JP2001023872A - Semiconductor substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow an operator to quickly and easily take care of an abnormality even when the abnormality occurs by allowing the operator to visibly check the internal conditions of an apparatus easily, quickly and reliably. SOLUTION: The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus includes a processing chamber 101, a transfer chamber 104, a cooling chamber 107, a load lock chamber 109, an unload lock chamber 110, a transfer machine 113, and a load port section 114. Transparent windows 106, 108, 111 and 112 are provided on top of the chambers 104, 107, 109 and 110, respectively, thereby allowing a maintenance operator to visibly check the internal conditions of the chambers. Further, lids 102 and 105 are provided on the chambers 101 and 104, whereby cleaning, maintenance and the like can be performed therethrough. Still further, the external surface of each of the above components constituting the apparatus is colored in different colors, so that the maintenance operator or the like can identify each component at a glance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus and, more particularly, to monitoring, maintenance, and inspection of a processing state of a substrate to be processed in the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, a failure state of each part of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, and the like. The present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus that facilitates the processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus includes an etching apparatus, an ashing apparatus, a sputtering apparatus, a CVD apparatus, and the like as main components, and further includes a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer) provided by an atmospheric transfer robot. ), And a transfer machine (atmosphere loader) for transferring wafers from the wafer carrier to the transfer chamber. The processing status of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus is generally displayed on a display screen of a terminal that performs monitoring and control by a system diagram, a substrate state display diagram, an exhaust system diagram, and the like.

[0003]

The above-described semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the prior art merely displays the processing status by a system diagram or the like on a display screen of a terminal that performs monitoring and control. It is not possible to notify the worker directly of the situation, and it is difficult for the worker to directly monitor the actual processing status of the apparatus by visual observation.
There is a problem that the work such as maintenance and inspection is difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, so that an operator can easily and quickly visually confirm the situation inside the apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus which can easily cope with the problem.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate which forms a semiconductor device on a semiconductor substrate. This is attained by providing an installation means for installing a movable monitoring operation terminal for monitoring and controlling the processing status of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus.

[0006] Further, the object is to provide a transfer machine in which at least a processing chamber, a transfer chamber, a load lock chamber and an unload lock chamber, and a load port section are mounted using the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus as a processing function section. Are arranged in order, the installation means of the monitoring operation terminal, by providing the front of the transfer machine, the side of the transfer chamber, the rear of the processing chamber,
Further, this is achieved because the transfer chamber, the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber are exposed to the installation space.

Further, the object is that a cooling chamber is provided in the transfer chamber, and transparent windows are provided on upper surfaces of the cooling chamber, the transfer chamber, the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber. By providing a lid that can be opened and closed on the upper surfaces of the processing chamber and the transfer chamber, and by providing a window on the rear and side surfaces of the transfer machine so that the inside can be viewed. Further, on both sides or one side of the floor surface of the side surfaces of the processing chamber, the transfer chamber, and the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber, a base unit / work table having piping arranged therein is provided. Is achieved by

The object is that the processing function units are divided into groups for each processing function unit or a plurality of blocks, and are color-coded by different colors for each processing function unit or for each group. Is visually provided on the outer wall of each processing function unit.

Further, the object is to provide a color assigned to each of the processing function units or to each of the groups, and a device to be displayed on a monitoring operation terminal for monitoring and controlling the processing status of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. By making the color of the processing function part of the information indicating the arrangement the same, the color assigned to each processing function part or classified by group and the processing status of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus are monitored and controlled. This is achieved by making the color of the display column of the processing status of each processing function unit the same when displaying a list of the status of the processing function units displayed on the monitoring operation terminal.

Further, the above object is achieved by arranging two semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses symmetrically and by arranging mirrors.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a configuration example of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a processing chamber;
6, 108, 111 and 112 are transparent windows, 104 is a transfer chamber, 105 is a top cover of the transfer chamber, 107 is a cooling chamber, 1
09 is a load lock room, 110 is an unload lock room,
113 is a transfer machine, 114 is a load port unit, 115 is a wafer carrier, 116 is a transfer machine side window, 117 is a transfer machine rear window, 118 is a base unit and work table, 119 is a monitoring operation terminal, and 123 is a monitoring operation terminal. It is a gas supply mechanism.

The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is, as shown in the top view of FIG. 1A and the perspective views of FIG. 1B and FIG. Processing chamber 101, which is a room that is evacuated during processing,
Gas supply mechanism 123 for supplying various gases to the transfer chamber 104, the cooling chamber 107, the load lock chamber 109,
Unload lock chamber 110, transfer machine 113 under atmospheric pressure, and a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) load ports 11
4. In the following description, each of the above-described constituent devices constituting the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus may be referred to as a component or a processing mechanism. The processing chamber 101 is a room for performing processing using plasma on a wafer, which is a semiconductor substrate transferred into the processing chamber 101. Further, a gas supply mechanism 123 for supplying gas is provided in the vicinity of the processing chamber 101 covered with a cover in the drawing. Further, the processing chamber 1 is located below the processing chamber 101 or below the floor.
An exhaust system device and the like for performing the exhaust of the air exhaust system 01 are provided. Also, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 1B, the monitoring operation terminal 119 is installed on the wall surface of the housing where the gas supply mechanism 123 is provided.

