Features

PTO controls all automation hardware including robots, load ports, wafer ID readers, aligners, light towers, and vacuum systems. It also provides or manages most software on the tool not directly associated with substrate processing or data analysis, including factory host communications, user interface and scheduling.

Full SECS/GEM, GEM 300 and Interface A (EDA) Compliance

PTO has full connectivity capability built into its core and can be configured to work with any level of host integration, including:

Lab tools with no host connectivity

GEM/E30 compliant tools (E4, E37, E5, and E30)

E127 compliant tools for Integrated Metrology Module (IMM) communications within a cluster tool

300mm compliant tools (E4, E37, E5, E30, E39, E40, E84, E87, E90, E94, and E116)

Interface A compliant tools (300mm standards plus E120, E125, E132, and E134)

Dynamic, Flexible Substrate Scheduling

Innovative, task-based Scheduler supports pluggable, custom scheduling algorithms for more complex tools, targeted to your specific tool topology
Any processing scenario and equipment topology can be handled

PTO Scheduler comes with many reference Planners, or algorithms, allowing common tool configurations out of the box for rapid development

Largest Library of Hardware Drivers

Field-proven drivers for all major commercial hardware components: integrated EFEM platforms, load ports, robots, tag readers, WID readers, light curtains, vacuum systems, and other peripheral devices
PTO’s extensible framework allows support for new hardware components to be quickly developed

Advanced Tool Configuration

PEER Tool Composer (PTC) automates software design and simplifies on-going tool automation software maintenance.

Provides complete tool automation management, including tool component self-discovery of hardware and software services, host communication, UI design, and tool information flow
Extensible integration of OEM-developed or third-party software components and any software controllable hardware components
Ability to define vacuum control sequences using a visual editor means no need to code
PTO’s advanced design provides OEMs with an easily scalable tool automation solution across all types of tool configurations
PTO scales from simple installations such as manually-loaded lab tools to fully automated factory-ready equipment with multiple robots and host control

State of the Art User Interface

New GUIs written with Windows Presentation Foundation(WPF), run out of process using Windows Communications Foundation (WCF) communication, support multiple client connections and can be re-skinned to meet corporate presentation standards
Visualization Engine lets you create your own graphical screens for both status and control without coding

Hardware Simulation

Ability to simulate any equipment hardware or factory automation robotics in order to test the equipment in a development environment
Unique PTO validation module provides tight PEER Factory Acceptance Tester (PFAT™) integration, allowing you to perform white box testing of complex, time-dependent scenarios such as ensuring correct substrate flow paths and slot-to-slot substrate integrity

Utilities and Security

Synchronized view of all real-time or historical log files from multiple sources allows engineers to quickly pinpoint data of interest and export relevant log files when troubleshooting abnormal scenarios
Convenient installer loads all applications necessary to run PTO and host communications; supports ability to wrap your own installer around that of PTO
Choice between PTO-defined security model or hybrid model integrated with Windows security including Domain, Active Directory or local Windows accounts
Security is applied to both GUI and back-end services

Configuration

PEER Tool Composer (PTC) is an intuitive, user-friendly application that enables developers to customize their tool software to meet both equipment platform and customer factory automation requirements. Its completely visual development environment is fast and comprehensive, allowing OEMs to design control logic, user interface, and factory communications without traditional programming.

Self Discovery
A key feature of PTC is self-discovery, the ability to automatically discover and integrate individual tool components - both hardware and software - into the PTO core. Using the PTC development environment, OEM engineers can quickly configure tool information flow, GUI design, and system logic.

Host Communications

PTO uses the EIB OEM Product Suite for factory communications, deploying EIB GEM, EIB 300, and EIB EDA as needed. Upon discovering a system’s tool components, including data sources, recipes, alarms, and more, PTC automatically populates the host connectivity data. Not only does this save time with factory communications setup, but the discovery-build process also ensures that data management is consistent across PTO.

User Interface

Platform software engineers can develop the user interface without needing to worry about data management. PTC contains a powerful HMI builder, the Visualization Editor (VE), which provides an extensible library of graphical tool components that lets engineers rapidly build graphical status and control screens. PTC’s VE has access to the entire data model so that every UI object can be visually programmed using any variable in PTO or the tool Equipment Control Software (ECS).

Vacuum Workflow

PTC provides users complete control over vacuum sequences such as pumping down or venting. Leveraging Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF), users quickly program events in a visual workflow environment. Implementation can apply to any vacuum topology and execute in either job mode or manual mode.

Scheduler

With PTO, OEMs can optimize their scheduling strategies for any tool platform. OEMs only need to be concerned that the specific scheduling algorithm delivers maximum throughput for their particular tool. PTO provides several sample scheduling algorithms for a variety of tool topologies that can be quickly adapted to an OEM’s specific platform design and process methodologies. The PTO core then executes material movement and the user interface displays substrate location as desired.

Task-Based Substrate Scheduling

Implementing high-throughput scheduling systems, especially on multi-chamber equipment types, requires the management of parallel operations on a tool. Programming of such a complex system is made much easier with the use of “tasks”, or groups of operations. Task-based scheduling allows developers to design scheduling algorithms - called Planners - making programming more efficient and easier to maintain. The PTO core has a task engine, which executes tasks including recovery scenarios in the event of an alarm or power failure. The task engine looks after the mechanics of queuing and concurrency control, relieving the Planner from these activities. This carefully designed separation of duties allows Planners to be created independently with little knowledge of the PTO core.

Product Map

Automate your tool fast. Guarantee factory acceptance.