JP2005310112A - Method and system for improved operation of carrier handler for substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a substrate carrier transportation mechanism for transporting the substrate carrier between a transportation system and a processing device in a manufacturing facility, and to reduce total time for processing the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The method and the system for improving the carrier handler for the substrate comprises the steps of; receiving an instruction for transporting a carrier before the carrier arrives at the carrier handler; receiving an termination instruction for canceling or suspending the prior instruction; selecting instructions arranged in a queue for executing the instructions in regardless of an order, based on the time required for executing the instructions and/or using a carrier support body of the transportation system, which arrives at the earliest time; removing an empty carrier from equipment related to the transportation system; continuing an activity after a fault occurred at a storage by removing a place of the storage, where the fault has occurred, from a list of available places in the storage; confirming data integrity for the carrier and a state data of a transportation destination before the transportation is attempted; and adjusting delivery between the transportation system and the carrier handler by using a carrier with a sensor for adjustment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

Cross-reference with related applications

  The present application is a US patent application filed on Nov. 4, 2004 (No. 10), which claims a priority date from a US provisional patent application filed Nov. 6, 2003 (No. 60 / 518,583). / 981,131) claims a priority date and continues partially. The present application also claims priority date from a US provisional patent application (No. 60 / 548,584) filed on February 28, 2004. The contents of each of the above listed patent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

This application is related to the following commonly assigned and concurrently pending US applications, each of which is generally referenced and incorporated herein.
US patent application entitled “Method and apparatus for material control system interface” filed Feb. 25, 2005 (Atony Docket number: 9141).
US patent application filed Feb. 25, 2005, entitled “Method and apparatus for transporting substrate carriers in electronic device manufacturing equipment” (Atony Docket number: 9142).
US patent application filed Feb. 25, 2005 and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Monitoring and Control of Electronic Device Manufacturing Systems” (Atony Docket No. 9144).
US patent application (No. 10 / 650,310) filed Aug. 28, 2003 and entitled “System for Transporting Substrate Carriers” (Atony Docket No. 6900).
US patent application (No. 10 / 764,982) filed Jan. 26, 2004 and entitled "Method and Apparatus for Transporting Substrate Carrier" (Atony Docket No. 7163).
US patent application (No .: 10 / 650,480) (Atony Docket No .: 7676) filed on August 28, 2003 and entitled "Substrate Carrier Handler to Remove Substrate Carrier Directly from Moving Conveyor".
US patent application (No. 10 / 987,955) filed Nov. 12, 2004 entitled "BREAK-AWAY Positioning Conveyor Mount to Allow Conveyor Belt Bending" (Atony Docket number: 8611).

Field of Invention

  The present invention relates primarily to electronic device manufacturing systems, and more particularly to transporting a substrate carrier between a transport system and a processing apparatus within a manufacturing facility.

Background of the invention

  In the manufacturing process of electronic devices, it is mainly a substrate such as a silicon substrate or a glass plate (such a substrate may or may not be patterned. It may also be called a wafer. Not) includes performing a series of procedures. These steps may include polishing, deposition, etching, photolithography, heat treatment, and the like. Typically, many different processing steps are performed in a single processing system or in an “apparatus” that includes multiple processing champs. However, there may be other processes that should be performed at other processing locations within the manufacturing facility, and therefore, substrates may be transferred from one processing location to another within the manufacturing facility. May be necessary. Depending on the type of electronic device to be manufactured, there can be a relatively large number of processing steps performed at many different processing locations within the manufacturing facility.

  It is well known to transport substrates from one processing location to another using substrate carriers such as sealed pods, cassettes, containers, and the like. Also, in a manufacturing facility, to carry a substrate carrier from place to place, or to transfer a substrate from or to a substrate carrier transport device, an automatic guide moving body, an overhead transport system, a substrate It is also well known to use automated substrate carrier transport devices such as carrier handling robots and the like.

  For a single substrate, after the formation of the substrate before processing, or after receiving such a substrate, the total manufacturing process from cutting the semiconductor device to the processed substrate is weekly or monthly. Requires elapsed time measured in units. Thus, in a typical manufacturing facility, a large number of substrates can be present at any time as “work in progress” (WIP). Substrates existing in manufacturing facilities as WIP occupy a very large part of the operating assets, and tend to increase the manufacturing cost of the substrates per sheet. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the total amount of WIP for substrate throughput of the manufacturing facility. To that end, the total elapsed time for processing each substrate should be reduced.

Summary of invention

  The first feature of the present invention resides in a method of expecting the arrival of a carrier at the carrier handler and sending the expected carrier transport instruction to the carrier handler before the carrier arrives at the carrier handler. .

  A second feature of the present invention is that a carrier handler adapted to remove a carrier from the transport system and load the carrier onto a port of a processing device serviced by the carrier handler includes loading the carrier onto the processing device. Therefore, there is a method for receiving an instruction in a carrier handler. The command is received at the carrier handler prior to the arrival of the carrier.

  A third aspect of the invention resides in a method in which a carrier handler instruction having an associated function is defined that terminates the second instruction independently of the state in which the second instruction is operating.

  A fourth aspect of the invention identifies the earliest arriving carrier support available that is approaching the carrier handler and satisfies one or more of the transport instructions queued in the instruction queue ( Find) is on the way. Based on the expected time to arrival of the earliest carrier support, the next transport command to be started is selected from the transport commands arranged in a row.

  The fifth feature of the present invention is that information related to the execution time of the carrier handler instruction is held, and based on the held information, the next instruction to be started from the transport instructions arranged in a plurality of columns There is a method in which one transport command is selected.

  A sixth feature of the invention resides in the manner in which a first signal representative of the state of the carrier content at the port associated with the device is received. This state is either (a) whether the carrier has one or more substrates to be processed by the apparatus, or (b) if the carrier is empty or only one or more substrates already processed by the apparatus. Indicates whether you have it. A second signal is received indicating that the carrier is ready to be removed from the port, and carrier transport is performed based on the first and second signals.

  The seventh feature of the present invention is that it is determined whether or not the carrier handler robot has failed to carry the carrier from or to the internal storage location. There is a method in which information indicating that a certain storage location is held and another storage location is determined in place of an unavailable internal storage location.

