JP2004119462A - Processing system of substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a wafer to be processed in an exposure unit from becoming insufficient. <P>SOLUTION: A receiving/delivering unit 61 having an IN stage 70 and an OUT stage 71 provided at upper and lower stages are entirely vertically moved at two stages. A wafer conveying unit 80 can access only to the unit 61 of a DOWN position. A main controller 92 controls so as not to vertically move the unit 61 when it is recognized that there is the wafer on the OUT stage by considering safety. Immediately after the wafer W is received and delivered from the exposure unit 3 to the stage 71, its information is not notified to the controller 92, but the IN stage 71 is lowered, another wafer on the IN stage 71 is conveyed to the unit 3, and then it is notified. As a result, even when the controller 92 controls, each time the wafer is delivered from the unit 3, another wafer is conveyed to the unit 3 so that the wafer may not become insufficient in the unit 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate processing system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a resist coating process of applying a resist solution to a substrate surface, an exposure process of irradiating a substrate with a predetermined pattern for exposure, and a development process of developing the exposed substrate are sequentially performed. There is a photolithography process. The photolithography process is conventionally performed by a substrate processing system including two devices, a coating and developing device for performing the resist coating process and the developing process, and an exposure machine for performing the exposure process. The substrate carried into the processing system is subjected to a resist coating process in a coating and developing apparatus, thereafter subjected to an exposure process in an exposure machine, and then subjected to a developing process in the coating and developing apparatus again. In the processing system, a plurality of substrates are processed in a single-wafer manner, and a plurality of substrates are carried into the coating / developing apparatus and the exposure machine at the same time. In the exposure machine, a plurality of loaded substrates are exposed one by one in a loading order.
[0003]
Meanwhile, the transfer of the substrate between the coating and developing apparatus and the exposing machine is performed, for example, via an interface provided at one end of the coating and developing apparatus. The interface section is provided adjacent to a processing station in a coating and developing apparatus in which the above-described resist coating processing and developing processing are performed.
[0004]
The interface section is provided with an IN stage used when carrying the substrate from the coating and developing apparatus side to the exposure apparatus side, and an OUT stage used when carrying the substrate from the exposure apparatus side to the coating and developing apparatus side. ing. Conventionally, these two stages were arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. However, as the diameter of the substrate has increased, the stages have become larger, and as shown in FIGS. An IN stage 200 and an OUT stage 201 are provided side by side in two upper and lower stages. The IN stage 200 and the OUT stage 201 can be integrally moved to upper and lower two stages, that is, an UP position U (a position shown in FIG. 9) and a DOWN position D (a position shown in FIG. 10) ( For example, see Patent Document 1.)
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-10-150089
[0006]
By the way, the coating and developing treatment apparatus is provided with a substrate transfer body 202 for transferring a substrate between the two stages 200 and 201 and the processing station. The exposure apparatus is provided with a substrate transfer device 203 that transfers a substrate between the inside of the exposure apparatus and the two stages 200 and 201.
[0007]
The substrate carrier 202 on the side of the coating and developing processing apparatus can access both stages 200 and 201 at the UP position U, for example, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the substrate carrier 202 transfers the substrate, which has been processed in the previous process at the processing station, to the upper IN stage 200 that has been moved to the UP position U, and, on the other hand, finishes the exposure processing and places the substrate on the OUT stage 201. The transferred substrate can be received from the lower OUT stage 201 moved to the UP position U.
[0008]
The substrate transfer device 203 can access only the stage moved to a predetermined height, for example, due to space limitations in the exposure machine. Therefore, for example, the IN stage 200 that has moved to the DOWN position D and the OUT stage 201 that has moved to the UP position U are set to have the same height. For example, the substrate on the IN stage 200 is transported into the exposure apparatus. In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the substrate transfer device 203 has received a substrate from the IN stage 200 after the IN stage 200 has been lowered to the DOWN position D. On the other hand, when transporting the substrate of the exposure apparatus to the OUT stage 201, the substrate was transported after the OUT stage 201 returned to the UP position U as shown in FIG.
