JP2009032898A - Rotary substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary substrate processing device capable of preventing a malfunction from occurring without stopping the operation of the device. <P>SOLUTION: An edge exposing unit EEW1 irradiates a light from an exposing head 530 while rotating a substrate W to expose an edge part of the substrate W. Prior to exposure treatment of the edge part, while rotating the substrate W by one turn by a supporting-rotating part 200, an edge sensor 800 detects the position of the edge part of the substrate W to obtain edge data. Based on the obtained edge data, an EEW controller 900 judges the presence or absence of abnormalities in the eccentricity of the substrate W, the angle of a notch NT of the substrate W, and an edge sensor 800. Then, when it is judged that there are present abnormalities in the edge data, an EEW controller 900 performs an alarm announcement. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention performs predetermined processing such as edge exposure processing while rotating a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”), and the like. The present invention relates to a rotary substrate processing apparatus.

  Products such as semiconductor devices and liquid crystal displays are manufactured by subjecting the substrate to a series of processes such as cleaning, resist coating, exposure, development, etching, formation of an interlayer insulating film, heat treatment, and dicing. Of these various processes, a coating processing unit that performs resist coating processing, a development processing unit that performs post-exposure development processing, and a thermal processing unit that performs thermal processing associated therewith are mounted on a single substrate processing apparatus, so-called coater and developer. As widely used.

  Normally, such a substrate processing apparatus is provided with a transfer robot for transferring a substrate between processing units. As an example of the layout of processing units and transfer robots in a substrate processing apparatus, coating processing units, development processing units, and heat treatment units are stacked in multiple stages around a transfer robot that can move the transfer arm up and down, swivel, and move forward and backward. In some cases, the substrate is held on the transfer arm and sequentially transferred to each processing unit.

  By the way, in order to perform highly accurate substrate processing in each processing unit, it is necessary for the transfer robot to accurately load the substrate into a predetermined substrate loading position. In particular, when processing while rotating the substrate as in a rotary coating processing unit, if the center of the substrate is slightly decentered from the center of rotation, not only the processing becomes non-uniform, but also the substrate and unit There is also a risk of damaging internal mechanisms. Also in the case of the heat treatment unit, if the substrate placement position deviates from a predetermined substrate carry-in position, the in-plane temperature distribution of the substrate may become non-uniform.

  For this reason, an operation called teaching is performed in which the transfer robot is previously learned so that the substrate can be accurately loaded into a predetermined substrate loading position in each processing unit (for example, Patent Document 1). reference). Conventional teaching methods that have been used in the past include marking the substrate loading position in each processing unit and holding a jig equipped with an optical measurement element on the transfer arm of the transfer robot. The result of measuring the mark at the substrate loading position is taught to the control mechanism of the transfer robot.

JP 2005-19963 A

  Even if accurate teaching is performed, if any trouble occurs in the transfer robot (for example, delicate contact with the substrate loading / unloading port of the processing unit), the actual loading position may deviate from the substrate loading position taught by teaching. Suddenly occurs. However, in the past, even if such a sudden teaching deviation occurred, it was extremely difficult to detect it during operation of the apparatus, and a major problem such as a substrate falling from the transfer arm, for example, occurred. For the first time, the problem of misalignment was revealed. In order to detect such a deviation in teaching, it is necessary to stop the apparatus for a certain period of time. However, the downtime naturally leads to a decrease in the apparatus operating rate.

