JP2003031640A - Substrate processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processor having a function for inspecting a substrate without increasing a footprint. SOLUTION: The substrate processor comprises a unit arranging section MP arranged with a unit performing specified processing of a substrate, and an indexer section ID. The indexer ID mounts a carrier C containable of a plurality of substrates and delivers an processed substrate taken out of the carrier C to the unit arranging section MP and contains a processed substrate received from the unit arranging section MP in the carrier C. Inspection units 10 and 20 performing macro defect inspection or line width measurement of a pattern are disposed in the indexer ID. Consequently, a function for inspecting a substrate can be imparted to the substrate processor without increasing the footprint.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrate"), which is subjected to a predetermined inspection, for example, a resist. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus incorporating an inspection unit for measuring the film thickness of the substrate.

[0002]

As is well known, products such as semiconductors and liquid crystal displays are subjected to a series of various treatments such as cleaning, resist coating, exposure, development, etching, interlayer insulating film formation, heat treatment, and dicing on the above-mentioned substrate. It is manufactured by applying. To maintain the quality of such semiconductor products,
It is important to perform various inspections of the substrate to confirm the quality after the above-mentioned various processes are integrated.

For example, in a substrate processing apparatus (so-called coater & developer) for performing resist coating processing and development processing, conventionally, inspection such as line width measurement of a pattern on the substrate is performed in the final step of development processing. It was At this time, the substrate to be inspected is once carried out from the substrate processing apparatus, carried into the dedicated inspection apparatus, and then provided for the inspection. Then, the inspection result is fed back to the substrate processing apparatus, and various processing conditions are adjusted.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method, since the substrate to be inspected is once carried out from the substrate processing apparatus and carried into the inspection apparatus provided at another position, the inspection is performed. It takes a long time to finish the inspection, and even if there is a problem with the processing conditions and a defective substrate occurs, it takes a long time to find it out by the inspection, and it is incorrect until the inspection result is fed back. Substrate processing will proceed in large quantities under the processing conditions. In this case, a large number of defective substrates will be generated. Especially, since the recent substrate having a diameter of 300 mm has a high unit price, a large amount of defective substrates causes a great loss.

Therefore, the applicant of the present application has proposed a technique in which the substrate processing apparatus and the inspection apparatus are inlined to shorten the time required until the inspection is finished and to promptly feed back the inspection result (JP-A-11- 186358).

However, in the above-mentioned conventional in-line method, there is a problem that the footprint (plane area occupied by the apparatus) of the apparatus becomes large because the inspection apparatus is connected to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus. Such a device is usually placed in a clean clean room where the temperature and humidity are controlled. A certain amount of cost is required to maintain the environment of the clean room, and configuring a system with a large footprint inside thereof increases running costs.