The transfer chamber 104 is evacuated during operation of the apparatus, and is connected to a cooling chamber 107. In the transfer chamber 104, the wafer to be processed is received from the transfer machine 113 via the load lock chamber 109, transferred into the processing chamber 101, and the processed wafer is taken out of the processing chamber 101, and is transferred to the cooling chamber 107. An arm (not shown) of a transfer robot (not shown) that operates in a vacuum state and has two arms that return to the transfer device 113 via the unload lock chamber 110 after cooling is provided. The cooling chamber 107 is provided in the transfer chamber 1
It has a space that continues to 06 and is used to cool processed hot wafers.

The load lock chamber 109 and the unload lock chamber 110 function as buffer chambers for transferring wafers between the transfer chamber 104 and the transfer machine 113. Each time a wafer is transferred, a vacuum is drawn. Or controlled to atmospheric pressure. For this reason, a door (not shown) is provided between the transfer chamber 104 and the transfer machine 113. When transferring an unprocessed wafer from the transfer machine 113 to the processing chamber 101, the door on the transfer machine 113 side is opened with the door on the transfer chamber 104 side of the load lock chamber 109 closed, and The wafer is transported from the transfer device 113 to the load lock chamber 109 under the atmospheric pressure, and the door on the transfer device 113 side is closed. afterwards,
When the load lock chamber 109 is evacuated to a vacuum state, the door on the transfer chamber 104 side is opened, and the wafer is taken into the transfer chamber 104 by the vacuum arm.

When the processed wafer is transferred from the transfer chamber 104 to the transfer device 113, the unload lock chamber 11
0 with the door on the transfer machine 113 side closed.
Open the side door (at this time, unload lock chamber 110
Is in a vacuum state), and the processed wafer is transferred to the unload lock chamber 110 by the vacuum arm. Thereafter, the door on the transfer chamber 104 side is closed, the atmosphere is introduced into the unload lock chamber 110 to be in an atmospheric pressure state, the door on the transfer device 113 side is opened, and the processed wafer is transferred to the transfer device 113 side. .

The transfer machine 113 operates at atmospheric pressure,
An unprocessed wafer brought in from the outside is transferred to the processing chamber, and a function as an interface for transferring a processed wafer from the processing chamber to the outside is executed. The transfer device 113 operates in an atmospheric condition in which an unprocessed wafer brought in from the outside is transferred to the processing chamber side, and a wafer for transferring the processed wafer from the processing chamber side to the outside is transferred. An arm of a transfer robot (hereinafter, referred to as an atmospheric arm) is provided.

An atmospheric arm in the transfer machine 113 takes out an unprocessed wafer from a wafer carrier 115 mounted on a predetermined one of the plurality of load port portions 114, and transports the unprocessed wafer to the load lock chamber 109. Conversely, the processed wafer is transferred from the unload lock chamber 110 to a wafer carrier 115 on a predetermined load port 114.

A plurality of load port units 114 are provided for the transfer machine 113 of one substrate processing apparatus, and a plurality of unloading wafer carriers 115 accommodated in the inside carried in from the outside. Is placed. When an unprocessed wafer in the wafer carrier 115 is transported to the processing chamber side, the door 122 of the wafer carrier 115 (not shown) and the door of the transfer machine 113 (not shown) are opened by a mechanism provided in the load port unit 113. The unprocessed wafer is taken out of the wafer carrier 115 by the atmospheric arm in the transfer machine 113 and taken into the transfer machine 113.

In the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus for processing a wafer by the above-described processing operation, portions except for the transfer device 113 are provided on both sides on which a maintenance person can ride during maintenance and monitoring operations. It is placed on a base / work table 118 and is placed on the floor. As will be described in detail later, the base / work table 118 also serves as a protection unit such as a pipe for various gases guided from under the floor to the apparatus and a cooling water pipe.

