JP2001205211A - Plasma cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plasma cleaning apparatus enhanced in yield. SOLUTION: In the plasma cleaning apparatus equipped with an openable and closable chamber 2, a feed in and out mechanism 6 for feeding in and out a substrate with respect to the chamber 2, cleaning means 4, 5, 28, 29, 31 for washing the substrate in the chamber 2 with plasma and an error detection means for detecting the error related to cleaning treatment, an operator opens the chamber 2 when the error detection means detects an error to take out the substrate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plasma cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate, on which a pad for indirect metal bonding such as wire bonding is formed, with generated plasma.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art This type of plasma cleaning apparatus basically includes a chamber that can be opened and closed, a loading / unloading mechanism for loading / unloading a substrate into / from this chamber, and plasma generation in the chamber. A cleaning unit for performing a cleaning process on a substrate in a chamber by plasma and an error detection unit for detecting an error relating to the cleaning process are provided.Conventionally, when the error detection unit detects an error, the automatic operation is stopped. When the operator restarts the automatic operation after resetting the error, the loading / unloading mechanism unloads the processed NG substrate in the chamber, and the unprocessed NG substrate is displayed on the screen of the control device by the operator. It has been removed based on the processed processing information of the substrate.

[0003]

However, in the case of the above-mentioned prior art, the processing NG is not performed due to an error of the operator.
The substrate may flow to the next process, which has been a factor in reducing the yield rate.

The applicant of the present application has previously provided a pair of chambers, and a loading / unloading mechanism alternately loading / unloading a substrate into / from the pair of chambers, and cleaning the substrate with the pair of chambers. Proposed a plasma cleaning apparatus equipped with a loading / unloading mechanism for accommodating the substrates in one magazine (Japanese Patent Application No. 10-341849). In this case, the substrates processed in each chamber are mixed in one magazine. Therefore, it is easy for the operator to mix up the substrates, and the above-mentioned problems are particularly likely to occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma cleaning apparatus which improves the yield.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a chamber which can be opened and closed, a loading / unloading mechanism for loading / unloading a substrate into / from this chamber, and a plasma in the chamber. A plasma cleaning apparatus comprising: a cleaning unit configured to perform a cleaning process on a substrate in the chamber by using the plasma; and an error detection unit configured to detect an error related to the cleaning process. When an error is detected, the operator can open the chamber and take out the substrate.

The cleaning means includes, for example, a high-frequency electrode provided in the chamber, a high-frequency power supply for applying a high-frequency voltage to the high-frequency electrode, a vacuum suction device for evacuating the inside of the chamber, And a gas supply device for supplying a plasma reaction gas therein.

[0008] In this case, the error detecting means may include a power value output from the high-frequency electrode, a pressure value output from the vacuum suction device, and a gas flow value output from the gas supply device. If at least one of them does not reach the reference value, it can be determined that an error has occurred.

The present invention particularly includes a pair of the chambers, wherein the loading / unloading mechanism alternately loads / unloads the substrate from / to the pair of chambers, and performs a cleaning process in each of the pair of chambers. This is useful when the present invention is applied to a plasma cleaning apparatus having a loading / unloading mechanism for accommodating a loaded substrate in one magazine.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing the entire structure of the plasma cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a chamber of the plasma cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the substrate when there is an error in the cleaning processing.

In this plasma cleaning apparatus, for example, when a bare chip is directly wire-bonded, the bonding pads of the substrate are dry-cleaned in order to improve the bonding strength between the bonding pads and the bonding wires in bonding. That is, a chamber that is a vacuum container is filled with a plasma reaction gas such as argon, and a plasma is generated by applying a high-frequency voltage to this gas.
The ions charged to the plasma are accelerated toward the negatively charged bonding pad, and the particles (organic substances, oxides and the like in the case of the embodiment) on the surface of the bonding pad are washed out by beating.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plasma cleaning apparatus 1 has a pair of chambers 2 and 2 for generating plasma therein and cleaning the introduced substrate A, and a pair of chambers 2 and 2 alternately. A power supply unit 3 for applying a high-frequency voltage to the chamber, a gas supply device 4 for alternately supplying a pair of chambers 2 and 2 with argon gas as a plasma reaction gas and nitrogen gas for leakage, and a vacuum state in each chamber 2 A loading / unloading mechanism 6 for alternately loading / unloading the substrate A into / from the pair of chambers 2 and 2;
The unprocessed substrate A is transferred to the unloading mechanism 6 via the supply side magazine 7a.
a magazine supply unit 8 for supplying a, and a magazine discharge unit 9 for discharging the processing substrate Ab received from the loading / unloading mechanism 6 to the outside of the apparatus via the discharge-side magazine 7b.

