RELEASE HISTORY FOR ALPS

 

Quick Access Links

 

ALPS EL, LT and NT	ALPS PC
Release 2.40	Release 1.30
Release 2.30	Release 1.24
Release 2.20	Release 1.23
Release 2.10	Release 1.22
Release 2.00	Release 1.21
Release 1.13	Release 1.20
Release 1.12	Release 1.18
Release 1.11	Release 1.17
	Release 1.16
	Release 1.15
	Release 1.14
	Release 1.13
	Release 1.12
	Release 1.11
	Release 1.10
	Release 1.01
	Release 1.00
	Release 0.72
	Release 0.71
	Release 0.70
	Release 0.64

 

ALPS EL, LT and NT

ALPS LT, NT Release 2.40

General

·         It is no longer required to log on as a Windows NT Administrator

·         It is no longer required to use the same (Windows NT) user name everywhere

o        This solves the problem of the two sort icons

·         For almost all paths (file-sharing), the user can specify a Windows NT user.

·         Any table can be navigated (moving from one column to another) by using the TAB key as well, in the previous version it had to be the arrow key.

·         The screen navigation has improved. When navigating between the three groups, ALPS no longer navigates back to the default (first screen) screen. Instead, it navigates to the last one shown of that group.

Import Screen

·         Set Path button behaviour has changed. Pressing this button shows the same window but any changes made will only be made for the current ALPSGUI session. The paths are no longer saved. In the previous version you could save the default path’s on the system setup and on the import screen. It makes more sense, and it’s clearer, to allow this only on the system setup screen.

Shipment Screen

• Wizard button. Allows the user to create a new shipment, enter waferid’s and mark wafers as being present. Depending on the configuration, the user gets different wizard options.
• The wizard functionality is also implemented on the shipment screen. The user presses EDIT and this allows them to edit the shipment table:
• Productsetup selection
• Set wafers as physically present
• Enter a Wafer ID
• Enter Frame ID
• Pressing NEW, the user can enter a shipmentid. After entering an ID, the shipment is made.
• There is also a convenient wafer id composer. Usually the waferid’s are related, e.g. shipment1-01, shipment1-02, etc. The composer allows you to ‘automate’ the process of entering ID’s.
• Barcode scanners can be used too. That is: if the scanner acts like a keyboard and finalises its input by a CR. Pressing the enter-key, after typing a Wafer ID or Frame Id, navigates to the next cell in the table (actually the next row but the same column: either wafer or frame id column). If the ID is found in the database, the information is shown in the table. If the ID does not exist, some default values are shown. Pressing SAVE, will save the edit actions, new ID’s will be entered as well.
• Select a Product Id for the whole shipment at once: click on the ‘product setup column header’ with the right mouse button: you get new window and you can select a product.
• The same mechanism applies for the Wafer Present column.

Run Screen

• Wizard button. Pressing this button shows a wizard, which is actually an improved version of the ADD WAFERS button. The wizard steps are similar to those from the shipment wizard. The wizard includes an ‘Add Wafers’-step. This step allows you to enter wafers to the run, based on quite a few filters. Any filter settings made, will be saved in the database. Next time you enter this screen again, you will see the same filters. This is especially nice if you plan to add wafers, based on one or two filters, all the time. You will no longer be bothered by the other filters.

Map Screen

• Improved die selection mechanism. The user can select dies, using the right mouse button and drag. Instead of seeing a rectangle as a marker, the selected dies are made white with a black border. One can select several regions at the same time, using the CTRL key. They can also de-select the selected dies again, by clicking on the dies (right mouse button) and holding the CTRL button. This can be done for one die at a time.
• You will notice a new icon that reflects the flat notch of the wafer. There is no wafer-outline anymore. A reason to remove this outline, is that the outline did not really reflect reality, while the user might think it does.

Product Setup Screen

• Improved wafer layout Editing. The previous version included some, unexpected, nasty behaviour. This made the product setup more difficult to understand and less user-friendly. Improvements include:
• You can import maps, and change the bin qualities afterwards. When using one of those wafers to create the productsetup, the qualities are used too. In the previous version of ALPS, it had to be the other way around: first tell ALPS about qualities, then import the maps.
• Editing the binlist (the qualities), changes the layout as well. This only works if the user created then setup by using a sample wafer.
• When editing the layout, one could choose bintypes and one of them was ‘Pass’. Changed this into ‘Production’.
• Rotation button: When this button is disabled, it really shows as disabled. The previous version showed a button as enabled but pressing this button had no effect.
• Fixed some bugs for binlist editing.

History screen

• Added bin list

Purge Screen

• Purge log path: you can specify Win NT security (username/password). This is mandatory when you specify a network path. Only for local paths, you don’t have to specify an user and password (\\my_computer\c\wfrmaps is a network path too, even if it’s on your own computer)

Sort Screen

• Added SORT NOW button, this will run the currently saved sort tasks.
• User can specify backup and failed path for each task.
• For each path specified, the user can enter an Username/Password pair.
• ImportOnDemand settings were not visible, after saving the settings and re-visiting the Sort Screen. Fixed this bug.

