From automation and electromobility to communications and AI, many high-growth technologies owe their performance to high-tech chips from the semiconductor industry. Future demand will significantly exceed manufacturers’ production capacities. To close the gap, existing semiconductor plants must undergo further automation and new, highly efficient fabs must be built worldwide. A key technology in this area is EtherCAT, the Industrial Ethernet technology from Beckhoff Automation.
How you benefit from EtherCAT and automation solutions from Beckhoff:
- fast, efficient, flexible: EtherCAT offers impressive performance
- EtherCAT as a global standard: established around the world and SEMITM standard
- invented by Beckhoff in 2003: for real-time requirements in automation technology
- comprehensive: complete portfolio that meets requirements for semiconductor production
- safety included: with TwinSAFE from Beckhoff
- customized solutions: with Beckhoff as a technology partner for the customization or development of tailor-made EtherCAT products
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Efficient semiconductor production: Integrated automation with solutions from Beckhoff
Our technologies for your semiconductor machines
Central control concept for the semiconductor industry
PC-based control from Beckhoff is a central control concept for all automation tasks in the semiconductor industry, from wafer processing in your fabs to chip packaging in the backend. As an integrated control platform, PC-based control is particularly impressive due to its high level of modularity and the versatility it offers.
On the hardware side, PC-based control uses freely scalable industrial PCs for all control tasks. This includes process control, HMI integration, and motion control as well as all tasks in the areas of robotics, safety and measurement technology or vision and IoT integration. In combination with the modular and real-time-capable TwinCAT software platform and ultra-fast communication via EtherCAT, PC-based control provides an automation solution for your fabs that is both powerful and future-proof.
Your advantages with PC-based control:
- open architecture for maximum design freedom and customized solutions
- powerful real-time environment for automating any control task
- simple scalability with free choice and integration of powerful industrial PCs
Fast, open, established worldwide
When Beckhoff launched the Ethernet technology EtherCAT in 2003, it set new standards in terms of speed and synchronization precision. This is still true today: EtherCAT is by far the fastest Industrial Ethernet technology and is unchallenged in the market. The synchronization precision is in the range of nanoseconds.
The functional principle is as follows: EtherCAT field devices process the Ethernet frames on the fly. Each device takes the required data and adds more data to the frame as it is forwarded. No switches or hubs are required. Users also benefit from maximum freedom in the choice of topology during implementation.
By founding the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG), Beckhoff has made this an open technology as a communication standard for real-time requirements in automation technology. Leading users from the semiconductor industry were among the co-founders of the ETG in 2003.
How you benefit from EtherCAT:
- ultra-fast and reliable communication standard
- permanent compatibility with no version discontinuities despite ongoing development
- innovations for particularly demanding applications:
- EtherCAT P enables communication and supply voltage in a single line
- EtherCAT G with transfer rates of 1 GBit/s and 10 GBit/s
Flexible, modular, with real-time capability
TwinCAT 3 is the software platform for PC-based control technology from Beckhoff. This allows you to transform industrial PCs into efficient real-time control systems for all the engineering and runtime processes you need for automated production in the semiconductor industry. In other words, TwinCAT enables you to implement complete control intelligence in one platform. The automation software is modular by design and can be expanded with countless functions. This is the key to flexible and high-performance automation solutions. As a central platform solution, TwinCAT sets market-wide standards in terms of speed, synchronization, ease of operation, and scalability.
How you benefit from TwinCAT:
- central software platform for all application-specific engineering and control tasks in the semiconductor industry
- modular design and individually scalable for specific applications
- includes comprehensive software libraries, such as those for analytics tasks in the field of measurement technology, or for motion control and robot kinematics
- potential integration of third-party software for implementing SECS/GEM in TwinCAT
Tailor-made safety solutions for EtherCAT systems
TwinSAFE from Beckhoff overcomes the historical division between “safety” and “non-safety” in control technology – with a high level of flexibility and scalability in implementation. With TwinSAFE, you can integrate all the necessary safety functions into any control architecture, with individual dimensions and implementation. The result is a complete safety package that meets your exact requirements. The key to this is the internationally certified Safety over EtherCAT communication protocol.