Each chamber 2 has a box-shaped chamber body 21 which is a vacuum vessel, and a flange-shaped lid 22 provided on the front surface of the chamber body 21. The lid 22 is
The chamber guide 2 is provided by lid guides 23 provided on both sides.
1 and can move forward and backward with respect to
Chamber opening / closing cylinder (air cylinder) provided on the side
24 and a connecting plate 26. A tray 27 on which the two substrates A and A are placed is mounted inside the lid 22, and the tray 27 moves forward and backward together with the lid 22. Chamber open / close cylinder 24
Is driven to move the lid 22 forward, the chamber body 21
Is opened, the tray 27 on which the substrate A is placed is pulled out, and when the lid 22 is retracted, the tray 27 is pushed in and the chamber body 21 is closed.

As shown in FIG. 3, each chamber 2 is provided with a first high-frequency electrode 28 connected to the power supply 3 and a second high-frequency electrode 29 grounded. In this case, the first high-frequency electrode 28 is provided below the tray 27, while the second high-frequency electrode 29 is formed of a casing that forms the chamber body 21. The chamber opening / closing cylinder 24 is attached to the left side of the chamber 2 on the left side in the figure, and is attached to the chamber 2 on the right side.
Then, it is attached to the right side. Although not shown, a sealing member such as an O-ring is interposed between the chamber main body 21 and the lid 22 to maintain the airtightness of the chamber 2.

The power supply section 3 has a high-frequency power supply 31, an automatic matching unit 32, and a power supply switch 33. The power switch 33 is connected to a control device (PC) (not shown),
The high-frequency power source 31 is alternately switched to the pair of chambers 2 and 2 according to a switching command of the control device. Automatic matching device 32
Is to prevent interference by a high-frequency reflected wave applied to the chamber 2. In this case, one automatic matching device 32 is associated with the pair of chambers 2, 2. One automatic matching unit 32 for each
May be made to correspond. In such a case, the high-frequency power supply 31, the power supply switch 33, and the automatic matching unit 32 are connected in this order.

The gas supply device 4 includes an argon gas supply pipe 41 connected to an argon gas cylinder (not shown), a nitrogen gas supply pipe 42 connected to a nitrogen gas cylinder (not shown),
And a gas switching pipe 44 connecting the argon gas supply pipe 41, the nitrogen gas supply pipe 42, and the pair of gas introduction pipes 43, 43 to each other. The argon gas supply pipe 41 and the nitrogen gas supply pipe 42 are provided with an argon gas supply valve 45 and a nitrogen gas supply valve 46 which are manually operated, respectively. In addition, a mass flow controller 47 is provided in the argon gas supply pipe 41, and a purge flow meter 48 is provided in the nitrogen gas supply pipe 42, so that the gas flow rates can be controlled.

The gas switching pipe 44 is connected to the argon gas supply pipe 4.
Two argon-side branch pipes 44a, 44a connected to
Two nitrogen side branch pipes 44 connected to the nitrogen gas supply pipe 42
b, 44b, and the above-described gas introduction pipes 43 are provided at the junction of each of the argon side branch pipes 44a and each of the nitrogen side branch pipes 44b.
Is connected. Both argon side branch pipes 44a, 44a
Are provided with argon-side switching valves 49, 49 each constituted by an electromagnetic valve.
The nitrogen side switching valves 50, 50 each constituted by an electromagnetic valve are interposed between b and 44b. A pair of argon side switching valves 49 and 49 and a pair of nitrogen side switching valves 5
Reference numerals 0 and 50 are connected to a control device, and are opened and closed by a switching command of the control device. In this case, in order to accurately control the amount of argon gas, the mass flow controller 4 is used.
7 is feedback-controlled based on the control signal.