  The eighth feature of the present invention is that the location of each of the plurality of carriers in the area of the carrier handler is detected, and the state of each of the plurality of target places for the carrier in the area of the carrier handler. In the method, the state of the carrier and the target location in the area are confirmed by using at least one sensor before carrying out the transport to the target location.

  A ninth feature of the present invention is determined from a calibration carrier provided with a carrier handler in the vicinity of the transportation system, the calibration carrier moving through the carrier handler, and passing through the carrier handler on the transportation system. The carrier handler is in a way to be calibrated to the transport system based on the information that is being received.

  Other features of the invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, the appended claims and the drawings.

Detailed description

  Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for operating a substrate carrier handler under the control of a material control system (MCS). The features of the present invention are particularly effective when used with a single-size or small-lot substrate carrier. As used herein, the term “small lot size” substrate carrier, or “small lot” substrate, typically refers to conventional large lots holding 13 or 35 substrates. A carrier that holds fewer substrates than a size carrier. By way of example, a small lot size carrier is intended to hold five or fewer substrates. In some embodiments, other small lot size carriers may be used (eg, small lot size carriers holding 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 or more substrates). In general, each small lot size carrier will hold fewer substrates so that carrier transport by a person can be performed in a manufacturing facility such as an electronic device. The carrier handler improved according to the present invention is such that a carrier instruction for the carrier is received before the carrier actually arrives within the area of the carrier handler. This avoids the need for the carrier handler to wait until the carrier arrives, and avoids having to wait for the MCS to issue a transport command after informing the MCS of the arrival of the carrier. be able to. In this way, by using the present invention, the carrier handler can expect the arrival of the carrier and perform improved capacity and scheduling.

  Also, the carrier handler of the present invention is adapted to receive an interrupt command so that a previous transport command is canceled or interrupted independently of the state of the previous command. In other words, regardless of whether the transport command is active or waiting for a turn, a single interrupt command can be used to cancel a transport command waiting for a turn or to interrupt a transport that is active Can be.

  In addition, the carrier handler according to the present invention is adapted to identify instructions in a queue that can be executed by the earliest carrier support that is available and arrives at the carrier handler. The identified instructions can be selected out of order from a queue of instructions for execution. This feature of the present invention reduces the throughput of the transport system and carrier handler by more efficiently transporting the carrier and avoiding the carrier support having to travel unnecessarily through the manufacturing facility. Can be improved. Similarly, to further improve throughput, the queued instructions can be selected for execution based on the actual or predicted time required to execute the selected instruction. A database may be used to hold the time required to execute each of the different transfers and / or instructions executed by the carrier handler. In some embodiments, the scheduler for the carrier handler will have to start preparing for such a delivery based on the predicted / real time that the carrier handler is in the database. Until the previous time, the execution of transport instructions to / from the transport system can be reserved.

  In addition, the carrier handler of the present invention can be configured to remove empty carriers from the associated device in order to improve port availability. In this way, the present invention can remove a substrate from a device on a carrier different from the carrier on which the substrate arrives at the device. Since the present invention allows ports to be used for newly arrived carriers holding unprocessed substrates, device “depletion” can be avoided.

  In some embodiments, the present invention allows the carrier handler to continue operation after a failed transport. The storage location inside the inventive carrier handler can be ascertained through the use of a database or other mechanism. If it is determined that a transfer to (or from) an internal storage location has failed, the internal storage location associated with the failed transfer is marked as unavailable and a list of available locations Removed from.

  In an alternative or additional embodiment of the present invention, the carrier handler is a sensor for confirming that the destination of the transport is available and there are no obstacles before performing the actual transport. including. In other words, the state of the destination of the transport destination can be sensed by using, for example, an electronic eye placed on the end effector of the carrier handler. This actual state is compared with the stored state in order to detect anomalies and to avoid collisions. Similarly, for example, a pressure sensor / weight transducer is used to determine whether the carrier is properly supported by the carrier handler and / or contains a predetermined number of substrates. Also good.

  In addition, the carrier handler of the present invention is adapted to self-calibrate carrier delivery (handoff) to / from the transport system. Using a “carrier for calibration” with sensors and / or communication equipment, the carrier handler can perform a handoff, eg, the calibration carrier has moved past the carrier handler on the transport system. Sufficient information to be calibrated can be provided. For example, a signal that indicates that the calibration carrier handler has detected that the carrier handler end effector does not match the speed of the last calibration carrier and that the end effector needs to move faster The calibration carrier delivers.

An electronic device manufacturing or fabrication facility (Fab) is a plurality of carrier supports connected to a continuously moving conveyor system that transports one or more substrate carriers within the facility. Or an overhead transport system (OHT: including "cradle")
overhead transport system). More particularly, the moving conveyor system includes a band and a plurality of drive motors connected to the band so as to move the band.

  Further, such equipment may include an apparatus adapted to process substrates during electronic device manufacturing, or a composite apparatus. Each processing apparatus is connected to a respective substrate handler adapted to transport a substrate carrier between the apparatus and the moving conveyor system. More specifically, each processing unit is each of a carrier handler adapted to transport a substrate carrier between the processing unit load port and a carrier support connected to a continuously moving conveyor system band. Can be connected with. In this way, the substrate carrier can be transported in the facility.

  Further, the transport system may include a control system adapted to communicate with the control operations of the moving conveyor system and the plurality of carrier handlers so that the substrate carriers move to where they are needed. In FIG. 1, control system 100 includes loading station software (LSS) 104a that is executed in and / or under the control of a substrate loading station in each of a respective controller of a plurality of substrate handlers. HOST or MCS102 that performs bidirectional communication with -f is included. The HOST includes a manufacturing execution system (MES) that directs the operation of the MCS. The MCS 102 also performs two-way communication with a transport system including a drive motor and a transport system controller (TSC) 106 that maintains the operation of the conveyor. In some embodiments, each of the nodes of LSS 104a-f communicates with TSC 106 to directly exchange information regarding the state of the transportation system. These components and their operation are described in detail below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 illustrates an example that is particularly suitable for use with small lot size substrate carriers, such as a substrate carrier that holds one substrate or much less (eg, 5 or fewer) substrates than 25 substrates. It is the schematic which shows one Example of the physical structure of FabB201. The illustrated Fab 201 is a high speed, low maintenance, constantly moving conveyor system, a carrier loading / unloading function that does not require the conveyor to be stopped or decelerated, and many carriers at once. A conveyor that can be physically supported, a flexible conveyor that can easily adapt to the required transport path, and control software designed to efficiently manage transport and transport between processing equipment Including a rapid transit system with several features that are particularly suitable for small lot carriers. These features are further described below.