The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.
Lids for maintenance and the like are provided, and transparent windows are provided at various places so that the internal conditions can be visually monitored. That is, an openable / closable lid 102 for cleaning / inspection of the inside is provided on the upper part of the processing chamber 101, and an openable / closable lid 105 for cleaning / inspection of the inside is also provided on the upper surface of the transfer chamber 104. A transparent window 106 for peeping into the inside provided at 105 is provided. Further, on the upper surfaces of the cooling chamber 107, the load lock chamber 109, and the unload lock chamber 110, the transparent arm 10 inside the transparent window 10 so that the state of the transferred wafer can be visually checked.
8, 111 and 112 are provided. Further, the transparent window 1 is also provided on both sides of the transfer machine 113 and on the side of the transfer chamber 104 so that the movement of the internal robot and the like can be visually observed.
16 and 117 are provided. Note that a window for observing the inside can be provided in a part of the processing chamber, which is effective for grasping the processing state inside.

The maintenance person rides on the base / work table 118 and looks at the inside from the windows at various places described above,
It is possible to monitor an internal state, for example, a state of processing in a processing chamber, and an operation state of a robot arm or the like that transports a wafer. In addition, detailed inspection and cleaning of the inside of the apparatus when the apparatus is stopped can be performed by opening the lid. The base unit / work table 118, the height of the work surface, and the like will be described later.

In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, a monitoring operation terminal 119 having a display screen is attached to the back of a cover enclosing the processing chamber. As will be described later, the operation terminal 119 is configured to be portable and can be used by being connected via a connector provided at a predetermined position around the device. Further, the display screen of the monitoring operation terminal 119 is configured by a touch panel, and can input necessary instructions and the like without using a keyboard.

The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a base / work table 118 on both sides of the apparatus as described above, so that monitoring, maintenance, inspection and the like as described above are performed. Can be performed from both sides of the apparatus. For this reason, the lid 102 provided above the processing chamber 101 and the lid 105 provided above the transfer chamber 104 are attached to the base / work table 118. The lid is mounted on the left or right side so that the lid can be opened by rotating the lid upward. In the illustrated example, a lid 102 provided at an upper portion of the processing chamber 101,
The lid 105 provided at the upper part of the transfer chamber 104 is provided so that when both of them are opened, a maintenance person can work on both the processing chamber 101 and the transfer chamber 104 without being obstructed by the opened lid. In order to be able to do so, they are opened facing each other.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a configuration example of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numerals 111 'and 112' denote transparent windows, and other reference numerals are the same as those in FIG. 2 (a) and FIG.
(B) is a perspective view of each side as viewed from obliquely above.

In the first embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIG. 1, a base / work table 118 is provided on both sides of the apparatus.
Monitoring, maintenance, inspection, etc. were performed from both sides of the device, but the example shown in FIG.
The point that the base / work table 118 is provided only on one side of the apparatus is greatly different from the case of FIG. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a lid 102 provided above the processing chamber 101 and a transfer chamber 10 for performing maintenance or the like from one side of the apparatus.
The lid 105 provided at the upper part of 4 is configured to open from the side of the maintenance person to the back. The example shown in FIG. 2 shows a load lock chamber 109 and an unload lock chamber 110.
Is higher than the upper surface of the transfer chamber 104,
Inside, a door drive mechanism on the transfer chamber 104 side and a door drive mechanism on the transfer machine 113 side are stored. Further, in this example, transparent windows 111 ′ and 11, which can monitor the inside, are provided on the side surfaces of the load lock chamber 109 and the unload lock chamber 110.
2 'is provided.

In this example, an apparatus for gas supply provided near the processing chamber 101, an exhaust system for exhausting the processing chamber 101, and the like include a base unit and a work table 118.
It is provided in a part near the side opposite to the side provided with. The monitoring operation terminal 119 is installed on a surface at the same height position as the upper surface of the transfer chamber 104 provided around the processing chamber 101 on the side of the base unit and work table 118.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a configuration example of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 3, reference numeral 120 denotes a shelf, and other reference numerals are the same as those in FIG. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are perspective views as seen from obliquely above both sides.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is also similar to the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 2 in that the base unit / work table 118 is provided on only one side of the apparatus. And
The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is similar to the case of FIG.
The lid 102 provided at the upper part of the cover 01 and the lid 105 provided at the upper part of the transfer chamber 104 are configured to open to the left and right as viewed from the maintenance person. In this example, the transfer machine 1
A shelf 120 that can be folded and stored is provided on the same surface as the surface on which the thirteen load ports 114 are provided, and the monitoring operation terminal 119 can be placed and used on this shelf. I have. Other configurations of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 are the same as those in FIG. 1 except that the upper surfaces of the load lock chamber 109 and the unload lock chamber 110 are higher than the upper surface of the transfer chamber 104 as in the case of FIG. It is configured similarly to.

1 to 3 of the present invention described above with reference to FIGS.
In the third embodiment, the processing chamber 101 is exposed to the outside, but during the operation of the apparatus, inside the processing chamber 101,
Since a high magnetic field and a high voltage are used, and various gases are also used, the processing chamber 101 is preferably covered with a removable cover. However, the transfer chamber 10
4. The cooling chamber 107, the load lock chamber 109, and the unload lock chamber 110 are used without being covered with a cover. According to such a usage pattern, the maintenance person can visually confirm the situation inside these processing mechanism units from the window as soon as he comes to the apparatus without performing the work of removing the cover.

