Posted on Thu, Jul 08, 2010
The semiconductor industry's largest event of the year, SEMICON West, is right around the corner. And with the market in recovery, we expect it to be a good turn out and a great show.
This year, Cimetrix has several exciting new developments to discuss at the show:
- GEM Implementation - Faster & Better
We've been at work developing a new solution that enables an even faster GEM implementation... while still improving the already high level of quality you've come to expect from Cimetrix. Designed to cover 90% of typical GEM interfaces, the new solution helps reduce time to market (and headaches) for our customers.
- The Year for Interface A - Are you Ready?
ISMI announced the new Freeze Version of the Interface A Standards on June 17. Also, with increased SEMI investment and fabs requiring implementation, this has quickly become a hot topic. Is your software able to support multiple versions of the Interface A standard at the same time? Are you set up to adopt the new version effectively and efficiently?
We would love the opportunity to discuss your unique needs and projects with you further at the show.
Not registered for the show? Email us for a free pass.
We will be in the South Hall - Booth #2331.
See you at the show!
Posted on Thu, Jun 24, 2010
by Dave Faulkner,
EVP, Sales & Marketing
Engineers love data. Business people love information. But it all starts with high-quality, real-time data. The possibilities are endless with good data.
As an equipment supplier, history probably has you living with a tool architecture from the early 300mm days. The focus was on implementing AMHS systems and meeting the GEM300 standards. A data driven architecture wasn't on the radar screen. And it wasn't a business priority. Times have changed. Fabs started asking for more data by creating the SEMI Interface A standards - and equipment suppliers are learning they can produce more productive equipment by leveraging the right data.
Interface A was an interesting concept when it started in the early 2000s. Discoverable data available to the fabs in real time would seem to be the answer to many problems. But the adoption has been less than stellar - even with strong endorsement and technical support by ISMI. Lack of fab side applications plumbed to use the Interface A data and "ownership" issues of the data haven't helped. These are real business problems that must be solved and will be solved with the next wave of fab purchases.
But what have we learned as equipment suppliers and software providers? Tool data models are helpful. Self description is great. We can create high performance data gathering applications that integrate with existing tool control architectures to make data available and controllable by the equipment supplier. Look at the performance of CIMPortal, our comprehensive equipment data acquisition (EDA) solution. We also learned that given the opportunity to "start over", we can create new tool control architectures that are data driven and prepared for the future. Look at CIMControlFramework. So the data is available - or you can make it available with an existing or new tool control architecture.
Let's put this data to work. Either to benefit you as the tool supplier or to help your customer. How is your tool accepted at the fabs? Do you have contingencies on your customer's payments? Does tool uptime have an impact on the tool price? Are your warranty costs too high? You get the point. With high-quality, real-time data at our fingertips, we can solve some of these business issues. We are at the beginning of a phase where the tool supplier makes use of this data and it directly impacts business results. Tool side fault detection, preventative maintenance, whatever is needed. The important point is we are finally starting from a strong foundation with the right data at the right time - and it can lead to increased margins or higher levels of customer satisfaction. Bring us your business problem and let's build something together to put this data to good use. Let's do it now!
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Posted on Wed, Jun 02, 2010
by David Warren,
Senior Software Engineer, CIMControlFramework Solution Architect
Part 2 - Read Part 1
Would it surprise you to find out there are still people who pan for gold? Some are serious prospectors working for a payoff. Others are recreational prospectors who enjoy the outdoor activity and the actual finding of gold is of secondary importance. Regardless of their motivation, most prospectors must sift a great deal of material in order to find a few flakes of gold. Having the right equipment helps the serious prospector to sift more material and find gold more quickly than someone just looking for a good time.
What does panning for gold have to do with Cimetrix? In a previous blog, we talked about the importance of having log data when problems occur. Log data can be like panning for gold—most of the log data has little to do with the problem you are currently trying to solve, but a few of the messages will be pure gold. Having the right tools to find the gold log messages quickly can make all the difference in the world in resolving problems in a timely manner.
