KR101718540B1 - Apparatus and methods for transporting and processing substrates - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and method for transferring and processing a substrate including a wafer to improve throughput at a reasonable cost relative to existing systems is described. The linear transfer chamber has a linear track and a linear track to transfer the substrate linearly along the transfer chamber along the side of the processing chamber to feed the substrate through the load lock to the controlled environment and thereafter to reach the process chamber And includes a burning robot arm.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR TRANSPORTING AND PROCESSING SUBSTRATES [0002]

The present invention generally relates to substrates and more particularly to novel devices and methods for transferring and processing wafers.

In the manufacture of semiconductors, a typical tool, referred to as a cluster tool, is one of the main units used in the manufacture of wafers. Conventional commercial devices typically have a circular central area with a chamber attached along the periphery. The chamber extends outwardly about its central region. When the wafer is processed, the wafer is first transferred from the input / output station around the central chamber to the central chamber, and then from that central chamber to the attachment chamber or the surrounding chamber where processing is performed. In these tools as currently practically all manufacturing systems, they typically process wafers one at a time. The wafer may be moved to the chamber for processing, and then moved back to the central chamber. Additional movement to another surrounding chamber and subsequent processing may follow and then be moved back to the center chamber. Eventually, the fully processed wafer is moved out of the tool together. This movement is done through an input / output station or chamber that is connected to a vacuum system, generally referred to as a load lock, from which the wafer moves from vacuum to atmosphere. This type of unit is described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 4,951,601.

Another tool indexes the wafer along the central axis and feeds the wafers through the surrounding processing chamber. In such a tool, all the wafers are fed to the next processing step at the same time. Wafers can be processed independently but can not be moved independently. All wafers remain in the processing station for the same amount of time, but the processing at each station can be independently controlled depending on the maximum time allowed by the time allowed for that step. Although the first described tool can be operated in this manner, however, in practice these tools may move the wafer so that the wafer does not progress to the adjacent processing chambers in order, and all the wafers are not required to have the same dwell time in the processing chamber .

When one of these systems is operating, the central region is typically vacuum, but may be some other pre-selected or predetermined control environment. For example, such a central portion may provide a useful gas for the process being performed in the process chamber. A chamber or compartment along the outer surface of the central region may also be generally vacuum, but it may also have a pre-selected and controlled gas environment. In addition, processing is generally performed in a vacuum by transferring the wafer from the central chamber to a deposition chamber or compartment in a vacuum. Generally, when a wafer reaches a chamber or compartment for processing, the chamber or compartment is sealed from the central chamber. This prevents the materials and / or gases used in the chamber or compartment from reaching the central region, preventing contamination of the atmosphere in the central region and the deposition process chamber, and / Or further contamination of the wafer to be processed. This also allows the process chamber to be set to a different vacuum level than that used in the central chamber for the particular process to be performed in that chamber. For example, if the processing technique of the chamber requires a higher vacuum state, by sealing between the central region and the chamber, the chamber itself can be further pumped to meet the process requirements for the particular process to be performed in that chamber have. Alternatively, if a lower vacuum condition is required, the pressure may be increased without affecting the pressure in the central chamber. After the processing of the wafer is completed, the wafer is moved back to the central region and discharged outside the system. In this manner, the wafer is sequentially advanced through the tool and through the chambers and all available processes. Alternatively, the wafer may only be exposed through the selected chamber and exposed only to the selected process.

Variations to this process are also used in the facilities provided in the art. However, all of this will depend on a central area or core that is essential to the various processes. In addition, since the main use of such equipment is wafer fabrication, it will be described primarily in terms of wafers. It should be understood, however, that most of the processes described can also be applied to general substrates, and that this technique can also be applied to such substrates and to such manufacturing facilities.

Recently, a system different from the conventional one is described in that the wafer has a linear shape rather than a circular shape and the wafer moves from one chamber to the next for processing. Since the wafer moves from one chamber to the next in order, there is no need for a central part as part of the installation. In such a tool, a wafer enters the unit and is generally attached to a chuck that moves with the wafer as it moves through the system. In such a unit, it is carried out for the same amount of time in each chamber.

Such a system typically has a smaller footprint in the field and does not include a large center, since the footprint is only close to the footprint of the process chamber. This is an advantage of this type of installation. This system is described in pending published patent application publication no. 2006/0102078 A1. This particular system has a uniform dwell time at each process station. This allows for some differences in processing, which is limited by the length of the longest dwell period. If independently controlled dwell times are required at various stations, another approach may be preferred. Also, this type of facility has the disadvantage that if one station is stopped for repair or management, the entire system itself can not be used for processing.

The present invention is directed to a novel wafer processing unit intended to allow dwell times that are individually controlled in a processing station while maintaining a small footprint. Further, the present invention may proceed even if one or more stations are suspended for one or the other reason. In part, the invention comes from the perception that semiconductor manufacturing costs are very expensive and that costs are increasing. When you start investing in the sector, the higher the cost, the greater the risk. The goal is to define a facility that reduces costs to some extent and provides improved systems and services in accordance with the "Lean" principle of manufacturing. Therefore, it is an object to maximize the processing chamber while maintaining a small footprint. It is another purpose to maximize the utilization of the processing station. Another goal is to simplify the robotics and services of these facilities. The system will also provide significant redundancy during processing, even including availability of up to 100% of the system during mainframe services. In this case, fewer chambers will be used, but all processes can continue to be used for processing wafers. In addition, a service or process chamber may be available from both the back or front of the process chamber. Further, in a preferred embodiment, the process chamber will be set up in a linear configuration. This ensures a minimum footprint for systems that allow individual programs for wafers at various processing stations.

In general, the processing chamber may have the ability to perform any of a variety of processes utilized in connection with wafer processing. For example, in the manufacture of a wafer, the wafer is typically processed through one or more etching steps, one or more sputtering or physical vapor deposition processes, ion implantation, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and heating and / It will be returned. The number of processing steps for fabricating the wafers will mean that multiple tools or tools with a large subsystem may be required using conventional devices to perform these various processes. However, the instant system offers the advantage that additional functional stations can be added without significant increase in size or without the need to add a new total system.

