JP4499147B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing a series of processes including a heating process, a cooling process, and a processing liquid process on a thin plate substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal glass substrate, and the like. The present invention relates to a substrate transfer device and a substrate transfer device used in the above.

  Conventionally, in a substrate processing apparatus as described above, a substrate transfer robot circulates and transfers a substrate between a heating processing unit that performs heat processing on a substrate, a cooling processing unit that performs cooling processing, a chemical processing unit that performs chemical processing, and the like. Thus, a series of substrate processing is achieved (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the substrate processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a plurality of sets of multi-stage units in which a plurality of single-wafer processing units are stacked in multiple stages are arranged around a substrate transfer robot that is arranged at the center of the apparatus and can move up and down. Yes. Here, the multi-stage unit is formed by laminating the same type of processing units in multiple stages, and a heat treatment multi-stage unit in which only a plurality of heat treatment units for performing heat treatment and cooling treatment are laminated on a substrate, and a plurality of chemical solution treatment units. It is divided into chemical treatment system multi-stage units that are stacked only in multiple stages.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-046010

  However, in the above-described substrate processing apparatus, since the same type of processing units are stacked in multiple stages, there is a problem that the maintainability of the chemical processing multistage units is deteriorated particularly in the processing unit on the upper stage because of handling chemicals.

  In addition, the substrate processing apparatus as described above has a structure in which a plurality of sets of multi-stage units are basically separated and arranged around the substrate transfer robot arranged in the center of the apparatus. Tend to be low, and it tends to be disadvantageous for functional design according to installation conditions and the like, and for efficient transport and processing according to the purpose.

  Furthermore, in the above substrate processing apparatus, since the substrate transport robot is driven in the vertical direction by a ball screw, it is necessary to pull out the substrate transport robot together with the substrate unit during maintenance of the processing unit. There is a problem of being bad.

  Furthermore, in the substrate processing apparatus described above, it is necessary to sufficiently earn the stroke of the arm of the substrate transfer robot so that the substrate transfer robot can access all the processing units constituting a plurality of multistage units arranged around the substrate transfer robot. is there. For this reason, the arm of the transfer robot and the like are increased in size, and the turning space is secured, resulting in an increase in the size of the entire substrate processing apparatus.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus having good workability during maintenance and a high degree of freedom in arranging processing units.

To solve the above problems, a first aspect of the invention, performs heat treatment on the substrate, which is housed in a case, is a single hot plate unit for performing heat treatment, housed in said case Rutotomoni the are arranged side by side in a single hot plate unit and the horizontal direction, and a single cool plate unit for performing cooling processing, and thermal processing unit having a liquid processing unit for performing processing by the processing liquid to the substrate A transfer robot that transfers the substrate between at least the liquid processing unit and the heat treatment unit, and the transfer of the substrate between the transfer robot and the heat treatment unit is performed by the single cool plate. Department side hand of the transfer robot from the formed opening is inserted into, performed between said hand and the single cool plate portion, the cable The substrate of the inner, the being interchangeable between a single and cool plate portion and said single hot plate portions, between said single cool plate part said single hot plate unit Is characterized by being thermally shut off.

The invention of claim 2 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid processing units is characterized by a coating unit.

The invention of claim 3 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid processing units is characterized by a development processing unit.

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the apparatus described in the present application, a plurality of liquid processing units that perform processing with a predetermined processing liquid are arranged at the four corner positions of the unit arrangement portion having a substantially rectangular bottom region. In addition, a substrate transfer means that can rotate around a vertical axis is arranged at the center position of the unit arrangement portion, and a substrate that performs predetermined processing on the substrate at at least one position between the plurality of liquid processing units. Since the processing unit is arranged, space efficient arrangement can be achieved while sufficiently securing the foot space of the liquid processing unit, and the substrate processing apparatus can be downsized.

  Further, according to the apparatus described in the present application, since the substrate processing unit is a coating processing unit for forming a film on the substrate, it is possible to efficiently arrange the processing units.

  According to the apparatus described in the present application, the plurality of liquid processing units include at least one of a coating processing unit for forming a film on the substrate and a development processing unit for performing development processing on the substrate, Since the processing unit is a cleaning processing unit that supplies the cleaning liquid to clean the substrate, it is possible to efficiently arrange the processing units in terms of space.