Die-pick screen

• Added START ALL button
• Added STOP ALL button.
• When Editing, or adding a new driver, the site-name is selectable. This is instead of the fixed site-name, which was filled in based on the current database.
• When editing an HSMS connection, the user could enter an IP-address, even if the option ‘Passive’ was selected. This is no longer possible. The local address is filled in instead, which was mandatory anyway.
• When you pressed ‘REMOVE DIE BONDER’, you could get an error that the operator record could be deleted. This is because the operator record was linked to some wafers, still present in the database. This behaviour has changed. Instead of deleting the record, the record is marked as ‘Disabled’. The record will remain in the database.

New Wizard setup screen

• This configuration screen allows you to configure the run and shipment wizard. Depending on the operational procedures, you can change the steps of the wizards.

New Notify Screen

• Allow users to specify contacts and link them to events. When the event occurs, then the contact is notified (gets an e-mail). The screen has two views:
• Assign contacts to events. In this view, you can enter new or edit existing contacts. After doing so, one can select an event and assign one of these contacts to that particular event. Some events are less relevant but some events will prove to be very useful. Most interesting events are SORTSUCCESS, SORTFAILED, PURGESUCCESS and PURGEFAILED. Notifications are accompanied by a report.
• Assign events to contacts. This is other way around. You select an event (instead of a contact) and then you select a contact to be notified for this event.
• A copy of the messages sent will be stored on a location, specified by the user.

System Setup

• Removed StartAlpsService username. This name is no longer needed.
• Sort site and Purge site are selectable. This is done to improve site renaming.
• Flatnotch and origin button have a disabled look when the screen is not in edit mode.

Security

• Added account enabled checkbox. This allows you to disable an ALPS user. The advantage of this is that you can prevent a certain to log on. However, the information about the operator-actions will remain in the database.
• Improved the list of permissions: The meaning of them should be clearer.

New equipment monitor ‘look’

• You can no longer select dies on the wafer. This has been disabled.
• The communication-state and name have moved to the caption of the monitor. It’s now clearer, when having lots of diebonders running, which diebonder is communicating, and which one is not.
• For die pick equipment with multiple wafer positions, added the possibility to select the wafer-view or module-view.
• Wafer-view: Selecting a particular wafer shows the progress of that wafer only.
• Module-view: The progress of the selected module is shown.
• Improved process parameters list.
• It’s one list.
• Most important ones are shown first.
• There’s a scrollbar to view others as well.

Datacon driver

• Multiple module support has been added.
• Realtime wafermap display support has been added.

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ALPS LT, NT Release 2.30

Shipment Screen

• An export button, allows you to export the whole shipment. Can only be used if you bought a Export license. Mainly intended for ALPS Translator product.

Map Screen

• Added an export button. Mainly intended for ALPS Translator product.
• Map editing: select regions (right-mouse click -> drag).

Product Setup Screen

• Completely new. You no longer select a wafer but you make a waferlayout instead. Using this layout you can also select reference dies: on wafer but also by editing reference dies table. You can enter bins for this setup. To make it easier: you can select a wafer, and using this wafer, ALPS fills in some bins, referencedies, creates a layout.

History Screen

• The history list order can be changed: by date, by operator, by action and  by mapnumber.

Sort Screen

• New table for automatic export. Mainly intended for ALPS Translator product. To use, you need an export license.
• Tables will remain not editable, until you install some converters.
• Support edit actions, without requiring a restart.
• When not configured and the diebonder requested a not existing frameid, ALPS would ask Sort to import wafermap. This failed, because Sort had not been configured yet. Sort did not report this back to the diepick software (die-bonder does not get an answer). Solved this issue.

Purge screen

• Some cosmetics.
• Support edit actions, without requiring a restart.

Security Screen

• New security item: 'Create and edit productsetups'.

Format Screen

• New check boxes for Import and Export Licenses. Mainly intended for ALPS Translator product.

Map Versions (Import and Sort screens)

• ALPS can import multiple versions of wafermaps. This will be allowed until map has been downloaded or edited.

Run Screen

• Product Setup Selection-> you can select a product setup for this run. ALPS checks this for each wafer to see if the setup matches with the wafer.
• ALPS shows status of run: ready or not ready for production. Currently ALPS considers a run to be ready if every wafer has a map and if every wafer has a frameid assigned to it.

Drivers

• Solved bug in diebonder drivers (only Esec showed this error-> only diebonder that sends empty nullbins): ALPS gave error when it received an empty null bin.
• Wafermap download to diebonder: You can make runs with empty wafers (no map). If you assign a product setup to this run, alps will download a map, based on that productsetup (there needs to be a waferlayout).

ALPS API

• Added. (new feature)

General

• Clients accessing the database over the network caused serious network traffic: solved this.
• AlpsStarter: already configured during installation (user is asked to enter name and password). No longer needed to configure (only if you want to change it - or the username/password combination is not correct. This can be seen with Windows NT Event Viewer)
• Wafer map display function (various screens): enhanced drawing speed.
• Solved various bugs for handling of large maps (diepick components).
• Mapview: solved some drawing bugs: only visible on the diepick-monitor, to show real-time display.
• Interface to FTP software is more robust.
• When the license is not found, ALPS used to show wizard. This wizard was useless so removed it.