Next, the installation position of the monitoring operation terminal 119, the state inside the base unit / work table 118, the height dimension of the base unit / work table 118 and the work surface in each embodiment of the present invention described above. The height dimension will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an installation position of the monitoring operation terminal 119, and FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a maintenance area, a monitoring area, and the like when a plurality of devices according to the embodiment of the present invention are installed and operated. 6 is a diagram for explaining the status of piping and the like housed inside the base unit / work table 118, and FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining the height dimension and work surface height size of the base unit / work table 118. 4, reference numeral 121 denotes a communication cable connection terminal, 122 denotes a power cable connection terminal, 123 denotes a gas supply mechanism, 124 denotes an exhaust mechanism, 125 denotes a movable table, and 126 denotes a processing chamber cover.

The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 4 for explaining the installation position of the monitoring operation terminal 119 has the configuration described above with reference to FIG.
Further, a gas supply mechanism 123 and an exhaust mechanism 124 provided near the processing chamber 101 are provided adjacent to the processing chamber 101. Then, as shown in FIG.
Can be installed at four positions shown as in FIG.

The monitoring operation terminal 1 installed at these positions
19 need not always be installed at all of these positions, and may be installed at each position as needed. As shown in FIG. 4A, a shelf 120 that can be stored on the wall is provided at each of the installation positions. When the shelf 120 is opened, a communication cable connection terminal 121 provided on the wall is provided. And the power cable connection terminal 122 is exposed. The monitoring operation terminal 119 is provided with a display device such as an LCD, and is configured to be thin. A communication cable and a power cable are connected to the terminals 121 and 122, and the monitoring operation terminal 119 is placed on a shelf 120 and used. can do. When the shelf 120 is stored on the wall, the terminal 12
1 and 122.

The monitoring operation terminal 119 shown in FIG.
Is installed on the wall surface where the load port 114 of the transfer device 113 is provided, and the monitoring operation terminal 119 installed at this position is mainly used when the device is newly started up. Used to adjust the robot arm. 4B and 4C, the installation position of the monitoring operation terminal 119 is the wall surface of the processing room 101 on the side of the apparatus, and the monitoring operation terminal 119 installed at this position is mainly It is used when the maintenance person performs internal monitoring and maintenance. The installation position of the monitoring operation terminal 119 shown in FIG. 4C is a wall surface that covers the above-described gas supply mechanism unit 123 disposed on the rear side of the transfer machine 113, and is installed at this position. Monitoring operation terminal 119
Is mainly used for normal monitoring when the device operates normally and maintenance is not required.

In the above description, the shelf 120 is provided on the wall surface of the apparatus, and the monitoring operation terminal 119 is mounted on the shelf 120 for use. However, the present invention provides the following, as shown in FIG.
A mobile table 125 is prepared, placed at an arbitrary position, and a communication cable and a power cable of the monitoring operation terminal 119 placed on the table 125 are connected to connection terminals provided on a wall surface of the apparatus. Can be used.

The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 is generally installed and operated in plural units. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a maintenance area, a monitoring area, and the like in such a case. Next, with reference to FIG. 5, it will be understood that the method of installing the monitoring operation terminal 119 described with reference to FIG. 4 is effective. explain.

When a plurality of semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses are installed and operated, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses are arranged side by side with a space for maintenance as shown in FIG. In this case, the side provided with the load port unit 114 of each semiconductor substrate processing apparatus is used as a transfer area for loading in unprocessed wafers and unloading processed wafers. When the diameter of a wafer to be processed is increased to 300 mmφ or the like as recently, it becomes difficult to carry the wafer carrier 115 by hand. Therefore, loading of an unprocessed wafer and unloading of a processed wafer are difficult. ,
This is performed by a transfer robot or the like. For this reason, when the operation of the apparatus is started, the transfer robot comes and goes in the above-described transfer area, and it may be dangerous for a person to enter the transfer area.

For the above-mentioned reason, the monitoring operation terminal 119 placed in the above-mentioned position, which is installed in this area, is used only when adjusting the robot arm inside the transfer machine 113 at the time of starting up a new apparatus or the like. It is only necessary to be able to use it, and there is no need to install it except at such times.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a maintenance area is provided between the apparatuses, and work such as inspection and maintenance of the apparatus is performed in this area. For this reason, FIG.
Monitoring operation terminal 1 installed at the position
Reference numeral 19 is effective when performing work such as inspection and maintenance of the apparatus. And since maintenance personnel do not enter the maintenance area very often,
When necessary, the monitoring operation terminal 119 may be installed at the position, or may be placed on the movable table 125 and brought into the maintenance area.