With Safety over EtherCAT, safety functions no longer have to be activated via the machine controller. Instead, they are executed automatically as a safety application via the connected TwinSAFE Logic-capable components. Beckhoff offers a range of components for this purpose that is unparalleled in scope. It includes I/O modules in all shapes and designs, all drive systems, and a vast range of tools for engineering.
How you can benefit from TwinSAFE:
- comprehensive software support for implementing customized safety applications
- open and flexible with Safety over EtherCAT
- TwinSAFE Logic-capable components for all application areas
Our product highlights for your semiconductor machines
Plug and work – with I/O plug-in modules from Beckhoff
With I/O expertise from Beckhoff, you can automate systems for series production even more efficiently. This is ensured by our EtherCAT plug-in modules from the EJ series. The compact, high-volume I/O modules replace complex and application-specific I/O boards. The EtherCAT modules in the EJ series are designed to be plugged directly onto circuit boards. These distribute signals and electrical voltage to individual, application-specific connectors. Plugging in is quick, saves money, and eliminates the risk of incorrect wiring.
Good to know: Just like the classic EtherCAT Terminals from Beckhoff, the EtherCAT plug-in modules impress with a wide range of signals and fully integrated functional safety and drive technology. The EJ modules also have an extremely compact design. Compared to EtherCAT Terminals, their volume is reduced by almost 50 percent.
How you benefit from EtherCAT plug-in modules:
- simple plug-in method: ideal for large-scale production
- no more single-wire assembly
- this reduces costs and sources of error
- compact design reduces the machine footprint
- safety and non-safety I/Os combined in the smallest installation space
Flexible, floating, low-maintenance
XPlanar, the eXtended planar motor system from Beckhoff, is revolutionizing handling processes in the semiconductor industry. With XPlanar, your production parts can be transported within a tool as well as from machine to machine in a free-floating solution: It is dynamic and jerk-free while offering maximum accuracy and unprecedented freedom of movement.
The functional principle is as follows: XPlanar consists of flat, stationary coils, the XPlanar tiles, and moving permanent magnets. The latter serve as object carriers and are called movers. The movers float in a non-contact way over the individually arranged tiles and transport your products to the next station. The movers move independently of one another: Products may overtake each other and be discharged or buffered without affecting the production flow. What’s more, XPlanar requires no mechanical components at all: There are no guide rails, rollers, or lubrication systems. This reduces the time and costs required for maintenance and cleaning to a minimum.
How you benefit from XPlanar:
- free-floating movers for jerk-free part transport at up to 2 m/s
- planar tiles for the implementation of any geometry
- flexible part transport with no rigid station sequences
I/O-integrated, efficient, and space-saving
Production plants in the semiconductor industry are usually equipped with many servo motors and stepper motors. These are normally controlled using special drive controllers. Each one increases the complexity of your plant and takes up space. This is why Beckhoff is taking a different approach with its compact drive technology and integrating the control function directly into the modular I/O systems.
The range of solutions covers all the requirements of the semiconductor industry. It starts with servo motor and stepper motor solutions for a voltage range of up to 48 V DC. In this segment, the EJ72xx EtherCAT plug-in modules, EL72xx servo terminals, or EP72xx Box modules in combination with the AM8100 motor series form extremely compact and highly dynamic servo axes for applications with maximum positioning accuracy. In addition, there are drive solutions with I/O-integrated control, such as those for operating adjustment axes with and without feedback or for drives with servo drives that are placed directly on the machine. The Beckhoff AMI8100 and ASI8100 series are examples of this.
How you benefit from I/O-integrated drive technology:
- reduced plant complexity, less space required
- drive solutions with integrated control for high protection classes (IP20, IP67)
- complete range of I/O-integrated drive solutions for the semiconductor industry
EtherCAT measurement modules for all requirements
The Beckhoff range meets all of the measurement requirements in the semiconductor industry: from a one-second cycle to the kHz range, from measurement of voltage and current to vibrations and the measurement of forces. IP20 components read the sensor data from the control cabinet. The high-end measurement modules from the ELM device series are integrated into the EtherCAT I/O system and are also reliable when it comes to recording process-critical measurement channels.
