JP2004241552A - Apparatus and method for treatment substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment apparatus which can wash front and rear surfaces with high cleanness when both surfaces of a semiconductor wafer are washed. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate treatment apparatus contains first and second delivery robots 4 5 which supply unprocessed semiconductor wafers to treatment sections 1a-1d and take out substrates treated in the treatment sections; a third delivery robot 18 which takes out the untreated semiconductor wafers from carriers 21a, 21b and stores in the carriers 1c, 1d the semiconductor wafers treated in the treatment sections; and relays 16, 17 which are arranged between the first or second delivery robot and the third delivery robot, and separately include a lower hold section 27 for holding the untreated semiconductor wafer in the semiconductor wafers delivered between the first or second delivery robot and third delivery robot, an upper hold section 26 for holding the treated semiconductor wafer, and an inverting mechanism for inverting the substrates held in the upper hold section 26 and the lower hold section 27. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a processing apparatus and a processing method for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal panel.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in a manufacturing process of forming a circuit pattern on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate used for a liquid crystal display panel, various processes are required to be performed on the substrate. There is a process that requires cleaning with a high degree of cleanliness.
[0003]
The washed substrate is handled by a robot device or the like, accommodated in a carrier in units of a plurality of substrates, and transported between processes. Therefore, if only the surface (device surface) on which a circuit pattern is formed is cleaned, dirt such as particles attached to the back surface of the substrate during transfer or transport by a robot device may transfer to another substrate. is there. Therefore, in order to maintain the cleanliness of the substrate with high accuracy, it is necessary to clean not only the front surface but also the back surface of the substrate.
[0004]
On the other hand, a cleaning processing apparatus having a plurality of processing units has been developed to improve the cleaning efficiency of the substrate, and such a processing apparatus is disclosed in Technical Document 1. The processing apparatus disclosed in this technical document 1 is provided with a first robot for taking a substrate in and out of a carrier. The substrate is moved in and out of the plurality of processing units by the second robot. The transfer of the substrate between the first robot and the second robot is performed via a relay unit. The relay unit is provided with two sets of substrate transfer units and two sets of reversing units above the transfer units.
[0005]
The unprocessed substrate is taken out of the carrier by the first robot and supplied to the transfer unit with its surface facing up. The substrate supplied to the transfer unit is supplied from the transfer unit to the processing unit by the second robot, where the surface is processed.
[0006]
The substrate whose surface has been processed is transferred from the processing unit to the reversing unit by the second robot, and the substrate is turned upside down and turned upside down. The inverted substrate is supplied to the processing unit by the second robot, where the back surface is processed, and then the substrate is again taken out by the second robot and supplied to the reversing unit. Since the back surface of the substrate is in the upper state, the substrate is again turned upside down and the front surface is turned up. Next, the substrate is transported to the transfer unit by the second robot, and is stored in the carrier by the first robot.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-110609
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the processing apparatus having the above configuration, the reversing unit is provided above the delivery unit. Therefore, when the substrate is reversed by the reversing unit, there is a possibility that dirt such as particles may fall from the substrate, and the dirt enters the transfer unit located below the reversing unit and cleans the cleaning unit placed on the transfer unit. There is a possibility that the substrate may be contaminated.
[0009]
The unprocessed substrate stored in the carrier is first supplied to the delivery unit. In addition, the substrate whose front and back surfaces have been cleaned is also placed in the carrier after being placed on the delivery unit. For this reason, the transfer unit has to be two-tiered, and the dirty substrate and the clean substrate must be placed on separate transfer units.
[0010]
The substrate whose front surface has been cleaned is turned upside down so that the back surface is turned up, and then placed on the support base of the inversion unit. After the front surface has been cleaned, the substrate whose back surface has been cleaned is placed on the support of the reversing unit with the back surface turned upside down again with the front surface turned up, and then transferred by the second robot. Supplied to the unit.
[0011]
Since the degree of cleanliness differs between a substrate whose surface has been cleaned and a substrate whose both surfaces have been cleaned, the reversing units are also arranged in two stages, and these substrates are reversed by separate reversing units and placed on the support base of each reversing unit. Place. Thereby, the transfer of dirt in the reversing unit must be prevented.
[0012]
For this reason, the processing apparatus disclosed in this technical document 1 has two upper and lower stages, that is, two sets of a transfer unit and a reversing unit, and these must be arranged in the vertical direction. Will be invited.