In order to achieve these various purposes, the transfer of the wafer is constructed independently of the chamber design. Thus, the chamber is designed to operate as a chamber having a specific processing capability, and the transfer system is configured to operate independently of the chamber design and configured to feed the wafer into and out of the processing chamber. The transfer in the disclosed preferred embodiment relies on a simple interlocking arm based on linear and rotary motion connected through a vacuum wall. In terms of keeping costs low, the chamber design is based on modularity. Thus, in one embodiment, the system may have three chambers, or a matching structure may be used, and the system may have six chambers. Alternatively, the matching structure may be repeated in four and eight chambers and may be repeated in other multiples, or modules having different numbers of processing stations may be matched.

The system is extensible and is also extensible independently of the technology that may be applied as a future process or application. Linear wafer transfer is used. This allows high throughput in a small footprint system that does not require more space in the cleaning chamber. In addition, different processing steps can be configured on the same processing platform.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a lithographic apparatus comprising: an elongate substrate transfer chamber having a discharge portion and an atmospheric section; A first linear track attached to the transfer chamber within the discharge portion; A second linear track attached to the transfer chamber at the barometric pressure; A first base linearly riding the first linear track; A second base linearly riding the second linear track; A speed reducer mounted on the first base, the speed reducer having a magnetically-coupled follower as an input portion and providing a low-speed rotation to the output portion; A rotary motor mounted on a second base and rotating the magnetic drive, the magnetic drive transferring rotational motion to the magnetically coupled follower via a vacuum partition; And a robot arm connected to the output of the speed reducer. A linear motor may be attached to the second base to deliver linear motion, and the magnetized wheel may be coupled to the second base. The linear motion of the cutter may be connected to the second base, and the rotary encoder may be connected to the rotary motor. In a system with two robotic arms, the arm extension may be connected to one of the robotic arms such that the rotational axes of the robotic arms coincide.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising: providing a robot arm within a transfer chamber; Magnetically connecting a linear motion to the robot arm through a vacuum partition; Magnetically connecting a rotary motion to the robot arm through a vacuum partition; And reducing the rate of rotational movement within the discharge transfer chamber, the method comprising: transferring a wafer from a load lock to a process chamber via a discharge transfer chamber. The method also includes the steps of: determining a first center point defined as the center of the wafer when the wafer is located in the load lock; Determining a second center point defined as the center of the wafer when the wafer is located in the process chamber; Determining a position of a pivot point of the robot arm; And calculating a combination of linear and rotary motion of the robot arm such that a wafer disposed on the robot arm moves only linearly between the load lock and the process chamber.

According to the present invention, utilization of the processing chamber can be maximized while maintaining a small footprint. Further, according to the present invention, utilization of the processing station can be maximized. Further, according to the present invention, robotic engineering and service of such facilities can be simplified. Further, according to the present invention, during the processing, it can even provide significant redundancy, including availability of up to 100% of the system during servicing of mainframe.

Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown a cluster tool of the type currently in common use. Generally, this type of cluster tool includes a processing chamber 21 attached to a central chamber 22 and disposed radially therearound. In this system, there are two central chambers. Other systems may have only a single central chamber. Except for the inconvenience, there may be a system with three or more central chambers, but instead the user will generally acquire another system. In operation, the robots are typically located in respective central chambers 22. The robot receives the wafer in the system, conveys the wafer from the central chamber to the processing chamber, and then returns the wafer to the central chamber after processing. In some conventional systems, the central robot only has access to a single wafer and a single chamber at a time. Thus, the robot may be involved or busy in connection during the process of wafer presence in a single chamber. This combination of single robots involved in processing the station during processing limits the throughput of this type of cluster tool. More recent units use robots with multiple arms. The process chamber may comprise any type of processor and may include, for example, a physical vapor deposition chamber, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber, or an etch chamber or other processing chamber that may be performed on the wafer during its fabrication You may. This type of tool permits processing for different time periods because, when the wafer is processed, transfer into and removal from the chamber by the robot arm is handled independently of other factors and is computer controlled Because. It is clear that the process can be set for a given sequence for the same time.

2, there is shown a wafer processing tool having the same dwell time of wafers in the chamber for each chamber. In this embodiment, the processor 23 is linearly aligned, in which case the chambers are adjacent to one another and above each other. At its end, there is an elevator 25 that moves the wafers being processed from one level to another. At its inlet 26, the wafer enters and remains on the support to maintain a constant state even as it moves through the system. In such an embodiment of the system, the support lifts the wafer to the upper level of the processor, and then the wafer moves sequentially through the processing chamber 23 at that level. The elevator 25 changes the level of the wafer, and the wafer moves again from one processor chamber to another chamber along another level, and then out of the system.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the process chamber 31 is positioned linearly along the transfer chamber 32. The wafer enters the system 34 via an EFEM 33 (Equipment Front End Module) or some equivalent feeding device. The EFEM 33 includes a station 30 from which a front opening unified pod (FOUP) may be located. The FOUP (not shown) includes a housing or enclosure, wherein the wafer is held in a clean state while waiting to enter the processing operation. Also, the EFEM 33 is associated with a feeding mechanism, which may place the wafer in the processing system or remove the wafer that is temporarily stored in the system after processing. The FOUP of the wafer is placed on the EFEM where the wafer is fed into the system by being conveyed one by one by the blade which lifts the wafers in the FOUP in the EFEM 33 and conveys the wafers into the load lock compartment 35. The wafers move along the transfer chamber 32 from the load lock compartment 35 and are transferred from the transfer chamber 32 into the process chamber 31. After the substrate enters the processing chamber, the substrate leaves the support arm and is instead held on the substrate support in the chamber. At this time, the valve is closed to separate the atmosphere of the processing chamber from the atmosphere of the transfer chamber. This allows a change in the processing chamber to occur without contaminating the transfer chamber of another process chamber. After processing, the valve separating the process chamber from the transfer chamber is opened, the wafer is removed from the process chamber, and the load chamber in which the wafer is returned to the FOUP on the EFEM 33 is transferred to another transfer chamber for further processing ). In Fig. 3, four processing chambers 31 are shown. 3, four processing power sources 37 and a power distribution unit 36 are shown. Together, they provide their power and electronics for the system to their respective processing chambers. Above the processing chamber 31, there is a processing gas cabinet 38 and an information processing cabinet 40. Through these units, information keyed into the system control movement of the substrate along the transfer chamber 32 and whether the substrate is transferred into the processing chamber for further processing is determined. These units also provide a record that occurred within the processing chamber. Gas is provided for use in the chamber during processing. Although the robot handling mechanism for feeding wafers into the system through the processing station of the present system is shown as two arm systems, there may in fact be three or more arms, each of which may move independently or together within the transfer travel chamber Can be set.