[0009]
The transport control of the substrate between the coating and developing processing apparatus and the exposure machine in the processing system configured as described above is performed by a higher-level control unit. In the transfer of the substrate from the coating and developing processing apparatus to the exposure machine, first, when the substrate is transferred to the IN stage 200 at the UP position U by the substrate transfer body 202, the substrate is placed on the IN stage 200 by the upper control unit. Is confirmed. Then, when the host controller further confirms the reception READY signal of the substrate transfer device 203, the IN stage 200 is lowered to the DOWN position D, and then the substrate on the IN stage 200 is transferred into the exposure apparatus by the substrate transfer device 203. Is done.
[0010]
On the other hand, in the transfer of the substrate from the exposure machine to the coating and developing processing apparatus, the received READY signal of the OUT stage 201 is confirmed by the host controller. When the substrate in the exposure apparatus is transferred to the OUT stage 201 at the UP position U by the substrate transfer device 203, the host controller is notified that the substrate has been placed on the OUT stage 201. When the host controller confirms the notification and further confirms the acceptance READY signal on the processing station side, the substrate on the OUT stage 201 has been transported into the processing station by the substrate transporter 202.
[0011]
In such substrate transfer control, the host controller is notified that the substrate has been placed on the OUT stage 201 at the UP position U, and the host controller has placed the substrate on the OUT stage 201. When it is confirmed that the IN stage 200 and the OUT stage 201 do not move to the DOWN position D, a control regulation is adopted. This is because if the substrate is moved to the DOWN position D while the substrate is placed on the OUT stage 201, the substrate carrier 202 that is trying to receive the substrate of the OUT stage 201 becomes in error as shown in FIG. This is because there is a risk of accessing the IN stage 200. In addition, there is a possibility that the substrate carrier 202 and the substrate carrier 203 that has received the substrate on the IN stage 200 may collide.
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in recent years, the processing speed of an exposure machine has rapidly increased. As a result, the processing speed of the substrate in the exposure machine becomes relatively faster than the processing speed of the substrate in the coating and developing processing apparatus. It will be waited on 201. During this time, since the substrate is placed on the OUT stage 201, the IN stage 200 cannot be moved down due to the above control restrictions, and a new substrate cannot be carried into the exposure apparatus. In addition, the substrate transfer device 203 often holds the next substrate after the exposure processing, so that it is difficult to receive a new substrate.
[0013]
When the substrate on the processing station side can be received, the substrate on the OUT stage 201 is immediately transferred to the processing station side, and the next substrate held by the substrate transfer device 203 in the exposure apparatus is transferred to the OUT stage 201. You. This substrate transported to the OUT stage 201 is also kept waiting until the processing station enters the next acceptable state, similarly to the above-mentioned substrate. Then, the substrate in the processing station can be received. When the substrate on the OUT stage 201 is transferred to the processing station, the next substrate is immediately transferred to the OUT stage 201. In this way, if the processing on the exposure machine is performed faster than the processing on the coating / developing machine, only the transfer from the exposure machine to the coating / developing machine is repeated until all the substrates in the exposure machine are carried out. Is That is, a new substrate will not be carried into the exposure machine until all the substrates in the exposure machine have been carried out. As a result, it may take a long time before the substrate placed on the IN stage 200 is carried into the exposure apparatus. In addition, the carry-in timing varies for each substrate. Such a prolonged and uneven transfer time of the substrate from the processing station to the exposure apparatus adversely affects the final processing state of the substrate and is not preferable. Also, after all the substrates in the exposure machine have been carried out, new substrates are carried into the exposure machine. Therefore, there is a shortage of substrates to be processed in the exposure machine, and the exposure process of the exposure machine is temporarily stopped. Stopped. This causes a reduction in the processing efficiency and throughput of the entire processing system, and is not preferable.
