JP2002175960A - Production management method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a production management method and apparatus which can perform regenerating operation while eliminating the need for shifting a wafer to be regenerated to a regenerating container. SOLUTION: The apparatus includes an inspection device for detecting a defect in a wafer for each container having a plurality of wafers capable of being individually identified accommodated therein, a regeneration-target-wafer designating means 2 for designating a wafer detected as a defective as a wafer to be regenerated, a regeneration-target-wafer information registration means 3 for inputting information on the regeneration-target wafer from the designation means 2, a storage means 4 for writing therein the target wafer information by the registration means 3, a regeneration-start instruction means 5 for instructing the start of regeneration of the target wafer, regeneration instruction means 6 for acquiring the target wafer information when receiving the instruction from the regeneration-start instruction means 5, and a processor 7 for receiving the regeneration target wafer information from the regeneration instruction means 6, identifying only the target wafer from the container and performing regenerating operation thereover.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a production management method and apparatus having a wafer regeneration process for reprocessing a defective wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing process, a plurality of (for example, 25) wafers are taken as one lot, and various processes and inspections are performed in units of one lot in accordance with a process procedure registered in advance. Each wafer is provided with an individual identifier (ID) and is housed in a dedicated container (cassette). Note that each of the cassettes accommodating 25 wafers per lot is also managed with an identifier for distinguishing it from other cassettes.

As shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-21070, an identifier is assigned to a wafer in the vicinity of a portion where an orientation flat 15 is formed on a wafer 11a shown in FIG.
An identifier for identifying a is marked. The identifier is composed of a first digit portion 14a, a second digit portion 14b, and a third digit portion 14
The display portion is composed of three display portions c, and points are marked on the display portion by using, for example, a laser beam. Up to four points can be marked on the first digit part 14a,
Only one point can be marked on the girder part 14b and up to two points can be marked on the third girder part 14c. And the first digit part 14a
Indicates the 1's place, the second digit portion 14b indicates the 5's place,
The digit part 14c indicates the tens place. Thereby, for example, FIG.
In the wafer 11a shown in FIG. 7, one point is marked on the first digit part 14a, one point is marked on the second digit part 14b, and one point is marked on the third digit part 14c. Becomes one and the place of ten becomes one, and this wafer 11a
Is 16. On the other hand, the wafer 11 shown in FIG.
b indicates four markings on the first digit part 14a and the second digit part 1
Since one point is marked on 4b, the ones digit is four and the fives digit is one, and the identifier of the wafer 11b is nine.

As described above, when a cassette containing 25 wafers having individual identifiers and containing 25 wafers is carried into the processing apparatus, the wafers are taken out of the cassette and various processes are performed. For example, a photolithography process is performed in which a resist film is formed on a wafer, and the resist film is exposed and developed. Then, the processed wafer is returned to the cassette again,
When all 25 processed wafers are stored, the cassette is carried out of the processing apparatus. Subsequently, various processings or various inspections are performed by the inspection apparatus.

[0005] Here, if an out-of-specification (defective) is detected for a wafer in the cassette as a result of the inspection performed by the inspection apparatus, a reproduction process for restarting the process for the wafer is performed. For example, a defect in photolithography is a deviation of a pattern formed on a resist film or a defect of a line width. In the regeneration process, the defective resist film is peeled off from the wafer, and photolithography is performed again.

[0006] The reclaim processing includes reclaim processing of all wafers when all wafers in the cassette are defective, and reclaim processing of only some defective wafers when some wafers in the cassette are defective. is there. As for the reprocessing of all the wafers, the entire cassette is again carried into the processing apparatus as it is, and the regenerating process is performed for all the wafers in the cassette in the same manner as the processing performed earlier.

[0007] In the case of the regeneration processing of only a part of the defective wafers in the cassette, first, the defective wafers are transferred to another cassette. In FIG. 4, the left cassette is
A main processing cassette 12 (with an identifier of, for example, A1) accommodating 25 wafers 11 that have already passed through the processing and inspection processes, and the wafers 11c having an identifier of 3, for example, It is assumed that two wafers 11d having the identifier 22 are defective wafers (that is, wafers to be regenerated). Then, the wafer to be regenerated 11
c and 11d are separately prepared for the reproduction processing cassette 13.
Then, transfer using a handling jig or the like.

The two transferred wafers 1 to be regenerated
The reproduction processing cassette 13 accommodating 1c and 11d is managed with an identifier (for example, B1) different from the processing processing cassette 12. Then, when the cassette 13 for reproduction processing is carried into the processing apparatus, the wafers 11c and 11d to be reproduced are taken out from the cassette 13, and the reproduction processing is performed in accordance with the pre-registered process procedure for reproduction processing. Then, the reclaimed wafers 11c and 11d
Is returned into the cassette 13, the cassette 13 is carried out of the processing apparatus. Here, the wafers 11c and 11d
Indicates that the reproduction processing cassette 13 has been
The other processing is performed again using the main processing cassette 12 as one processing unit.

