JP2001100169A - Substrate supporting device and substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device which can support a substrate without depending on the mounting direction and which suppresses distortion in the substrate in a carrying process including an exchanging process. SOLUTION: The device is equipped with a supporting part 20 having a plurality of openings 21 which supports a substrate P and with positioning parts 22a to 22c formed on the supporting part 20 to position the substrate P in each of a first direction and a second direction different from the first direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate supporting apparatus for supporting a substrate and a substrate processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process on the substrate supported by the substrate supporting apparatus. The present invention relates to a substrate supporting device suitable for supporting a thin substrate used in the above, and a substrate processing device for performing exposure processing or the like on the substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the process of manufacturing, for example, a liquid crystal display (collectively, a flat panel display), various apparatuses, for example, processing apparatuses for large substrates such as exposure apparatuses and inspection apparatuses have been used. In an exposure step and an inspection step using these processing apparatuses, a substrate exchange apparatus that automatically sets and removes a large substrate (glass substrate) from the processing apparatus is used.

FIG. 14 shows a schematic configuration of a substrate exchanging apparatus used as an example in a liquid crystal exposure apparatus. In the substrate exchange apparatus shown in this figure, a glass substrate (substrate) P
Is placed on the substrate holder 43 as follows.

(1) The glass substrate P is transferred to the robot arm 42
And is transported to above the substrate holder 43 while holding from below.

(2) In this state, a plurality of support rods 44 provided on the substrate holder 43 for transferring the substrate project from the upper surface of the holder through an opening provided on the upper surface of the substrate holder 43, and rise. The glass substrate P is lifted from below (or the robot arm 42 descends so that the glass substrate P is placed on the support rod 44 which is stopped by protruding from the upper surface of the holder 43). In this case, the support rod 44
Is the glass substrate P so that the glass substrate P is not largely bent.
Are arranged so as to support the vicinity of the central portion and the peripheral portion.

(3) Next, the support rod 44 rises by a predetermined amount,
When the glass substrate P is lifted up by a predetermined amount from the upper surface of the robot arm 42 by the support rod 44, the robot arm 42 moves from below the glass substrate P so as not to contact the glass substrate P, the support rod 44 and the substrate holder 43. evacuate.

(4) Thereafter, the support bar 44 descends while supporting the glass substrate P from below, sinks below the upper surface of the substrate holder 43, and only the glass substrate P comes into contact with the upper surface of the substrate holder 43. It is placed in a state. Then, the glass substrate P is sucked and fixed by the substrate holder 43 through a number of suction holes (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the substrate holder 43. At this time, the flatness (flatness) of the glass substrate P
The glass substrate P is attracted to the substrate holder 43 in a well-balanced manner in order to improve the temperature. Thereafter, the exposure processing is performed by the exposure device while the glass substrate P moves together with the substrate holder 43. When removing the glass substrate P from the substrate holder 43, the above (1) to (4)
The procedure reverse to the procedure described in is performed.

By the way, since a thin glass substrate of, for example, 500 mm × 600 mm and a thickness of about 0.7 mm is used as a substrate for manufacturing a flat panel display, this glass substrate is easily broken, and only a large bending occurs. But it can be damaged. Therefore, in the above-described conventional substrate exchange apparatus, in order to transfer the thin glass substrate from the robot arm to the substrate holder without damage, a plurality of support rods are arranged at portions of the glass substrate that are not in contact with the central and peripheral arms. Then, it is necessary to exchange the substrate while supporting the lower surface of the glass substrate in a well-balanced manner.

Therefore, in order to more stably support the substrate, the number of support rods must be increased. However, if the number of support rods is increased, the mechanism for vertically moving the support rods becomes complicated. In addition, there is an inconvenience that the size is increased and the position controllability of the substrate holder is deteriorated. for that reason,
The number of support rods must be limited, and as a result, the substrate is currently bent to some extent, but this bending causes the entire substrate to simultaneously contact the substrate holder. Or cannot be separated from the substrate holder,
The upper surface of the substrate holder has a disadvantage that the wear is partially advanced.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional substrate exchanging device, the robot arm has a comb-like cantilever structure in the moving direction so as not to interfere with the support rod, and supports the substrate so as not to damage the substrate. In addition, it is necessary to support the vicinity of the center of the substrate. That is, in order to secure a space between the substrate and the substrate holder for the robot arm to enter, the support rod needs to lift the substrate high. However, in the case of a liquid crystal exposure apparatus, for example, a gap (a so-called working distance) between the projection optical system PL and the substrate holder shown in FIG. A. Due to the tendency to become narrower with the development, it is becoming impossible to secure a space for the robot arm to enter. Therefore, depending on the exposure apparatus for the liquid crystal, it may be necessary to transfer the substrate after moving the substrate holder away from the projection optical system.Therefore, by increasing the moving stroke of the substrate holder, However, there is an inconvenience that the transfer time of the device increases and the footprint (the installation area of the device) also increases.

The applicant of the present invention has previously filed an application for a substrate supporting apparatus for solving the above-mentioned inconvenience (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 10-1998).
No. 042835). This substrate support device is formed in a tray shape having a support portion integrally provided inside the outer peripheral portion and supporting the substrate, and the substrate is supported by the support portion, and the substrate is bent. In the stopped state, the substrate is transferred and exchanged integrally with the substrate supporting device.

[0012]

However, the conventional substrate supporting apparatus and substrate processing apparatus as described above include:
The following problems exist. Depending on the shape and size of the device pattern exposed on the glass substrate, placing the glass substrate on a substrate holder with the orientation of the glass substrate changed may be advantageous in terms of pattern arrangement. Also,
When switching lots, a glass substrate whose orientation has been changed may be placed on a substrate holder following a glass substrate having a normal orientation. Further, the size of the glass substrate used in one exposure apparatus is not limited to one type, and there are a plurality of sizes according to the device.

The substrate supporting device is usually conveyed together with the glass substrate, and is used as a consumable because it is used in plural for one exposure apparatus, and is exchanged periodically. If it is made according to the size,
It becomes necessary to design, manufacture, and prepare a substrate support device for each direction and size of the glass substrate, which increases costs. Furthermore, every time the orientation and size of the glass substrate are changed, the substrate support device needs to be replaced accordingly, and the work time,
There is a problem that the amount of work is increased. When the price of the substrate support apparatus increases, a problem that the running cost of the exposure apparatus increases also occurs at the same time.

The use of the above-described substrate supporting device facilitates the transfer of the glass substrate even in a place where the working distance is narrow. However, if both ends of the substrate supporting device are supported by a robot arm, the weight of the substrate and the glass during the transfer can be reduced. Deflection occurs due to the weight of the substrate. In other words,
There has also been a problem that the substantial thickness of the substrate supporting device is increased, so that a margin for the working distance cannot be obtained.

On the other hand, since the positional accuracy of the glass substrate carried out of the exposure apparatus, for example, from the coater / developer is not good, when placing the glass substrate on the substrate supporting device,
Although a pre-alignment mechanism is required, an appropriate pre-alignment mechanism using a substrate support device has not been found, and its development has been desired. In addition, a mechanism for positioning the glass substrate placed on the substrate support device is required. However, since the substrate support device is independent of the stage and the robot, external power, air pressure, and the like are required. Installation of the mechanism was difficult.