The argon gas supply valve 45 and the nitrogen gas supply valve 46 are always "open".
When the argon gas is alternately introduced into the pair of chambers 2 and 2, both nitrogen-side switching valves 50 and 50 are “closed”, one of the two argon-side switching valves 49 and 49 is “open”, and the other is “open”. Closed ". When nitrogen gas is introduced due to a leak described later, both argon side switching valves 49 and 49 are closed, and both nitrogen side switching valves 5 and 5 are closed.
One of 0 and 50 is “open” and the other is “closed”. In addition,
Reference numeral 51 in the drawing denotes an opening / closing solenoid valve that is opened / closed when an oxygen gas can be introduced in addition to an argon gas as a plasma reaction gas (illustrated by a virtual line).

Each vacuum suction device 5 includes a vacuum pump 61,
Vacuum piping 62 connecting the vacuum pump 61 and each chamber 2
And A vacuum gauge 63, a pressure adjustment valve 64, and a main valve 65 are provided from the chamber 2 side to the vacuum pipe 62.
Is interposed. The main valve 65 is formed of an electromagnetic valve. When the main valve 65 is in the “open” state, the vacuum pipe 62 and the vacuum pump 61 communicate with each other through the flexible pipe 67 to evacuate the chamber 2.

The loading / unloading mechanism 6 includes the two chambers 2, 2
Between the magazine supply unit 8 and the magazine discharge unit 9
A substrate transport mechanism 12 for transporting the substrate A;
A chamber-side transfer mechanism 13 for transferring the substrate A between the substrate transfer mechanism 12 and the chambers 2 and 2;
Between the supply side and discharge side magazines 7a and 7b.
And a magazine-side transfer mechanism 14 for transferring the data.

The unprocessed substrate Aa stored in the supply side magazine 7a is transferred to the substrate transfer mechanism 12 by the magazine side transfer mechanism 14, and is moved from the lower position to the upper position near the chamber 2 by the substrate transfer mechanism 12. It is carried in until. Here, the chamber-side transfer mechanism 13 is driven, and the unprocessed substrate A
a is transferred from the substrate transfer mechanism 12 to the tray 27 of the chamber 2. On the other hand, the processing substrate Ab is mounted on the chamber-side transfer mechanism 1.
3, the wafer is transferred from the tray 27 to the substrate transport mechanism 12,
The substrate is transported from the upper movement position to the lower movement position near both the supply and discharge magazines 7a and 7b by the substrate transfer mechanism 12. Here, the magazine-side transfer mechanism 14 is driven, and the processing substrate Ab is processed.
From the substrate transport mechanism 12 to the discharge-side magazine 7b.

The substrate transport mechanism 12 includes a substrate elevating device 71 mounted on a machine stand (not shown), a substrate Y moving device 72 mounted on the substrate elevating device 71, and a substrate Y moving device 72. And a moving substrate mounting stage 73.

The substrate mounting stage 73 is provided on a base plate 75 with three projecting ridges 76, 7 arranged in parallel with each other.
6 and 76, two substrates A, A can be placed on the upper and lower tiers, respectively, in a shelf shape. That is, the three protruding ridges 76, 76, 76 are formed with upper and lower inward receiving portions (not shown), and the two unprocessed substrates Aa are placed on the upper stage by the receiving portions. A pair of first mounting portions 77 before and after the two processing substrates A
A pair of second mounting portions 78 before and after mounting b is configured. That is, the unprocessed substrate Aa transferred from the supply side magazine 7a is mounted on the first mounting portion 77,
The processing substrate Ab transferred from the tray 27 is placed on the second placement unit 78.

The substrate Y moving device 72 is attached to an elevating block 85 of the substrate elevating device 71 to be described later, and has a substrate Y moving motor 80 with a speed reducer and a ball screw 81 rotated by the substrate Y moving motor 80. ing. Although not shown in the figure, the substrate mounting stage 73 is configured (guided) so as to be able to advance and retreat in the front-rear direction between the substrate mounting stage 73 and an elevating block 85 of the substrate elevating device 71. The substrate mounting stage 73 moves forward and backward with respect to the elevating block 85 as the ball screw 81 to be screwed rotates forward and reverse by the substrate Y moving motor 80.

