Streamline SECS/GEM Compliance Testing with a Powerful SECS/GEM Simulator Software

 In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, ensuring the compliance of equipment software with the SECS/GEM (SEMI Equipment Communications Standard/Generic Equipment Model) protocol is crucial for seamless communication and interoperability. To simplify the testing process and verify the adherence of equipment software to SECS/GEM standards, utilizing a reliable SECS/GEM simulator software is essential. In this blog post, we introduce a powerful SECS/GEM simulator that aids in comprehensive compliance testing by providing pre-bundled SECS messages and simulating a Factory Host environment.

What is a SECS/GEM Simulator Software?

A SECS/GEM simulator software is a specialized tool designed to mimic the behavior of a Factory Host in a controlled testing environment. It allows manufacturers to assess the compliance and functionality of their equipment software by generating simulated SECS messages, replicating the interactions that occur between the host and the equipment on the factory floor. By utilizing a SECS/GEM simulator, manufacturers can identify and rectify any issues before deployment, ensuring seamless integration and reducing costly delays.

Key Features and Benefits:

Pre-Bundled SECS Messages: The SECS/GEM simulator software comes with a comprehensive library of pre-defined SECS messages commonly used for compliance testing. These pre-bundled messages cover a wide range of scenarios and allow manufacturers to simulate various interactions, including data collection, alarms, control commands, and more. This pre-packaged content simplifies the testing process and saves valuable time.

Accurate Simulation of Factory Host: The simulator software accurately emulates the behavior of a Factory Host, allowing equipment software developers to interact with it as they would with a real host system. By providing a realistic testing environment, manufacturers can verify the SECS/GEM compliance of their equipment software under different scenarios, ensuring seamless communication and compatibility.

Flexible Customization Options: While the simulator software provides pre-bundled SECS messages, it also offers flexibility for customization. Manufacturers can modify and create new messages to match their specific testing requirements. This customization allows for testing complex scenarios and edge cases that may not be covered by the pre-defined messages, ensuring thorough compliance testing.

Real-Time Monitoring and Reporting: The SECS/GEM simulator software provides real-time monitoring and reporting capabilities, allowing developers to track and analyze the communication between the equipment software and the simulated Factory Host. This feature enables detailed inspection of message exchanges, response times, error handling, and other critical aspects, helping to identify and resolve any compliance issues effectively.

Cost and Time Efficiency: By utilizing SECS/GEM simulator software, manufacturers can significantly reduce the time and costs associated with compliance testing. The pre-bundled SECS messages and realistic simulation environment streamline the testing process, enabling quicker identification of non-compliant behavior and prompt resolution. This efficiency translates into faster equipment software deployment, reduced rework, and improved time-to-market.

Conclusion:

In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, verifying the compliance of equipment software with SECS/GEM standards is vital for seamless communication and efficient operations. Employing a powerful SECS/GEM simulator software simplifies compliance testing by providing pre-bundled SECS messages and emulating a Factory Host environment. This enables manufacturers to thoroughly test their equipment software, identify non-compliant behavior, and make necessary adjustments. By leveraging the benefits of SECS/GEM simulator software, manufacturers can ensure a smooth integration, reduce costs, and accelerate time-to-market for their equipment software.

Implement SECS/GEM Communication Protocol to Your Equipment

 SECS/GEM (SEMI Equipment Communications Standard/Generic Equipment Model) is an industry-standard protocol for communication between semiconductor equipment and a factory host. It was developed by SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International) to provide a common language for equipment and factory host communication.

Implementing SECS/GEM communication protocol can offer several benefits to equipment manufacturers and semiconductor factories. One of the key benefits is improved efficiency in communication between equipment and the factory host. The protocol provides a structured and standardized approach to data exchange, which eliminates the need for custom interfaces and reduces the risk of errors.

Another advantage of SECS/GEM is improved productivity. The protocol allows the equipment to share data with the factory host in real-time, providing the factory with accurate and up-to-date information about the equipment status, process status, and other critical parameters. This helps the factory to identify issues early, optimize equipment performance, and minimize downtime.

Implementing SECS/GEM can also help equipment manufacturers to stay competitive in the market. Many semiconductor factories now require equipment to support SECS/GEM communication protocol to ensure compatibility with their factory host systems. By implementing SECS/GEM, equipment manufacturers can expand their customer base, improve equipment performance and reliability, and offer a more comprehensive solution to their customers.

