JP2003037148A - Processing system and method for managing object to be processed - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a processing system which can manage staying time of an object to be processed in a container storage (a stocker) per container of the object to be processed (a cassette), and to properly give the alarm. SOLUTION: The processing system temporarily stores the container C of the object to be processed for accommodating a plurality of the objects to be processed W in the container storage 14, carries the container of the object to be processed from the container storage, and implements the predetermined process for the objects to be processed in the container of the object to be processed after being carried. In the processing system, a measuring means 54 measures the staying time of the container of the object to be processed in the container storage, and a determining means 56 determines suitability for the staying time based on a result measured by the measuring means. The processing system manages the staying time of the object to be processed in the container storage (the stocker) per container of the object to be processed (the cassette), and properly alarms.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing system for semiconductor wafers and the like and a method for managing an object to be processed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in order to manufacture a semiconductor integrated circuit, a semiconductor wafer made of a silicon substrate or the like is
Various processes such as a film forming process, an etching process, an oxidative diffusion process, and a modifying process are performed. As an example of a processing system that performs this type of processing, for example, a so-called batch type processing system that heat-treats a large number of semiconductor wafers at a time will be described. The cassette to be used is taken into the processing system and is temporarily stored in the stocker by the cassette elevator. Then, when the order of processing comes, a predetermined cassette is taken out from this stocker, the semiconductor wafer therein is transferred to a wafer boat by using a wafer transfer mechanism, and then this wafer boat is The boat elevator moves up to load it into the processing container, and the semiconductor wafer is stored in the processing container. Then, while maintaining the temperature of the semiconductor wafer at a predetermined temperature in the processing container, the processing gas is supplied into the container and the atmosphere in the container is evacuated to maintain a predetermined pressure to perform a predetermined heat treatment. Will be done.

In such a processing system, various process conditions at the time of processing are automatically incorporated by a program (recipe) which is pre-installed in a host computer or the like, and the loading and unloading of cassettes in the processing system is performed. Transfer of semiconductor wafers and the like are all automatically performed by computer control.

[0004]

By the way, the surface of a semiconductor wafer made of, for example, a silicon substrate or a thin film formed in various processing steps is in a very active state. When it comes into contact with water or moisture, it tends to easily react and form a natural oxide film. Since such a natural oxide film adversely affects various characteristics of the semiconductor integrated circuit if it is formed to an excessive thickness, for example, a semiconductor wafer waiting in the stocker after waiting for the processing order as described above is acceptable. It is desirable that the next process is performed as soon as possible and the residence time of the semiconductor wafer in the stocker is as short as possible. In this case, conventionally, the upper limit of the residence time is set for each type of processing, and only the cassette first loaded into the stocker is time-managed.

In this case, the cassette is not always continuously loaded into the stocker for standby, and there may be a large difference in the retention time between the cassettes. Therefore, the retention time of all the wafers in the stocker is appropriate. It was difficult to manage. Therefore, there is also a problem that the next process is performed in a state where the natural oxide film is excessively formed than expected. The present invention focuses on the above problems,
It was created to solve this effectively. An object of the present invention is to provide a processing system and a method of managing a processing object capable of managing a residence time of a processing object in a container storage (stocker) for each processing object container (cassette) and issuing an appropriate alarm. To provide.

[0006]

According to the invention defined in claim 1, an object container containing a plurality of objects to be processed is temporarily stored in a container storage part, and the object to be processed is transferred from the container storage part. In a processing system in which a container is transported and a predetermined processing is performed in a processing unit on the processing target in the processing target container after the transportation, the processing target container is the container storage unit. A processing system comprising: a measuring unit that measures the accumulated residence time; and a determining unit that determines whether the residence time is appropriate based on the result of the measuring unit. In this way, the retention time of the object to be processed stored in the container storage section can be measured by the measuring means for each object container, and the retention time can be determined by the determining means.