[0014]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a substrate processing system including two substrate processing apparatuses including a coating and developing apparatus and an exposure machine, the substrate transport time can be reduced or made constant. It is another object of the present invention to provide a processing system capable of further improving the processing efficiency of a substrate.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there are provided first and second substrate processing apparatuses for processing a substrate, and transfer of the substrate between the first substrate processing apparatus and the second substrate processing apparatus. And a control unit for controlling the operation of the transfer device, wherein the transfer device is provided from the first substrate processing device to the second substrate processing device. A first mounting portion on which the substrate is mounted when the substrate is transferred, and a first mounting portion on which the substrate is mounted when the substrate is transferred from the second substrate processing apparatus to the first substrate processing apparatus. And the transfer device can be moved to first and second positions in two stages of up and down, and the first substrate processing apparatus is provided with the first substrate. A substrate transfer device for transferring the substrate between the processing device and the transfer device; The substrate transfer device can receive the substrate from the first mounting portion of the transfer device only when the transfer device has moved to the first position, and the transfer device has moved to the second position. Only when is it possible to transfer the substrate to the second mounting portion of the transfer device, and while the control unit recognizes that the substrate is mounted on the second mounting portion, , The transfer device is controlled not to move to the first position, and immediately after the substrate is transferred to the second mounting portion by the substrate transfer device, the transfer to the control portion is performed. The notification that the substrate is placed on the second placement unit is not performed, and the transfer unit is moved to the first position by the control unit, and another substrate on the first placement unit is moved to the second placement unit. After being transferred to the transfer device, the second mounting portion is Substrate processing system of the substrate, characterized in that it is configured such that the notification that is placed is made is provided.
[0016]
According to the present invention, even if the substrate is transferred from the first substrate processing apparatus to the second mounting portion by the substrate transfer device and the substrate is mounted on the second mounting portion, the substrate is temporarily stopped. The control unit is not notified. That is, the control unit does not recognize that the substrate is mounted on the second mounting unit for a while. Therefore, even when there is a control restriction that the transfer device is not moved to the first position while the substrate is being placed on the second placement portion, the control portion does not need to be moved to the first position. Since the user does not know that the substrate is placed on the second placement portion, the transfer device can be moved during that time. Then, after the transfer device moves to the first position and another substrate of the first mounting portion is transferred to the substrate transfer device, notification to the control portion is performed. Therefore, for example, even when the processing in the second substrate processing apparatus is delayed and the substrate is waiting on the second mounting portion, it is possible to carry in a new substrate into the first substrate processing apparatus. it can. As a result, the loading of the substrate on the first mounting portion into the first substrate processing apparatus is waited until all the substrates in the first substrate processing apparatus are unloaded as in the above-described exposure apparatus. Nothing. Therefore, the total transfer time of the substrate can be reduced and made uniform. Further, each time one substrate is unloaded from the first substrate processing apparatus, the substrate can be loaded into the first substrate processing apparatus. Can be prevented from lowering.
[0017]
The second substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate transporter that transports a substrate between the second substrate processing apparatus and the transfer device, wherein the transfer device is located at a second position. Only when the substrate is moved, the substrate can be transferred to and from the transfer device, and the notification to the control unit that the substrate is mounted on the second mounting unit is transmitted to the first unit. The transfer may be performed when the transfer device is moved to the second position after another substrate on the mounting portion is transferred to the substrate transfer device. In such a case, in order to transfer the substrate mounted on the second mounting portion to the substrate carrier, the above-described notification is sent to the control portion when the transfer device moves to the second position. As a result, the preparation time for receiving the substrate of the second mounting portion is given to the substrate transfer body, and the transfer of the substrate after the transfer device reaches the second position can be performed quickly. Note that "when the delivery device is moved to the second position" includes the time when the transfer is started and during the movement.
[0018]
The position of the first mounting portion when the transfer device moves to the first position is the same as the position of the second mounting portion when the transfer device moves to the second position. It may be in the position. Further, the first substrate processing apparatus may be an exposure apparatus for exposing a substrate, and the second substrate processing apparatus may be a coating and developing apparatus. In such a case, even when the processing speed of the exposure apparatus is relatively higher than the processing speed of the substrate in the coating and developing apparatus as described above, the substrate can be transported between these apparatuses without delay.
[0019]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the wafer processing system 1 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view of the wafer processing system 1, and FIG. 3 is a rear view of the wafer processing system 1.