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ALPS LT, NT Release 2.20

General

• One generic service, to start all ALPS programs.
• Encrypt map-data.
• Encrypt user passwords.
• Remove Dcom configuration
• Add somewhere the possibility to configure, for the ALPS start-program, the name and the password.
• Use Flexlm 7.0.d
• No more – license not found error – messages, due to late startup of flexlm. The start-program starts to wait for flexlm to start.

Purge Screen

• Purge has been implemented as an ActiveX server
• Purge settings moved to the main alpslt database.

System Screen

• Added Username-password pairs for Sort, Purge and the ALPSStarter.

DiePick Screen

• Added support for HSMS.

Equipment Monitor

• Added HSMS support.

Equipment Manager

• Service requires that the license manager is running. License manager starts but is not always quickly enough.

SECS Driver

• Added support for HSMS.
• UIC GSM driver.

ALPS Sort

• Should be started as a service. Human interface should be separated from this Service.
• Move configuration of AlpsSort into AlpsGUI (HI).
• Create a more generic import engine, being used by Sort, GUI and DiePick.

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ALPS LT, NT Release 2.10

Import on Demand

• ALPS Sort now supports import of wafers without any operator involvement, when the wafer information is requested by e.g. die pickers. This feature is offered in addition to importing wafer maps automatically, on a periodic basis.

Automatic Purge

• The ALPS Wafers group shows a new screen, called Purge. On this screen you can specify settings for one or more tasks you can create to fully automatically remove selective wafers, runs and shipments from the ALPS database.

General

• Dcom-configuration required.

Map Screen

• Extend purge facilities. (like scheduling, shipments and runs as well) => new screen.

Equipment Monitor

• When the monitor receives events from the diebonder, without getting a map first (download or upload) the monitor shows a whole stack of error messages This means, you have to stop the equipment interface, to ‘fix’ this problem.
• Import on demand.
• The logon window doesn’t popup correctly, when other windows are already on top of your screen.

Mapview

• When you call DieStarted, DiePicked and Diebonded, without setting a map first, mapview raises an exception.

AlpsPurge

• The logon window doesn’t popup correctly, when other windows are already on top of your screen.
• AlpsPurge doesn’t log fully detailed information. It only reports the description.
• The purge fails when access is being used. The purge fails to delete runs (probably also shipments but you never get a change to see that).

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ALPS LT, NT Release 2.00

General

• ALPS 2.00, as the version number suggests, was a major upgrade in comparison with earlier versions. The internal program structure was partly redesigned and rebuilt. The purpose of this action was to allow support by ALPS NT (not ALPS LT!) of large numbers of equipment connects (hundreds) and very large wafer databases (up to 1,000,000 wafer records). This major structural change is however not reflected by a large number of new features:
• Wafer selection mechanism and die bonder selection implemented differently, with a button, floating window, including several filters. User clicks a button and this window appears. The window only disappears after pressing close.
• Merge the new ALPSDB with ALPS GUI, ALPS Controls, Equipment Manager, ALPS Sort.
• Print facility for wafers, shipments, runs, product setups, …
• Add FNLOC position on a per wafer basis. Requires also some work to be done at the equipment interface side.
• Change Shipment Import: include FNLOC.
• AMTs request: die bonder sends a FNLOC of 0, ALPS has a value of 90, send wafer anyway?
• Move transaction management from the database layer into the BL-layer.

Login Window

• Added Logout facility.

Import Screen

• Device: single selection.
  Directory: double click. Single click looks like “selected”.
  File: single click.
• ‘Check’ shows the wafers that have been found, but does not show wafermap – wafermap file relationship. Consequences for converter i/f!
• Make the wafers, found after pressing CHECK, selectable. Import only those wafers that have been selected.
• Wafer selection mechanism in the upper toolbar isn’t relevant.
• Provide a way to view the import errors.
• Import from ftp sites.
• Change comment for import event: must include format name and version, so that we can filter on it.
• Merge FTP import screen with the ‘normal’ import screen.
• Buy ftp software from IPSwitch and integrate with their software.

History Screen

• The history grid only shows 3 rows.

Transfer Screen

• Wafer selection mechanism in the upper toolbar isn’t relevant.

Product Setup Screen

• Change caption ‘Selected bins’ into ‘Bins to Process’.

Run Screen

• Delete run: delete product setup as well.

Map Screen

• Show original format name.
• Sort bin list.
• Sort user-property list.

Security Screen

• Remove any equipment related information.

Format Screen

• Extend format information with (editable by customer):
    - customer-specific format names
    - multiple (customer) formats per converter
    - bin quality and description per bin code (per format)
  Other screens then also “Total good dies”, etc.
• Install new converter: permission denied.

Filter Window

• Add more filters (like selection on original format, …)
• Filter on date sometimes fails.
• Dates are not consequent: from date is inclusive, to date is exclusive.
• Filter window will become obsolete after using new wafer/frame selection mechanism.

DiePick Screen

• Check Equipment Ids after added/edited by operator. Name is being used for the log-file name as well. That means you can’t use the characters \/*?”<>|.
• Do something about COM port usage.
• When a equipment is added, a new operator record is created. Should be: renamed.

Equipment Monitor

• Show reference dies downloaded to the diebonder.
• Show number of picked dies.
• Improve status field, green/red.

Equipment Manager

• Requires that all drivers are available. Change this with ‘Implement and CreateObject’.
• Should be started as a service.
• Datacon die bonder interface.
• Provide an equipment interface without the need of starting the ALPSGUI.