In this case, for example, as defined in claim 2, an alarm means is provided to inform the operator of the result of the judging means. According to this, since an appropriate alarm is issued according to the residence time, the operator can appropriately manage the residence time of the object to be processed for each object container. Here, as defined in claim 3, the measuring means measures the residence time by software. Alternatively, as defined in claim 4, the measuring unit includes a switch unit provided in the container storage unit for detecting the presence or absence of the object container, and a timer unit interlocking with the switch unit. Further, as defined in claim 5, the determination means, as a result of the determination of suitability of the residence time, a warning instruction that warns that the residence time is longer than a predetermined time, and the stored A stop instruction for stopping the processing of the object to be processed is selectively given. As a result, the operator receives the warning instruction before receiving the instruction to stop the processing of the object to be processed, and as a result, the object to be processed that has been warned is preferentially processed, so that the operator is excessively processed. It is possible to prevent the natural oxide film from being formed on the surface of the object to be processed.

In this case, for example, as defined in claim 6, when the judging means outputs the stop instruction,
The processing of the object is stopped. According to this, when the determination means gives an instruction to stop the processing of the target object, the processing of the target object can be automatically stopped.
Further, for example, as defined in claim 7, the measuring unit measures the residence time of the processed object container in which the processed object is stored. According to this, it becomes possible to manage the residence time of the processed object. In the invention defined in claim 8, the object container containing a plurality of objects is temporarily stored in a container storage part, and the object container is transported from the container storage part, In the method of managing an object to be processed in a processing system in which a processing unit performs a predetermined process on the object to be processed in the object container, the object container stored in the container storage section. And a step of issuing a predetermined alarm according to the result of the measurement of the residence time. Further, for example, as defined in claim 9, there is a step of issuing a predetermined alarm according to the judgment result of the judgment step. In this case, for example, as defined in claim 10, the predetermined alarm includes a stop alarm indicating that the processing of the object to be processed is stopped and a warning alarm indicating that the residence time is within a predetermined time range. Have.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a processing system and a method of managing an object to be processed according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a processing system of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an object container (cassette) housed in a container storage section (stocker), FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a display mode displayed on an alarm means.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the processing system 2 is entirely surrounded by a casing 4 made of, for example, stainless steel or the like, and the inside thereof is for carrying a cassette C as a container to be treated. The cassette carrying area 6 and the wafer carrying area 8 for carrying the semiconductor wafer W which is the object to be processed are divided into two parts by a separation partition wall 10. This cassette C
A plurality of wafers W, for example, about 10 to 25 wafers W can be accommodated therein, and the cassette C itself is opened and is in an open state. Clean air is flown in the cassette transfer area 6 and an inert gas atmosphere such as N ₂ gas is supplied in the wafer transfer area 8. In the cassette carrying area 6, a carry-in / carry-out port 12 for carrying the carry-in / carry-out of the cassette C into / from the system 2, a stocker 14 which is a container storing portion for temporarily storing the cassette C, and a cassette elevating / lowering operation. Mechanism 16 is provided.

Outside the carry-in / carry-out port 12 is provided an outer mount 18 for mounting the cassette C transported from the outside, and inside the carry-in / carry-out port 12 is the outer mount 18. An inner mounting table 20 for mounting the cassette C, which is more slid and moved, is installed. Also, here, the stocker 14 has a plurality of shelves 14A for directly mounting two cassettes C as shown in FIG. 2, and has two rows and four shelves as a whole (see FIG. 1). ), This stocker 14
The cassette elevating mechanism 16 is provided upright between them. The cassette elevating mechanism 16 is provided with a cassette transfer arm 22 which extends horizontally and can be swung and bent. Therefore, this cassette transfer arm 22
The cassette C can be held by the cassette transfer arm 22 and can be transferred between the carry-in / out port 12 and the stocker 14 by bending and stretching and moving up and down. here,
The cassette elevating mechanism 16 has, for example, a ball screw 24, which is rotatably driven by an elevating motor (not shown) to elevate the cassette carrying arm 22.

The partition wall 10 is provided with an opening 28 which is opened and closed by an opening / closing door 26, and the cassette carrying area 6 is provided.
A transfer table 30 on which the cassette C is placed is provided on the side. A wafer transfer mechanism 32 formed of a ball screw is provided in the wafer transfer area 8 so as to face the opening 28, and a transfer arm 34 that can be bent and swung by the wafer transfer mechanism 32 is moved up and down. Can be mounted as possible. Then, by driving the wafer transfer mechanism 32 and the transfer arm 34, the wafer W is transferred between the cassette C and the wafer boat 38 which is a workpiece holder on the boat stage 36. Has become. Similar to the cassette lifting mechanism 16 described above, this wafer transfer mechanism 32 side also
An elevator motor and the like (not shown) are provided.

