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As semiconductor manufacturers strive to attain higher yields and prepare for 300mm production, opportunities for increased automation abound. In addition to controlling their equipment, manufacturers need software solutions that provide increased visibility into their processes.
Whether it's a tool-health monitoring system, a lot-tracking and traceability system, an e-diagnostics solution, or a new interface to material handling equipment, these advanced systems require a wide range of information from manufacturing equipment.
But most equipment controllers only support a single SECS connection, and it's typically reserved for the factory host computer. So how do you open the door to the advanced software systems that set the industry leaders apart?
The Plex4SECS® Multiplexer is the answer. Designed to channel multiple host connections into a single equipment connection, Plex4SECS opens manufacturing equipment to the many software systems needed in fabs today.
Use it for existing equipment installations that need to integrate with new host applications. Or, use it for equipment that must ship with this multiple-connection capability in the first place. Plex4SECS is a flexible, software-only solution that provides complete support for the SECS-I, HSMS, SECS-II and GEM standards.
Plex4SECS includes two key components, the multiplexer itself, and a manager you use to monitor and configure instances of the multiplexer in your fab.
The Plex4SECS Multiplexer is a Microsoft® Windows NT® Service that runs on Windows NT, 2000, XP, and embedded versions of NT and XP. With a SECS or GEM-compliant equipment controller on one side and a variety of SECS-compliant host applications on the other, the Plex4SECS multiplexer transmits multiple host communications to the equipment controller and routes responses back.
Plex4SECS intelligently handles both host and equipment initiated messages. For host initiated messages, Plex4SECS uses message identifiers to ensure each host receives the appropriate reply to its primary message. For equipment initiated messages (such as alarms and events), Plex4SECS can broadcast to all connected hosts, or send these messages to the appropriate hosts based on the message type and a few simple rules defined in the Multiplex Manager.
The Plex4SECS Multiplex Manager is a Windows-based application that makes it fast and easy to configure the multiplexers you use. Just provide basic information about each connection to the multiplexer and click the Start button. Then, you can view the status of the multiplexer and the connections established by the main host, the equipment, and any secondary hosts.
With the ability to configure, control, and monitor multiplexers running on a local computer or across the network, the Multiplex Manager is a simple and powerful tool.
It is imperative that the factory host's connection to the equipment remains functional at all times, so we designed Plex4SECS with reliability as our top priority.
Finally, Plex4SECS offers optional, true hardware failover protection for SECS-I hosts. This is achieved by installing a Blue Heat/PCI PTM board from Connect Tech Inc. Both the board and Plex4SECS can be installed on an existing PC with no additional hardware required. If the Plex4SECS computer or software fails, factory host messages have a direct electrical pathway to the equipment.
Plex4SECS has many features that make it the ideal way to make equipment data available to the many host applications that need it.
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