SECS Driver

• Wafer not downloaded yet, uploaded by the diebonder: unexplainable error. Must be improved.
• Any message from the diebonder triggers the software to go COMMUNICATING. Even if the message is a S1F0.

ALPS Sort

• ‘ALPS Sort’ License should be created.
• Import from ftp sites.

Datacon support

• ALPS now also supports die pick machines from Datacon Semiconductor Equipment GmbH in Austria, bringing the total number of die pick machine types supported to 8.

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ALPS LT, NT Release 1.13

Wafer Map zoom function

• The "Enlarged Wafer" window, which you could select on the Map screen, History screen and Product Setup screen, has been replaced by a much more advanced Zoom function. This function allows to magnify the wafer map in a number of successive steps.

Print function

• The Map screen, Run screen and Product Setup screen have been extended with a function to print wafer information and to print run information. Which information is printed, can be selected on a pop-up window that appears when the Print button in the Toolbar is pressed.

Importing with ftp

• Wafer maps and shipments can now be imported from ftp servers. Press the FTP Import button on the "Wafers" navigation bar; this will bring up a slightly different Import screen.
• With the "normal" Import screen, wafer maps and shipments can be imported from a "Windows NT drive", including shared network drives. The FTP Import screen allows to import wafer maps and shipments from connected ftp servers.

Importing with ftp is also supported by ALPS Sort.

Reference die positioning

• To support the operator with the task to define ("teach") the correct reference die positions on the Die Pick machine, the wafer map display on the Product Setup screen shows the center of the wafer with a cross-hair. Displaying this cross-hair can be switched on and off on the System Setup screen.

Map screen information

• Certain information has been added to the Map screen. It now shows the total number of dies on the wafer, and the number of rows and columns of the wafer map. Furthermore, the "selected die" position on the wafer map can not only be moved by clicking on a different die, but also with the arrow keys on the keyboard.

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ALPS LT, NT Release 1.12

General

• Help text for T4 is incorrect. Help text for this says: default value is 100.
• Help text for device id’s is incorrect: no need to have separate ids.
• Default settings for SECS-I should follow the standard.
• Help: when default window is shown (dark gray/black screen), and the user presses ‘Help’, nothing happens.

Product Setup Screen

• Show crosshair for ESEC die bonder.
• Print wafer graphically and details (such as wafer id, frame id, total dies, and so on).

Map Screen

• More sophisticated Zoom function (multiple zoom levels; scroll bars, …)
• Arrow keys don’t work in the map.
• Null dies should be selectable, editable to different bin code (and reverse)
• Show total number of dies.
• Show total rows and total columns.

Format Screen

• Add the same converter wafer twice: results in two converters.
• Allow to have one version of a converter only.
• Add two converters: both from diskette (different diskettes!). Add first one: Added successfully. Insert second diskette: you see the contents of the previous diskette. No refresh: to refresh, go to c:\ and back to a:\ again.

DiePick Screen

• Change baud-rate, Cannot save change. Change something else as well and you’re asked to save changes.

Equipment Monitor

• Fix comport 10 problem.

SECS Driver

• Incorrect calculation of STRPX and STRPY.

ALPS Sort

• When ‘PRINT” option is selected in SYSTEM SETUP, and create run chosen in ALPS Sort, then the frame ids should be automatically entered into the database.
• Alps sort starts another import job, while already importing.

ALPS Die Pick

• Fix reference die problem: when other then 0 degrees (flatnotch), the wrong values are downloaded.
• Incorrect calculation of STRPX and STRPY.
• Add support for PRAXI = 2, needed for ESC die bonders.

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ALPS LT, NT Release 1.11

General

• Warning added when stopping the ALPS GUI
• Add a “Starting up” screen and also a “Logged off” screen.
• SP4 is required for installation, should be SP3. Check which file(s) are responsible for this, probably msvb50.dll.
• LM_LICENSE_FILE is only ‘available’ for the user who installed ALPS LT, not for other users. Make the environment variable LM_LICENSE_FILE accessible for all users.
• Network card requirement to be documented in Installation Guide.
• Improved Online Help
• Verification that ALPS LT does not run on Windows 98.
• “English language version of Win NT” requirement in Installation Guide.
• When a screen is selected, the screen is drawn twice. This is noticeable when a big map has to been shown. Change this so that the screen is resized only once.
• ODBC entries: installation must create ‘system’ ODBC entries instead of ‘user’ ODBC entries.

Login Window

• Operator Logged in successfully.
  Operator goes to the Login screen again and enters an incorrect name, presses the OK button, which implies to an incorrect login. Then presses the cancel button -> weird things happen.
• Version number is currently hard coded, login window must read it from a (not yet) defined location.
• ALPSGUI allows to login with Equipment ID (instead of Operator ID)
• Pressing enter should be the same as pressing OK (not: go to the next field   -> that’s not Windows NT behavior, use TAB instead)

Import Screen

• Shipment file selection window: can select a file, but can’t deselect it.
• After leaving the Import Screen the ‘DataTransfer’ license should be released.

History Screen

• Extend with wafer map Zoom function.

User Info Screen

• Name ‘Login’ should be changed to ‘User Info’.