[0009]

As described above, in the prior art, when the reprocessing is performed on a part of the wafers in the cassette, the wafers 11c and 11d to be regenerated from the main processing cassette 12 are regenerated. And the operation of transferring the wafers subjected to the regeneration processing from the cassette 13 for the regeneration processing to the cassette 12 for the main processing and returning them. Therefore, the number of man-hours is increased, and in the transfer operation, the wafer is dropped, a normal wafer is transferred to a cassette for reprocessing, and the cassette for reprocessing is For example, the identifier B1 corresponding to the main processing cassette 12 having the identifier A1,
There is a possibility that an operation error may occur such as returning from the reproduction processing cassette 13 to the main processing cassette having another identifier A2. In addition, it is troublesome to separately prepare (purchase) a cassette for reproduction processing, or to attach and manage an identifier to the cassette for reproduction processing. Further, a place for placing the cassette for reproduction processing must be secured, which takes up space accordingly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a production management method and apparatus capable of performing a recycling process without transferring a wafer to be recycled to a recycling container.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a production control method according to the present invention comprises: an inspection step of detecting a wafer defect for each container accommodating a plurality of individually identifiable wafers; The step of storing the detected wafer as a wafer to be reproduced as a target wafer and storing the container in the processing device, and the step of loading the container into the processing device.In the processing device, based on the target wafer information stored in the storage device,
The method includes a step of selecting only a wafer to be regenerated from the container and performing a regenerating process, a step of returning the regenerated wafer to the container, and a step of unloading the container out of the processing apparatus.

Further, the production management device of the present invention specifies an inspection device for detecting a defect of a wafer for each container accommodating a plurality of individually identifiable wafers, and designates the detected wafer as a wafer to be regenerated. Reproduced wafer specifying means, Reproduced wafer information registering means for receiving as input reproduced wafer information for each container from the reproduced wafer specifying means, Reproduced wafer information for each container by the reproduced wafer information registering means Is written, a regeneration start instruction unit for instructing the start of the regeneration process of the regeneration target wafer, and when receiving an instruction from the regeneration start instruction unit, obtains the regeneration target wafer information for each container from the storage unit. From the regeneration processing instruction means, and information on the wafer to be reproduced for each container. , And a processing apparatus for performing reproduction processing with select only reproduced wafer from the container.

That is, according to the production management method or the production management apparatus of the present invention, the processing apparatus is made to recognize which wafer is to be reclaimed for each container, and only the wafer to be reclaimed is extracted from the container and regenerated. Perform processing.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a production management device 1 according to the present embodiment. The reproduction target wafer specifying means 2 is an input means such as a keyboard, for example.
This is connected to the reproduction target wafer information registration means 3 via the signal line L1. Reproduction target wafer information registration means 3
Is, for example, a processor (processing mechanism) of a computer. The reproduction target wafer information registration unit 3 is connected to a storage unit 4 such as a magnetic disk via a signal line L2.

The processing device 7 is a device for performing a photolithography process for forming a resist film on a wafer and exposing and developing the resist film, for example, via a reproduction process instructing means 6 and a signal line L5. It is provided with a reproduction target wafer information receiving means 7a to be connected. The reproduction processing instruction means 6 is a processing mechanism such as a processor, for example.
It is connected to the storage means 4 by a signal line L4. The reproduction processing instructing means 6 is connected to the reproduction processing start instructing means 5 via the signal line L3.
Is connected to The reproduction processing start instructing means 5 is an input means such as a keyboard. Note that, in addition to the above configuration, the production management device 1 also has an inspection device (not shown).

Also in the present embodiment, a plurality of wafers each having an individual identifier (for example, a dot-like marking as described above) are treated as one lot, and a process registered in advance in units of one lot is considered. Various processes and inspections are performed according to the procedure. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a main processing cassette 12 containing 25 wafers 11 in one lot.
Is carried into the processing apparatus 7 and the processing (photolithography) is performed by extracting the wafers 11 one by one or a plurality of wafers at a time from the cassette 12. Then, when the processing of all the wafers 11 is completed and returned to the cassette 12, the cassette 12 is carried out of the processing device 7.
Then, when a part of the wafer 11 in the cassette 12 is determined to be defective in the inspection process by the inspection device, the defective wafer (reproduction target wafer) is regenerated.

In this embodiment, the reproduction process is performed as follows.

