IP Library Granted Patent US 12666931
Granted Patent B2
US 12666931 · App. 18/087,395 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

System and method for monitoring parameters of a semiconductor factory automation system

Inventors: Mor Azarya (Moshavmerhalj, IL); Michael D. Brain (Los Gatos, CA); Ami Appelbaum (Los Gatos, CA); Shai Mark (Kibutz Snir, IL); Arie Hoffman (Kiryat Tivon, IL)
Assignee: KLA Corporation
H10P74/277G05B19/4184H10P72/0604G05B2219/31372G05B2219/45031Y02P90/02
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12666931
App. No.
18/087,395
Granted
Jun 23, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system for monitoring one or more conditions of an automation system of a semiconductor factory includes one or more instrumented substrates, one or more sealable containers and one or more system servers. The one or more instrumented substrates include one or more sensors. The one or more sensors measure one or more conditions of the one or more instrumented substrates as the one or more sealable containers transport the one or more instrumented substrates through the semiconductor factory. The one or more sealable containers also receive sensor data from the one or more sensors included on the one or more instrumented substrates. The one or more system servers are configured to receive the sensor data from the one or more sealable containers. The one or more servers are configured to identify one or more deviations in the measured one or more conditions.

Claims (43)

1 . A sealable container for transporting one or more substrates through a semiconductor factory comprising:

a housing configured to contain an instrumented substrate, wherein the instrumented substrate includes one or more sensors, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to measure one or more conditions of the instrumented substrate as the sealable container transports the instrumented substrate through one or more portions of the semiconductor factory, wherein the instrumented substrate includes substrate communication circuitry and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more sensors and the substrate communication circuitry; and

container communication circuitry, wherein the substrate communication circuitry is configured to transmit sensor data from the one or more sensors to the container communication circuitry, wherein the container communication circuitry is configured to transmit the sensor data to server communication circuitry of a server, wherein the server is configured to identify one or more deviations in the measured one or more conditions by segmenting sensor data into a plurality of segments based on acceleration data and gyroscope data and comparing each segment with a corresponding segment from baseline data to identify one or more changes in the state of the instrumented substrate; select the one or more changes in state of the one or more instrumented substrates; and transmit a request to label the one or more changes of state to a user via a user interface.

2 . The sealable container of claim 1 , wherein the substrate communication circuitry and the container communication circuitry are communicatively couplable via at least one of a wireless datalink or a transmission line.

3 . The sealable container of claim 1 , wherein the instrumented substrate includes power supply circuitry.

4 . The sealable container of claim 3 , wherein the power supply circuitry includes one or more wireless chargers.

5 . The sealable container of claim 4 , wherein the one or more wireless chargers include one or more radio frequency receiving coils inductively couplable to at least one of a set of radio frequency transmission coils of an external power transfer device.

6 . The sealable container of claim 5 , wherein the at least one of a set of radio frequency transmission coils comprises:

an array of transmission coils.

7 . The sealable container of claim 6 , wherein the array of transmission coils comprises:

a circular array of transmission coils.

8 . The sealable container of claim 3 , wherein the power supply circuitry includes at least one of one or more rechargeable batteries or one or more replaceable batteries.

9 . The sealable container of claim 1 , wherein the container communication circuitry and the server communication circuitry are communicatively couplable via a wireless datalink.

10 . The sealable container of claim 1 , wherein the container communication circuitry and the server communication circuitry are communicatively couplable via a transmission line.

11 . The sealable container of claim 1 , further comprising:

power supply circuitry.

12 . The sealable container of claim 11 , wherein the power supply circuitry includes one or more wireless chargers.

13 . The sealable container of claim 12 , wherein the one or more wireless chargers include one or more radio frequency receiving coils inductively couplable to one or more radio frequency coils of a charging station.

14 . The sealable container of claim 12 , wherein the power supply circuitry includes at least one of one or more rechargeable batteries or one or more replaceable batteries.

15 . The sealable container of claim 1 , wherein the sealable container comprises:

a front opening unified pod (FOUP).

16 . The sealable container of claim 1 , wherein the sealable container includes:

one or more sensors configured to measure one or more conditions of the sealable container as the sealable container traverses one or more portions of the semiconductor factory.

17 . The sealable container of claim 1 , wherein the sealable container is configured to transmit the one or more conditions measured with the one or more sensors of the sealable container to the server via the container communication circuitry.

18 . A method for monitoring one or more conditions of an automation system of a semiconductor factory comprising:

transporting an instrumented substrate through one or more portions of a semiconductor fabrication facility in a sealable container;

measuring one or more conditions of the instrumented substrate at one or more locations within the semiconductor factory;

transmitting the measured one or more conditions from the instrumented substrate to the sealable container;

transmitting the measured one or more conditions from the sealable container to a system server; and

identifying one or more deviations in the measured one or more conditions with the system server by segmenting sensor data into a plurality of segments based on acceleration data and gyroscope data and comparing each segment with a corresponding segment from baseline data to identify one or more changes in the state of the instrumented substrate; and

selecting the one or more changes in state of the one or more instrumented substrates; and

transmitting a request to label the one or more changes of state to a user via a user interface.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the identifying one or more deviations in the measured one or more conditions with the system server comprises:

receiving sensor data from at least one of one or more sensors of the instrumented substrate or one or more sensors of the sealable container; and

identifying one or more deviations from an expected state in at least a portion of the received sensor data.

20 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

identifying a physical location of the identified one or more deviations.

21 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

identifying a time of the identified one or more deviations relative to one or more known recorded events.

22 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the identifying one or more deviations in the measured one or more conditions with the system server comprises:

receiving sensor data from at least one of one or more sensors of the instrumented substrate or one or more sensors of the sealable container;

comparing at least a portion of the received sensor data to one or more models; and

identifying one or more deviations in the at least a portion of the received sensor data from the one or more models.