To implement SECS/GEM communication protocol to your equipment, you need to follow a series of steps. First, you need to develop a SECS/GEM interface that is compliant with the SEMI standards. This interface should be able to receive and send messages according to the SEMI SECS/GEM standards.

Once you have developed the SECS/GEM interface, you need to integrate it with your equipment control system. This can involve modifications to your equipment software and hardware to enable SECS/GEM communication. You also need to test the SECS/GEM interface to ensure that it is working correctly and meets the SEMI standards.

Implementing SECS/GEM communication protocol can be a complex and time-consuming process, but the benefits are significant. By implementing SECS/GEM, you can improve communication efficiency, increase productivity, and stay competitive in the market. If you are considering implementing SECS/GEM communication protocol to your equipment, it is recommended to consult with an experienced SECS/GEM implementation specialist to ensure a successful implementation.

SeerSight - Predictive Maintenance For Factory

 Improve Yield, OEE, Product Quality & Equipment Uptime. Predicts device failures in equipment, days in advance and prevents unexpected equipment failure.

SeerSight comes with all the required hardware and software, including smart sensors, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Control Center Practitioners Learning based data analysis software, and Operation Engineer Process Engineer other required hardware.

Manufacturing Engineers Data SeerSight continuously monitors your Management equipment's health through smart sensors, detects anomalies through SeerSight proprietary AI/ML-based algorithms, and notifies you when it predicts component health deterioration thereby preventing unexpected equipment failure.

Improves Yield & Product Quality

Increases Throughput & OEE

Benefits of SeerSight

• Improve Yield, Product Quality & OEE
• Reduce spare parts & equipment maintenance costs
• Saves hundreds of thousands of $$ annually in unplanned downtime
• Based on Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning models
• Based on analysis of vibration, acoustics, current, etc.
• Plug-n-Play: No hardware or software changes to existing equipment

Features of SeerSight

• Fixing something before it breaks is more efficient and cost-effective than fixing it after it breaks.
• Easy to set up, Installation often takes minutes
• Requires no hardware or software changes to your machines, sensors are attached to the body of your machine.
• Both on-premise and cloud options are available
• Summarized and detailed charts & graphs of equipment health

Case Study:

• One customer reduced unplanned downtime by 160+ hours annually
• Our customers have reported ROI of up to 220%

Applications Of SeerSight

Vacuum Pumps

Cassette Loader

Fan and Blowers

Cabinet Exhausts

Robots

More Information: Predictive Maintenance Software For Factory

SeerSight - Predictive Maintenance For OEM

 Gain Competitive Advantage through - SeerSight - Predictive Maintenance For OEM

Predicts device failures in equipment, days in advance and prevents unexpected equipment failure. SeerSight is a subsystem comprising of smart sensors, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning based analytics software and other required hardware that monitors health of your equipment’s components and alert the users days before the device is to fail giving users enough time to schedule a replacement.

Benefits of SeerSight

• Predicts component failure – such as those of pump, motor, etc.
• Gives Competitive Advantage
• Can be seamlessly integrated into equipment controller software
• Based on Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning models
• Based on analysis of vibration, acoustics, current, etc.
• Improves process and equipment reliability

Features of SeerSight

• Fixing something before it breaks is more efficient and cost-effective than fixing it after it breaks.
• Easy to set up, Installation often takes minutes
• Requires no hardware or software changes to your machines, sensors are attached to the body of your machine.
• Both on-premise and cloud options are available
• Summarized and detailed charts & graphs of equipment health

More Information Predictive Maintenance Software For OEM

Quickest Way to Implement SECS/GEM Communication Protocol to Your Equipment

 SECS (SEMI Equipment Communications Standard)/GEM (Generic Equipment Model) is correspondence interface conventions for correspondence between semiconductor gear and a fab host. Fab host is a product application that is controlling and screens hardware handling utilizing SECS/GEM convention. SECS/GEM consistent gear can speak with the fab host utilizing either TCP/IP (utilizing SEMI guidelines E37 and E37.1 – HSMS) or RS-232 (utilizing SEMI standard E4 – SECS-I). The SECS/GEM standard interface is utilized to begin just as stop hardware handling, gather estimation information, select plans for items, and change factors. With SECS/GEM, this can be acted in a standard way. SECS/GEM convention has been normalized by the non-benefit affiliation SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International). Actually, take a look at www.SEMI.org to find out about SEMI principles and SECS/GEM convention.

