Semiconductor devices are manufactured by using substrate processing apparatuses that execute specific types of processing such as etching and film formation on semiconductor wafers (hereafter may be simply referred to as “wafers”). Such a substrate processing apparatus includes a processing chamber where wafers are processed, a transfer device that transfers the wafers and a control device that controls various devices disposed in the substrate processing apparatus and executes overall operational control for the substrate processing device, detectors that detect the states of the various devices, and the like.
As the substrate processing apparatus engages in operation, a plurality of types of history information, e.g., output information provided by the individual detectors, drive information indicating how individual units such as the transfer device are being driven, operation information indicating operations performed by the operator, error information, alarm information and program startup information, are recorded as logs constituted with character strings into log files (see, for instance, Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2003-297710). In the event of trouble (problem) in the substrate processing apparatus, the log files in which the substrate processing apparatus history information is saved are utilized in the investigation of the trouble cause (troubleshooting).
A log file is used for troubleshooting in the related art in the following manner. The operator copies the log file into a hard disk in a troubleshooting device constituted with, for instance, a computer, brings up the logs in the log file on display and clarifies the cause of the trouble based upon a specific log related to the particular trouble, obtained by sifting through the log file in reference to the date/time at which the trouble occurred, the type of trouble and the like. This means that the operator needs to have a fair amount of experience and know-how to be able to find the correct log.
Since a tremendous number of logs are created in the substrate processing apparatus, locating a log related to specific trouble among these logs is bound to be an extremely laborious and time-consuming process. Accordingly, substrate processing apparatuses that create log files each in correspondence to a specific log category have been proposed in recent years on the premise that depending upon the type of trouble, its cause can be clarified without utilizing certain categories of logs. Since only the logs in the log file related to the trouble need to be analyzed, the number of logs to undergo analysis is reduced to lessen the labor of the operator.
However, even when log files are provided each in correspondence to a specific log category, as described above, the work efficiency may still be compromised under the following circumstances. Namely, if a plurality of log files, each having recorded therein logs in time sequence, contain logs related to the trouble, the troubleshooting operation will have to be performed by, for instance, bringing up numerous logs in the individual log files simultaneously, comparing the logs on display and checking chronological relationships among the logs from the various log files. As substrate processing apparatuses have come to fulfill a greater number of functions, an ever increasing number of logs must be recorded in each log file. In short, even if log files are provided each in correspondence to a specific category of log, the time and the labor required for the analysis of the logs in the individual log files cannot be significantly reduced.
In addition, while a log related to the trouble can be searched in a log file with ease based upon a keyword constituted with a specific character string that the target log should contain, the operator working on the troubleshooting task needs to have considerable know-how and experience to be able to determine an effective keyword and search for the correct log successfully. In other words, there is a problem in that an operator lacking such know-how will find it difficult to search for a log related to the particular trouble.