Xerox Corporation

Applied Materials, Inc.

Pemstar, Inc.

Michael E Wilmer

Jerry W Rice

Robert Mehranfar

John Murray

Leland D Green

Terry P Reiss

Natalia Kroupnova

Sherry Cordova

Loc Nhin Ho

Clari Nolet

Yukari Nishimura

Rudiger W Tietze

Richard C Lyon

Woon Young Toh

Terry Lee Doyle

Inna Louneva

Evgueni Lobovski

Paul Munro

The present invention provides a semiconductor processing device () including a tool () having one or more sensors, a primary data communication port () and a secondary data communication port (). A sensor data acquisition subsystem () acquires sensor data from the tool via the secondary port (). The data acquisition subsystem () acquires MES operation messages via the primary port (). Sensor data are communicated to a sensor processing unit () of a sensor data processing subsystem (). The sensor processing unit () processes and analyzes the sensor data. Additionally, the processing unit () can be adapted for making product or processing related decisions, for example activating an alarm if the process is not operating within control limits. In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for processing data from a wafer fab facility () including a plurality of tools () each having a primary data communication port () and a secondary data communication port ().

Wafer fabrication data acquisition and management systems

A wireless LAN communications system capable of supporting communications within a multidisciplinary group or team of individuals, each person equipped with a wireless LAN radio and assigned to one of a number of possible roles in carrying out the mission of the team. A multicast IP address corresponding to a specific role within the group, a multicast IP address corresponding to a specific subgroup within the group, or a multicast IP address corresponding to a generic subgroup within the group is assigned to each LAN radio.

Role-based IP multicast addressing in a wireless LAN

A wireless LAN communications system capable of supporting communications within a multidisciplinary group or team of individuals, comprising a plurality of LAN radios that transmit, receive and route messages. Radios that are within range of each other send messages directly to each other. Radios that are within two hops of each other extract route information from the specific roles within the group and periodic update messages sent by the LAN radios. Radios that are more than two hops from each other use modified ad hoc multicast routing protocols.

Multicast wireless ad hoc packet routing

A method and apparatus for controlling the delivery of a gas from a reservoir to a semiconductor process chamber. In accordance with the present invention, a reservoir, having an inlet and outlet isolation valve and a known volume, is filled with a gas upon the initiation of process recipe step. The temperature and pressure of the gas in the reservoir are measured to determine an initial mass of the gas residing within the reservoir. The flow of gas from the reservoir to the process chamber is metered by a variable flow valve under the control of a self-calibrating, dynamic flow control circuit comprising a flow control servo loop (flow control circuit) and a calibration servo loop (calibration circuit). The variable flow valve is situated in a gas flow path between the reservoir and process chamber at a point upstream of a orifice. In operation, gas is delivered to the process chamber by releasing the gas from the reservoir and directing the gas through the variable flow valve and sonic orifice and into the process chamber. The flow control servo loop is used to dynamically control the variable flow valve in response to a measured gas flow rate. When the flow of gas to the process chamber is terminated, the temperature and pressure of the gas residing in the reservoir is again measured to determine the final mass of gas residing in the reservoir. The initial mass and final mass of gas values are compared to determine the actual mass of gas released from the reservoir during the recipe step. This value serves as an input to the calibration servo loop to update the system calibration constant. The execution of the calibration servo loop serves as a continuous self calibration of the dynamic servo loop.

Dynamic gas flow controller

A video signal white level corrector wherein a digital memory is used to store a correction signal which is applied to a signal multiplier to remove white level shading which results from optic and beam misalignment of a scanner. Video signals are applied to a multiplier 10, the output therefrom being the corrected video signal. The correction signal is stored for future use in a digital memory 14 after being compared to a reference voltage at comparator 20. In a first, or 'store', mode, the output from the comparator 20 is coupled to an integrator 22, the output of which increases or decreases the gain of multiplier 10. In a second, or 'operate', mode, the output from the digital memory is coupled to integrator 22 to also control the gain of multiplier 10.