[0020]
The wafer processing system 1 is a system for performing a photolithography process on a wafer W, and includes a coating and developing processing apparatus 2 as a second substrate processing apparatus, and an exposing machine 3 as a first substrate processing apparatus and an exposure apparatus. I have.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 1, the coating / developing apparatus 2 carries out, for example, 25 wafers W in and out of the cassette C in a cassette unit. A station 10, a processing station 11 in which various processing units for performing predetermined processing in a single-wafer manner in a coating and developing processing step are arranged in multiple stages, and an exposing machine 3 provided adjacent to the processing station 11. And an interface unit 12 for transferring a wafer W between the two.
[0022]
In the cassette station 10, a plurality of cassettes C can be mounted at predetermined positions on the cassette mounting table 20 in a line in the X direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 1). Then, the wafer carrier 21 that can be transported in the cassette arrangement direction (X direction) and the wafer arrangement direction (Z direction; vertical direction) of the wafers W accommodated in the cassette C is movable along the transfer path 22. Provided so that each cassette C can be selectively accessed.
[0023]
The wafer carrier 21 has an alignment function for aligning the position of the wafer W. As will be described later, the wafer transfer body 21 is configured to be able to access the adhesion unit 41 and the extension unit 42 belonging to the third processing unit group G3 on the processing station 11 side.
[0024]
In the processing station 11, a main transfer device 23 is provided at the center thereof, and various processing units are arranged in multiple stages around the main transfer device 23 to form a processing unit group. In the coating and developing apparatus 2, four processing unit groups G1, G2, G3 and G4 are arranged, and the first and second processing unit groups G1 and G2 are arranged on the front side of the coating and developing apparatus 2. The third processing unit group G3 is disposed adjacent to the cassette station 10, and the fourth processing unit group G4 is disposed adjacent to the interface unit 12. Further, a fifth processing unit group G5 indicated by a broken line as an option can be separately arranged on the back side. The main transfer device 23 is capable of carrying in and out the wafer W to and from various processing units described later arranged in the processing unit groups G1, G2, G3, G4, and G5. Note that the number and arrangement of the processing unit groups differ depending on the type of processing performed on the wafer W, and can be arbitrarily selected.
[0025]
In the first processing unit group G1, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a resist coating unit 30 for applying a resist solution to the wafer W to form a resist film on the wafer W, and a developing process for developing the wafer W after exposure The units 31 are arranged in two stages in order from the bottom. Similarly, in the case of the second processing unit group G2, similarly, the resist coating unit 32 and the developing processing unit 33 are stacked in two stages from the bottom.
[0026]
In the third processing unit group G3, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a cooling unit 40 for cooling the wafer W, an adhesion unit 41 for improving the fixability between the resist solution and the wafer W, and a delivery of the wafer W. An extension unit 42 for performing the heating process, pre-baking units 43 and 44 for performing the heating process after the application of the resist, and a post-baking unit 45 for performing the heating process after the developing process are stacked in, for example, six stages from the bottom.
[0027]
In the fourth processing unit group G4, for example, a cooling unit 50, an extension cooling unit 51 for naturally cooling the mounted wafer W, an extension unit 52, post-exposure baking units 53 and 54 for performing heat treatment after exposure, and post-baking. The units 55 are stacked, for example, in six stages from the bottom.
[0028]
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the interface unit 12 is provided with a wafer carrier 60 as a substrate carrier, a delivery unit 61 as a delivery device, and a buffer cassette 62.
