project plan for diffusion furnace...

Diffusion Furnace Controller, SD14, Dr. Gary Tuttle

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Project Plan for

Diffusion Furnace Controller

Distribution: Team Leader: James Crow Web Master: Hongyu Chen Software Architect: Victor Villagomez Project Specialist: Prakalp Sudhakar Chief Analyst: Joe Grady


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Contents

1. Overview .............................................................................................................. 3 2. Project Goals ....................................................................................................... 3 3. System Requirements ........................................................................................ 3

3.1 Problem and Need Statements........................................................................... 3 3.2 Conceptual System Description......................................................................... 3

3.21 Concept Sketch ................................................................................................... 4 3.22 System Block Diagram ........................................................................................ 4 3.23 Use-case Scenarios ............................................................................................ 5

3.3 Functional Requirements.................................................................................... 6 3.4 Non-functional Requirements ............................................................................ 6 3.5 Operating Environments & Constraints ............................................................ 6 3.6 Security, Intellectual Property & Technology Considerations ....................... 6 3.7 Markets and Literature ........................................................................................ 7

4. Project Management ........................................................................................... 7 4.1 Work Breakdown Structure & Statement of Work ............................................ 7 4.2 Schedule and Milestones.................................................................................... 8 4.3 Budget ................................................................................................................ 10 4.4 Potential Risks and Mitigation Strategies ....................................................... 10

5. Conclusion......................................................................................................... 11 5.1 End Product Description & Deliverables......................................................... 11 5.2 References ......................................................................................................... 11 5.3 Project Team Contact Information ................................................................... 11

6. Revision ............................................................................................................. 12


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1. Overview The objective of this senior design project is to design a new set of temperature controllers to use on a set of diffusion furnaces located at the Microelectronics Research Center.

2. Project Goals The project goals include:

• Temperature calibration of the furnaces • Implementing of new temperature controllers into the current furnace system • Providing a computer interface so that the temperature of the furnaces can be controlled

and monitored remotely. • Providing extended remote control of the valves that control the gases released in the

furnace, if time and funds permit.

3. System Requirements

3.1 Problem and Need Statements The current temperature controller is an out-dated analog controller that doesn’t have any communication capabilities, and the temperature accuracy is also insufficient for the precise needs of the processes involved in microelectronic fabrication. We need a controller that is accurate to within +/- 1° Celsius; it also needs to be programmable and have communication abilities. We need this controller to be able to control three separate zones within each oven chamber, thus it must have at least 3 thermocouple inputs, and it needs to be able to communicate with a dedicated computer, which in turn is connected to a dedicated server.

3.2 Conceptual System Description The temperature controller will have three thermocouple inputs, one for each zone within the oven chamber, and three outputs controlling the heating elements in each zone. It will also have an RS-232 serial port to receive packets from the dedicated computer. The dedicated computer will be connected to a network which will allow the user’s wireless access. A separate process controller will be used to control the gases used in microelectronic’s fabrication. This controller will be connected to the temperature controller in a daisy chain configuration that will allow it to receive packets from the dedicated computer as well. These two controllers will allow the user to control both the temperature and gas flow for each zone within the oven chamber.


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3.21 Concept Sketch

3.22 System Block Diagram The following is the software program block diagram that will illustrate how we intend to implement the system.


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3.23 Use-case Scenarios The following is a diagram of what the user interface page will look like. This will illustrate how the user can implement the software.


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3.3 Functional Requirements • Controller must have a temperature tolerance within +/- 1 degree Celsius • Controller must be digital and programmable (∆T/ ∆t) • Controller must have communication capability • Controller must be able to sample and store information for every cycle • Controller must be able to control temperatures independently of each section • Software must be able to monitor and control the parameters of the temperature

controller • Software must be able to support simultaneous use by multiple students • Software must be able to display graphs of the process and of chemical flow • Software needs to allow access online via web browser • Graphical interface of the software must be user-friendly • Error checking and deviation detection is required

3.4 Non-functional Requirements • The new controllers need to be placed where the old ones were so they need to be

able to fit within the space of the old controllers • Connectors must be compatible with the new controller • Documentation must be concise, so that future users can update software as needed

3.5 Operating Environments & Constraints The controllers will be used in an environmentally controlled lab, and thus will not have any environmental issues.