The opposite side of each transfer device 113 of the plurality of semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses arranged side by side, that is, the side of the gas supply mechanism 123 becomes a normal operation monitoring area, and normal operation and monitoring are performed from this area. . For this reason, the monitoring operation terminal 119 installed at the position described with reference to FIG.
Is used as a constantly installed state.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, the state of the inside of the base and work table 118 will be described.

As described above, the base / work table 118 also serves as a protection section for various gas pipes, cooling water pipes, electric wiring, etc., which are guided from below the floor to the apparatus. The outline is shown in FIG. These plumbing,
The wiring rises from the floor below the base unit and work table 118 and is led into the apparatus from the space below the base unit and work table 118. The gas to be introduced is DA
(Dry air), N2 (nitrogen), PN2 (pure nitrogen), deposition gas, cleaning gas and the like. The exhaust includes CVD (combustible) exhaust from the processing chamber, and the liquid includes cooling water.

Next, with reference to FIG. 7, a description will be given of the height dimension of the base portion and work table 118 and the work surface height dimension.

Since the base unit and work table 118 is a table on which a maintenance person rides and performs work, it is necessary to have a depth dimension that allows stable movement on the table during work. In consideration of saving space as much as possible, it is appropriate that the depth dimension is 300 mm to 450 mm as shown in FIG.
Also, the wafer transfer height dimension inside the apparatus is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), generally, the height dimension from the floor surface is set to 1100 mm and the height from the top surface of the transfer chamber 104 and the like to 1200 mm. Taking into account that various gas pipes, cooling water pipes, and the like guided to the apparatus from under the floor are disposed below the work table 118, the height of the base section and work table 118 is set higher than the floor surface. It was 300 mm. Thus, when the maintenance person gets on the base / work table 118, the transfer chamber 10
The upper surface of 4 etc. is almost at the waist position of the maintenance person.
Work can be easily performed in a comfortable posture.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7 (c), the monitoring operation terminal 119 installed at each part of the above-mentioned apparatus is installed such that the upper end of the display screen is about 1370 mm from the floor surface. This dimension is the height of the shoulder of a maintenance person having an average height, so that the maintenance person can easily see the display screen by slightly lowering his / her gaze, and also has a touch panel structure. It is possible to make it easy to operate the displayed screen on the display screen with a finger.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show an example of a configuration in which two semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses, each having the base unit and work table 118 provided on only one side described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 (a), 9 (b) and 9 (c) are a plan view, a perspective view as seen from the transfer machine side, and a perspective view as seen from the processing chamber side.
Note that the configuration of one semiconductor substrate processing apparatus is the same as that in FIG.

The example shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to the transfer machine 113 shown in FIG.
Of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus including everything from the processing chamber 101 to the processing chamber 101 is formed in a symmetrical form, and two of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses formed in a symmetrical form are used as a base unit and work table 118.
Are arranged and used so as to be back-to-back so that the side is outside. In the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the base / work table 118 is provided only on one side. Therefore, when this is configured symmetrically and arranged in a mirror, as shown in FIG. Since the arrangement can be performed without providing a space in the portion, the installation space can be reduced.

When two semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses are arranged in a mirror arrangement as shown in FIG. 8 and a plurality of pairs are juxtaposed in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. Compared with a case where a maintenance area is provided by installing the maintenance areas separately from each other, the area of the maintenance area can be reduced as a whole, and more space can be saved.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, all the components of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus including the transfer device 113 are arranged in a pair, and two load ports are attached to the transfer device. Although a table is provided and the installation position of the monitoring operation terminal 119 is provided in two places, the present invention
As shown in FIG. 9, one transfer device 113 may be provided in common to two semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses except for the transfer device 113 to form a pair.

The configuration as shown in FIG. 9 has a relatively low wafer loading frequency when the processing in the processing chamber 101 for processing a wafer requires a long time for one processing. It is suitable for use when less is required,
Economic configuration. That is, the transfer machine 113 in the example shown in FIG. 9 is provided with three load port units 114, and is configured such that the monitoring operation terminal 119 is installed at one location.

In the case of the arrangement shown in FIG.
The same effects as those described with reference to FIG. 8 can be obtained, and the whole can be economically constructed.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10, 201 is a control unit, 202 is an operation display unit,
203 is a sensor, 204 is an exhaust unit, 205 is a gas unit, 206 is a cooling unit, 207 is a transport unit, 208 is a power supply unit, and 209 is an interface unit.

FIGS. 1 to 7 illustrate the external shape of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. Next, the configuration of the control system will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 10, the control system of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 201 for controlling the entire apparatus, an operation display unit 202, and various units provided in each unit constituting the apparatus. Sensor 203, exhaust unit 204, gas unit 205, cooling unit 20
6, a transport unit 207, a power supply unit 208, and an interface unit 209.