  US Patent Application (No. 10 / 650,310), previously cited and incorporated in this application, filed on August 28, 2003 and entitled “System for Transporting Substrate Carriers” U.S. Patent Application (Atony Docket No. 6900) describes a substrate carrier transport system or similar delivery system that includes a conveyor for substrate carriers that is always in operation while the Fab is running. Disclose. The constantly moving conveyor is configured to transport the substrates in the Fab so as to reduce the total residence time of each substrate in the Fab.

  In order to operate the Fab in this manner, methods and apparatus are provided for removing a substrate carrier from the conveyor and for placing the substrate carrier on the conveyor while the conveyor is in operation. US Patent Application (No. 10 / 650,480), previously cited and incorporated in the present application, filed on Aug. 28, 2003, entitled “Substrate carrier removing a substrate carrier directly from a moving conveyor. US patent application entitled “Handler” (Atony Docket No. 7676) describes a “loading station” that performs loading / unloading operations on a substrate carrier handler or moving conveyor in a substrate loading station. Is disclosed.

  In FIG. 3, a substrate loading station 300 with a carrier handler 302 includes a controller 304, a horizontal guide 306 that can move vertically along a frame 307 or rail, and a horizontal guide 306 along the horizontal guide 306. It includes an end effector 308 movable in a direction. Other configurations (eg, a robot that can move spatially) may be used to move the end effector 308 to perform the transfer. The carrier handler 302 / substrate loading station 300 includes an internal storage location 310 or shelf / hanger for temporarily holding the substrate carrier 312. Further, the port 314 for loading a substrate on a processing apparatus (not shown) is accessible to the carrier handler 302 or may be part of the substrate loading station 300 that houses the carrier handler 300. Good.

The controller 304 is a field programmable gate array (FPGA:
field programmable gate array) or other similar devices. In some embodiments, discrete components may be used to implement controller 304. The controller 304 is adapted to control and / or monitor the operation of the substrate loading station 300 described herein and one or more various electrical and mechanical components and systems of the substrate loading station 300. It is. The controller 304 executes the loading station software as described above. In some embodiments, the controller 304 may be a suitable computer or computer system and may include several computers or computer systems.

  In some embodiments, the controller 304 may include components or devices that are commonly used by or associated with a computer or computer system. Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 3, the controller 304 includes one or more central processing units, read only memory (ROM) devices, and / or random access memory (RAM) devices. Controller 304 may also include an input device such as a keyboard and / or mouse or other pointer device, an output device such as a printer or other device from which data and / or information is retrieved, and / or It includes a display device such as a monitor for displaying information to the user or operator. The controller 304 may also communicate with other system components and / or in a network environment, such as a transmitter and / or receiver such as a communication LAN adapter or communication port for communicating with the appropriate data and / or Or one or more databases for holding information, one or more programs or instruction sets for performing the methods of the invention, and / or other computer components or systems including peripheral devices .

  According to some embodiments of the present invention, program instructions (eg, controller software) may be read from other media, such as reading from a ROM device to a RAM device, or from a LAN adapter to a RAM device. It can be read into the memory of the controller 304. By executing a series of instructions in the program, the controller 304 executes one or more of the process steps described below. In alternative embodiments, wired hard circuits or integrated circuits may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions for performing the process of the present invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware, firmware, and / or software. The memory may execute software, thereby holding software for the controller adapted to operate in accordance with the present invention, and in particular in accordance with the method detailed below. Part of the invention is developed using an object-oriented language that can create real world, physical objects, and abstractions that represent their interrelationships by modeling complex systems with modular objects It can be realized as a programmed program. However, it is to be understood that the invention described herein can be implemented in many different ways using a wide range of programming techniques, as well as general purpose hardware subsystems or dedicated controllers. Those skilled in the field will understand.

  The program is compressed, uncompiled, and / or maintained in an encrypted format. In addition, the program may also include generally useful program elements such as operating systems, database management systems, and device drivers so that the controller can interface with computer peripheral devices and other devices / components. . Suitable general purpose program elements are known to those skilled in the art and need not be described in detail herein.

  As described above, the controller 304 creates, receives, and / or creates a database that includes data relating to carrier location, instruction sequence, actual and / or estimated instruction execution time, and / or internal storage location ,Hold. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the schematics and accompanying structure and relationship descriptions presented herein are merely exemplary configurations. Many other configurations can be used besides those suggested by the provided figures.

  In the operating state, the end effector 308 is transported to remove the substrate carrier 312 from the transport system 316, which includes the transfer conveyor (also referred to as “substrate carrier conveyor” 316) that transports the substrate carrier 312 and passes through the carrier handler 302. Moves in a horizontal direction at a speed that approximately matches the speed of the substrate carrier 312 when it is being transported by the substrate carrier conveyor (eg, by substantially matching the speed of the substrate carrier in the horizontal direction). To do. Further, the end effector 308 is maintained at a position near the substrate carrier 312 when the substrate carrier 312 is being transported. Thus, the end effector 308 substantially matches the position of the substrate carrier 312 and substantially matches the speed of the substrate carrier 312. Similarly, the position of the conveyor and / or the speed are almost the same.

  The end effector 308 substantially matches the speed (and / or position) of the substrate carrier while the end effector 308 contacts the substrate carrier 312 and removes the substrate carrier 312 from the substrate carrier conveyor 316. -The effector 308 is raised. Similarly, during loading, the substrate carrier is placed on the moving substrate carrier conveyor 316 by substantially matching the speed (and / or position) of the end effector 308 and the conveyor. . In at least one embodiment, substrate carrier handoff between the end effector 308 and the substrate carrier conveyor 316 is substantially zero speed between the end effector 308 and the substrate carrier conveyor 316, and This is done in the difference in acceleration.