Product Setup Screen

• ‘ProductSetup’ should be changed to ‘Product Setup’.
• Reference die list isn’t updated correctly (disappear at some time).
• Bincode selection doesn’t work properly, change grid to TDBGrid 6 should solve it.
• Extend with wafer map Zoom function.
• If a wafer has been selected, not part of a run, and you enter the Product Setup Screen, the user gets a (correct) error message that the wafer cannot be used for Product Setup. Side effect is that none of the toolbar buttons will be enabled, which is required to edit a product setup (after selecting a run or after selecting a valid wafer).

Run Screen

• When the save button is pressed a progress bar should be shown. After completion, an acknowledgement of the saving operation should be shown.
• If the operator has changed a Run and leaves the Run screen a message box should be shown ‘Save changes”.
• When save button is pressed and the operator has changed one or more frame IDs, a message box appears ‘Rename Frame ID”, but the operator doesn’t know which frame ID it implies to?
  Solution, jump to the applicable frame ID field.
• When a run is selected with some wafers, and the Frame IDs are empty the Frame ID column is editable (white background). This should also be locked (gray background), only when the edit button is pressed it may be changed.
• If the operator entered an empty value for the slot number it should be automatically changed to ‘unspecified’.
• ‘Add wafers to run screen’: show total number of dies for each bin code.
• ‘Add wafers to run screen’: check for wafers with different layouts (rows and columns). Use first wafer as a reference.
• Remove wafer(s) from a run: Show progress and result of action.
• ‘Add wafers to run screen’: after selecting a shipment, you’re unable to see all wafers: you can only see wafers part of a shipment (on a per shipment basis).

Map Screen

• After completion of a save action an acknowledgement should be shown.
• If the operator has changed a Map and leaves the Map screen a message box should be shown ‘Save changes”.
• Zoom function like in ALPS PC.
• Recover wafer: Show result.
• Consume wafer: Show result.
• Purge wafers: show result.
• Show total number of dies.

System Screen

• Store the ALPS logfile to a fixed location.
• If the operator has changed a system setting and leaves the System screen a message box should be shown ‘Save changes”.
• After completion of a save action an acknowledgement should be shown.
• Switched the labels ‘Shipment path’ and ‘Wafermap path’, they were placed incorrectly.
• Double click the txt fields ‘Shipment path’ and ‘Wafermap path’ brings up a browse window (the browse buttons have been removed).
• The shipment/wafer map paths can be network paths as well. You no longer need to map a network path when you want to import wafer maps from a remote computer.

Security Screen

• Possibility of deleting a user.
• After completion of a save action an acknowledgement should be shown.
• If the operator has changed a system setting and leaves the System screen a message box should be shown ‘Save changes”.

Format Screen

• After installing ALPS LT onto a fresh computer, and starting the ALPS GUI for the first time, you don’t see the files with extension dll when you try to add a format. You have to open the explorer and select ‘options’ in the ‘view’ men and select ‘show all files’. After stopping the ALPS GUI and starting the ALPS GUI again, it’s OK.
• After completion of a save action an acknowledgement should be shown.
• If the operator has changed a system setting and leaves the System screen a message box should be shown ‘Save changes”.
• The path for adding converters should be remembered after the first browse (however: not remembered over an ALPSGUI restart).

Filter Window

• Doesn’t work correctly.

DiePick Screen

• Add and edit Equipment window: ‘Equipmentname‘ should be ‘Equipment Type’ and ‘Loginname’ should be ‘Equipment ID’.
• Edit window: user must specify a password.
• Add some SECS settings in the add/edit window (deviceID, T3 etc.).
• Adding a simulator requires you to select a COM port. Change this.
• Add a message box when the user changed the SECS settings: tell the user that the changes will only become effective after restarting the ALPSGUI.
• Ask and tell the user that changes made for the SECS settings are only valid for the selected COM port. So, if the user selects another COM port, the user will possibly see new settings.
• Change name into ‘Die Pick’.

Equipment Monitor

• ‘Manufacturer‘ should be ‘Equipment Type’ and ‘Serial #’ should be ‘Equipment ID’.
• ‘Model’ should be removed.
• Remove the window caption at the top.
• Change the box height.
• Check the Flat and Origin values at initialization (have already a value)?
• Transfer palette to the monitor, so it uses the correct colors.

SECS Driver

• Log all messages to a file. File storage 2x 1MB per equipment.
• Make XYDies configurable.
• Error msg: ‘Recv S9F7 30303 in HandleS9 Illegal Data in S5F2’.
• Error msg: ‘30304 in HandleS9 Transaction Timeout in S2F25’.
• Error msg: ‘Send S12F4 Download Map task 1 ERROR: Wafer: OpenFrom Frame ID: Not Found’.
• Error msg: S12F15 No Setup received for 2901611-4.
• Improve BCEQU handling. The BCEQU handling (for every diebonder) now works like ALPS PC.
• Changed SECS Driver: the driver now expects and send SECS-II messages to the Asm diebonder, according to the latest Spec.
• Removed the data-environment module from the VB-project (not needed anymore).
• The driver checks the SECS-II item types (read from the database) at startup instead of when sending a SECS-II message.
• Upload of a wafer map fails when you select the ASM die bonder.
• Upload of a wafer map fails when it contains reference dies (problem in alpsdb).
• Change the die bonder names: ‘Esec’ into ‘Esec 2007’, ‘Esec_2006’ into ‘Esec 2006’, ‘alphasem’ into ‘Alphasem Swissline’, ‘asm’ into ‘Asm’ and ‘esc’ into ‘Esc’.

