The document discusses the GEM standard, which establishes a common interface that allows factory software to control, monitor, and collect data from manufacturing equipment. It provides an overview of GEM's features and benefits, how to properly implement the GEM interface on equipment, and best practices for both equipment suppliers and factories. Recent improvements to GEM are also outlined, as well as common pitfalls to avoid.

1. www.cimetrix.com
Getting the Most from
the GEM Standard
Brian L Rubow
Director of Solutions Engineering, Cimetrix
SEMI NA Information & Control Committee Co-Chair
SEMI NA GEM 300 Task Force Co-Leader

2.  Evan Tarr, Axcelis
 Jack Downey, Global Foundries
Special Thanks to Contributors

3.  GEM background and characteristics
 Recent improvements
 Common pitfalls
 Implementation tips
 Do’s and Don’ts for factories
 Future enhancements
Outline

4.  Factory software can control, monitor and collect
data from the GEM interface on manufacturing
equipment.
 GEM establishes a common implementation technology
so that you can implement Smart Manufacturing with
limited resources and reuse software
 Each equipment can be integrated uniquely to serve its
function.
 Take advantage of supplier’s unique features
GEM: an Industrial Standard
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5. 5
The GEM Standard is the Only
Feature Complete Alternative
Event
Notification
real-time notification
of equipment activities
Alarm
Notification
real-time notification
of equipment alarms
Data Variable
Collection
real-time
equipment data
Recipe
Management
download, upload,
delete, select
Remote
Control
start, stop, abort,
custom
Adjust
Settings
change equipment
settings
Operator
Interface
exchange messages
with operators

6.  Internationally proven technology used 24x7 in most of
the world’s most automated & sophisticated factories.
 Scalable to be implemented on simple as well as highly
complex equipment and devices.
 Many features are optional. So an equipment only implements
applicable features.
 Publish just a few or thousands of collection events, alarms,
status data
 Low to high frequency data polling
 Factory decides which features in a GEM interface are
actually used.
 Scales well from simple applications to highly complex
systems
Why is GEM a Key Technology for
Smart Manufacturing? 24x7

7.  Any equipment type can support GEM
 Publish the right status information for
polling your sensors and states
 Publish appropriate alarms, events and
data to track all significant activity
 Support any number of commands and
parameters for remote control &
configuration
 If applicable, implement recipe
management.
 Skip features that don’t apply.
 Express individuality & uniqueness!
You can Carefully Tailor the GEM
Interface to the Equipment
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8.  Not at all
 It is possible to comply with the GEM standard, without
providing much useful functionality.
 Implementations can be feature incomplete, outdated
and even unstable.
 It is up to the implementer to make the GEM
interface useful, and to ensure it meets the needs
of the end user.
 It is up to the end user to accept the equipment
and its GEM interface when it really is acceptable.
Are All GEM interfaces Created
Equal?

9.  Other technologies we still use extensively
 HTTP created in 1990
 TCP/IP created in 1983
 HTML created in 1990
 Ethernet was created in 1973
 3.5mm audio jack in the 1950s
 Don’t discount GEM because it is mature. It was very well
designed from the beginning.
 The GEM standard is continuously improved by volunteers at SEMI.
 Additional improvement plans were discussed just yesterday (July 8)
at the North America GEM 300 task force at SEMICON West.
 All 300 mm semiconductor factories require it on all production
equipment. Many other industries are catching on.
GEM was created over 20 years old,
yet it is still mainstream

10. Contrary to Myth, GEM Can Support Multiple
Connections on Separate Ports
Cimetrix Confidential 10
Host Software
Factory
Control
System (MES)
Equipment
Host Software
Big Data
Analytics
System
GEM Interface
Host Software
OEM Host
Software
Prior
Equipment
Next
Equipment
Primary
GEM Port
Additional
GEM Ports

11.  Faster trace data collection
 Higher resolution timestamps
 Additional self-discovery messages, with clarified
collection event and data collection association
 XML Schema for documentation
 XML Schema for logging
 Longer alarm text
Improvements since the Inception of
GEM

12.  Software development tools and processes are
much better than 15 years ago.
 C#, VB.NET, Javascript, Python
 GEM Software Products are much more advanced &
user friendly
GEM Technology is MUCH Easier to
Implement & Use than Ever

13.  Not upgrading your software
 If your GEM interface was implemented 15 or more years
ago, it is outdated and needs attention!
 Customizing the GEM interface for each factory
 You are working too hard and it is expensive.
 Make your GEM interface the same for all customers that
purchase the same equipment type. Make your GEM
interface good enough for all of your clients, one at a
time
 Features are publish/subscribe. So an equipment supplier
can implement ONE GEM interface for all end users.
Common Pitfalls: the Equipment