[0013]
According to the present invention, even if dirt is removed from a substrate at the time of reversing, it is possible to prevent the dirt from adhering to a clean substrate and causing contamination, and to prevent the configuration from becoming complicated or large. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a processing method as described above.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a processing unit for processing a substrate,
A supply / output unit in which an unprocessed substrate is stored and a substrate which has been processed by the processing unit is stored;
A first transfer unit that supplies an unprocessed substrate to the processing unit and takes out the substrate processed by the processing unit;
A second delivery unit that takes out an unprocessed substrate from the supply / export unit and stores the substrate that has been processed in the processing unit in the supply / export unit;
Among the substrates provided between the first delivery means and the second delivery means and delivered between the delivery means, a lower holding part for holding a substrate which has not been processed, a substrate which has been processed, A relay unit provided with a reversing mechanism for reversing the substrate held by the upper holding unit for holding and the lower holding unit;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
[0015]
The relay unit has a housing, and a first opening is formed on a side wall of the housing facing the first delivery unit, and the first opening is formed on a side wall of the housing facing the second delivery unit. Preferably, a second opening is formed at a position corresponding to the first opening, and the upper holding portion and the lower holding portion are provided so as to face the first and second openings.
[0016]
The lower holding portion has two sets of lower support pins, each of which is a set of two engaging with a peripheral portion of the substrate, and the two sets of lower support pins move away from a state of supporting the substrate. It is provided so that it can be driven,
The reversing mechanism has a pair of holding members driven in the direction of contact and separation and the rotation direction,
The holding member is driven in the approaching direction while the substrate is supported by the lower support pins, holds both ends along the radial direction of the substrate, and when the support state of the substrate by the support pins is released. It is preferable that the substrate is rotated to rotate the substrate.
[0017]
The present invention relates to a processing method for processing a substrate,
A step of supplying an unprocessed substrate to the processing section with one surface facing up,
A step of taking out the substrate having one surface processed by the processing unit and holding the substrate at a first position;
Reversing the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate held at the first position;
Supplying the substrate with the upper and lower surfaces inverted to the processing unit to process the other surface;
Removing the substrate having the other surface processed from the processing unit, and holding the substrate at a second position above the first position;
Taking out the substrate held at the second position and storing it at a predetermined location;
A method for processing a substrate, comprising:
[0018]
According to the present invention, there is provided a lower holding unit for holding a substrate for which processing has not been completed, and an upper holding unit for holding a substrate for which processing has been completed, and the substrate held by the lower holding unit is inverted. Therefore, when the substrate is turned over, the contamination of the substrate can be prevented from adhering to the clean substrate.
[0019]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0020]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The processing apparatus includes a plurality of processing units, in this embodiment, four processing units 1a to 1d. These processing units 1a to 1d are, for example, spin processing apparatuses for cleaning a semiconductor wafer W as a substrate described later.
[0021]
Of the four processing units, the second and third processing units 1b and 1c are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. The direction in which the second and third processing units 1b and 1c are arranged side by side is defined as the horizontal direction. The first processing unit 1a is arranged in front of one end of the second processing unit 1b (outlet side), and the fourth processing unit 1d is arranged in front of one end of the third processing unit 1c. ing. The fourth processing unit 1d has a front surface (an entrance) facing the first processing unit 1a. That is, the first to fourth processing units 1a to 1d are arranged such that their front surfaces are substantially U-shaped.
[0022]
A first transfer robot 4 and a second transfer robot 5 constituting first transfer means are disposed in a space 3 surrounded by the first to fourth processing units 1a to 1d. Each transfer bot 4, 5 has a base 6, as shown in FIGS. The base 6 is provided with a movable body 7 that is driven in the vertical and rotational directions.
[0023]
A plurality of links 8 are rotatably connected to a top surface of the movable body 7, and a first arm body 11 and a second arm body 12 that are driven to expand and contract are provided. A lower hand 13 is provided at the tip of the first arm body 11, and an upper hand 14 located above the lower hand 13 is provided at a tip of the second arm body 12. Since the lower hand 13 and the upper hand 14 are located in the vertical direction, the hands 13 and 14 are prevented from interfering with each other when the arms 11 and 12 are reduced.
