Patent Application
20080040353
Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasized that various features are not necessarily drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
Design function 12 includes a design management application 30 that interfaces with the users or engineers at the design facility. Design management application 30 may be operable to oversee and control the device design process and may receive input from the users and display or otherwise output data to the users. Design management application 30 also interfaces with a plurality of engineering chain agents in the design function 12. The engineering chain agents may include an IP library engineering chain agent 32, a work-in-progress (WIP) engineering chain agent 34, a mask management engineering chain agent 36, a FAB/ASM/Test engineering chain agent 38, and a yield management engineering chain agent 40. IP library engineering chain agent 32 may be operable to interface with the IP library service function 40 or provider as well as the exchange of data therewith. WIP engineering chain agent 34 may be operable to manage and control the work flow of projects that are in the design progress. Mask management engineering chain agent 36 may be operable to interface with and manage the data exchange with a mask service function 16 or provider. FAB/ASM/Test engineering chain agent 38 may be operable to interface with and manage the data exchange with a foundry service function 18 or provider and an assembly/test service function 20 or provider. Yield management engineering chain agent 40 may be operable to determine and manage the product yield from the fabrication process. Details of the structure and function of an engineering chain agent object are set forth below with reference to
IP library function 14 includes an IP library management application 44 that interfaces with the users or engineers at the IP library service provider. IP library management application 44 may be operable to manage the data content of the IP library and the access of the data. IP library management application 44 may also receive input from the users and display or otherwise output data to the users. IP library management application 44 also interfaces with a plurality of engineering chain agents in the IP library function 14. The engineering chain agents may include an IP library engineering chain agent 46, a patent engineering chain agent 48, a version engineering chain agent 50, a customer engineering chain agent 52, and a yield management engineering chain agent 54. IP library engineering chain agent 46 may be operable to control access to the IP library data. Patent engineering chain agent 48 may be operable to maintain and control data related to patent grants on the IP library components. Version engineering chain agent 50 may be operable to maintain version control of the IP library components. Customer engineering chain agent 52 may be operable to interface with and exchange data with the customers of the IP library service provider. Yield management engineering chain agent 54 may be operable to maintain yield data related to the IP library components. Engineering chain agents 46-54 in the IP library service function 14 also provide an interface between IP library management application 44 and a web service interface 56.
Mask preparation function 16 includes a mask preparation application 58 that interfaces with the users or engineers at the mask service provider. Mask preparation application 58 may be operable to assist in mask design and preparation and may receive input from the users and display or otherwise output data to the users. Mask preparation application 58 also interfaces with a plurality of engineering chain agents in the mask service function 16. The engineering chain agents may include a design rule checking (DRC) engineering chain agent 60, an optical proximity correction (OPC) engineering chain agent 62, a WIP engineering chain agent 64, a shop floor engineering chain agent 66, and a yield management engineering chain agent 68. Design rule checking (DRC) engineering chain agent 60 may be operable to interface and control the data exchange with the design rule checking process or software. Optical proximity correction (OPC) engineering chain agent 62 may be operable to interface and control the data exchange with the OPC process or software. WIP engineering chain agent 64 may be operable to provide an interface with the work-in-progress and control data access thereof. Shop floor engineering chain agent 66 may be operable to manage and control the data exchange with the shop floor. Yield management engineering chain agent 68 may be operable to determine and access data related to product yield data. Engineering chain agents 60-68 in the mask service function 16 also provide an interface between mask preparation application 58 and a web service interface 70.