The operation display unit 202 is a display unit that constitutes the monitoring operation terminal 119 described above, and is configured as a touch panel, and when an instruction or the like from a maintenance person is input,
The information is transferred to the control unit. The sensor 203 includes an exhaust unit 204, a gas unit 205, and a cooling unit 20.
6. Provided in the transport unit 207 and the power supply unit 208, and include, for example, a temperature sensor, a gas, a flow rate sensor of a cooling water, a gas leak sensor, a pressure sensor, a differential pressure sensor, a leak sensor, an exhaust pressure sensor, and the like. Is provided.

The exhaust unit 204 corresponds to the exhaust mechanism 124 shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the exhaust unit 204 may be installed on the floor or below the floor. . Then, the exhaust unit 204 is connected to the processing chamber 10.
1. A unit for exhausting the transfer chamber 104, the load lock chamber 109, and the unload lock chamber 101. In addition, the exhaust unit 204 may be configured to perform the exhaust of each of the above-described units by one unit, or may be configured to include a plurality of units and share a unit that performs the exhaust.

The gas unit 205 corresponds to the gas supply mechanism 123 shown in FIG. 4 and is installed adjacent to the processing chamber, and the amount and timing of various gases introduced into the processing chamber 101. And so on. These controls are executed in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 201. The cooling unit 206 is a unit that controls the cooling of various high-temperature mechanisms constituting the processing chamber 101 and controls the flow rate of the cooling water.

The transfer unit 207 is a mechanism for transferring a wafer by a transfer robot in the transfer chamber 104, the load lock chamber 109, the unload lock chamber 101, and the transfer device 113, and is controlled by an instruction from the control unit 201. Is done. The power supply unit 208 supplies necessary power to the above-described various units, mechanism units, and the like that constitute the apparatus. Also,
The interface unit 209 controls connection via a communication line to a monitoring operation terminal 119 installed at a remote place or the like, or controls the connection with a control unit of another semiconductor substrate processing apparatus in which a plurality of control units 201 are installed. Controls the transfer of information for coordinating between.

The control unit 201 controls the entire apparatus, and according to a process schedule stored in an internal memory or the like, or according to a maintenance person's instruction input from the touch panel of the operation display unit 202, as described above. It controls each unit. Also, the detection signal from the sensor 203 is checked, and if any abnormality occurs, the occurrence of the failure is notified by an alarm sound, and the content of the failure is displayed on the operation display unit 2.
02 is displayed. When the entire apparatus is operating normally, the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention continues the processing operation with almost no need for maintenance personnel by the operation of the control unit 201 as described above. be able to.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, in which different processing colors are assigned to the respective processing mechanisms of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in which names and functions can be distinguished by color. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in which a mechanism unit can be identified by color on a display screen in correspondence with the color of the device. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in which, when a failure occurs somewhere in the apparatus, the content of the failure is displayed on the display screen in correspondence with the color of the apparatus.

Each processing mechanism constituting the apparatus is color-coded, and each processing mechanism showing the apparatus configuration displayed on the display screen is also displayed with the same color coding.
If the content of the fault is displayed on the display screen in correspondence with the color of the device when a fault occurs, it is possible to cause a maintenance person to perform a reliable maintenance inspection of the device without errors. The examples shown in FIG. 11 to FIG. 13 are for explaining the color classification in consideration of the above, and will be described below.

The example shown in FIG. 11 describes an example in which the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus of the example described with reference to FIG. 3 is color-coded. In the illustrated example, different colors (colors) are hatched in different shapes shown in a band shape. expressing. The example shown in FIG.
The transfer apparatus 113 and the load port 1
Colors indicating portions 14 (these are used at atmospheric pressure), portions of the transfer chamber 104, the load lock chamber 109, and the unload lock chamber 101 (these are in a vacuum state or in a vacuum state and an atmospheric pressure state). These colors are visually observed in four colors: a color that indicates a portion of the processing chamber 101 (used for processing the wafer) and a color that indicates the portion of the gas supply mechanism 123. This is an example in which colors are distinguished so that they can be seen at a glance from the outside. The colors actually assigned to these can be arbitrarily selected, but in the case of four colors, for example, a combination of red, yellow, blue, green, etc., depending on the importance of maintenance and inspection, or the degree of danger Colors may be assigned according to the size of the image. Note that the example shown in FIG. 11 shows that an emergency stop button is provided on the side surface of the transfer machine 113, and this button is colored around or around the button itself in a conspicuous color such as red. You.

