Method for controlling emergency states of semiconductor fabricating equipment arranged in a processing line

Abstract

A method for controlling emergency states of equipment in a semiconductor fabrication system includes determining whether on-line communication has been restored between a host computer and semiconductor fabrication equipment after an interruption in communication. If on-line communication has been restored, post-restoration emergency state data are received automatically from the equipment. Then it is determined whether the post-restoration emergency state data indicate the equipment is in a warning state. If the post-restoration emergency state data indicate the warning state, it is determined whether the warning state is a critical state. If the warning state is the critical state, a key value of a variable ID corresponding to the equipment is changed to a value indicative of shutting down the equipment. Then the equipment is shut down by inserting the variable ID into an equipment control message and downloading the equipment control message to the equipment. As a result, unforeseen operational problems can be prevented in advance and the work load of the operator can be considerably reduced.