PARSEC: process analysis with recipe support for etcher control

A description is given of PARSEC, an automated process management system developed for the plasma etch area. This system automates processing by providing automatic download of process recipes, detects defined process problems via automated endpoint signal analysis, increases lot tracking efficiency by monitoring wafer and lot movement, and performs automated data logging. The system has an additional feature of automated trace data archive and retrieval. The system is described in terms of hardware, software, support tools, implementation, performance, and results