[0024]
A first relay unit 16 and a second relay unit, which will be described later, are provided at portions opposed to the second and third processing units 1b and 1c with the first and second transfer robots 4 and 5 interposed therebetween. 17 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction.
[0025]
A third transfer robot 18 constituting a second transfer means is disposed at a portion of the first and second relay units 16 and 17 opposite to the first and second transfer robots 4 and 5. ing. The third transfer robot 18 is reciprocally driven along a rail 19 laid along the direction in which the first and second relay sections 16 and 17 are arranged.
[0026]
The third transfer robot 18 has a first arm body 11 and a second arm body 12 that are driven to expand and contract, similarly to the first and second transfer robots 4 and 5. A lower hand 13 and an upper hand 14 are vertically shifted from each other at the tip of the head.
[0027]
First and second carriers as supply units in which the uncleaned semiconductor wafers W supplied to the processing units 1a to 1d are accommodated in the traveling range of the third robot 18 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. 21a and 21b are arranged in the horizontal direction. On the side of the first and second carriers 21a and 21b, a second discharge unit is provided as a carry-out unit for storing the clean semiconductor wafer W cleaned in each of the processing units 1a to 1d for supply to the next process. Third and fourth carriers 21c and 21d are juxtaposed along the traveling direction of the third transfer robot 18.
[0028]
In addition, the carrier is divided into a supply unit and an unloading unit, and an unprocessed semiconductor wafer W is supplied from the supply unit, and the processed semiconductor wafer is stored in the carrier of the unloading unit. When the wafer is removed from the carrier and cleaning is completed, the semiconductor wafer may be returned to the carrier removed before cleaning. That is, the supply unit and the unloading unit may be separated and provided.
[0029]
The first and second relay portions 16 and 17 have a box-shaped housing 23 as shown in FIG. A first opening 24 is formed in one side wall of the side wall of the housing 23 facing the third transfer robot 18, and the first and second transfer robots 4 facing the one side wall are formed. A second opening 25 is formed in the other side wall located on the fifth side.
[0030]
An upper holding portion 26 and a lower holding portion 27 for holding the semiconductor wafer W substantially horizontally are provided at portions of the housing 23 facing the first and second openings 24 and 25, respectively. In addition, a reversing mechanism 28 for reversing the semiconductor wafer W held by the lower holding section 27 is provided.
[0031]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the upper holding portion 26 is provided on a pair of side walls different from the side walls on which the first and second openings 24 and 25 are formed. It has a mounting shaft 31. The rear end of the upper attachment shaft 31 protruding outside the housing 23 is formed in an upper prism 32, and the upper prism 32 is attached and fixed to an upper support member 33 provided on the outer surface of the side wall.
[0032]
At the tip of the upper mounting shaft 31 protruding into the housing 23, a prismatic upper horizontal member 34 is provided horizontally and at right angles to the upper mounting shaft 31. Two upper support pins 35 are provided on the upper surfaces of both ends of the pair of upper horizontal members 34, respectively. The upper end of each support pin 35 is formed in a conical shape. As a result, the semiconductor wafer W is detachably held by the two sets of support pins 35 provided on the pair of lateral members 34 by engaging four locations on the peripheral edge.
[0033]
The lower holding part 27 has a lower mounting shaft 37 that slidably penetrates below the same side wall as the side wall on which the upper holding part 26 is provided. The rear end of the lower mounting shaft 37 is formed in a lower prism portion 38. The lower prism 38 is attached and fixed to a movable member 39 provided on the outer surface of the side wall. The movable member 39 is movably provided on the fixed member 40, and is movable in a retreating direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. A first opening / closing cylinder 41 (only one is shown) is provided between the movable member 39 and the fixed member 40, and the movable member 39 is driven in the direction of the arrow by the first opening / closing cylinder 41. ing.
[0034]
A lower horizontal member 42 is provided horizontally and perpendicularly to the lower mounting shaft 37 at the distal end of the lower prism portion 38. A pair of lower support pins 43 are provided upright on the upper surfaces of both ends of the pair of lower lateral members 42.
[0035]
The upper end of the lower support pin 43 is formed in a conical shape similarly to the upper support pin 35, and the pair of lower support pins 43 provided on the two lower lateral members 42 are located at positions shown by solid lines in FIG. At times, the semiconductor wafer W is held at the upper ends of these two sets of lower support pins 43 by engaging the peripheral edges thereof. The position of the lower support pin 43 at this time is a closed position.