ALPS Sort

• Temporary solution: only use ‘Transfer’ license when using the ‘Import’ or ‘Check’ buttons.
• Check the user’s permissions on an import.
• Don’t show the location text in the Browse window, because on long path locations the text will be truncated at the end.
• The log file grid in the main window should show the log file names in red when it contains an error.
• Move the log window a bit to the right and a bit down. Now it looks like when you exit the log window you exit ALPS Sort.
• Hour and Minute text should be black and not gray when their disabled.
• When a new import row is created and the grid loses it’s focus a message box appears ‘Please finish the new created record’. But the record is already filled in.
• Should be able to type in the path location, in addition to the browse function.
• ALPS Sort makes runs automatically, even if the ‘Make Run’ checkbox is not checked.
• Column width in tables should not be changeable.
• In Username field, pressing Enter has the same result as pressing the OK button.

Die Pick

• When the diebonder requests a map, with a flatnotch of 90,180,270 degrees, than the map is displayed incorrectly. Cause: the map is given to the mapview component, while already rotated. The mapview component also rotates the wafer!
• When the download raises an exception, the component incorrectly continues with downloading (MDACK is not set).

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ALPS PC

ALPS PC Release 1.30

• Changed the ALPS PC database structure to comply with the Encrypted ALPS PC format. This database format is required to use ALPS PC with an ALPS LT Front-End system for wafer map conversion.
  
  After termination of ALPS PC support, which includes termination of the development of new and adapted wafer map converters, installed ALPS PC systems can still be used with new and adapted wafer map formats. In that case an ALPS LT system should be used to convert the wafer maps, after which they are exported to the Encrypted ALPS PC format and then put into the ALPS PC database eith the "Read" command.
  
  Details about this facility and about other solutions offered to handle the termination of ALPS PC support can be found elsewhere on this website in the document Termination of ALPS PC support.

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ALPS PC

ALPS PC Release 1.24

• When ALPS PC is configured without lot import option and a converter supplies  frame information to ALPS PC, ALPS PC crashes. Fixed this problem.
• It sometimes happened that the wafersetup information was not saved correctly. Fixed this problem.
• Displaying reference die locations on the Product Setup screen was incorrect whent the wafer map was rotated. This problem only occurred for certain die bonder origin settings (in the Die Bonder Setup). Fixed this problem.

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ALPS PC Release 1.23

• The SECS-II interface to the ASM die bonder has slightly changed. Purpose  of these changes was to get the Realtime-wafermap-display to work for the  ASM die bonder.
• Rotating a wafer on the product setup screen sometimes showed incorrect  result. This has been fixed.
• Added information to the die bonder status screen: the user can now see  which bin is currently being picked.
• Added another 'state' to the flatnotch button on the product setup screen.  In previous versions, the default value of this button was 0 degrees. As  far as ALPS could tell, this was a valid value for the flatnotch  orientation. ALPS now has a default value of 'invalid', that is: the  product setup isn't valid until the user presses, at least once, the  flatnotch button. This forces the operator to think about the flatnotch.
• Fixed some miscellaneous cosmetic bugs. 

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ALPS PC Release 1.22

• Added checkbox to the diebonder setup. Product Setup Warnings can now be  switched off.
• If frameid already exists on import, the whole import will be refused.
• Fixed a bug: When pressing the ZOOM button on the DB STATUS screen, while  ALPS PC also communicates with a diebonder, ALPS PC sometimes crahsed.  Fixed this problem.
• ALPS PC can now share a Read/Write databases.
• Fixed a memory leak. When out of memory, ALPS PC could no longer update the  database which would cause unexpected results.
• ALPS PC 1.22 has been checked to comply with the "SEMATECH YEAR 2000  READINESS TEST SCENARIOS Version 2.0 (June 3, 1998)" On request KINESYS  Software will be happy to provide a detailed compliance statement. Please  contact our office in The Netherlands.
• ALPS PC 1.22 has been checked to run on Windows 98 in single application  mode (or "DOS mode").

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ALPS PC Release 1.21

• Changed the behavior of the 'PRINT ALL' button on the wafer mount screen.  PRINT ALL now prints all wafers in the list, but also mounts them, when not  already mounted. PRINT ALL shows a warning when the number of wafers in the  list is too big.
• Changed the behavior of archiving. When archiving, the user has to specify  where to archive to, instead of using the default name arch1, arch2, arch3, etc.
• Renamed all ALPS PC .zip files into .kzp to avoid confusion.

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ALPS PC Release 1.20

• Added support for ESC die bonders.
• Blanks in wafer, frame and lot IDs are now supported.