A processing unit 40 for actually performing a heat treatment on the semiconductor wafer W is provided above the back side of the wafer transfer area 8 and below the wafer boat 38 the processing unit 40. A boat elevating mechanism 44, for example, made of a ball screw, is provided for loading / unloading into the vertical processing container 42 from below, and a boat arm 46 for elevating the wafer boat 38 is screwed into the boat elevating mechanism 44. Has been done. And
A cap 48 for sealing the lower end of the processing container 42 is attached to the tip of the boat arm 46. Further, a boat transfer arm 50 that is rotatable and bendable for transferring the wafer boat 38 is provided between the boat elevating mechanism 44 and the boat stage 36.
Here, the boat transfer arm 50 and the boat elevating mechanism 44 also have a drive motor and the like not shown.

Then, various drive systems of this processing system, for example, a cassette lifting mechanism 16 and a wafer transfer mechanism 3 are provided.
2, the boat transfer arm 50, the boat lifting mechanism 44, etc.
The operation is controlled by the control main body 52 including, for example, a microcomputer. In addition, this control body 52
Although not shown, in addition to the heating system of the processing container 42, the supply system of the necessary gas, the exhaust system of the gas in the container, the entire operation of this processing system is controlled by a preset program. And here, as a feature of the present invention,
A timer unit 54 as a measuring unit that measures the residence time of the cassette C stored in the stocker 14, a determination unit 56 that determines the appropriateness of the residence time based on the measurement result of the timer unit 54, and a determination unit 56. An alarm means 58 is provided to inform the operator of the result.

Specifically, the timer section 54 is
For example, a timer built in the control main body 52 including a microcomputer may be used, or an external timer may be separately provided, and the cassette elevating mechanism 16 may be used.
The cassette transfer arm 22 stores the cassette C in the stocker 14
The time when the cassette C is actually placed on the shelf 14A is used as the starting point for measuring the residence time, and conversely, the time when the cassette transport arm 22 picks up the cassette C from the shelf 14A and carries it out is the end point for measuring the residence time. And The start point and the end point of such measurement can be recognized by software by detecting the end point of each task of the program or the like by software. The measurement of the residence time of the cassette C is performed for each cassette and is managed.

Further, the judging means 56 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer or the like, and can judge the suitability of the residence time for each cassette based on the measurement result of the timer section 54. In this case, regarding the wafer in each cassette, if the processing in the previous stage is the same or different,
That is, since there is a difference in the aspect of the wafer surface, the allowable residence time, in other words, the allowable thickness of the natural oxide film, correspondingly differs. For example, the allowable residence time before the processing is performed in the processing unit 40 of the processing system 2 of the present invention after the processing in the previous stage may be 2 hours depending on the aspect of the wafer surface, or 2. There are cases of 5 hours, and there are various cases of 3 hours.

Information such as the residence time allowed for each cassette is managed in terms of which position of the stocker 14 the cassette C containing the wafer of which surface form is housed. Control body 5
2 will be provided. Then, when the residence time exceeds the allowable time, it is determined that the processing should be stopped. In this case, a command may be issued to the alarm means 58 so as to simply issue a cancellation alarm, or together with this, a cancellation command may be issued to the control body 52 to process the wafers in the cassette. You may make it stop automatically. Further, the determination means 56 predetermines a predetermined time range for issuing a warning before performing the above-mentioned stop determination, and if the retention time reaches within this time range, it is determined to issue a warning. It is like this.

Further, the judging means 56 measures not only the retention time of unprocessed wafers but also the retention time until the payout of the cassette containing the wafers processed by the processing unit 40, and warns if necessary. It is designed to issue a command to do. Further, the alarm means 58 is composed of a display unit 60, which is a liquid crystal display panel or the like, and an alarm lamp 62.
Consists of. A sounding device such as an alarm buzzer may be provided instead of or in addition to the alarm lamp 62. The alarm lamp 62 includes, for example, a yellow light 62A indicating a warning state and a red light 62B indicating a stop state, and is capable of blinking according to each state. An example of the display mode of the display unit 60 is shown in FIG. 3, and it is possible to display the residence time, warning time, stop time, presence / absence of process restriction, etc. for each cassette.