  In addition, a plurality of substrates processed by the above-described substrate processing apparatus are usually aligned in a certain direction. However, an angular deviation may occur in the process of being sequentially transferred to each processing unit. Conventionally, even when such an angular deviation has occurred, it could not be detected during operation of the apparatus, so that a specific problem appeared before it was detected.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rotary substrate processing apparatus that can prevent the occurrence of problems without stopping the apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention provides a rotary substrate processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process while rotating a substrate, a holding rotation unit that holds and rotates the substrate, and is held by the holding rotation unit. Edge detecting means for detecting the position of the edge of the substrate, and before performing the predetermined processing, the position of the edge of the substrate is rotated while the substrate is rotated by the holding and rotating means. An edge position information acquisition unit that sequentially detects the edge data including the edge position information of the substrate by the detection unit; and a monitoring unit that monitors the acquired edge data. To do.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, the monitoring unit is configured to detect an abnormality in an eccentric amount of the substrate held by the holding and rotating unit based on the edge data. It is characterized by determining the presence or absence.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the monitoring means has a predetermined amplitude of a sine curve drawn by the edge position information included in the edge data. It is characterized by determining that the amount of eccentricity of the substrate is abnormal when it is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the monitoring unit is held by the holding rotation unit based on the edge data. It is characterized by determining whether or not the notch angle of the substrate is abnormal.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the monitoring means detects an abnormality in the edge detection means based on the edge data. It is characterized by determining the presence or absence of.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the warning issuance that issues a warning when the monitoring means determines that there is an abnormality in the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5. The apparatus further comprises means.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the monitoring means determines that there is an abnormality in the amount of eccentricity of the substrate based on the edge data. And a teaching information correcting means for correcting teaching information of a transfer robot that carries the substrate into the rotary substrate processing apparatus.

  An eighth aspect of the present invention is the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, wherein the exposure head irradiates light to the edge portion of the substrate held by the holding and rotating means. The predetermined processing is edge exposure processing in which light is applied from the exposure head to the edge of the substrate rotated by the holding and rotating means to expose the edge. And

  According to the first to eighth aspects of the present invention, before the predetermined process is performed, the edge detecting unit sequentially detects the position of the edge of the substrate while rotating the substrate by the holding and rotating unit, and Since edge data including edge position information of the board is acquired and the acquired edge data is monitored, abnormalities appearing in the edge data can be found while operating the apparatus, and the apparatus is stopped. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of troubles without any problems.

  In particular, according to the second and third aspects of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem due to the abnormal eccentricity of the substrate without stopping the apparatus.

  In particular, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems due to the abnormality of the notch angle of the substrate without stopping the apparatus.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 5, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an abnormal failure of the edge detection means without stopping the apparatus.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 6, an abnormality is notified before a major failure occurs.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 7, since the teaching information can be automatically corrected without stopping the apparatus and teaching the transfer robot again, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the operating rate of the apparatus. It becomes possible.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 8, the effect of claim 1 can be obtained without modifying hardware.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus incorporating a rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is a front view of the liquid processing unit of the substrate processing apparatus, FIG. 3 is a front view of the heat treatment unit, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a peripheral configuration of the substrate mounting unit. 1 to 4 have an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system in which the Z-axis direction is the vertical direction and the XY plane is the horizontal plane in order to clarify the directional relationship.

  The substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment is an apparatus (so-called coater and developer) that applies an antireflection film or a photoresist film to a substrate and performs development processing on the substrate after pattern exposure. In the following description, the substrate to be processed by the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment is a φ300 mm circular semiconductor wafer, but is not limited to this, and is a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device or the like. May be.

  The substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment is configured by arranging five processing blocks of an indexer block 1, a bark block 2, a resist coating block 3, a development processing block 4 and an interface block 5 in parallel. An exposure unit (stepper) EXP which is an external device separate from the substrate processing apparatus is connected to the interface block 5. Further, the substrate processing apparatus and the exposure unit EXP of this embodiment are connected to the host computer 100 via a LAN line (not shown).

  The indexer block 1 is a processing block for paying out unprocessed substrates received from outside the apparatus to the bark block 2 and the resist coating block 3 and carrying out processed substrates received from the development processing block 4 to the outside of the apparatus. The indexer block 1 takes a mounting table 11 on which a plurality of carriers C (four in this embodiment) are placed side by side, and takes out an unprocessed substrate W from each carrier C and also transfers a processed substrate W to each carrier C. A substrate transfer mechanism 12 is provided. The substrate transfer mechanism 12 includes a movable table 12a that can move horizontally along the mounting table 11 (along the Y-axis direction), and a holding arm 12b that holds the substrate W in a horizontal posture on the movable table 12a. It is installed. The holding arm 12b is configured to move up and down (in the Z-axis direction) on the movable base 12a, turn in the horizontal plane, and move forward and backward in the turn radius direction. As a result, the substrate transfer mechanism 12 can access the holding arms 12b to the carriers C to take out the unprocessed substrate W and store the processed substrate W. In addition to the FOUP (front opening unified pod) that accommodates the substrate W in a sealed space, the carrier C may be a standard mechanical interface (SMIF) pod or an OC (open cassette) that exposes the storage substrate W to the outside air. There may be.

