Sorter Integrated MES Scenarios (Beta)#

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.

The current version is a BETA Preview!

It includes Sorter-integrated Split, Merge and Scan/Read (Validate, Synchronize and Expand) scenarios, including the main logic and IoT equipment integration for these scenarios, and an initial version of a Sorter View GUI for visualization.

These scenarios should be functional for the most common usages, but might fail in more complex or specific use-cases.

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.

Sorter Scan Operation#

The Scan/Read 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.

Note: in the current Beta version of the Scan-Expand action, the target container needs to be added manually (or via customization) in Resource Job. In the future it will be possible to select target Material-Containers in Sorter View GUI.

The Scan to validate option, verifies if the wafers' MES Container position matches the real container slot positions.

The synchronize option, updates the MES wafers' Container position to match the real container slot positions.

Sorter 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.

Note: in the current Beta version, Splits and Merges triggered via Future Actions/Experiments are not supported yet, only Manual Split/Merges will trigger Sorter integration logic.

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 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 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.

Setting up Sorter Scenarios#

This section will be detailed better in future versions

Sorter Scan Setup#

To Set Up Scan Operations:

1. Create Future Action on the desired Step
   • Set Action: Execute Rule
   • Choose appropriate scan rule for your needs
   • Select trigger step where scan should occur

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

Sorter Split/Merge Setup#

On Steps where a Sorter is required to perform a a Split/Merge operation, the Step attribute SemiRequiresSorterForLogistics should 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.

How to Use#

This section will be detailed better in future versions

When material reaches a sorter trigger step, or when a Split/Merge is performed manually in the MES, a Resource Job will be created automatically and the Material will need to be moved to a Sorter step to proceed.

Important: in the current Beta version of the Scan-Expand action, the target container needs to be added manually (or via customization) in Resource Job. In the future it will be possible to select target Material-Containers in Sorter View GUI.

To Manually add a Container to the Resource Job:

• Navigate to Resource Job Details (via Business Data > Resource Job; typically the job will contain the Material in the name)
• Add containers to Resource Job Containers collection

When the Material is at a Sorter Step, placing the Container physically on a Sorter Load Port should automatically Dispatch the Material in the MES. Use the Sorter View to review the job details and Start the Job by Tracking In the Material. Equipment Integration will then perform the Sorter Job and

Administration#

This section will be detailed better in future versions

The following table describes the most relevant configuration entries for integrated Sorter MES Scenarios.

Sorter Resources should have the SemiRequiresMaterialMovement attribute set to True.

Sorter Services need to have the SemiResourceJobType attribute set - Different Services will be required for each Sorter Job Type (e.g. Scan, Split, Merge, etc)