Optimal scheduling techniques for cluster tools with process-module and transport-module residency constraints

This paper discusses two scheduling techniques for dual-arm cluster tools that address both process module and transport-module residency constraints and throughput requirements. The first technique is an extension of our previous work (2000) that only addressed process-module residency constraints. For cases with long process times, this technique can take a long time to find the solution and is not practical. Hence, we use this algorithm mainly as a benchmark for comparison. The second technique that uses a linear programming method with several heuristics can find the optimal solution very efficiently. An analytical and experimental analysis of this technique shows the correctness, completeness and efficiency of this technique.