US patent application (No. 10 / 764,982), previously cited and incorporated in the present application, filed on Jan. 26, 2004, “Method and apparatus for transporting substrate carrier” The entitled US patent application (Atony Docket No. 7163) is directed to a substrate carrier transport system 316 as described above, and / or for transporting a substrate carrier between one or more processing equipment in an electronic device manufacturing facility. Alternatively, a conveyor system for use with the carrier handler 302 is described. The conveyor system includes a ribbon (or “band”) that forms a closed loop within at least a portion of an electronic device manufacturing facility and transports a substrate carrier therein. In one or more embodiments, the ribbon or band may be stainless steel, polycarbonate, composite materials (eg, carbon graphite, fiberglass, etc.), steel or other reinforced polyurethane, epoxy laminate ( epoxy Laminates), stainless steel, (e.g., carbon fiber, fiberglass, Kevlar available from DuPont ^(R), polyethylene, such as steel mesh (steel mesh)) fibers, or other curing member such It is formed from a synthetic resin (plastic) or polymer (polymer) material. Orienting the ribbon so that the thick part of the ribbon is in the vertical plane and the thin part of the ribbon is in the horizontal plane, the ribbon becomes flexible in the horizontal plane and stiff in the vertical plane It becomes. With such a configuration, the conveyor can be configured and realized at low cost. For example, this ribbon requires little material to make, is easy to make, and because of its vertical hardness / strength (used in a horizontally oriented, belt-type conventional conveyor system Various substrate carrier weights can be supported without supplemental support structures (such as rollers or other similar mechanisms). Furthermore, the ribbon can be bent and bent into various shapes due to its elastic flexibility, so the conveyor system is highly adapted to customer specifications.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the exemplary Fab 201 includes a ribbon or band 203 that forms a single loop 205 within the Fab 201. For example, the ribbon 203 may include one of the ribbons previously described and described in the US patent application (No. 10 / 764,982) incorporated herein. Ribbon 203 includes a straight portion 211 and a bent portion 213 for transporting a substrate carrier (not shown) between processing devices 209 and forming a (closed) loop 205. Other processing devices 209 and / or loop configurations may be used.

  Each processing apparatus 209 may include a substrate carrier handler at the site of the substrate loading station (as described in previously cited and incorporated US patent application (No. 10 / 650,480)). Or, as the ribbon 203 passes the loading station 215, the “loading station” of the processing apparatus 209 for removing the substrate carrier from the moving ribbon 203 of the conveyor system 207 or for placing the substrate carrier thereon ”215 may be included. For example, the end effector 308 (FIG. 3) of the loading station 215 moves horizontally at a speed that approximately matches the speed of the substrate carrier as it is carried by the ribbon 203, and the substrate carrier as it is transported. And the end effector is raised to contact the substrate carrier and remove the substrate carrier from the conveyor system 207. Similarly, the substrate carrier is loaded onto the moving ribbon 203 during loading by approximately matching the end effector 308 (FIG. 3) and ribbon speed (and / or position).

  Each loading station 215 is directed to a processing device 209 (eg, one or more docking stations, although a transport location that does not use docking / undocking movement may be used) and / or It may include one or more ports (eg, load ports) or similar locations on which a substrate or substrate carrier is placed for transfer from the processing apparatus 209. Various substrate carrier storage locations or shelves may be provided at each loading station 215 for buffering of substrate carriers in the processing apparatus 209.

  The conveyor system 207 includes a TSC 217 for controlling the operation of the ribbon 203. For example, the TSC 217 controls / monitors the speed and / or condition of the ribbon 203, assigns a carrier support for the ribbon 203 that is used to support / transport the substrate carrier, and determines the status of such carrier support. Monitor and provide such information to each loading station 215 and the like. Similarly, each loading station 215 (e.g., loading or unloading a substrate carrier to and / or from the conveyor system 207, to a loading port or storage location of the loading station 215) And / or control the operation of the carrier handler (such as transporting the substrate carrier from the loading port or storage location of the loading station 215 and / or processing the device 209 handled by the loading station 215). Including station software (LSS) 219. The MCS 221 communicates with the transport system controller 217 and the loading station software 219 of each loading station 215 to perform the same operation. The TSC 217, each LSS 219, and / or MCS 221 includes a scheduler (not shown) for controlling the scheduling of operations performed by the TSC 217, LSS 219, and / or MCS 221.

Process Description The above-described system, including the hardware and software components described above, is useful for performing the method of the present invention. However, it should not be understood that all of the components described above are necessary to carry out the method of the present invention. In fact, in some embodiments, none of the systems described above are required to perform the method of the present invention. The system described above is an example of a system that may be useful in carrying out the method of the present invention, and it requires a single substrate or a much smaller number of substrates (eg, 5 or fewer) than 25 substrates. It is particularly suitable for transporting small lot size substrate carriers such as substrate carriers to be held.

  Turning to FIGS. 4-11, there are illustrated flow charts representing several embodiments of the present invention performed using the system described above. Similar to the number and order of the example method steps discussed herein, the particular arrangement of elements in the flowcharts of FIGS. 4-11 may be a fixed order, sequence, quantity, and It is not intended to imply timing to steps, and it is to be understood that embodiments of the invention may be implemented in any order, sequence, and / or timing that is feasible.

  In subsequent subsections, the method steps are described in detail. Not all of these steps are required to perform the method of the present invention, and additional and / or optional steps are also described below. Also, the general steps illustrated in the flowchart represent only some features of the embodiments of the present invention, and they include more or fewer actual steps of the method of the present invention. Note that they can be rearranged, combined and / or split in different ways. For example, in some embodiments, a number of additional steps may be added to update and maintain the database described below. However, as pointed out, not all embodiments of the present invention require the use of such a database. In other words, the methods of the present invention may include any number of steps that can be performed to perform a number of different inventive processes described herein.

  As described above, the MCS 221 sends instructions to a variety of devices including a substrate loading station / carrier handler and a transfer station (not shown here, but a conveyor band-to-band transfer device). This corresponds to the delivery and storage of carriers in the bay. In some embodiments, certain features of the carrier handler standardize the instructions and protocols for control of subordinate devices in particular detail, the SEMI E88-1103 standard “Standard for AMHS Srorage SEM (Stocker SEM). Can be implemented according to an industry standard entitled “ Similarly, the corresponding TSC 117 for controlling the operation of the conveyor can be implemented in accordance with the SEMI E84-0703 standard “Standard for Interbay / Intrabay AMHS SEM (IBSEM)”. Device interaction is performed in accordance with the SEMI E84-0703 standard “Standard for Improved Carrier Handoff Parallel I / O Interface” and the handling of the carrier is SEMI E87-0703 standard “for carrier management”. Standard (CMS) "can be performed. These four standards are published by the Industry Union Group (www.semi.org) of Semiconductor Equipment Materials International (SEMI) in San Jose, California and are included in this document for all purposes. Quoted in and incorporated.