Further, when a substrate supporting device is used for transporting a glass substrate, it is necessary to consider the movement of both the glass substrate and the substrate supporting device, and there is a tendency that the number of sequence patterns increases. In particular, in the case where the transfer device has a pair of transfer arms, that is, a so-called double arm, if the arm that carries in at a certain transfer position and the arm that carries out are replaced every cycle, teaching work is performed for both. In addition to the heavy load on the sequence configuration, there is also a problem that the trouble of adjusting the robot and creating error handling software when a failure occurs increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and a first object of the present invention is to be able to support a substrate irrespective of the mounting direction, and to be able to support the substrate during transfer including exchange. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate supporting device and a substrate processing device that suppress the occurrence of bending. It is a second object of the present invention to provide a substrate supporting apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus capable of supporting a substrate while suppressing the bending of the substrate even when the size of the substrate changes. A third object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of appropriately pre-aligning a substrate before placing the substrate on the substrate support device.
Further, a fourth object of the present invention is to provide a substrate supporting apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus that can easily position and fix a substrate mounted on the substrate supporting apparatus without using a complicated mechanism. A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of simplifying a sequence even when a substrate is transported using a double arm.

[0018]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following structure corresponding to FIGS. 1 to 12 showing an embodiment. The substrate support device of the present invention is a substrate support device (17) for supporting a substrate (P, PS), which has a plurality of openings (21) and supports a substrate (P, PS). ) And the support (2
0) provided in the first direction and the first direction.
And positioning portions (22a to 22c, 24a to 24c) for positioning in the second direction different from the direction.

Therefore, in the substrate support device of the present invention, since the support portion (20) is provided with the plurality of openings (21), the substrate support device (17) and the substrates (P, PS) are integrated. When the substrate (P, PS) is conveyed, the substrate (P, PS) can be prevented from bending and resulting damage. In this substrate supporting device, the positioning portions (22a to 22c, 24
a to 24c) to move the substrate (P, PS) in the first direction and the second direction.
It can be positioned and supported in different directions.

The substrate support device of the present invention is a substrate support device (17) for supporting a substrate (P, PS), which has a plurality of openings (21) and supports the substrate (P, PS). And a positioning part (22a-2) projecting from the support part (20) and positioning the substrate (P, PS).
2c, 24a to 24c), and the support portion (20) is provided with a plurality of fixing portions (25) for detachably fixing the positioning portions (22a to 22c, 24a to 24c). It is.

Therefore, in the substrate supporting apparatus of the present invention, since the plurality of openings (21) are provided in the supporting portion (20), the substrate (P, PS) is supported not by dots but by lines or surfaces. It has a structure. Therefore, the substrate support device (1
7) When the substrate (P, PS) is transported integrally with the substrate (P, PS), it is possible to prevent the substrate (P, PS) from bending and being damaged due to the bending. Further, in this substrate supporting apparatus, when the size of the substrate (P, PS) is changed, the positioning unit (2) is used.
2a to 22c and 24a to 24c) are temporarily fixed to the fixing portion (25).
The substrate (P, PS) of a plurality of sizes can be positioned and supported by being detached from the substrate and being mounted on a fixing portion (25) corresponding to the size of the substrate (P, PS).

The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a substrate holder (9, 16) holding a substrate (P, PS) and a substrate (P, PS) held by the substrate holder (9, 16). A substrate processing apparatus (3, 6) including a processing unit (PL) for performing predetermined processing by using a substrate holder (9, 16).
The groove (9) in which the support (20) of the substrate support device (17) according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is fitted.
a, 16a) are formed.

Therefore, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, the support portion (20) sinks by fitting the support portion (20) into the groove portions (9a, 16a).
7) The substrate (P, PS) supported on the substrate holder (9,
16). Then, predetermined processing can be performed on the substrates (P, PS) on the substrate holders (9, 16). At this time, the positioning part (22
a to 22c, 24a to 24c) are the substrate holders (9, 1
6), the positioning portions (22a-2)
The positioning of the substrates (P, PS) of the substrates (2c, 24a to 24c) with respect to the substrate (P, PS) is not released, and the positioning state of the substrate (P, PS) can be maintained. In addition, a pair of transfer arms (1
2A, 12B), the transfer parts (9, 14, 15, 16) for the substrates (P, PS) are provided in even-numbered places, so that the substrates (P, PS) for the transfer parts (9, 14, 15, 16) are provided. ) Is assigned to each transfer arm (12
A, 12B) can be fixedly set, so that the teaching work and error handling software for each operation need only be executed and prepared only for the transfer arms (12A, 12B) corresponding to each operation.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a substrate supporting apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. Here, as a substrate processing apparatus, an exposure apparatus that exposes a liquid crystal display device pattern to a substrate coated with a photosensitive agent, and a peripheral exposure apparatus that performs exposure processing around a pattern area on the pattern-exposed substrate An example will be described in the case of using. Further, the substrate is a square glass substrate used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display panel (for example, 700 mm × 900 mm, t = 0.8 mm).
An example will be described. In these figures, the same components as those in FIG. 14 shown as a conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan view of the exposure apparatus 1.
The exposure apparatus 1 includes an exposure apparatus main body (substrate processing apparatus) in a chamber 2 that is highly purified and adjusted to a predetermined temperature.
3, a transport robot (transport section) 4, a carry-in / out section 5, a peripheral exposure apparatus (substrate processing apparatus) 6, and a dummy port (transfer section) 7.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the exposure apparatus main body 3. The exposure apparatus body 3 includes a reticle R as a mask.
, A reticle stage holding a reticle R on which a pattern for a liquid crystal display device is formed, a projection optical system PL arranged below the reticle stage, and Projection optical system P
A plate holder (transfer section) 9 as a substrate holder that moves in the XY two-dimensional directions below the base 8 on the base 8 is provided. The illumination system and the projection optical system PL
Constitutes a processing unit that performs exposure processing on the glass substrate P.

As the projection optical system PL, an optical system that projects an erect erect image at the same magnification is used. In the exposure apparatus main body 3, exposure is performed by a step-and-scan method in a state where the rectangular glass substrate P is placed on the plate holder 9, and a pattern formed on the reticle R has a plurality of patterns on the glass substrate P. For example, the image is sequentially transferred to four exposure areas (pattern areas). That is, in the exposure apparatus main body 3, a controller (not shown) uses a drive system (not shown) to illuminate an illumination area on a slit on the reticle R with illumination light IL for exposure from an illumination system. By moving the reticle stage holding the reticle R and the plate holder 9 holding the glass substrate P in the same direction at the same speed in a predetermined scanning direction (here, Y direction) in synchronization with the glass substrate P, The pattern of the reticle R is sequentially transferred to the upper one exposure area,
That is, scanning exposure is performed.

After the completion of the scanning exposure of one exposure area, a stepping operation for moving the plate holder 9 in the X direction by a predetermined amount to the scanning start position of the next exposure area is performed by the controller. In the exposure apparatus main body 3, the pattern of the reticle R is sequentially transferred to four exposure regions by repeatedly performing such scanning exposure and stepping operation.

The transfer robot 4 has a horizontal articulated structure, and is disposed so as to face the exposure device main body 3, the carry-in / out portion 5, the peripheral exposure device 6, and the dummy port 7, and is connected via a vertical joint shaft. Arm part 10 composed of a plurality of parts
And two claw portions 1 provided at the tip of this arm portion 10.
1 and a driving device 13 for driving the arm unit 10. Although not shown in FIG. 3 for the sake of convenience, the transfer robot 4 is provided below the transfer arm 12A, has a mechanism similar to that of the transfer arm 12A, and includes a transfer arm 12B that can be independently driven. It has a double arm structure.