The substrate lifting / lowering device 71 includes a substrate lifting / lowering motor 83 with a speed reducer, a ball screw 84 rotated by the substrate lifting / lowering motor 83, and a lifting / lowering block 85 formed with a female screw (not shown) screwed to the ball screw 84. And As described above, the substrate mounting stage 73 and the substrate Y
The moving device 72 is supported by an elevating block 85, and the elevating block 85 is moved up and down by a ball screw 84 that rotates forward and backward through a substrate elevating motor 83. The substrate elevating device 71 is attached to the substrate Y moving device 72, the substrate mounting stage 73 is moved up and down by the substrate elevating device 71, and the substrate elevating device 71 and the substrate mounting stage 73 are moved back and forth by the substrate Y moving device 72. It may be.

When receiving the unprocessed substrate Aa from the supply side magazine 7a, the first mounting portion 77 of the substrate mounting stage 73 is aligned with the position of the corresponding unprocessed substrate Aa in the supply side magazine 7a. , Substrate lifting device 71 and substrate Y
The driving device 72 is driven. Specifically, the substrate mounting stage 73 is retracted and raised from the home position, first, one of the first mounting portions 77 is aligned with the corresponding unprocessed substrate Aa, and further, the substrate mounting stage 73 is retracted (forward). ), The other unprocessed substrate A corresponding to the first mounting portion 77
Align to a. Although the details will be described later, the supply-side magazine 7a moves up and down, and the transfer height position (level) of the unprocessed substrate Aa is set to a specific position.

Further, the processing substrate Ab is transferred to the discharge side magazine 7b.
Similarly, the two processing substrates Ab, Ab of the second mounting portion 78 are respectively aligned with the corresponding storage positions of the discharge side magazine 7b. Also in this case, the discharge side magazine 7b moves up and down, and the processing substrate A
b transfer height position (although different from the above transfer height position)
Is set to a specific position. Note that the supply-side magazine 7a and the discharge-side magazine 7b are disposed close to the left and right sides of the substrate placement stage 73 (although they are separated in the drawing), so that when the substrate A is transferred, It is not necessary to move the stage 73 left and right.

On the other hand, when exchanging the unprocessed substrate Aa and the processed substrate Ab with the chamber 2, first, the substrate elevating device 71 and the substrate Y moving device 72 are driven to
7 and the second mounting portion 78 are aligned,
The two processing substrates Ab and Ab are simultaneously received by the second mounting portion 78 (details will be described later). Next, the substrate mounting stage 7
3 is slightly lowered, and the unprocessed substrate A of the first mounting portion 77 is
a and the upper surface of the tray 27 are aligned, and the two unprocessed substrates Aa, Aa are transferred onto the tray 27. In addition,
Also in this case, since both chambers 2 and 2 are disposed close to the left and right sides of the substrate mounting stage 73 (although they are separated in the drawing), the substrate mounting stage It is not necessary to move 73 in the left-right direction.

The magazine-side transfer mechanism 14 is provided with an unprocessed substrate A
A supply-side cylinder 91 for sending a from the supply-side magazine 7a to the substrate transfer mechanism 12, and a discharge-side cylinder 92 for sending the processing substrate Ab from the substrate transfer mechanism 12 to the discharge-side magazine 7b. The supply-side cylinder 91 is attached to a machine stand (not shown), and the piston rod 94 pushes the end of the corresponding unprocessed substrate Aa and sends it out from the supply-side magazine 7a to the substrate transfer mechanism 12.

The discharge side cylinder 92 is attached to a machine stand (not shown), and extends between the magazine supply section 8 and the magazine discharge section 9, and a cylinder body 95.
And a feed claw device 96 that moves in the left-right direction. The feed claw device 96 accommodates an actuator such as a motor in a housing, and has a feed claw 97 that moves up and down by the actuator. The feed claw 97 is moved to a predetermined downward movement position by an actuator, and the feed claw device 96 is moved leftward in the figure by the cylinder body 95, so that the feed claw 97 pushes the end of the processing substrate Ab,
This is sent from the substrate transport mechanism 12 to the discharge side magazine 7b.

