The Simplex architecture for safe online control system upgrades

Author

Seto, D. ; Krogh, B. ; Sha, L. ; Chutinan, A.

Author_Institution

Software Eng. Inst., Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Volume

6

fYear

1998

fDate

21-26 Jun 1998

Firstpage

3504

Abstract

We describe the Simplex architecture, a real-time software technology which supports the safe, reliable introduction of control system upgrades while the system is running. We introduce its basic structure in control systems, discuss its fault-tolerance feature, and investigate the control issues when the technology is employed. Application of the Simplex architecture is demonstrated for a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system, a standard process in semiconductor manufacturing. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the potential impact that the Simplex architecture can make on future control applications

Keywords

control engineering computing; fault tolerant computing; plasma CVD; process control; real-time systems; software packages; Simplex architecture; fault-tolerance feature; plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition; real-time software technology; safe online control system upgrades; semiconductor manufacturing; Application software; Chemical technology; Computer architecture; Control systems; Fault tolerant systems; Plasma applications; Plasma chemistry; Plasma materials processing; Real time systems; Software safety;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

American Control Conference, 1998. Proceedings of the 1998

Conference_Location

Philadelphia, PA

ISSN

0743-1619

Print_ISBN

0-7803-4530-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ACC.1998.703255

Filename

703255