The loading / unloading section 5 receives and transfers a glass substrate P coated with a photosensitive agent by a coater / developer (not shown) disposed adjacent to the exposure apparatus 1 and also controls the temperature of the loaded glass substrate P. Port (transfer section) 14 for adjusting the position of the glass substrate P, which is disposed above the carry-in port 14 and has been subjected to the exposure processing by the exposure apparatus body 3.
And a carry-out port (transfer section) 15 through which the data is transferred (the carry-in port 14 is not shown in FIG. 2). The carry-in / out section 5 is rotatable around the Z axis.

The peripheral exposure device 6 includes a plate holder (transfer portion) 16 as a substrate holder for holding the glass substrate P subjected to the exposure processing by the exposure device main body 3, and exposes the periphery of the pattern area of the glass substrate P A processing unit (not shown) such as an illumination system for performing processing is provided. Here, the photosensitive agent applied to the periphery of the pattern area is exposed on the glass substrate P subjected to the exposure processing. Note that the peripheral exposure (exposure of a non-pattern portion) by the peripheral exposure device 6 may be performed prior to the exposure processing of the exposure device main body 3.

The dummy port 7 is used when the peripheral exposure unit 6 is not mounted on the exposure unit 1 or when the peripheral unit 6 is not used even if the peripheral exposure unit 6 is mounted. The apparatus (tray) 17 is temporarily held.

In FIG. 3, two protruding members are provided on four sides of the substrate supporting device 17 for supporting the glass substrate P, respectively, for a total of eight.
A state is shown in which the brim portions 18 on the opposite sides of the two brim portions 18 are held from below by the claw portions 11 of the transfer robot 4, and the substrate support device 17 is held by the transfer arm 12A.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate supporting device 17
A support portion 20 is provided which is formed in a substantially rectangular shape as a whole by a plurality of linear members 19 which are stretched in a grid pattern at predetermined intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions (and partially obliquely). Further, inside each of the lattices constituted by the plurality of linear members 19, a square opening 21 smaller than the glass substrate P is provided.
Are formed. These plural linear members 19
Are here welded together or combined in a grid.

The collar 18 is provided on the support 20
Are projected from each of the four sides, and constitute a part of the support portion 20. Conical recesses 18a and 18b are formed on the lower surface side of each brim portion 18 at predetermined intervals. The hemispherical projections (not shown) provided on the claw portions 11 of the transfer arms 12A and 12B fit into the concave portions 18a located on the outside, so that the substrate supporting device 17 is held by the transfer arms 12A and 12B. It is supposed to be. Hemispherical projections (not shown, the projections of the plate holders 9 and 16 provided in the plate holders 9 and 16, the carry-in port 14, the carry-out port 15 and the dummy port 7, respectively) Code 9b, 1
6b; see FIG. 4).
Is held.

On the other hand, on the upper surface side of the support portion 20, a plurality of cylindrical positioning portions 22a, 22b, 2c for holding and positioning the side surface of the glass substrate P supported by the support portion 20 are provided.
2c is projected. When the glass substrate P is placed on the support portion 20 in the vertical (first direction) posture PV, the positioning portion 22a is disposed at a position that holds both short sides of the glass substrate P from the side. ing. Positioning part 22c
Holds both short sides of the glass substrate P from the side when the glass substrate P is placed on the support portion 20 in a lateral (second direction) posture PH substantially orthogonal to the posture PV. Is located in the position. Also, the positioning part 22b
When the glass substrate P is placed in the vertical posture PV or the horizontal posture PH, the glass substrate P is arranged at a position that holds the long side of the glass substrate P from both sides in any direction.
In addition, a member made of plastic such as Delrin may be bonded (or screwed) to a position where the linear members 19 intersect on the support portion 20, and the glass substrate P may be supported at a plurality of points by the plurality of Delrins. . In this case, the height of Delrin may be lower than the height of the positioning portions 22a, 22b, 22c.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, on the upper surface of the plate holder 9 of the exposure apparatus main body 3, a groove 9a in which the support portion 20 is fitted is provided in correspondence with the arrangement of the linear members 19. Is formed. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the depth of the groove 9 a is such that the positioning portions 22 a to 22 c project from the upper surface of the plate holder 9 when the support portion 20 is fitted and sinks, and The dimensions are set so as not to protrude from the upper surface of the glass substrate P placed on the support portion 20. The upper surface of the plate holder 9 is finished with good flatness so as to remove the bending of the glass substrate P. Further, on the upper surface of the plate holder 9, suction holes (not shown) for bringing the glass substrate P into close contact with the glass substrate P are provided corresponding to the plurality of openings 21. Each intake hole is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown).

Similarly, on the upper surface of the plate holder 16 of the peripheral exposure device 6, a groove 16a in which the supporting portion 20 is fitted is formed corresponding to the arrangement of the linear member 19. The depth of the groove 16a is also set to the same depth as the groove 9a. In addition, on the upper surface of the plate holder 16, air intake holes (not shown) for bringing the glass substrate P into close contact with the glass substrate P are provided corresponding to the plurality of openings 21.

The present exposure apparatus 1 has a pre-alignment apparatus for pre-positioning the glass substrate P with respect to the positioning parts 22a to 22c when placing the glass substrate P on the support part 20 of the substrate support apparatus 17. Is provided. FIG.
As shown in (a), a pre-alignment device (positioning device) 23 is connected to a drive unit (not shown) and moves horizontally to be separated and approachable from the substrate support device 17.
3a, a pressing portion 23b protruding from below the base portion 23a and pressed against the support device 17 from the side, and a contact portion 23c provided above the tip of the base portion 23a and in contact with the side surface of the glass substrate P. And is provided for each of the four sides of the substrate support device 20.

The contact portion 23c is formed of a soft elastic material such as rubber so as not to damage the glass substrate P. When the pressing portion 23b is pressed against the side surface of the substrate support device 17, As shown in FIG. 5B, the glass substrate P
Are set with a predetermined accuracy in size and position to be aligned with the positioning portions 22a to 22c. Also, in the substrate support device 17, the side surfaces and the positioning portions 22a to
The positional relationship with 22c is set to a predetermined accuracy. Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, the contact portion 23c is set at a height above the positioning portions 22a to 22c so as to contact the glass substrate P.

The operation of the substrate supporting apparatus having the above-described configuration and the operation of the substrate supporting apparatus will be described below. First, a procedure for placing the glass substrate P on the substrate support device 17 and carrying it into and out of the exposure apparatus main body 3 by the transfer robot 4 will be described. The transfer of the glass substrate P to and from the substrate support device 17 includes components such as a substrate transfer device (not shown) provided near the carry-in port 14, such as the above-described conventional support rod and its vertical movement mechanism. It is assumed that the transfer is performed by a transfer device that once supports the glass substrate P above the substrate support device 17 and moves down to transfer the glass substrate P to the substrate support device 17. Also, here, the glass substrate P
Is placed on the support portion 20 in the vertical posture PV.

When the glass substrate P coated with the photosensitive agent is conveyed from the coater / developer to the carry-in port 14, the carry-in / out section 5 rotates and the substrate support device 17 on the carry-in port 14 is rotated.
Is positioned so as to correspond to the vertical posture PV. When the glass substrate P is placed in the horizontal posture PH, the rotation angle of the carry-in / out unit 5 may be shifted by 90 °.