3.6 Security, Intellectual Property & Technology Considerations

Security

Security is of a high concern for the project because of the proposed software's remote control feature. If a malicious third party could gain access to the software via the network then we could face the possibility of equipment sabotage. Therefore, we have planned different mitigation strategies that need to be further refined during the design stage. These mitigation strategies are listed below:

• Only the administrator has the capability to shut down a process remotely • Only students with valid Iowa State credentials will be able to access the software

remotely • Passwords stored on the server side will be encrypted • Software will have proper range and error detection algorithms in place so that user

is unable to break down equipment by inputting wrong values

Intellectual Property

We acknowledge that Maintenance is usually the longest stage in any system implementation. Moreover, our system is going to be used by ISU students taking classes at the MRC for at least another five years. Therefore, we surrender all the intellect rights of any technology we develop, be it on the software side or the hardware interfacing side, to our faculty advisor Dr. Gary Tuttle and the MRC. This is done with the intent that


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maintenance or fixing of any issue which surfaces after the project is finished can be done or dealt with appropriately. Source code for the software developed will be provided along with design documents and diagrams.

Technology Considerations

The following technologies are being considered for system implementation

• JavaScript: Is a programming language implemented as part of a web browser that

provides enhanced user interfaces and dynamic websites. This is because we want our software to be able to run from a web browser this is an ideal candidate.

• RSS Feed: Is a technology that allows updating of data via web using a standardized format. An RSS Feed could be connected to the communications module in the software to allow RSS Feed readers to read the current parameters of a given controller.

• C Language: The communications module in the software needs to be fast and reliable. Furthermore, it needs to talk to the hardware at a device level using ASCII string packages. The C language will be our programming language of choice in order to achieve this

3.7 Markets and Literature The project is unique because not only is the current setup failing, but the new system that is going to be implemented will offer greater improvements to the control aspect of the laboratory. No longer will E E 432 students need to wait for the furnaces to heat up when they can simply control that through a web server before even arriving to the lab. Also the instructor, Dr. Tuttle, will be able to have administrative power over the server so that he can do anything at any time.

The market currently shows Omega Engineering Inc. as one of the top producers of temperature controllers for this project’s area. Other nice alternative options include companies such as Instron.

4. Project Management

4.1 Work Breakdown Structure & Statement of Work

The work is going to be divided in three blocks: Server, Software, and Hardware.

On the server side we need to set up a server able to host our Web browser application and design the web application itself. On the software side we need to figure out how to talk to the controller using the proper protocols. This is what we called the communications module. Building the GUI can be done in parallel while working on the communications module. On the hardware side we need to install the controllers and interface them properly with the furnaces. We also need to connect them using a Daisy-Chain configuration that in turns goes to the computer through the serial port. Finally we need to perform testing for the three different blocks of work.


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4.2 Schedule and Milestones

The Gantt chart below reflects our schedule for the first semester


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The Gantt chart below reflects our schedule for the second semester

Milestones Description Milestone Criteria Planned Date M0 Start Project Meet with Faculty Advisor 2011-1-27

Define meeting schedules and Project Roles

Sit down and discuss the requirements and scope of the project

M1 Start Planning Two Deliverables 2011-3-1 Think about budget, plan

document and plan presentation

First one is the presentation and second one is the Plan Document

M2 Start Designing Two Deliverables 2011-4-25 Think about hardware

interface, software modules, and server set up.