  According to the apparatus described in the present application, the plurality of liquid processing units include a cleaning processing unit for cleaning the back surface of the substrate by supplying a cleaning liquid to the back surface of the substrate, and the substrate processing unit includes: Since the substrate inversion unit reverses the front surface and the back surface, it is possible to efficiently arrange the processing units in terms of space.

  Further, according to the apparatus described in the present application, since the heat treatment unit for performing the heat treatment on the substrate is arranged above the plurality of liquid treatment units, all the liquid treatment units are arranged on the lower side, and the maintainability is good. In addition, since the liquid processing unit can be arranged at arbitrary positions at the four corners of the apparatus main body, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the processing unit is increased, and functional design and efficient conveyance / processing can be achieved. .

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 1A is a plan view of the apparatus, and FIG. 1B is a front view of the apparatus. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus includes an indexer ID for carrying in / out the substrate, a plurality of processing units for processing the substrate, and a substrate transfer means for transferring the substrate to each processing unit. And a unit IF connected to the exposure apparatus.

  The unit placement unit 10 includes a chemical cabinet 11 for storing a tank for storing medicine, piping, and the like at the lowermost part, and is a liquid processing unit that performs processing with a processing liquid on a substrate at the four corners on the upper side. Application processing units SC1 and SC2 for forming a resist film on the substrate and development processing units SD1 and SD2 for performing development processing on the exposed substrate are arranged. Furthermore, on the upper side of these liquid processing units, a multi-stage heat treatment unit 20 for performing heat treatment on the substrate is arranged at the front part and the rear part of the apparatus. A cleaning processing unit SS for cleaning the substrate by supplying a cleaning liquid such as pure water to the substrate is disposed as a substrate processing unit between the coating processing units SC1 and SC2 on the front side of the apparatus.

  The central part of the apparatus sandwiched between the coating processing units SC1 and SC2 and the development processing units SD1 and SD2 is transported as a substrate transporting means for accessing all surrounding processing units and transferring the substrates to and from them. A robot TR1 is arranged. The transport robot TR1 can move in the vertical direction and can rotate about a central vertical axis.

  A filter fan unit FFU that forms a downflow of clean air is installed at the top of the unit arrangement unit 10. A filter fan unit FFU that forms a down flow of clean air is also provided directly below the multistage heat treatment unit 20 on the liquid processing unit side.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of the processing units in FIG. Above the coating unit SC1, as the multi-stage heat treatment unit 20, three-stage heat treatment units TU1, TU2, and TU3 are arranged. Among these, the heat treatment unit TU1 at the upper stage includes an adhesion strengthening part AH and a cool plate part CP1 inside, and the heat treatment unit TU2 at the middle stage includes a hot plate part HP2 and a cool plate part CP2 inside. The thermal processing unit TU3 at the position includes a hot plate part HP3 and a cool plate part CP3.

  Above the coating unit SC2, as the multi-stage heat treatment unit 20, three-stage heat treatment units TU0, TU4, and TU5 are arranged. Among these, the heat treatment unit TU0 at the upper stage includes a hot plate portion HP0 and a cool plate portion CP0 inside, and the heat treatment unit TU4 at the middle position includes a hot plate portion HP4 and a cool plate portion CP4 inside, and the lower stage. The thermal processing unit TU5 at the position includes a hot plate part HP5 and a cool plate part CP5 inside.

  Above the development processing unit SD1, two-stage heat treatment units TU6 and TU7 are arranged as the multistage heat treatment unit 20. Among these, the heat treatment unit TU6 at the middle position includes a hot plate portion HP6 and a cool plate portion CP6 inside, and the heat treatment unit TU7 at the lower position includes a hot plate portion HP7 and a cool plate portion CP7. The upper position is empty in the case of the apparatus of the present embodiment, but a heat treatment unit incorporating a hot plate portion or a cool plate portion can be incorporated depending on the application and purpose.

  Above the development processing unit SD2, as the multi-stage heat treatment unit 20, in this case, a heat treatment unit TU8 having a single stage structure is arranged. The heat treatment unit TU8 includes a post-exposure bake plate portion PEB and a cool plate portion CP8. The upper and middle positions are empty in the case of the apparatus of the present embodiment, but a heat treatment unit incorporating a hot plate portion or a cool plate portion can be appropriately incorporated depending on the application and purpose.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a flow of a specific substrate transport and processing in the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  First, the transport robot TR1 transports the substrate received from the indexer ID to the cleaning processing unit SS, and replaces the substrate with a substrate processed by the cleaning processing unit SS. The cleaning processing unit SS supplies pure water to the surface of the substrate transferred here and cleans the substrate surface.