Analyzing tens of megabytes of text data with a text editor and a pair of Mark I eyeballs is difficult at best. Yes, text editors do have the ability to search for words or phrases, but that only helps if you already know what you’re looking for. Jumping into the middle of a log file lets you look at the messages in that part of the file, but gives you no context into what has happened before or after the log messages you are looking at.
CIMControlFramework, our tool control solution, contains a Log Viewer application to help analyze CIMControlFramework log files. It has standard text analysis features such as text search and bookmarking, but because it understands CIMControlFramework log messages, it has more powerful features as well. It adds features like time deltas, finding matching messages for function entry and exits, and tracing a single thread’s log messages. But its most powerful feature is being extensible through plug-ins. These plug-ins have the ability to analyze all the log messages and graphically display information to give context to the current log messages.
One such plug-in is the Timing Chart. The Timing Chart looks at all the function entry/exit log messages and creates a timing chart centered on the current log message. This allows you to look at all the functions that are currently being executed and how long each function took to complete. It also shows which functions just finished and which functions are about to start. It just wouldn’t be feasible to keep track of all that information manually. Another plug-in tracks wafers as they move through tool. A third plug-in keeps track of GEM300 job data. And you are not limited to our ideas for plug-ins, you can develop your own to display the log data however you want.
Having the CIMControlFramework Log Viewer and its plug-ins helps you to sift through the log data and find the gold log messages quickly and efficiently. Finding the right log messages will enable you to resolve problems in a timely manner.
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Posted on Mon, Apr 12, 2010
by Vladimir Chumakov,
Software Engineer
We started using C# at Cimetrix about 5 years ago when we first started working on CIMPortal™, our Equipment Data Acquisition product. Later on we used C# exclusively for development of our Equipment Client Connection Emulator (ECCE) tool; EDAConnect™, a client-side software library product for implementing the SEMI EDA Standards; and CIMControlFramework™, an equipment automation framework for tool control.
Here is why we chose - and keep using - C# for new project and product development at Cimetrix:
- The biggest advantage using C# brings is not the programming language itself but the extensive amount of functionality provided by the Microsoft .NET Framework. The development time savings by using the .NET Framework could be measured in years.
- We used ASP.NET libraries for development of CIMPortal’s Web GUI and implementation of the Interface A SOAP interfaces.
- WinForms is by far easier to use than MFC library in C++ that we've used before.
- WCF is used in EDAConnect for implementation of the Interface A SOAP interfaces and as inter-process communications in CIMControlFramework.
- ADO.NET is the framework used for working with Databases. We use it in CIMStore and CIMControlFramework products.
- And the best part is that Microsoft continuously keeps improving its .NET Framework. Microsoft released a new 4.0 version of the .NET Framework today on April 12th. It contains many new features. The most exciting is Parallel Computing Platform (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/concurrency/default.aspx) which includes significant advancements for developers writing parallel and concurrent applications, including Parallel LINQ (PLINQ), the Task Parallel Library (TPL), new thread-safe collections, and a variety of new coordination and synchronization data structures.
- Visual Studio (we currently use 2005 and 2008 versions) is an excellent development environment for both C++ and C# but has many features exclusive to C# that we take advantage of:
- The Unit Testing Framework helps us with the creation and maintenance of test code.
- C# Code refactoring (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms379618%28VS.80%29.aspx). Refactoring is a formal and mechanical process used to modify existing code in such a way that it becomes 'better' while preserving the program's intended functionality. In addition to improving a program's overall design, the refactoring process tends to yield code which is far easier to maintain and extend in the long run.
- C# Language advantages over C++
- Automatic memory management allows much easier implementation of memory-leak free code.
- 64-bit programming. There is no need to maintain two separate versions of source code or to have different builds – the same C# application runs on both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows and is automatically compiled on the fly into native 32 or 64 bit code.
- Performance. Contrary to common belief that C# is slower than C++, we've found that when features like immutable objects, lock-free containers and automatic memory management are used together, applications written in C# are faster than similar application written in C++.
- There are still areas where C++ is better than C#
- Application startup performance. Because C# applications are compiled at the run time, on the fly, it takes more time for application to start.
- C++ templates are still powerful than generics in C#
All these advantages, especially in development time savings, is the reason why we use and will keep using C# at Cimetrix.