Further, in the conventional in-line system, the inspection device has a complicated shape protruding to the outside of the substrate processing device,
It was difficult to arrange a large number of devices in the clean room. For this reason, there is a problem that a wasted space is generated in the clean room and the running cost is increased for the same reason as above.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus having a function of inspecting a substrate without increasing the footprint.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 mounts a unit arranging portion in which a processing unit for performing a predetermined processing is arranged on a substrate and a carrier capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates. In the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus is provided with an unprocessed substrate that is placed and taken out from the carrier and passed to the unit placement unit, and that receives a processed substrate from the unit placement unit and stores it in the carrier. An inspection unit for performing a predetermined inspection is arranged on the indexer unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the inspection unit plane area in which the inspection unit is projected in parallel on a horizontal plane is an indexer plane in which the indexer unit is projected in parallel on a horizontal plane. It is included in the area.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention, the indexer section includes:
A mounting stage on which the carrier is mounted, and a transport unit that transports a substrate between the carrier, the unit placement unit, and the inspection unit, the inspection unit including the carrier and the carrier. It is provided at a position where it does not interfere with the movement path that moves when the substrate is transferred to and from the unit placement portion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the invention, the mounting stage includes:
A plurality of carriers are arranged and mounted in the horizontal direction, and the inspection unit is provided at a position higher than the arrangement of the plurality of carriers.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the inspection section includes a film thickness measuring unit for measuring a resist film thickness and a pattern It includes either a line width measuring unit for measuring line width, an overlay measuring unit for measuring pattern overlay, or a macro defect inspection unit.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the inspection section includes a plurality of inspection units, and the plurality of inspection units are provided. Each of them is used as either a film thickness measurement unit for measuring the resist film thickness, a line width measurement unit for measuring the pattern line width, an overlay measurement unit for measuring the pattern overlay, or a macro defect inspection unit.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the inspection section includes a first inspection unit and a second inspection unit. , Causing the first inspection unit to perform resist film thickness measurement, pattern line width measurement, and pattern overlay measurement, and the second inspection unit to
Macro defect inspection is performed.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of the whole substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. In addition, in order to clarify the directional relationship between them in FIG. 1 and the subsequent drawings, the XY plane is a vertical plane, and the XY plane is a horizontal plane, as necessary.
A Z orthogonal coordinate system is attached.

The substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 is a substrate processing apparatus (so-called coater & developer) for performing resist coating processing and development processing on a substrate, and is roughly composed of an indexer ID, a unit arrangement section MP and an interface IFB. There is. The indexer ID mounts a carrier C capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates, takes out unprocessed substrates from the carrier C, and transfers the unprocessed substrates to the unit placement unit MP.
The processed substrate is received from the unit arranging portion MP and stored in the carrier C. Details of the indexer ID will be described later.

In the unit arranging portion MP, a plurality of processing units for performing a predetermined processing on the substrate are arranged. That is, two coating processing units SC are arranged on the front surface side (−Y side) of the unit arrangement portion MP. The coating processing unit SC is a so-called spin coater that applies a uniform resist by dropping a photoresist on the main surface of the substrate while rotating the substrate.

The rear side of the unit arrangement portion MP (+ Y
On the side), two development processing units (not shown) are arranged at the same height position as the coating processing unit SC. The development processing unit is a so-called spin developer that performs development processing by supplying a developing solution onto the exposed substrate. The coating processing unit SC and the development processing unit are arranged so as to face each other with the transport path interposed therebetween.

A heat treatment unit group 5 is arranged above the two coating treatment units SC and above the two development treatment units with a fan filter unit (not shown) interposed therebetween. The heat treatment unit group 5 includes a so-called hot plate that heats the substrate to a predetermined temperature and a so-called cool plate that cools the substrate to a predetermined temperature and maintains the substrate at the predetermined temperature. Is built in. In addition, the hot plate,
It includes a unit that performs adhesion strengthening processing on the substrate before resist coating processing and a unit that performs baking processing on the substrate after exposure. In this specification, the hot plate and the cool plate are collectively referred to as a heat treatment unit, and the coating treatment unit S
C, the development processing unit and the heat treatment unit are collectively referred to as a processing unit.

A transfer robot (not shown) is provided in the transfer path sandwiched between the coating processing unit SC and the development processing unit.
Are arranged. The transfer robot includes two transfer arms, and can move the transfer arm up and down along the vertical direction, rotate in the horizontal plane, and move back and forth in the horizontal plane. Thus, the transfer robot can circulate and transfer the substrate between the processing units arranged in the unit arrangement section MP according to a predetermined processing procedure.

The interface IFB receives the resist-coated substrate from the unit arranging portion MP and transfers it to an exposure device (stepper) not shown in the drawing, and also receives the exposed substrate from the exposure device and returns it to the unit arranging portion MP. Have a function. In order to realize this function, a transfer robot for transferring a substrate is arranged in the interface IFB. In addition, the interface IF
B is also provided with a buffer section for temporarily storing the substrate in order to eliminate the difference between the processing time in the unit placement section MP and the processing time in the exposure apparatus.