When the position of the substrate support device 17 is determined, the support rod of the transfer device rises through the opening 21 of the substrate support device 17 and sucks and supports the glass substrate P above the substrate support device 17 from below. Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the height of the glass substrate P is higher than the positioning portions 22a to 22c, and the contact portion 23c of the pre-alignment device 23.
When the support bar is lowered until the height becomes the same as the above, the suction to the glass substrate P is released.

Then, the base 23a is moved closer to the substrate supporting device 17 by the operation of the driving portion, and the pressing portion 23b is pressed against the side surface of the substrate supporting device 17, and the contact portion 23c is moved to the side surface of the glass substrate P. , And the glass substrate P is moved to a predetermined position. At this time, the contact part 2
3c simultaneously positions the four sides of the glass substrate P, so that the glass substrate P is accurately positioned above the substrate support device 17. Thereafter, the support bar is lowered while adsorbing the glass substrate P, so that the glass substrate P is positioned by the positioning unit 2.
It is supported on the support portion 20 while being positioned at 2a and 22b. Here, the glass substrate P is adjusted to a temperature at which the exposure processing is performed.

Subsequently, in the transfer robot 4, the transfer arm 12A is driven by the drive unit 13 via the arm unit 10, and holds the glass substrate P whose temperature has been adjusted integrally with the substrate support unit 17. Next, the transfer arm 12A
The direction of the glass substrate P is changed so as to face the plate holder 9 of the exposure apparatus main body 3, and the substrate support device 17 is transported above the plate holder 9. At this time, the driving device 13
Then, the transfer arm 1 is moved so that each linear member constituting the lattice of the support portion 20 faces the groove 9a of the plate holder 9.
The position of 2A is adjusted.

Next, the transfer arm 12A is driven down by a predetermined amount by the driving device 13, and as a result, the linear members 19 forming the lattice of the support portion 20 are fitted into the grooves 9a of the plate holder 9, and the support portion 20A is moved. Is lower than the upper surface of the plate holder 9, and the glass substrate P is placed on the upper surface of the plate holder 9. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the support portion 20 sinks into the groove portion 9a, but the positioning portion 2
Since 2a and 22b protrude from the upper surface of the plate holder 9, positioning with respect to the glass substrate P is maintained. Then, the suction of the vacuum pump is started by the controller,
The lower surface of the glass substrate P is adsorbed and fixed to the plate holder 9 through the respective intake holes formed in the plate holder 9 corresponding to the plurality of openings 21.

When the transfer of the glass substrate P to the plate holder 9 is completed, the driving device 13
A is driven and retracts from above the plate holder 9. FIG.
Shows a state immediately after the retreat of the transfer arm 12A from the plate holder 9 is completed. FIG. 6 is also a diagram illustrating a state immediately before the unloading of the glass substrate P from the plate holder 9 is started.

Next, the plate holder 9 after the exposure processing is completed
The operation of unloading the glass substrate P from is described. The unloading of the glass substrate P is performed by the transfer arm 12B located below the transfer arm 12A.

When the exposure process is completed, the transfer arm 12B is driven by the driving device 13, and the plate holder 9 is placed below the substrate support device 17 placed on the plate holder 9.
The two claw portions 11 of the transfer arm 12B are provided on both sides in the X direction of-.
It is inserted from the Y direction side. At the same time, the suction by the vacuum pump is released by the controller, and the suction of the glass substrate P by the plate holder 9 is released.

Next, the transfer device 12 is driven by the driving device 13.
When B is driven upward by a predetermined amount, the claw 11 of the transfer arm 12B comes into contact with the lower surface of the flange 18 of the substrate support device 17, and when the transfer arm 12B is further driven upward, the collar 18 The substrate supporting device 17 supporting the glass substrate P is lifted above the plate holder 9,
The fitting between the support portion 20 and the groove 9a is released. here,
Since the positioning portions 22a and 22b maintain the positioning state with respect to the glass substrate P, the glass substrate P can be smoothly placed on the support portion 20 when the substrate support device 17 is moved upward.

When the substrate support device 17 is lifted to a position where the release of the engagement between the support portion 20 and the groove 9a is completed, the transfer arm 12B is driven by the drive device 13,
The substrate support device 17 holding the glass substrate P is retracted from above the plate holder 9. Thus, the unloading operation of the glass substrate P to the exposure apparatus main body 3 is completed. The loading and unloading operations of the glass substrate P to and from the plate holder 16 of the peripheral exposure device 6 by the transfer robot 4 are performed by the transfer arm 12.
A carries out to the plate holder 9 of the exposure apparatus main body 3 except that the carry-out operation A is performed and the transfer arm 12B performs the carry-in operation.
It is performed by the same operation as the unloading.

Next, a sequence for transporting the glass substrate P in the exposure apparatus 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, the exposure device main body 3, the transfer robot 4, the carry-in / out section 5, the peripheral exposure device 6, and the dummy port 7 are simply shown. Further, since the transfer arms 12A and 12B of the transfer robot 4 and the carry-in port 14 and the carry-out port 15 of the carry-in / out section 5 are arranged in the up-down direction, in FIGS. I have. The glass substrates are denoted by P1, P2,... In order of being transported from the coater / developer to the exposure apparatus 1.

[When the Peripheral Exposure Apparatus 6 is Used] In this case, the dummy port 7 is not used, and therefore the transfer robot 4 is not used.
The transfer of the glass substrate P is carried out at four places: the carry-in port 14, the carry-out port 15, and the plate holders 9 and 16. Hereinafter, description will be made along the transport order with reference to FIG. In this transfer, the glass substrates P1 to P5 are assumed to be transferred integrally with the substrate support device 17, unless otherwise described.

First, a new glass substrate P5 is carried into the carry-in port 14 from the coater / developer and placed on the substrate support device 17 (FIG. 7A). Next, the glass substrate P1, which has already been exposed by the exposure apparatus main body 3 and the peripheral exposure apparatus 6 and has been placed on the carry-out port 15, is transferred to the substrate support apparatus 1 by the transfer arm (not shown) on the coater / developer side.
7 (FIG. 7 (b)). In the transfer robot 4, after the transfer arm 12B unloads the glass substrate P3 from the plate holder 9 of the exposure apparatus main body 3 (FIG. 7C), the transfer arm 12A transfers the glass substrate P4 whose temperature has been adjusted to the plate holder. 9 (see FIG. 7).
(D)).

Subsequently, the transfer arm 12A rotates 90 ° and moves to a position facing the peripheral exposure device 6 (FIG. 7).
(E)), the glass substrate P2 is unloaded from the plate holder 16 of the peripheral exposure device 6 (FIG. 7 (f)). Next, after the transfer arm 12B carries the glass substrate P3 previously carried out of the exposure apparatus main body 3 into the peripheral exposure apparatus 6 (FIG. 7).
(G)), rotate by 180 ° (FIG. 7 (h)), and unload the empty substrate support device 17 on the unloading port 15 (FIG. 7).
(I)).

The transfer arm 12A is connected to the peripheral exposure device 6 first.
After the glass substrate P2 carried out from the port is carried into the carry-out port 15 (FIG. 7 (j)), the glass substrate P5 whose temperature has been adjusted at the carry-in port 14 is carried out (FIG. 7 (k)). And
When the transfer arm 12B loads the empty substrate support device 17 into the transfer port 14 (FIG. 7 (l)), the transfer arm 12A,
12B rotates 90 ° and moves to a position facing the exposure apparatus main body 3 (FIG. 7 (m)), thereby returning to the initial state shown in FIG. 7 (a). Hereinafter, the glass substrate P is sequentially exposed by repeating the above operation.

