CLIAMS:We Claim
1. A method of automating factory testing of semi conductor devices, said method comprises:
selecting a test case from a plurality of test cases configured with a database in a host device;
selecting a first step from a sequence of steps associated with an operation in said test case;
checking whether said selected first step relates a host operation or an equipment operation;
executing said sequence on said host device on said sequence being a host operation;
sending an equipment operation command to an equipment device on said sequence being an equipment operation;
executing an operation corresponding to said first step on said first sequence being an equipment operation;
validating result of said executed operation; and
selecting and executing next step from said steps of steps in said test case.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein said plurality of test cases is pre-configured with said host side database.
3. The method as in claim 1, wherein said checking whether said selected first step relates a host operation or an equipment operation further comprises identifying a tag associated with said selected first step.
4. The method as in claim 1, wherein said host side operation is communicated with an equipment handling device using a first channel.
5. The method as in claim 4, wherein said host side operation is communicated in said first channel in SECS-II message format.
6. The method as in claim 1, wherein said equipment command operation is communicated to an equipment handling device using a second channel.
7. The method as in claim 1, wherein said validating said result of the executed operation further comprises checking whether said result matches an expected result.
8. The method as in claim 7, wherein said expected result for an executed operation is preconfigured with said database.
9. A system for automating factory testing of semi conductor devices, said system provided with means configured for:
selecting a test case from a plurality of test cases configured with a database in a host device using a sequence controller in a host device;
selecting a first step from a sequence of steps associated with an operation in said test case using said sequence controller in said host device;
checking whether said selected first step relates a host operation or an equipment operation using said sequence controller in said host device;
executing said sequence on said host device on said sequence being a host operation using a host side simulator in said host device;
sending an equipment operation command to an equipment device on said sequence being an equipment operation using at least one of an equipment handler and an equipment client;
executing an operation corresponding to said first step on said first sequence being an equipment operation using an equipment handling device;
validating result of said executed operation using said host device; and
selecting and executing next step from said steps of steps in said test case using said sequence controller in said host device.

10. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to pre-configure said test cases with said host side database.
11. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to check whether said selected first step relates a host operation or an equipment operation by identifying a tag associated with said selected first step.
12. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to communicate said host side operation with an equipment handling device using a first channel.
13. The system as in claim 12 is further configured to communicate said host side operation in said first channel in SECS-II message format.
14. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to communicate said equipment command operation to an equipment handling device using a second channel.
15. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to validate said result of the executed operation by checking whether said result matches an expected result.
16. The system as in claim 15 is further configured to provide options for pre-configuring said expected result for an executed operation with said database.

Dated: 30th April, 2013 Signature
Nishant Kewalramani
Patent Agent ,TagSPECI:FORM 2
The Patent Act 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patent Rules, 2005

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(SEE SECTION 10 AND RULE 13)

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

“CLOSED LOOP AUTOMATION TESTING”
APPLICANTS:

Name : HCL Technologies Limited

Nationality : Indian

Address : HCL Technologies Ltd., 50-53 Greams Road, Chennai – 600006, Tamil Nadu, India

The following Specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:

TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The embodiments herein relate to semiconductor testing and, more particularly, to a factory automation testing.

