CN211654775U - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Substrate processing apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
CN211654775U
CN211654775U CN202020169585.0U CN202020169585U CN211654775U CN 211654775 U CN211654775 U CN 211654775U CN 202020169585 U CN202020169585 U CN 202020169585U CN 211654775 U CN211654775 U CN 211654775U
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substrate
unit
wafer
processing apparatus
transfer
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CN202020169585.0U
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丰永真臣
蓑手文隆
时松徹
石丸和俊
香月信吾
村上孝
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Tokyo Electron Ltd
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Tokyo Electron Ltd
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H01L21/67703—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations
    • H01L21/67706—Mechanical details, e.g. roller, belt
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67242—Apparatus for monitoring, sorting or marking
    • H01L21/67248—Temperature monitoring
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H01L21/67703—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations
    • H01L21/67727—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations using a general scheme of a conveying path within a factory

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)
  • Exposure Of Semiconductors, Excluding Electron Or Ion Beam Exposure (AREA)
  • Cleaning Or Drying Semiconductors (AREA)

Abstract

The utility model relates to a substrate processing device. Provided is a technique which can achieve high productivity and can set a substrate transfer path with a high degree of freedom. It includes: a container placing section for placing a storage container for storing a plurality of substrates; a plurality of substrate processing units for processing substrates, respectively; a 1 st substrate transfer mechanism having a movable base and a 1 st substrate holding portion and a 2 nd substrate holding portion, the 1 st substrate holding portion and the 2 nd substrate holding portion being independently movable back and forth on the base to support positions near a center portion in a left-right direction of the substrate from below so that edges in the left-right direction of the substrate are opened, the 1 st substrate holding portion and the 2 nd substrate holding portion advancing together and delivering the substrate to the storage container in unison; and a plurality of 1 st substrate placing units stacked on each other, each of which places a substrate and delivers the substrate to and from each substrate processing unit, wherein the 1 st substrate holding unit and the 2 nd substrate holding unit individually advance on the base and deliver the substrate.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus
Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method.
Background
In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor wafer, various processes such as a liquid process and a heat process are performed on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer) as a substrate. As a substrate processing apparatus for performing such various processes on a wafer, there is a case where: the method comprises the following steps: a processing module provided with various processing components for processing a substrate; and a transport mechanism for transporting the wafers between the processing module and a carrier for accommodating a plurality of wafers.
Patent documents 1 and 2 disclose such a substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus of patent document 1 includes: a plurality of unit modules having respective processing components and constituting the processing module; and a plurality of loading/unloading units for loading/unloading wafers into/from the respective unit modules. The transfer mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus includes two substrate holding portions having different shapes, and one substrate holding portion is used to transfer the wafer between the carrier and the module for carrying in and out, and the other substrate holding portion is used to transfer the wafer between the module for carrying in and out.
Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-69916
Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-69917
SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL
Problem to be solved by utility model
The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and provides a technique capable of obtaining high productivity and setting a degree of freedom of a conveyance path of a substrate.
Means for solving the problems
The substrate processing apparatus of the present disclosure includes:
a container placing section for placing a storage container for storing a plurality of substrates;
a plurality of substrate processing units that process the substrates, respectively;
a 1 st substrate transfer mechanism including a movable base and a 1 st substrate holding portion and a 2 nd substrate holding portion, the 1 st substrate holding portion and the 2 nd substrate holding portion being independently movable back and forth on the base, and supporting positions of central portions of the substrates in a left-right direction from below so that edges of the substrates in the left-right direction are open, the 1 st substrate holding portion and the 2 nd substrate holding portion moving together to transfer the substrates to the storage container in unison; and
and a plurality of 1 st substrate mounting portions stacked on each other, on which the substrates are mounted, and which transfer the substrates to the substrate processing portions, wherein the 1 st substrate holding portion and the 2 nd substrate holding portion individually advance on the base table to transfer the substrates.
In the substrate processing apparatus, a plurality of unit modules each including the substrate processing unit and a 2 nd substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate between the substrate processing unit and the 1 st substrate mounting unit may be stacked on each other,
the 1 st substrate mounting unit is provided for each of the unit modules.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the 2 nd substrate transfer mechanism may include a 3 rd substrate holding portion, and the 3 rd substrate holding portion may include a surrounding portion that surrounds the substrate from a side and a claw portion that is provided on an inner peripheral edge of the surrounding portion and supports a lower surface of the substrate.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus may include a 2 nd substrate placement unit, the 2 nd substrate placement unit being disposed in a longitudinal direction with respect to the 1 st substrate placement unit, and the substrate may be transferred by only a 2 nd substrate transfer mechanism of the 1 st substrate transfer mechanism and the 2 nd substrate transfer mechanism.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the 2 nd substrate mounting unit may be a temperature adjusting unit that adjusts a temperature of the substrate.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the 1 st substrate transfer mechanism may include a detection unit configured to detect a position of the substrate held by the 1 st substrate holding unit and/or the 2 nd substrate holding unit.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the detection unit may include a light projection unit for projecting light to a peripheral portion of the substrate and a light receiving unit for receiving light projected by the light projection unit and passing through a side of the substrate,
the substrate processing apparatus is provided with a detection mechanism that detects a position of a peripheral end of the substrate based on a detection signal output by the light receiving portion.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus may be provided with a position adjusting unit that temporarily places the substrate so as to newly hold the substrate by the 1 st substrate holding unit and the 2 nd substrate holding unit and adjusts a position of the temporarily placed substrate, based on a detection result obtained by the detecting unit when the 1 st substrate holding unit and the 2 nd substrate holding unit hold the substrate.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the position adjusting unit may be disposed in a vertical direction with respect to the 1 st substrate placing unit.
The substrate processing apparatus may be provided with a control unit that outputs a control signal,
the control unit outputs the control signal to adjust a position where the substrate is transferred to the 1 st substrate placement unit based on a detection result obtained by the detection unit when the substrate is held by the 1 st substrate holding unit or the 2 nd substrate holding unit.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit may output a control signal to continuously transport the plurality of substrates picked up from the storage container by the 1 st substrate transport mechanism to the plurality of 1 st substrate placement units.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit may output a control signal to cause the 1 st substrate transport mechanism to successively collect the substrates from the 1 st substrate placement units and transport the collected substrates to the storage container.
In the substrate processing apparatus, a plurality of unit modules may be stacked on each other, the plurality of unit modules including the substrate processing unit and a transport path for transporting the substrate,
the 1 st substrate mounting part is provided for each of the unit modules,
the control unit outputs a control signal to cause the 1 st substrate transfer mechanism to continuously pick up the substrate from the 1 st substrate placement units corresponding to one unit module and to continuously transfer the substrate to the 1 st substrate placement units corresponding to another unit module.
The disclosed substrate processing method includes the following steps:
placing a container for containing a plurality of substrates on a container placing section;
processing the substrates by a plurality of substrate processing units, respectively;
moving a base constituting a 1 st substrate transfer mechanism;
a first substrate holding unit and a second substrate holding unit, which constitute the first substrate transfer mechanism 1 and are provided to be independently movable back and forth on the base, are configured to support positions near a center portion of the substrate in the left-right direction from below, respectively, and to open edge portions of the substrate in the left-right direction;
advancing the 1 st substrate holding unit and the 2 nd substrate holding unit together to transfer the substrates to and from the storage container all at once;
placing the substrates on the 1 st substrate placing portions stacked on each other;
transferring the substrates placed on the 1 st substrate placement units to the substrate processing units, respectively; and
the 1 st substrate holding unit and the 2 nd substrate holding unit are individually advanced on the base table, and the substrates are delivered to the 1 st substrate placement units.