In TwinCAT, Beckhoff offers powerful software tools and libraries for the interpretation and evaluation of measurement data. One of the highlights of the TwinCAT measurement applications is TwinCAT Scope, a software oscilloscope that provides an accurate graphical display of measuring signals in the single-digit µs range. TwinCAT Analytics also provides valuable new insights: This data analysis tool is optimized for the requirements of engineering and plant automation.
How you benefit from Beckhoff Measurement Technology:
- save operation and diagnostic data in a database or in the cloud
- reliable data analysis and improved diagnostics
- increased system availability, longer service life
- lower maintenance and system costs
Machine vision – seamlessly integrated
With Beckhoff Vision, you can integrate real-time image processing for your wafer production into both new and existing control environments. It is fast, simple, and offers the highest quality, because Beckhoff Vision provides optimal synchronization of real-time image processing and all machine and system processes. The strength of our concept lies in the use of consistent system integration to overcome the historical division between vision and automation technology. At the same time, our vision components all impress with their robust, attractive design as well as high scalability and long-term availability, from the cameras to the optics and lighting units to the Beckhoff TwinCAT Vision software.
How you benefit from EtherCAT-integrated vision:
- direct synchronization and linking with control processes
- simplified and synchronized trigger generation for image capture and exposure
- shortened response times, higher cycle rates, and accelerated processing
- reduced hardware, wiring, waiting time, installation space, and footprint
- simplified diagnostics
At a glance: how you benefit from EtherCAT-based control technology
Fundamentally open and compatible
EtherCAT is an Industrial Ethernet technology developed by Beckhoff in 2003 that is now considered the global standard in the semiconductor industry. There are three reasons for this: EtherCAT is ultra-fast, optimized for real-time communication, and a technology standard that we have made open and available to everyone.
Thousands of manufacturers from various industries – including numerous players from the semiconductor industry – are involved in the maintenance and further development of this standard as part of the EtherCAT Technology Group, which was founded in 2003. This ensures transparency and tailor-made solutions. EtherCAT was declared a SEMITM standard in 2007. The next milestone was the establishment of a separate Semiconductor Technical Working Group (TWG) within the ETG in 2011. This ensures that the industry always receives up-to-date EtherCAT solutions that are optimized for its requirements.
As the inventor, Beckhoff is by far the largest and most experienced provider of EtherCAT-based control and automation solutions. Both third-party EtherCAT devices and systems that work with other protocols can be integrated into these solutions. This applies without restriction and guarantees maximum design freedom.
Modular solution platform for the semiconductor industry
The origins of the EtherCAT product range lie in the real-time processing of I/O signals. Today, Beckhoff offers a product range that is unparalleled in scope. It covers all of the requirements of the semiconductor industry. The range includes fieldbus-independent I/O modules in all performance and protection classes as well as EtherCAT master terminals and box modules.
However, conventional analog and digital I/O applications form only the foundation of the Beckhoff EtherCAT environment. An entire world of modular automation solutions has been created that builds on this, covering all the functionalities of modern control environments. EtherCAT-based communication modules are also available, for example for power measurements, for evaluating various encoder interfaces, or for controlling a wide range of motors and drive systems. In short, through the combination of standard signals with special functionalities, Beckhoff has the right solution for every automation task.
Hardware and software with safety included
Effective safety solutions for hardware and software are a must in the semiconductor industry. They can be implemented in an automated and efficient way exclusively with Beckhoff. This is ensured by our TwinSAFE technology in conjunction with the international Safety over EtherCAT standard, which enables real-time transmission of safety-relevant data via the installed EtherCAT network.
The advantage of this is that there is no need to set up a separate safety network. Instead, all safety functions and applications are executed directly via the connected TwinSAFE Logic-capable components and modules. The range of Beckhoff solutions is vast and includes analog and digital I/O components as well as solutions for all other functionalities required in the semiconductor industry, such as modules for drive systems and measurement technology