As described above, the cassettes shown in FIG. 3 are indicated by cassettes for storing unprocessed wafers (upper stage in FIG. 3) and cassettes for storing processed wafers (lower stage in FIG. 3). It is divided into The residence time is the time during which each cassette is stored in the stocker 14 (standby time).
And the warning time indicates a preset time range for issuing a warning to the cassette. Further, the suspension time indicates an allowable time until the suspension of the processing is issued for the cassette, and the suspension of the processing is immediately issued when the range of the warning time is exceeded. Further, "Yes" and "No" of the process control indicate whether or not the processing of the wafer in the cassette in which the processing is stopped is automatically stopped. In the case of "Yes", the automatic processing is performed. If the process is stopped and “No”,
The operator who recognizes the stop warning manually stops the process.

Next, the operation of the processing system 2 configured as above will be described. First, the inside of the wafer transfer area 8 is filled with an atmosphere of an inert gas such as N ₂ gas in order to prevent the natural oxide film from adhering to the wafer surface. The atmosphere is maintained. Therefore, in order to prevent the natural oxide film from adhering to the wafer in the cassette transfer area 6, the retention time of the wafer in this area 8 should be as short as possible, and this time management is performed by the method of the present invention. . First, the overall flow of the semiconductor wafer W will be described. The cassette C transferred from the outside is described.
Is placed on the outer placement table 18 of the carry-in / out port 12,
The cassette C is slid onto the inner mounting table 20.

Next, by driving the cassette carrying arm 22, the cassette C installed on the inner mounting table 20 is picked up and held, and the cassette elevating mechanism 16 is driven to drive the cassette C. The cassette C is transported to a predetermined position on the shelf 14A of the stocker 14 and installed, and is temporarily stored. When the cassette C is installed on the shelf 14A, measurement of the residence time of the cassette is started. At the same time, the cassette C, which has been temporarily stored in the stocker 14 and contains the wafers to be processed, is picked up by the cassette transfer arm 22, and the cassette C is lifted from the shelf 14A. The cassette elevating mechanism 16 is driven and lowered, and the cassette C is transferred onto the transfer table 30. When the cassette C is lifted from the shelf 14A, the measurement of the residence time of the cassette is completed.

In this state, the opening 28 is opened by sliding the opening / closing door 26. Here, by driving the transfer arm 34 and the wafer transfer mechanism 32, the wafers W accommodated in the cassette C are taken out, for example, one by one or a plurality of wafers W, which are set on the boat stage 36. The wafer boat 38 is transferred. When the transfer of the wafer W to the wafer boat 38 is completed, the boat transfer arm 50 is then driven to mount the wafer boat 38 on the boat stage 36 on the cap 48 lowered to the lowermost end. Place. When the transfer of the wafer boat 38 is completed, the boat lifting mechanism 4
4 is driven to raise the cap 48 on which the wafer boat 38 is mounted, and the boat 38 is moved to the processing unit 40.
The processing container 42 is introduced into the processing container 42 through the lower end opening and loaded. Then, the lower end opening of the processing container 42 is sealed by the cap 48, and in this state, a predetermined process such as a film forming process or an oxidation diffusion process is performed on the wafer W in the processing unit 40.

When the predetermined heat treatment is completed in this way, the reverse operation to the above is performed to take out the processed wafer W. That is, the wafer boat 38 is lowered from the inside of the processing container 42 to be unloaded, and then the wafer boat 38 is transferred onto the boat stage 36. Then, the processed wafer W is transferred from the boat 38 into the empty cassette C on the mounting table 30 by using the transfer arm 34. When the transfer of the processed wafer W into the cassette C is completed, the cassette transfer arm 22 is driven to temporarily store the cassette C in the shelf portion 14A of the stocker 14 and make it stand by.
At this time, the measurement of the residence time of the cassette C containing the processed wafer is started. When the carry-out / payment time comes, the cassette is picked up from the shelf 14A by the cassette carrying arm 22 and carried to the outside of the processing system 2 via the carry-in / out port 12. Then, when the cassette is picked up from the shelf portion 14A, the measurement of the residence time ends. The flow of the cassette C described above is merely an example, and the flow is not limited to this.