[When the peripheral exposure device 6 is not used] When the peripheral exposure device 6 is not mounted on the exposure device 1 or when the peripheral exposure device 6 is mounted and not used, the dummy port 7 is used. The transfer of the substrate P is performed at four places: the carry-in port 14, the carry-out port 15, the plate holder 9, and the dummy port 7. Hereinafter, the transfer order will be described with reference to FIG.

First, a new glass substrate P5 is carried into the carry-in port 14 from the coater / developer and placed on the substrate support device 17 (FIG. 8A). Next, the glass substrate P1 that has already been subjected to the exposure processing in the exposure apparatus main body 3 and has been placed on the carry-out port 15 is carried out by the transfer arm on the coater / developer side while leaving the substrate support device 17 (FIG. 8).
(B)). Then, in the transfer robot 4, after the transfer arm 12B unloads the glass substrate P3 from the plate holder 9 of the exposure apparatus main body 3 (FIG. 8C), the transfer arm 12A transfers the temperature-adjusted glass substrate P4 to the plate holder. 9 (FIG. 8D).

Subsequently, the transfer arm 12A rotates 90 ° and moves to a position facing the dummy port 7 (FIG. 8).
(E)), the glass substrate P2 is carried out from the dummy port 7 (FIG. 8 (f)). Next, after the transfer arm 12B loads the glass substrate P3 previously unloaded from the exposure apparatus main body 3 into the dummy port 7 (FIG. 8 (g)), it unloads the empty substrate support device 17 above the unload port 15. (FIG. 8 (h)).

The transfer arm 12A is connected to the dummy port 7 first.
After the glass substrate P2 carried out from the port is carried into the carry-out port 15 (FIG. 8 (i)), the glass substrate P5 whose temperature has been adjusted at the carry-in port 14 is carried out (FIG. 8 (j)). And
When the transfer arm 12B carries the empty substrate support device 17 into the carry-in port 14 (FIG. 8 (k)), the transfer arm 12A
When 12B rotates 90 ° and moves to a position facing the exposure apparatus main body 3 (FIG. 8 (l)), it returns to the initial state shown in FIG. 8 (a). Hereinafter, the glass substrate P is sequentially exposed by repeating the above operation.

As described above, in the substrate supporting apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the glass substrate P is supported by the supporting portion 20, the glass substrate P is received not by dots but by a line. Is smaller than the glass substrate P,
Almost the entire surface of the glass substrate P can be uniformly supported,
Even if the size of the glass substrate P is increased, it is possible to prevent the glass substrate P from bending during transportation including replacement, thereby causing damage due to the bending. Further, in the substrate support device 17, by selectively using the positioning portions 22a to 22c, the glass substrate P can be placed in the vertical posture PV and the horizontal posture PH which are substantially orthogonal to each other.

Therefore, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the plate holders 9 and 16 are provided with the grooves 9a and 16a in which the support portions 20 are fitted.
Exposure can be performed on the glass substrate P conveyed integrally with the glass substrate P. When exposing the rectangular glass substrate P, the optimal direction is selected according to the device pattern to be exposed. The substrate P can be easily placed on the plate holders 9 and 16, and there is no need to prepare a substrate support device for each direction or replace the substrate support device. Work time and amount of work can be reduced.

Further, by using the substrate supporting device 17 capable of preventing the bending of the glass substrate P as described above, even in the peripheral exposure device 6 in which the working distance tends to be extremely small, the glass substrate P can be quickly and easily mounted. It becomes possible to carry safely. Therefore, also in the peripheral exposure device 6, it is not necessary to move the plate holder 16 for exchanging the glass substrate P, the size can be reduced by the moving stroke, and the throughput can be improved by shortening the transfer time of the glass substrate P. In addition, the installation area of the device can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the substrate supporting device 1
Non-movable positioning part 22 protruding from the support part 20
Since the glass substrate P is positioned with respect to the substrate support device 17 according to a to 22c, the positioning of the glass substrate P is performed by a simple and inexpensive mechanism without the need for supplying power, air pressure, or the like from the outside. be able to. Further, the support portion 20 of the substrate support device 17 is connected to the groove portions 9 of the plate holders 9 and 16.
a and 16a, the positioning portions 22a to 22c protrude from the upper surfaces of the plate holders 9 and 16, so that the positioning state with respect to the glass substrate P can be maintained. Substrate support device 17
At the same time, when unloading from the plate holders 9 and 16, the unloading operation can be quickly performed without performing positioning again. Further, although the positioning portions 22a to 22c protrude from the upper surfaces of the plate holders 9 and 16, they are set to be lower than the glass substrate P. Therefore, even in an apparatus having a small working distance, the transfer of the glass substrate P is performed. And does not hinder the exposure process.

In addition, in the substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment, when holding the glass substrate P on the positioning portions 22a to 22c, the positional accuracy of the glass substrate P carried in from the coater / developer is not good. In addition, the alignment of the glass substrate P can be performed reliably and easily by the pre-alignment device 23, and the operation of placing the glass substrate P on the substrate support device 17 can be performed smoothly. In particular, the pre-alignment device 23 presses the pressing portion 23b against the supporting portion 20 of the substrate supporting device 17,
Since the contact portion 23c is in contact with the glass substrate P, the positioning of the glass substrate P with respect to the support portion 20 can be performed reliably and at low cost. Note that the pre-alignment device 23 is of a contact type with the support portion 20, but is not limited thereto. For example, a distance from the support portion 20 is detected by a proximity sensor or the like, and the contact portion 23c is determined based on the detection result. May be in a non-contact type in which the substrate is brought into contact with the glass substrate P.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment, the transfer of the glass substrate P by the transfer robot 4 is performed at four even-numbered positions. The carrying-out and carrying-in operations of the transfer arms 12A and 12B in the transfer section can be fixed without being switched. Therefore, assuming that the transfer sequence is simplified and the operations are switched, teaching work is performed on both transfer arms 12A and 12B,
This eliminates the need for adjusting the robot and creating error handling software when a failure occurs.

In this embodiment, the peripheral exposure device 6
When the dummy port 7 is not used, the transfer portion of the glass substrate P can be set at an even number position by using the dummy port 7, so that the loading and unloading operations of the transfer arms 12A and 12B can be fixed at all times. Complexity can be reduced.

FIGS. 9 to 12 show a second embodiment of the substrate supporting apparatus and the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. In these figures, the same elements as those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the substrate supporting device 17
It is a structure of.

That is, the substrate supporting device 17 of the present invention comprises:
In addition to being able to place the glass substrate P on the support portion 20 in the vertical posture PV and the horizontal posture PH, as shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of sizes of glass substrates P can be placed for each posture. It has become. Specifically, as described in the first embodiment, in order to position the large glass substrate P in the vertical posture PV with respect to the substrate support device 17, the upper surface side of the support portion 20 is provided. A positioning portion 22a for holding both short sides of the glass substrate P from the side and a positioning portion 22b for holding both long sides from the side are set, and the glass substrate P is positioned in the horizontal posture PH. A positioning portion 22c for holding both short sides from the side and a positioning portion 22b for holding both long sides from the side are set.