The process chamber in the system may perform a process different from that described in the manufacture of the wafer. In recent years, many manufacturers have found that the entire system purchases a dedicated system for sputtering or etching processes only. In essence, there are sufficient sputter or etching steps in the manufacture of wafers so that four or more stage systems can be fully dedicated to sputtering operations. Alternatively, the wafers may be transported through a series of operations, each resulting in a final process through a respective series of required operations. For example, at the five processing stations, the next in-use sequence can be reasonably expected. In the first processing station, the wafer will be subjected to a degassing operation, the second station may be a stationary station, the third station may be a sputtering station, for example depositing titanium, and the fourth station may be a nickel- A sputter station for depositing vanadium, and a fifth station is a sputter capable of depositing gold.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a three station system with the top cover removed. 4 is intended to provide a clearer understanding of the transfer chamber 32. [ The wafer to be processed enters the system from the load lock 35. The load lock 35 is a dual level load lock and can simultaneously hold and process two wafers. One level of load lock is on the lower lever and the other level of load lock is on the upper level. At the load lock, the wafer entering the system enters a vacuum or controlled environment. The processed wafer also leaves the present system through the load lock 35 during its travel and leaves the vacuum state or other controlled state of the system and returns to the FOUP (not shown in FIG. 4). Once the wafer has completed its transition from the non-vacuum state to the vacuum state, the wafer is lifted on the arm 41 moving into the transfer chamber 32. One such arm can be seen, but the other arm is partially covered by the element of the first processing chamber on the left side. The visible arm is shown as transferring the wafer into the processing chamber 31 (or alternatively by removing the processed wafer in this chamber). The arm 41 moves along the inside of the transfer chamber through the linear rail 43. In this embodiment, the rails in the transfer chamber 32 hold the support arms above the floor of the transfer chamber 32. 4 also act as being outside the vacuum state through the walls of the enclosure of the transfer chamber 32. This generally provides rotational movement when extending the arm into the chamber or into the load lock 35, as well as providing linear movement in the arm 41. [ The arms can be used to move a wafer into or out of the transfer chamber 32 or to move a wafer into or out of the process chamber 31 or to move a wafer into or out of the load lock chamber 35 . By avoiding contact with the base of such a chamber, fewer particles are created, maintaining the environment in a more impure or particle free state. Further details of such a transfer system will be shown and described with reference to the following drawings. Also, although two arms are shown in Fig. 4, it can be easily seen that the system can have more than two arms on the rails and handle more than two wafer transfer devices at any time.

According to the method of the present invention, the support arm 41 operates using a combination of rotational and linear motion in such a way that the wafer moves only on a straight line. 4, the arm 41 moves using a combination of the linear motion exemplified by the double head arrow A and the rotational motion exemplified by the double head arrow B, as shown in FIG. However, as shown by the dashed lines BLl, BLm and BL, the motion is programmed so that the center of the wafer follows the linear line motion. This causes all the openings of the load lock 35 and the chamber 31 to be only slightly larger than the diameter of the chamber. Also, because of this, it is possible to program the combined linear arcuate motion of the arm 41 to be activated by the controller, for example, via the user interface UI (Figure 3), for any situation, To be transferred to the transfer chamber 32.

According to one method of the present invention, the following process is implemented to calculate the combined linear arctic arm motion that is executed by the controller. The center position of the wafer is determined as being located in the load lock. The center of the wafer is determined as being located inside each of the attached process chambers. The pivot point of each arm is determined (in some embodiments, the pivot points of both arms may be matched, as described below). It is determined whether the transfer order, i. E. The need to move each wafer between the load lock and only one or more chambers is determined. This value can be programmed into the controller using the UI. The linear and rotational movements of each arm are then calculated such that the wafers located on each arm move only in a straight line between the load lock and the pivot point determined relative to the chamber and the center.

In part, in order to simplify the combined linear arcuate motion of the arms 41, the following features of the invention are embodied in one embodiment. 4, one of the support arms 41, in particular the arm 41 fully exposed in FIG. 4, is connected to the arm extension 41 ', while the other arm 41 is connected to the internal drive and support mechanism (See also Figures 5 and 6). In the illustrated embodiment, the arm extension 41 'is fixed, i.e. it follows the linear motion of the drive and support mechanism 45, but can not be rotated. Rather, the rotational motion is imposed only on the arm 41 fixed to the end of the arm extension 41 '. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the center line of the rotation or pivot point of both arms 41, that is, as shown, a straight broken line BLm is located at the center of the rotation or pivot point of both arms 41 So that the arm extension 41 'is fixed. Further, as shown in the embodiment of Fig. 5, the arm 41 may move in a linear direction so that the rotation centers of both arms 41 exactly coincide with each other on the other arm. With this design, two arms 41 can be manufactured identically, since they follow linear arcuate movements equally combined from the same pivot point centerline.

