Development of Wafer Transfer Simulator Based on Cellular Automata

This paper describes a homemade wafer transfer simulator based on cellular automata theory for many semiconductor manufacturing tools. In such a complicated multicluster tool, all the errors in the simulation result to the actual data became within only 30 s against the around 50 min production time. The cellular automata theory is very simple and the simulator can be created with a spreadsheet application. And it was highly effective that the features of the installed unclear wafer transfer systems became clear by using the simulator, either. Up until now only the tool manufacturer can develop the simulator, but by using cellular automata theory with correct wafer transfer systems, everybody who has some knowledge of the spreadsheet application can develop it without equations even if the transfer logic is not opened at all. This simulator is effective to the tool capacity scrutiny and the productivity improvement. We think this technology is a breakthrough and can be applied to other industrial tools in addition to semiconductor manufacturing tools.