On the other hand, in order to position the small glass substrate (substrate) PS with respect to the substrate
Positioning portions 24a, 24b, and 24c are set on the upper surface side of 0. When the glass substrate PS is placed on the support portion 20 in the vertical posture PV, the positioning portions 24a are arranged at positions that hold both short sides of the glass substrate PS from the side. When the glass substrate PS is placed on the support portion 20 in the horizontal posture PH, the positioning portions 24c are arranged at positions where both short sides of the glass substrate PS are held from the side. When the glass substrate PS is placed in the vertical posture PV or the horizontal posture PH, the positioning portion 24b is disposed at a position that holds the long side of the glass substrate PS from both sides in any direction. ing.

The positioning portions 22a to 22c, 24a
24c are support portions 20 so as to correspond to positions where the glass substrates P and PS are held according to their orientation and size.
10B are detachably fixed to a plurality of fixing portions 25 shown in FIG. Each fixing part 25 includes a support part 2
The hole 25a is opened on the upper surface side of the hole 0 and has a hole diameter and a position formed with high precision, and a female screw portion 25b formed below the hole 25a. And each positioning part 22a-22c, 24a-24c is a hole 25a.
A male screw part 26b provided below the fitting part 26a and screwed to the female screw part 25b;
A cylindrical portion 26c is provided above the fitting portion 26a and has a larger diameter than the fitting portion 26a, and as shown in FIG. 10 (a), holds the glass substrates P and PS from the side on its peripheral surface. Have been.

The support section 20 of the substrate support device 17
As shown in FIG. 11, the center side of the transfer arms 12A and 12B has an upper side in advance so as to correspond to the bending caused by its own weight and the weight of the glass substrates P and PS when both sides are supported by the claw portions 11 of the transfer arms 12A and 12B. It is formed to be curved so as to bulge out. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the substrate supporting apparatus and the substrate processing apparatus having the above-described configurations, the predetermined positioning is performed in the fixing portion 25 at a position corresponding to the device pattern exposed on the glass substrates P and PS and the size of the glass substrates P and PS. Fitting part 2
The cylindrical portion 26c can be positioned and fixed at a predetermined position by fitting the 6a into the hole 25a and screwing the male screw portion 26b into the female screw portion 25b. Then, when changing the size or direction of the glass substrate, the positioning portion is temporarily separated from the fixing portion 25 by rotating the cylindrical portion 26c, and the above-described position is fixed to the fixing portion 25 at a position corresponding to the size or direction of the glass substrate. Attach by the procedure.

In the substrate supporting apparatus and the substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the positioning portions 22a to 22c and 24a
By mounting the substrates 24c to the predetermined fixing portion 25, even if the size of the glass substrate or the direction in which the glass substrate is placed is changed, the glass substrate can be positioned and supported by one type of substrate support device 17. it can.

In the substrate supporting apparatus and the substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the supporting portion 20 of the substrate supporting apparatus 17 is bulged upward according to its own weight and the weight of the glass substrate. The bending generated when the support portion 20 is supported by the claw portion 11 of 12B is canceled. Therefore, when the glass substrate is transported integrally with the substrate support device 17, the substantial thickness of the substrate support device 17 is minimized, and a margin for the work distance can be secured.

In the above-described embodiment, the positioning of the glass substrates P and PS is performed by the cylindrical positioning portion. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, a configuration may be used in which positioning portions 22a to 22c and 24a to 24c having a rectangular parallelepiped shape are used. In this case, the positioning parts 22a to
In order to position the positioning portions 22c, 24a to 24c on the support portion 20, the support portion 20 is provided with a concave portion 26 having a side parallel to the side of the glass substrate, and the positioning portions 22a to 22c, 24a
To 24c are preferably attached to the sides of the concave portion 26 in close contact. Positioning parts 22a to 22c, 24a to 24c
Can be fixed by screwing from the lower surface side of the support portion 20. In this case, the positioning portions 22a to 22c, 2
The height at which the projections 4a to 24c protrude from the support portion 20 is also set to the same size as that of the columnar case. Further, as a positioning portion of the glass substrate, instead of being provided so as to protrude from the support portion 20, for example, a cross-shaped groove extending in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction and having a width corresponding to the size of the glass substrate is provided. A configuration may be adopted in which positioning is performed by fitting a glass substrate into the glass.

As the substrate processing apparatus, in addition to the above-described exposure apparatus and peripheral exposure apparatus, various inspection apparatuses and measurement apparatuses can be applied.

Note that the dummy port 7 of the above embodiment is used.
May be provided on a tray rack that stores the substrate support device 17 when an abnormal sequence occurs. Further, the substrate supporting device 17 may be deformed due to an impact when dropped, washing, or the like, but if the glass substrate is placed in a deformed state, the glass substrate may be damaged. Therefore, an inspection device for inspecting the deformation of the substrate support device 17 may be provided in the exposure apparatus 1 as described above. For example, regardless of the presence or absence of the dummy port 7,
If provided on the tray rack, the substrate support device 17 transported for storage can be inspected for deformation.
As an inspection method, for example, as in the case of the plate holders 9 and 16, an inspection table having a groove in which the support portion 20 is fitted is provided,
A fitting inspection for checking whether or not there is deformation by whether or not the supporting portion 20 fits into the groove, or an inspection table on which the outline of the linear member 19 of the supporting portion 20 is drawn is provided. By mounting the support device 17, an appearance inspection for visually confirming whether or not the drawn outer shape matches the actual support portion 20, and further, a background of a shelf on which the substrate support device 17 stands up during storage. The outline shape of the linear member 19 may be drawn and visually confirmed when the substrate supporting device 17 is leaned. Further, as another appearance inspection method, the outline shape of the linear member 19 is drawn on a projection drawing that transmits light such as celluloid paper, and the inspection light is applied to the support portion 20 to transmit the light through the support portion 20. A projection inspection for inspecting the deformation using the inspection light and the projection drawing may be used.

The shape, size, etc. of the cross section of each of the linear members 19 constituting the support portion 20 are not particularly limited, and may be any shape such as a circular cross section, a rectangular cross section, and an elongated rectangular cross section. The support portion 20 may be formed by arranging the plurality of linear members 19 in a lattice shape as described above and connecting them by welding or bonding to form a lattice surface. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be formed in a lattice shape. The spacing between the lattices is determined in accordance with the size and thickness of the glass substrate P so that the glass substrate P is not significantly bent and damaged. Further, the support portion 20 is not limited to the lattice shape, and may have another shape such as a honeycomb shape. When the glass substrate P is removed from the plate holder 9 or the substrate support device 17, there is a possibility that the pattern formed on the glass substrate P may be damaged by static electricity generated by peeling charging. In order to ground the static electricity due to the separation charging, the support portion 20 of the substrate support device 17 needs to have conductivity. For example, the support section 20 may be made of aluminum, and the transfer robot 4 may also be appropriately made conductive to ground static electricity due to peeling charging. Specifically, the transfer arm 12A of the transfer robot 4 is provided with a contact point (for example, a leaf spring) with the support section 20 of the substrate support device 17, the transfer robot 4 and the substrate support device 17 are set to the same potential, and the transfer robot 4 is Just connect it to the factory ground. When aluminum is subjected to surface treatment with black alumite, conductivity is lost. For this reason, the portion of the support portion 20 that comes into contact with the glass substrate P should not be subjected to surface treatment with black alumite, or if the glass substrate P and the support portion 20 are brought into contact with each other via a conductive polyacetal resin. Good.