  A bark block 2 is provided adjacent to the indexer block 1. A partition wall 13 is provided between the indexer block 1 and the bark block 2 for shielding the atmosphere. In order to transfer the substrate W between the indexer block 1 and the bark block 2, two substrate platforms PASS 1 and PASS 2 on which the substrate W is mounted are stacked on the partition wall 13.

  The upper substrate platform PASS1 is used to transport the substrate W from the indexer block 1 to the bark block 2. The substrate platform PASS1 has three support pins, and the substrate transfer mechanism 12 of the indexer block 1 moves the unprocessed substrate W taken out from the carrier C onto the three support pins of the substrate platform PASS1. Place. Then, the transfer robot TR1 of the bark block 2 described later receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS1. On the other hand, the lower substrate platform PASS <b> 2 is used for transporting the substrate W from the bark block 2 to the indexer block 1. The substrate platform PASS2 is also provided with three support pins, and the transport robot TR1 of the bark block 2 places the processed substrate W on the three support pins of the substrate platform PASS2. Then, the substrate transfer mechanism 12 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS2 and stores it in the carrier C. In addition, the structure of the board | substrate mounting parts PASS3-PASS10 mentioned later is also the same as the board | substrate mounting parts PASS1 and PASS2.

  The substrate platforms PASS <b> 1 and PASS <b> 2 are provided so as to partially penetrate a part of the partition wall 13. The substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2 are provided with optical sensors (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W, and the substrate transfer mechanism 12 and the bark block are based on the detection signals of the sensors. It is determined whether or not the second transport robot TR1 can deliver the substrate W to the substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2.

  Next, the bark block 2 will be described. The bark block 2 is a processing block for applying and forming an antireflection film on the base of the photoresist film in order to reduce standing waves and halation generated during exposure. The bark block 2 includes a base coating processing unit BRC for coating and forming an antireflection film on the surface of the substrate W, two heat treatment towers 21 and 21 for performing heat treatment associated with the coating formation of the antireflection film, and base coating processing A transfer robot TR1 that transfers the substrate W to the section BRC and the heat treatment towers 21 and 21.

  In the bark block 2, the base coating treatment unit BRC and the heat treatment towers 21 and 21 are arranged to face each other with the transfer robot TR1 interposed therebetween. Specifically, the base coating treatment part BRC is located on the front side of the apparatus, and the two heat treatment towers 21 and 21 are located on the rear side of the apparatus. In addition, a heat partition (not shown) is provided on the front side of the heat treatment towers 21 and 21. By arranging the base coating processing part BRC and the heat treatment towers 21 and 21 apart from each other and providing a thermal partition, the thermal processing towers 21 and 21 are prevented from having a thermal influence on the base coating processing part BRC. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the base coating processing unit BRC is configured by stacking and arranging three coating processing units BRC1, BRC2, and BRC3 having the same configuration in order from the bottom. If the three coating processing units BRC1, BRC2, and BRC3 are not particularly distinguished, these are collectively referred to as a base coating processing unit BRC. Each of the coating processing units BRC1, BRC2, and BRC3 includes a spin chuck 22 that sucks and holds the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture and rotates the substrate W in a substantially horizontal plane, and an antireflection film on the substrate W held on the spin chuck 22 A coating nozzle 23 that discharges the coating liquid, a spin motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the spin chuck 22, a cup (not shown) that surrounds the periphery of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 22, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the heat treatment tower 21 on the side close to the indexer block 1, six hot plates HP1 to HP6 for heating the substrate W to a predetermined temperature and the heated substrate W are cooled to a predetermined temperature. Cool plates CP <b> 1 to CP <b> 3 are provided that lower the temperature to a predetermined temperature and maintain the substrate W at the predetermined temperature. In the heat treatment tower 21, cool plates CP1 to CP3 and hot plates HP1 to HP6 are laminated in order from the bottom. On the other hand, the heat treatment tower 21 on the side far from the indexer block 1 has three adhesion reinforcements for heat-treating the substrate W in a vapor atmosphere of HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) in order to improve the adhesion between the resist film and the substrate W. The processing units AHL1 to AHL3 are stacked in order from the bottom. In FIG. 3, piping wiring sections and spare empty spaces are assigned to the locations indicated by “x” marks.