BACKGROUND
[002] Testing is a process used to validate operation of an electronic device, semiconductor equipment and to check whether the device is functioning properly, providing an expected output. When a hardware device is to be tested, specific inputs are fed into the device and corresponding outputs are collected. The person who conducts the testing knows an actual output corresponding to each input for that particular device. Then, the output (s) received from the device is compared with the actual output. If the values are equal, then the device may be considered as functioning properly. Any mismatch may indicate a malfunctioning of the device.
[003] There exists two ways of testing the hardware, namely manual testing and automated testing. Manual testing requires a user feeding inputs and fetching and checking outputs manually. One disadvantage of the manual testing is that it requires lot of time as complete manual intervention is required. Further, if a mismatch is detected in output, the user may have to manually analyze and determine which section/component of the device is malfunctioning and provided the wrong output.
[004] Automation testing solves these issues to a large extent. In this process, the user can configure inputs to a system which can test the hardware for validating the functionality. The system then feeds the configured inputs to the device being tested and obtains output corresponding to each input/ set of inputs, thereby reducing the manual intervention requirement, which results in saving time requirement for the process. A disadvantage of the existing automation systems is that they are not fully automated and requires manual intervention to some extent. Another disadvantage is that the user is not able to control any device operation remotely.
[005] In Semiconductor OEM, to check SEMI compliance of SEMI equipment, various Factory Automation test procedures are validated through host automation software that requires HSMS communication interface with the semi equipment under test for exchanging SECS messages over TCP/IP network. Additionally, the Test Procedures requires manual operation on the equipment software in the equipment device for hardware operation to make the factory automation testing complete . To provide a closed loop automation of the Test Procedure requires control over both host automation software and equipment software from the host side. The existing system lacks control over equipment software and hence couldn’t achieve closed loop test automation. There is need for a system which can do the host operation as well as control the equipment software from the HOST so that entire Factory Automation testing is done without manual intervention.

