contribute to production but is still an intended use of the equipment.

Non-Productive (Idle) States

In these states, the equipment is operational but not actively producing:

• Standby:

  • The equipment is powered on and ready to process material but is temporarily idle. This could happen while waiting for material, operator input, or other resources.

• Scheduled Downtime:

  • The equipment is non-operational due to planned activities, such as preventive maintenance, calibration, or other scheduled interventions.
  • This downtime is anticipated and part of regular equipment usage.

Unscheduled Downtime States

These states indicate that the equipment is unavailable for production due to unexpected issues:

• Unscheduled Downtime (Equipment-Related):

  • The equipment is inoperable due to unforeseen equipment failures or malfunctions that require repair or intervention to restore operation.
  • This includes hardware or software failures that stop the equipment from functioning.

• Unscheduled Downtime (Non-Equipment-Related):

  • The equipment is unavailable due to external issues not related to the equipment itself, such as power outages, utility failures, or facility issues.

Non-Scheduled States

These are times when the equipment is not scheduled to be used:

• Non-Scheduled Time:
  • The equipment is not expected to be in use because it is outside of the scheduled operating hours (e.g., during company holidays or non-operating shifts).
  • This state reflects times when the equipment is deliberately not used but could be operational if needed.

Other States

• Preventive Maintenance (PM):
  • This is a subcategory of Scheduled Downtime, and refers to planned maintenance activities meant to prevent equipment failures. This includes cleaning, part replacements, and routine servicing.

These standardized states help semiconductor manufacturers and equipment providers measure performance, reliability, and availability in a consistent and comparable way. The following Equipment States Stack Chart reflects the SEMI E10 states:

Benefits of SEMI E10:

• Consistency - It provides a standardized method to evaluate and compare the performance of different equipment models.

• Decision-making - It aids in understanding whether equipment failures are occurring due to reliability, maintenance, or operational issues.

• Improvement - By measuring performance over time, manufacturers can identify areas for improvement, increase uptime, and optimize maintenance schedules.

In sum, SEMI E10 is crucial for ensuring that semiconductor manufacturing equipment meets the high standards of reliability required for large-scale production processes.

For more information, see SEMI E10 ⧉.

SEMI E58#

Automated Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability Standard (ARAMS)

SEMI E58, also known as the Equipment Data Acquisition (EDA) standard, defines a framework for standardizing communication between semiconductor manufacturing equipment and factory control systems. It focuses on how data is collected, formatted, and transmitted to improve equipment monitoring, performance analysis, and automation. The primary goal of SEMI E58 is to establish a reliable and consistent method for gathering real-time data from semiconductor tools, which can be used for productivity monitoring, fault detection, and process optimization.

To resolve state and reason based on code and structure, Critical Manufacturing MES comes with a Smart Table called E58Mapping which contains the code/reason translations with the following columns: Code, Resource, Model, Vendor, Reason, and State.

This table provides more information on the mentioned columns:

States and Reasons#

The following tables list the code values and their corresponding reason texts:

PRODUCTIVE

STANDBY

ENGINEERING

SCHEDULED DOWNTIME

UNSCHEDULED DOWNTIME

NON-SCHEDULED TIME

Transitions#

The transitions in SEMI E58 refer to the changes or events in equipment states that are communicated between semiconductor manufacturing equipment and factory control systems. These transitions occur when a piece of equipment changes from one operational state to another, and they are critical for tracking equipment performance, downtime, and productivity. The following table shows the transitions for ARAMS State Model:

Benefits of SEMI E58:

• Improved Equipment Utilization - By enabling real-time monitoring and data acquisition, SEMI E58 helps fabrication facilities better understand how equipment is being used, which can improve Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) and reduce downtime.

• Enhanced Fault Detection - The standardized communication protocols enable rapid detection of equipment faults or process deviations, thus allowing fabrication facilities to respond to issues before they escalate.

• Data Consistency - Since SEMI E58 provides standardized data formats, it ensures that data from different equipment models and vendors can be integrated into a common platform, and this improves interoperability and reduces complexities in data analysis.

• Process Optimization - The continuous flow of equipment data supports process optimization efforts, which helps fabrication facilities adjust processes in real-time to improve yields and productivity.

• Scalability - As fabrication facilities become more automated and data-driven, the framework of SEMI E58 can be scaled to support complex equipment configurations and large data streams, thus making it critical for modern manufacturing environments.

In sum, these benefits highlight how SEMI E58 plays a key role in enhancing efficiency, reliability, and scalability in semiconductor manufacturing operations.

For more information, see SEMI ⧉.