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ALPS PC Release 1.18

• Fixed a cosmetic bug for map editing.
• Fixed a cosmetic bug for showing dates and times.
• Removed the possibility to edit reference dies on the map edit screen.
• Changed the handling of reference dies. Reference dies found in the  original map are shown on the map-data/edit screens, until a product setup  for the map has been made.
• Default reference dies for the product setup are read from the original  map.
• Removed dependencies on the presence of PKZIP and PKUNZIP utilities. For  instance: to run the ALPSLOG debugging information program, the ALPS PC  computer does no longer need to have PKZIP to be available.
• Added setup95.bat to install ALPS PC from within Windows 95, including the  possibility to add an item to the start menu of Windows 95.
• Added BACKUP and RESTORE programs. These programs can be invoked from the  command prompt.

BACKUP makes a diskette backup of a complete ALPS PC installation on a  computer, including  - all configuration changes in .BTC files - all configuration settings made in the ALPS PC Setup Service - all installed ALPS PC converters, with customized color settings but NOT including any wafer and lot information.

The produced backup diskette will contain a program called RESTORE. It can  be used to re-install a specific, completely backed-up ALPS PC installation  from diskette.

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ALPS PC Release 1.17

• Made a few extensions to the error reporting tool ALPSLOG.BAT.
• Modified ALPS PC to read KINESYS as well as RPI keys(dongles).

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ALPS PC Release 1.16

• Fixed a bug on the mount screen. When pressing the ACCEPT button, ALPS PC  assigned the wafer to the wrong Lot. Fixed this.
• Map Edit screen: When adding a bin on the bin list, you did not always see  a correct (new) bin list. Fixed this.
• Improved handling of the X- and Y-DieSize when uploading or downloading a  wafermap. Especially when the map was rotated.
• When the product setup is not used, ALPS PC now sends the reference  diesfrom the wafermap itself.
• Improved handling on received reference dies from the die bonder (wafer map  upload).
• The reference dies from a wafer map are now shown on the Map Data screen.
• The reference dies from a wafer map are now shown on the Map Edit screen  and they are also editable.

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ALPS PC Release 1.15

• Fixed SECS-II S12F83 message, resources are freed properly.
• Fixed an improper check on opening the errors.log file. This resulted in  the erroneous message that the file could not be opened.
• Some cosmetics. Sometimes, after deleting a lot (or wafer), the wrong  information was displayed.

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ALPS PC Release 1.14

• The edit map screen, the map data screen and the wafer data screen now all  show the same wafer, frame and lot selection.
• Writing and reading of a lot or wafer now also copies the product setup  information (if available)
• Edit map screen:
• The data field for adding a new bin code doesn't show rubbish anymore. 2. Setting of a new bin code can't be done with the ENTER key anymore. Use  the SET button instead, or the key ALT_S. 3. The UNDO button will be disabled when clearing the screen, or when  selecting a new wafer. 4. The REMOVE button will be disabled when clearing the screen.  5. Selection of a wafer or frame is not possible anymore, when there are  not wafers to be selected. 6. The bin selection did not always work. Fixed this.
• The NULLBC field in a empty product setup screen is also empty.
• An empty product setup screen does not allow you to select frames anymore.
• New feature for adding formats to the system. ALPS PC can add multiple  wafer formats at the time.
• Opening of files is more robust. That is: the user is better informed about  the most likely problem.
• ALPS PC now shows COMMUNICATING when receiving any message from the die  bonder.
• Improved simulation.
• New SECS-II message (S12F83), to support the realtime wafer map display for  ESEC 2007 die bonders.
• DB status screen: ZOOM button is disabled when there is no wafer to be  shown.

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ALPS PC Release 1.13

• Fixed a problem with exporting wafers.
• Changed for the 'bar code printing facility' the start position and the  magnification. It used to be fixed. Now the user can specify its own start  position and the user can also specify a magnification factor.
• Corrected R_ALPHAS.BTC. 

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ALPS PC Release 1.12

·         This version contains a few small improvements, based on field-tests of the Automatic Import Option.

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ALPS PC Release 1.11

·         The Reports setup file REPORTS.BTC has been replaced by a set of  R_xxxxxx.BTC files, one for each die bonder type supported.

·         Implemented in ALPS PC 1.11 are:

o        R_ALPHAS.BTC for Alphasem die bonder type

o        R_ESEC.BTC for ESEC and ESEC_OLD die bonder types (do not use a Reports file for ESEC_2006!)

o        R_ASM.BTC for ASM die bonder type

o        R_VIKING for VIKING die bonder type

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ALPS PC Release 1.10

·         The Wafer Map Editing Option has been implemented. It is provided as a separate Map Editor Operation under the Data Services.

·         A more general implementation of the Material Tracking Option has been made, allowing the user to specify a directory to which the die - package files  will be written. This function has furthermore been integrated with the  Export function, provided on the Wafer and Lot Data Operation.

·         Adding and removing format converters has been removed from the System  Setup Operation and is now part of the new Format Setup Operation (Setup  Service). This Operation also allows the user to specify for each map  format the colors used by ALPS PC to present the bin codes. These color  settings can be saved on the Format Diskette.

·         The Wafer Mount Operation now allows to mount wafers on frames without  assigning the wafers to a lot. In the lot pull-down list select "<no lot>".

·         Die bonder communication has been made much more robust. ALPS PC now tries  to establish communication automatically on start-up, monitors that  communication is still present once a connection has been established, and  offers a facility to the user (CONNECT button on the Die Bonder Status  Operation) to try to re-establish communication.

·         ALPS PC now supports die bonder requests for date and time (SECS-II  messages S2F17/F18).

