Method and system for automatic generation of throughput models for semiconductor tools

1. A method for automatically determining a throughput of a process tool, the method comprising:

identifying functional entities of said process tool by monitoring tool messages created by said process tool during operation, wherein the tool messages indicate activities of a number of functional entities;

identifying one or more material flows as a sequence of process steps performed by at least some of said functional entities, wherein identifying said one or more material flows comprises determining whether the number of functional entities of a first material flow is the same as a previously determined number of functional entities of a second material flow;

determining a process time interval for each of said process steps of said one or more material flows; and

determining a throughput of said process tool for a selected process scenario for said one or more material flows by using said determined process time intervals.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a process time interval for each of said process steps comprises identifying first functional entities that are not dependent on a dedicated process recipe and identifying second functional entities that are dependent on a dedicated process recipe, wherein said first and second functional entities are identified by using at least said tool messages.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining a process time interval for each of said process steps comprises statistically evaluating a plurality of process time intervals corresponding to a specific one of said process steps so as to obtain a representative process time interval for said specific process step.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing data representing said one or more material flows and process time intervals in a data base.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising updating said data base on a regular basis while maintaining at least some of said data previously entered into said data base so as to maintain a history of said one or more process flows and said process time intervals.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said one or more material flows are determined by comparing a material flow obtained by using said tool messages with a history of said one or more materials flows represented in said data base.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein monitoring said tool messages comprises monitoring tool messages that indicate respective time intervals for performing the activities.

8. The method of claim 1 , comprising identifying the first material flow as a new material flow if the number of functional entities of the first material flow is different than the previously determined number of functional entities of the second material flow.

9. The method of claim 8 , comprising determining whether the first material flow and the second material flow include the same functional entities in response to determining that the number of functional entities of the first material flow is the same as the previously determined number of functional entities of the second material flow.

10. The method of claim 9 , comprising identifying the first material flow as identical to the second material flow when the first and second material flows include the same functional entities and the same order of process steps.

11. The method of claim 10 , comprising modifying time intervals associated with the second material flow using time intervals associated with the first material flow in response to identifying the first material flow as identical to the second material flow.

12. The method of claim 9 , comprising determining a degree of similarity between the first material flow and the second material flow if the first and second material flows are not identified as identical.

13. The method of claim 12 , comprising modifying the second material flow based on the first material flow when the first and second material flows have a high degree of similarity.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the sequence of process steps in said one or more material flows comprises identifying the sequence of process steps in said one or more material flows based upon the monitored tool messages.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein identifying the sequence of process steps in said one or more material flows comprises identifying the sequence of process steps concurrently performed by said at least some of the plurality of functional entities on a plurality of substrates.

16. A method for automatically determining a throughput of a process tool, the method comprising:

identifying functional entities of said process tool by monitoring tool messages created by said process tool during operation;

identifying one or more material flows as a sequence of process steps performed by at least some of said functional entities;

determining a process time interval for each of said process steps of said one or more material flows, wherein determining the process time interval for each of said process steps comprises identifying first functional entities that are not dependent on a dedicated process recipe and identifying second functional entities that are dependent on a dedicated process recipe, wherein said first and second functional entities are identified by using at least said tool messages, and wherein determining the process time interval for each of said process steps comprises statistically evaluating a plurality of process time intervals corresponding to a specific one of said process steps so as to obtain a representative process time interval for said specific process step, and wherein obtaining said representative process time interval for said specific process step comprises obtaining a distribution of said plurality of process times and selecting a threshold in said distribution as said representative process time interval.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein said threshold is selected on the basis of a specified percentile of said distribution.

18. A method for automatically determining a throughput of a process tool, the method comprising:

identifying functional entities of said process tool by monitoring tool messages created by said process tool during operation;

identifying one or more material flows as a sequence of process steps performed by at least some of said functional entities;

determining a process time interval for each of said process steps of said one or more material flows;

determining a throughput of said process tool for a selected process scenario for said one or more material flows by using said determined process time intervals; and

verifying validity of a temporal succession of said tool messages and using tool messages having a successfully verified validity for determining said process time intervals.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein said validity of the temporal succession is verified by using a state machine representing all tool events of said process tool.