  Next, the transport robot TR1 transports the substrate that has been cleaned by the cleaning processing unit SS to the heat treatment unit TU0. The heat treatment unit TU0 performs heating and cooling heat treatment (here, cooling includes a non-thermal state that is not forced cooling) on the hot plate portion HP0 and the cool plate portion CP0.

  Next, the transfer robot TR1 transfers the substrate that has been subjected to the heat treatment in the heat treatment unit TU0 to the heat treatment unit TU1. The heat treatment unit TU1 heat-treats the substrate in the adhesion-enhancing gas atmosphere in the adhesion-enhancing portion AH, and performs the cooling process in the cool plate portion CP1.

  Next, the transfer robot TR1 transfers the substrate that has undergone the heat treatment in the heat treatment unit TU1 to the coating processing unit SC1. The coating processing unit SC1 applies a resist solution to the substrate by spin coating.

  Next, the transfer robot TR1 transfers the substrate that has been subjected to the coating process by the coating process unit SC1 to either the heat treatment unit TU2 or the heat treatment unit TU3. The heat treatment units TU2 and TU3 perform resist curing processing including heating and cooling on the hot plate portions HP2 and HP3 and the cool plate portions CP2 and CP3, respectively, on the substrate. The reason why the two heat treatment units TU2 and TU3 perform parallel processing is that this process (heat treatment in the heat treatment units TU2 and TU3) requires more time than other processing units.

  Next, the transport robot TR1 transports the substrate that has undergone the heat treatment in the heat treatment units TU2 and TU3 to the coating processing unit SC2. The coating processing unit SC2 forms a protective film on the resist by spin coating on this substrate.

  Next, the transport robot TR1 transports the substrate that has been subjected to the coating process by the coating process unit SC2 to either the heat treatment unit TU4 or the heat treatment unit TU5. The heat treatment units TU4 and TU5 perform a protective film curing process including heating and cooling on the hot plate portions HP4 and HP5 and the cool plate portions CP4 and CP5, respectively. Through the above steps, the forward processing in the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment is completed.

  Next, the transfer robot TR1 passes the substrate that has undergone the heat treatment in the heat treatment units TU4 and TU5 to the interface IF side. The interface IF temporarily holds the substrate before exposure from the unit placement unit 10 side and sends it to the exposure apparatus side in order to adjust the time with the throughput of the exposure apparatus, and also exposes from the exposure apparatus side. It has the role of returning the substrate to the substrate processing apparatus 10 side after temporarily holding the subsequent substrate.

  Next, the transfer robot TR1 transfers the exposed substrate returned to the interface IF to the heat treatment unit TU8. The heat treatment unit TU8 performs post-exposure bake processing including heating and cooling on the post-exposure bake plate portion PEB and the cool plate portion CP8.

  Next, the transport robot TR1 transports the substrate, which has been subjected to the post-exposure bake processing in the heat treatment unit TU8, to either the development processing unit SD1 or the development processing unit SD2. The development processing units SD1 and SD2 execute a resist development process after exposure on the substrate.

  Next, the transport robot TR1 transports the substrate that has undergone development processing in the development processing units SD1 and SD2 to either the heat treatment unit TU6 or the heat treatment unit TU7. The heat treatment units TU6 and TU7 perform post-bake processing including heating and cooling on the hot plate portions HP6 and HP7 and the cool plate portions CP6 and CP7, respectively.

  Finally, the transfer robot TR1 returns the finished substrate that has undergone the heat treatment in the heat treatment units TU6 and TU7 to the indexer ID side. Through the above steps, the reverse processing in the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment is completed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining substrate transport in the unit placement unit 10, substrate transport in the indexer ID, and delivery of the substrate between the unit placement unit 10 and the indexer ID.

  The transfer robot TR2 provided in the indexer ID includes a first hand 50 that transfers a substrate to and from the transfer robot TR1 on the unit placement unit 10 side, and a second hand 60 that carries the substrate WF into and out of the cassette CA. Prepare.

  The transfer robot TR2 receives the substrate WF transported to the delivery position P1 by the transport robot TR1 on the unit arrangement unit 10 side, stores it in the cassette CA, and takes out the substrate WF in the cassette CA out of the cassette CA. Then, it is moved to the delivery position P1 and delivered to the transfer robot TR1.