Effect of the utility model
According to the present disclosure, the substrate processing apparatus can obtain high productivity and set the degree of freedom of the conveyance path of the substrate.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional top view of a coating apparatus of embodiment 1 of the present disclosure.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the coating apparatus.
Fig. 3 is a front view of a carrier module constituting the coating apparatus.
Fig. 4 is a side view of a conveyor mechanism provided to the carrier module.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the conveying mechanism.
Fig. 6 is a plan view of the interface module provided in the conveying mechanism and the coating device.
Fig. 7 is a front longitudinal sectional view of the transport container transported to the carrier module.
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the interface module.
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a temperature adjustment unit provided in the coating apparatus.
Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a position adjustment assembly provided in the coating apparatus.
Fig. 11 is an explanatory view for explaining a method of detecting the center position of the wafer.
Fig. 12 is an explanatory view showing a transport path of the wafer in the coating device.
Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a transport path of the wafer at the carrier module.
Fig. 14 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 15 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 16 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 17 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 18 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 19 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 20 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 21 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 22 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 23 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 24 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 25 is a process diagram showing a wafer transfer process at the carrier module.
Fig. 26 is a schematic view of the coating apparatus according to embodiment 3.
Fig. 27 is an explanatory view showing a conveying path of the 3 rd coating device.
Fig. 28 is a cross-sectional plan view of the coating and developing apparatus according to embodiment 5.
Fig. 29 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the coating and developing apparatus.
Fig. 30 is a perspective view showing another configuration example of the interface module.
Fig. 31 is a perspective view of another configuration example of the conveying mechanism.
Detailed Description
(embodiment 1)
A coating apparatus 1 according to embodiment 1 of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to a cross-sectional plan view of fig. 1 and a vertical sectional side view of fig. 2. The coating apparatus 1 is constituted by connecting the carrier module D1 and the process module D2 in the transverse direction. For convenience of explanation, the connection direction of the carrier module D1 and the process module D2 is defined as the X direction, and the lateral direction perpendicular to the connection direction is defined as the Y direction. The storage container 10 is placed on the carrier module D1 in order to load and unload the wafer W into and from the coating apparatus 1. The storage container 10 is a carrier called a Front-opening unified Pod (FOUP), for example, and stores and conveys 25 wafers W. The process module D2 processes the wafer W loaded from the carrier module D1.
The configuration of the processing module D2 will be described. The process module D2 is configured by stacking six unit modules E1 to E6, which are stacked and divided from each other, in order of their ordinal numbers. In embodiment 1, the unit blocks E1 to E6 are configured in the same manner as each other so that a resist film can be formed on the surface of the wafer W. The unit block E1 shown in fig. 1 will be described as a representative of the unit blocks E1 to E6. The unit block E1 has a conveying path 11 extending in the X direction formed in the center portion in the Y direction. The resist film forming module 12 is provided on the right side of the conveyance path 11 and the heating module 13 is provided on the left side of the conveyance path 11, as viewed along the X direction from the carrier module D1 side.
Four resist film forming modules 12 are provided, and are arranged along the extending direction of the conveying path 11. The resist film forming module 12 forms a resist film by applying a resist to the entire surface of the wafer W by spin coating. The heating unit 13 is configured by stacking two heating units, for example, one above the other, to form a stacked body, and six heating units, for example, are arranged along the conveyance path 11. The heating unit 13 includes a hot plate on which the wafer W on which the resist film is formed is placed and heated.
The conveying path 11 is provided with a conveying mechanism F1. The conveyance mechanism F1 includes a base 14 that is movable forward and backward, and is movable up and down, and is rotatable about a vertical axis. Two holding portions 15 are provided on the base 14 in the vertical direction, and the two holding portions 15 are independently movable forward and backward between a forward position and a backward position on the base 14. When the base 14 is raised and lowered for delivering the wafer W to and from the module, the holding portion 15 as the 3 rd substrate holding portion is located at the forward position, and the holding portion 15 is located at the backward position except for the case where the wafer W is delivered and received in this manner. The holding portion 15 includes a surrounding portion 16 that surrounds the wafer W from the side. When the forward and backward direction of the holding portion 15 is defined as the forward and backward direction, the holding portion 15 is formed in a substantially U shape in plan view along the right side from the left side of the wafer W through the rear side. Four claw portions 17 are provided at intervals along the circumferential direction of the surrounding portion 16 on the inner circumferential edge of the surrounding portion 16, and the four claw portions 17 support the peripheral edge portion of the lower surface of the wafer W to hold the wafer W.
The transport mechanisms corresponding to the transport mechanism F1 provided in the unit modules E2 to E6 are referred to as transport mechanisms F2 to F6. The transfer mechanisms F1 to F6 as the 2 nd substrate transfer mechanism transfer the wafer W between the process modules as the substrate processing units provided independently of each other in each unit block. The portion on which the wafer W is placed is referred to as a module, and the module for processing the wafer W is referred to as a processing module. The resist film forming module 12 and the heating module 13 are processing modules.
Next, the carrier module D1 will be explained with reference to fig. 3. The carrier module D1 is provided with a square housing 20. When the side surface of the housing 20 facing the X direction is a front surface, the transfer ports 21A to 21D of the wafers W constituting the load port are arranged in a matrix shape on the front surface and are opened. The conveying ports disposed on the left side in the front view are 21A and 21B, the conveying ports disposed on the right side are 21C and 21D, the conveying ports disposed on the upper side are 21A and 21C, and the conveying ports disposed on the lower side are 21B and 21D. The conveyance ports 21A to 21D are openable and closable by the opening and closing portion 22. Further, container placement portions 23A to 23D are provided at positions corresponding to the respective conveyance ports 21A to 21D on the front side of the conveyance ports 21A to 21D, and the storage containers 10 are placed on the container placement portions 23A to 23D so as to face the conveyance ports 21A to 21D, respectively. For convenience of explanation, the storage container 10 may be indicated by the same alphabet as that of a mounting table on which the storage container 10 is mounted. That is, the storage containers 10A to 10D may be referred to.
Further, a rack on which the storage containers 10 are placed and a transport mechanism for the storage containers 10 are provided in front of the carrier module D1, and the transport mechanism for the storage containers 10 transfers the storage containers 10 between the above-described container placement portions 23(23A to 23D) and the rack, but the illustration thereof is omitted. The storage container 10 is sent to and from the rack by a conveying mechanism in a factory where the coating apparatus 1 is installed, for example.
A tower T1 extending vertically is provided at the center in the left-right direction in the housing 20 of the carrier module D1, and the tower T1 faces each transport path 11 of the process module D2 so that the transport mechanisms F (F1 to F6) of the unit modules E (E1 to E6) described above can reach. The column T1 is constructed by stacking a plurality of modules on top of each other. That is, the respective components are arranged in the longitudinal direction, and include a temperature adjusting component SCPL, a handover component TRS, and a position adjusting component THS as the components.