[0029]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the transfer unit 61 has two stages of a flat plate shape in two upper and lower stages. The IN stage 70 as the upper first mounting portion is for temporarily mounting the wafer W when the wafer W is transferred from the processing station 11 side to the exposure machine 3 side. The OUT stage 71 serving as a lower second mounting portion temporarily mounts the wafer W when the wafer W is transferred from the exposure machine 3 to the processing station 11 side. The IN stage 70 and the OUT stage 71 are supported by the same support member 72. The support member 72 can be moved up and down by a drive unit (not shown) such as a cylinder, so that the IN stage 70 and the OUT stage 71 can move up and down integrally. Thus, the transfer unit 61 including the IN stage 70 and the OUT stage 71 can reciprocate between the UP position U (shown in FIG. 4) as the second position and the DOWN position D (shown in FIG. 5). . The height of the OUT stage 71 when the transfer unit 61 is at the UP position U and the height of the IN stage 70 when the transfer unit 61 is at the DOWN position D are set to be the same. As shown in FIG. 4, the IN stage 70 and the OUT stage 71 are respectively provided with sensors 73 and 74 for detecting the placement of the wafer W, and these wafer detection signals are transmitted to an apparatus control unit 90 described later. Can be output to
[0030]
The buffer cassette 62 is a housing having a substantially cubic outer shape, and can accommodate the wafers W in multiple stages in the vertical direction.
[0031]
As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer carrier 60 is movable on a carrier path 75 formed in the X direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 1). In addition, the wafer carrier 60 is movable in the Z direction (vertical direction) and is rotatable in the θ direction (rotational direction around the Z axis). With this configuration, the wafer carrier 60 can access the IN stage 70 and the OUT stage 71 of the transfer unit 61. However, for control reasons, the wafer carrier 60 can access only the IN stage 70 and the OUT stage 71 of the transfer unit 61 at the UP position U. That is, when transferring the wafer W between the wafer carrier 60 and the transfer unit 61, the transfer unit 61 needs to be moved to the UP position U. In addition, the wafer carrier 60 can also access the buffer cassette 62, the extension / cooling unit 51 and the extension unit 52 belonging to the fourth processing unit group G4, and carry the wafer W to each.
[0032]
The exposure machine 3 is provided with a wafer transfer device 80 for accessing the delivery unit 61 as shown in FIG. The wafer transfer device 80 holds the wafer W at the same height as, for example, the height of the IN stage 70 at the DOWN position D (the OUT stage 71 at the UP position U), and advances and retreats in the horizontal direction at that height to transfer the unit 61. Can transfer the wafer W to the wafer. That is, since the wafer transfer device 80 can access only the IN stage 70 at the DOWN position D and the OUT stage 71 at the UP position U, when the wafer W is transferred from the IN stage 70 to the wafer transfer device 80, When the transfer unit 61 moves to the DOWN position D and the wafer W is transferred from the wafer transfer device 80 to the OUT stage 71, the transfer unit 61 moves to the UP position U. A plurality of, for example, four wafers can be accommodated in the exposure machine 3 at the same time, and the wafer W carried in by the wafer carrier 80 is carried along the forward path in the exposure machine 3 and exposed. Is completed, the wafer is returned to the wafer transfer device 80 again and unloaded from the exposure machine 3. The detailed configuration of the exposure machine 3 is omitted.
[0033]
The control of the operations of the wafer transfer body 60, the transfer unit 61 and the like of the coating and developing apparatus 2 configured as described above is performed by the apparatus control unit 90 (shown in FIG. 1).
The operation of the exposure machine 3 including the wafer transfer device 80 is controlled by an exposure machine control section 91. The control related to the wafer transfer of the entire coating and developing apparatus 2 is performed by a main control unit 92 as a control unit which is a higher-level control unit. The apparatus control section 90 and the exposure apparatus control section 91 can communicate with each other, exchange various signals between them, and synchronize or interlock the operations of various specifications in the coating and developing processing apparatus 2 and the exposure apparatus 3 with each other. By doing so, the entire wafer processing system 1 is controlled. Specifically, the reception READY signal of the transfer unit 61, the wafer detection signal of the sensors 73 and 74, the reception READY signal of the processing station 11, and the like on the coating and developing processing device 2 side are output from the device control unit 90 to the main control unit 92. Is done. The reception confirmation signal, the delivery READY signal, and the like of the wafer transfer device 80 on the side of the exposure machine 3 are output from the exposure machine control section 91 to the apparatus control section 90, and are output from the apparatus control section 90 to the main control section 92. The main control unit 92 issues an operation instruction to the device control unit 90 in accordance with a preset control rule based on the various signals input. Based on the operation instruction, the device control unit 90 controls operations of the transfer unit 61, the wafer carrier 60, and the like. The exposure unit control unit 91 reads the operation instruction output from the main control unit 92 to the device control unit 90 and, for example, transfers a wafer within the exposure unit 3 according to a control rule preset in the exposure unit control unit 91. The operation of the device 80 is controlled.
