Introduction to the SEMI E87 Standard
EMI E87, titled?Specification for Carrier Management (CMS), defines the essential behaviors, data structures, and services required for managing the transfer of carriers to and from manufacturing equipment. As a key component of the GEM 300 interface, CMS enables factory host systems to verify carrier IDs and contents, ensuring that equipment processes the correct materials. The standard also includes robust features for managing and monitoring load ports, whether carriers are loaded manually or via automated systems. Additionally, it supports advanced capabilities for equipment that store carriers internally.
Purpose of the SEMI E87 Standard
The primary goal of SEMI E87 is to establish a standardized communication framework for coordinating, executing, and completing both automated and manual carrier transfers within semiconductor manufacturing environments. By streamlining host-equipment interactions, the standard addresses critical operational aspects such as:
- Carrier loading and unloading sequences
- Carrier-to-load port associations
- Slot map verification and validation
SEMI E87 enhances integration between factory automation systems and equipment, promoting efficient and reliable material handling. Recent updates to the standard have broadened its applicability beyond traditional semiconductor front-end processes, making it more versatile for emerging manufacturing domains.
Key Concepts and Features of SEMI E87
The SEMI E87 standard introduces a comprehensive and uniform framework for carrier and load port management in semiconductor manufacturing. The term?carrier?refers to any container used to transport material to and from equipment. E87 is implemented as part of the equipment’s GEM 300 interface and defines several state models and services that govern the interaction between carriers and load ports.
Core State Models
SEMI E87 defines multiple state models to manage the behavior and interaction of load ports and carriers:
- Load Port Transfer: Controls the operational status of load ports, including transitions between in-service and out-of-service states. When in service, it manages carrier loading, unloading, and transfer blocking.
- Carrier: Facilitates host system verification of carrier ID and contents. It reports carrier access events, completion of carrier-related activities, and provides predictive notifications for scheduling carrier removal.
- Access Mode: Configures whether carrier delivery/removal is manual or automated via an Automated Material Handling System (AMHS).
- Load Port Reservation: Communicates when a carrier is reserved for a specific load port.
- Load Port/Carrier Association: Reports the affiliation between a carrier and a load port.
Additional Standardized Features
Beyond state models, E87 includes several additional capabilities that enhance carrier management:
- Notifications: Provides detailed event reporting, including carrier clamping/unclamping, door opening/closing, and carrier ID reader availability changes.
- Services: Defines services for reading and writing carrier tags, in addition to those associated with state models.
- Roundtrip Scenarios: Describes both normal and abnormal operational scenarios, illustrating how state models and services interact.
- Internal Carrier Buffers: Supports equipment with internal carrier storage by defining services to request carrier movement to external load ports and tracking storage.
- Alarms: Notifies the host system of unexpected carrier and load port related errors, failures, or abnormal conditions, enabling timely diagnostics and corrective actions.
- Integration with SECS/GEM: SEMI E87.1, a subordinate standard that maps SEMI E87 features to the SECS/GEM interface for communication with factory hosts.
These features collectively establish a robust and standardized execution framework for material transportation, enabling efficient and reliable operations in advanced manufacturing environments.
Importance of the SEMI E87 Standard to the Industry
The SEMI E87 standard is an important part of modern semiconductor manufacturing, enabling streamlined and automated material handling across diverse production environments. Its adoption delivers several key benefits:
- Enhanced Operational Efficiency: By standardizing carrier transfer processes, E87 reduces errors, minimizes delays, and improves overall throughput.
- Interoperability Across Equipment and Facilities: E87 ensures consistent behavior and compatibility between load ports and carriers, regardless of equipment supplier or geographic location, fostering a unified global manufacturing ecosystem.
- Cost Reduction: The standard minimizes manual interventions, reduces equipment integration complexity, and lowers downtime—resulting in significant cost savings for semiconductor manufacturers and fabrication facilities.
- Seamless Automation Integration: E87 provides a robust framework for integrating automated systems such as Automated Material Handling Systems (AMHS), which are essential for achieving fully automated, “lights-out” manufacturing environments.
- Widespread Industry Adoption: E87 is universally required in 300mm front-end fabrication facilities and is increasingly being adopted in back-end semiconductor operations.
PDF Solutions Products that Support SEMI E87
PDF Solutions provides comprehensive solutions to support the implementation of SEMI E5 standards, including development and integration tools for equipment-to-host communication.
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Equipment-Side
- Cimetrix CIM300: Supports GEM300 standards compliance for 300mm fabs, combining GEM, E87, E90, and other standards.
- Cimetrix CIMControlFramework: A complete software framework for equipment automation systems, designed to integrate seamlessly with SEMI standards.
- Cimetrix EquipmentConnect: A powerful software toolkit engineered for seamless implementation of SEMI GEM, GEM300, and EDA/Interface A standards
Factory-Side
- Sapience Data Platform: A host-side solution supporting SEMI standards, enabling efficient factory host operations.
- Cimetrix HostConnect: An enhanced software library for creating host applications using SECS-II messaging over HSMS.
- Cimetrix SECSConnect: A library for creating applications using SECS-II messaging over SECS-I or HSMS.
Test
- Cimetrix EquipmentTest: A comprehensive SECS/GEM testing solution engineered to validate equipment interface compliance with SEMI standards and streamline integration with factory host systems.