As described above, the residence time during which the cassette C containing the unprocessed wafers or the processed wafers is placed on the shelf 14A of the stocker 14 and is in the standby state The timer unit 54 measures each time, and the adequacy of the residence time is determined by the determination unit 56. If the result of this determination is that it is not appropriate, a command is issued to the alarm means 58 in order to inform the operator of that fact so as to perform a predetermined alarm operation. Further, if necessary, the processing of the semiconductor wafer in the cassette is automatically stopped. Regarding such a method of managing the wafer residence time, an unprocessed wafer is taken as an example and shown in FIG.
Also, a specific description will be given with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a management method of a cassette that contains unprocessed wafers. Note that, thereafter, each step of the flow described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 is executed at high speed based on, for example, the reference clock output from the control main body 52 or the like.

As described above, in the case of FIG. 3, the cassettes containing the unprocessed wafers are waiting in n stockers from cassette 1 to cassette n, and the residence time of each cassette is displayed. . Furthermore, a preset warning time range for issuing a warning command corresponding to each cassette and a preset minimum time for issuing a stop command are displayed. In addition, the last display field is provided with a process restriction display field that displays a setting as to whether or not to automatically limit the process (processing) to the wafer when a stop command is issued. Has been. The above-mentioned residence time naturally differs for each stocker depending on the time when the cassette is placed on the stocker 14. Further, the warning time and the stop time may be different for each stocker or may be the same depending on the processing mode before the preceding stage of each wafer.

First, the control main body 25 manages the entire operation of the processing system 2, and, as a matter of course, the cassette carrying arm 22 and the cassette lifting mechanism 16
Each task of the operation is controlled based on a preset program, and its progress is also managed by software. Therefore, the cassette C is the shelf portion 14 of the stocker 14.
The software can accurately recognize when it is placed on A and when it is picked up from the shelf 14A. First,
When the cassette C containing the unprocessed wafers is placed on the shelf 14A of the stocker 14 (S1), the control body 52 drives the timer unit 54 to start measuring the residence time of the cassette (S2). . The length of the residence time is displayed in real time for each cassette as shown in FIG.

Next, it is judged whether or not the cassette C accommodating the above-mentioned unprocessed wafers is picked up from the shelf portion 14A of the stocker 14 and conveyed, and YE
In the case of S, the retention time of the cassette measured so far is stopped (S4). That is, in this case, the wafer in the cassette has been transferred to the processing unit 40 side after a short waiting time without issuing an alarm. If NO in step S4, the determination unit 56 determines whether the residence time of the cassette has reached the preset warning time range for the cassette (specifically, the wafer). (S5). NO here
If, that is, if the residence time has not reached the warning time, the process returns to step S3. Then, the measurement of the residence time is continued. If YES, that is, if the residence time has reached the warning time range, a warning command is issued to the warning means 58 to give a warning. Then,
The alarm means 58 displays a warning and makes the operator recognize that the warning has been issued (S6). Here, as a warning method, for example, a yellow light 62A of the alarm lamp 62 is used.
(See FIG. 1) is blinked, or as shown in FIG. 3, the warning time display portion of the display unit 60 is blinked to call the operator's attention.

In the case shown in FIG. 3, the residence time of the cassette 2 is 1 hour 40 minutes (1H40M), and the warning time is set in the range of 1 hour to 2 hours (1-2H). Therefore, it is the warning time because the dwell time is already within the warning time range.
The "-2H" display flashes to give a warning. The operator who recognizes this report display processes the wafer in the cassette in which this warning is issued prior to other waiting wafers if possible. Then, it is determined whether or not the cassette is conveyed from the stocker 14 (S7), and if YES, the process returns to step S4 to stop the retention time of the cassette. , N
In the case of O, the measurement of the residence time is continued, and then it is determined whether or not this residence time has reached the suspension time (S
8). If NO in step S8, the process returns to step S6 to continue the previous warning display.

On the other hand, in the case of YES in step S8, since the staying time is too long and the stop time has been reached, the judging means 56 instructs the warning means 58 to warn the stop of the processing. And issue a command to display the cancellation. As a result, the alarm means 58 displays a cancellation display (S
9). As the cancellation display, for example, the red lamp 62B (see FIG. 1) of the alarm lamp 62 is blinked, or the cancellation time display portion of the display unit 60 is blinked as shown in FIG. Encourage. In the case shown in FIG. 3, since the residence time of the cassette 4 is 3 hours and 20 minutes (3H20M), which is longer than the suspension time of 3 hours (3H), “3H or more” in the display column. Flashes and is indicating the cancellation.