Next, details of the indexer ID will be described. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the main configuration of the indexer ID, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the indexer ID. The indexer ID is mainly used for the mounting stage 30 and the transfer robot T.
An F (conveying means) and inspection units 10 and 20 are provided.

There are four carriers C on the mounting stage 30.
Can be arranged and mounted along the horizontal direction (Y-axis direction). Each carrier C is engraved with a multi-stage storage groove, and one substrate W can be accommodated in each groove in a horizontal posture (with its main surface along a horizontal plane). Therefore, a plurality of substrates W (for example, 25 substrates) can be stored in each carrier C in a horizontal posture and in a state of being stacked in multiple stages at predetermined intervals. Although the carrier C of the present embodiment employs a front opening unified pod (FOUP) that accommodates a substrate in a closed space, the present invention is not limited to this, and SMIF (Sta
It may be an OC (open casette) that exposes the ndard Mechanical Inter Face) pod and the storage substrate to the outside air.

Front side of each carrier C ((-X) side in the figure)
A lid is provided on the substrate, and the lid is detachable so that the substrate W can be taken in and out. The lid of the carrier C is attached and detached by a pod opener (not shown). By removing the lid from the carrier C, the opening 8 is formed as shown in FIG. The substrate W is loaded into and unloaded from the carrier C through the opening 8.
The carrier C is normally placed on the mounting stage 30 and carried out from the mounting stage 30 by an AGV (Automatic GV).
uided vehicle) and OHT (over-head hoist transport)
Etc., so that it is done automatically.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the transfer robot TF. The transfer robot TF is provided with an arm stage 35 having a transfer arm 75 on an upper portion of the telescopic body 40, and the telescopic type multistage nested structure is realized by the telescopic body 40.

The elastic body 40 is composed of four divided bodies 4 in order from the top.
It is composed of 0a, 40b, 40c and 40d. The divided body 40a can be accommodated in the divided body 40b, the divided body 40b can be accommodated in the divided body 40c, and the divided body 4b can be accommodated.
0c can be accommodated in the divided body 40d. Then, the expandable body 40 contracts by accommodating the divided bodies 40a to 40d sequentially, and conversely, the elastic body 40 extends by drawing out the divided bodies 40a to 40d sequentially. That is, when the stretchable body 40 contracts, the divided body 40a is accommodated in the divided body 40b, and the divided body 40b is divided into the divided body 40c.
The divided body 40c is accommodated in the divided body 40d. On the other hand, when the stretchable body 40 is extended, the split body 40
a is drawn out of the divided body 40b, divided body 40b is drawn out of the divided body 40c, divided body 40c is divided body 40d
Drawn from.

The expansion / contraction operation of the expansion / contraction body 40 is realized by an expansion / contraction elevating mechanism provided therein. As the expansion / contraction mechanism, for example, a mechanism in which a motor drives a combination of a plurality of belts and rollers can be adopted. The transfer robot TF can perform a lifting operation along the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) of the transfer arm 75 by such a telescopic lifting mechanism.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the transfer robot T
The transfer arm 75 of F has a male screw 77 and a guide rail 76.
It is possible to move along the Y-axis direction by a Y drive mechanism that is a drive mechanism in the Y-axis direction including the above.
That is, by rotating the male screw 77 by an electric motor (not shown), the divided body 40d screwed onto the male screw 77.
Can be slid along the Y-axis direction.

Further, the transfer robot TF can also perform the horizontal advancing / retreating movement and the rotating operation of the transfer arm 75. Specifically, an arm stage 35 is provided above the split body 40a, and the arm stage 35 performs horizontal advancing / retreating movement and rotation operation of the transfer arm 75. In other words, the arm stage 35 bends and extends the arm segment of the transfer arm 75 to move the transfer arm 7.
5 performs horizontal advancing / retreating movements, and the arm stage 35 itself rotates the telescopic body 40, whereby the transfer arm 75 rotates.