Referring now to Figure 5, Figure 5 begins with a load lock 35 and continues to the beginning of the transfer chamber 32 without a cover closing the inner element, , And system 34 of FIG. In Fig. 5, the wafer 42 on the load lock 35 is shown held on the arm 41. Fig. The other arm 41 is shown extending into the processing chamber 31. As shown, the arms, which may act independently and may be at different levels, may be extended to different regions at the same time. The arms move the wafer along the transfer chamber 32 from the load lock into the system, and then move from the process chamber to the process chamber around the system. Eventually, the arms move the wafer into the load lock 35 along the transfer chamber after processing and then move it out of the system 34. Then, upon completion of processing, the wafer may be transferred back into the FOUP from the load lock from which the processed wafer is collected. The load lock or wafer in the process chamber is transferred by being lifted on the support surface associated with the arm 41. Lifting the wafer through the lift pins on the support surface allows the arm access below the wafer to cause the arm to lift the wafer and move the wafer for the next step in the system. Alternatively, the wafer may be supported and held using a structure having the nature of a shelf that slides under the wafer and transports the wafer during transfer, and may be moved from the arm 41 to the wafer < RTI ID = 0.0 > As shown in FIG. The arms are arranged to pass above and below each other without contact, and can pass through each other. The arms are connected to an internal drive and support mechanism 45. The drive and support mechanism 45 is provided with a linear drive track in which the drive and support mechanisms move within the transfer chamber 32. The movement of the drive and support mechanism 45 occurs by an external driver such as a motor. Due to one form of actuation, the drive and support mechanism 45 moves linearly along the drive track 46. Rotation of the arm 41 may cause the wafer 42 to extend from the transfer chamber 32 into the load lock 35 or into the process chamber 31 while moving the wafer 42 into the system through the system. have. A separate rail 47 (rail 47 is clearly shown in Fig. 6), in which each drive and support mechanism independently performs a positioning enable such that each arm 41 moves and moves independently of the other arm And is in the drive track 46. Moving the wafer into the process chamber has the property of changing into the chamber in its linear drive path. This occurs because, in the preferred embodiment, the wafer is experiencing two types of motion simultaneously. Which are simultaneously moved and rotated in a linear fashion. The use of other types of drive mechanisms or external motors to drive these mechanisms in the vacuum state of the transfer chamber 32 reduces unwanted particles in the enclosed vacuum region.

Referring now to Figure 6, a drive system for use in a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. In Fig. 6, the rails 47 of the drive track 46 may be seen independently of each other. It is also shown that there is a wafer 42 on one of the support arms 41. In Figure 6, the other support arm is shown as simply extending. The drive and support mechanism 45 rides on one of the rails 47, respectively. This facilitates the positioning of the arms 41 at different levels. A magnetic head or magnetically-coupled follower (48) is located at the base of each of the drive and support mechanisms (45). The magnetic driver 50 is located apart from the magnetic head 48. [ The magnetic head 48 is located within the vacuum of the transfer chamber and the wall of the vacuum chamber (shown as 53 in Figure 7) passes underneath each of the magnetic heads 48 between the magnetic head 48 and the actuator 50 . Thus, the actuator 50 is outside the vacuum wall of the transfer chamber 32. As discussed above, the arms 41 move the wafers 42 through the processing system into the processing system, and the arms 41 move independently of one another. These arms 41 are driven by a magnetic coupler device including a driver 50 and a magnetic head 48. The coupler imparts both the linear motion and the rotational motion to the arm (41). The driver 50 is located outside the vacuum state and rides on the outer rails 51 which appear on both sides of the rail system. One set appears in a facing relationship, but the other matching lane appears on the opposite side. The rotation of the arm is transmitted through the magnetic coupler and is driven by the rotation motor 52. Although the magnetic connection is shown in Fig. 6 as being used for linear movement and rotation, it can be seen that a separate magnetic coupler and driver may be used. Thus, while it is desirable to deliver linear and rotary motion through the same coupler, it is also possible to use separate couplers for linear motion and use different sets for rotary motion.

One type of arm that may be used to move and manipulate the wafer through the transfer chamber 32 including the stops in the processing station 31 is the SCARA robot, abbreviated as SCARA (selective compliant articulated assembly robotic arm) do. The SCARA system tends to be faster and clearer than the Cartesian system that the system will replace.

It may also include a rebound magnet that will reduce the force generated by the kinematic connecting magnet to reduce / reduce the load factor associated with the magnetic drive system. Magnets that combine rotational and linear motion into a vacuum have a considerable amount of attraction. Which places a load on the mechanical mechanism supporting that part. Higher bearing life means shorter bearing life and more particles. By using a magnet located in a separate device that repels each other or in a magnetic coupler, the attractive force can be reduced. In fact, inside the magnetic coupler, the innermost magnet is not critical in achieving connection stiffness. However, by using these inner magnets, it is possible to generate a repulsive force with the connecting magnet used in the attraction disposed at the alternate N-S positions around the diameter of the coupler.

Of course, it will be appreciated that if the particle dust in the enclosed chamber is not interested, then the drive mechanism may be contained within the enclosed chamber.

Referring now to Figure 7, a side view of the tracking and drive system is shown without a cover. In Figure 7, the vacuum wall or vacuum partition 53 is shown as being in a position between the magnetic couplers 48 and 50 that drive and control the position of the arm 41. The drive track 46 surrounds the rail 47 which provides a linear motion imparted by the outer rails 51 to provide the mechanism 45 to the drive and support mechanism 45 To the arm (41). The rotary motion is imparted by the rotary motor 52. [ In Fig. 7, the side indicated by Va is in the vacuum state, but the side indicated by At is in the standby state. As shown in FIG. 7, the magnetic coupler 50 is driven by a rotary motor 52 and causes the coupler 48 to follow the same rotational motion due to magnetic coupling across the vacuum partition 53. However, due to hysteresis in the magnetic connection, the accuracy of the rotary motion of the arm may deteriorate. In fact, due to the length of the arms, a small angular error in the couplers 48-50 may cause a significant displacement of the wafer located at the end of the arm 41. In addition, due to the length and weight of the arm, also due to the change in weight depending on whether the arm supports the wafer, transient motion may last for an unacceptable length of time. To avoid these problems, a reduction gear 55 (often referred to as a speed reducer or a gear reducer) is interposed between the coupler 48 and the rotary coupler 56 or the arm 41. The speed reducer is intended to reduce the speed of motion given to the robot arm by the power. The gear reducer 55 has the input of rotation of the magnetic coupler 48 as its input and provides an output at a slower rotational speed to operate the arm 41 at a rotational speed that is slower than the rotational speed of the motor 52. [ In this particular example, the gear reducer is set to have a deceleration ratio of 50: 1. This significantly increases the accuracy of angular placement of the arms 41, reduces transient movements, and reduces the inertial moment of the drive assembly of the art.