  That is, as a whole, the transfer robot TR2 can reciprocate in the Y direction on the path provided in the indexer ID. At the position shown in the drawing, the first hand 50 moves in the ± Z direction (that is, the vertical direction) and the X direction (that is, the unit placement unit 10 side), and transfers the substrate WF to and from the front transfer robot TR1. . On the other hand, when the transfer robot TR2 moves in the ± Y direction from the illustrated position to face the front of any cassette CA, the second hand 60 moves in the ± Z direction and the −X direction to move to the cassette CA. The substrate WF is exchanged between the two.

  The transfer robot TR1 provided in the center of the unit arrangement unit 10 transfers the substrate WF received from the transfer robot TR2 at the delivery position P1 to the surrounding processing unit (for example, the cleaning processing unit SS).

  The transfer robot TR1 includes a stage 41 that can move up and down in the ± Z directions, that is, the vertical direction, and a head 42 that is mounted on the stage 41 and that can rotate about a vertical axis. The head 42 includes a hand 40 that supports the substrate WF and can access all surrounding processing units. The hand 40 has a pair of upper and lower holder members that expand and contract independently in the horizontal direction in the XY plane. When the processing unit is accessed, the substrate WF after processing in the processing unit and the processing on the holder member are processed. Replace the previous substrate WF.

  In this way, the unit placement unit 10 is made by making a round of the cyclic transfer of transferring the substrate WF in the same flow as in FIG. 3 while exchanging the substrate WF before processing and the substrate WF after processing by the transfer robot TR1. The processing of the substrate WF in each of the processing units (except the processing unit for parallel processing) proceeds in one stage.

  At this time, with respect to the indexer ID and the interface IF, the delivery positions P1 and P2 function as a kind of processing unit, and the substrates are exchanged here. That is, the transfer robot TR1 moves the substrate WF, which has been processed in the last processing unit (for example, the heat treatment unit TU4) in the forward direction, to the delivery position P2, and replaces the substrate with the interface IF here. Further, the transfer robot TR1 moves the substrate WF, which has been processed in the last processing unit (for example, the heat treatment unit TU6) in the reverse direction, to the delivery position P1, and performs substrate exchange with the indexer ID here.

  When the transfer robot TR1 repeats the cyclic transfer as described above, the processing of the substrate WF proceeds gradually in the same flow as in FIG.

  5 to 7 are views for explaining the structure and operation of the transfer robot TR1, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the transfer robot TR1, and FIG. 6 is a view showing the back and side structures of the transfer robot TR1. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the hand of the transfer robot TR1.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the stage 41 that supports the head 42 of the transfer robot TR1 can be raised and lowered in the ± Z direction by a Z-axis drive mechanism 45 provided between the stage 41 and the base 44. The Z-axis drive mechanism 45 has a pantograph structure. The screw shaft 45b is rotated by forward and reverse rotation of a motor 45a fixed on the base 44, and a connecting member 45c screwed to the screw shaft 45b is ± Move in the Y direction. As the connecting member 45c moves, the pair of pantograph links 45d connected to both ends of the connecting member 45c are driven to bend and stretch. The stage 41 is connected to and supported by the upper ends of the pair of pantograph links 45d. As a result, the forward / reverse rotation of the motor 45a is converted into the vertical movement of the stage 41 via the bending / extending drive of the pantograph link 45d.

  Although not shown, the stage 41 has a built-in rotation drive mechanism for rotating the vertical rotation shaft 42b extending from the lower center of the head 42, and the head 42 rotates by this rotation drive mechanism. Thus, it can be rotated to an arbitrary position around the Z axis. The hand 40 provided on the head 42 includes a pair of holder members 40a and 40b each capable of supporting the substrate WF. Each holder member 40a, 40b is movable in the -X direction by a mechanism provided in the head 42 in the state shown in the drawing.

  As shown in the back view of FIG. 6A and the side view of FIG. 6B, one holder member 40b can be reciprocated in the AB direction by an expansion / contraction drive mechanism 70 built in the head 42. Yes. The other holder member 40a is also not shown in the figure, but can be reciprocated in the AB direction by a mechanism similar to the telescopic drive mechanism 70.