Therefore, the transfer robot TF can move the transfer arm 75 up and down in the height direction, horizontally move it along the Y-axis direction, rotate it, and move it forward and backward in the horizontal direction. . That is, the transfer robot TF can move the transfer arm 75 three-dimensionally.

The first role of the transfer robot TF is to take out the unprocessed substrate W from the carrier C and to place it in the unit placement section M.
The transfer to the transfer robot of P and the reception of the processed substrate W from the transfer robot of the unit arranging portion MP and the accommodation of the processed substrate W in the carrier C. The transfer of the substrate between the transfer robot TF and the transfer robot is performed by the carrier C.
It is performed at the same height position as the height position of. Therefore,
The transfer robot TF has a carrier C and a unit placement section M.
As shown by an arrow AR1 in FIG. 2, the movement path that moves when the substrate W is transferred to and from P is parallel to the arrangement direction of the four carriers C and is at the height position of the carriers C. It becomes a straight line route at almost the same height position.

The second role of the transfer robot TF of this embodiment is to receive the substrate W, which has undergone a predetermined processing step in the unit placement section MP, from the transfer robot and carry it into the inspection unit 10 or the inspection unit 20. At the same time, the substrate W after the inspection is carried out from the inspection unit 10 or the inspection unit 20 and accommodated in the carrier C or passed to the transfer robot of the unit placement section MP.

Here, the inspection unit 10 of this embodiment is an inspection unit (macro defect inspection unit) for performing a macro defect inspection. The “macro defect inspection” is an inspection for determining the presence or absence of a relatively large defect appearing on the substrate W, for example, particles. On the other hand, the inspection unit 20
Is an inspection unit for measuring resist film thickness, pattern line width, and pattern overlay measurement. That is, the inspection unit 20 has three inspection units.
It is possible to carry out different types of inspections. The “resist film thickness measurement” is an inspection for measuring the film thickness of the resist applied on the substrate W. “Pattern line width measurement” is an inspection for measuring the line width of a pattern formed on the substrate W by exposure and development processing. “Pattern overlay measurement” is an inspection for measuring the deviation of the pattern formed on the substrate W by the exposure and development processes.

Inspection unit 10 and inspection unit 20
Are all placed inside the indexer ID. More precisely, the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 are arranged so that the inspection unit plane area obtained by projecting the inspection units 10 and 20 onto the horizontal plane in parallel is included in the indexer plane area obtained by projecting the indexer ID onto the horizontal plane. ing. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit plane area thereof. Inspection unit 1
The external appearance of 0 is a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped casing, and when this is parallel-projected onto the horizontal plane (projection such that the projection lines are parallel to each other), the inspection unit plane area 15 of the inspection unit 10 is projected on the horizontal plane.
Will be depicted. Similarly, when the indexer ID is projected in parallel on the horizontal plane, the indexer plane area of the indexer ID is drawn on the horizontal plane. In the present embodiment, the inspection unit 10 is arranged in the indexer ID so that the inspection unit plane area 15 is included in the indexer plane area. The same applies to the inspection unit 20. Further spread, when viewed from above ((-Z)
When viewed in the direction), the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 are completely included in the indexer ID.

Further, the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 interfere with the movement path (arrow AR1 in FIG. 2) which the transfer robot TF moves when the transfer robot TF transfers the substrate W to and from the carrier C and the unit arrangement part MP. It is provided in a position not to. That is, the moving route is the carrier C.
The inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 are formed at almost the same height position as the height position of the array of
It is provided at a position higher than the arrangement of the four carriers C, more specifically, at both upper corners inside the indexer ID.