As described above, when it is determined that the processing is to be stopped, the process restriction is set to "on" this cassette 4, and the control means 56 notifies the control main body 52 accordingly. Upon contact, a command is issued to stop processing the wafers in cassette 4. This allows cassette 4
The processing of the inner wafer is automatically stopped (S10). On the other hand, the process limit is "not"
Is set, for example, in the case of the cassette 2, even if the above-mentioned stop display is made, unless the operator who recognizes the stop display manually inputs the stop instruction of the wafer processing in the cassette, The wafers in the cassette are processed in order. In this way, the residence time of the cassette in the stocker 14 can be managed for each cassette, and an appropriate alarm can be issued. Further, the operator can take appropriate measures for the wafers in the cassette in accordance with the issued alarm.

Here, the management of the retention time of unprocessed wafers has been described, but the retention time of processed wafers until they are discharged from the stocker can be similarly controlled. The lower part of FIG. 3 shows a management display of the residence time of the cassette containing the processed wafers, and FIG. 5 is a flow showing the management method of the cassette containing the processed wafers. FIG. 3 shows a case where m processed cassettes are the targets of the residence time measurement. The management method in this case is basically the same as the management method of the unprocessed wafer shown in FIG. 4 except that the alarm of the processing suspension is eliminated.

That is, first, when the cassette C containing the processed wafers is placed on the shelf 14A of the stocker 14 (S11), the control main body 52 drives the timer unit 54 to change the residence time of the cassette. Start measurement (S1
2). The length of the residence time is displayed in real time for each cassette as shown in FIG.

Next, the cassette C accommodating the processed wafers as described above is transferred to the shelf 14A of the stocker 14.
It is determined whether or not the cassette has been picked up and carried out to the outer placement table 18, and if YES, the retention time of the cassette measured so far is stopped (S14). That is, in this case, it means that the wafer in the cassette is unloaded to the outside of the processing system 2 after waiting for a short time without issuing an alarm. If NO in step S14, the determination unit 56 determines whether the residence time of the cassette has reached the preset warning time range for the cassette (specifically, the wafer). (S15). If NO here, that is, if the residence time has not reached the warning time, step S1
Return to 3. Then, the measurement of the residence time is continued. Also,
In the case of YES, that is, when the residence time reaches the range of the warning time, an alarm means 58 to that effect is issued to issue a warning.
Issue a warning command to. Then, the alarm means 58 displays a warning and makes the operator recognize that the warning has been issued (S16). Here, as the warning method, as in the case of the unprocessed wafer described above, for example, the yellow lamp 62A (see FIG. 1) of the alarm lamp 62 is blinked,
As shown in FIG. 3, the operator is warned by blinking the warning time display portion of the display unit 60.

In the case shown in FIG. 3, the residence time of the processed cassette 3 is 2 hours (2H), and the warning time is set in the range of 1 hour 30 minutes or more (1.5H or more). Therefore, the warning time is "1.5 because the dwell time is already within the warning time range."
The "H or more" display flashes to warn the operator. The operator who recognizes this report display, if possible, precedes other waiting wafers by the wafer in the processed cassette for which this warning has been issued. Will be issued from the processing system 2.

As a matter of course, since the processing unit 40 has already completed the processing of the processed wafer, the processing stop command is not issued.
According to this, it is possible to manage the residence time of the processed wafer, and thereby it is possible to prevent an excessive natural oxide film from adhering to the processed wafer. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the timer unit is used alone as the measuring means 54, and the completion point of the task of the program of the control main body 52 is set as the start point or the end point of the measurement of the residence time of the cassette. However, the presence or absence of the cassette may be detected by using, for example, a switch unit, and the residence time may be measured based on the detection. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a part of a control system of such a processing system of the present invention. The same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Here, for example, a limit switch 70 is provided as a switch unit on the upper surface of each shelf 14A of the stocker 14, so that the presence or absence of the cassette C can be detected. Then, this detection result is input to the control main body 52, and the start and end of the measurement of the timer unit 54 are controlled. Further, as the switch unit, an optical sensor or the like that can detect the presence or absence of the cassette C by using a light emitting element that emits detection light such as a laser beam and a light receiving element instead of the limit switch 70 is used. However, the type and the configuration thereof do not matter.
Further, here, the processing system using the vertical batch type processing container as the processing unit 40 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and in the case of a horizontal type processing container or a single-wafer processing container, The present invention can be applied to all processing systems having a stocker.