[0036]
When the pair of movable members 39 are driven by the first opening / closing cylinder 41, the lower support pin 43 moves to a position indicated by a chain line. At this time, the position of the lower support pin 43 is set to the open position. When the lower support pins 43 move from the closed position shown by the solid line to the open position shown by the chain line, the support state of the semiconductor wafer W by the two sets of the lower support pins 43 is released.
[0037]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the reversing mechanism 28 has a pair of holding members 45 arranged at substantially the same height as the semiconductor wafer W supported substantially horizontally by the lower support pins 43. Each holding member 45 is fixed to the tip of the movable shaft 47. The movable shaft 47 is rotatably supported by bearings 46 provided on the outer surface of each side wall so as to be movable in the axial direction.
[0038]
The front end surface of the holding member 45 is formed in an arc surface having a curvature corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the semiconductor wafer W, and a V-shaped engagement groove 45a is formed in the arc surface to engage with the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W. Have been.
[0039]
A rear end portion of the movable shaft 47 protruding from the bearing portion 46 is formed on a spline shaft portion (not shown), and a first driven pulley 48 rotates integrally with the movable shaft 47 on the spline shaft portion. The movable shaft 47 is provided so as to be movable in the axial direction with respect to the movable shaft 47.
[0040]
A portion of the movable shaft 47 that is more distal than a portion provided with the first driven pulley 48 is rotatably engaged with an engagement groove 51 formed in the movable plate 49. A pair of contact plates 50 that contact both side surfaces of the movable plate 49 are provided integrally with a portion of the movable shaft 47 that is engaged with the engagement grooves 51. The movable plate 49 is driven by a second opening / closing cylinder 52 in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. Thereby, the movable plate 49 integrally drives the movable shaft 47 in the arrow direction by the contact plate 50.
[0041]
When the second opening / closing cylinder 52 operates and the movable shaft 47 is driven by the movable plate 49, the pair of holding members 45 change from the closed state where the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W is held to the open state. The holding state of the semiconductor wafer W by the member 45 is released.
[0042]
As shown in FIG. 6, a driving pulley 55 is provided on the outer surface of the side wall of the housing 23 and obliquely below the first driven pulley 48. The drive pulley 55 is driven to rotate by a predetermined angle, for example, 180 degrees by the rotary actuator 54. Above the drive pulley 55 on the side wall, a second driven pulley 56 is provided. The driving pulley 55 is formed to have substantially the same diameter as the first driven pulley 48, and the second driven pulley 56 is formed to have a smaller diameter than the first driven pulley 48.
[0043]
One end and the other end of an interlocking shaft 57 provided through the housing 23 are connected and fixed to a pair of drive pulleys 55 provided on the outer surfaces of the pair of side walls. Of the pair of drive pulleys 55, only one of the drive pulleys 55 is rotationally driven by the rotary actuator 54, and the other drive pulley 55 is transmitted with the rotation by the interlocking shaft 57. I have.
[0044]
A timing belt 58 is stretched between the first and second driven pulleys 48 and 56 and the driving pulley 55. Accordingly, when the drive pulley 55 provided on one side wall of the housing 23 is rotated by about 180 degrees by the rotary actuator 54, the rotation is transmitted to the drive pulley 55 provided on the other side wall by the interlocking shaft 57. Therefore, the pair of movable shafts 47 provided on the pair of side walls of the housing 23 rotate about 180 degrees.
[0045]
Therefore, after the semiconductor wafer W is clamped by the pair of clamping members 45 provided at the distal ends of the pair of movable shafts 47, the supporting state of the semiconductor wafer W by the lower support pins 43 is released, and the clamping members 45 together with the movable shaft 47 are released. Is rotated 180 degrees, the semiconductor wafer W held between the holding members 45 can be rotated 180 degrees through a state of being rotated 90 degrees indicated by a chain line in FIG. 5 to turn the semiconductor wafer W upside down.
[0046]
Next, the processing apparatus having the above-described configuration performs a cleaning process on the uncleaned semiconductor wafers W accommodated in the first and second carriers 21a and 21b constituting the supply section, and constitutes a third and a fourth section constituting the carry-out section. The procedure for collecting the data on the carriers 21c and 21d will be described.