  The telescopic drive mechanism 70 has a two-stage structure in which a boom 71 is interposed between the head 42 and the holder member 40b to earn a stroke. A sliding member 73 that is guided by a guide 72 provided on the head 42 side and reciprocates in the AB direction is fixed to the boom 71. Further, a sliding member 75 that is guided by a guide 74 provided on the boom 71 side and reciprocates in the AB direction is fixed to the holder member 40b. A belt BE is hung on a pair of pulleys PU1 provided on the side surface of the boom 71, and a sliding member 75 is fixed to a part of the belt BE. A belt BE is also applied to a plurality of pulleys PU2, PU3, PU4 provided in the head 42, and a boom 71 is fixed to a part of the belt BE. The pulley PU4 is connected to the motor MO, and is driven to rotate by the motor MO as appropriate.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the holder member 40b shown in FIG. When the pulley PU4 is driven in one direction by being driven by a motor built in the head 42, the boom 71 connected to the belt BE advances in the AB direction and protrudes from the head 42. When the boom 71 protrudes from the head 42, the belt BE hung on the pulley PU1 of the boom 71 also rotates due to being fixed to the head 42 via the locking member 77, and is connected to the belt BE. The holder member 40b moves forward in the AB direction and protrudes from the boom 71. As a result, the holder member 40b moves to the position of the solid line where the hand 40 is most extended. A dotted line indicates a state where the hand 40 is most contracted.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the details of the transfer robot TR2 provided in the indexer ID. The first hand 50 exchanges the substrate WF with the second hand 60, and also exchanges the substrate WF with the transfer robot TR1 on the unit placement unit 10 side. The second hand 60 exchanges the substrate WF with the cassette CA and also exchanges the substrate WF with the first hand 50.

  The first hand 50 holds the substrate WF horizontally through the three pins 51. The first hand 50 can be reciprocated in the X and Z directions by the drive mechanism 80 with respect to the support column 52 that can reciprocate in the Y direction. As a result, the first hand 50 can reciprocate in the X, Y, and Z directions. Here, the reciprocation of the first hand 50 in the Z direction is performed by an air cylinder 81 also shown in FIG. The reciprocation of the first hand 50 in the X direction is performed by a guide 82, a sliding member 83, and a belt mechanism (not shown). The second hand 60 is supported by the support 61 and can be moved in each of the X, Y, and Z directions by a mechanism that is not shown.

  10 to 15 are diagrams for explaining delivery of the substrate WF from the transfer robot TR1 to the transfer robot TR2. First, in the state of FIG. 10, the substrate WF that has been processed in the reverse direction in the unit placement unit 10 is supported on the holder member 40b of the transfer robot TR1, and the transfer robot TR2 is in the first hand. The upper surface 50 is raised to a position slightly lower than the lower surface of the holder member 40b of the transfer robot TR1, and the position moves horizontally against the transfer robot TR1. Next, in the state of FIG. 11, the first hand 50 is advanced in the + X direction and moved to the delivery position. Next, in the state of FIG. 12, the holder member 40b on the transfer robot TR1 side is advanced in the −X direction to move the substrate WF to the delivery position. At this time, the upper surface of the first hand 50 is slightly lower than the lower surface of the holder member 40b, and the lower surface of the substrate WF supported by the holder member 40b is a pin 51 protruding from the first hand 50. And the interference between the first hand 50 and the holder member 40b is prevented. Next, in the state of FIG. 13, the transfer robot TR1 is slightly lowered, and the substrate WF supported on the holder member 40b is transferred to the first hand 50 side (more precisely, the pin 51). Next, in the state of FIG. 14, the holder member 40b on the transport robot TR1 side is returned to its original position even if it is retracted. Finally, in the state of FIG. 15, the first hand 50 on the transfer robot TR2 side returns to its original position even if it moves backward. The substrate WF on the first hand 50 is transferred to the second hand 60 by a relative lifting operation with the second hand 60 (not shown) and finally stored in the cassette CA of the indexer ID. . The delivery of the substrate WF from the transfer robot TR1 to the transfer robot TR2 has been described above, but the transfer of the substrate WF from the transfer robot TR2 to the transfer robot TR1 is performed in the reverse procedure.

  FIG. 16 is a plan view for explaining the structure of the heat treatment unit TU0 shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 17 is a side view of the heat treatment unit TU0. The illustrated heat treatment unit TU0 is housed in a case 90, and the inside of the case 90 is divided into a hot plate portion HP0 that performs heat treatment and a cool plate portion CP0 that performs cooling processing. The opening 90a of the heat treatment unit TU0 is formed only on the front surface of the cool plate portion CP0. This is because the substrate WF can be exchanged in the case 90 between the hot plate portion HP0 and the cool plate portion CP0 as will be described in detail later, and the substrate WF is taken in and out of the heat treatment unit TU0. This is because it is sufficient to perform only on the part CP0 side.