Furthermore, the size of the semiconductor wafer is not limited, and the present invention can be similarly applied to wafers of 8 inch size and 300 mm size. Further, the cassette itself may be provided with an identification code regardless of the installation position of the cassette in the stocker, and the residence time may be managed based on this. Furthermore, here, the case where the residence time is managed for the semiconductor wafer of the product has been described as an example, but in addition to the product wafer, various monitor wafers and dummy wafers are held and processed in the wafer boat. These monitor wafers and dummy wafers may be managed in the same manner as described above. Further, although the semiconductor wafer has been described as an example of the object to be processed here, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to a glass substrate, an LCD substrate and the like.

[0038]

As described above, according to the processing system and the method of managing an object to be processed of the present invention, the following excellent operational effects can be exhibited. Claims 1, 3,
According to the inventions of 4 and 8, the residence time of the object to be treated stored in the container storage unit can be measured by the measuring means for each of the object containers, and the residence time can be determined by the determining means. . According to the inventions of claims 2 and 9, since an appropriate alarm is issued according to the residence time, the operator can appropriately manage the residence time of the object to be treated for each object container. . According to the invention of claims 5 and 10, the operator receives the warning instruction before receiving the instruction to stop the processing of the object to be processed, and as a result, the object to be processed with the warning is prioritized. Of the natural oxide film can be prevented from being excessively formed on the surface of the object to be processed. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the determination means gives an instruction to stop the processing of the object to be processed, the processing of the object to be processed can be automatically stopped. According to the invention of claim 7, it is possible to manage the residence time of the processed object.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a processing system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an object container (cassette) housed in a container storage (stocker).

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display mode displayed on an alarm means.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a management method of a cassette that contains unprocessed wafers.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a management method of a cassette that contains processed wafers.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a part of a control system of the processing system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 processing system 6 cassette transfer area 8 Wafer transfer area 14 Stocker (container storage section) 14A shelf 16 cassette lifting mechanism 18 Outside mounting table 22 Cassette transfer arm 32 Wafer transfer mechanism 38 Wafer Boat 40 processing units 42 Processing container 44 Boat lifting mechanism 52 Control body 54 Timer unit (measurement means) 56 Judgment means 58 Warning means 60 Display 62 alarm lamp 62A yellow light 62B red light 70 Limit switch (switch section) C cassette (processing object container) W Semiconductor wafer (Processing object)

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Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A to-be-processed object container containing a plurality of to-be-processed objects is temporarily stored in a container storing section, the to-be-processed object container is transported from the container storing section, and the to-be-processed object after the transfer. In the processing system configured to perform a predetermined process on the object to be processed in the container in the processing unit, a measuring unit that measures the residence time in which the object container is stored in the container storage unit, A processing system comprising: a determination unit that determines whether the residence time is appropriate based on the result of the measurement unit. 2. The processing system according to claim 1, further comprising alarm means for notifying an operator of the result of the determination means. 3. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring unit measures the residence time by software. 4. The measuring unit comprises a switch unit provided in the container storage unit for detecting the presence or absence of the object container, and a timer unit interlocked with the switch unit. Or the processing system according to 2. 5. The determination means, as a result of the determination as to whether or not the residence time is appropriate, issues a warning instruction that warns that the residence time is longer than a predetermined time, and processes the stored object to be processed. The processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a stop instruction to stop is selectively issued. 6. The processing system according to claim 5, wherein the determination means stops the processing of the object to be processed when outputting the stop instruction. 7. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring unit measures a residence time of the processed object container in which the processed object is stored. . 8. A processing object container accommodating a plurality of processing objects is temporarily stored in a container storage section, the processing object container is transported from the container storage section, and the processing object after the transfer is performed. In a method of managing an object to be processed in a processing system in which a processing unit performs a predetermined process on the object to be processed in a container, a residence time of the object container stored in the container storage section And a step of determining appropriateness of the residence time based on the result of the measurement of the residence time. 9. The method of managing an object to be processed according to claim 8, further comprising the step of issuing a predetermined alarm in accordance with the result of the judgment of the judgment step. 10. The predetermined alarm includes a stop alarm indicating stop of processing of the object to be processed and a warning alarm indicating that the residence time is within a predetermined time range. Item 9. A method for managing an object to be processed according to item 9.