  As described above, the coating processing units BRC1 to BRC3 and the heat treatment units (in the Bark block 2, the hot plates HP1 to HP6, the cool plates CP1 to CP3, the adhesion strengthening processing units AHL1 to AHL3) are stacked in multiple stages, thereby The footprint can be reduced by reducing the occupied space. Further, by arranging two heat treatment towers 21 and 21 in parallel, there is an advantage that maintenance of the heat treatment unit is facilitated and duct piping and power supply equipment necessary for the heat treatment unit need not be extended to a very high position. .

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the transfer robot TR1. FIG. 5A is a plan view of the transfer robot TR1, and FIG. 5B is a front view of the transfer robot TR1. The transfer robot TR1 includes two holding arms 6a and 6b that hold the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture so as to be close to each other in the vertical direction. The holding arms 6a and 6b have a "C" shape at the top end in a plan view, and a plurality of pins 7 projecting inward from the inner side of the "C" shaped arm to surround the periphery of the substrate W. Supports from below.

  The base 8 of the transfer robot TR1 is fixedly installed on the apparatus base (apparatus frame). On the base 8, a guide shaft 9c is erected and the screw shaft 9a is erected and supported rotatably. A motor 9b that rotationally drives the screw shaft 9a is fixedly installed on the base 8. The lifting platform 10a is screwed onto the screw shaft 9a, and the lifting platform 10a is slidable with respect to the guide shaft 9c. With such a configuration, when the motor 9b rotationally drives the screw shaft 9a, the lifting platform 10a is guided by the guide shaft 9c to move up and down in the vertical direction (Z direction).

  Further, an arm base 10b is mounted on the lifting platform 10a so as to be able to turn around an axis along the vertical direction. A motor 10c for turning the arm base 10b is built in the elevator base 10a. The two holding arms 6a and 6b described above are arranged vertically on the arm base 10b. Each holding arm 6a, 6b is configured to be able to move forward and backward independently in the horizontal direction (in the turning radius direction of the arm base 10b) by a slide drive mechanism (not shown) mounted on the arm base 10b. .

  With such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 5A, the transfer robot TR1 includes two holding arms 6a and 6b that are individually provided on the substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2 and the heat treatment tower 21, respectively. It is possible to access a coating processing unit provided in the base coating processing unit BRC and substrate mounting units PASS3 and PASS4, which will be described later, and transfer the substrate W between them.

  Next, the resist coating block 3 will be described. A resist coating block 3 is provided so as to be sandwiched between the bark block 2 and the development processing block 4. Between the resist coating block 3 and the bark block 2, an atmosphere blocking partition 25 is also provided. In order to transfer the substrate W between the bark block 2 and the resist coating block 3, two substrate platforms PASS 3 and PASS 4 on which the substrate W is mounted are stacked on the partition wall 25 in the vertical direction. The substrate platforms PASS3 and PASS4 have the same configuration as the substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2 described above.

  The upper substrate platform PASS3 is used to transport the substrate W from the bark block 2 to the resist coating block 3. That is, the transport robot TR2 of the resist coating block 3 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS3 by the transport robot TR1 of the bark block 2. On the other hand, the lower substrate platform PASS 4 is used to transport the substrate W from the resist coating block 3 to the bark block 2. That is, the transport robot TR1 of the bark block 2 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS4 by the transport robot TR2 of the resist coating block 3.

  The substrate platforms PASS3 and PASS4 are provided partially through a part of the partition wall 25. The substrate platforms PASS3 and PASS4 are provided with optical sensors (not shown) for detecting the presence / absence of the substrate W, and the transfer robots TR1 and TR2 are mounted on the substrate based on detection signals from the sensors. It is determined whether or not the substrate W can be delivered to the placement units PASS3 and PASS4. Further, under the substrate platforms PASS 3 and PASS 4, two water-cooled cool plates WCP for roughly cooling the substrate W are provided above and below the partition wall 25.