  Embodiments of the present invention perform features beyond the functionality described in the SEMI standard described above. More specifically, the present invention adds improved functionality to the SEMI E88 standard to further improve the efficiency and throughput of Fab using small lot size carriers. A common goal in processing single or small lot size substrates is to arrive at a stocker-type device in accordance with SEMI E88, such as a substrate loading station with a carrier handler. And the delay due to the time between the MCS recognizing its arrival and sending out a command to carry the carrier to its final destination. For carriers designed to hold a single substrate, the number of carriers arriving at the carrier handler may be 25 times that of conventional delivery systems, so the cumulative delay is significant. Can be a thing. According to the SEMI E88 standard, the HOST / MCS is responsible for the load port of the substrate loading station with which the carrier is associated (eg, the substrate from which the carrier is transported to the port of the processing equipment serviced by the substrate loading station). Only after the carrier arrives at the loading station shelf or similar intermediary storage location, a transport instruction should be sent to the carrier handler (eg, a stock device). This requirement causes a cumulative delay in moving the carrier to the destination port. According to the SEMI E88 standard, if a transport command is issued to the stocker and the specific carrier is not in the stocker's area, the stocker responds with an error. This error is properly generated according to the SEMI E88 standard, since the stocker cannot execute instructions on carriers that are not in the stocker's domain.

Improvements to SEMI E88 Embodiments of the present invention further improve the SEMI E88 standard so that a substrate loading station (e.g., without knowing the presence of a particular carrier in advance) that carrier prior to the arrival of the associated carrier. In anticipation of the arrival of the car, it is possible to receive a transportation order. Such improved transport instructions can be recognized as “expected carrier” transport by using additional parameters in the instructions. The substrate loading station delays processing of such transfer instructions until the designated carrier enters the area of the substrate loading station. Upon entering the substrate loading station area, the expected carrier instructions are processed according to the priority in the carrier handler instruction sequence.

  More particularly, according to some embodiments, according to the implementation of the improved E88 standard of the present invention, when an expected carrier transport command is received, the substrate loading station will do that later. Is sent back to the MCS. The substrate loading station keeps the command in the carrier handler queue until the carrier arrives, which is executed as a MCS request. In addition to avoiding causing delays by waiting for a transport order after the carrier arrives, the present invention replaces the newly arrived carrier with a temporary storage location instead of, for example, transport. The substrate loading station scheduler allows a more efficient carrier transport plan from the system directly to the processing equipment port.

  Turning to FIG. 4, an example process 400 for receiving a transport instruction before a carrier arrives at a carrier handler is illustrated. Process 400 begins at step 402. In step 404, the MCS recognizes that the carrier has been transported to the destination carrier handler, for example, as a result of the carrier carrier handler loading the carrier onto the transport system; Or judge. In step 404, before the carrier arrives at the destination carrier handler, the MCS sends the destination carrier handler a transport instruction with a parameter set of “expected carriers”. In step 406, the destination carrier handler receives and recognizes that the expected carrier transport instruction by the designated carrier handler has not yet arrived at the destination carrier handler. In step 408, processing of the expected carrier transport instruction is delayed until the designated carrier appears in the area of the destination substrate loading station (eg, arrives at the destination carrier handler). The expected carrier transport instructions in step 410 are placed in a sequence of destination carrier handler instructions, which are processed in order based on priority within the queue. In step 412, the example process 400 for receiving a transport instruction before the carrier arrives at the carrier handler ends.

  In some alternative embodiments, at step 408, the expected carrier transport instructions are placed in a sequence of destination carrier handler instructions when received, and at step 410 the expected carrier The execution of the transport command is scheduled to start based on the expected arrival time of the carrier.

  The SEMI E82 and SEMI E88 standards define a number of commands for remote operation. In particular, two remote commands are defined for interruption and cancellation that are used in an automated material handling system to terminate a transport command. The interrupt command terminates the operation of a specific transport command based on the command identifier while this command is in the operating state. A cancel command terminates the operation of a specific transport command based on the command identifier while the commands are in line or in a standby state.

  Additional improvements to the SEMI E88 and E82 standards in accordance with the present invention include merging related instructions that apply to different instruction execution states. For example, an interruption instruction for ending an operating instruction and a cancel instruction for ending instructions in a line are merged into one ending instruction. The general goal of single or small lot size substrate processing is to reduce the number of messages between the HOST / MCS and stocker type equipment according to SEMI E88, such as a substrate loading station. . As described above, according to the SEMI E88 standard, the HOST / MCS sends a cancel command to cancel the transport if the transport command is in a waiting state, and the interrupt command to interrupt the transport if the transport command is in an operating state. Must be sent. This requirement sends a cumulative unnecessary extra message, especially when the status of the transport changes immediately after the HOST / MCS sends a cancel command and just before the stocker processes this command. It will be.

  One embodiment of the present invention improves upon the SEMI E88 standard to provide a new termination command (e.g., cancel or interrupt transport depending on whether the transport command is in the queue or is active) , AbortOrCancel). In this way, the new end command ends the operation of the designated transport command based on only the command identifier, independently of the command status. As a result, the end command can be used in place of the interrupt or cancel command regardless of the state of the command. This usage reduces the number of codes required to perform some functions.

  Turning to FIG. 5, an example process 500 for suspending a transport command regardless of the execution state of the command is illustrated. Process 500 begins at step 502. In step 504, an end instruction is defined to suspend or cancel the transport regardless of whether the transport is in operation, in a queue, or waiting. In step 506, an end command is sent by the MCS. In step 508, the controller of the substrate loading station receives an end command and determines the status of the transport command recognized in the end command. If the designated transport command is in the queue or is waiting, the transport command is canceled in step 510. If the designated transport command is in operation, the transport command is interrupted at step 512. In either case, process 500 ends at step 514.

Substrate loading station foresight scheduling The substrate loading station carrier handler may actively place the carrier at or from a particular location in the transport system (eg, a cradle or other support location), or ,remove. Since the transport system does not stop at such a transfer at the substrate loading station, the carrier handler (eg, a cradle that supports the carrier to be removed (unloaded) or loaded with a carrier). Such transport must be done appropriately prior to the arrival of the intended carrier support (before the cradle to be loaded) arrives. The purpose of the substrate loading station scheduler is to ensure that the carrier support on the transport system is loaded or unloaded the first time the carrier support passes the substrate loading station.

