Coordinate system converter

Abstract

A coordinate system converter efficiently converts coordinates of one coordinate system to a different coordinate system. A base system library module provides a common platform where different algorithms based on different coordinate systems can “shake hands” or be integrated into an overall conversion process in a manner that is transparent to each other. The number of supported coordinate systems can be dynamically extended without changing software to support different tools.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for converting a first coordinate system to a second coordinate system, the method comprising:
 receiving coordinates associated with a first coordinate system;   identifying a process to be performed, wherein the identified process is performed using coordinates associated with a second coordinate system;   identifying a most efficient converter from a plurality of converters for converting the received coordinates to the second coordinate system;   accessing conversion information associated with the identified converter to convert the coordinates associated with the first coordinate system to the second coordinate system, wherein the conversion information comprises data for algorithmically converting coordinates associated with the first coordinate system to coordinates associated with a plurality of coordinate systems; and   executing the identified converter using the accessed conversion information to convert the received coordinates to the second coordinate system.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the most efficient converter comprises identifying the most efficient converter from the plurality of converters based on at least one of: availability of conversion information associated with the converter, an amount of memory allocation necessary to execute the converter, a number of process steps required to execute the converter, and an amount of time required to execute the converter. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the process is associated with a semiconductor wafer processing application. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the process is associated with one of a mask house process, a design process, a metrology process, a lithography process and a chemical mechanical polishing process. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the received coordinates and the converted coordinates identify locations on a semiconductor wafer where the process is performed. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 performing the process using the converted coordinates.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the process comprises identifying the process to be performed using the received coordinates. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the received coordinates are completely converted to the second coordinate system. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the received coordinates are partially converted to the second coordinate system. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first coordinate system is one of a field base coordinate system, a polar coordinate system, a Cartesian coordinate system and a user-defined coordinate system, and wherein the second coordinate system is the other of a field base coordinate system, a polar coordinate system, a Cartesian coordinate system and a user-defined coordinate system. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identified process can not be performed using the received coordinates 
     
     
         12 . A server configured to perform the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         13 . A coordinate system converter for converting a first coordinate system to a second coordinate system, the coordinate system converter comprising:
 a base system library configured to store process data and conversion algorithms for converting the first coordinate system to a plurality of coordinate systems,   wherein the coordinate system converter is configured to:
 receive coordinates associated with the first coordinate system; 
 identify a process to be performed by accessing the process data from the base system library, wherein the identified process is performed using coordinates associated with a second coordinate system; 
 identify a most efficient converter from a plurality of converters for converting the received coordinates to the second coordinate system; 
 access at least one conversion algorithm associated with the identified converter from the base system library to convert the coordinates associated with the first coordinate system to the second coordinate system; and 
 execute the identified converter using the at least one conversion algorithm to convert the received coordinates to the second coordinate system. 
   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the coordinate system converter identifies the most efficient converter from the plurality of converters based on at least one of: availability of conversion information associated with the converter for converting the received coordinates to the second coordinate system, an amount of memory allocation necessary to execute the converter, a number of process steps required to execute the converter, and an amount of time required to execute the converter. 
     
     
         15 . The coordinate system converter of  claim 13 , wherein the conversion algorithms comprise descriptions of the plurality of coordinate systems. 
     
     
         16 . The coordinate system converter of  claim 13 , wherein the conversion algorithms comprise converter descriptions for describing processes for converting coordinates of the first coordinate system to coordinates corresponding to the plurality of coordinate systems. 
     
     
         17 . The coordinate system converter of  claim 13 , wherein the process is associated with a semiconductor wafer processing application. 
     
     
         18 . The coordinate system converter of  claim 17 , wherein the process is associated with one of a mask house process, a design process, a metrology process, a lithography process and a chemical mechanical polishing process. 
     
     
         19 . The coordinate system converter of  claim 17 , wherein the received coordinates and the converted coordinates identify locations on a semiconductor wafer where the process is performed. 
     
     
         20 . The coordinate system converter of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a self learning engine configured to establish conversion rules based on relationships between the plurality of coordinate systems and the conversion algorithms, wherein the conversion rules are stored in the base system library.   
     
     
         21 . The coordinate system converter of  claim 20 , wherein the self learning engine is further configured to optimize conversion of data based on cheapest cost information, the cost information describing time and resources required to convert data from one coordinate system into another coordinate system. 
     
     
         22 . The coordinate system converter of  claim 13 , wherein the process to be performed is identified using the received coordinates. 
     
     
         23 . The coordinate system converter of  claim 13 , wherein the received coordinates are completely converted to the coordinates associated with the second coordinate system. 
     
     
         24 . The coordinate system converter of  claim 13 , wherein the received coordinates are partially converted to the coordinates associated with the second coordinate system. 
     
     
         25 . A computer program product having a computer readable medium storing a set of code modules which when executed by a processor of a computer system cause the processor to convert a first coordinate system to a second coordinate system, the computer program product comprising:
 code for receiving coordinates associated with a first coordinate system;   code for identifying a process to be performed, wherein the identified process is performed using coordinates associated with a second coordinate system; code for identifying a most efficient converter from a plurality of converters for converting the received coordinates to the second coordinate system;   code for accessing conversion information associated with the identified converter to convert the coordinates associated with the first coordinate system to the second coordinate system, wherein the conversion information comprises data for algorithmically converting coordinates associated with the first coordinate system to coordinates associated with a plurality of coordinate systems; and   code for executing the identified converter using the accessed conversion information to convert the received coordinates to the second coordinate system.   
     
     
         26 . The computer program product of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 code for performing the process using the converted coordinates.