In Fig. 7, the reduction gear assembly 55 is mounted on the base 49. Fig. The base 49 is non-powered and freely rides the linear rail 47. On the other hand, the rotary motor 52 is mounted on the base 54 and rides on the linear rail 51 using mechanical power. Since the mechanical power moves the base 54 in a linear manner, the magnet connected between the magnetic coupler 50 and the magnetic coupler 48 transmits the linear motion to the freely riding base 49, As shown in FIG. As a result, this arrangement is advantageous in that all power motions, i.e., linear and rotational motions, are performed in atmospheric conditions, and that no power system resides within the vacuum environment. Hereinafter, various embodiments for a power state in a standby state and a free non-powered state in a vacuum state will be described as an example.

7A shows an example of a linear motion assembly. In FIG. 7A, the belt or chain drive is connected to the base 54. The belt or chain 58 rides on the rotor 59 and powers one of its rotors 59 to impart motion in both directions, To control the linear motion, the encoder 57a sends a signal to the controller that identifies the linear motion of the base 54. For example, the encoder 57a may be an optical encoder that reads the encoding provided on the linear track 46. [ The rotary encoder 47b is also provided on the motor 52 and also transmits the encoding of the rotary motion to the controller. The rotation and linear motion of the arm 41 may be controlled using the reading of these rotational and linear motions so that the center line of the wafer moves only in a straight line.

Figure 7B is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of line A-A of Figure 4 showing another embodiment of a linear motion assembly. 7C, the drive track 46 supports the rails 47 and the wheels 61 and 62 ride on the rails 47. These wheels may be magnetized to provide an improved workforce. The wheels 61 and 62 are connected to a base 54 and a rotary motor 52 is mounted on the base 54. [ The linear motor 63 is mounted at the bottom of the base 54 and interacts with the magnet array 64 mounted on the drive track 46. The linear motor 63 interacts with the magnets 64 to impart a linear driving force to move the base 54 inward and outward of the page. The linear motion of the base 54 is monitored and reported by the encoder 57b and the encoder 57b reads the position / motion encoding 57c provided on the track 46. [ In this particular embodiment, the encoder 57b has a precision of 1/5000 of an inch.

7C is a cross-sectional view showing an example of linear tracking in the atmospheric state and linear tracking in the vacuum state. The vacuum side is denoted by VA, while the atmospheric side is denoted by AT, and the vacuum partition 53 together with the chamber wall 32 is separated between the two sides. At the atmosphere side, the rider 61 rides on the linear track 47. Since this side is in the standby state, particle generation is not important as in the vacuum side. Thus, the rider 61 may comprise a wheel, or simply a sliding material such as Teflon. The base 54 is attached to the slider 61 and supports a rotating motor for rotating the magnetic coupler 50. On the vacuum side, the linear track 78 is configured to receive a sliding bearing 73, which is attached to the base 70 via a coupler 72. They may be made of stainless steel and must be manufactured to minimize particle generation. In addition, the covers 74 and 76 are provided to hold any particles created within the confinement of the bearing assembly. The base 70 extends beyond the bearing assembly and supports the gear reducer 55, which is connected to the magnetic follower 48.

7D shows another example of a linear track in a standby state and a linear track in a vacuum state. In Fig. 7D, the standby side may be configured similarly to Fig. 7C. However, in order to minimize contamination, on the vacuum side, a magnetic levitation is used instead of a slider bearing. 7D, the active electromagnetic assembly 80 cooperates with the permanent magnets 82 to form a magnetic levitation and allows for a free linear movement of the base 70. As shown in FIG. In particular, the permanent magnet 82 holds the void 84 and does not contact the electromagnet assembly 80. As the base 54 moves linearly to the slider 61, the magnetic connection between the coupler 50 and the follower 48 imparts a linear motion to the lifted base 70. [ Similarly, rotation of the coupler 50 causes rotation of the follower 48, which transmits its rotation to the gear reducer 55.

Referring now to Figure 8, a processing system according to the present invention is shown. 3, the EFEM 33 receives and stores wafers for presentation to the system 34, including the processing chamber 31, and in this embodiment, the processing chamber 31 is first Is intended to show the chamber in which sputter deposition takes place by transferring the wafer to the load lock 35 and then transferring along the transfer or transfer chamber 32. The processed wafer is then fed back to the load lock 35 along the transfer chamber 32 and then fed to the EFEM 33 out of the system.

Referring now to Figure 9, there is shown an eight station processing system in accordance with the present invention. The EFEM 33 feeds the wafer to the load lock 35. The wafer is then transferred from the transfer chamber 32 to the process chamber 31 along the transfer chamber 32. In Figure 9, both sets of transfer chambers are located in the central region and the processing chamber 31 is located on the outer side thereof. In Figure 10, all of the processing sections are aligned such that a set of processing chambers is the next set of replicas. As such, the process chambers of the present system are aligned in parallel.