  To improve the opportunity to achieve this goal, the present invention provides a look-ahead function in the logic to determine which instruction in the instruction sequence should be executed next. Provides a scheduler for carrier handlers. This look-ahead function can be used to load a carrier on a carrier support of a moving conveyor (e.g., placed on a cradle) or to remove a carrier from a carrier support of a moving conveyor (e.g., removal from a cradle). In order to start the transport for), the earliest scheduled arrival time of the carrier support is to be considered. For example, prior to performing a transfer to and / or from a port of a processing apparatus serviced by a substrate loading station, the substrate loading station scheduler logic is required to perform such a transfer. There is sufficient time to carry out such transport and prepare for transport to and / or from the transport system using the earliest carrier support. Consider whether or not.

  Turning to FIG. 6, an example of a process 600 for looking ahead to a sequence of instructions to find instructions that can use the earliest available usable carrier support is illustrated. Process 600 begins at step 602. In step 604, the carrier handler / substrate loading station determines and identifies the earliest arriving carrier support available that satisfies the transport instructions listed in the row. If the carrier handler has a transport instruction in a row that specifies that the carrier is transported to the transport system, the carrier handler looks for the earliest empty carrier support. Similarly, a carrier handler is scheduled for that carrier handler if it has a queued transport instruction that specifies that the carrier from the transport system be transported. Find the earliest incoming carrier support that will hold the carrier.

  In step 606, a first instruction arranged in a column that can use the identified carrier from step 604 is identified. In step 608, the carrier handler determines other instructions before execution of the first command determined in step 606 must be initiated to use the earliest incoming carrier support identified in step 604. Determine if you have time to run If so, at step 610, the carrier handler determines whether another command is completed before the carrier support identified at step 604 as the earliest arriving carrier support actually arrives. . If there are instructions that can be completed in time, these instructions are executed at step 612 and the process flow returns to the decision at step 608. If there are no instructions to complete in time, the process flow (1) waits for a new instruction to be added to the instruction sequence that can be completed before the first instruction determined in step 606 must be started. Alternatively, (2) wait for time to elapse and the first instruction determined in step 606 should be initiated to match the carrier support identified in step 604. The process flows through the loop between step 608 and step 610. Returning to step 608, other than before the execution of the first instruction determined in step 606 must begin in order for the carrier handler to use the earliest arriving carrier support identified in step 604, If it is determined that there is no time remaining to execute the first instruction, the first instruction is executed at step 614 and the process 600 ends at step 616.

Another more general purpose of the substrate loading station scheduler for transport time is that the device will not go “depleted” (eg, the device will not stop processing to wait for further substrate delivery). To maximize the number of carriers that can be delivered to the port of the associated processing device. The scheduler allows the conditions for supplying new substrates to the device to be adjusted by conditions to maximize the number of carriers that can be delivered to the device by the HOST / MCS (via the transport system and carrier handler).

  To optimize throughput, the scheduler can estimate and measure the actual time for each of the operations that the carrier handler can perform, or for different types of instructions that the carrier handler can execute. / Determine and detect. The scheduler logic for selecting the next transport in line, to be started, for example, transport time between storage location and processing equipment port, transport time between storage location and transport system The time required to move to a position for handoff using a transportation system or the like is used. In some embodiments, the scheduler may enter the transport system up to the time required to move the carrier handler to a predetermined position for handoff based on the predicted / actual time maintained in the time tracking database. And / or the carrier handler may not perform a transfer related to a handoff from the transport system. More generally, the scheduler refers to an external event (eg, handoff) or processing device until just before the carrier handler must begin executing instructions in connection with the external event. May not cause the carrier handler to execute instructions related to board processing contention. In other words, execution of an instruction related to or interacting with a device that is separate from the carrier handler / substrate loading station and not under the control of these is that It may be delayed to match the operation of the external device accordingly.

  Turning to FIG. 7, an example of a process 700 for holding and using execution time to efficiently schedule instructions is illustrated. Process 700 begins at step 702. In step 704, information regarding the execution times of the various carrier handler instructions is maintained. This information may be a record of the actual execution time measured during the previous execution of the instruction. In some embodiments, this information may be an estimate of execution time based on a calculated value, or an average of actually measured times. For example, this information may include the total amount of time required to transport a carrier between various storage locations and various device ports, between various holding locations and the transport system, and (e.g., to the transport system). Or the time required to prepare for handoff from the transport system) may include the total amount of time required to move the carrier handler into place for handoff with the transport system. This information is held in a storage device (eg, memory, hard drive, etc.) in a database, table, or other structure or format.

  In step 706, the carrier handler selects a transport instruction for execution from the instructions in the instruction sequence based on the information held in step 704. For example, the lowest priority instruction that may be completed before the next carrier support arrives at the carrier handler may be selected. Because such a low priority instruction (eg, instead of simply waiting for the carrier support to arrive to execute the high priority instruction), the current carrier handler's efficient Because it brings use.

  In step 708, if the selected instruction is associated with an external event, the carrier handler will complete the selected instruction until the last time it could be completed in connection with that external event (eg, select Until the selected carrier support arrives or until another command has to be initiated) delays the actual execution of the selected command. By delaying the actual execution of selected instructions related to external events until the last moment, there is no risk that other instructions will be scheduled before the selected instruction, thus negatively impacting throughput In addition, the throughput is improved. In step 710, process 700 ends.

Improvements to SEMI E84 / E87 According to the SEMI E84 standard, once a carrier is delivered to a port on a processing device, the device does not release control of the carrier until all substrates have been processed and returned to the carrier. The port indicates that the carrier is ready for removal by updating the carrier's SEMI E87 state model and the carrier's SEMI E84 signal associated with that port. A change in the SEMI E87 state model indicates to the HOST / MCS that the transport system should rush to remove the carrier from the port. This protocol may not be optimal for single or small lot size substrate carrier systems. This is because the device becomes depleted and this protocol may increase the interaction between the HOST and the device and between the HOST / MCS and the substrate loading station. In a single substrate carrier system, the device will be depleted if the device can process more substrates than the number of ports available.