The piston rod 94 of the supply cylinder 91
The height position of the feed claw 97 of the discharge side cylinder 92 is set to the above-mentioned transfer height position, and the transfer height position of the piston rod 94 and the transfer height of the feed claw 97 are set. The height position has a step difference between the first mounting portion 77 and the second mounting portion 78 of the substrate mounting stage 73. For this reason, the first mounting portion 77 and the second mounting portion 78 of the substrate mounting stage 73 are respectively aligned at both transfer height positions, and the discharge side cylinder 92 is driven first, whereby The processing substrate Ab is sent from the second mounting portion 78 to the discharge side magazine 7b, and then, when the supply side cylinder 91 is driven, the unprocessed substrate Aa is sent out from the supply side magazine 7a to the first mounting portion 77. However, since the substrate mounting stage 73, the supply-side magazine 7a, and the discharge-side magazine 7b can be moved up and down, and the feed claws 97 can be moved up and down, the transfer height position is necessarily set as described above. do not have to.

Although details will be described later, any one unprocessed substrate Aa to be sent out from the supply side magazine 7a
And the selection of any one of the storage positions (the number of stages) of the discharge magazine 7b to which the processing substrate Ab is to be sent is to raise and lower the supply magazine 7a in the magazine supply unit 8, and to select the magazine discharge unit. This is performed by raising and lowering the discharge side magazine 7b at 9.

The chamber-side transfer mechanism 13 includes a guide case 1 extending between the pair of chambers 2 and 2 in the left-right direction.
01, an X motion motor 102 with a speed reducer attached to one end of the guide case 101, and an X motion motor 102
A ball screw 103 rotated by the
And a transfer claw device 104 that moves in the left-right direction. The transfer claw device 104 accommodates an actuator such as a motor in a housing and has a transfer claw 105 that moves up and down by the actuator.

The tip of the transfer claw 105 is bifurcated so that two substrates A, A can be transferred between the tray 27 and the substrate transfer mechanism 12 at the same time. The transfer claw device 104 is guided by a guide case 101 in the left and right directions at a housing portion.
When the ball screw 103 rotates forward / reverse via 02, the transfer claw device 104 moves in the left-right direction along the guide case 101. In addition, the transfer claw 105 moves up and down by the forward / reverse drive of the actuator.

When the substrate transport mechanism 12 places the unprocessed substrate Aa on the first mounting portion 77 and faces the chamber 2, the X motion motor 102 is driven to move the transfer claw device 104 to the end position of the tray 27. Then, the transfer claw device 104 is driven to move the transfer claw 105 down to the upper surface position of the tray 27.
Next, the X-motion motor 102 is driven and the transfer claw device 104
Is moved to the substrate transport mechanism 12 side. As a result, the transfer claw 105 pushes and moves the two processing substrates Ab on the tray 27, and transfers the processing substrates Ab to the second mounting portion 78 of the substrate transport mechanism 12. Next, after the transfer claw 105 is slightly moved upward in accordance with the unprocessed substrate Aa, the transfer claw 105 is moved to the tray 27 side, so that the transfer claw 105 becomes two unprocessed substrates Aa. , Aa to the first receiver 7
7 to the tray 27. Note that a structure may be employed in which the substrates A are transferred one by one instead of having the transfer claws 105 forked.

The magazine supply unit 8 includes a supply-side magazine mounting table 111 on which a plurality of supply-side magazines 7a can be mounted,
A supply-side lifting / lowering device 112 for raising / lowering the supply-side magazine 7a supplied from the supply-side magazine mounting table 111, and a supply-side magazine cylinder 11 for feeding the supply-side magazine 7a from the supply-side magazine mounting table 111 to the supply-side lifting / lowering device 112.
And 3. On the other hand, the supply-side magazine 7a has a plurality of receiving portions formed on both side walls so that the substrate A can be stored in a shelf shape in a plurality of stages. The supply-side magazine 7a configured as described above is disposed with the front surface facing the substrate transport mechanism 12 in a state where the unprocessed substrate Aa is accommodated. The discharge-side magazine 7b is exactly the same as the supply-side magazine 7a.