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Posted on Thu, Dec 17, 2009
by Dave Faulkner,
EVP, Sales & Marketing
At SEMICON Japan 2009, Cimetrix announced a transition in its distribution strategy in Japan. Rorze Corporation has been appointed as the exclusive distributor in Japan for Cimetrix Factory Automation and Tool Control products. Rorze provides innovative robotic and wafer handling solutions to the global semiconductor industry. 
Cimetrix and Rorze have been working together for several years with Rorze transitioning the FA for its Sorter line to Cimetrix CIMConnect and CIM300 products, and working closely with Cimetrix to integrate its EFEM and vacuum platforms with the Cimetrix CIMControlFramework tool control software. This technology exchange led to an investment by Rorze in Cimetrix and the appointment of Rorze as the Cimetrix exclusive distributor in Japan. Rorze’s software department has engineers on staff who are familiar with the SEMI FA standards and have used Cimetrix FA and tool control products on previous projects. Watch for more news as this relationship broadens to add new channels throughout Asia.
At SEMICON Japan, Rorze and Cimetrix demonstrated a new 450mm wafer capable vacuum platform. This platform was controlled by Cimetrix CIMControlFramework and was cycling both 300mm and 450mm wafers. It created quite a stir on the main aisle at SEMICON Japan due to the actual moving demonstration and discussions by ISMI about progress on industry usage of 450mm platforms. Please contact Rorze or Cimetrix for more information.
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Posted on Wed, Nov 18, 2009
by Brian Rubow,
Principal Engineer
He Said…No I Didn’t
I have a lot of children—seven. Many of them are still young. Sure it is a lot of fun. However, more often than I like (yet not terribly often since I have really good kids), I get caught in the middle of a “he said/no I didn’t” dispute. That is where one of my children shows up in a huff to wherever I am and reports what “he said”, he meaning another one of my children. Then in the background I’ll hear the other one say either the “no I didn’t’ or the “but that’s because he said” response. And both kids look at me and expect the impartial judge (a.k.a. me) to do something. Each of them will give the impression of complete honesty and full recollection, yet they cannot agree about what happened or about what the other said.
My preference is to make them work it out. Still, I can’t help but wish that I could have recorded what actually happened so that if one of them is being a poop I can apply fair discipline. It would be really nice to attach a recording device to each of my children 24/7 to see what really happens. Would that be considered cruel or responsible parenting? Probably depends on whether you are the parent or child.
At Cimetrix, we deal with similar situations working with SECS/GEM communication. Sometimes either the host or equipment reports a problem. The host software says “the equipment said” and the equipment software says “but the host said”. And both look to an expert like me and want a resolution.
Often the best way to resolve the problem is to look at communication log files. Often enough when such problems occur the first time, neither the host nor the equipment was logging the SECS/GEM communication. Sometimes turning on communication logging in the host or equipment is more difficult than it should be. In a few cases, the host or equipment logging might not be trustworthy. The best solution is an impartial judge that records what both the host and equipment are saying so as to not rely on the host or equipment software.
But can that be done? The answer is yes. There is a free product called WireShark available on the internet at http://www.wireshark.org/. It is a network protocol analyzer, also called a “network sniffer”. It is really cool because it can capture all messages sent by the host and by the equipment without any modification to the host or equipment. Just configure it and run the problem scenario again.
Only it is not quite that easy. One problem is that WireShark does not have a plug-in to interpret the binary SECS/GEM message format (HSMS). If you are a SECS/GEM/HSMS guru that can readily and quickly interpret SECS/GEM messages in hexadecimal format, then this is a minor inconvenience. But for most of us that are too busy for such a tedious task, this is a major problem that makes WireShark impractical.
Fortunately, Cimetrix has a new product to resolve this, CIMSniffer. Under the hood, it uses the same network capturing libraries as WireShark, yet it has the capability to convert the messages into human readable SML formatted messages. You don’t have to wonder exactly what “the equipment said” or what “the host said”. You can record what they said yourself using a third-party software application. I wish I had this years ago. Too bad it won’t work with my kids.
For more information regarding the CIMSniffer product, please email sales@cimetrix.com.
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