(12) United States Patent
`Mata et al.
`
`USOO6907305B2
`(10) Patent No.:
`US 6,907.305 B2
`(45) Date of Patent:
`Jun. 14, 2005
`
`(54) AGENT REACTIVE SCHEDULING IN AN
`AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING
`ENVIRONMENT
`
`(75) Inventors: SERE Six
`s
`y,
`(US); Larry D. Barto, Austin, TX
`(US); Yiwei Li, Austin, TX (US)
`(73) ASSignee: hers' Micro Devices, Inc., Austin,
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 10/135,145
`(22) Filed:
`Apr. 30, 2002
`(65)
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2004/0243266 A1 Dec. 2, 2004
`(51) Int. Cl. ................................................ G06F 19/00
`(52) U.S. Cl. ......................... 700/99: 700/100; 700/121;
`705/8
`(58) Field of Search ................................ 705/8; 700/99,
`700/100, 121, 101
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
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`
`(Continued)
`Primary Examiner Jayprakash N. Gandhi
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm Williams, Morgan &
`AmerSon, P.C.
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`A method and apparatus for Scheduling in an automated
`manufacturing environment, comprising are disclosed. The
`method includes detecting an occurrence of a predetermined
`event in a proceSS flow; notifying a Software Scheduling
`agent of the occurrence, and reactively Scheduling an action
`from the Software Scheduling agent responsive to the detec
`tion of the predetermined event. The apparatus is automated
`manufacturing environment including a process flow and a
`computing System. The computing System further includes a
`plurality of Software Scheduling agents residing thereon, the
`Software Scheduling agents being capable of reactively
`Scheduling appointments for activities in the process flow
`responsive to a plurality of predetermined events.
`
`53 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets
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`1 1 O-a
`2OS
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`25
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`21 O
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`2OO
`265
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`27O
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`28O
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`USER INTERFACE
`SOFTWARE
`AMHS SOFTWARE
`COMPONENT(S)
`
`Applied Materials, Inc. Ex. 1002
`Applied v. Ocean, IPR Patent No. 6,968,248
`Page 1 of 31
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`

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`US 6,907.305 B2
`Page 2
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`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
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`Line Through Rapid Information Dissemination” (Jul. 10,
`1995).
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`309-339 (1994).
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`Dynamic Manufacturing Scheduling.” pp. 199-213 (1996).
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`patch Scheduling in Semiconductor Manufacturing, Logis
`tics Management System (LMS), pp. 473-516 (1994).
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`Manufacturing Systems”.
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`Scheduler” (1995).
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`7:374-388 (1994).
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`A Case Study," IEEE Transactions. On Semiconductor Manu
`facturing 2:16–22 (1989).
`
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`112–117 (1997).
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`with Agent-Based Manufacturing Scheduling” (1999).
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`Due Dates: A New Method Based on Behaviours and
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`facturing Scheduling” (1998).
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`9:129–140 (1998).
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`uling” (May 22, 1998).
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`opment Overview” (presented at SEMICON Southwest
`1998).
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`(AEMSI) Project” presented by Dan Radin, ERIM CEC
`Nov. 12–13, 1998).
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`Manufacturing (Apr. 14, 1999).
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`1:115-130 (1988).
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`Under Hybrid Control Policies” (Sep. 22, 1995).
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`Manufacturing Systems: Applications to Integrated Manu
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`Management 44:175-187 (1997).
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`turing Orders,” Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing
`9:107–112 (1998).
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`ing.” Int. J. Computer Integrated Manufacturing 4:23-33
`(1991).
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`Advanced Decision Support System for the Fourth Decision
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`Science 13:167–190 (1966).
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`turing 5:101-106 (1992).
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`libria via Bilateral Exchange” (Mar. 1997).
`* cited by examiner
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`Applied Materials, Inc. Ex. 1002
`Applied v. Ocean, IPR Patent No. 6,968,248
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`Jun. 14, 2005
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`Applied v. Ocean, IPR Patent No. 6,968,248
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`Applied v. Ocean, IPR Patent No. 6,968,248
`Page 8 of 31
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`

`1
`AGENT REACTIVE SCHEDULING IN AN
`AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING
`ENVIRONMENT
`
`The United States Government has a paid-up license in
`this invention and the right in limited circumstances to
`require the patent owner to license others on reasonable
`terms as provided for by the terms of Award No.