The plurality of transfer modules TRS as the 1 st substrate mounting unit are provided so as to be capable of loading and unloading the wafers W into and from the unit blocks E1 to E6 at heights corresponding to the unit blocks E1 to E6, respectively. That is, the transfer module TRS is provided for each unit module to transfer each wafer W to the transfer mechanisms F1 to F6. The handover modules TRS are denoted by the same numerals as the unit modules E1 to E6 of the corresponding heights, and are denoted by TRS1 to TRS 6. In this example, two handover assemblies TRS are provided at a height corresponding to one unit module. Of these two handover modules, one handover module TRS is a handover module for sending the cell module E, and the other handover module TRS is a handover module for sending the cell module E.
The temperature adjustment unit SCPL as the 2 nd substrate mounting unit is a unit that adjusts the temperature of the wafer W to be mounted thereon. The temperature adjusting module SCPL serving as a temperature adjusting unit is provided at a height corresponding to each of the unit blocks E1 to E6, as in the case of the handover module TRS, and is denoted by the same reference numerals as the unit blocks E1 to E6 at the corresponding heights, and is denoted as SCPL1 to SCPL 6. The position adjustment units THS as the position adjustment units are provided in plural, for example, for adjusting the positions of the wafers W to be placed. The respective configurations of the handover module TRS, the temperature adjustment module SCPL, and the position adjustment module THS will be described in detail later.
The conveying mechanisms 31 and 32 are provided on the left and right sides of the tower T1, respectively, as viewed from the front side along the X direction. Fig. 4 is a side view of the conveyance mechanisms 31, 32. The transfer mechanisms 31 and 32 constitute the 1 st substrate transfer mechanism, respectively, and transfer the wafer W between the transfer module TRS of the tower T1 and the storage container 10. More specifically, the transport mechanism 31 can reach the storage containers 10A and 10B, and take out the wafer W from the storage containers 10A and 10B and transport the wafer W to the transfer module TRS for loading to the tower T1. The transport mechanism 32 can reach the storage containers 10C and 10D, and take out the wafer W from the delivery module TRS for delivery of the tower T1 and transport the wafer W to the storage containers 10C and 10D.
The conveyance mechanisms 31 and 32 are configured similarly to each other, and the conveyance mechanism 31 will be described as a representative example with reference to the perspective view of fig. 5 and the plan view of fig. 6. The conveyance mechanism 31 includes: the frame 33, the elevating unit 34, the base 35, the holding unit 36, the holding unit 37, and the detecting unit 4. The frame 33 is a vertically long and upright frame, and the lifting unit 34 is configured to be vertically movable in the frame 33. The base 35 is provided on the elevating portion 34 to be rotatable about a vertical axis. The base 35 is provided with holding portions for holding the wafers W in the vertical direction, the lower holding portion being a holding portion 36, and the upper holding portion being a holding portion 37. For convenience of illustration, in fig. 5, the holding portion 37 is shown separately from the base 35.
The holding portions 36 and 37 constitute the 1 st substrate holding portion and the 2 nd substrate holding portion, respectively. The holding portions 36 and 37 advance and retreat independently of each other between an advanced position and a retreated position on the base 35. When the base 35 is moved up and down to deliver the wafers W to and from the storage container 10 or the module, the holding portions 36 and 37 are located at the forward position, and except for this case, the holding portions 36 and 37 are located at the backward position. Fig. 6 shows a state in which the holding portion 36 is located at the backward position and the holding portion 37 is located at the forward position.
The holding portions 36 and 37 include a base portion 38 and two tip portions 39 formed by extending the base portion 38 in the traveling direction in two branches, and the holding portions 36 and 37 are formed in a fork shape having an elongated and flat plate shape similar to each other. The wafer W is held by supporting the wafer W from below at the tip end side and the tip end portion 39 of the base portion 38. When the wafer W is supported in this manner, if the forward and backward directions of the holding portions 36 and 37 are set to the forward and backward directions, the holding portions 36 and 37 overlap the wafer W at positions closer to the center than the edges of the wafer W in the left-right direction, and the edges of the wafer W in the left-right direction protrude outward of the holding portions 36 and 37. That is, the holding portions 36 and 37 hold the wafer W so as not to surround the wafer W from the left and right and not to overlap with the edge portion of the wafer W in the left and right direction, and thus the edge portion of the held wafer W in the left and right direction is opened.
Fig. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of the storage container 10, and reference numeral 24 in the drawing denotes a support portion for supporting the wafers W in the storage container 10, and the wafers W are arranged in multiple stages so as to support the edges of the wafers W in the left-right direction. Therefore, the upper side of each support portion 24 is a housing area (groove) for the wafer W. By configuring the holding portions 36 and 37 of the transport mechanism 31 as described above, the holding portions 36 and 37 can be collectively inserted into the storage container 10, and the wafers W can be transferred to and from two vertically continuous grooves at the same time.
Returning to fig. 4 to 6, the description of the conveyance mechanism 31 is continued. The base 35 is provided with a detection unit 4. The detection unit 4 is composed of four optical sensors 40, and the optical sensors 40 are supported by the base 35 by the support portions 43 and move together with the base 35. Note that, in order to avoid complication of the drawings, the supporting portion 43 is omitted in fig. 4 and 6. The optical sensor 40 is composed of a set of a light projecting section 41 and a light receiving section 42. The light projecting unit 41 and the light receiving unit 42 are disposed to overlap each other, and for example, the light projecting unit 41 is disposed on the upper side and the light receiving unit 42 is disposed on the lower side. The light projecting portion 41 and the light receiving portion 42 constituting the same group are provided so as to vertically sandwich the peripheral edge portions of the wafer W held by the holding portion 36 and the holding portion 37 located at the retracted positions, and the groups are provided with a space in the circumferential direction of the wafer W. The light receiving unit 42 is composed of a plurality of light receiving elements linearly arranged from the center side toward the outer peripheral side of the wafer W held by the holding unit 36 and the holding unit 37.
The light projection unit 41 emits light downward in a state where the holding units 36 and 37 holding the wafer W are located at the retracted positions. The peripheral edge portion of the wafer W held by the holding portion 36 and/or the holding portion 37 at the retracted position shields a part of the light projected from the light projecting portion 41, and the other part of the light passes through the side of the wafer W and is irradiated to the light receiving portion 42. Therefore, the size of the region irradiated with light in the light receiving section 42, that is, the number of light receiving elements receiving light varies depending on the circumferential end position of the wafer W. The light receiving unit 42 transmits a detection signal corresponding to the size of the region to which light is irradiated to the control unit 100 described later. The control unit 100 constituting the detection mechanism detects the peripheral end positions of the wafer W based on the detection signal, and detects the center position of the wafer W based on the peripheral end positions.