Design Presentation and Design Document

M3 Start Implementation Order controller 2011-4-5 Start writing the GUI code and

setting up a server Order one controller to be used as a prototype

M4 Prove Design Feasibility Successful test 2011-4-25 Test elemental part of the

design: Communicating to the controller and interfacing it to the furnace

Being able to communicate to the controller via software and interface it to the furnace

M5 Finish implementation Control Furnace remotely 2011-9-30 Start iterative process of

implementation and testing At the end of it we should be able to control the furnace remotely through Internet via software

M6 Ensure functionality Successful test 2011-11-4

Final rounds of testing All errors have been fixed


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Milestones Description Milestone Criteria Planned Date M7 Finish Project One Deliverable 2011-12-2

Make final arrangements User Manual

4.3 Budget

Parts and Materials: a) Suitable controller(s) b) Miscellaneous parts c) Poster

Without Labor $1,250.00 $50.00 $50.00

With Labor $1,250.00 $50.00 $50.00

Services: a)Website Upkeep (for 1 year)

$60.00

$60.00

Labor ($12.50 per hour): a)Crow, James b)Villagomez, Victor c)Sudhakar, Prakalp d)Grady, Joe e)Chen, Hongyu

$1125.00 $1125.00 $1125.00 $1125.00 $1125.00

*Assumption note - $12.50 per hour wage, ISU charges $5 per month to host

4.4 Potential Risks and Mitigation Strategies Risks

In general, not many risks are associated with this project; however, some risks still exist due to the current nature of the setup. Possible factors to consider are power outages, bad process wafers, security of the server, and bugs in the software.

• Power outage – a loss in power is experienced while the client is operating the

furnaces • Bad Process Wafers – due to inherent probability of silicon wafers going bad. • Security – unauthorized access of the control server • Software bugs – fallacies within the interfacing

Mitigation strategies

For the above risks, a few strategies have been developed to best combat and prevent potential problems in the system. For a sudden loss in power, the programs will be made so that the furnace controller gets reset upon such an event. This happens so that everything can recover and just be ready to start again. Security is an issue in every system and one way to combat hacking is to require the client to enter a username and password before accessing the controller. Error checking within the client software will


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be critical to ensure that nothing goes wrong during the fabrication process. Unfortunately there is nothing the group can do about ensuring the process dies are error free, but if a desired die does not work well, then the system administrator (Dr. Tuttle) can override a control process at any time.

5. Conclusion

5.1 End Product Description & Deliverables Our finished project will include:

• Set of new temperature controllers into the current furnace system • Working computer interface so that temperature of the furnaces can be

controlled and monitored remotely. • Extended remote control of the valves that control the gases released in the

furnace, if time and funds permit.

5.2 References MRC: Microelectronics Research Center

Applied Sciences Complex I 1925 Scholl Road Ames, IA 50011

User Manuals

• Manual for current analog microcontrollers • Manual for future digital microcontrollers

Manufacturers Websites to purchase new digital microcontrollers

• Omega.com • InstruMart.com

5.3 Project Team Contact Information

Client/Faculty Advisor: Dr. Gary Tuttle Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Microelectronics Research Center 247 ASC I Ames, IA 50011-3025 303 Durham Ames, IA 50011-2252 Ph: 515-294-1814 Fax: 515-294-9584 e-mail: [email protected] Team Leader: Jim Crow Senior, Electrical Engineering


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3125 Frederiksen Ct Ames, IA 50010 Ph: 319-521-8552 e-mail: [email protected] Webmaster: Hongyu Chen Junior, Software Engineering 3437 Frederiksen Ct Ames, IA 50010 Ph: 515-441-9396 e-mail: [email protected] Software Architect: Victor Villagomez Senior, Computer Engineering 841 Dickinson Ave Unit 5 Ames, IA 50014-8133 Ph: 319-929-0674 e-mail: [email protected] Project Specialist: Prakalp Sudhakar Senior, Electrical Engineering 1577 Helser Mortensen Ames, IA 50012 Ph: 813-841-6603 e-mail: [email protected] Chief Analyst: Joe Grady Senior, Electrical Engineering 4327 Frederiksen Ct Ames, IA 50010 Ph: 402-431-9023 e-mail: [email protected]

6. Revision Rev. ind.

Page (P) Chapt. (C)

Description Date Dept./Init.

1 12p---6c original version 2/27/2011

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