[0047]
First, when an unprocessed semiconductor wafer W is taken out of the first carrier 21 a by the lower hand 3 of the third transfer robot 18, the lower hand 3 is moved to the first hand of the casing 23 of the first relay unit 16. It is made to enter the inside through the opening 24, is supplied to the lower holding part 27, and is horizontally supported by the lower support pins 43.
[0048]
Since the semiconductor wafer W is accommodated in the first and second carriers 21a and 21b with the front surface facing upward, the lower holding unit 27 of the first relay unit 16 is transferred from the first carrier 21a by the third transfer robot 18. Is held with its surface facing up.
[0049]
The semiconductor wafer W is required to have higher cleanliness on the front surface than on the rear surface. Therefore, in order to prevent particles attached to the back surface from adhering to the front surface during the cleaning process, it is required that the back surface is washed before the front surface is washed. In this embodiment, the back surface is also washed. And then clean the surface.
[0050]
Therefore, the semiconductor wafer W supplied to the lower holding unit 27 with the front surface up is turned over so that the back surface is turned up. When reversing the semiconductor wafer W, first, the second opening / closing cylinder 52 is operated, and the movable shaft 47 is driven by the movable plate 49 in the forward direction. Thereby, the pair of holding members 45 provided at the distal ends of the pair of movable shafts 47 are driven in the approaching direction, that is, in the closing direction, so that the pair of holding members 45 move in the circumferential direction of the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer W. The portion shifted by 180 degrees is pinched.
[0051]
When the semiconductor wafer W is clamped by the pair of clamping members 45, the first opening / closing cylinder 41 is operated to move the two lower support pins 43 supporting the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer W to the closed position shown by the solid line in FIG. To the open position indicated by the dashed line, and the support state of the semiconductor wafer W by the lower support pins 43 is released.
[0052]
When the support state of the semiconductor wafer W by the lower support pins 43 is released, the rotary actuator 54 is operated. Thereby, the rotation of the driving pulley 55 is transmitted to the first and second driven pulleys 48 and 56 via the timing belt 58, and the rotation of the driving pulley 55 provided on one side wall is rotated by the interlocking shaft 57 on the other side. Is transmitted to the drive pulley 55 provided on the side wall of the pair, the pair of movable shafts 47 rotates about 180 degrees, and the rotation can rotate the semiconductor wafer W held between the pair of holding members 45 by 180 degrees. . In other words, the semiconductor wafer W is inverted so that the back surface faces upward.
[0053]
When the semiconductor wafer W is turned over, the first opening / closing cylinder 41 is operated to drive the two sets of lower support pins 43 in the closing direction, and the support pins 43 support the semiconductor wafer W with the back surface facing upward. I do. Next, after the second opening / closing cylinder 52 is operated to release the holding state of the semiconductor wafer W by the pair of holding members 45, the lower hand 13 of the first transfer robot 4 is moved from the second opening 25 to the housing 23. The semiconductor wafer W supported by the lower holding unit 27 is taken out.
[0054]
The semiconductor wafer W taken out from the lower holding unit 27 is supplied to the first processing unit 1a with the back surface facing upward, where the back surface is cleaned. After the cleaning process of the back surface of the semiconductor wafer W is completed, the lower hand 13 of the first transfer robot 4 enters the first processing unit 1a, and the semiconductor wafer W whose back surface has been cleaned is taken out. It is supplied to the lower holding part 27 of the relay part 16 with its back face up.
[0055]
Next, the semiconductor wafer W whose back surface has been cleaned and returned to the lower holding unit 27 is inverted by the inversion mechanism 28 so that the front surface is turned upward. When the semiconductor wafer whose back surface has been cleaned is turned over and its front surface is turned upward, the lower hand 13 of the first transfer robot 18 enters the housing 23 through the second opening 25 and holds the semiconductor wafer W. Then, after retreating, it is supplied again to the first processing unit 1a. Thus, the front surface of the semiconductor wafer W whose back surface has been cleaned is cleaned.
[0056]
When the cleaning of the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer W is completed in this way, the upper hand 14 of the first transfer robot 4 enters the first processing unit 1a to remove the semiconductor wafer W whose front and back surfaces have been cleaned. It is taken out and supplied and supported by the upper holding section 26 of the first relay section 4.
[0057]
When the cleaned semiconductor wafer W is supplied to the upper holding unit 26, the upper hand 14 of the third transfer robot 18 enters the housing 23 from the first opening 24 and is held by the upper holding unit 26. The removed semiconductor wafer W is taken out and stored in the third carrier 21c constituting the carrying-out section.