  According to the present invention, a substrate delivered by one carrier can be returned to a different carrier. In the present invention, the SEMI E84 machine state changes to allow carrier removal as soon as the carrier is empty. As a result, the machine state has sufficient information so that the substrate loading station can operate automatically based on that information. Further, the SEMI E84 state transition signal may be modified to include information about the state of the carrier as empty / complete. Also, this transition is explicitly information about the SEMI E87 state model (eg, carrier state is “ready to load”, “transport is blocked”, “ready to unload empty”, And “ready to unload”). According to the present invention, when a carrier is in either the “ready to unload an empty” or “ready to unload a processed” state, the carrier handler Does not require HOST / MCS instruction to remove carrier.

  Turning to FIG. 8, an example process 800 for removing an empty substrate carrier from a processing apparatus is illustrated. Process 800 begins at step 802. In step 804, the carrier handler receives a status signal from the port of the processing device handled by the carrier handler. This status signal indicates whether A) the carrier at the port contains at least one unprocessed substrate, or B) whether the carrier is empty or only contains a processed substrate. Show. In step 806, a second status signal is received from the port by the carrier handler. This second signal indicates that the carrier is ready to be removed from the port. In step 808, based on the first signal, the carrier handler determines whether the carrier is to be removed because it is empty or contains only processed substrates. If not, at step 810, the carrier handler waits for a new first signal indicating that the carrier content has changed. Once the carrier content changes, the process returns from step 810 to step 808. If it is determined at step 808 that the carrier is empty or only contains a processed substrate, the carrier handler removes the carrier from the port at step 812. Process 800 ends at step 814.

Recovering from Failed Transport According to the present invention, unless the carrier handler hardware fails to operate, or the carrier handler operation will damage the carrier or the substrate. Otherwise, the scheduler and carrier handler can recover from the failed state and make the substrate loading station ready.

  If transport fails because the carrier handler cannot pick up or place the carrier from its internal storage location, the location is marked as unusable, but the carrier handler damages the carrier If it is possible to move safely from the location associated with the failure, processing of other transport requests is continued. After the failure, if the carrier is still on the carrier handler's end effector, the carrier is placed in another storage location. As a result, the carrier handler can be used to execute other transport instructions.

  Turning to FIG. 9, an example process 900 for recovery from a failed transport is illustrated. Process 900 begins at step 902. In step 904, the carrier handler determines or recognizes whether carrier transfer from or to the internal storage location of the carrier handler's substrate loading station has failed. In some embodiments, for example, the carrier handler robot may not be able to place the carrier because the robot's movement is hindered by the carrier present at the target location. In step 906, information indicating that the internal storage location associated with the failure in step 904 is not available is stored in a storage device (eg, memory, hard drive, etc.) in a database, table, or other structure or format. Retained. In this way, further transport to unusable storage locations can be avoided. In step 908, an alternate storage location at the substrate loading station or elsewhere may be determined. If it is determined at step 910 that the carrier is still on the carrier handler's robot (eg, it has not been dropped as a result of the failure detected at step 904), the carrier is determined at step 908. Placed in another storage location. Process 900 ends at step 912.

Confirmation using sensors If the software database error within the carrier handler controller or, in some cases, within the HOST / MCS, transport will damage the substrate 2 Two carrier collisions may be caused. In some embodiments, the end effector of the robot / carrier handler includes a sensor that confirms the effectiveness of the handoff or transport prior to the actual handoff so that damage to the carrier / substrate is avoided. Yes.

  Turning to FIG. 10, an example of a process 1000 is shown for verifying that held state data is accurate prior to performing a transfer. Process 1000 begins at step 1002. In step 1004, the location of each carrier within the area of the carrier handler is recorded and maintained in a storage device (eg, memory, hard drive, etc.) in a database, table, or any other structure or format. The area of the carrier handler includes all of the processing device ports, external and internal storage locations, carrier support loading / unloading areas, end effectors, and the like. In step 1006, the status of each possible destination destination location (eg, processing equipment ports, internal and external storage locations, carrier support loading / unloading areas, end effectors, etc.) is stored in the database. Recorded in a storage device (eg, memory, hard drive, etc.) and stored in a table or other structure or format. In step 1008, before the transport to the destination is performed, to confirm that the exact location of the carrier to be transported is known and that the transport destination is accessible, One or more sensors can be used. Process 1000 ends at step 1010.

Whenever a substrate loading station with a handoff calibration carrier handler is provided and added to the transport system, the handoff to / from the transport system needs to be calibrated. Such handoff calibration is preferably done in a manner that does not interfere with the continuous operation of the transport system (eg, without stopping the conveyor). In some embodiments, the carrier support on the transport system is a special carrier that allows calibration (eg, an instrumented carrier that includes sensors, cameras, other measurement devices used during calibration, a controller, and / or Or a communication facility such as a wireless transceiver). Calibration of the handoff to / from the transport system is between the TSC software and the loading station software (LSS) running in the carrier handler controller without the HOST / MCS knowing about the calibration process. May be exchanged. The location of the carrier support including the “calibration carrier” is known to both LSS and TSC software.

  Turning to FIG. 11, an example process 1100 is illustrated for calibrating handoffs between a carrier handler and a transportation system without stopping the transportation system. Process 1100 begins at step 1102. In step 1104, a carrier handler / substrate loading station is provided proximate to the transport system. In step 1106, the calibration carrier moves past the carrier handler on the transport system. In step 1108, an exchange between the carrier handler and the calibration carrier is initiated in response to the calibration carrier moving through the carrier handler. In some embodiments, the calibration carrier transmits position and velocity information wirelessly to a carrier handler with a receiver.

  Optionally or in addition, the carrier handler may have various indications indicating, for example, that the calibration carrier is approaching the carrier handler, that the calibration carrier is within the carrier handler loading zone, etc. Send the signal to the calibration carrier. In step 1110, the information obtained and / or determined from the calibration carrier moving through the carrier handler is stored in a storage device (eg, memory, by database, table, or other structure or format). Held on a hard drive, etc.). In step 1112, the carrier handler is calibrated based on the information held in step 1110. Process 1100 ends at step 1114.

  The foregoing description discloses only specific embodiments of the invention, and variations of the methods and apparatus disclosed above that fall within the scope of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. It is. For example, the present invention, whether or not a pattern is formed, and / or with an apparatus for transporting and / or processing such a substrate, a silicon substrate, a glass plate, a mask, It can be used with any type of substrate, such as a reticle.

