Improving flexible semiconductor manufacturing system performance by a coloured Petri net-based scheduling algorithm

The paper describes an approach to scheduling in a flexible semiconductor manufacturing system. The application refers to the production of memories in a new module built in the SGS-Thomson plant in Catania (Italy). The approach uses Petri nets in which the concept of coloured marks has been introduced. Although the scheduling approach has been devised for a particular industrial application, it can be extended to other applications sharing similar features. The paper focuses on the scheduling approach and on the improvement of performance obtainable by its use.