New Equipment Sentinel Fault Detection and Classification Software from Rudolph Technologies
Rudolph Technologies, Inc has introduced Equipment Sentinel, an automated fault detection and classification (FDC) software solution that combines key wafer-level data with high-fidelity tool signal and event data into a single framework, giving users a comprehensive, easy-to-understand view of their processes and equipment.
Currently installed at multiple beta sites worldwide, fab personnel will use Equipment Sentinel software to extract the maximum value from the voluminous amounts of data generated in today's semiconductor operations.
"Many applications have been developed over the years to address advanced tool monitoring and control for semiconductor manufacturing, but they are typically focused on either wafer or equipment state information, not both," said Thomas Sonderman, vice president and general manager of Rudolph's Software Business Unit. "Equipment Sentinel integrates these formerly independent data streams into a powerful monitoring and control engine to enable timely actionable intelligence, greatly enhancing optimization capabilities with predictive analytics in the fab."
Rudolf say that Equipment Sentinel is the only process control software with a framework that provides global manufacturers of semiconductors, compound semiconductors, LEDs, and flat panel displays with a detailed snapshot of the performance for the process and of all the equipment in their fab. Its bi-directional data flows enable both sensor and product data to be tightly correlated into a single knowledge computing engine, maximizing signal-to-noise ratios, and thus, avoiding the false positives that typically plague many traditional FDC solutions. This is one of the many differentiating capabilities that allow users to quickly detect and resolve actual issues that impact operational performance and product yield. The implementation of Equipment Sentinel software can dramatically improve engineering effectiveness thereby significantly lowering the cost required to resolve complex tool performance issues resulting in improved fab operational efficiency.
"The ability to quickly detect, isolate and correct actual tool excursions provides unparalleled value to a manufacturing operation. In many cases, the detection of a single critical incident more than offsets the total cost of this type of system," added Sonderman. "Equipment Sentinel is capable of acquiring, processing and analyzing the massive amounts of data generated in today's high-tech manufacturing environments, providing a new avenue for corrective actions to ensure the maximum return on investment for semiconductor manufacturers."