SUMMARY

[006] In view of the foregoing, an embodiment herein provides a method of automating factory testing of semi conductor devices, the method comprise selecting a test case from a plurality of test cases configured with a database in a host device; selecting a first step from a sequence of steps associated with an operation in the test case; checking whether the selected first step relates a host operation or an equipment operation; executing the sequence on the host device on the sequence being a host operation; sending an equipment operation command to an equipment device on the sequence being an equipment operation; executing an operation corresponding to the first step on the first sequence being an equipment operation; validating result of the executed operation; and selecting and executing next step from the steps of steps in the test case.
[007] Embodiments further disclose a system for automating factory testing of semi conductor devices, the system provided with means configured for selecting a test case from a plurality of test cases configured with a database in a host device using a sequence controller in a host device; selecting a first step from a sequence of steps associated with an operation in the test case using the sequence controller in the host device; checking whether the selected first step relates a host operation or an equipment operation using the sequence controller in the host device; executing the sequence on the host device on the sequence being a host operation using a host side simulator in the host device; sending an equipment operation command to an equipment device on the sequence being an equipment operation using at least one of an equipment handler and an equipment client; executing an operation corresponding to the first step on the first sequence being an equipment operation using an equipment handling device; validating result of the executed operation using the host device; and selecting and executing next step from the steps of steps in the test case using the sequence controller in the host device.
[008] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[009] The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the automation testing system, as disclosed in the embodiments herein;
[0011] FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate block diagrams that show various components of the host device and the equipment handling device respectively, as disclosed in the embodiments herein; and
[0012] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that shows various steps involved in the process of automated factory testing, as disclosed in the embodiments herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0013] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0014] The embodiments herein disclose a process of fully automating factory automation testing by sending hardware commands from a host device. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 3, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the automation testing system, as disclosed in the embodiments herein. The system comprises a host device 101, an equipment handling device 102 and an equipment 103, which has to be tested and/or controlled. In order to test the equipment 103, preferably a semiconductor device, sequence of steps associated with specific operations such as test cases is executed using the equipment and corresponding output is fetched and validated. In another embodiment, the host device 101 can validate functionality of the equipment 103 by subscribing to certain events and by validating corresponding collection event information. In an embodiment, the collection event refers to status of each of the subscribed events in the equipment 103. For example, temperature check may be considered as an event. When the host device 101 subscribes for this event, a request is sent to the equipment to notify any change in the temperature value to the host device. Further, when there is any dip or rise in the equipment temperature, this is notified to the host device 101 as a collection event for the subscribed event. In an embodiment, the collection event values are different for different events. The information on event subscriptions and sequence of steps corresponding to the test cases are initially configured with and is stored in the host device 101. In an embodiment, the event subscription information and sequence of steps corresponding to a test scenario are stored in a suitable format such as an XML file.
[0016] The XML document contains all required information on the sequence of steps to be performed for a test scenario. It comprises of both host side and equipment side operation. The sequence controller 203, sequentially fetches information on the next operation to be performed from the XML file and checks whether the selected operation relates to a host side operation or the equipment side operation. If the selected operation relates to a host side operation, corresponding sequence of steps is executed one by one at the host device 101. If the selected operation relates to an equipment side operation, information on the sequence of steps to be executed is sent to the equipment handling device 102. For example, the host side operation may be sending a message, waiting for a message, and so on. Similarly, the equipment side operation may be loading carrier, unloading carrier and so on. In an embodiment, there are two communication channels between the host device 101 and the equipment handling device 102. One of them i.e. a first channel is for internal exchange of SECS Messages using suitable protocol such as High Speed Message Services (HSMS) basically used in host side operations. The other one i.e. a second channel is for explicit exchange of equipment command operations using suitable protocols basically used for equipment side operation.
[0017] In order to test an equipment, information on sequence of steps associated with specific operation is sent from the host device 101 to the equipment handling device 102, which in turn feeds inputs corresponding to each operation to the equipment 103. Further, the equipment handling device 102 fetches output of the executed operation and sends the fetched information in the form of a reply message. In another embodiment, collection event information i.e. status of subscribed events is also sent from the equipment side to the host device 101. The host device 101 validates the data received from the equipment handling device 102 and checks whether the received reply messages and collection event information matches an expected value. Any variation from the expected value may refer to a malfunctioning of the equipment 103 and the host device 101 logs result of the test as “failure”. If the output matches the expected values, then the host device 101 executes next step in the sequence of steps of that operation. If all steps in the operation are successfully executed, host device 101 considers the equipment 103 as functioning properly and logs result of the test as “success”.
[0018] FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate block diagrams that show various components of the host device and the equipment handling device respectively, as disclosed in the embodiments herein. The host device 101 further comprises a host message handler 201, a HSMS message transmission module 202, a sequence controller 203, a data parser 204, an equipment handler 205, an equipment client 206 and a memory module 207. The equipment handling device 102 further comprises a HSMS message handling module 208, an equipment message handler 209, an equipment user interface 210, an equipment façade 211, an equipment server 212 and an equipment controller 213.
[0019] The information on sequence of steps associated with each host and equipment side operations and so on are configured with the memory module 207 in the host device 101. When functionality of equipment 103 i.e. a semiconductor device has to be tested/validated, the data parser 204 parses the sequence of steps corresponding to an Test Scenario, stored in the memory module 207 in a suitable format such as XML. The sequence controller 203 fetches the operations sequentially from the data parser 204 and identifies whether the current fetched operation relates to a host side operation or an equipment side operation; using tags associated with each operation defined and stored in the XML file. For example, host side operations may have a “host” tag whereas the equipment side operations may have an “equipment” tag. If the fetched data relates to a host side operation, the sequence controller 203 sends it to the Host Message Handler 201, which then executes the operation. The host operation for example might be sending of a primary message to the equipment, where in the Host Message Handler 201 sends the data to the HSMS Message Handling Module 208 in the equipment handling device 102, in the form of a SECS message; using the HSMS Message Transmission Module 202. The HSMS Message Handling Module 208 further sends back information on status of executed operations in the form of a reply message to the HSMS Message Transmission Module in the host device 101. The reply message is then validated by the Host Message Handler 201. If the operation relates to an equipment side operation, the sequence controller 203 sends the data to the Equipment Handler 205; which in turn sends the data to the Equipment Server 212 in the Equipment Handling Device 102 through the Equipment Client 206.
[0020] Upon getting an instruction from the equipment client 206, the equipment server 212 instructs the equipment controller 213 to execute the selected operation on the equipment 103. Further, an output corresponding to the selected operation is sent to the equipment façade 211, which sends the outputs to the Host Device 101 using the Equipment Message Handler 209.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that shows various steps involved in the process of automated factory testing, as disclosed in the embodiments herein. Initially, information on sequence of steps associated with specific host side and equipment side operations are configured (301) with the host device 101. The equipment side operation may refer to any semiconductor equipment operation such as loading carrier, unloading carrier, aborting the test operation. The host side operation may refer to operations such as sending messages, configuring events, sending events and so on that have to be executed on the host device 101.
[0022] The information on host side and equipment side operations are stored in the XML file in the memory module 207 of the host device 101, along with information on subscribed events and so on. Whenever an equipment functionality validation is initiated, a test case suitable for the selected equipment 103 is selected and executed (302). In an embodiment, each test case comprises a sequence of steps and during execution stage the operations associated with the selected test case is selected one by one and is executed. After executing the selected operation, the host device 101 checks (303) whether a next sequential operation is available for the selected test case. If no sequential steps are found, the host device 101 stops (304) processing the selected operation and logs result of the operation as “success”.
[0023] If any sequential operation is found, then the host device 101 selects (305) checks (306) whether it relates to a host side operation or an equipment side operation. In an embodiment, the host operations and equipment operations may be differentiated using tags associated with the operations in the XML file. For example, host side operations may have a “host” tag whereas the equipment side operations may have an “equipment” tag.
[0024] If the operation is found to be a host side operation, the operation is executed in a host side simulator. The host operation may refer to functions like sending messages, configuring events, sending events and so on. Once the type of function being indicated by the selected host operation is identified, information regarding the operation is sent (310); preferably in the form of SECS-II messages to the host message handler 201. The host message handler 201 sends (311) the received SECS-II message to the host side HSMS message transmission module 202. The host side HSMS message transmission module 202 further sends (312) the message to the equipment side HSMS message handling module 208. In an embodiment, response or status of the executed operations may be sent back to the host device 101 through the same channel.
[0025] If the operation is found to be an equipment operation, information on sequence of steps corresponding to that specific operation is fetched from a memory module 207 associated with the host device 101 and is parsed and a corresponding equipment operation command is sent (307) to the equipment handler 205. The equipment handler 205 sends (308) the received equipment operation command to the equipment client 206. Further, the equipment client 206 sends (309) the received equipment operation command to the equipment server 212 in the equipment handling device 102. The equipment server 212 executes operation corresponding to the received command on the equipment 103 and sends response to the host device 101; preferably in the form of reply messages.
[0026] The equipment handling device 102 is connected to the equipment 103 such that is can feed inputs so as to execute steps associated with the selected equipment side operation on the equipment 103. After executing the operation, the equipment handling device 102 fetches output of the executed operation i.e. reply message or else collection event information in case of subscribed events.
[0027] In a preferred embodiment, the equipment operations may be used to test and validate functionality of the equipment 103. In another embodiment, the device capability maybe tested and verified based on collection events corresponding to various events subscribed by the host device 101. For example, temperature check may be considered as an event. When the host device 101 subscribes for this event, a request is sent to the equipment 103 to notify any change in the temperature value to the host device 101. Further, when there is any dip or rise in the equipment temperature, this is notified to the host device 101 as a collection event for the subscribed event. In an embodiment, events or operations to be executed on the equipment 103 may be manually fed each time the equipment 103 is loaded or may be fetched/selected from a history data of previously used operations/events. In another embodiment, the event information is sent from the host device 101 to the equipment handling device 102 in the form of a high speed SECS messages using a suitable protocol such as HSMS.
[0028] The host device 101, upon getting the response from the equipment handling device 102, validates (313) the received response. During the validation process, the host device 101 checks (314) whether the reply messages and/or collection event information matches an expected result. In an embodiment, the expected results for subscribed events and host side and equipment side operations are pre-configured with the memory module 207 in the host device 101. In another embodiment, the host device 101 compares the fetched data with the expected results configured with the host device 101.
[0029] If any variation is detected during the comparison, the host device stops processing and logs (315) result of the executed operation as “failure”. If the fetched values matches the expected results, then the host device 101 checks (303) whether the end of test case has reached. If no sequential steps are found, the host device 101 stops (304) processing the selected operation and logs result of the operation as “success”. The various actions in method 300 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 3 may be omitted.
[0030] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the network elements. The network elements shown in Fig. 1 include blocks which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module.
[0031] The embodiment disclosed herein specifies a system for factory testing automation. The mechanism allows testing by sending hardware commands from a host device, providing a system thereof. Therefore, it is understood that the scope of the protection is extended to such a program and in addition to a computer readable means having a message therein, such computer readable storage means contain program code means for implementation of one or more steps of the method, when the program runs on a server or mobile device or any suitable programmable device. The method is implemented in a preferred embodiment through or together with a software program written in e.g. Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) another programming language, or implemented by one or more VHDL or several software modules being executed on at least one hardware device. The hardware device can be any kind of device which can be programmed including e.g. any kind of computer like a server or a personal computer, or the like, or any combination thereof, e.g. one processor and two FPGAs. The device may also include means which could be e.g. hardware means like e.g. an ASIC, or a combination of hardware and software means, e.g. an ASIC and an FPGA, or at least one microprocessor and at least one memory with software modules located therein. Thus, the means are at least one hardware means and/or at least one software means. The method embodiments described herein could be implemented in pure hardware or partly in hardware and partly in software. The device may also include only software means. Alternatively, the invention may be implemented on different hardware devices, e.g. using a plurality of CPUs.
[0032] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims as described herein.