`70NANB7H3041 awarded by the United States Department
`of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technol
`ogy (“NIST).
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`This invention pertains to automated manufacturing
`environments, and, more particularly, to Scheduling in an
`automated manufacturing environment.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`Growing technological requirements and the Worldwide
`acceptance of Sophisticated electronic devices have created
`an unprecedented demand for large-scale, complex, inte
`grated circuits. Competition in the Semiconductor industry
`requires that products be designed, manufactured, and mar
`keted in the most efficient manner possible. This requires
`improvements in fabrication technology to keep pace with
`the rapid improvements in the electronics industry. Meeting
`these demands Spawns many technological advances in
`materials and processing equipment and Significantly
`increases the number of integrated circuit designs. These
`improvements also require effective utilization of computing
`resources and other highly Sophisticated equipment to aid,
`not only design and fabrication, but also the Scheduling,
`control, and automation of the manufacturing process.
`Turning first to fabrication, integrated circuits, or
`microchips, are manufactured from modern Semiconductor
`devices containing numerous Structures or features, typically
`the size of a few micrometers. The fabrication proceSS
`generally involves processing a number of wafers through a
`Series of fabrication tools. Layers of materials are added to,
`removed from, and/or treated on a Semiconducting Substrate
`during fabrication to create the integrated circuits. The
`fabrication essentially comprises the following four basic
`operations:
`layering, or adding thin layers of various materials to a
`wafer from which a Semiconductor is produced;
`patterning, or removing Selected portions of added layers,
`doping, or placing Specific amounts of dopants in Selected
`portions of the wafer through openings in the added
`layers, and
`heat treating, or heating and cooling the materials to
`produce desired effects in the processed wafer.
`Although there are only four basic operations, they can be
`combined in hundreds of different ways, depending upon the
`particular fabrication process. See, e.g., Peter Van Zant,
`Microchip Fabrication A Practical Guide to Semiconductor
`Processing (3d Ed. 1997 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.)
`(ISBN 0-07-067250-4). Each fabrication tool performs one
`or more of four basic operations. The four basic operations
`are performed in accordance with an overall process to
`finally produce the finished Semiconductor devices.
`Controlling a Semiconductor factory fabricating Such inte
`grated circuits, however, is a challenging task. A Semicon
`ductor factory (“fab') is a complex environment where
`numerous parts, typically 40,000 waferS or more, and
`numerous part types, typically 100 part types or more, are
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`Simultaneously being manufactured. AS each wafer moves
`through the Semiconductor factory (or, “fab'), it may
`undergo more than 300 processing Steps, many of which use
`the Same machines. A large factory may contain approxi
`mately 500 computer-controlled machines to perform this
`wafer processing. Routing, Scheduling, and tracking mate
`rial through the fab is a difficult and complicated task, even
`with the assistance of a computerized factory control Sys
`tem.
`Efficient management of a facility for manufacturing
`products Such as Semiconductor chips requires monitoring
`various aspects of the manufacturing process. For example,
`it is typically desirable to track the amount of raw materials
`on hand, the Status of work-in-proceSS and the Status and
`availability of machines and tools at every Step in the
`process. One of the most important decisions is Selecting
`which lot should run on each machine at any given time.
`Additionally, most machines used in the manufacturing
`process require Scheduling of routine preventative mainte
`nance (“PM”) and equipment qualification (“Qual')
`procedures, as well as other diagnostic and reconditioning
`procedures that must be performed on a regular basis. These
`procedures should be performed Such that they do not
`impede the manufacturing process itself.
`One approach to this issue implements an automated
`“Manufacturing Execution System” (“MES”). An auto
`mated MES enables a user to view and manipulate, to a
`limited extent, the Status of machines and tools, or “entities,”
`in a manufacturing environment. In addition, an MES per
`mits dispatching and tracking of lots or work-in-process
`through the manufacturing process to enable resources to be
`managed in the most efficient manner. Specifically, in
`response to MES prompts, a user inputs requested informa
`tion regarding work-in-proceSS and entity Status. For
`example, when a user performs a PM on a particular entity,
`the operator logs the performance of the PM (an “event”)
`into an MES screen to update the information stored in the
`MES database with respect to the status of that entity.