[0058]
With the above steps, cleaning of the front and back surfaces of one semiconductor wafer W is completed. The processing apparatus of the present invention includes four processing units 1a to 1d. Therefore, when the semiconductor wafer W is actually cleaned, the four processing units 1a to 1d, the first and second transfer robots 4 and 5, which constitute the first transfer unit, and the first and second relay units 16 are provided. , 17 at full operation.
[0059]
The number of transfer robots constituting the first delivery means, the number of relay units, the number of third delivery robots constituting the second delivery means, and the number of carriers constituting the supply section and the unloading section are more than one. The processing unit is set to operate at full capacity.
[0060]
In this embodiment, the first transfer robot 4 transfers the semiconductor wafer W to the first and second processing units 1a and 1b and the first relay unit 4, and the second transfer robot 4 transfers the semiconductor wafer W to the first and second processing units 1a and 1b. The transfer robot 5 transfers the semiconductor wafer W to the third and fourth processing units 1 c and 1 d and the second relay unit 17.
[0061]
When the processing apparatus is operated at full capacity, the semiconductor wafer W may be simultaneously held in the upper holding unit 26 and the lower holding unit 27 in the first and second relay units 16 and 17. In this case, the semiconductor wafer W that has been cleaned by cleaning the front and back surfaces is held by the upper holding unit 26, and at the same time, the semiconductor wafer W that has been cleaned only on both surfaces or the back surface is held in the lower part. It may be held by the unit 27.
[0062]
Therefore, even if dirt such as particles falls from the uncleaned semiconductor wafer W, the dirt adheres to the semiconductor wafer W held above the unfinished semiconductor wafer W after the cleaning is completed. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent dirt adhering to the uncleaned semiconductor wafer W from being transferred to the cleaned semiconductor wafer W in the relay sections 16 and 17.
[0063]
In the lower holding part 27 of the relay parts 16 and 17, the periphery of the semiconductor wafer W is supported by four lower support pins 43. Then, the semiconductor wafer W whose peripheral portion is supported by the lower support pins 43 can be inverted by being sandwiched by a pair of sandwiching members 45 of the inversion mechanism 28.
[0064]
In other words, even if both surfaces or one surface of the semiconductor wafer W is not cleaned, dirt on the uncleaned surface hardly adheres to the lower support pins 43 of the lower holding portion 27 and remains. After the back surface is cleaned, after being supported by the lower support pins 43 of the relay portions 16 and 17 and then turned upside down, no dirt adheres to the cleaned back surface.
[0065]
The semiconductor wafer W whose front and back surfaces have been cleaned is relayed by the upper support pins 35 of the upper holding unit 26, and then stored in the unloading carriers 21c and 21d. That is, the semiconductor wafer W whose front and back surfaces have been cleaned and whose cleaning has been completed is not supported by the lower support pins 43 to which the uncleaned semiconductor wafer W is relayed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the contamination of the uncleaned semiconductor wafer W from being transferred to the cleaned semiconductor wafer W in the relay sections 16 and 17.
[0066]
The relay portions 16 and 17 can be provided with a lower holding portion 27 and a reversing mechanism 28 for reversing the semiconductor wafer W at the same height position. When the semiconductor wafer W is to be reversed, the lower supporting pins of the lower holding portion 27 can be provided. 43 can be used. Therefore, not only the height of the relay sections 16 and 17 can be reduced to reduce the size, but also the configuration can be simplified.
[0067]
A first opening 24 is formed in a side wall facing the third transfer robot 18 in the housing 23 of the relay units 16 and 17, and a first opening 24 is formed in a side wall facing the first and second transfer robots 44 and 5. Two openings 25 are formed.
[0068]
Therefore, since the first and second transfer robots 4 and 5 and the third transfer robot 18 can be arranged in the vertical direction with the relay sections 16 and 17 interposed therebetween, the whole can be arranged compactly. .
[0069]
The first to third transfer robots 4, 5, and 18 are provided with a lower hand 13 and an upper hand 14, and use the lower hand 13 to handle a semiconductor wafer W that has not been cleaned and handle the semiconductor wafer W that has been cleaned. Sometimes, the upper hand 14 is used.