  The resist coating block 3 is a processing block for forming a resist film by coating a resist on the substrate W on which the antireflection film is coated and formed in the bark block 2. In the present embodiment, a chemically amplified resist is used as the photoresist. The resist coating block 3 includes a resist coating processing unit SC for coating a resist on the antireflection film coated on the base, two heat treatment towers 31 and 31 for performing heat treatment associated with the resist coating processing, and a resist coating processing unit SC. And a transfer robot TR2 for delivering the substrate W to the heat treatment towers 31, 31.

  In the resist coating block 3, the resist coating processing unit SC and the heat treatment towers 31 and 31 are arranged to face each other with the transfer robot TR2 interposed therebetween. Specifically, the resist coating processing section SC is located on the front side of the apparatus, and the two heat treatment towers 31 and 31 are located on the rear side of the apparatus. A heat partition (not shown) is provided on the front side of the heat treatment towers 31 and 31. By disposing the resist coating processing part SC and the heat treatment towers 31 and 31 apart from each other and providing a thermal partition, the thermal treatment towers 31 and 31 are prevented from having a thermal influence on the resist coating processing part SC. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the resist coating processing section SC is configured by stacking and arranging three coating processing units SC1, SC2, SC3 having the same configuration in order from the bottom. If the three coating processing units SC1, SC2, and SC3 are not particularly distinguished, they are collectively referred to as a resist coating processing unit SC. Each of the coating processing units SC1, SC2, and SC3 discharges the resist solution onto the spin chuck 32 that sucks and holds the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture and rotates the substrate W in a substantially horizontal plane, and the substrate W held on the spin chuck 32. A coating motor 33 for rotating the spin chuck 32 (not shown), a cup (not shown) surrounding the periphery of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 32, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the heat treatment tower 31 on the side close to the indexer block 1, six heating parts PHP <b> 1 to PHP <b> 6 that heat the substrate W to a predetermined temperature are sequentially stacked from below. On the other hand, in the heat treatment tower 31 on the side far from the indexer block 1, cool plates CP4 to CP9 for cooling the heated substrate W and lowering the temperature to a predetermined temperature and maintaining the substrate W at the predetermined temperature are provided from below. They are arranged in order.

  Each of the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 includes a substrate temporary placement unit that places the substrate W on an upper position separated from the hot plate, in addition to a normal hot plate that places the substrate W and performs heat treatment. The heat treatment unit includes a local transport mechanism 34 (see FIG. 1) for transporting the substrate W between the hot plate and the temporary substrate placement unit. The local transport mechanism 34 is configured to be capable of moving up and down and moving back and forth, and includes a mechanism for cooling the substrate W in the transport process by circulating cooling water.

  The local transport mechanism 34 is installed on the opposite side to the transport robot TR2 across the hot plate and the temporary substrate placement section, that is, on the back side of the apparatus. The temporary substrate placement part opens to both the transport robot TR2 side and the local transport mechanism 34 side, while the hot plate opens only to the local transport mechanism 34 side and closes to the transport robot TR2 side. Yes. Accordingly, both the transport robot TR2 and the local transport mechanism 34 can access the temporary substrate placement portion, but only the local transport mechanism 34 can access the hot plate.

  When the substrate W is carried into each of the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 having such a configuration, the transport robot TR2 first places the substrate W on the temporary substrate placement unit. Then, the local transport mechanism 34 receives the substrate W from the temporary substrate placement unit, transports it to the hot plate, and heats the substrate W. The substrate W that has been subjected to the heat treatment by the hot plate is taken out by the local transport mechanism 34 and transported to the temporary substrate placement unit. At this time, the substrate W is cooled by the cooling function provided in the local transport mechanism 34. Thereafter, the substrate W after the heat treatment transferred to the temporary substrate placement unit is taken out by the transfer robot TR2.

  In this way, in the heating units PHP1 to PHP6, the transfer robot TR2 only delivers the substrate W to the substrate temporary placement unit at room temperature, and does not deliver the substrate W directly to the hot plate. An increase in temperature of the transfer robot TR2 can be suppressed. Further, since the hot plate is opened only on the local transport mechanism 34 side, it is possible to prevent the transport robot TR2 and the resist coating processing unit SC from being adversely affected by the thermal atmosphere leaked from the hot plate. Note that the transfer robot TR2 directly transfers the substrate W to the cool plates CP4 to CP9.