To comprehend the SECS/GEM guidelines you should buy the accompanying 3 fundamental principles from SEMI:

SEMI E30 GEM Standard

Specification for the Generic Model for Communications and Control of Manufacturing Equipment (GEM)

This specification defines a standard implementation framework of SECS-II messages for basic semiconductor manufacturing equipment. By defining a common set of equipment behavior and communications capabilities around data collection, alarm management, remote control, configuration, and control, this Standard allows equipment suppliers to develop a single SECS-II interface that provides a solid foundation for host automation. It also allows device manufacturers to implement unique automation solutions within a common industry framework. This standardization reduces the cost of software development for both equipment suppliers and device manufacturers, which would in turn allow device manufacturers to automate semiconductor factories more quickly and effectively.

SEMI E5 SECS-II

SEMI E5 - Specification for SEMI Equipment Communications Standard 2 Message Content (SECS-II)

This Standard, otherwise known as the Specification for SECS-II messages, works with the Protocol Layer to define how messages are communicated between equipment and host. The functions defined in this Standard support the most typical activities required for IC manufacturing. Together with other SECS/GEM Standards, SEMI E5 helps define a software interface for monitoring and controlling manufacturing equipment.

SEMI E37 HSMS

High-Speed SECS Message Services (HSMS) provide a means for independent manufacturers to produce implementations that can be connected and interoperate without requiring specific knowledge of one another.

HSMS is intended as an alternative to SEMI E4 (SECS-I) for applications where higher speed communication is needed or when a simple point-to-point topology is insufficient. SEMI E4 (SECS-I) can still be used in applications where these and other attributes of HSMS are not required.

SEMI E30 GEM STANDARD

SEMI E30 - Specification for the Generic Model for Communications and Control of Manufacturing Equipment (GEM)

This specification defines a standard implementation framework of SECS-II messages for basic semiconductor manufacturing equipment. By defining a common set of equipment behavior and communications capabilities around data collection, alarm management, remote control, configuration, and control, this Standard allows equipment suppliers to develop a single SECS-II interface that provides a solid foundation for host automation. It also allows device manufacturers to implement unique automation solutions within a common industry framework. This standardization reduces the cost of software development for both equipment suppliers and device manufacturers, which would in turn allow device manufacturers to automate semiconductor factories more quickly and effectively.

Communication

The COMMUNICATION state model defines the behavior of the equipment in relation to the existence or absence of a communication link with the host. It also defines how communication is established or re-established with S1F13/S1F14 when communication is broken

Control

The CONTROL state model defines the level of cooperation between the host and equipment. The CONTROL model provides the host with three basic levels of host control which determine the host's ability to control the equipment:

OFFLINE (Lowest Level): Operation of the equipment is performed manually by the operator at the operator console. Equipment will respond with an SxF0 to any primary message from the host other than S1F13 or S1F17.

ONLINE/LOCAL (Middle Level): In this state, the host is only allowed to perform "read-only" operations like data collection. The host shall be prohibited from modifying any equipment constants that affect processes, remote commands that cause physical movement or which initiate processing.

ONLINE/REMOTE (Highest Level): In this state, the host may operate the equipment to the full extent available through the communications interface ("read-write" operations).

Processing

The PROCESSING state model is highly dependent on the equipment process, technology, and style. However, there are expected to be common aspects to these models.

Remote Command

The host can send commands to instruct the equipment to perform an automatic operation. E.g.: START, STOP, PAUSE, etc. This is similar to the manual operation performed by the operator on the console.

Variables

The GEM standard defines three types of variables that are accessible by the Host:

Status Variable: This is a "read-only" global variable defined in the equipment. Whenever there is processing the equipment will update the respective status variable to reflect the latest data. E.g.: incremental of some counter, current/previous state, etc.

Equipment Constant: This is a "read-write" global variable defined in the equipment. The host can set or modify the equipment constant variable which may affect the setting that in turn change the way equipment's behaviors.

Data Variable: This is a "local" variable which only exists in collection events.

Data Collection

SECS/GEM a couple of avenues for Host to collect data or information from the equipment:

A set of status variable values can be requested at any time using the S1F3 command.

