National Center for Manufacturing Sciences

At&t Laboratories, Limited

Ami Kestenbaum

Richard S Armington

Anthony J Serafino

A resource-sharing system enables multiple work areas to share an energy resource on a real-time, asynchronous basis in order to perform manufacturing processes. A specific embodiment involves a communication and control structure for a distributed laser processing system wherein the work areas, in communication with a cell controller via a cell-level LAN, share high-power lasers through beam multiplexers and optical fibers. The cell controller, typically in communication with a factory information system computer over a factory-level network, receives information relating to processes to be performed in the workareas, and makes this information available to the workareas as a node in the cell-level LAN. With such an arrangement, tools requiring the laser energy within the work areas may be controlled in real time by their associated station controllers, as cell controller need only be responsible for coordinating more global activities. The implementation of a digital switching network enables a particular work area to assume direct, real-time and asynchronous control of one of the laser resources in accordance with the requirements of a given materials processing application.

Energy resource sharing method and apparatus

A node switch useful for resource sharing within a network environment incorporating computer control uses opto-electronic isolators and switching devices to route bidirectional communications between a common port and at least two I/O ports on an asynchronous basis. Separate power supplies are used for the ports and the internal circuitry, thus providing signal matching between disparate pieces of equipment. Multiple node switches may be cascaded or 'daisy-chained' to provide for flexible switching, depending upon the application.

Asynchronous bidirectional node switch

A conductive interconnection (27) on a substrate (11) is made by applying a metal-organic compound (25) to the substrate, exposing the metal-organic compound to laser beam radiation (14) in which the power level has been ramped to some specific level and, thereafter, moving the substrate with respect to the laser beam. The movement of the substrate is at an applied rate of speed such that the temperature within the metal-organic compound impinged by the laser beam is properly ramped with respect to time. This leaves a dependable metal deposition (27) which may be monitored through a viewing system (21).

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West Windsor Township, NJ, United States of America

Ami Kestenbaum