  A plate 91a, which is a heating means incorporating a heater, and a chamber 91b covering the heater 91 are disposed on the hot plate portion HP0 side, and a cooling means incorporating a cooling element such as a Peltier element on the cool plate portion CP0 side. A plate 92a and a chamber 92b covering the plate 92a are disposed. Both chambers 91b, 92b are moved up and down by being guided and driven by an elevating mechanism 93 including an air cylinder 93a.

  Below the plates 91a and 92b, lift pin drive arms 94 are arranged, respectively, and are moved up and down by being guided and driven by an elevating mechanism 95 incorporating a motor or the like. When the lift pin drive arm 94 rises, the lift pins LP protrude from the surfaces of the plates 91a and 91b, and the substrate WF on the plates 91a and 92a can be moved upward. The lifting mechanism 95 can lift and lower the lift pin drive arm 94 stepwise, and can also lift the substrate WF on the plates 91a and 92a stepwise.

  Between the two chambers 91b and 92b, a pair of upper and lower transfer arms 96 and 97 are arranged as transfer means for exchanging the substrate WF between the hot plate portion HP0 and the cool plate portion CP0. A pair of claws 96a and 96b project from the lower surface of the upper first transfer arm 96 to hold the substrate WF, and the transfer arm 96 is in a state where both chambers 91b and 92b are raised and retracted upward. Is moved in the horizontal direction CD so that the substrate WF can be transferred between the plates 91a and 92a. A pair of claws 97a and 97b project from the lower surface of the lower second transfer arm 97 to hold the substrate WF, and the transfer arm is lifted and retracted upward. By moving 97 in the horizontal direction CD, the substrate WF can be transferred between the plates 91a and 92a.

  The base portion 96c of the upper first transport arm 96 is slidable along a guide 98a provided on the guide member 98, and allows the first transport arm 96 to move linearly in the horizontal direction CD. The base portion 97c of the lower second transfer arm 97 is also slidable along a guide 98b provided on the guide member 98, and allows the second transfer arm 97 to move linearly in the horizontal direction CD.

  A pair of pulleys PU6 is attached to both ends of the guide member 98, and a belt BE is hung on both pulleys PU6. The base part 96c of the first transport arm 96 and the base part 97c of the second transport arm 97 are respectively connected to the pair of symmetrical positions of the belt BE, and the transport arms 96 and 97 always move in opposite directions. The two transfer arms 96 and 97 move to the retreat positions outside the two chambers 91b and 92b when they are most separated from each other, and move to the retreat positions inside as shown by the solid lines in FIG. In addition, the transfer arms 96 and 97 can transfer the substrate WF to and from the plates 91a and 92a by appropriately raising and lowering the lift pins LP at the substrate delivery position as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. Yes.

  The movement of the transport arms 96 and 97 in the horizontal direction CD is performed by appropriately controlling the rotation of the motor 100 that drives the belt BE that is stretched around the pulleys PU6.

  Although not described in the drawings, a clean air downflow is formed between the cool plate portion CP0 and the hot plate portion HP0, and the cool plate portion CP0 and the hot plate portion HP0 Is designed to be thermally shut off. It should be noted that it is desirable to dispose both transfer arms 96 and 97 at the outer retreat position from the viewpoint of more effective thermal insulation between the cool plate portion CP0 and the hot plate portion HP0. Further, in order to prevent the substrate WF from being rapidly cooled or rapidly heated by the two transfer arms 96 and 97, the first transfer arm 96 side is dedicated to the transfer of the cold substrate WF, and the second transfer arm 97 side is dedicated to the transfer of the hot substrate WF. And so on.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the exchange of the substrate WF in the heat treatment unit TU0 shown in FIGS. 18A shows the positions of the lift pins LP and the chamber 92b in the cool plate portion CP0, and FIG. 18B shows the positions of the lift pins LP and the chamber 91b in the hot plate portion HP0.

