An events-driven scheduling algorithm for two-cluster tools with processing time windows

This paper discusses a scheduling problem of two-cluster tools for multi-type wafers with processing time windows. Firstly, a decomposition method is used to decomposes the two-cluster tool into three reduced single-cluster tools (RCT). Then, an events-driven algorithm, based on the temporal constraint sets, is proposed for the reduced single-cluster tool with the objective of minimizing the time for completing a newly arriving wafer. The algorithm deals with the two-cluster tool situation while the three reduced single-cluster tools are composed again. The procedures are repeated for each arriving wafer. Simulation experiments indicate that the proposed algorithm is effective and practical in scheduling two-cluster tools under time constraints.