The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 09, 2006
Filed:
Oct. 30, 2003
Darren Lee Rust, Arlington, TX (US);
George W. Logsdon, Arlington, TX (US);
Darren Lee Rust, Arlington, TX (US);
George W. Logsdon, Arlington, TX (US);
National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A system and method is disclosed for monitoring each of a plurality of furnaces in a furnace process in semiconductor wafer fabrication. A furnace that is left open too long will absorb moisture from the atmosphere and should not be used for a furnace task. The system of the invention comprises a furnace resource allocator that comprises a furnace idle timer unit that keeps track of how long each furnace has been open. If the idle time for a selected furnace exceeds a predetermined limit, that furnace is rejected and another furnace is selected for use. Each furnace that is rejected is subjected to a furnace cycle purge process to remove moisture from the furnace so that the furnace may again be available for use.