Next, the handover module TRS1 will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 6 and 8, which are the above-described perspective views showing the plane of the handover module TRS 1. As described above, the wafer W can be delivered to and received from the transfer module TRS1 by the transfer mechanism F1 of the unit module E1 reaching the transfer module TRS1, and the wafer W can be delivered to and received from the transfer module TRS1 by the transfer mechanisms 31 and 32 reaching the transfer module TRS 1. In the figure, reference numeral 51 denotes a support portion for supporting the flat plate 52 at the tower T1, and two cross modules TRS1 stacked on each other are formed by extending two flat plates 52 from the support portion 51 in an overlapping manner. That is, the two flat plates 52 respectively constitute the handover module TRS 1. Three vertical pins 53 are provided at the tip end of each of the projecting flat plates 52, and the wafer W is horizontally placed on the pins 53. The pins 53 are arranged so as not to interfere with the holding portions 36, 37, and 15 of the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 and the holding portion 15 of the transport mechanism F1 when they are moved up and down to deliver the wafer W. Fig. 6 shows the holding portion 37 and the holding portion 15 when the wafer W is lifted and lowered for delivery.
The configuration of the handover module TRS1 has been described as a representative example, but the handover modules TRS2 to TRS6 are also configured similarly to the handover module TRS 1. Therefore, the wafers W can be transferred between the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 and the transport mechanisms F2 to F6 by the transfer modules TRS2 to TRS 6.
Next, the temperature control module SCPL1 shown in fig. 9 will be described. The temperature adjustment unit SCPL1 includes a plurality of circular plates 54 stacked on each other, and the wafer W can be placed on each of the plates 54. The temperature control unit SCPL1 is provided with a flow path, not shown, through which a coolant whose temperature has been controlled by a cooler is supplied, and the temperature of the plate 54 is controlled by the coolant, thereby controlling the temperature of the wafer W placed on the plate 54. The plate 54 is provided with notches corresponding to the claw portions 17 of the holding portion 15 of the conveying mechanism F1, and the wafer W is transferred to and from the plate 54 by the vertical movement of the holding portion 15.
The temperature control modules SCPL2 to SCPL6 have the same configuration as the temperature control module SCPL 1. With such a configuration, only the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 and the transport mechanism F (F1 to F6) can deliver the wafer W to the temperature control modules SCPL (SCPL1 to SCPL 6). In embodiment 1, the wafer W before resist film formation is conveyed to each temperature adjustment unit SCPL and temperature adjustment is performed.
Next, the position adjustment module THS will be described with reference to fig. 10. The wafer W is transferred to and from the position adjusting unit THS by the transfer mechanisms 31 and 32. The position adjustment unit THS includes four position regulating portions 55, and the position regulating portions 55 are arranged in a matrix shape in a plan view. The position restricting portion 55 is formed in a circular shape having a diameter increasing downward, and an inclined surface 56 is formed on a side surface of the position restricting portion 55. The region surrounded by the four position regulating portions 55 is a mounting region 57 for the wafer W. The wafers W are transported to the placing area 57 by the elevation of the holding portions 36 and 37 of the transport mechanisms 31 and 32, and the peripheral ends of the wafers W are supported by the inclined surfaces 56 of the respective position regulating portions 55. The peripheral end of the supported wafer W slides down along the inclined surface 56 by gravity. Therefore, the position of the wafer W can be automatically adjusted by the position adjusting unit THS.
After the transport mechanism 31 or 32 temporarily mounts the wafer W on the position adjustment module THS, the wafer W is picked up by the holding unit 36 or 37, and the center position of the wafer W is detected by the detection unit 4 described above. When the center position of the wafer W in the holding portion 36 or 37 is out of the allowable range, the wafer W is again placed on the position adjustment module THS. In order to adjust the position of the wafer W placed thereon, the orientation of the base 35 and the advance position of the holding portion 36 or 37 are adjusted based on the detected center position of the wafer W, and the wafer W is picked up, so that the center position of the wafer W in the holding portion 36 or 37 is set to a desired position. That is, the position adjustment module THS is a module for temporarily placing the wafer W in order to re-hold (re-hold) the wafer W so that the held wafer W is in an appropriate position.
As shown in fig. 1, the coating apparatus 1 includes a control unit 100. The control unit 100 is configured by a computer, and includes a program, a memory, and a CPU. A program is incorporated into a step group so that a series of operations in the coating apparatus 1 can be performed, and the control unit 100 outputs a control signal to each unit of the coating apparatus 1 by the program to control the operation of each unit. This transports the wafer W and processes the wafer W, which will be described later. The program is stored in a storage medium such as an optical disk, a hard disk, or a DVD, and loaded in the control unit 100.
Further, the program is configured to: when the holding portions 36 and 37 hold the wafer W, the respective conveying mechanisms 31 and 32 can determine whether or not the holding position of the wafer W is abnormal based on the detection signals received from the respective optical sensors 40. When the peripheral edge position of the wafer W is detected to be within the predetermined range by each of the optical sensors 40, the holding position of the wafer W is set to be normal. On the other hand, the holding position is abnormal when any one of the four optical sensors 40 cannot detect the wafer W, when the peripheral end position of the wafer W detected by any one of the four optical sensors 40 is abnormal, or when the center position of the virtual wafer W described later is abnormal.
The determination of the abnormality based on the virtual center position of the wafer W will be described with reference to fig. 11 showing XY coordinates. The X direction and the Y direction in the coordinates do not necessarily coincide with the X direction and the Y direction used in the description of the coating apparatus 1. In fig. 11, the wafers W held by the holding portions 36 and 37 are shown by a broken line and a dashed-dotted line, respectively. The peripheral end position of the wafer W is acquired by four optical sensors 40. Next, the peripheral edge position of the wafer W detected by the two adjacent photosensors 40 is set as the peripheral edge position of one wafer W (as a virtual wafer W1, shown by a solid line in the drawing). The center position of the virtual wafer W1 is calculated based on the peripheral edge position of the virtual wafer W1 and the diameter of the wafer W, which is known data. In fig. 11, the center position is exemplified as the origin of XY coordinates. The center positions of the virtual wafer W1 corresponding to the number of combinations of the adjacent photosensors 40 (═ 4) are calculated, and if any one of the center positions is abnormal, it is assumed that the actual center position of the wafer W is also abnormal.
The above-described procedure is configured to re-hold the wafer W using the already-described position adjustment module THS when the wafer W is held by both of the holding portions 36 and 37 and the abnormality in the holding position of the wafer W is determined as described above. Then, the program calculates the center position of the wafer W based on the peripheral end position of the wafer W detected when the wafer W is held by one of the holding portions 36 and 37. The program is configured to adjust the advance amount of the holding portion for holding the wafer W and the orientation of the base 35 so that the center position is located at a predetermined position of the wafer W at the transfer-destination module. That is, the position of the wafer W at the transportation-destination module is corrected based on the detected center position of the wafer W.
Fig. 12 shows a transport path of the wafer W in the coating apparatus 1 by an arrow. After the wafers W sent out from the storage containers 10A and 10B are transferred to the transfer modules TRS (TRS1 to TRS6) for carrying in, the wafers W are transferred by the transfer mechanisms F (F1 to F6) of the unit modules E (E1 to E6). The conveyance mechanism F (F1 to F6) conveys the wafer W in the order of the temperature adjustment module SCPL (SCPL1 to SCPL6) → the resist film formation module 12 → the heating module 13 → the transfer module TRS (TRS1 to TRS6) for sending out. Then, the wafers W are transferred from the delivery modules TRS1 to TRS6 for sending to the storage containers 10C and 10D.