When the supply-side magazine 7a of the supply-side lifting / lowering device 112 becomes empty, the supply-side magazine cylinder 113 uses the piston rod 115 to supply a plurality of supply-side magazines mounted on the supply-side magazine mounting table 111. The side magazines 7a are sequentially fed, and the supply side magazine 7a is newly supplied to the supply side lifting / lowering device 112. In addition, the supply-side magazine 7a newly input to the supply-side magazine mounting table 111
Is supplied to the supply-side magazine mounting table 111 on the piston rod 115 side with the piston rod 115 retracted.

The supply-side lifting / lowering device 112 includes a magazine lifting / lowering motor 116 having a speed reducer, and a magazine lifting / lowering motor 116.
Ball screw 117 rotated by the
And an elevating block 118 in which a female screw portion (not shown) is screwed. The supply-side magazine 7a for sending out the unprocessed substrate Aa is supported by an elevating block 118, and the elevating block 118 includes a magazine elevating motor 1
It is moved up and down by a ball screw 117 that rotates forward and backward through 16.

The supply-side magazine 7a sent to the supply-side lifting / lowering device 112 is appropriately moved up and down. At this time, the supply-side cylinder 91 sends out the unprocessed substrates Aa accommodated in the supply-side magazine 7a one by one. In this case, it is preferable that the unprocessed substrates Aa are sequentially sent out from the lowest stage of the supply side magazine 7a. That is, first, the lowermost unprocessed substrate Aa is positioned at the transfer height position and sent out, and then the second lowermost unprocessed substrate Aa is positioned at the transfer height position (down). And send this out.
In this way, when the uppermost unprocessed substrate Aa is sent out, the supply-side magazine 7a becomes empty. Therefore, the supply-side magazine 7a is further lowered and delivered to the magazine transfer unit 10.

Similarly to the magazine supply section 8, the magazine discharge section 9 includes a discharge magazine mounting table 121 on which a plurality of discharge magazines 7b can be mounted, a discharge-side elevating device 122 for raising and lowering the discharge magazine 7b. And a discharge-side magazine cylinder 123 for feeding the discharge-side magazine 7b filled with the processing substrate Ab from the discharge-side lifting / lowering device 122 to the discharge-side magazine mounting table 121. The discharge side magazine cylinder 123 sequentially feeds the full discharge side magazine 7b to the discharge side magazine mounting table 121 by its piston rod 125.

The discharge-side lifting / lowering device 122 has a magazine lifting / lowering motor 126, a ball screw 127, and a lifting / lowering block 128, like the supply-side lifting / lowering device 112. The discharge-side magazine 7b into which the processing substrate Ab is fed is supported by the elevating block 128.
Is moved up and down by a ball screw 127 that rotates forward and backward via a magazine elevating motor 126. In this case, the empty discharge-side magazine 7b is supplied from the supply-side lifting / lowering device 112 via the magazine transfer unit 10.

In this case as well, the discharge side elevating device 12
2 is appropriately moved up and down, and at this time, the above-mentioned discharge-side cylinder 92 moves the processing substrate A to the discharge-side magazine 7b.
b is sent one by one. In this case, it is preferable that the processing substrates Ab be accommodated sequentially from the top while the discharge magazine 7b is intermittently raised. In each of the lifting blocks 118 and 128 of the supply-side lifting device 112 and the discharge-side lifting device 122, the center of the plate portions 118a and 128a on which the magazines 7a and 7b are placed is cut out in a wide U-shape. The chuck device 131 described later can pass through in the vertical direction.

The magazine transfer unit 10 includes a chuck device 131 for receiving and holding an empty magazine (empty supply-side magazine 7a) 7c, a rotating arm 132 supporting the chuck device 131 at the tip, and a rotating arm 132. And a rotation motor 133 with a speed reducer that rotates around the base end. The rotary motor 133 is fixed to a machine stand (not shown), and reciprocally rotates (rotates) the rotary arm 133 at an angle of 180 degrees in a horizontal plane, thereby forming the chuck device 131.
The empty magazine 7c grasped in the above is transferred from the magazine supply section 8 to the magazine discharge section 9. The chuck device 131 includes a housing 135 on which an empty magazine 7c is placed on an upper surface, a cylinder (not shown) housed in the housing 135,
It has a pair of chucks 136, 136 projecting from the upper surface of the housing 135 and mutually moving in a separating direction by a cylinder.