[0034]
By the way, from the above configuration, when the wafer W is transferred from the exposure machine 3 to the processing station 11, the wafer W in the exposure machine 3 is transferred to the OUT stage 71 at the UP position U by the wafer transfer device 80. The wafer is transferred from the OUT stage 71 at the UP position U to the processing station 11 by the wafer transfer body 60. The control rules of the main control unit 92 include a process from receiving the notification that the wafer W is mounted on the OUT stage 71 to receiving a notification that the wafer W is unloaded from the OUT stage 71. During this time, there is a control regulation that the transfer unit 61 is not lowered to the DOWN position D. That is, the main control unit 92 performs control so as not to lower the transfer unit 61 to the DOWN position D while the wafer W is placed on the OUT stage 71. This is because if the transfer unit 61 is lowered during this time, there is a possibility that the transfer unit 61 will collide with the wafer carrier 60 that attempts to access the OUT stage 71. Further, as the transfer unit 61 is lowered, the wafer transfer device 80 trying to access the IN stage 70 may collide with the wafer transfer body 60.
[0035]
Here, an operation in the photolithography process of the wafer processing system 1 configured as described above will be described.
[0036]
First, one unprocessed wafer W is taken out of the cassette C in the cassette station 10 and transferred to the extension unit 42 belonging to the third processing unit group G3. Next, the wafer W is carried into the adhesion unit 41 by the main transfer device 23 and subjected to an adhesion process. After the adhesion process, the wafer W is transferred to the cooling unit 40, cooled to a predetermined temperature, and then transferred to the resist coating unit 30 to form a resist film on the surface of the wafer W.
[0037]
The wafer W on which the resist film is formed is sequentially transferred to the pre-baking unit 43 and the extension / cooling unit 51 by the main transfer unit 23, subjected to a predetermined process, and stored in the buffer cassette 62 by the wafer transfer unit 60. Is done. Next, the wafer W is transferred from the buffer cassette 62 to the transfer unit 61, and is transferred from the transfer unit 61 into the exposure device 3 by the wafer transfer device 80. The wafer W that has been subjected to the exposure processing by the exposure machine 3 is returned to the transfer unit 61 by the wafer transfer device 80, and transferred from the transfer unit 61 to the extension unit 52 by the wafer transfer body 60. Thereafter, the wafer W is sequentially transferred to the post-exposure baking unit 54, the cooling unit 53, the development processing unit 31, the post-baking unit 45, and the cooling unit 40 by the main transfer device 23, and a predetermined process is performed in each unit. Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to the extension unit 42, returned to the cassette C by the wafer transfer body 21, and a series of photolithography steps is completed.
[0038]
Next, the transfer control of the wafer W between the coating and developing apparatus 2 and the exposing machine 3 in the wafer processing system 1 will be described in detail. Hereinafter, the wafer W transferred from the coating and developing treatment apparatus 2 to the exposing machine 3 is referred to as a wafer W. _IN And the wafer W transferred from the exposing machine 3 side to the coating and developing _OUT And
[0039]
First, in response to an instruction from the main control unit 92, the apparatus control unit 90 moves the wafer carrier 60 from the buffer cassette 62 to the transfer unit 61, and as shown in FIG. _IN Is placed on the IN stage 70 at the UP position U. On the other hand, the wafer W _OUT Is completed, the exposure machine control section 91 detects the completion of the exposure, and _OUT Is moved to the OUT stage 71 at the UP position U. Thus, the wafer W _OUT Are placed on the OUT stage 71.