  Immediately before the heating process of the substrate WF is finished on the hot plate part HP0 side, on the cool plate part CP0 side, the chamber 92b is sufficiently raised to the retracted position, and the tip of the lift pin LP is raised to the upper lift position. Then, the hand 40 of the transfer robot TR1 shown in FIG. 4 or the like is inserted from the opening 90a on the front surface of the cool plate portion CP0, and the substrate WF before processing (◯ mark) on the hand 40 and the substrate WF after heat treatment on the lift pins LP. Replace (□).

  On the other hand, on the hot plate portion HP0 side, when the heating process of the substrate WF is completed, the chamber 91b is sufficiently raised to the retracted position, the tip of the lift pin LP is raised to the lower lift position, and the heated substrate WF (Δ Raise the mark to the lower lift position. Then, the first transfer arm 96 and the second transfer arm 97 are moved from the inside retracted position to the substrate delivery position above the center of the plate 92a and the substrate delivery position above the center of the plate 91a, respectively. At this time, the substrate WF in the upper lift position before the heat treatment passes between the first transfer arm 96 main body and the claws 96a and 96b, and the substrate in the lower lift position after the heat treatment. The WF passes between the second transfer arm 97 main body and the claws 97a and 97b. Thereby, the interference between the transfer arms 96 and 97 and the substrate WF is avoided.

  At the stage when both transport arms 96 and 97 arrive at the substrate delivery position above the center of both plates 92a and 91a, the lift pins LP start to descend. When the lift pins LP are lowered to some extent, the unprocessed substrate WF (◯ mark) is transferred to the first transfer arm 96, and the heated substrate WF (Δ mark) is transferred to the second transfer arm 97.

  When the transfer of the substrate WF from the lift pin LP to the transfer arms 96 and 97 is completed, the positions of the transfer arms 96 and 97 are exchanged. That is, the substrate WF (◯ mark) before processing is moved to the hot plate portion HP0 side, and the substrate WF (Δ mark) after heat processing is moved to the cool plate portion CP0 side.

  When the first transfer arm 96 arrives on the plate 91a, the second transfer arm 97 moves onto the plate 92a, and the position exchange of both the transfer arms 96, 97 is completed, the lift pin LP on the plate 92a side is lowered. The lift pin LP on the plate 91a side that has been raised to some extent is raised to the upper lift position. When the lift pins LP are raised to some extent, the substrate WF (◯ mark) before processing is transferred to the lift pins LP on the plate 91a side, and the substrate WF (Δ mark) after heat processing is transferred to the lift pins LP on the plate 92a side.

  When the transfer of the substrate WF from the transfer arms 96 and 97 to the lift pins LP is completed, the transfer arms 96 and 97 are moved to the inner retreat position.

  At the stage where the retraction of both the transfer arms 96 and 97 is completed, the substrate WF is lowered together with the lift pins LP, and the substrate WF (Δ mark) after the heat treatment is placed on the plate 92a with a minute gap interposed therebetween. The unprocessed substrate WF (◯ mark) is placed on the plate 91a with a minute gap interposed therebetween. At the same time, both chambers 91b and 92b are lowered to form a semi-enclosed space around the upper surfaces of both plates 91a and 92b.

  The heated substrate WF (Δ mark) placed on the plate 92a is cooled here, and the unprocessed substrate WF (o mark) adsorbed on the plate 91a is heated in a predetermined process here. It is processed.

  As described above, the present invention has been described based on the specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The combination of the arrangement of the coating processing units SC1, SC2, the developing processing units SD1, SD2, etc., which are liquid processing units for processing the substrate WF with a chemical solution, is arbitrary as long as it is below the multistage heat treatment unit 20. Further, any of the liquid processing units (for example, the coating processing unit SC1) can be freely replaced with a multistage heat treatment unit similar to the multistage heat treatment unit 20 described above.

  Further, although the cleaning processing unit SS is disposed as a substrate processing unit between the coating processing units SC1 and SC2, a configuration in which the cleaning processing unit SS is not incorporated is also possible.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 19, it is also possible to configure all the liquid processing units with cleaning processing units SS1 to SS4. In this case, a substrate reversing unit can be disposed between the cleaning processing unit SS1 and the cleaning processing unit SS2 for reversing the substrate and switching the front and back sides.