A set of equipment constant values can be requested at any time using S2F13

The host can define a report containing a status variable, equipment constants, and data variable then attaches it to a collection event. When equipment raises the event (using the S6F11 command), the report containing those variables' values will be sent together.

The host can define traces which will do a sampling of status variable data at a periodic basis.

Another way is to leverage alarm notifications to collect more data with collection events. By standard, whenever an occurrence or clearance of an alarm, an event (collection event) must be sent to the Host.

Alarm Notification

This feature allows the Equipment to notify the Host of every occurrence or clearance of an alarm/error on the equipment. Alarm refers to that occurrence that is abnormal, undesirable and endangers people, equipment, or physical material being processed.

Below are some of the characteristics of Alarm Management defined by GEM:

Each alarm has two associated state models. ALARM SET (occurrence) and ALARM CLEAR (clearance)

Each AlarmSet and AlarmClear has an associated Collection Event. This is to address the host's potential need for more extensive and flexible data reporting.

A host can request which Alarms to be enabled/disabled and Equipment will only notify the Host for the enabled Alarms.

EIGEMBox 3000 SECS/GEM for Old/Legacy Equipment

 EIGEMBox-3000 is a unique product that not only enables old/legacy equipment but also makes it “smart” by adding additional capabilities that are not part of the equipment, such as vibration and acoustics analysis.

Industry 4.0 represents the fourth revolution in manufacturing technology. It combines physical operations with digital technology such as machine learning, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and big data to create a better-connected ecosystem for manufacturing and supply chain management, essentially creating cyber-physical systems. By creating interconnected systems, it allows better collaboration and access among various departments, partner, vendors, products, and customers.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a key aspect of the fourth industrial revolution. It connects sensors and machines to the internet, which enables deeper data analysis using Big Data, Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning (DL) technologies.

One of the big challenges for existing factories having equipment that is a few years or decades old is how to retrofit this equipment to enable smart manufacturing without spending a fortune and/or massive manufacturing disruption.

This is the problem EIGEMBox-3000 solves!

EIGEMBox-3000 is a unique product that extracts data from your existing equipment through screen captures, from external sensors through direct analog/digital I/O, and from wireless sensors through WiFi or Bluetooth using standard industrial protocols such as Modbus, OPC, and MQTT. It seamlessly combines and analyzes data from various data sources and sends both raw and analyzed data to either the factory host, MES, a Cloud server or take automatic actions on the equipment.

Essentially, EIGEMBox converts your 20th-century equipment into a 21st-century one!

Sounds too good to be true? Call/Email us to schedule a demo.

EIGEMBox-2000 – SECS GEM For LEGACY Equipment

Enabling SECS/GEM capability on your EXISTING EQUIPMENT

Does your factory have equipment that you can’t get SECS/GEM capability or it’s just too expensive?

Are you an Equipment Manufacturer who wants to offer SECS/GEM capability without modifying existing software or hardware?

EIGEMBox-2000 solves these problems!!

And it does without requiring any software or hardware installation on your equipment!!

Overview

EIGEMBox-2000 is a unique product that enables SECS/GEM, Modbus, or OPC capability on your existing equipment, and it does it without requiring any software or hardware installation on the equipment. All you need is to connect the display cable from your equipment’s PC to EIGEMBox. If you want to control the equipment for recipe selection/download or remote start and stop or setting any set-points, you need to connect EIGEMBox to the equipment PC through keyboard and mouse ports (USB or PS/2) as well. That’s it!

EIGEMBox-2000 Benefits:

• Enables SECS/GEM, OPC, or Modbus communication capabilities on existing equipment.
• 100% safe - requires no software or hardware installation on the equipment.
• Enables automation capabilities such as data collection & analysis, Fault Detection&
• Classification (FDC), recipe download, remote start and stop, and much more!
• Supports Industry 4.0 and Smart Factory.
• Improves Yield, OEE, Cycle Time, process and reduces manufacturing cost.
• Takes minutes to set up.

Features of EIGEMBox-2000

• Enable SECS/GEM capability on existing equipment regardless of generation, make, model, OS or anything
• No hardware or software installation required on the equipment- Plug-n-Play, takes minutes to setup
• Plug-n-Play takes minutes to setup

More Information Visit https://www.einnosys.com/eigembox-2000/