[0040]
At this time, in the OUT stage 71, the wafer W is _OUT Is detected, and the wafer detection signal is output to the device control unit 90. This wafer detection signal is not immediately notified to the main control unit 92, and the main control unit 92 places the wafer W on the OUT stage 71 at this time. _OUT Did not confirm that was placed. Therefore, the wafer W _OUT The wafer carrier 60 does not access the delivery unit 61 in accordance with the instruction of the main control unit 92 to receive the transfer command.
[0041]
Subsequently, the wafer transfer device 80 is returned to the inside of the exposure device 3, and thereafter, the device control unit 90 checks the received READY signal of the wafer transfer device 80 via the exposure device control unit 91. The confirmation of the received READY signal is reported to the main control unit 92, and the device control unit 90 moves the IN stage 70 down to the DOWN position D as shown in FIG. Let it. Then, the exposure device control section 91 moves the wafer transfer device 80 to the IN stage 70, and sends the wafer W to the wafer transfer device 80. _IN To receive. Thereafter, the wafer transfer device 80 is returned into the exposure device 3 by the exposure device control section 91 as shown in FIG. _IN Is transported into the exposure machine 3.
[0042]
When the device control unit 90 receives a reception confirmation signal from, for example, the wafer transfer device 80 via the exposure device control unit 91, the device control unit 90 raises the transfer unit 61 to the UP position U as shown in FIG. . For example, at the start of the ascent, the apparatus control unit 90 sends the wafer W to the OUT stage 71 with respect to the main control unit 92. _OUT Is notified. At the same time as this notification, for example, the received READY signal of the IN stage 70 is also notified to the main control unit 92. Upon receiving this notification, the main control unit 92 executes a process for giving an instruction to the device control unit 90. The delivery unit 61 moves to the UP position U while the processing of the main control unit 92 is being executed. Then, after or during the movement of the transfer unit 61, the main control unit 92 gives an instruction to the device control unit 90, and the device control unit 90 sends the wafer W on the OUT stage 71 to the wafer carrier 60. _OUT Preparation for receiving a new wafer W on the IN stage 70 _IN Prepare to transport. Thereby, the UP operation of the transfer unit 61 and the new wafer W of the wafer carrier 60 are performed. _IN Preparation for wafer transfer and wafer W of wafer transfer body 60 _OUT Preparation is performed in parallel, and the processing speed is improved. Note that the wafer carrier 60 moves to the height of the OUT stage 71 at the UP position U as shown in FIG.
[0043]
When the transfer unit 61 moves to the UP position U, the apparatus controller 90 causes the wafer carrier 60 to sequentially access the OUT stage 71 and the IN stage 70 as shown in FIG. Thereby, the wafer W of the OUT stage 71 _OUT Is transferred to the extension unit 52 of the processing station 11 and a new wafer W _IN Is transported to the IN stage 70. When the exposure processing is completed again in the exposure machine 3, the wafer W having been subjected to the exposure processing is processed. _OUT Is transferred to the OUT stage 71 by the wafer transfer device 80, and returns to the state of FIG. Note that the wafer detection signal from the sensor 74 at this time is also not temporarily notified to the main control unit 92. Thereafter, the wafer W from the coating and developing processing apparatus 2 to the exposure machine 3 is controlled by the same control as the above-described transfer control. _IN Wafer transfer from the exposure machine 3 to the coating and developing treatment apparatus 2 _OUT Are alternately performed.
[0044]
According to the above embodiment, the wafer W _OUT Is passed to the OUT stage 71, the notification is not made to the main control unit 92 for a predetermined period. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, the main controller 92 places the wafer W on the OUT stage 71. _OUT Even if there is a control restriction that the transfer unit 61 is not lowered while the transfer unit 61 is placed, the transfer unit 61 can actually be lowered at this time. As a result, the IN stage 70 → the wafer W _IN Is transferred to the OUT stage 71 by the wafer W. _OUT Can be carried out even when is placed. Therefore, the number of wafers W loaded and unloaded into and out of the exposure machine 3 is well balanced, and there is no shortage of wafers W in the exposure machine 3. Therefore, the processing of the exposure machine 3 is not interrupted, and the processing efficiency of the exposure machine 3 is improved. In addition, the wafer W _IN Is not waited for a long time on the IN stage 70, so that the total transfer time of the wafer W can be reduced. Further, the wafer W _IN Since the waiting time on the IN stage 70 is reduced, the variation in the transfer time between the wafers W is also reduced.
