Axiomatic development of a machine control system

Abstract

Axiomatic Design is presented as a scientific methodology in designing a complex machine control system. As an example, the CMP a machine control system is developed using the Axiomatic Design framework. The machine is a type of semiconductor processing equipment, which requires numerous actuators and sensors and the intelligent control of them to planarize thin layers of wafers. Signal processing modules, control algorithms, sequential process steps, graphical user interface, process recipe editor and the overall control system structure are all designed by the Axiomatic decomposition. Axiomatic Design is proved to be a very effective tool in control system development. It took less than six months to develop the system and the control system is fully functional without any major error or mistake. The resulting system is clear to understand, easy to maintain and upgrade, and flexible for further development and integration. Although the development has been specific to the CMP cc machine, the control system structure and the design methodologies presented in this thesis are universally applicable to the development of any type of machine control system.