Fig. 13 shows the transport paths of the wafer W by the transport mechanisms 31 and 32, respectively. The transport mechanism 31 receives two wafers W from the storage container 10A or 10B at a time, and transports the wafers W one by one successively to the transfer module TRS for transfer corresponding to one unit module E and the transfer module TRS for transfer corresponding to the other unit module E. That is, the wafer W is transported to the two transfer modules TRS for loading. The conveying mechanism 31 sets the series of conveyance as one cycle, and repeats the cycle.
On the other hand, the transport mechanism 32 successively receives wafers W one by one from the delivery module TRS for delivery corresponding to one unit module E and the delivery module TRS for delivery corresponding to the other unit module E. That is, the wafers W are individually received from the two transfer modules TRS for sending. Thereafter, the transport mechanism 32 transports the total of two wafers W received to the storage container 10C or 10D at once. The conveying mechanism 32 sets the series of conveyance to one cycle, and repeats the cycle. The continuous collection of the wafers W means that the wafers W are collected without reaching other modules or the storage container 10. Similarly, the continuous conveyance of the wafers W means conveyance of the wafers W without reaching other modules or the storage container 10.
The transportation of the wafers W by the above-described transport mechanisms 31 and 32 will be described in further detail below with reference to fig. 14 to 25, taking the transportation of the wafers W between the storage container 10A, the storage container 10C, and the delivery modules TRS1 and TRS2 as an example. The base 35 of the transport mechanism 31 moves forward of the storage container 10A. Then, the holding portions 36 and 37 are advanced together to the advanced position and enter the housing container 10A (fig. 14 and 15), and the base 35 is raised to collect the wafers W by the holding portions 36 and 37. Then, when the holding portions 36 and 37 are moved to the backward position together, the light sensor 40 irradiates light to detect the peripheral end position of the wafer W (fig. 16). From the peripheral end position, the presence or absence of an abnormality is determined for the holding position of the wafer W as described above. This determination is set as the 1 st abnormality determination.
When the 1 st abnormality is determined to be no abnormality, the base 35 moves to the front of the transfer module TRS1 for transfer, and irradiates light from the optical sensor 40 to detect the peripheral end position of the wafer W (fig. 17). Based on the peripheral end position, the presence or absence of an abnormality is determined for the holding position of the wafer W. This determination is set as the 2 nd abnormality determination. When the 2 nd abnormality is determined to be no abnormality, only the holding unit 36 of the holding units 36 and 37 moves to the advanced position, and thereafter, the base 35 moves down to transfer the wafer W to the transfer module TRS1 (fig. 18). Next, the base 35 moves toward the delivery module TRS2 for loading, and irradiates light from the optical sensor 40 to detect the peripheral edge position of the wafer W (fig. 19). Then, only the holding portion 37 of the holding portions 36 and 37 is moved to the advanced position. As described above, the advance amount is adjusted based on the peripheral end position of the wafer W, and the orientation is adjusted by rotating the base 35. Then, the base 35 is lowered to place the wafer W at a predetermined position of the delivery module TRS2 (fig. 20), and the holding portion 37 is moved to the backward position (fig. 21).
The wafers W thus transferred to the transfer modules TRS1 and TRS2 for carrying in are received and processed by the unit modules E1 and E2 as described above, and are transported to the transfer modules TRS1 and TRS2 for carrying out. Then, the base 35 of the transport mechanism 32 moves forward to the delivery module TRS1 for sending out, only the holding portion 36 of the holding portions 36 and 37 moves to the forward position, and the base 35 is raised to move the holding portion 36 to the backward position while receiving the wafer W (fig. 22). Next, the base 35 of the transport mechanism 32 moves forward of the delivery module TRS2, only the holding portion 37 of the holding portions 36 and 37 moves to the forward position, and the base 35 moves upward to cause the holding portion 37 to receive the wafer W (fig. 23) and move to the backward position.
Thereafter, the base 35 moves forward of the storage container 10C, and the peripheral edge position of the wafer W is detected by irradiating light from the optical sensor 40 (fig. 24). Based on the peripheral end position, the presence or absence of an abnormality is determined for the holding position of the wafer W. This determination is set as a 3 rd abnormality determination. When the 3 rd abnormality is determined to be no abnormality, the holding units 36 and 37 are moved together to the advanced position (fig. 25), and after the base 35 is lowered to deliver two wafers W to the storage container 10C at once, the holding units 36 and 37 are moved back together.
When the 1 st abnormality determination and the 2 nd abnormality determination described above are performed in a state where the wafers W are held by the holding portions 36 and 37 of the transport mechanism 31, and it is determined that the holding position of the wafer W is abnormal, the transport mechanism 31 moves to the position adjustment block THS, and the wafers W are re-held one by one so that the center of each wafer W is located at the predetermined position of the holding portions 36 and 37 as described above. In the process of the retainment, in the case where the peripheral end position of one wafer W is detected by projecting light from the optical sensor 40 in a state where both the holding portions 36 and 37 hold the wafers W, for example, the holding portion holding the other wafer W is moved to the advanced position to prevent light from being irradiated to the two wafers W. After the holding portions 36 and 37 have newly held the wafer W, the wafer W is continuously conveyed along the path described in fig. 13. In addition, the above-described abnormality determination of the 3 rd stage performed in a state where the wafer W is held by the holding portions 36 and 37 of the transport mechanism 32 is performed in the same manner as when the wafer W holding position is determined to be abnormal, and the transport of the wafer W is continued after the re-holding.
When the wafers W in the storage container 10A are sequentially sent out and one wafer W remains, only one of the holding portions 36 and 37 of the transport mechanism 31 receives the wafer W and transports the wafer W to the delivery module TRS1 or TRS 2. Similarly, when there is one empty groove in the storage container 10C, only one of the holding portions 36 and 37 of the transfer mechanism 32 receives the wafer W from the transfer module TRS and transfers the wafer W to the empty groove in the storage container 10C. Note that, although the transfer of the wafer W to and from the storage containers 10A and 10C and the transfer of the wafer W to and from the transfer modules TRS1 and TRS2 have been described, the transfer of the wafer W to and from the storage containers 10B and 10D is performed in the same manner as the transfer of the wafer W to and from the storage containers 10A and 10C. The transfer of the wafer W to the other unit modules than the unit modules E1 and E2 is also performed in the same manner as the transfer of the wafer W to the unit modules E1 and E2.
According to the coating apparatus 1, the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 provided in the carrier module D1 each include the holding portions 36 and 37, and the holding portions 36 and 37 each have a shape that can reach the storage container 10. The holding units 36 and 37 collectively transfer two wafers W to and from the storage container 10, and the holding units 36 and 37 individually transfer the wafers W to and from the transfer module TRS serving as a transfer-in/out module of the unit module E. With this configuration, since two wafers W are collectively transported between the storage container 10 and the transfer module TRS, the transport time for transporting each wafer W in the carrier module D1 can be shortened. As a result, productivity can be improved.
