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PEER Tool Orchestrator (PTO™) is a tool automation software platform used by OEMs in the Semiconductor, Solar, LED, and MEMS industries to manage all tool activities beyond chamber process control and data analysis, including job processing, material movement, material scheduling, recipe management, user interface, data management, and factory host communications. Virtually all 300mm fabs around the world, as well as numerous other high technology factories, are currently operating production equipment that uses PTO. Using the latest software technology, PTO provides useful and timesaving features such as self-discovery, extensibility, dynamic material scheduler, and vacuum control engine. In addition to its ability to manage a variety of tool topologies, substrate shapes and sizes, and industry standards, PTO provides additional flexibility for software design, configuration and maintenance. Whether your needs are driven by equipment design changes or specific customer requirements, PTO makes it easy to meet the on-going demands of the market.
PTO has evolved into a family of product offerings to meet the automation needs of different tool types and processing scenarios. Choose the version that suits your current needs, and as production requirements for your equipment grow, take advantage of additional capabilities by migrating to a different version of PTO.
PTO 300 For tools that need to communicate with a factory host and manage automated material hand-off, job execution, and equipment states based on the 300mm SEMI standards. An E30 adaptor can be included for tools that also run in older fabs.
PTO 200/PV For tools where factory host communication is based on the E30 GEM standard (200mm, photovoltaic, assembly, etc.), this is the best solution for tools deployed in fabs with simple factory automation needs. PTO 200/PV includes full support for cluster tools, provides a competitive price point and can be upgraded seamlessly to PTO 300.
PTO BenchTop For tools without factory automation requirements or EFEM hardware integration. PTO BenchTop relies on PTO’s robust infrastructure to provide basic manual control capabilities and co-ordinate wafer processing. A complete user interface is provided.
PTO controls all automation hardware including robots, load ports, wafer ID readers, aligners, light towers, and vacuum systems. It also manages most of the workflow logic on the tool including factory host communications, user interface and scheduling.
Written entirely in C#, PTO is an object-oriented framework of modular components and services organized into layers. Each layer provides an incremental level of functionality, from the minutiae of protocol-specific commands for individual hardware pieces to the high-level requirements for job execution and host communications. Because of this modular approach, your solution can use a combination of out of the box components, components customized for your tool’s specific needs, or components written by your own engineering team. With such a flexible architecture, PTO can be adapted and extended to fit the unique needs of any tool while still taking advantage of a common framework and proven, standardized components.
The user interface runs in a separate process from the PTO services. Communication between the user interface and the PTO services is based on Windows Communication Foundation (WCF). The service layer of PTO exposes a well-documented, public interface known as the GUI Services Layer (GSL) that the UI or any other client code can access. Both the PTO UI and the GSL implement security. Multiple UI connections to a single tool are possible. The local UI instance running on the tool has control capabilities while remote UI connections are read-only.
A common infrastructure is utilized by all members of the PTO product family, providing fundamental functionality for all modules and services. Its extensive configurability gives PTO the flexibility required to address virtually any tool topology or processing requirement.
This layer of PTO’s architecture contains the principal building blocks or “services” for automated tool functionality:
Equipment Elements are tool components that control hardware elements by translating high-level processing commands from the scheduling-based services into hardware-specific commands. They also provide hardware concurrency control. These elements contain drivers for all major commercial components as well as interchangeable low-level hardware communication protocols, allowing for easy exchange of hardware on a tool.
PEER Group provides innovative factory automation software solutions and consulting services to the semiconductor, photovoltaic, LED, and other high technology industries. The world’s best manufacturing companies turn to PEER Group to solve their most challenging equipment automation, data management, and process control problems. With more than 100,000 licenses shipped, we are the leading supplier of equipment connectivity and testing products to automated factories around the world. Our innovative and reliable products and services help lower the cost of automation for high-volume manufacturers and their equipment suppliers.
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