  Further, instead of the heat treatment unit TU0 as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the substrate WF can be heated and cooled with a single plate. In this case, it is not necessary to provide a transfer means for exchanging the substrates like the transfer arms 96 and 97, but it is necessary to provide heating and cooling functions to a single plate. FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining such a plate temperature control apparatus. FIG. 20A shows a plate 100 of a type in which a Peltier element 100a that can be heated and cooled is incorporated. When a heating-side current is applied to the Peltier element 100a, the plate 100 is heated and the substrate WF is also heated, and when a cooling-side current is applied, the plate 100 is cooled and the substrate WF is also cooled. FIG. 20B shows a plate 200 of a type incorporating a heater 200a for heating and a pipe 200b to which a coolant is supplied. Note that oil or the like having a relatively high melting point is cooled and supplied to the pipe 200b in advance. Further, the pipes 200b are arranged with a substantially uniform density directly below the substrate WF so that the plate 200 is uniformly cooled.

  In each of the above embodiments, in the configuration in which a plurality of liquid processing units are arranged around the conveying means, the heat treatment unit is arranged above the liquid processing unit, so that it is enclosed between the liquid processing units. The atmosphere in the region is not affected by the heat from the heat treatment unit, and the substrate can be stably processed in the liquid processing unit.

  Further, each drive mechanism such as the transfer robot TR1 is not limited to the one described here. For example, for the telescopic drive mechanism 70, a mechanism using a screw shaft and a nut member may be used instead of a belt feeding mechanism using a pulley and a belt, and other known means can be applied. It is. Further, the Z-axis drive mechanism 45 is not limited to the pantograph structure, and the same effect as described above can be obtained even if another expansion / contraction lifting mechanism, for example, a winding interlocking mechanism using a pulley and a wire is used.

It is the top view and front view explaining the substrate processing apparatus of an embodiment. It is a figure explaining arrangement | positioning of the processing unit which comprises the apparatus of FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of the process of the substrate processing in the apparatus of FIG.1 and FIG.2. It is a figure explaining board | substrate delivery between a conveyance robot, an indexer, etc. FIG. It is a perspective view explaining the structure of a conveyance robot. It is the back view and side view explaining the upper structure of a conveyance robot. It is a figure explaining expansion and contraction of the hand of the transfer robot. It is a perspective view explaining the structure of a transfer robot. It is a figure explaining the principal part of the drive mechanism of the transfer robot of FIG. It is a figure explaining delivery of substrate WF from a transfer robot to a transfer robot. It is a figure explaining delivery of substrate WF from a transfer robot to a transfer robot. It is a figure explaining delivery of substrate WF from a transfer robot to a transfer robot. It is a figure explaining delivery of substrate WF from a transfer robot to a transfer robot. It is a figure explaining delivery of substrate WF from a transfer robot to a transfer robot. It is a figure explaining delivery of substrate WF from a transfer robot to a transfer robot. It is a top view explaining the structure of the heat processing unit shown in FIG. It is a side view explaining the structure of the heat processing unit shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining replacement | exchange of the board | substrate in the heat processing unit shown in FIG.16 and FIG.17. It is a figure explaining the modification of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure explaining the modification of the heat processing unit shown to FIG.16 and FIG.17.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate processing apparatus 20 Multistage heat treatment unit 45 Z-axis drive mechanism 70 Telescopic drive mechanism 91a, 92a Plate 96 1st transfer arm 97 2nd transfer arm TR1 Transfer robot TR2 Transfer robot SC1, SC2 Coating process unit SD1, SD2 Development process unit SS Cleaning unit TU1 to TU8 Heat treatment unit CP0 Cool plate part HP0 Hot plate part ID Indexer IF Interface

Claims (3)

(a) A heat treatment is performed on the substrate,
(a-1) a single hot plate part housed in a case and performing heat treatment;
(a-2) is housed in the casing Rutotomoni are arranged in said single hot plate unit and the horizontal direction, and a single cool plate unit for performing cooling processing,
A heat treatment unit comprising:
(b) a liquid processing unit for processing the substrate with a processing liquid;
(c) a transfer robot that transfers the substrate between at least the liquid processing unit and the heat treatment unit;
With
The transfer of the substrate between the transfer robot and the heat treatment unit is performed by inserting the transfer robot hand from an opening formed on the single cool plate unit side, and the single cool plate unit and the hand. Performed between
The substrate in the case is interchangeable between said single cool plate part said single hot plate unit,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the single cool plate portion and the single hot plate portion are thermally blocked. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The liquid processing unit, the substrate processing apparatus according to claim coating unit der Rukoto. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the liquid processing unit is a development processing unit.

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