CLAIMS
We Claim
1. A method of automating factory testing of semi conductor devices, said method comprises:
selecting a test case from a plurality of test cases configured with a database in a host device;
selecting a first step from a sequence of steps associated with an operation in said test case;
checking whether said selected first step relates a host operation or an equipment operation;
executing said sequence on said host device on said sequence being a host operation;
sending an equipment operation command to an equipment device on said sequence being an equipment operation;
executing an operation corresponding to said first step on said first sequence being an equipment operation;
validating result of said executed operation; and
selecting and executing next step from said steps of steps in said test case.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein said plurality of test cases is pre-configured with said host side database.
3. The method as in claim 1, wherein said checking whether said selected first step relates a host operation or an equipment operation further comprises identifying a tag associated with said selected first step.
4. The method as in claim 1, wherein said host side operation is communicated with an equipment handling device using a first channel.
5. The method as in claim 4, wherein said host side operation is communicated in said first channel in SECS-II message format.
6. The method as in claim 1, wherein said equipment command operation is communicated to an equipment handling device using a second channel.
7. The method as in claim 1, wherein said validating said result of the executed operation further comprises checking whether said result matches an expected result.
8. The method as in claim 7, wherein said expected result for an executed operation is preconfigured with said database.
9. A system for automating factory testing of semi conductor devices, said system provided with means configured for:
selecting a test case from a plurality of test cases configured with a database in a host device using a sequence controller in a host device;
selecting a first step from a sequence of steps associated with an operation in said test case using said sequence controller in said host device;
checking whether said selected first step relates a host operation or an equipment operation using said sequence controller in said host device;
executing said sequence on said host device on said sequence being a host operation using a host side simulator in said host device;
sending an equipment operation command to an equipment device on said sequence being an equipment operation using at least one of an equipment handler and an equipment client;
executing an operation corresponding to said first step on said first sequence being an equipment operation using an equipment handling device;
validating result of said executed operation using said host device; and
selecting and executing next step from said steps of steps in said test case using said sequence controller in said host device.

10. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to pre-configure said test cases with said host side database.
11. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to check whether said selected first step relates a host operation or an equipment operation by identifying a tag associated with said selected first step.
12. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to communicate said host side operation with an equipment handling device using a first channel.
13. The system as in claim 12 is further configured to communicate said host side operation in said first channel in SECS-II message format.
14. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to communicate said equipment command operation to an equipment handling device using a second channel.
15. The system as in claim 9 is further configured to validate said result of the executed operation by checking whether said result matches an expected result.
16. The system as in claim 15 is further configured to provide options for pre-configuring said expected result for an executed operation with said database.

Dated: 30th April, 2013 Signature
Nishant Kewalramani
Patent Agent

ABSTRACT

The embodiments herein relate to semiconductor testing and, more particularly, to a factory automation testing. Initially, sequence of steps associated with specific events/test cases are configured with a host device. Further, the equipment to be tested is connected to an equipment handling device which in turn is connected to the host device. When the equipment is to be tested, certain sequence of steps is sent from the host device to the equipment handling device using a HSMS protocol. The host device shall also sends equipment commands directly to the equipment thereby automating the entire factory automation testing. The equipment handler executes the steps to be tested on the equipment and corresponding status/output is fetched and sent to the host device. The host device validates the data received from the equipment side and logs result of the equipment testing as “success” if the fetched output matches an expected output.

FIG. 1