·         Like the other Operations which can show zoomed-in wafers, this feature has  been added to the Die Bonder Status Operation.

·         ALPS PC now supports sending setup information to the die bonder, based on  settings defined by the user in the Product Setup Operation. This  information includes bin codes to be bonded, null bin code, reference die  coordinates. The definitions made in the Product Setup Operation are valid  per lot.

·         The READ function can now input data from an old version database.

·         In the file PRINTERS.BTC it is now possible to include a printer setup  string, which will be sent to the printer on initialization. This allows to  set the right paper orientation, font, etc., dependent on the type of  printer used.

·         Error reporting by ALPS PC in the ALPS PC.LOG file has been made much more  robust, so that no information gets lost in case of a crash.

·         All bugs and cosmetic issues, reported by May 1, 1997 have been solved.

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ALPS PC Release 1.01

·         Memory use has been reduced to ~10MB, well below the 12MB boundary, which was just passed in ALPS PC 1.00.

·         ALPS PC now accepts any Collection Events the die bonder may send. If the event (CEID) is unknown to ALPS PC, because it cannot be found in the file REPORTS.BTC, then a negative acknowledge is sent to the die bonder. To prevent these NACKs, the user can add events to the file REPORTS.BTC.

·         ALPS PC 1.00 did a status check on the text printer connected. This has been removed again, because it does not work with various printers.

·         A bug was fixed in the SECS-II communication with the die bonder, causing problems with a zero number of SECS-II items in messages.

·         A bug was fixed, regarding the incorrect display of large dies on the zoomed-in wafer map display.

·         When no wafer is selected in the Map Data Option, the ZOOM button is now disabled.

·         The Die Bonder Status Operation showed incorrect wafer map header items. This has been corrected.

·         The Format name, shown in the Wafer Data Operation, was incorrect. This has been fixed.

·         REMOVE format in the System Setup Operation did not work. This has been corrected.

·         ADD format did not work for the "Example 1.0" wafer map format. This has been corrected.

·         After entering information on the Product Setup Operation screen, leaving the screen and going back to it, the earlier entered information is now still present.

·         A problem was fixed, causing wafer map upload to fail when the wafer map setup information (S12F1) contained more than one reference die position.

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ALPS PC Release 1.00

·         Lists of installed converters now also show the version numbers.

·         The maximum length of directory paths in the System Setup has been considerably increased.

·         The Wafer Setup Operation allows to specify the wafer map origin.

·         It is now possible to select "no die" positions in displayed wafer maps.

·         The die coordinate system, used by ALPS PC, has been adapted to the SECS-II standard.

·         The handling of reference dies has been made more flexible and die bonder dependent.

·         The Die Bonder Status Operation now shows the wafer with the flat orientatation it has on the die bonder.

·         A bug has been solved with the handling of the Assign radio buttons on the Lot Data Operation.

·         A bug has been solved with a premature abort of ALPS PC after initial start-up, causing ALPS PC not to start up anymore afterwards.

·         A bug has been solved, related to the creation of an ALPS PC database in an incorrect directory.

·         The number of wafer map header items has been increased from 16 to 64.

·         A minor bug has been solved with an incorrect number of dies being shown on the Map Data Operation, after upload of a new version of the map.

·         Handling of locked and (suddenly) missing diskettes has been improved.

·         A serious bug has been solved, caused by the continous increase of the number of open files, each time a wafer map was uploaded. This caused ALPS PC to crash after a certain period of operation.

·         Print facilities for lots, wafers and wafer maps has been implemented.

·         The Print Bar Code function has been implemented for Frame ID labels. This implementation allows to connect any kind of bar code printer, but requires some printer-specific code to be written. Currently this printer-specific part is available for the Intermec 3400.

·         The Wafer Map History Option has been implemented.

·         The Product Setup Operation has been implemented. This Operation assists the operator with the setup of the die bonder to process a batch of wafers, by selecting reference die coordinates, bin codes to be bonded, specifying the no-die bin code, etc.

·         The wafer map, displayed in the Map Data Operation and Product Setup Operation can be enlarged to use the full screen height. This allows the easy viewing and selecting of small dies (down to less than 1 mm dies on 200 mm wafers).

·         The Material Tracking Option has been implemented.

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ALPS PC Release 0.72

• HELP screens have been implemented
• Tested with ESEC die bonder with their Communications Interface  version 1.04. This version of the ESEC software does not support  wafer map upload.
• Tested with ASM die bonder with their wafer mapping option installed (new version generated during test on Oct 26 1996).  Wafer map download and upload supported.
• Graphic display of high density maps was improved.
• Warning for installation of new formats removed. 
• Wafer map import restricts number of reference dies to either 0 or 2.

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ALPS PC Release 0.71

• Bug fixes in Lot Import Option
• Bug fixes in Viking equipment communication

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ALPS PC Release 0.70

• New die bonder interfaces added. The file DBSETUP.BTC contains a complete list of the die bonders supported.
• The Options mechanism was implemented.
• The Lot Data Import Option is now available. When installed, lot and frame information available in the original wafer map can be used to automatically add the frame and lot information to the database. This option only has the desired effect if the converter with which it is used, has also been adapted to support this function.

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ALPS PC Release 0.64

• Initial release