The substrate of the present embodiment is used not only for the glass substrates P and PS for a liquid crystal display device, but also for a semiconductor wafer for a semiconductor device, a ceramic wafer for a thin film magnetic head, or an exposure apparatus. An original mask (reticle, synthetic quartz, silicon wafer) or the like is applied.

The exposure apparatus 1 is a step-and-scan type scanning exposure apparatus (scanning stepper; US Pat. No. 5,473,410) for scanning and exposing the pattern of the reticle R by synchronously moving the reticle R and the glass substrates P and PS. )
In addition, the present invention is also applied to a step-and-repeat type projection exposure apparatus (stepper) that exposes the pattern of the reticle R while the reticle R and the glass substrates P and PS are stationary and sequentially moves the glass substrate stepwise. be able to.

The type of the exposure apparatus 1 is not limited to an exposure apparatus for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device for exposing a liquid crystal display device pattern to the glass substrates P and PS, and an exposure apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device for exposing a semiconductor device pattern to a wafer. The present invention can be widely applied to an apparatus, an exposure apparatus for manufacturing a thin film magnetic head, an imaging device (CCD), a reticle, and the like.

The light source of the illumination light IL is a bright line (g-line (436 nm), h-line (404.7 nm), i-line (365 nm)) generated from an ultra-high pressure mercury lamp, a KrF excimer laser (248 nm), ArF excimer laser (193 nm), not only the F ₂ laser (157 nm), it is possible to use a charged particle beam such as X-ray or electron beam. For example, when an electron beam is used, a thermionic emission type lanthanum hexaborite (LaB ₆ ) or tantalum (Ta) can be used as an electron gun. Further, when an electron beam is used, a configuration using a reticle R may be used, or a pattern may be formed directly on a glass substrate without using the reticle R. Alternatively, a high frequency such as a YAG laser or a semiconductor laser may be used.

The magnification of the projection optical system PL may be not only the same magnification system but also any of a reduction system and an enlargement system. Further, As the projection optical system PL, using a material which transmits far ultraviolet rays such as quartz and fluorite as the glass material when using a far ultraviolet ray such as an excimer laser, catadioptric system, or in the case of using the F ₂ laser or X-ray An optical system of a refraction system (a reticle R of a reflection type is also used). When an electron beam is used, an electron optical system including an electron lens and a deflector may be used as the optical system. It is needless to say that the optical path through which the electron beam passes is in a vacuum state. Further, without using the projection optical system PL, the reticle R and the glass substrates P, P
The present invention is also applicable to a proximity exposure apparatus that exposes the pattern of the reticle R by bringing S into close contact.

When a linear motor (see US Pat. No. 5,623,853 or US Pat. No. 5,528,118) is used for the plate holders 9 and 16 and the reticle stage, an air levitation type using an air bearing and a magnetic levitation type using Lorentz force or reactance force are used. Either may be used. Further, each of the plate holders 9 and 16 and the reticle stage may be of a type that moves along a guide, or may be a guideless type without a guide.

As a driving mechanism of each of the plate holders 9 and 16 and the reticle stage, a magnet unit (permanent magnet) in which magnets are arranged two-dimensionally and an armature unit in which coils are arranged two-dimensionally are opposed to each other, and electromagnetic force is applied. A planar motor for driving each of the plate holders 9 and 16 and the reticle stage may be used. In this case, one of the magnet unit and the armature unit is connected to the plate holders 9 and 16 and the reticle stage, and the other of the magnet unit and the armature unit is connected to the moving surface side of the plate holders 9 and 16 and the reticle stage ( Base).

As described in JP-A-8-166475 (US Pat. No. 5,528,118), the reaction force generated by the movement of the plate holders 9 and 16 is not transmitted to the projection optical system PL. It may be used to mechanically escape to the floor (ground). The present invention is also applicable to an exposure apparatus having such a structure. The reaction force generated by the movement of the reticle stage is not transmitted to the projection optical system PL so as to be disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-330224 (US S / N).
08 / 416,558), a frame member may be used to mechanically escape to the floor (ground). The present invention is also applicable to an exposure apparatus having such a structure.

As described above, the exposure apparatus 1, which is the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, performs various kinds of subsystems including the components described in the claims of the present application with predetermined mechanical accuracy and electrical accuracy. It is manufactured by assembling to maintain optical accuracy. Before and after this assembly, adjustments to achieve optical accuracy for various optical systems, adjustments to achieve mechanical accuracy for various mechanical systems, and various electric systems to ensure these various accuracy Are adjusted to achieve electrical accuracy. The process of assembling the exposure apparatus from various subsystems includes mechanical connections, wiring connections of electric circuits, and piping connections of pneumatic circuits among the various subsystems. It goes without saying that there is an assembling process for each subsystem before the assembling process from these various subsystems to the exposure apparatus. When the process of assembling the various subsystems into the exposure apparatus is completed, comprehensive adjustment is performed, and various precisions of the entire exposure apparatus are secured. It is desirable that the manufacture of the exposure apparatus be performed in a clean room in which the temperature, cleanliness, and the like are controlled.

As shown in FIG. 13, for a device such as a liquid crystal display device or a semiconductor device, a step 201 for designing the function and performance of the liquid crystal display device and the like, and a step for manufacturing a reticle R (mask) based on the design step. 202, a step 203 for manufacturing a glass substrate P from quartz or the like or a wafer from a silicon material, a step 20 for exposing the pattern of the reticle R to the glass substrate P, PS (or wafer) by the exposure apparatus 1 of the above-described embodiment.
4. It is manufactured through a step of assembling a liquid crystal display device (including a dicing step, a bonding step, and a packaging step in the case of a wafer) 205, an inspection step 206, and the like.

[0090]

As described above, in the substrate supporting apparatus according to the first aspect, the positioning portion provided on the supporting portion positions the substrate in the first direction and the second direction, respectively. Thereby, in the substrate supporting apparatus, even if the substrate is enlarged, the substrate is flexed at the time of transportation including the time of replacement, and damage caused by the substrate is prevented. Can be easily positioned and placed in a vertical position and a horizontal position that are substantially orthogonal to each other, so that the effects of reducing costs and reducing the work involved in replacing the substrate support device can be obtained.

The substrate supporting apparatus according to the second aspect has a configuration in which the first direction and the second direction are directions substantially orthogonal to each other. As a result, in this substrate supporting apparatus, particularly when a rectangular substrate is exposed, it is possible to easily select an optimal direction and mount the substrate according to the device pattern to be exposed. Can be

[0092] The substrate supporting apparatus according to claim 3 is configured such that a plurality of fixing portions for detachably fixing the positioning portion are provided on the supporting portion. Thus, in this substrate supporting device, by selectively fixing the positioning portion to the predetermined fixing portion, even if the size of the substrate or the direction in which the substrate is placed changes, the substrate can be held by one type of substrate supporting device. Since it can be positioned and supported, it is possible to obtain the effect of reducing costs and the work involved in replacing the substrate support device.

The substrate supporting apparatus according to claim 4 has a configuration in which a plurality of fixing portions are provided corresponding to the size of the substrate. Thereby, in this substrate supporting device, by selectively fixing the positioning portion to the predetermined fixing portion, even if the size of the substrate changes, the substrate can be positioned and supported by one type of substrate supporting device, The effect of reducing costs and the work involved in replacing the substrate support device can be obtained.