A fan filter unit 9 is provided above the indexer ID. The fan filter unit 9 has a blower fan and a Ulpa filter built therein, and takes in the air in the clean room to form a downflow of washing air in the indexer ID. However, in this embodiment, the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 are provided at both upper corners inside the indexer ID.
Is provided. Therefore, even if the downflow of clean air is directly supplied from the upper part of the indexer ID, the downflow is not formed below the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the clean air blowing portion 7 is provided on the lower side of each of the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20, and the clean air blowing portion 7 and the fan filter unit 9 serving as the clean air supply source are connected by the duct 6. is doing. The duct 6 is inside the indexer ID and is located on the rear side of the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 ((-
X) side).

In this way, the clean air is fed from the fan filter unit 9 to the clean air blowing section 7 via the duct 6, and the inspection unit 1 is fed as shown in FIG.
0 and below the inspection unit 20, a clean air downflow can be formed from the clean air blowing portion 7. In a region where the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 do not exist (a gap between the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20), a downflow of clean air can be directly formed from the fan filter unit 9. As a result, the downflow of clean air can be supplied to the entire indexer ID.

Next, processing in the substrate processing apparatus having the above structure will be described. First, the transfer robot TF of the indexer ID takes out the unprocessed substrate W from the carrier C and transfers it to the transfer robot of the unit placement unit MP.
When taking out the unprocessed substrate W, the transfer robot TF moves to the front of the carrier C accommodating the substrate W, and inserts the transfer arm 75 below the substrate W. Then, the transfer robot TF raises the transfer arm 75 slightly to hold the substrate W, and withdraws the transfer arm 75 to take out the unprocessed substrate W.

The substrate W passed to the unit placement section MP is
The transfer robot circulates and transfers between the processing units according to a predetermined processing procedure. Specifically, a resist coating process is performed on the substrate W subjected to the adhesion strengthening process, and then a substrate W on which a resist film is formed by performing a pre-baking process is transferred to the exposure apparatus via the interface IFB. The substrate W after the exposure process is transferred from the exposure apparatus to the interface IFB.
And is returned to the unit arranging section MP again. The exposed substrate W is subjected to post-exposure bake processing and then to development processing. The substrate W that has undergone the development process is further subjected to a baking process, and then transferred from the transfer robot of the unit placement unit MP to the transfer robot TF of the indexer ID. The transfer robot TF that has received the processed substrate W stores the substrate W in the carrier C.

Although the basic processing performed on the substrate W has been briefly described above, the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment also inspects the substrate in the apparatus. Of the various inspections, the film thickness of the resist is preferably measured on the substrate W before being carried into the exposure apparatus after prebaking. in this case,
The substrate W for which the pre-baking process has been completed is once returned from the unit placement section MP to the indexer ID, and the transfer robot TF carries the substrate W into the inspection unit 20. The substrate W for which the resist film thickness measurement has been completed is transferred by the transfer robot TF from the inspection unit 20 to the unit placement section MP again, transferred from the transport robot of the unit placement section MP to the interface IFB, and carried into the exposure apparatus. Becomes

The macro defect inspection, the pattern line width measurement, and the pattern overlay measurement are preferably performed on the substrate W which has returned to the indexer ID after all the processing is completed. Regarding the macro defect inspection, the substrate W that has returned to the indexer ID after all processing is completed
The transfer robot TF carries in the inspection unit 10 and performs the operation. On the other hand, for the line width measurement of the pattern and the overlay measurement of the pattern, the transfer robot TF carries in the substrate W, which has returned to the indexer ID after all the processing is completed, to the inspection unit 20. In any case, the substrate W that has been inspected is stored in the carrier C from the inspection unit 10 or the inspection unit 20 by the transfer robot TF.

When the substrate W to be inspected is carried into the inspection unit 10, the transfer robot TF inspects the transfer arm 75 on which the substrate W is placed and the inspection unit 10 as shown by an arrow AR2 in FIG. The substrate W is carried in through the carry-in port 11 (see FIG. 5) by raising the clearance between the unit 20 and the inspection unit 10 so as to face the inspection unit 10. When the substrate W after the inspection is unloaded from the inspection unit 10, the reverse operation is performed.