14.  Never redesigning the software once it works.
 If you designed it for yesterday’s requirements, it won’t meet today’s
requirements.
 Factories want more data, faster data, more control, more
notifications to empower Industry 4.0
 Getting the right GEM documentation for an equipment is
very difficult to obtain
 And is often wrong.
 Shipping with too many defects
 Test your GEM interface!!!
 For a mature technology, factories experience more defects than is
expected. This is largely due to poor software development practices
and poor quality control.
 Overcharging
Common Pitfalls: the Equipment

15. Breakdown of GEM Defects

16.  Tell the equipment supplier your current and future
plans with the GEM interface
 A little communication goes a long way
 Don’t ask for equipment suppliers to violate the
GEM standard.
 GEM with HSMS has been standardized since 1995.
 If your factory GEM software still requires equipment to
violate the GEM standard, please fix your software.
 There is no excuse for this.
Common Pitfalls: the Factory

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18.  Don’t publish massive, complex structures. Publish
data in multiple simple structures.
 Massive complex structures cannot be changed once
published and inhibit publishing additional data later.
 Let the GEM host client design which elements it wants
rather than being forced to collect the entire structure.
 For example, instead of publishing one structure to
report the temperature and height at multiple sites,
publish
 Site temperatures with one variable, heights with another
Implementation Tip: Structured Data

19.  Many equipment suppliers add the GEM interface at
the end the project. Don’t.
 GEM is an intrusive interface.
Adding it late in the project can
disrupt equipment operation.
 Implement GEM early, not late in equipment
development.
 Allow GEM concepts to dictate clean equipment operation
Implementation Tip: Develop Early

20.  If you can’t use it to do every day control and data
collection, your end users won’t be able to either.
 Run the GEM interface all the time, use the GEM
interface to control the equipment remotely even in
your test lab.
 You have to allow data collection through the GEM
interface anyway, use it to your advantage
 Don’t replicate GEM with clumsy data collection strategies (like
CSV files).
 Use the GEM interface to collect vital data on equipment
operation and improve equipment operation
Implementation Tip: Eat Your Own
Dog Food

21.  Don’t publish too many alarms. Organize them into
a manageable setup
 Use the full 120 byte alarm text to report
meaningful alarm information
 Bad: “Equipment is Down”
 Better: “Equipment initialization failed: unable to home
the X-axis.”
 Best: “Equipment initialization failed: unable to home the
X-axis due to error code 0x0012”
 When it is not really an alarm (dangerous), publish
it as a GEM event
Implementation Tip: Smart Alarms

22.  Keep your GEM documentation well organized
 Ship the documentation on the equipment’s
computer
 Keep your GEM documentation up to date.
 Adopt SEDD* documentation (SEMI E172)!
 It is a standardized XML file to document your GEM
interface.
 Factories can write software to configure their software!
Implementation Tip: Documentation
* SECS Equipment Data Dictionary

23.  Adopt standardized SMN* logging for GEM interface
communication.
 Follow a standardized XML schema! (SEMI E173)
 Far more powerful than SML
 Allows for extensive logging decoration
 Simplifies diagnostics
Implementation Tip: Logging
* SECS Message Notation

24.  Implement recipe management consistently
 Include full recipe documentation
 Allow recipe creation, editing and verification off-line.
 Make sure recipes can be copied
from one equipment to another
(of the same model)
Implementation Tip: Sound Recipes

25.  Test the interface for compliance
 Test the GEM interface under normal production
stressed conditions
 And fix it!
Implementation Tip: Test It!

27.  Stick to the GEM Standards
 Factories that use the standards as a strict set of rules,
have significantly fewer issues, faster equipment
integration and happier suppliers. Plus they save money.
 In factory specifications, refer to the GEM standard.
 This creates familiar context for better understanding
 Define equipment tests based on the standards
 Share it with your equipment supplier
 Get involved at SEMI to guide the right features
into future versions of GEM
GEM Tips for Factories: Do…

28.  Violate the GEM Standard
 And don’t ask equipment suppliers to meet “special”
requirements that violate the GEM standard.
 For example, custom message schema
 Reconfigure the Standards
 For example, there are too many E84 variations. If E84
needs improving, get involved in SEMI to change it!
 Jump on new Standards too Quickly
 Allow a reasonable amount of time for adoption
 Expect data variables to be useful out of context
GEM Tips for Factories: Don’t…

29.  Form a lean dedicated ACM (Automation
Capabilities Management) Program
 Align with equipment suppliers & other teams
 Mitigate violations & coordinate resolutions
 Minimize cost associated with managing and needlessly
purchasing violations
GEM Tips for Factories: Equipment
Acceptance
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30.  Access to the documentation through the GEM
interface.
 Improved equipment identification
 Standardized port numbers
 Standardized device ID numbers
 Larger recipe sizes &
recipe version
Proposed Improvements for GEM
now in the Works
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31. Thank you!