The pair of chucks 136 and 136 are opened in a direction in which the chucks 136 and 136 are separated from each other.
In this state, when the empty magazine 7c placed on the supply-side elevating device 112 is lowered, when the plate portion 118a of the elevating block 118 passes through the chuck 136 from the upper side to the lower side, the empty magazine 7c is
5 on the upper surface. As a result, the empty magazine 7c is transferred from the supply-side elevating device 112 to the magazine transfer unit 10. Here, the empty magazine 7c is gripped by closing the pair of chucks 136, 136. Empty magazine 7c
Is held by the chuck device 121, the rotating arm 132 is rotated so that the empty magazine 7 c faces the discharge-side lifting / lowering device 122.

At this time, there is no discharge-side magazine 7b in the lifting block 128 of the discharge-side lifting / lowering device 122, and the lifting block 128 is at the lowered position. When the empty magazine 7c faces the discharge side elevating device 122, the chuck device 131
Is released, and the lifting block 128 is raised. When the lifting block 128 rises and the plate portion 128a passes through the chuck 136 from the lower side to the upper side, the lifting block 128 automatically receives the empty magazine 7c and rises as it is. The magazine transfer unit 10
As a result, the empty magazine 7c transferred from the magazine supply unit 8 to the magazine discharge unit 9 is used as the discharge-side magazine 7b in the magazine discharge unit 9, but the empty magazine 7c is rotated and transferred to the front part of the magazine. Is delivered to the magazine discharge unit 9 in a posture facing the loading / unloading mechanism 6 side. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the attitude of the empty magazine 7c by another device before and after the transfer.

The actuators such as the motors and cylinders in the loading / unloading mechanism 6, the magazine supply section 8, the magazine discharge section 9, and the magazine transfer section 10 are connected to a control device, and are generally controlled by the control device. Here, the operation of each unit will be described step by step with reference to FIG.

In the figure, it is assumed that the left chamber 2a is in the process of cleaning the substrate A, and the right chamber 2b is in the process of loading and unloading the substrate A. The loading / unloading mechanism 6 receives the unprocessed substrate Aa from the magazine supply unit 8 in accordance with the movement of the substrate (processed substrate Ab) A that has been cleaned in the right chamber 2b to the outside, and receives the unprocessed substrate Aa from the magazine supply unit 8. Transport to a nearby location. Here, the loading / unloading mechanism 6
Receives the processing substrate Ab from the right chamber 2b,
Subsequently, the unprocessed substrate Aa is delivered to the right chamber 2b. Upon receiving the unprocessed substrate Aa, the right chamber 2b brings it into the chamber. At the same time, the loading / unloading mechanism 6
Transports the processing substrate Ab and delivers it to the magazine discharge unit 9.

When the unprocessed substrate Aa is brought into the chamber 2b on the right side, the process moves to the cleaning step. At the same time, the chamber 2a on the left side shifts to the loading / unloading process via a leak due to nitrogen gas. Then, this time, the loading / unloading mechanism 6 receives the unprocessed substrate Aa from the magazine supply unit 8 and carries it into the left chamber 2a in accordance with the movement of the processing substrate Ab being pulled out in the left chamber 2a. That is, the left and right chambers 2a and 2b alternately repeat the loading / unloading step and the cleaning step, and accordingly, the loading / unloading mechanism 6 moves the unprocessed substrate Aa and the processed substrate Ab to the left and right chambers 2a and 2b. Carry in and out alternately.

Further, the plasma cleaning apparatus 1 is provided with an error detecting means for detecting an error relating to the cleaning process in order to exclude a processed NG substrate having been subjected to an inappropriate cleaning process. The error detecting means is constituted by software stored in the control device, and for each cleaning process, the pressure value output from the vacuum gauge 63, the gas flow value output from the mass flow controller 47, and the power supply The power value output from the unit 3 is compared with a reference value input in advance (the power value is determined for both the traveling wave and the reflected wave), and when any one of the power values does not reach the reference value. Determines that the cleaning process is NG (error).
As a cause of such an error, for example,
When the filter of the vacuum suction device 5 is clogged,
The case where the gas cylinder is empty, the case where the sealing of the chamber 2 is incomplete and the evacuation is not performed normally, and the like can be cited.