Similarly, when the substrate W to be inspected is carried into the inspection unit 20, the transfer robot TF places the substrate W on the transfer arm 7 as shown by an arrow AR3 in FIG.
5 is moved up into the gap between the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 so as to face the inspection unit 20, and then the transfer arm 75 is advanced to carry in the substrate W from the carry-in port of the inspection unit 20. Further, when the substrate W after the inspection is carried out from the inspection unit 20, the operation reverse to the above is performed.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment, since the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 are completely included in the indexer ID, the footprint for the inspection apparatus is unnecessary and the substrate processing is performed. It is possible to suppress an increase in the footprint of the entire device.

Further, since the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 are completely included in the indexer ID,
The substrate processing apparatus can have a simple shape, and a large number of substrate processing apparatuses can be efficiently arranged in the clean room. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in running cost due to an increase in footprint and wasted space.

Further, since the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 are provided inside the substrate processing apparatus, it is possible to shorten the time required until the end of the inspection and promptly feed back the inspection result to the unit placement section MP. Therefore, even if a defective substrate is generated due to an inappropriate processing condition, the number of substrates processed under the inappropriate processing condition is minimized while the defective substrate is found by inspection. be able to.

Further, since the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 are arranged in the indexer ID, the function of loading / unloading the substrate only to / from the inspection units 10 and 20 can also be used as the indexer ID.

Further, a clean air blowing portion 7 is provided below each of the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20, and the clean air blowing portion 7 and the fan filter unit 9 are provided.
Since and are connected by the duct 6, the downflow of clean air can be formed even below the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above examples.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, two inspection units (inspection unit 10 and inspection unit 20) are arranged inside the indexer ID, but the present invention is not limited to this, and there is only one inspection unit. There may be two or more. Each inspection unit may be either a film thickness measurement unit that measures the resist film thickness, a line width measurement unit that measures the pattern line width, an overlay measurement unit that measures the pattern overlay, or a macro defect inspection unit. Good.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which four inspection units are arranged inside the indexer ID. The inspection unit 51 is a macro defect inspection unit that performs macro defect inspection, the inspection unit 52 is a film thickness measurement unit that measures the resist film thickness, and the inspection unit 53 is a line width measurement unit that measures the line width of the pattern. Yes, the inspection unit 54 is an overlay measurement unit that measures overlay of patterns.

Also in the example of FIG. 6, the inspection unit 51,
The inspection units 51, 5 are arranged so that the inspection unit plane area obtained by parallel projection of 52, 53, 54 on the horizontal plane is included in the indexer plane area obtained by parallel projection of the indexer ID on the horizontal plane.
2, 53 and 54 are arranged. The remaining points such as the provision of the clean air blowing portion 7 connected to the fan filter unit 9 are the same as in the above embodiment.

Even in this case, since the inspection units 51, 52, 53 and 54 are completely included in the indexer ID, the footprint for the inspection device is unnecessary and the footprint of the substrate processing apparatus as a whole is eliminated. The increase can be suppressed, and the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be obtained.

Further, the inspection unit 20 of the above embodiment may be a unit which performs only one type of inspection. Further, the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20 of the above-described embodiment may be vertically stacked on the upper corner of the indexer ID. Even in this case, the inspection unit plane area obtained by projecting the inspection units 10 and 20 onto the horizontal plane in parallel is
The indexer ID is included in the indexer plane area obtained by projecting the indexer parallel to the horizontal plane.

In other words, at least one or more of film thickness measurement for measuring resist film thickness, line width measurement for measuring pattern line width, overlay measurement for measuring pattern overlay, and macro defect inspection. The inspection unit for performing the inspection of 1 or more is arranged inside the indexer ID, and the inspection unit plane area in which the inspection unit is projected in parallel on the horizontal plane is included in the indexer plane area in which the indexer ID is projected in parallel on the horizontal plane. According to this mode, as in the above embodiment, it is possible to realize a substrate processing apparatus having a function of inspecting a substrate without increasing the footprint.

