Diagnostics in industrial equipment

The use of computers in semiconductor industrial equipment has been primarily for process control. Increasing demand for easily maintainable equipment has forced a new diagnostic responsibility on the computer control systems. In a properly designed control system the diagnostic capability of the computers can allow service personnel to determine system faults to the board or chip level. The diagnostic capabilities of a control system are dependent on the system architecture and the software resource available. A comprehensive diagnostic program with emphasis on user friendliness and encompassing key areas such as automatic diagnostics on power up, board and chip level tests, subassembly functionality tests, troubleshooting instructions and guidance has been applied to the Varian/Extrion 120-10 ion implantation system. The impact of such diagnostic capability greatly reduces the mean time to repair of machine failures, therefore increasing productivity and reducing maintenance expenses. (orig.)