Other variations are readily possible and easily devised. For example, instead of aligning the process chambers as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the process chambers may be located on one set or on one set after the other. If one set is aligned after another set, the second set may be continued to the next line of the first set or the second set may be set to an angle with the first set at an angle. Because the transfer chamber can feed wafers to each side of the chamber, the two sets of processors can be set around a single transfer chamber and fed by the same transfer chamber (as described with reference to previous figures, See FIG. 11A designating the same item. Note that in FIGS. 11A and 11B, an indication of the valve 39 separating the process chamber 31 from the transfer chamber 32 is added as described above). If the second set of processors is a continuation of the first set of processors, there may often be an advantage in positioning additional load locks along the system. Of course, it is possible to add the EFEM to the far end and place the load lock in front of the EFEM so that the wafer can go into one end and move to the outgoing straight line at the other end (see also Fig. 11b, And specify the same items as in FIG. In the latter case, the wafer can be programmed to enter or exit either or both ends (s). It is also possible to arrange the process chambers along the transfer chamber at intervals or at irregular intervals between the process chambers. In this aspect, the main feature will be to position the process chamber so that it can feed the wafer into the individual process chambers as required, as indicated by computer control of the system.

It is known in the prior art to have a tandem process chamber in which each chamber is configured to process two wafers side by side. However, this prior art system uses a main frame and a robot, which are configured to always load two wafers separated by a predetermined distance from each other. That is, the two arms of the prior art tandem loading robot can not be controlled individually and are set a fixed distance apart from each other. As a result, the mainframe, loadlock, and chamber configurations are limited to accommodate two wafers that are the same distance apart. Furthermore, care should be taken to ensure that all components in the system, such as load locks, robot arms, chucks, etc., of the chamber are precisely offset to the same distance. This places great constraints on system design, tuning, and maintenance, which is a burden.

The innovative mainframe system can be configured to facilitate increased design freedom and accommodate the tandem chamber with reduced requirements for adjustment and maintenance. Figure 12 shows an example of an innovative mainframe system as applied to a tandem-type processing chamber. The mainframe includes a linear transport chamber 1232 having robot arms 1241 and 1243 moving independently of each other, and a single stacked load lock chamber 1235. To illustrate the versatility of this innovative mainframe, in this example, a single stack, i. E., A tandem load lock chamber 1235 is shown. Obviously, unlike the prior art, where the mainframe designed for the tandem chamber must have a tandem load lock, since the robot arm is operated independently here, the robot arm loads the wafers from the single stacked load lock onto the tandem processing chamber . For example, two wafers may be positioned up and down within the load lock 1235 such that one arm takes the lower wafer and the other arm takes the upper wafer. Each arm then places the wafer on one side of the tinder chamber. According to an innovative feature of this example, each robot can position the substrate on any side of the tandem processing chamber. In other words, unlike the prior art, in which a one-to-one correspondence between the robot arm and the chamber, that is, only the right arm of the robot can be loaded to the right of the tandem chamber, here one arm can be loaded on either side of the tandem chamber.

In the example of FIG. 12, five chambers 1201, 1203, 1205, 1207, and 1209 are mounted on the transfer chamber 1232. Each chamber 1201, 1203, and 1205 forms a tandem chamber configured to process two substrates simultaneously. The chambers 1201 and 1205 are shown with the top cover, and the chamber 1203 is shown with the top cover removed. One advantage of the innovative mainframe is that the pitch of each tandem process chamber, i.e., the center-to-center distance, need not match each other. For example, the pitch of the chamber 1205 indicated by the distance X need not be the same as the pitch of the chamber 1203 indicated by the distance Y. [ Furthermore, each robot can be trained to recognize the center of each processing region of each chamber mounted on the mainframe, so that each robot arm can transfer the wafer to any processing region and accurately position the wafer at its center . Moreover, in the prior art system, a single valve must be provided for the tandem chamber and the load lock, but since the robot arm is independent here, each processing zone has its own isolation valves 1251, 1253 for the chamber 1201, Or a single valve (denoted 1255) may be used for the chamber 1203.

One advantage of using a tandem chamber is that it can share the source between each of the two tandem processing regions. For example, two processing zones of the chamber 1201 share a process gas source 1210 and a vacuum pump 1212. That is, each processing zone has its own gas distribution mechanism 1214, 1216, e.g., a showerhead and associated elements, while the gas distribution mechanisms of the two processing zones are connected to the same gas source 1210, do. Since the vacuum pump 1212 can be connected to the exhaust manifold leading to the two processing zones, the two zones are maintained at the same pressure. Other elements, i.e. RF sources, may be common to the two processing zones, or may be provided independently for each zone.

The chambers 1207 and 1209 together form a hybrid single tandem process chamber. That is, each chamber 1207, 1209 is configured to process a single wafer. However, some features of the tandem processing chamber are implemented in this embodiment. For example, the process gas supply unit 1211 and the vacuum pump 1213 may be common to both chambers. The source energy and the bias energy may be supplied from the same or separate sources. Optionally, the key 1202 is provided so that the two chambers are aligned, mounted on the mainframe, and functioning as a standard tandem chamber, without the complexity and expense of manufacturing larger tandem processing chambers.

Figure 13 is a side view of another innovative mainframe with one hybrid single tandem chamber including two tandem chambers 1301 and 1305, two independent single wafer chambers 1303 and 1304, and chambers 1307 and 1309, An example is shown. That is, since robots 1341 and 1343 do not need to guarantee the same pitch in all chambers by using an independent innovative mainframe 1332, those skilled in the art will appreciate that a tandem chamber and a single wafer chamber Can be mixed. Since the robots 1341 and 1343 can cross each other, they can simultaneously load each tandem chamber. In addition, robots can load each single wafer chamber independently or collectively, thus having the throughput of a tandem chamber device without the need to use a complex tandem chamber.

Another feature shown in Figure 13 is the use of a single center isolation valve 1357 to load the tandem chamber 1305. [ As shown, the valve 1357 is sized to allow passage of only a single wafer. However, the two wafers are loaded into the tandem chamber 1305 as shown by the curved arrows. This can not be done in the prior art system.