Further, the inspection unit and the unit arranging portion MP
A buffer cassette may be provided when there is a difference in processing time between the above and the above. Figure 7 shows the indexer ID
It is a figure which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the buffer cassette B in. A buffer cassette B is arranged below each of the inspection unit 10 and the inspection unit 20. Similar to the carrier C, the buffer cassette B may have various known structures as long as the substrates W can be accommodated in multiple stages. Inspection units 10 and 20 and unit placement section M
When there is a difference in processing time between P and P, for example, when the processing time in the inspection unit 20 is longer, the substrate W waiting for inspection is temporarily stored in the buffer cassette B to reduce the processing time difference. It is possible to prevent the processing delay in the unit placement section MP caused by the delay. It should be noted that any carrier C mounted on the mounting stage 30 may also be used as a buffer cassette without providing the dedicated buffer cassette B.

In the above embodiment, the transfer robot TF having the indexer ID has a so-called single arm provided with one transfer arm 75 (see FIG. 4), but a so-called double arm provided with two transfer arms. It may be in the form of an arm. When the indexer ID is provided with the inspection unit, the transfer robot TF naturally has a higher access frequency than in the past, and thus the transfer robot TF having the two transfer arms improves the transfer efficiency of the substrate W. Then
The throughput of the substrate processing apparatus is improved.

Further, in the above embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus is an apparatus for performing resist coating processing and development processing on the substrate, and the function of the inspection unit is to perform inspection related to so-called photolithography. The technique is not limited to this. For example,
As the inspection unit, an inspection unit having an inspection function for measuring the amine or ammonia concentration may be adopted. Further, in a substrate processing apparatus (so-called spin scrubber or the like) that removes particles and the like adhering to the substrate, an inspection unit for performing particle inspection may be arranged on the indexer. In addition, the SOD (Spin-
In an apparatus for forming on-dielectronics) to form an interlayer insulating film, an inspection unit for inspecting the firing state of the interlayer insulating film may be arranged in the indexer. Furthermore, the inspection unit may be arranged in the indexer of the substrate processing apparatus that carries in a substrate processed by another substrate processing apparatus, inspects the substrate, and feeds the inspection result to the processing condition. good. In any case, if the inspection unit plane area where the inspection unit is parallel-projected onto the horizontal plane is included in the indexer plane area where the indexer is parallel-projected onto the horizontal plane,
Similar to the above embodiment, it is possible to realize a substrate processing apparatus having a function of inspecting a substrate without increasing the footprint.

[0061]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the inspection unit for performing a predetermined inspection on the substrate is arranged in the indexer unit, the inspection unit can be protruded from the substrate processing apparatus. Therefore, the substrate processing apparatus can be provided with a function of inspecting the substrate without increasing the footprint.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, the inspection part plane area in which the inspection part is projected in parallel on the horizontal plane is included in the indexer plane area in which the indexer part is projected in parallel on the horizontal surface. The effect of can be surely obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the inspection section is provided at a position where the transfer section does not interfere with the movement path along which the transfer means moves when the transfer means transfers the substrate to the carrier and unit placement section. It is possible to prevent the substrate transfer from being obstructed by the inspection unit.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the inspection section is provided at a position higher than the arrangement of the plurality of carriers, the effect of the invention of claim 3 can be reliably obtained.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, the inspection unit has a film thickness measuring unit for measuring the film thickness of the resist, a line width measuring unit for measuring the line width of the pattern, and an overlay for measuring the overlay of the patterns. Since it includes either the measurement unit or the macro defect inspection unit, it is possible to provide the substrate processing apparatus with a function of performing an inspection related to photolithography.