[0070]
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the contamination of the lower hand 13 from being transferred to the semiconductor wafer W after the cleaning. That is, by transferring the unprocessed semiconductor wafer W with the lower hand 13, even if the lower hand 13 is soiled, it is possible to prevent the stain from being transferred to the washed semiconductor wafer W transferred by the upper hand 14. .
[0071]
The present invention can be variously modified. For example, the number of processing units, the number of transfer robots of the first transfer unit, and the number of relay units are not limited, and at least one of them is sufficient. Further, the number of transfer robots of the second transfer means is not limited to one, and a plurality of transfer robots may be provided. It is possible to respond without doing so.
[0072]
Further, the supply unit and the unloading unit are not limited to the carrier, and may use a transport conveyor or the like. In essence, the unprocessed semiconductor wafer can be supplied to the relay unit, and the cleaned semiconductor wafer is stored in the next process. Any material can be used as long as it can be transported.
[0073]
The substrate is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, and the present invention can be applied to a glass substrate constituting a liquid crystal display panel. Further, the processing in the processing unit is not limited to the cleaning processing, and may be processing using a chemical solution.
[0074]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, an unfinished substrate is held at the first position, and a processed substrate is held at the second position above the first position. By reversing the substrate held at the position, both the front and back surfaces of the substrate are processed.
[0075]
Therefore, even if dirt is removed when the substrate is turned over, it is possible to prevent the dirt from being attached to a clean substrate that has been processed, so that both the front and back surfaces of the substrate can be processed cleanly.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an arrangement state of a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the transfer robot.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a transfer robot.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a relay unit.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing only a reversing mechanism by removing upper and lower holding portions of a relay portion;
FIG. 6 is a side view of the relay unit.
FIG. 7 is a front view showing the upper holding unit and the lower holding unit by removing the reversing mechanism of the relay unit;
[Explanation of symbols]
1a to 1d: processing unit, 4: first transfer robot, 5: second transfer robot, 16: first relay unit, 17: second relay unit, 18: third transfer robot, 21a, 21b ... Carriers (supplying parts), 21c, 21d ... Carriers (carrying-out parts), 23 ... Housing, 24 ... First opening, 25 ... Second opening, 26 ... Top holding part, 27 ... Bottom holding part, 28 ... reversing mechanism, 35 ... upper support pin, 43 ... lower support pin, 45 ... holding member.

Claims (4)

A processing unit for processing the substrate,
A supply / output unit in which an unprocessed substrate is stored and a substrate which has been processed by the processing unit is stored;
A first transfer unit that supplies an unprocessed substrate to the processing unit and takes out the substrate processed by the processing unit;
A second delivery unit that takes out an unprocessed substrate from the supply / export unit and stores the substrate that has been processed in the processing unit in the supply / export unit;
Among the substrates provided between the first delivery means and the second delivery means and delivered between the delivery means, a lower holding part for holding a substrate which has not been processed, a substrate which has been processed, An apparatus for processing a substrate, comprising: an upper holding unit for holding the substrate; and a relay unit provided with a reversing mechanism for reversing the substrate held by the lower holding unit. The relay section has a housing, and a first opening is formed on a side wall of the housing facing the first delivery unit, and the first opening is formed on a side wall of the housing facing the second delivery unit. A second opening is formed at a position corresponding to the opening, and the upper holding portion and the lower holding portion are provided so as to face the first and second openings. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1. The lower holding portion has two sets of lower support pins, each of which is a set of two engaging with a peripheral portion of the substrate, and the two sets of lower support pins move away from a state of supporting the substrate. It is provided so that it can be driven,
The reversing mechanism has a pair of holding members driven in the direction of contact and separation and the rotation direction,
The holding member is driven in the approaching direction while the substrate is supported by the lower support pins, holds both ends along the radial direction of the substrate, and when the support state of the substrate by the support pins is released. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is rotated to rotate the substrate. In a processing method for processing a substrate,
A step of supplying an unprocessed substrate to the processing section with one surface facing up,
A step of taking out the substrate having one surface processed by the processing unit and holding the substrate at a first position;
Reversing the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate held at the first position;
Supplying the substrate with the upper and lower surfaces inverted to the processing unit to process the other surface; and removing the substrate having the other surface processed from the processing unit and removing the substrate from the processing unit. Holding at the position of
Removing the substrate held at the second position and storing the substrate at a predetermined location.

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