`Alternatively, if an entity is to be put down for repair or
`maintenance, the operator will log this information into the
`MES database, which then prevents use of the entity until it
`is Subsequently logged back up.
`Although MES systems are sufficient for tracking lots and
`machines, Such Systems Suffer Several deficiencies, the most
`obvious of which are their passive nature, lack of advance
`Scheduling and inability to Support highly automated factory
`operations. Current MES Systems largely depend on manu
`facturing perSonnel for monitoring factory State and initiat
`ing activities at the correct time. For example, a lot does not
`begin processing until a wafer fab technician (“WFT)
`issues the appropriate MES command. And, prior to
`processing, a WFT must issue an MES command to retrieve
`the lot from the automated material handling System
`(“AMHS) with sufficient advance planning that the lot is
`available at the machine when the machine becomes avail
`able. If the WFT does not retrieve the lot soon enough, or
`neglects to initiate processing at the earliest available time,
`the machine becomes idle and production is adversely
`impacted.
`These types of deficiencies in the typical automated MES
`emphasize the importance of the WFT in the efficient
`operation of the manufacturing process. WFTS perform
`many vital functions. For instance, WFTs initiate
`dispatching, transport, and processing as their attention and
`time permits. They make Scheduling decisions Such as
`whether to run an incomplete batch, as opposed to waiting
`for additional approaching lots, or performing PM or quali
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`fication procedures instead of processing lots. WFTS per
`form non-value added MES transactions and utilize conven
`tional factory control Systems that are passive. In this
`context, the term "passive” means activities in the control
`system must be initiated by the WFT, as opposed to being
`Self-starting or Self-initiating.
`However, the presence of WFTs also inevitably intro
`duces Some inefficiencies. There typically is a large differ
`ence between the performance of the best WFT and the
`performance of the worst WFT. A WFT typically simulta
`neously monitors the processing of multiple tools and lots,
`making it difficult to focus on an individual lot or tool.
`Furthermore, the size and complexity of the modern fabri
`cation process flows makes it exceedingly difficult for a
`WFT to foresee and prevent downstream bottlenecks or
`Shortages arising from upstream activities. Shift changes,
`rest breaks, and days off for the WFT also create inefficien
`cies or machine idle time that adversely impact the manu
`facturing process flow. Just as the importance of the WFT is
`magnified by the deficiencies of the automated MES, so are
`the inefficiencies of the WFT magnified by his importance.
`Thus, factory control Systems utilized in today's wafer
`fabs are passive and do not enable a high degree of auto
`mation. These systems are very dependent on WFTs and
`other factory staff to monitor the state of the factory, to
`continuously react to change, to make rapid logistical
`decisions, and to initiate and coordinate factory control
`activity in a timely manner. These WFTS are agents, pro
`Viding the active element that is lacking in factory control
`Systems. As a result, factory effectiveness in the highly
`competitive Semiconductor industry is quite dependent on
`the availability, productivity, skill level, and consistency of
`these human agents. WFTS must monitor and operate a
`number of tools located in various bays in a fab. They are
`forced to multiplex acroSS tools, bays, material handling
`Systems and a variety of factory control Systems. As a fab's
`production ramps and more complex processes are
`introduced, it becomes more difficult to meet the increased
`complexity and Volume without increasing Staff or System
`capabilities. WFTs visibility of upstream and downstream
`operations, tool State, work-in-proceSS and resource avail
`ability is limited.
`However, key logistical decisions are frequently based on
`this limited and dated information, which is only partially
`provided by factory control systems. WFTS spend a signifi
`cant amount of time interacting with Systems, monitoring
`factory events and State changes, and performing other
`non-value added functions, Such as MES logging. Shift
`changes disrupt the operation of the fab as the technicians
`are temporarily unable to provide required monitoring and
`coordination. Despite the best efforts of the technicians,
`utilization of tools Suffer, adversely impacting other key
`factory metrics including cycle time, inventory levels, fac
`tory output and mix. With the need for intrabay material
`handling to transport 12-inch wafers in new 300 mm wafer
`55
`fabs, Significant additional complexity is introduced. Con
`ventional factory control Systems are not capable of provid
`ing this level of detailed Scheduling and execution control.