The processing procedure of the substrate when there is an error in the cleaning processing will be described with reference to FIG. When the control device recognizes the occurrence of the error (step # 10), the automatic operation is stopped, and information that the cleaning process is NG is stored in the control device (step # 20). The operator performs processing to eliminate the cause of the error (step #
30) After the error reset, the substrate mounting stage 73 of the substrate transfer mechanism 12 is lowered to the home position, and the piston rod 25 of the chamber opening / closing cylinder 24 of the chamber 2 having the error is advanced to open the lid 22 in the opening direction. Then, the processing NG substrate placed on the tray 27 is removed.

Then, when the piston rod 25 of the chamber opening / closing cylinder 24 is retracted to close the chamber 2 and a restart operation is performed, the operation returns to the automatic operation.
Since a sensor for detecting a substrate cannot be provided in the chamber (normal plasma generation is hindered if a projection such as a sensor is in the chamber), the control device performs processing NG
The chamber 2 from which the substrate has been removed is also treated as if the substrate is present, and is carried out. Therefore, even if the unloading process is performed, the substrate is not unloaded, and a sensor (not shown) provided on the substrate mounting stage 73 does not detect the unloaded substrate. And the processing information of the board (the processing result of the board is stored together with the identification information of the board.
A message requesting a selection input as to whether or not to clear (can be displayed on the substrate processing information log screen) is displayed (steps # 40 to # 60). If the operator selects clear, the processing information of the board displayed on the screen is cleared (step # 70), and the operation returns to the normal operation.

As described above, when there is an error in the cleaning process, the loading / unloading mechanism 6 does not unload the processing NG substrate in the chamber 2 and the operator directly performs the processing N from the chamber 2.
By removing the G substrate, the operator does not mix up the processing NG substrate, and the yield rate is improved. When the processed NG substrate is processed by a method similar to the conventional method, the substrate is not removed in step # 40, only the error reset is performed, and the restart operation is performed. As a result, the loading / unloading mechanism 6 stores the processed NG substrate in the discharge side magazine 7b (step # 80), so that the operator can use the substrate information log (which is performed for each substrate) displayed on the screen of the control device. The processing NG substrate is removed from the discharge side magazine 7b based on whether the cleaning process is possible or not is displayed based on the substrate identification information.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the error detecting means detects an error, the operator can open the chamber and take out the substrate. Since the removal error is eliminated, the yield rate is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall structure (upper half) of a plasma cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the entire structure (lower half) of the plasma cleaning apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a chamber of the plasma cleaning apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of the plasma cleaning apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a substrate when an error occurs in a cleaning process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 chamber 4 gas supply device 5 vacuum suction device 6 loading / unloading mechanism 28 first high-frequency electrode 29 second high-frequency electrode 31 high-frequency power supply

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An openable / closable chamber, a loading / unloading mechanism for loading / unloading a substrate into / from this chamber, and a plasma generated in the chamber, and the plasma is used to perform a cleaning process on the substrate in the chamber. Cleaning means for performing a cleaning process, and an error detection means for detecting an error relating to the cleaning process, wherein when the error detection means detects an error, an operator opens the chamber and removes the substrate. A plasma cleaning apparatus characterized in that it is configured to be able to perform. 2. The cleaning means includes: a high-frequency electrode provided in the chamber; a high-frequency power supply for applying a high-frequency voltage to the high-frequency electrode; a vacuum suction device for evacuating the inside of the chamber; The plasma cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a gas supply device that supplies a plasma reaction gas. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the error detecting unit is configured to output one of a power value output from the high-frequency electrode, a pressure value output from the vacuum suction device, and a gas flow value output from the gas supply device. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein when at least one of the reference values is not reached, an error is determined.
The plasma cleaning apparatus according to item 1. 4. A pair of said chambers, wherein said loading / unloading mechanism alternately loads / unloads substrates from / to said pair of chambers, and stores said substrates cleaned in said pair of chambers into one magazine. The plasma cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the apparatus is housed in a plasma cleaning apparatus.