In the example shown in FIG. 11, each color is given at a position of a legible portion corresponding to the band shape (a position slightly lower than the height of the eyes of the maintainer). Or colored with a paint. Further, the processing function unit may be formed in a shape of a circle, a triangle, or the like instead of a band shape, or may be formed on the entire processing function unit in a stripe shape. Further, the entire processing function unit may be colored. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 11, the transfer chamber 104, the load lock chamber 109, and the unload lock chamber 101 are colored around transparent windows for visually monitoring the inside. Thus, the maintenance person can immediately know the position of the transparent window at the time of work and monitor the inside. The color of this part may be attached to the side surface of the housing covering this part, not to the periphery of the transparent window, as in the other parts.

In the above-described example, the plurality of processing function units constituting the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus are divided into four groups, and colors are allocated to each group. However, the number of groups, that is, the number of color divisions is four. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be less or more.
In many cases, different colors may be assigned to the respective processing function units.

When the maintenance of the apparatus is performed, as described above, the maintenance person often performs the maintenance while looking at the display screen of the monitoring operation terminal 119. When, for example, a configuration diagram of the device is displayed on the display screen, the display screen shown in FIG.
As described in 1, the device is displayed with color coding,
Moreover, if the color coding is performed in the same manner as the color coding of the actual device, the maintenance person can surely perform the maintenance inspection while viewing the display screen of the monitoring operation terminal 119 without error. The screen example shown in FIG. 12 displays a cross section of the entire device,
This is an example in which the components are displayed in the same color as the actual device.

In the example shown in FIG. 12, an exhaust system is provided under the floor, and the color of this portion is the same as that of the gas supply system. Further, in this example, the whole of the component part is colored and displayed.

In FIG. 12, a large number of soft buttons and the like are arranged around a display area displaying a cross section of the entire apparatus. These are necessary for controlling the apparatus. By these operations, instructions can be given to the device as necessary, and other information can be displayed on the display screen. The “load lock chamber / transfer chamber” shown in FIG.
10 and the transfer chamber 104, and the “process chamber” refers to the processing chamber 101.

If any trouble has occurred in the apparatus, the occurrence of the trouble and the location thereof can be notified to the maintenance person by blinking the colors indicating the components shown in FIG. Then, by touching the “error list” button shown in the example of FIG. 12 by the maintenance person, for example, an error message list as shown in FIG. 13 can be displayed.

The error message includes an error code indicating the type of the error, an error level indicating the importance of the error by a numeral, and a message indicating the content of the error. Then, in the example shown in FIG. 13, the error level display column has the above-described color corresponding to the component in which the error has occurred. Thus, the maintenance person can immediately know the location of the failure and the magnitude of the failure from the error level display column.

In the above description, four colors are used, but in the present invention, it is possible to use more colors to perform color coding. However, the number of colors at which a person who is a maintenance person can recognize the difference between a plurality of colors at a glance is not so large.If the number of colors is too large, the maintenance person may be confused. Is not a good idea.

FIG. 14 is a view showing another example of a display screen in which the mechanism can be identified by color on the display screen in correspondence with the color of the apparatus. FIG. 15 shows a case in which a failure occurs somewhere in the apparatus. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another example of the display screen in which the content of the failure is displayed on the display screen in correspondence with the color of the device, in which the colors are divided into seven colors, and the colors are assigned to each processing function unit. is there.

As can be seen from the display example of the screen shown in FIG. 14, in this example, the load port unit 114 and the transfer machine 1
13, the load lock chamber 109 and the unload lock chamber 110, the transfer chamber 104, the processing chamber 101, the gas supply mechanism 123, and the exhaust mechanism 124 are given different colors so that they can be distinguished from each other. Although the illustration of the example here does not show a diagram of the color coding performed on the device itself, the same color coding as in the case of FIG. 11 is performed on the actual device.

In the example of the display screen shown in FIG. 15, the column for displaying the content of the error is set to the color corresponding to the component in which the error has occurred, and the component in which the error has occurred is notified by seven colors. Except for this, it is the same as the case shown in FIG. 13 in the case of the error message of the example divided into four colors.

[0075]