Manufacturing execution function 18 includes a manufacturing execution system application 72 that interfaces with the users or engineers at the foundry manufacturing service function 18 or provider, or the manufacturing facility. Manufacturing execution system application 72 may be operable to support and manage the manufacturing process flow and may receive input from the users and display or otherwise output data to the users. Manufacturing execution system (MES) application 72 also interfaces with a plurality of engineering chain agents in the manufacturing execution function 18. The engineering chain agents may include a shop floor engineering chain agent 74, a WIP engineering chain agent 76, a scheduling engineering chain agent 78, an equipment engineering chain agent 80, and a yield management engineering chain agent 82. Shop floor engineering chain agent 74 may be operable to manage and control the data exchange with the shop floor. WIP engineering chain agent 76 may be operable to provide an interface with the work-in-progress and control data access thereof. Scheduling engineering chain agent 78 may be operable to provide data exchange with the manufacturing scheduling software and/or personnel. Equipment engineering chain agent 80 may be operable to provide support for the fabrication equipment and monitor their status. Yield management engineering chain agent 82 may be operable to determine and access data related to product yield data. Engineering chain agents 74-82 in the manufacturing execution function 18 may also provide an interface between manufacturing execution system application 72 and a web service interface 84.
Assembly/test function 20 includes an assembly/test application 86 that interfaces with the users or engineers at the product assembly and test service provider. Assembly/test application 86 may receive input from the users and display or otherwise output data to the users. Assembly/test application 86 also interfaces with a plurality of engineering chain agents in the Assembly/test function 20. The engineering chain agents may include a shop floor engineering chain agent 88, a WIP engineering chain agent 90, an assembly engineering chain agent 92, a test engineering chain agent 94, and a yield management engineering chain agent 96. Shop floor engineering chain agent 88, a WIP engineering chain agent 90, an assembly engineering chain agent 92, a test engineering chain agent 94, and a yield management engineering chain agent 96. Shop floor engineering chain agent 88 may be operable to manage and control the data exchange with the shop floor. WIP engineering chain agent 90 may be operable to provide an interface with the work-in-progress and control data access thereof. Assembly engineering chain agent 92 may be operable to monitor and control the assembly process and provide data exchange therewith. Test engineering chain agent 94 may be operable to monitor and control the testing process and provide data exchange therewith. Yield management engineering chain agent 96 may be operable to determine and access data related to product yield data. Engineering chain agents 88-96 in the assembly/test function 20 also provide an interface between assembly/test application 86 and a web service interface 98.
Engineering chain agent 150 may have a product design information module 152 that is operable to support all data requirements such as data type, data format, and delivery schedule, for a new device design. Product design information module 152 may define and store an identifier for the product being designed and manufactured, and the company name to which the product belongs.
Engineering chain agent 150 may also include an UDDI registration module 154 which is operable to enable users to discover and register for web services and participate in the data exchange. UDDI registration module 154 may provide a description of basic service information and service functionality to registered users to request data from the service providers. UDDI registration module 154 may include user identifier and password data for UDDI data exchanges. UDDI is cited herein as an example of a framework for discovering and registering for web services.
Engineering chain agent 150 may also include a security module 156 that provides data and access security control measures. Security module 156 may support SSL (Secure Socket Layer), for example. Security module 156 may authorize and verify access privileges to the system to individuals and may also provide role-based access to system data. Security module 156 may also specify data encryption algorithms to encrypt data in transit.
Engineering chain agent 150 may include a local database module 158 that provides an interface to enterprise databases and other data such as manufacturing execution system, engineering equation solver, and yield data preparation and loading applications. Local database module 158 may include a data server name, port number, and service name of the database server, and the mechanism to send queries to the local database.
Engineering chain agent 150 may further include a transportation management module 160 that is operable to provide the functionality to support and reassure reliable data exchange for data requests in system 10. Transportation management module 160 may include specifications of transportation methods, acknowledgement mechanisms, and error notification methods, for example.
Engineering chain agent 150 also includes an engineering chain agent kernel 162. Agent kernel 162 may be generic light weight reusable code to which new features can be added in the form of components or modules 152-160, for example. Engineering chain agent kernel 162 is operable to receive information from, provided information to, and/or control modules 152-160. Engineering chain agent 150 also includes an interface module 164 to web services in a format such as SOAP that provides the conversion of data formats.
It should be noted that
Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, those skilled in the art should understand that they may make various changes, substitutions and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all such changes, substitutions and alterations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the following claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.