According to the invention of claim 6, each of the plurality of inspection units includes a film thickness measuring unit for measuring the resist film thickness, a line width measuring unit for measuring the pattern line width, and a pattern superposition. Since it is either the overlay measurement unit or the macro defect inspection unit for measuring the, the substrate processing apparatus can be provided with the function of performing a plurality of inspections related to photolithography.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7, the first inspection unit performs resist film thickness measurement, pattern line width measurement and pattern overlay measurement, and the second inspection unit performs macro defect inspection. Therefore, the function of performing four inspections related to photolithography can be added to the substrate processing apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of an entire substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the main part of the indexer.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the indexer of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of a transfer robot.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an inspection unit and an inspection unit plane area thereof.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which four inspection units are arranged inside the indexer.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which a buffer cassette is arranged in the indexer.

[Explanation of symbols]

9 Fan filter unit 7 Clean air outlet 10, 20, 51, 52, 53, 54 Inspection unit 15 Inspection part plane area 30 mounting stage 75 Transfer Arm C carrier ID indexer MP unit placement section TF transfer robot W board

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Masami Otani             4-chome Tenjin, which runs up to Teranouchi, Horikawa-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto             1 Kitamachi No. 1 Dai Nippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.             Inside the company (72) Inventor Kenji Kasaki             4-chome Tenjin, which runs up to Teranouchi, Horikawa-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto             1 Kitamachi No. 1 Dai Nippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.             Inside the company (72) Inventor Masaka Shiga             4-chome Tenjin, which runs up to Teranouchi, Horikawa-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto             1 Kitamachi No. 1 Dai Nippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.             Inside the company F-term (reference) 5F031 CA02 CA05 DA01 DA08 DA17                       EA14 FA01 FA07 FA11 FA12                       FA14 GA02 GA43 GA47 GA48                       GA49 GA50 JA32 JA37 JA40                       LA12 LA13 MA02 MA03 MA09                       MA13 MA23 MA24 MA26 MA33                       NA03 NA16                 5F046 JA21 JA27 LA18 LA19

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A unit arranging part in which a processing unit for performing a predetermined process is arranged on a substrate, a carrier capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates is placed, and an unprocessed substrate is taken out from the carrier and is placed in the unit arranging part. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: an indexer unit that receives a processed substrate from the unit placement unit and stores the processed substrate in the carrier, and arranges an inspection unit that performs a predetermined inspection on the substrate in the indexer unit. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inspection unit plane area obtained by projecting the inspection unit in parallel with a horizontal plane,
A substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that the indexer unit is included in an indexer plane area obtained by projecting the indexer section in parallel onto a horizontal plane. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the indexer unit conveys a substrate between the mounting stage on which the carrier is mounted and the carrier, the unit placement unit, and the inspection unit. Substrate processing, wherein the inspection unit is provided at a position that does not interfere with a movement path that the transportation unit moves when the transportation unit transfers the substrate to the carrier and the unit placement unit. apparatus. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of carriers are arranged and mounted on the mounting stage in a horizontal direction, and the inspection unit is arranged more than the plurality of carriers. A substrate processing apparatus, which is provided at a high position. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inspection unit is a film thickness measurement unit that measures a resist film thickness, and a line width measurement that measures a pattern line width. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a unit, an overlay measuring unit for measuring overlay of patterns, or a macro defect inspection unit. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inspection unit includes a plurality of inspection units, and each of the plurality of inspection units measures a resist film thickness. A substrate processing apparatus, which is any one of a film thickness measuring unit, a line width measuring unit for measuring a pattern line width, an overlay measuring unit for measuring a pattern overlay, or a macro defect inspection unit. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inspection unit includes a first inspection unit and a second inspection unit, and the first inspection unit includes: A substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that a resist film thickness measurement, a pattern line width measurement, and a pattern overlay measurement are performed, and the second inspection unit performs a macro defect inspection.