In the configuration of the coating apparatus 1, two wafers W are conveyed between the transfer module TRS and the storage container 10 corresponding to each of the two unit modules E. However, two delivery modules TRS for input and two delivery modules TRS for output are provided for each unit module. Further, the two wafers W may be collectively transferred to the transfer module TRS for carrying in corresponding to the same unit module, or may be received from the transfer module TRS for carrying out corresponding to the same unit module. In this way, even when the transfer path is changed by changing the configuration of the apparatus, the transfer mechanisms 31 and 32 transfer the wafers W to the transfer module TRS one by one, and therefore, there is no need to make a special design change. That is, since the holding portions 36 and 37 individually transfer the wafer W to the respective transfer modules TRS, there is an advantage that the degree of freedom in setting the transfer path is high.
As described above, when the second wafer W of the two wafers W held by the transport mechanism 31 is transported to the transfer module TRS, the center position of the wafer W is detected by the optical sensor 40. Then, based on the center position, the mounting position of the wafer W on the transfer module TRS is adjusted. That is, since the wafers W are transferred to the transfer module TRS one by one, the second wafer W can be transferred to a desired position of the transfer module TRS with high accuracy using the detection result obtained by the detection section 4. Therefore, compared to the case where two wafers W are simultaneously transferred to the transfer module TRS, there is an advantage that it is possible to more reliably suppress occurrence of an abnormality in processing of the wafers W due to a failure in the transfer position. However, when the transport mechanism 31 holds two wafers W as described above, the 1 st abnormality determination and the 2 nd abnormality determination are performed as described above, and therefore, the mounting position of the second wafer W may not be adjusted.
In addition, with respect to the temperature adjustment module SCPL provided in the tower T1, the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 do not reach, but only the transport mechanisms F1 to F6 reach. Therefore, the load on the conveyance mechanisms 31 and 32 can be suppressed, and the productivity can be more reliably improved.
The holding portions 36 and 37 collectively transfer the wafers W to and from the storage container 10 means that the wafers W are transferred between the storage container 10 and the holding portions 36 and 37 while the holding portions 36 and 37 are simultaneously in the storage container 10. That is, when the base 35 is moved up and down to transfer the wafer W between the holding portions 36 and 37 located at the advanced positions and the storage container 10, the holding portion 36 and the holding portion 37 may be simultaneously or alternately located at the time when the wafer W is supported by the holding portions and the time when the wafer W is separated from the holding portions. Further, the holding portions 36 and 37 advance together with respect to the storage container 10 means that both the holding portions 36 and 37 advance simultaneously with respect to the storage container 10 when a certain period is observed. That is, the holding portions 36 and 37 may be simultaneously or alternately arranged with respect to the time when the container 10 starts to advance. Similarly, the timings of ending the advance may be the same or different.
In the above-described transport example, the position adjustment module THS is used to re-hold the wafers W only when the holding positions at which the two wafers W are held are determined to be abnormal. For example, when the wafer W is held only by the holding unit 37, the presence or absence of an abnormality may be determined with respect to the peripheral end position of the wafer W obtained and the center position obtained from the peripheral end position, and when it is determined that the abnormality is present, the wafer W may be re-held, and the wafer W may be transported after being re-held.
(embodiment 2)
The liquid treatment performed in each unit block E is not limited to the formation of a resist film. Another configuration example of the unit block E will be described. For example, a developing unit is provided in each of the unit blocks E1 to E6 in place of the resist film forming unit 12. The developing unit supplies a developer to the wafer W to develop the exposed resist film formed on the surface of the wafer W. The respective conveying mechanisms F may convey the wafer W in the order of the heating unit 13 → the temperature adjusting unit SCPL → the developing unit. Unlike embodiment 1, the heating unit 13 is used to perform post-exposure baking. Except for this point, the substrate processing apparatus according to embodiment 2 has the same configuration as the apparatus according to embodiment 1. That is, in embodiment 2, the substrate processing apparatus is configured as a developing apparatus. Even in the case of the developing apparatus configured as described above, the wafer W can be transported in the same manner as the coating apparatus 1, and the same effects as those described in the coating apparatus 1 can be obtained.
(embodiment 3)
Next, the coating apparatus 5 according to embodiment 3 will be described mainly with reference to fig. 26, focusing on differences from the coating apparatus 1. The coating apparatus 5 sequentially forms an antireflection film, a resist film, and a protective film on the wafer W so that the films are laminated on each other. The protective film is used to protect the resist film during immersion exposure.
In the unit modules E1 and E2, the antireflection film formation member 18 is provided as a liquid processing member in place of the resist film formation member 12. The antireflection film formation module 18 forms an antireflection film by spin-coating a chemical solution for antireflection film formation on the wafer W. The transfer mechanisms F1 and F2 of the unit modules E1 and E2 transfer the wafers W in the order of the transfer modules TRS1 and TRS2 for loading, the temperature adjusting modules SCPL1 and SCPL2 → the antireflection film forming module 18 → the heating module 13 → the transfer modules TRS1 and TRS2 for unloading.
The unit blocks E3 and E4 are the same as the unit blocks E3 and E4 of the coating apparatus 1. In addition, the unit modules E5 and E6 are provided with a protective film forming module 19 as a liquid processing module instead of the resist film forming module 12. The protective film forming unit 19 forms a protective film by spin-coating a chemical solution for forming a protective film on the wafer W. The transfer mechanisms F5 and F6 of the unit modules E5 and E6 transfer the wafers W in the order of the transfer modules TRS5 and TRS6 for loading, the temperature adjustment modules SCPL5 and SCPL6 → the protective film forming module 19 → the heating module 13 → the transfer modules TRS5 and TRS6 for unloading. Further, between the unit modules E1 to E6, the liquid treatment modules and the heating modules are arranged in the same layout as each other.
In fig. 26, solid-line arrows and dashed-dotted arrows show a conveyance path by the conveyance mechanism 31 and a conveyance path by the conveyance mechanism 32, respectively. Fig. 27 shows the transport paths of the wafers W by the transport mechanisms 31 and 32, respectively, as in fig. 13. The transport mechanism 31 receives the wafer W from the storage container 10A or 10B and transports the wafer W to the transfer modules TRS1 and TRS2 for carrying in. Subsequently, the wafers W are successively taken in from the delivery modules TRS1 and TRS2 for carrying out, and the wafers W are successively transferred to the delivery modules TRS3 and TRS4 for carrying in. Such a conveyance cycle is repeated. In embodiment 3, the unit blocks E1 and E2 correspond to one unit block, and the unit blocks E3 and E4 correspond to another unit block. Then, the wafers W are continuously transferred from the transfer module TRS corresponding to one unit module to the transfer module TRS corresponding to another unit module.
The transfer mechanism 32 continuously receives the wafers W from the delivery modules TRS5 and TRS6 for delivery, and transfers the wafers W to the storage container 10C or 10D. Then, the wafers W are successively taken in from the delivery modules TRS3 and TRS4 for carrying out, and the wafers W are successively transferred to the delivery modules TRS5 and TRS6 for carrying in. Such a conveyance cycle is repeated.
In this manner, the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 of the coating device 5 transport the receiving container 10 and the delivery module TRS and also transport the delivery modules TRS corresponding to the different unit modules E. In the coating apparatus 5, as in the coating apparatus 1, the holding portions 36 and 37 of the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 are advanced together to collectively transfer the wafers W to the storage container 10, and when the wafers W are transferred to the transfer module TRS, the holding portions 36 and 37 individually transfer the wafers W. Therefore, the same effect as that of the coating apparatus 1 can be obtained also by the coating apparatus 5.