Video signal white level corrector

A processing system adapted to control a sequential automated device to a state determined by the immediately preceding state. The system comprises a read only memory (ROM) (or alternatively a static RAM) having coded at each address in bit positions 2 through n the address of either the output signal to be controlled, the input signal to be sensed or the next ROM address. Bit position 0 indicates whether an output or input is to be selected and bit position 1 either determines the desired state of the input that is selected or routes the 2 through n bit position address to select the output or to set a new address for the ROM. Accordingly bits 0 and 1 from the ROM are combined with the selected input in a logical circuit comprising gates and inverters to either increment the ROM address buffer or jump to a new address.

Programmed device controller

Apparatus for segmenting a buffer memory into two-dimensional sectors such buffer memory having stored herein, in scan-by-scan format, bits representing the image of a document. The sectors comprise sections of adjacent scan lines arranged in a two dimensional array. Included in the apparatus is an address generating means which provides the address arrays for such sectors during the segmenting sequence and an encoding means which inspects the data in each segment. In the instances where all of the data in one sector represents background image a single bit code is transmitted. In all other instances the sector data is transmitted in its entirety. The same address generating and encoding means can be utilized in the receiving mode to reconstruct the code into corresponding data arrays to thus provide an image.

Encoder and decoder for bandwidth compression

An optical character recognition system for identifying typewritten characters and converting such to standard code for transmission. To achieve recognition of a character, the character, as it is scanned, is recorded in a corresponding array in memory and the memory address for each scan coordinate is then modified to correspond with the virtual character center. This coordinate center of the character is derived by inspection of the scanning array in parallel with the memory storing pass to determine the two adjacent all white rows and columns bounding the character. The coordinate center is then calculated by dividing the bounded row and column increment by two. The recognition of the character pattern is then performed by a set of Boolean discriminants selected to achieve the highest probability of in - character hits against a lowest probability of misses. Print fidelity, quantum misregistration and other character edge noise are filtered by selective OR-ing of test points along an axis having the highest incidence of noise.

Optical character recognition system

An electro-optic display having a plurality of sets of overlapping grid address layers, wherein each set of address layers comprises electrode means for allowing transmission of light through only one half of the total area of the display, and successive sets of layers have increased numbers of individual electrodes which comprise each layer, the number of individual electrodes increasing in the progression 2.sup.n where n is the number of sets of overlapping grid layers, and the alternate individual electrodes on any one layer, which comprise one half of the total area of the display, are commonly connected for attachment to a source of electrical potential, and the other alternate electrodes, which comprise the other half of the total area of the display, are commonly connected for attachment to a source of electrical potential, so that any one of (2.sup.n).sup.2 bits of the total display area may be selectively addressed by selectively operating one of the commonly connected alternate electrodes of each pair of address grids.

Electro-optic display system

A character segment detection system adapted for use with conventional scanning apparatus comprising translating apparatus disposed to illuminate an area of a page, detection means disposed for sensing the level of reflected light within a predetermined aperture from the paper and for producing an electrical signal indicative thereof, peak detector means connected to the detection means for producing the output signal indicative of the peak of the electrical signal, differentiator means connected to the detection means for producing an output signal indicative of the first derivative of the electrical signal, rectifying means connected to receive the differentiator means output signal for producing an output signal of only one polarity indicative thereof and comparator means connected to receive the electrical signal and the peak detector means and rectifier means output signals for producing an output signal when the sum of the electrical signal and and the peak detector means signal is greater than the differentiator means output signal.

Detection system

In a facsimile transmission device, means for reducing the bandwidth which includes a clock rate halving flip-flop and an odd-even line switching flip-flop which are logically combined to transmit every second data bit in each line in a vertical stagger between lines. At the receiving end the missing bits are filled in by an interpolation device according to the data in the vertically adjacent bits or the horizontally adjacent bits.

Growing community of inventors

Portola Valley, CA, United States of America

Michael E Wilmer