  Thus, while the invention has been disclosed with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that other embodiments are within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. It is.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a control system for an electronic device manufacturing facility, according to some embodiments of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an electronic device manufacturing facility according to some embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a front view of an example carrier handler according to some embodiments of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for receiving a transport instruction before a carrier arrives at a carrier handler, according to some embodiments of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for ending a transport instruction independent of instruction execution state according to some embodiments of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for looking forward through a sequence of instructions to find an instruction that can use the earliest available carrier support according to some embodiments of the present invention. . 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for maintaining and using execution time to efficiently schedule instructions according to some embodiments of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for removing an empty substrate carrier from a processing apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for recovering from a failed transport, according to some embodiments of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for verifying that retained state data is accurate before performing a transfer, according to some embodiments of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for calibrating handoffs between a carrier handler and a transport system, according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Claims (34)

Determine the expected arrival of the carrier in the carrier handler,
Sending the expected carrier transport instruction to the carrier handler before the carrier arrives at the carrier handler.   The method of claim 1, wherein the expected carrier transport instruction comprises a transport instruction having information on an expected carrier.   2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving at the carrier handler the expected carrier transport instruction for the carrier prior to the arrival of a carrier at the carrier handler.   4. The method of claim 3, further comprising delaying processing of the expected carrier transport command until the carrier arrives at the carrier handler.   5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: arranging the expected carrier transport instructions in the command sequence so that the expected carrier transport commands are processed in an order based on a priority in the command sequence. Method. Provide a carrier handler that removes the carrier from the transport system and loads the carrier onto the port of the processing device serviced by the carrier handler;
Receiving a command at the carrier handler for loading the carrier onto the processing device prior to arrival of the carrier at the carrier handler. Independent of the state in which the second instruction is operating, a carrier handler instruction having an associated function for ending the second instruction is defined.
Sending the carrier handler instruction.   8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second command includes a transfer command, and the transfer command is in a queue or in an activated state.   If the transfer command is in a queue, sending the carrier handler command cancels the transfer command. If the transfer command is active, the carrier handler command is sent. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein doing so interrupts the transport command. Identifying the earliest arriving carrier support available that is approaching the carrier handler and that satisfies one or more of the transport instructions queued in the instruction queue;
Based on the expected time to arrival of the earliest incoming carrier support, select one of the transfer commands arranged in the column to be started next from among the transfer commands arranged in the column A method comprising steps.   11. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting the next transfer instruction in the column to be started is further based on an expected time to complete execution of the previous transfer instruction. Selecting one of the transport commands arranged in a row to be started next further comprises transporting in the row that is shorter than an expected time to arrival of the earliest incoming carrier support. The method of claim 10, wherein the method is performed based on an expected time to prepare for execution of the instruction.   The method of claim 10, wherein the carrier support arrives on a continuously moving conveyor in the transport system. The transport instructions arranged in the row are loaded carriers from the carrier support transport instructions,
11. The method of claim 10, comprising at least one of: a carrier support taken from a carrier support transport instruction. Holds information related to the execution time of the carrier handler instruction,
A method comprising the step of selecting one of transfer instructions arranged in a column to be started next from transfer instructions arranged in a plurality of columns based on the held information.   Further delaying execution of the transport command arranged in the selected column until the closest time that the transport command arranged in the selected column is initiated in connection with an external event and completed. 16. The method of claim 15, comprising.   17. The method of claim 16, wherein an external event includes the arrival of the earliest arriving carrier support that can be used to satisfy the transport instructions arranged in the selected row.   The method of claim 16, wherein a transport command arranged in the selected row is initiated and the closest time to completion is determined based on the retained information.   16. The method of claim 15, wherein the retained information related to the execution time of the carrier handler instruction includes at least one of an actual time for performing an operation and an estimated time for performing the operation. The retained information related to the execution time of the carrier handler instruction is:
Transport time between storage location and port,
The transfer time between the storage location and the transfer system;
Time to prepare for delivery to and from the transport system
16. The method of claim 15, comprising at least one of: (1) Whether the carrier has one or more substrates to be processed by the apparatus, and (2) whether the carrier is empty or has only one or more substrates already processed by the apparatus. A first signal representative of a state of the content of the carrier at a port associated with the device,
Receiving a second signal indicating that the carrier is ready to be removed from the port;
Performing the carrier transport based on the first and second signals.   The method of claim 21, wherein the substrate is removed from the device in a second carrier different from the first carrier where the substrate arrives at the device.   22. Transport is performed by a carrier handler that receives the first and second signals and is operable to remove an empty carrier to make the port available for a loaded carrier. the method of. Decide if the carrier handler's robot failed to transfer the carrier from or to the internal storage location,
Holding information indicating that the internal storage location is unavailable;
Determining another storage location to replace the unavailable internal storage location.   25. The method of claim 24, further comprising placing the carrier in the another storage location if the carrier remains on the robot after the failed transport. Detect the location of each carrier within the career handler area,
Within the region of the carrier handler, detecting the status of each of a plurality of destination locations for the carrier;
Confirming the location of the carrier and the state of the target location within the region using at least one sensor prior to performing transport to the destination location.   27. The method of claim 26, wherein at least one of the sensors is mounted on an end effector of a robot adapted to perform the transfer. A carrier handler is installed near the transportation system,
Moving the calibration carrier through the carrier handler;
Calibrating the carrier handler to the transportation system based on information determined from the calibration carrier passing through the carrier handler on the transportation system.   29. The method of claim 28, in response to the calibration carrier passing through the carrier handler, initiates an exchange between the carrier handler and the calibration carrier.   30. The method of claim 29, further comprising maintaining the information determined from signals exchanged between the carrier handler and the calibration carrier in response to the calibration carrier passing through the carrier handler. Method.   29. The method of claim 28, wherein calibrating the carrier handler to the transportation system includes calibrating delivery of carriers to and from the transportation system.   29. The method of claim 28, wherein calibrating the carrier handler to the transportation system comprises negotiating calibration parameters between a transportation system controller and a carrier handler controller.   35. The method of claim 32, wherein the calibration carrier is carried by the transportation system on a designated carrier support that is known to the transportation system controller and carrier handler controller.   29. The method of claim 28, wherein the calibration carrier includes one or more sensors adapted to detect the position of the carrier handler robot.

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