As described above, according to the present invention, a worker can easily and quickly know the situation inside the apparatus quickly and reliably.
It is possible for the operator to respond quickly and easily. In addition, the installation space when a plurality of devices are installed and operated can be efficiently used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an installation position of a monitoring operation terminal.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a maintenance area, a monitoring area, and the like when a plurality of apparatuses according to the embodiment of the present invention are installed and operated.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the status of piping and the like housed inside a base unit and a work table.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a height dimension and a work surface height dimension of the base unit and work table 118;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration in which two semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses configured by providing a base unit and a work table only on one side are configured symmetrically and installed in a mirror arrangement.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example in which two semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses configured by providing a base unit and a work table only on one side are configured bilaterally symmetrically and installed in a mirror arrangement.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration in which different colors are associated with the respective processing mechanisms of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in which a mechanism unit can be identified by color on a display screen in correspondence with the color of the apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in which, when a failure occurs somewhere in the apparatus, the content of the failure is displayed on the display screen in correspondence with the color of the apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another example of the display screen in which the mechanism unit can be identified by color on the display screen in correspondence with the color of the device.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating another example of a display screen in which, when a failure occurs in any part of the apparatus, the content of the failure is displayed on the display screen in correspondence with the color of the apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 processing chamber 102, 105 lid 106, 108, 111, 111 ', 112, 112'
Transparent window 104 Transfer room 107 Cooling room 109 Load lock room 110 Unload lock room 113 Transfer machine 114 Load port section 115 Wafer carrier 116 Transfer machine side window 117 Transfer machine rear window 118 Base and work table 119 For monitoring operation Terminal 120 Shelf 121 Communication cable connection terminal 122 Power cable connection terminal 123 Gas supply mechanism section 124 Exhaust mechanism section 125 Mobile table 126 Processing chamber cover 201 Control section 202 Operation display section 203 Sensor 204 Exhaust unit 205 Gas unit 206 Cooling unit 207 Transport Unit 208 Power supply unit 209 Interface unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasushi Horiuchi 5-2-1, Josuihonmachi, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo Within the Semiconductor Group, Hitachi, Ltd. No. 20-1 F-term in Hitachi Semiconductor Co., Ltd. F-term (Reference) 5F004 AA16 BC05 BC06 BC08 BD01 BD04 BD05 CB01 5F031 MA03 NA02 NA10 PA04 5F045 AA08 BB20 EB02 EB05 EB08 EB11 EC03 EN01 EN04 EN06

Claims (11)

[Claims] In a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate on which a semiconductor device is formed on a semiconductor substrate, a movement for monitoring and controlling the processing status of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus is provided at a plurality of locations around the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. A semiconductor substrate processing apparatus comprising an installation means for installing a possible monitoring operation terminal. 2. The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a processing chamber, a transfer chamber, a load lock chamber and an unload lock chamber, and a transfer machine to which a load port is attached are sequentially disposed as processing function units. 2. The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring operation terminals are arranged side by side, and the installation means of the monitoring operation terminal is provided on a front surface of the transfer device, a side surface of the transfer chamber, and a rear surface of the processing chamber. 3. A semiconductor substrate processing apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate for forming a semiconductor device on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus includes at least a processing chamber, a transfer chamber, and a load lock as a processing function unit. The transfer chamber, the load lock chamber, and the unload lock chamber are exposed to an installation space. A semiconductor substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. A cooling room is provided in the transfer chamber, and transparent windows are provided on upper surfaces of the cooling chamber, the transfer chamber, the load lock chamber and the unload lock chamber. The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein 5. A semiconductor substrate processing apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate which forms a semiconductor device on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus includes at least a processing chamber, a transfer chamber, and a load lock as a processing function unit. Chamber and an unload lock chamber, and a transfer machine to which a load port unit is attached are arranged in order, and a lid that can be opened and closed is provided on the upper surfaces of the processing chamber and the transfer chamber. Semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. 6. The transfer machine according to claim 1, wherein windows are provided on the back and side surfaces of the transfer machine so that the inside can be viewed.
6. The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to any one of Items 5 to 5. 7. A semiconductor substrate processing apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate that forms a semiconductor device on a semiconductor substrate, wherein the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus includes at least a processing chamber, a transfer chamber, and a load lock as processing functional units. Chamber, an unload lock chamber, and a transfer machine to which a load port unit is attached are arranged in order, and floor surfaces of side surfaces of the processing chamber, the transfer chamber, the load lock chamber, and the unload lock chamber. A semiconductor substrate processing apparatus characterized in that a base unit and a work table in which piping and the like are disposed are provided on both sides or one side of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. 8. In the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, at least a processing chamber, a transfer chamber, a load lock chamber and an unload lock chamber, and a transfer machine to which a load port unit is attached are sequentially arranged as processing function units. The processing function units are arranged side by side, and the processing function units are grouped into each of the processing function units or into a plurality of blocks, and are color-coded by different colors for each of the processing function units or for each of the groups, and the colors are visible. A semiconductor substrate processing apparatus provided on an outer wall of each processing function unit. 9. A color assigned to each processing function unit or each group, and information indicating the arrangement of the apparatus displayed on a monitoring operation terminal for monitoring and controlling the processing status of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. 9. The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the color of the processing function unit is the same. 10. A color assigned to each processing function unit or each group and a status of the processing function unit displayed on a monitoring operation terminal for monitoring and controlling the processing status of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. 9. The semiconductor substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the color of the display column of the processing status of each processing function unit at the time of displaying the list is the same. 11. One of claims 1 to 10
The two described semiconductor substrate processing apparatuses are configured symmetrically,
A semiconductor substrate processing apparatus having a mirror arrangement.