The substrate supporting device according to the fifth aspect has a configuration in which a plurality of fixing portions are provided corresponding to the direction in which the substrate is positioned. Thus, in this substrate supporting device, by selectively fixing the positioning portion to the predetermined fixing portion, even if the direction of positioning the substrate changes, the substrate can be positioned and supported by one type of substrate supporting device. This has the effect of reducing costs and the work involved in replacing the substrate support device.

The substrate supporting apparatus according to claim 6 has a structure in which a plurality of openings are each smaller than the substrate. As a result, in this substrate supporting device, an effect is obtained that substantially the entire surface of the substrate can be uniformly and reliably supported.

[0096] The substrate support device according to claim 7 is configured such that the support portion has a shape corresponding to the deflection. As a result, in the substrate supporting apparatus, the bending that occurs when the substrate is supported by the transfer arm is offset, and when the substrate is transferred integrally with the substrate, the substantial thickness is minimized, and a margin for the work distance can be secured. Is obtained.

[0097] The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8 provides the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1.
And a groove for fitting the support of the substrate support device described in any one of (1) to (7) is formed in the substrate holder. Thus, in this substrate processing apparatus,
The predetermined processing can be performed on the substrate supported by the substrate supporting device described in any one of the above items 7 to 7, and the effect of reducing costs and reducing the work involved in replacing the substrate supporting device can be obtained. .

The substrate processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect has a configuration in which the positioning portion projects from the substrate holder when the support portion is fitted in the groove. Thereby, in this substrate processing apparatus, even when the substrate is held by the substrate holder, the positioning state between the substrate and the substrate supporting device can be maintained, and when the substrate is carried out of the substrate holder together with the substrate supporting device. In addition, there is an effect that the unloading operation can be performed quickly without performing positioning again.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the tenth aspect is configured such that the positioning device preliminarily positions the substrate with respect to the positioning portion. As a result, in this substrate processing apparatus, even if the positional accuracy of the substrate to be carried in is not good, it is possible to perform the alignment of the substrate reliably and easily, and place the substrate on the substrate support device. There is an effect that the operation can be performed smoothly.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the eleventh aspect is configured such that the positioning apparatus performs the positioning of the substrate by using the support. As a result, the substrate processing apparatus has an effect that the alignment of the substrate with respect to the support portion can be performed reliably and at low cost.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the twelfth aspect is configured to have an even number of transfer sections for transferring the substrate when the substrate is transferred by the pair of transfer arms. Thus, in this substrate processing apparatus, even when the transfer unit of the double arm system is used, the transfer operation of the transfer arm in each transfer unit can be fixed without changing, so that the transfer sequence is simplified and the operation is changed. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the need for performing teaching work on both transfer arms, adjusting the robot, and creating error processing software when a failure occurs.

A substrate processing apparatus according to a thirteenth aspect is configured such that the processing section performs an exposure process on the periphery of the pattern area of the substrate. As a result, in this substrate processing apparatus, even in a peripheral exposure apparatus in which the working distance tends to be very small, the substrate can be quickly and safely transported. Therefore, even in the peripheral exposure apparatus, it is not necessary to move the substrate holder for exchanging the substrate, the size can be reduced by the moving stroke, and the throughput can be improved by shortening the time for transferring the substrate.
It is also possible to reduce the installation area of the device.

The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 14 is configured such that the processing section exposes a pattern to a pattern area of the substrate. As a result, in the substrate processing apparatus, even in an exposure apparatus in which the working distance tends to be very small, the substrate can be quickly and safely transported. Therefore, in the exposure apparatus, it is not necessary to move the substrate holder for exchanging the substrate, the size can be reduced by the moving stroke, the throughput can be improved by shortening the substrate transfer time, and the installation area of the apparatus can be reduced. It becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of a substrate support device having a positioning unit.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of an exposure apparatus that performs an exposure process on a substrate.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of an exposure apparatus main body constituting the exposure apparatus.

4A is a front sectional view and FIG. 4B is a transverse sectional view in which a substrate supporting device is fitted into a groove of a plate holder.

5A is a front view, FIG. 5B is a plan view, and FIG. 5C is a side view of the substrate support device and a pre-alignment device that abuts on the glass substrate and aligns the glass substrate.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view in which a glass substrate is placed on a plate holder integrally with a substrate support device by a transfer robot.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention, and is an operation diagram sequentially illustrating a series of transport operations of a glass substrate when a peripheral exposure apparatus is used.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention, and is an operation diagram sequentially illustrating a series of transport operations of a glass substrate when a peripheral exposure apparatus is not used.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of a substrate support device having a positioning portion capable of supporting a plurality of sizes of glass substrates.

10A and 10B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view in which the positioning portion is detachably fixed to a fixing portion.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a front view of a substrate supporting device which is formed to be curved in advance in response to bending.

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of the positioning portion (a).
Is a plan view, and (b) is a front view.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a manufacturing process of the liquid crystal display device.

FIG. 14 is an external perspective view showing an example of a conventional substrate supporting apparatus and a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P, PS Glass substrate (substrate) 3 Exposure device main body (substrate processing device) 4 Transfer robot (transport unit) 6 Peripheral exposure device (substrate processing device) 7 Dummy port (transfer unit) 9, 16 Plate holder (substrate holder, transfer) 9a, 16a Grooves 12A, 12B Transfer arm 14 Carry-in port (transfer unit) 15 Carry-out port (transfer unit) 17 Substrate support device (tray) 20 Support unit 21 Openings 22a to 22c, 24a to 24c Positioning unit 23 Pre-alignment Equipment (positioning equipment) 25 Fixed part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H01L 21/027 H01L 21/30 503C

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A substrate support device for supporting a substrate, comprising: a support portion having a plurality of openings for supporting the substrate; and a first direction provided in the support portion for moving the substrate in a first direction and a first direction. And a positioning part for positioning in different second directions. 2. The substrate supporting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first direction and the second direction are directions substantially orthogonal to each other. 3. A substrate supporting device for supporting a substrate, comprising: a supporting portion having a plurality of openings for supporting the substrate; and a positioning portion projecting from the supporting portion and positioning the substrate. The substrate support device, wherein the support portion includes a plurality of fixing portions for detachably fixing the positioning portion. 4. The substrate supporting device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of the fixing portions are provided corresponding to the size of the substrate. 5. The substrate supporting device according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of the fixing portions are provided corresponding to a direction in which the substrate is positioned. 6. The substrate supporting device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of openings is smaller than the substrate. 7. The substrate support device according to claim 1, wherein the support portion has a shape corresponding to the deflection. 8. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a substrate holder that holds a substrate; and a processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the substrate held by the substrate holder. 8. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein a groove for fitting the support portion of the substrate support apparatus according to any one of 1 to 7 is formed. 9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said positioning portion projects from said substrate holder when said support portion is fitted in said groove portion. 10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a positioning device that preliminarily positions the substrate with respect to the positioning portion when transferring the substrate to the substrate support device. Characteristic substrate processing equipment. 11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the positioning apparatus performs the positioning of the substrate using the support. 12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a transfer unit that transfers the substrate via the substrate support device by a pair of transfer arms and the transfer unit. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: an even-numbered transfer section for transferring the substrate. 13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing unit performs an exposure process on a periphery of a pattern area of the substrate on which a pattern is exposed. apparatus. 14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the processing unit exposes a pattern to a pattern area of the substrate.