(embodiment 4)
Next, the substrate processing apparatus according to embodiment 4 will be described mainly with respect to differences from the coating apparatus 5 according to embodiment 3. The unit blocks E2 to E4 are configured in the same manner as the unit blocks E1 and E2 of the coating apparatus 5, and an antireflection film is formed on each wafer W. The unit blocks E5 and E6 are configured in the same manner as the unit block E in embodiment 2, and develop the wafer W. As for the unit block E1, for example, the liquid processing module and the heating module are not provided, and the photographing module is provided at a position where the other unit block E is provided with the heating module. The imaging unit includes, for example, a stage on which the wafer W is placed and a camera that images the surface of the wafer W on the stage. The camera transmits the acquired image to the control unit 100, and the control unit 100 performs an inspection for determining whether or not there is an abnormality on the surface of the wafer W.
For convenience of explanation, the 1 st to 3 rd storage containers 10 are used as the three different storage containers 10. For example, the wafers W discharged from the 1 st storage container 10 are transported to the unit blocks E2 to E4 to form an antireflection film, and the wafers W discharged from the 2 nd storage container 10 are transported to the unit blocks E5 and E6 to be subjected to development processing. The wafer W sent out from the 3 rd storage container 10 is conveyed to the unit block E1, imaged and inspected. The wafers W are transferred between the storage containers 10 and the unit modules E1 to E6 as described in embodiment 1.
As illustrated in embodiment 3, in embodiment 4, the wafer W may be transferred between the unit modules E. That is, in embodiment 4, the wafers W processed in the unit modules E2 to E4 or the unit modules E5 and E6 and transferred to the transfer modules TRS2 to TRS5 for carrying out can be transferred to the transfer module TRS1 for carrying in by the transfer mechanism 31 or 32. After the image pickup, the wafer W conveyed to the delivery module TRS1 for delivery is returned to the storage container 10 by the conveyance mechanism 31 or 32.
As shown in embodiment 4, the processing of the wafer W in the processing module is not limited to the liquid processing and the heating processing, and may include imaging. As shown in embodiments 1 to 4, the plurality of unit modules E constituting the process module D2 may perform the same type of process or different processes on the wafer W.
(embodiment 5)
Next, the coating and developing apparatus 6 according to embodiment 5 will be described with reference to a plan view of fig. 28 and a vertical sectional view of fig. 29, focusing on differences from the coating apparatus 5. The coating and developing apparatus 6 is connected to a carrier module D1, a process module D2, and an interface module D3 in this order along the X direction. An exposure machine D4 is connected to the interface module D3 on the side opposite to the side to which the processing module D2 is connected.
The process module D2 of the coating and developing apparatus 6 is composed of unit modules E1 to E5, unit modules E1 to E3 are configured similarly to each other, and unit modules E4 and E5 are configured similarly to each other. The unit blocks E1 to E3 of the coating and developing apparatus 6 are configured substantially in the same manner as the unit blocks E1 to E3 of the coating and developing apparatus 1, but different from these, the unit blocks E1 to E3 of the coating and developing apparatus 6 are provided with the antireflection film formation member 18 in addition to the resist film formation member 12. The unit blocks E4 and E5 of the coating and developing apparatus 6 are configured in the same manner as the unit blocks E4 and E5 of embodiment 2, and perform a developing process on the wafer W.
Next, the interface module D3 will be explained. The interface module D3 includes towers T2 to T4 extending vertically so as to straddle the unit modules E1 to E6. The tower T2 is configured by stacking a plurality of handover modules TRS. The columns T3 and T4 are provided so as to sandwich the column T2 in the Y direction. The columns T3, T4 contain various components, but illustration and description are omitted. The interface module D3 further includes transfer mechanisms 61 to 63 for transferring the wafers W to the towers T2 to T4. The transfer mechanism 61 transfers the wafer W to and from the towers T2 and T3. The transfer mechanism 62 transfers the wafer W to and from the towers T2 and T4. The transfer mechanism 63 transfers the wafer W between the tower T2 and the exposure machine D4.
The transport path of the wafer W in the coating and developing apparatus 6 will be described. The wafers W transferred from the storage containers 10A and 10B are transferred to the transfer modules TRS1 to TRS3 by the transfer mechanism 31. Then, the wafer W is conveyed by the conveying mechanisms F1 to F3 in the order of the temperature adjusting blocks SCPL1 to SCPL3 → the antireflection film forming block 18 → the heating block 13 → the temperature adjusting blocks SCPL1 to SCPL3 → the resist film forming block 12 → the heating block 13. As a result, the wafer W is sequentially provided with the antireflection film and the resist film, and then is transferred to the transfer module TRS at a height corresponding to the unit modules E1 to E3 of the tower T2. After being transported between the towers T2 and T3 by the transport mechanism 61, the substrate is transported to the exposure machine D4 by the transport mechanism 63 and exposed.
Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred from the exposure machine D4 to the tower T2 by the transfer mechanism 63, transferred between the towers T2 and T4, and then transferred to the transfer module TRS at a height corresponding to the unit modules E4 and E5 of the tower T2. Then, as described in embodiment 2, the PEB and the developing process are sequentially received by being transferred to the unit modules E4 and E5, and then transferred to the delivery modules TRS4 and TRS5, and further transferred from the delivery modules TRS4 and TRS5 to the storage containers 10C and 10D by the transfer mechanism 32.
The transport between the storage container 10 and the delivery modules TRS1 to TRS5 is performed in the same manner as in embodiment 1. That is, the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 deliver two wafers W to the storage container 10 at once, and deliver the wafers W to the delivery modules TRS individually. Therefore, the coating and developing apparatus 6 can also obtain the same effects as the coating apparatus 1.
Note that, although various components are actually provided in the coating and developing apparatus 6 and the process module D2 of each coating apparatus in addition to the liquid processing component and the heating component, they are omitted to prevent the complication of the description. The processing module D2 may not be divided into unit modules, i.e., may not be divided vertically. In addition, the processing described above is also an example of the processing component. In addition to the above-described examples, as the processing modules, for example, a coating module for coating a chemical solution for forming an insulating film, a cleaning module for supplying a chemical solution (cleaning liquid) to clean the wafer W, and a coating module for coating an adhesive for bonding a plurality of wafers W to each other may be provided.
The transfer module TRS provided in the tower T1 is not limited to the above-described configuration example as long as the transfer mechanisms 31 and 32 and the transfer mechanism F can transfer the wafer W. Fig. 30 shows another configuration example of the handover module TRS. The passing module TRS includes a circular plate 71 connected to the support portion 51. A plurality of circular plates 71 are stacked one on top of another to form a transfer module TRS.
Similar to the plate 71 constituting the temperature control unit SCPL, the plate 71 has notches 72 corresponding to the claws 17 of the transport mechanism F at the peripheral edge of the plate 71, and the transport mechanism F can transfer the wafer W to and from the plate 71 through the notches 72. Further, a groove 73 corresponding to the shape of the holding portions 36, 37 of the conveying mechanisms 31, 32 is formed on the surface of the plate 71, and the wafer W is supported outside the groove 73. The groove 73 is open on the outside of the plate 71, and the holding portions 36 and 37 can move between the outside of the plate 71 and the groove 73, whereby the wafer W can be transferred to and from the plate 71.