Fig. 14 shows another example in which another type of processing chamber is attached to the linear transfer chamber 1432. Fig. In this example, a multiple wafer processing chamber 1405, a triple tandem chamber 1401, a single chamber 1404, and a hybrid single tandem chamber 1407, 1409 are attached to the innovative mainframe. The chamber 1405 can be a conventional batch processing chamber, such as a thermal or plasma enhanced CVD chamber, having four wafer stations (i.e., four circularly arranged processing regions defined in the chamber). The station can be loaded one or two at a time. The single chamber 1404 can be a single substrate processing chamber or a stacked multiple wafer cooling station. For example, the station may be a cooling station in which multiple, e.g., 25, wafers are stacked. Moreover, since the robot arm is independent in the present invention, tandem processing is not limited to two wafers at a time. In this example, a triple substrate tandem processing chamber is shown in which three wafers can be processed simultaneously. Only two arms are shown so that a second trip of one arm is required to fully load the chamber 1401, but an apparatus with more than two arms as shown in Figure 15 can be used have. Another optional feature shown in Figure 14 is the use of a frog leg (generally called a Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm) robotic arm 1441, 1443, which fires a linear rail as in other embodiments of the present invention .

The embodiment of Figure 14 also utilizes a tandem stacked load lock chamber 1435 with two wafer stacks side by side. The load lock 1435 may be a conventional tandem load lock, but the innovative mainframe enables load locks with features that were previously unavailable. For example, the load lock may be tandem, but may be formed of two separate chambers with partitions 1438. [ Then, two isolation gates 1437 and 1439 may be provided, one for each tandem wafer. With this arrangement, each side can be opened or closed independently of the other side, unlike the prior art, where only a single gate can be used so that both sides of the tandem load lock are open together. In this way, when the robot simultaneously loads two wafers, both of the two isolation valves can be opened. However, when a single wafer is loaded, only one isolating gate needs to be opened.

 Figure 15 shows another example in which an innovative mainframe is used for high throughput substrate processing. This device is advantageous for repeatedly treating substrates with high throughput, such as for example the processing of substrates for the manufacture of solar cells. In this example, two linear rails 1543 and 1543 'are located inside the transfer chamber 1532, and each of the linear rails supports two linear robot arms 1541. In one example, the robot arm on the linear track 1543 is responsible for the processing chamber 1501 on the left side of the transfer chamber 1532, while the other robot arm provides the chamber on the right side. However, the robot arm may be configured to take charge of any chamber of the transfer chamber 1532. [

Another optional feature of the example of FIG. 15 is the provision of two load locks. A load lock 1535 is used to load the substrate to be processed, and a load lock 1537 is used to unload the substrate after the process is completed. Although a tandem load lock is shown in this example, a single substrate or laminated load lock may also be used. The unloading load lock may be provided on the opposite side of the loading rod lock so that other systems can be connected directly to the unloading load lock, as indicated by the dashed line silhouette. In this way, the system can be modularized to accommodate multiple processing chambers when required in a particular situation.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, an innovative mainframe is stacked. As shown in FIG. 16, upper linear transfer chamber 1633 is located above lower linear transfer chamber 1632. Each linear transfer chamber has a plurality of openings 1601 with suitable mounting devices for connecting the process chambers. The elevator 1662 moves the substrate between the lower and upper linear transfer chambers. In this particular example, the substrate is loaded from the loading chamber 1671 and removed through the unloading chamber 1673, but other elevators may also be provided in front of the system, if desired, Or may be unloaded.

Figure 17 shows an example of an innovative mainframe system in which an inductive current is used to power a robotic arm. This example is similar to the example shown in Figure 7D with one major difference. Specifically, in the previous embodiment, although the magnetic force is used to impart linear and rotary motion to the robot arm, an induction current is used in this embodiment to supply power. For example, the robotic arm assembly may include a stepper motor for both rotational, linear, or rotational and linear motion. In this embodiment, the stepper motor is energized using an induction current to avoid having any electrical wiring in the discharge chamber of the transfer chamber. Each stepper motor is connected to a conductive coil, such as coil 48, in a vacuum environment. The drive coil 50 is located outside the vacuum environment at a position opposite the coil 48. [ When the stepper motor is to be energized, a current flows through the appropriate coil 50, so that a current is induced in the corresponding coil 48 to energize the motor.

Although the chambers have been described as being in a vacuum, in fact, in some cases, there may be advantages to including a constant gas or other fluid in a confined area. Thus, the term vacuum used herein should be interpreted as a self-limiting environment to include, for example, special gases that may be used in the overall system.

In Figure 1, the cluster tool comprises seven processing chambers. In Figure 9, the disclosed system includes eight chambers. The overall footprint of the tool of Fig. 1 with peripherals is approximately 38 m ² . The overall footprint of the tool of Figure 9 (with additional processing chamber and peripherals) is 23 m ² . As such, the footprint for a system with more chambers is significantly smaller when a linear arrangement according to the present invention is used. In large scale measurements, this improvement is achieved using an improved feeding system, shown as the transfer chamber 32 in Fig. 9, as compared to using the center section as done in the type of system shown in Fig.

The linear structure of the present invention is very flexible and aids in a large number of substrate sizes and shapes. Typically, wafers used in the manufacture of semiconductors are round and have a diameter of about 200 to 300 mm. The semiconductor industry is always striving to get more devices per wafer, moving steadily to larger wafer sizes at 75 mm, 100 mm, 200 mm, and even 300 mm, and trying to move to 450 mm diameter wafers Is underway. Due to its unique architecture, the floor space required in a clean room wafer fab (fab) will not grow as large as in a conventional cluster tool with processes located around it.