`The present invention is directed to resolving, or at least
`reducing, one or all of the problems mentioned above.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The invention, in its various aspects and embodiments, is
`a method and apparatus for Scheduling in an automated
`manufacturing environment. In one embodiment, a method
`comprises detecting an occurrence of a predetermined event
`in a process flow; notifying a Software Scheduling agent of
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`50
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`60
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`65
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`4
`the occurrence, and reactively Scheduling an action from the
`Software Scheduling agent responsive to the detection of the
`predetermined event. Alternative embodiments include a
`computing System programmed to perform this method and
`a computer-readable program Storage medium encoded with
`instructions to implement this method. In Still another
`embodiment, the invention includes automated manufactur
`ing environment, comprising a process flow and a comput
`ing System. The computing System further includes a plu
`rality of Software Scheduling agents residing thereon, the
`Software Scheduling agents being capable of reactively
`Scheduling appointments for activities in the process flow
`responsive to a plurality of predetermined events.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`The invention may be understood by reference to the
`following description taken in conjunction with the accom
`panying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify
`like elements, and in which:
`FIG. 1 conceptually depicts a portion of one particular
`embodiment of a proceSS flow constructed and operated in
`accordance with the present invention;
`FIG. 2 conceptually depicts, in a partial block diagram,
`Selected portions of the hardware and Software architectures,
`respectively, of the computing devices in FIG. 1;
`FIG. 3 conceptually depicts one particular implementa
`tion of the apparatus of FIG. 1, i.e., in a portion of a process
`flow from a Semiconductor fabrication facility, and the
`manner in which it Schedules appointments for the consump
`tion of resources,
`FIG. 4 conceptually depicts a calendar of booked appoint
`ments,
`FIG. 5 conceptually illustrates three related calendars of
`booked appointments,
`FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B conceptually illustrates the changing
`of booked appointments to take advantage of early Start
`times, and
`FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B conceptually illustrate two circum
`stances in which booked appointments are changed to
`accommodate unexpectedly long durations for preceding
`booked appointments.
`While the invention is susceptible to various modifica
`tions and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof
`have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are
`herein described in detail. It should be understood, however,
`that the description herein of Specific embodiments is not
`intended to limit the invention to the particular forms
`disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all
`modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within
`the Spirit and Scope of the invention as defined by the
`appended claims.
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described
`below. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual
`implementation are described in this specification. It will of
`course be appreciated that in the development of any Such
`actual embodiment, numerous implementation-Specific
`decisions must be made to achieve the developerS Specific
`goals, Such as compliance with System-related and busineSS
`related constraints, which will vary from one implementa
`tion to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that Such a
`development effort, even if complex and time-consuming,
`would be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in
`the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
`
`Applied Materials, Inc. Ex. 1002
`Applied v. Ocean, IPR Patent No. 6,968,248
`Page 10 of 31
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`US 6,907,305 B2
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`FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates a portion of one particular
`embodiment of a process flow 100 constructed and operated
`in accordance with the present invention. The process flow
`100 fabricates semiconductor devices. However, the inven
`tion may be applied to other types of manufacturing pro
`cesses. Thus, in the process flow 100 discussed above, the
`lots 130 of wafers 135 may be more generically referred to
`as “work pieces.” The process tools 115 and any process
`operations performed thereon need not necessarily be related
`to the manufacture of Semiconductor devices in all embodi
`ments. However, for the sake of clarity and to further an
`understanding of the invention, the terminology pertaining
`to Semiconductor fabrication is retained in disclosing the
`invention in the context of the illustrated embodiments.
`The illustrated portion of the process flow 100 includes
`two stations 105, each station 105 including a computing
`device 110 communicating with a process tool 115. The
`stations 105 communicate with one another over commu
`nications links 120. In the illustrated embodiment, the
`computing devices 110 and the communications links 120
`comprise a portion of a larger computing System, e.g., a
`network 125. The process tools 115 in FIG. 1 are processing
`lots 130 of wafers 135 that will eventually become inte
`grated circuit devices. The process flow 100 also includes
`portions of a MES and an automated materials handling
`25
`system (“AMHS”), neither of which is shown for the sake of
`clarity, and other integrated factory controls. The AMHS
`“handles” the lots 130 and facilitates their transport from
`one station 105 to another, as well as other locations in the
`process flow 100.