The holding portions 36 and 37 are not limited to the shapes described above. Specifically, for example, the tip may be formed into a tongue shape that is not divided into two. In this case, the passing module TRS may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other by a relatively large distance so that the pin 53 does not interfere with the holding portions 36 and 37.
The position adjusting unit THS may be disposed at a position within the carrier module D1 where the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 can reach, respectively, and is not limited to the above-described disposition example. However, by disposing the column T1 as described above, the increase in the floor area of the carrier module D1 can be suppressed. In the above-described example, the transport mechanism 31 is used to transport the wafers W out of the storage container 10, and the transport mechanism 32 is used to transport the wafers W into the storage container 10, but the present invention is not limited to the use of the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 separately. For example, the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 may be used to transport the wafers W out of the storage containers 10A and 10C, respectively, and the transport mechanisms 31 and 32 may be used to transport the wafers W into the storage containers 10B and 10D, respectively.
Fig. 31 shows another example of the structure of the conveyance mechanism 31. As a difference from the above-described example, four lower holding portions 36 are provided so as to overlap each other. That is, the base 35 is provided with five holding portions together with the upper holding portion 37. As in the above-described example, the holding portions 36 and 37 can be advanced and retracted independently of each other on the base 35. The four holding portions 36 are connected to each other, for example, on the base side, and advance and retreat together on the base 35. Although not shown, the optical sensor 40 is provided on the base 35 provided with the four holding portions 36, as in the above-described example in which only one holding portion 36 is provided.
When the wafers W are transferred to and from the transport container 10, the four holding portions 36 and the holding portion 37 advance and retreat on the base 35 at the same time, and five wafers W are transferred at a time. Then, the wafer W is transferred to the transfer module TRS by performing a single forward and backward movement between the holding portion 37 and the four holding portions 36. The four holding portions 46 may transfer four wafers W to the four transfer modules TRS at one time, or may transfer the wafers W in multiple times. That is, 1 to 3 wafers W can be transferred to the transfer module TRS by one advance and retreat. In addition, as in the above-described example, when the wafer W is transferred to the transfer module TRS or the transport container 10, the holding position of the wafer W is determined whether or not there is a difference by using the optical sensor 40. In this determination, when the holding position of the wafer W is determined to be abnormal when the wafers W are held by the plurality of holding units 36, the wafers W held by the holding units 36 are re-held as described above. Therefore, when it is determined that the holding position is abnormal when the four holding portions 36 hold the wafers W, the four wafers W are re-held.
The conveying mechanism 32 may similarly be provided with a plurality of holding portions 36. Further, the holding portions 37 on the upper side of the respective conveying mechanisms 31 and 32 may be provided in plural numbers in the same manner as the holding portions 36, and the holding portions 36 may be configured to advance and retreat on the base 35 at once. That is, the 1 st substrate holding unit and the 2 nd substrate holding unit are not limited to being configured to hold only one substrate, and may be configured to hold a plurality of substrates.
The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The above-described embodiments may be omitted, replaced, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the appended claims and the gist thereof.

Claims (13)

1. A substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that,
the substrate processing apparatus includes:
a container placing section for placing a storage container for storing a plurality of substrates;
a plurality of substrate processing units that process the substrates, respectively;
a 1 st substrate transfer mechanism including a movable base and a 1 st substrate holding portion and a 2 nd substrate holding portion, the 1 st substrate holding portion and the 2 nd substrate holding portion being independently movable back and forth on the base, and supporting positions of central portions of the substrates in a left-right direction from below so that edges of the substrates in the left-right direction are open, the 1 st substrate holding portion and the 2 nd substrate holding portion moving together to transfer the substrates to the storage container in unison; and
and a plurality of 1 st substrate mounting portions stacked on each other, on which the substrates are mounted, and which transfer the substrates to the substrate processing portions, wherein the 1 st substrate holding portion and the 2 nd substrate holding portion individually advance on the base table to transfer the substrates.
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
the substrate processing apparatus is provided with a plurality of unit modules stacked on each other, each of the plurality of unit modules including the substrate processing unit and a 2 nd substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate between the substrate processing unit and the 1 st substrate mounting unit,
the 1 st substrate mounting unit is provided for each of the unit modules.
3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2,
the 2 nd substrate transfer mechanism includes a 3 rd substrate holding portion, and the 3 rd substrate holding portion includes a surrounding portion that surrounds the substrate from a side and a claw portion that is provided on an inner peripheral edge of the surrounding portion and supports a lower surface of the substrate.
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,
the substrate processing apparatus includes a 2 nd substrate mounting unit, the 2 nd substrate mounting unit being arranged in a longitudinal direction with respect to the 1 st substrate mounting unit, and the substrate is transferred by only a 2 nd substrate transfer mechanism of the 1 st substrate transfer mechanism and the 2 nd substrate transfer mechanism.
5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4,
the 2 nd substrate mounting section is a temperature adjusting section for adjusting the temperature of the substrate.
6. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
the 1 st substrate conveyance mechanism includes a detection portion for detecting a position of the substrate held by the 1 st substrate holding portion and/or the 2 nd substrate holding portion.
7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6,
the detection unit includes a light projection unit for projecting light to a peripheral edge portion of the substrate and a light receiving unit for receiving light projected by the light projection unit and passing through a side of the substrate,
the substrate processing apparatus is provided with a detection mechanism that detects a position of a peripheral end of the substrate based on a detection signal output by the light receiving portion.
8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6,
the substrate processing apparatus is provided with a position adjusting unit that temporarily places the substrate so as to newly hold each of the substrates by the 1 st substrate holding unit and the 2 nd substrate holding unit and adjusts a position of the temporarily placed substrate, based on a detection result obtained by the detecting unit when the 1 st substrate holding unit and the 2 nd substrate holding unit hold the substrate.
9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8,
the position adjusting part is arranged in the longitudinal direction with respect to the 1 st substrate placing part.
10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6,
the substrate processing apparatus is provided with a control part for outputting a control signal,
the control unit outputs the control signal to adjust a position where the substrate is transferred to the 1 st substrate placement unit based on a detection result obtained by the detection unit when the substrate is held by the 1 st substrate holding unit or the 2 nd substrate holding unit.
11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10,
the control unit outputs a control signal to continuously convey the plurality of substrates received by the 1 st substrate conveyance mechanism from the receiving container to the 1 st substrate placement unit.
12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10,
the control unit outputs a control signal to cause the 1 st substrate transport mechanism to successively pick up the substrates from the 1 st substrate placement units and transport the picked-up substrates to the storage container.
13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10,
the substrate processing apparatus is provided by stacking a plurality of unit modules each including the substrate processing unit and a transport path for transporting the substrate,
the 1 st substrate mounting part is provided for each of the unit modules,
the control unit outputs a control signal to cause the 1 st substrate transfer mechanism to continuously pick up the substrate from the 1 st substrate placement units corresponding to one unit module and to continuously transfer the substrate to the 1 st substrate placement units corresponding to another unit module.
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