Information processing apparatus, information processing system, information processing method, program, substrate processing apparatus, criterion data determination apparatus, and criterion data determination method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11946470-B2
Application number	US-201816467472-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 13, 2018
Priority date	Mar 17, 2017
Publication date	Apr 2, 2024
Grant date	Apr 2, 2024

Abstract

An information processing apparatus detecting presence or absence of abnormality of a vacuum pump derived from a product produced within a target vacuum pump, including:a determination unit configured to determine a normal variation range or a normal time variation behavior of a target state quantity which is a state quantity varying depending on a load of gas flowing into the vacuum pump, based on at least one of past target state quantities of the target vacuum pump or another vacuum pump; anda comparison unit configured to compare a current target state quantity of the target vacuum pump with the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior and output the comparison result.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An information processing apparatus detecting presence or absence of abnormality of a vacuum pump derived from a product produced within a target vacuum pump, comprising:
one or more processors configured to determine a normal variation range or a normal time variation behavior of a target state quantity which is a state quantity varying depending on a load of gas flowing into the vacuum pump, based on at least one of past target state quantities of the target vacuum pump or another vacuum pump; and
the one or more processors configured to compare a current target state quantity of the target vacuum pump with the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior and output the comparison result,
wherein the one or more processors correct the past target state quantity based on a pressure in the target vacuum pump or a pressure in the other vacuum pump, and determine the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior using the corrected past target state quantity, and correct the current target state quantity of the target vacuum pump based on the pressure in the target vacuum pump or the pressure in the other vacuum pump, and compare the corrected target state quantity with the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors determine the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior of the target state quantity for each process based on the target information amount for each process corresponding to a predetermined number of times after the target vacuum pump is operated, and
the one or more processors compare the current target state quantity of the target vacuum pump with the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior of the target state quantity, for each corresponding process.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the normal variation range is a variation range of a time change in the target state quantity at the time of a normal state, and
the one or more processors compare a time change in the current target state quantity of the target vacuum pump with a variation range of a time change in the target state quantity at the time of the normal state.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
the one or more processors configured to divide a period, in which a size of the target state quantity, a size of a variation, and/or a variation cycle are different, into different processes,
wherein the one or more processors determine the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior of the current target state quantity of the target vacuum pump for each divided process, and
the one or more processors compare the current target state quantity of the target vacuum pump with the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior for each divided process.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
the one or more processors configured to divide a period, in which a gas type and a flow rate of gas used during a process in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus with which the target vacuum pump communicates are different, into different processes,
wherein the one or more processors determine the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior of the current target state quantity of the target vacuum pump for each divided process, and

the one or more processors compare the current target state quantity of the target vacuum pump with the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior for each divided process.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the one or more processors determine the presence or absence of the abnormality derived from the product based on a degree of change in the target state quantity for each process in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus with which the target vacuum pump communicates.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the one or more processors output as the comparison result data determined that there is the abnormality derived from the product produced within the target vacuum pump.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the other vacuum pump has substantially an identical specification to the target vacuum pump.

9. An information processing apparatus detecting presence or absence of abnormality of a vacuum pump derived from a product produced within a target vacuum pump, comprising:
one or more processors configured to determine a normal variation range or a normal time variation behavior of a target state quantity which is a state quantity varying depending on a load of gas flowing into the vacuum pump, based on at least one of past target state quantities of the target vacuum pump or another vacuum pump; and
the one or more processors configured to compare a current target state quantity of the target vacuum pump with the normal variation range or the normal time variation behavior and output the comparison result,
wherein the one or more processors determine the normal variation range of the target state quantity for each of a plurality of sub-processes using the past target state quantity of the target vacuum pump or the past target state quantity of the other vacuum pump as the target state quantity which is the state quantity varying depending on a load of gas flowing into the vacuum pump, the plurality of sub-processes being in one substrate processing process, each of the plurality of sub-process being one of a preparing process, a film forming process, or a post-process, the normal variation range of the target state quantity being determined for each of the plurality of sub-processes, and
the one or more processors compare a target state quantity of an operating target vacuum pump with the normal variation range for each process to detect an abnormality data deviating from the normal variation range, and
wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine a pump state judgment criterion for judging a failure possibility or an operation continuation possibility or a warning determination criterion for determining whether to output a warning, based on a statistical value of a target parameter related to the number of abnormality occurrences in a target process or all processes depending on whether the vacuum pump fails.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising:
one or more processors configured to compare the statistical value of the target parameter related to the number of abnormality occurrences of an operating target pump in the target process or all the processes with the pump state judgment criterion determined by the one or more processors to output a pump state diagnostic value,
wherein the pump state diagnostic value includes a failure index indicating a failure possibility or an operation continuation index indicating an operation continuation possibility.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10 ,
wherein the one or more processors perform statistical processing on the target parameter related to the number of abnormality occurrences on the failed vacuum pump in the target process or all the processes to determine a correspondence relationship between the statistical value of the target parameter and the failure index as the pump state judgment criterion, and the one or more processors compares the statistical value of the target parameter related to the number of abnormality occurrences of the operatin

Assignees

• Ebara Corp

Inventors

• Maishigi Keiji
• Sugiura Tetsuro
• Usui Katsuaki
• Hatakeyama Masahiro
• Honma Chikako
• Osuga Toru
• Iwasaki Koichi
• Lin jie yuan

Classifications

• F04C28/28 Primary

  Safety arrangements; Monitoring · CPC title

• F04D27/001

  Testing thereof; Determination or simulation of flow characteristics; Stall or surge detection, e.g. condition monitoring · CPC title

• G06F9/542

  Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications · CPC title

• G06F17/18

  for evaluating statistical data {, e.g. average values, frequency distributions, probability functions, regression analysis (forecasting specially adapted for a specific administrative, business or logistic context G06Q10/04)} · CPC title

• F04C25/02 Primary

  for producing high vacuum (sealing arrangements F04C27/00; silencing F04C29/06) · CPC title