First, an operator performs an operation of designating a wafer detected as defective as a wafer to be regenerated. This is from the reproduction target wafer designating means (keyboard) 2
To the reproduction target wafer information registration means (processor) 3, for example, in the cassette 12 with the identifier A1, the reproduction target wafer information for each cassette that the wafers with the identifiers 3 and 22 are the reproduction target wafers is transmitted via the signal line L1. Enter In response to this input, the reproduction target wafer information registration means 3 writes the reproduction target wafer information for each cassette in the storage means (magnetic disk) 4 via the signal line L2 and stores it as a database structure.

Then, when the cassette 12 having the identifier A1 is carried into the processing device 7, the operator reproduces the data by the reproduction processing start instruction means (keyboard) 5 to the reproduction processing means (processor) 6 via the signal line L3. Instructs the start of processing. Upon receiving the reproduction processing start instruction, the reproduction processing means 6
Reads the information of the wafer to be reproduced in the cassette 12 with the identifier A1 from the storage means 4 via the signal line L4. Then, the read information is transmitted to the reproduction target wafer information receiving means 7a of the processing device 7 via the signal line L5. In response to this, the processing device 7 determines that the wafers to be reproduced in the cassette 12 with the identifier A1 are the identifiers 3 and 22.
Recognize that this is a wafer.

As a result, in the processing apparatus 7, only two wafers to be regenerated with the identifiers 3 and 22 are selected from the cassette 12, extracted, and regenerated. When the regeneration process is completed, the wafers with identifiers 3 and 22 are returned to the cassette 12, and the cassette 12 is unloaded from the processing device 7.

That is, in the present embodiment, there is no need to transfer the wafer to be reproduced to a separately prepared cassette for reproduction as in the prior art. Thus, since the processing apparatus 7 is made to recognize the wafer to be reproduced, only the wafer to be reproduced is extracted from the cassette 12 and the reproduction processing is performed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the time required to transfer the wafer to be reclaimed to the cassette for regeneration processing and to return the wafer from the cassette for regeneration processing to the cassette for regular processing, and to eliminate operational errors. Further, since it is not necessary to prepare (purchase) the cassette for reproduction processing and to separately manage the cassette for reproduction processing by attaching an identifier, the labor can be reduced. Furthermore, there is no need to allocate a separate space for the place for placing the cassette for reproduction processing.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is, of course, not limited to this, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

The present invention can be applied not only to the photolithography process but also to other processes. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to the manufacture of semiconductor devices but also to, for example, production management in the manufacture of liquid crystal display devices.

Further, the identifier assigned to each wafer is not limited to a point, but may be a number, a bar code, or the like.
Alternatively, each wafer may be individually recognized depending on the position in the cassette in which the wafer is stored without giving an identifier to each wafer.

[0026]

According to the production management method according to the first aspect of the present invention or the production management apparatus according to the third aspect, it is possible to greatly reduce the labor and time required for the wafer reprocessing process, and to prevent operation errors. Reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a production management device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a wafer having an identifier 16;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a wafer with an identifier 9;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main processing cassette and a reproduction processing cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Production management apparatus, 2 ... Reproduction target wafer designating means, 3 ... Reproduction target wafer information registration means, 4 ... Storage means, 5 ... Reproduction processing start instruction means, 6 ... Reproduction processing instruction means, 7 ... Processing device, 7a... Reproduction target wafer information receiving means.

Claims (4)

[Claims] An inspection step of detecting a defect of the wafer for each of the containers accommodating a plurality of individually identifiable wafers;
A step of storing in a storage means, a step of carrying the container into a processing apparatus, and a step of, in the processing apparatus, selecting only the wafer to be regenerated from within the container and performing a regeneration process based on the storage. A production management method, comprising: returning the reprocessed wafer into the container; and carrying out the container out of the processing apparatus. 2. The process performed by the processing apparatus is a photolithography process in which a resist film is formed on the wafer, and the resist film is exposed and developed. Production management method. 3. An inspection apparatus for detecting a defect of the wafer for each container accommodating a plurality of individually identifiable wafers, a reproduction target wafer specifying means for specifying the defective wafer as a reproduction target wafer, A reproduction target wafer information registering unit that receives as input the reproduction target wafer information for each container from the reproduction target wafer designation unit; and a storage in which the reproduction target wafer information for each container is written by the reproduction target wafer information registration unit. Means, regeneration processing start instruction means for instructing the start of the reproduction processing of the reproduction target wafer, and receiving the instruction from the reproduction processing start instruction means, obtains the reproduction target wafer information for each container from the storage means. From the regeneration processing instruction means, and the reproduction target cue for each container. A production management device, comprising: a processing device that receives wafer information, selects only the wafer to be regenerated from the container, and performs a regenerating process. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processing apparatus is an apparatus that performs a photolithography process of forming a resist film on the wafer and performing exposure and development processes on the resist film. Production control equipment.