[0045]
Since the main control unit 92 does not recognize that the wafer W has been transferred to the OUT stage 71 itself, the wafer carrier 60 does not access the transfer unit 61 immediately after the instruction from the main control unit 92. Therefore, there is practically no problem even if the above control regulations are violated.
[0046]
Although an example of the embodiment of the present invention has been described, the present invention is not limited to this example, and can take various aspects. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the transport between the coating and developing apparatus 2 and the exposing machine 3. apparatus,
The present invention can also be applied to transfer of a wafer between inspection devices. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the wafer W, and can be applied to other rectangular substrates, for example, an LCD substrate processing system.
[0047]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the substrate is more reliably carried into the first substrate processing apparatus, so that there is no shortage of the substrate in the first substrate processing apparatus, and the processing of the first substrate processing apparatus is performed. Efficiency is improved. Since the substrate transfer time can be reduced, the throughput can be improved. Variations in the transfer time between substrates are also suppressed, so that a uniform processing can be performed on a plurality of substrates.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a configuration of a wafer processing system according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the wafer processing system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the wafer processing system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view schematically showing a configuration of an IN stage and an OUT stage of a transfer unit.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the delivery unit has been lowered to a DOWN position.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a wafer at an IN stage at a DOWN position is transferred.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a delivery unit is raised.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where a wafer is transferred to a delivery unit at an UP position.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an IN stage and an OUT stage at an UP position.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an IN stage and an OUT stage at a DOWN position.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Wafer processing system
2 Coating and developing equipment
3 Exposure machine
11 Processing station
12 Interface section
60 Wafer carrier
61 Delivery unit
70 IN Stage
71 OUT stage
80 Wafer transfer device
92 Main control unit
W wafer

Claims (5)

First and second substrate processing apparatuses for processing a substrate,
A transfer device for transferring a substrate between the first substrate processing device and the second substrate processing device;
A control unit for controlling the operation of the transfer device, the substrate processing system comprising:
The transfer device includes: a first mounting portion on which a substrate is mounted when a substrate is transferred from the first substrate processing device to a second substrate processing device; And a second mounting portion on which the substrate is mounted when the substrate is transferred to the first substrate processing apparatus, in two upper and lower stages,
The transfer device is movable to first and second positions in two stages, up and down,
The first substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate transfer device that transfers a substrate between the inside of the first substrate processing apparatus and the transfer device;
The substrate transfer device can receive the substrate from the first mounting portion of the transfer device only when the transfer device has moved to the first position, and the transfer device has moved to the second position. Only when is it possible to deliver the substrate to the second mounting portion of the delivery device,
The control unit controls the transfer device to not move to the first position while recognizing that the substrate is mounted on the second mounting unit,
Immediately after the substrate is transferred to the second placement unit by the substrate transfer device, the control unit is not notified that the substrate has been placed on the second placement unit. After the transfer unit is moved to the first position by the control unit and another substrate on the first mounting unit is transferred to the substrate transfer device, the second mounting unit transfers the second mounting unit to the control unit. A substrate processing system, wherein the notification that the substrate is placed on the unit is performed. The second substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate transfer body that transfers a substrate between the inside of the second substrate processing apparatus and the transfer device.
The substrate transfer body can transfer the substrate to and from the transfer device only when the transfer device moves to the second position,
The notification to the control section that the substrate is placed on the second placement section is performed after another substrate on the first placement section is transferred to the substrate transfer device. 2. The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the transfer is performed when the transfer device is moved to the second position. The position of the first mounting portion when the transfer device moves to the first position is the same as the position of the second mounting portion when the transfer device moves to the second position. The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing system is located at a position. 4. The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate processing apparatus is an exposure apparatus that performs exposure processing on the substrate. 5. The substrate processing system according to claim 1, wherein said second substrate processing apparatus is a coating and developing processing apparatus.

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