`AS mentioned above, the computing devices 110 may be
`part of a larger computing System 125 by a connection over
`the communications linkS 120. Exemplary computing Sys
`tems in Such an implementation would include local area
`networks (“LANs”), wide area networks (“WANs”), system
`area networks ("SANs”), intranets, or even the Internet. The
`computing System 125 employs a networked client/server
`architecture, but alternative embodiments may employ a
`peer-to-peer architecture. Thus, in Some alternative
`embodiments, the computing devices 110 may communicate
`directly with one another. The communications links 120
`may be wireless, coaxial cable, optical fiber, or twisted wire
`pair links, for example. The computing System 125, in
`embodiments employing one, and the communications links
`120 will be implementation specific and may be imple
`mented in any Suitable manner known to the art. The
`computing System 125 may employ any Suitable communi
`cations protocol known to the art, e.g., Transmission Control
`Protocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”).
`FIG. 2 depicts selected portions of the hardware and
`Software architectures of the computing devices 110. Some
`aspects of the hardware and Software architecture (e.g., the
`individual cards, the basic input/output system (“BIOS"),
`input/output drivers, etc.) are not shown. These aspects are
`omitted for the Sake of clarity, and So as not to obscure the
`present invention. AS will be appreciated by those of ordi
`nary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure,
`however, the Software and hardware architectures of the
`computing devices 110 will include many Such routine
`features.
`In the illustrated embodiment, the computing device 110
`is a WorkStation, employing a UNIX-based operating System
`200, but the invention is not so limited. The computing
`device 110 may be implemented in virtually any type of
`electronic computing device Such as a notebook computer, a
`desktop computer, a mini-computer, a mainframe computer,
`or a Supercomputer. The computing device 110 may even be,
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`in Some alternative embodiments, a processor or controller
`embedded in the process tool 115. The invention also is not
`limited to UNIX-based operating systems. Alternative oper
`ating systems (e.g., WindowsTM-, LinuxTM-, or disk operat
`ing system (“DOS”)-based) may also be employed. The
`invention is not limited by the particular implementation of
`Such features in the computing device 110.
`The computing device 110 also includes a processor 205
`communicating with storage 210 over a bus system 215. The
`Storage 210 typically includes at least a hard disk (not
`shown) and random access memory (“RAM”) (also not
`shown). The computing device 110 may also, in Some
`embodiments, include removable Storage Such as an optical
`disk 230, or a floppy electromagnetic disk 235, or some
`other form, Such as a magnetic tape (not shown) or a Zip disk
`(not shown). The computing device 110 includes a monitor
`240, keyboard 245, and a mouse 250, which together, along
`with their associated user interface software 255 comprise a
`user interface 260. The user interface 260 in the illustrated
`embodiment is a graphical user interface (“GUI”), although
`this is not necessary to the practice of the invention.
`Each computing device 110 includes, in the illustrated
`embodiment, a Software agent 265 residing in the Storage
`210. Note that the software agents 265 may reside in the
`process flow 100 in places other than the computing devices
`110. The situs of the software agent 265 is not material to the
`practice of the invention. Note also that, Since the Situs of the
`Software agents 265 is not material, Some computing devices
`110 may have multiple software agents 265 residing thereon
`while other computing devices 110 may not have any. Thus,
`there need not be a one-to-one correspondence between the
`computing devices 100 and the process tools 115. Software
`component(s) 270, 280 of an automated MES, such as
`WORKSTREAMTM, and of an AMHS, respectively, also
`reside on at least one computing device 110. AS with the
`software agent(s) 265, the software components 270, 280
`may reside anywhere within the process flow 100.
`Referring now to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the software agents
`265 each represent Some "manufacturing domain entity,”
`e.g., a lot 130, a process tool 115, a resource, a PM, or a
`Qual. A process tool 115 may be a fabrication tool used to
`fabricate Some portion of the waferS 135, i.e., layer, pattern,
`dope, or heat treat the wafers 135. Or, the process tool 115
`may be a metrology tool used to evaluate the performance of
`various parts of the process flow 100. The software agents
`265, collectively, are responsible for efficiently scheduling
`and controlling the lots 130 of wafers 135 through the
`fabrication process. In furtherance of thes