Peer Intellectual Property Inc.

Asyst Technologies, Inc.

Mark Theodore Pendleton

Raymond Walter Ellis

Charles Merritt Baylis

A method is provided, including: establishing a session over the Internet with a client device, the session configured to provide for remote control or monitoring of a manufacturing tool over the Internet via communication with a controller of the manufacturing tool, the manufacturing tool being one of a plurality of manufacturing tools in a fabrication facility (FAB); receiving a request from the client device to access an equipment model defining a representation of the manufacturing tool, the representation of the manufacturing tool; receiving data from a controller of the manufacturing tool that is stored in association with a service object of the manufacturing tool; sending to the client device, via the session, a response to the request, the response including the data received from the manufacturing tool that is stored in association with the service object.

Apparatus and method for web-based tool management

A method for controlling an automated manufacturing tool for semiconductor fabrication is provided, including the following method operations: receiving, over a network, a request from a client, the request defining an action for an automated manufacturing tool; authenticating the request; and, in response to receiving the request, triggering performance of the action by the automated manufacturing tool.

A method and apparatus for web-based tool management are implemented. A tool object model provides a logical representation of the physical tool. The tool object model defines a hierarchical set of tool objects that characterize the tool, and additionally a set of method for performing actions on the tool objects. These actions also correspond to operations, which may include reporting as well as processing tasks, performed by the tool. A user may remotely control and monitor a tool using a conventional web browser. For example, a user may execute methods of the tool object model, or obtain detailed information about a tool object. User actions are passed to a server by embedding them in hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) requests. The server receives the HTTP request, and passes the request to a corresponding page server in accordance with the action requested. Depending on the action requested, the page server may generate a web page in response, or may invoke a method of the tool object model.

A system, computer program product and method for automated tool management in a multi-protocol environment. A user may issue a message in accordance with an object-oriented interapplication communication protocol to a corresponding application interface unit. The message may be a request to perform a particular action on a selected tool. The content of the message may be extracted by the corresponding application interface unit which may comprise data required by the requested action and a pointer to the object representing the tool. The application interface unit may invoke a method of the object pointed to by the pointers in the message. A value may then be procured by an equipment model where the value may be associated with particular information requested in the message about a tool or a notification informing the user that an event occurred. The equipment model may transfer the value to the appropriate user.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Mark Theodore Pendleton