Also, in the case where it is desirable to increase the size of the cluster tool type (FIG. 1) to increase the output, the add-on for the entire measurement is for increased power, but the size increase of the system described herein occurs in a single direction , That is, with respect to length while keeping the width of the system the same. In a similar process, such as an aluminum process, with regard to throughput during the same time period using a system of the type shown in FIG. 9 occupying a smaller space than the equipment shown in FIG. 1, It produces almost twice as many wafers (about 170% by quick calculation). Thus, using the disclosed system compared to conventional units, the wafer output per measured cleaning chamber area is significantly improved. It is clear that this achieves the purpose of reducing the manufacturing cost of the wafers.

The design of such equipment is not limited to a circular substrate. A cluster tool that moves a wafer to a path described by an arc has particular drawbacks when the substrate is rectangular because it needs to resize the tool to process a circular substrate engraved with a rectangular shape of the actual substrate, Need not be larger in any direction than is necessary to pass through. For example, when working on a 300 mm ² substrate, the cluster tool needs to be scaled to handle a 424 mm circular substrate, but the linear tool need not be larger than needed for a 300 mm circular substrate.

In addition, the size of the transfer chamber 32, regardless of the wafer of any other member, provides only the space required to move the substrate along the entry chamber into and out of the process chamber. Thus, the width of such a chamber must be slightly larger than the size of the substrate to be processed. However, small members may be processed in the system, and may be processed together as a plurality in the substrate holder.

While the invention has been described in terms of specific materials and specific embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations of these specific embodiments may be practiced and / or utilized and may be defined by the appended claims It will be appreciated that those structures and methods may be derived from an understanding of the operation as well as from the understanding set forth by the embodiments described and illustrated, in order to facilitate modifications that may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional cluster tool for PVD applications.

Figure 2 is a schematic of a system disclosed in the aforementioned patent application (2006/0102078 A1), which is a characteristic of a prior art system.

3 is a schematic diagram of a processing system according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic top view (more clearly illustrating the three process station structures in this figure, although the number of stations is used for illustrative purposes only) to more clearly illustrate the transfer chamber.

5 is a schematic view of a segment of a system from a load lock to a transfer or transfer chamber;

6 is a schematic diagram of the wafer transfer mechanism shown outside the casing for this system.

7 is a schematic diagram of a track and drive system used in a preferred embodiment;

Figure 7a illustrates an example of a linear motion assembly.

7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 4, illustrating another embodiment of a linear motion assembly.

7C is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a linear track in the atmosphere and a linear track in a vacuum state.

7D shows another example of a linear track in the atmosphere and a linear track in a vacuum state.

8 is a schematic diagram of a physical vapor deposition (PVD) or sputtering system at a four station in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of an eight station system in accordance with the present invention;

10 is a schematic diagram of a six chamber system in accordance with the present invention;

11A and 11B are schematic diagrams of two different embodiments of the present invention.

12 shows an example of an innovative mainframe system, as applied to a tandem-type processing chamber;

13 shows another example of an innovative mainframe having a combination of different processing chambers;

14 shows another example in which another type of processing chamber is attached to the linear transfer chamber;

15 shows another example in which an innovative mainframe is used to process substrates at high throughputs;

16 shows an example in which two linear transport systems are vertically stacked.

Figure 17 shows an example of an innovative mainframe system in which an induced current is used to power a robotic arm.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

21, 31: processing chamber 22: central chamber

25: elevator 26: entrance

30: station 32: transfer chamber

33: EFEM 35: Compartment

37: processing power source 38: processing gas cabinet

40: Information processing cabinet 41: Cancer

43: linear rail 45: drive and support mechanism

46: drive track 47: rail

48: magnetic connection follower 50: magnetic drive

51: rail 52: rotary motor

1241, 1243: Robot arm 1232: Transfer chamber

Claims (20)

An elongated substrate transfer chamber; A linear track attached inside the transfer chamber; At least two robotic arms linearly firing the linear track; And connection ports located within the walls of the elongate substrate transfer chamber, Wherein the connection ports are configured to allow connection of the at least one multiple substrate processing chamber and the elongated substrate transfer chamber, Wherein the at least one multiple substrate processing chamber is configured to allow the connection ports to provide access to respective ones of the plurality of processing regions and each connection port to perform a plurality of processes for each of the at least one multiple substrate processing chambers Substrate processing chamber having a plurality of defined processing regions arranged on the elongate substrate transfer chamber to receive different pitches between regions, Each of the robot arms being adapted to load a substrate into a respective processing region of the at least one multiple substrate processing chamber, wherein the elongate substrate transfer chamber is separated from each of the at least one multiple substrate processing chamber, Wherein each of the at least one multiple substrate processing chambers is coupled to the walls of the substrate transfer chamber by a different one of the connection ports isolating the plurality of processing regions for each of the at least one multiple substrate processing chamber from the substrate transfer chamber. And by the walls of the substrate transfer chamber. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a single stacked load lock chamber. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a tandem stacked load lock chamber. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the multiple substrate processing chamber comprises a single chamber body having a plurality of defined processing regions aligned in a linear manner. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the multiple chamber processing chambers include two chamber bodies mounted in alignment with each other, each chamber body having a defined single processing region, the two chamber bodies sharing at least one of a process gas supply or a vacuum pump, Substrate processing system. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the multiple substrate processing chamber comprises a single chamber body having a plurality of defined processing regions arranged in a circle. The method according to claim 1, Wherein at least one of the robot arms comprises a SCARA robot arm. The method according to claim 1, A loading rod lock communicatively coupled to the elongated substrate transfer chamber, and Further comprising an unloading load lock that is communicatively coupled with the elongate substrate transfer device along the linear track substantially linearly on the opposite side of the loading rod lock. 9. The method of claim 8, Wherein the unloading load lock is configured to be simultaneously mounted on the elongated substrate transfer chamber and another transfer chamber. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a second linear track in which at least one robot arm linearly rides. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a multiple substrate cooling station mounted on the linear transfer chamber. 2. The substrate processing system of claim 1, further comprising an upper linear transfer chamber mounted above the transfer chamber, and an elevator coupled to the linear transfer chamber and the upper transfer chamber and configured to transfer the substrate between the chambers. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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