  The configuration of the transfer robot TR2 is exactly the same as that of the transfer robot TR1. Therefore, the transfer robot TR2 includes two transfer arms individually for the substrate platforms PASS3 and PASS4, a heat treatment unit provided in the heat treatment towers 31 and 31, a coating processing unit provided in the resist coating processing unit SC, and will be described later. The substrate platforms PASS5 and PASS6 can be accessed, and the substrate W can be exchanged between them.

  Next, the development processing block 4 will be described. A development processing block 4 is provided so as to be sandwiched between the resist coating block 3 and the interface block 5. A partition wall 35 for shielding the atmosphere is also provided between the resist coating block 3 and the development processing block 4. In order to transfer the substrate W between the resist coating block 3 and the development processing block 4, two substrate platforms PASS 5 and PASS 6 on which the substrate W is mounted are stacked on the partition wall 35 in the vertical direction. . The substrate platforms PASS5 and PASS6 have the same configuration as the substrate platforms PASS1 and PASS2 described above.

  The upper substrate platform PASS5 is used for transporting the substrate W from the resist coating block 3 to the development processing block 4. That is, the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS5 by the transport robot TR2 of the resist coating block 3. On the other hand, the lower substrate platform PASS 6 is used to transport the substrate W from the development processing block 4 to the resist coating block 3. That is, the transport robot TR2 of the resist coating block 3 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS6 by the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4.

  The substrate platforms PASS5 and PASS6 are provided so as to partially penetrate a part of the partition wall 35. The substrate platforms PASS5 and PASS6 are provided with optical sensors (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W, and the transport robots TR2 and TR3 are mounted on the substrate based on detection signals from the sensors. It is determined whether or not the substrate W can be delivered to the placement units PASS5 and PASS6. Further, below the substrate platforms PASS 5 and PASS 6, two water-cooled cool plates WCP for roughly cooling the substrate W are provided vertically through the partition wall 35.

  The development processing block 4 is a processing block for performing development processing on the substrate W after the exposure processing. The development processing block 4 includes a development processing unit SD that performs development processing by supplying a developing solution to the substrate W on which the pattern has been exposed, two heat treatment towers 41 and 42 that perform heat treatment associated with the development processing, and development. A transfer robot TR3 that transfers the substrate W to the processing unit SD and the heat treatment towers 41 and 42 is provided. The transfer robot TR3 has the same configuration as the transfer robots TR1 and TR2 described above.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the development processing unit SD is configured by stacking five development processing units SD1, SD2, SD3, SD4, and SD5 having the same configuration in order from the bottom. Note that the five development processing units SD1 to SD5 are collectively referred to as the development processing unit SD unless particularly distinguished. Each of the development processing units SD1 to SD5 includes a spin chuck 43 that sucks and holds the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture and rotates the substrate W in a substantially horizontal plane, and a nozzle that supplies a developer onto the substrate W held on the spin chuck 43. 44, a spin motor (not shown) for rotating the spin chuck 43, a cup (not shown) surrounding the periphery of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 43, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the heat treatment tower 41 on the side close to the indexer block 1, five hot plates HP7 to HP11 for heating the substrate W to a predetermined temperature and the heated substrate W are cooled to a predetermined temperature. Cool plates CP <b> 10 to CP <b> 13 are provided that lower the temperature to a predetermined temperature and maintain the substrate W at the predetermined temperature. In this heat treatment tower 41, cool plates CP10 to CP13 and hot plates HP7 to HP11 are laminated in order from the bottom. On the other hand, in the heat treatment tower 42 on the side far from the indexer block 1, six heating parts PHP7 to PHP12 and a cool plate CP14 are stacked. Each of the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 is a heat treatment unit including a temporary substrate placement unit and a local transport mechanism, similarly to the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 described above. However, although the substrate temporary placement portions and the cool plate CP14 of each of the heating portions PHP7 to PHP12 are open on the transport robot TR4 side of the interface block 5, they are closed on the transport robot TR3 side of the development processing block 4. Yes. That is, the transport robot TR4 of the interface block 5 can access the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 and the cool plate CP14, but the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4 is not accessible. Note that the transfer robot TR3 of the development processing block 4 accesses the heat treatment unit incorporated in the heat treatment tower 41.

  In addition, two substrate platforms PASS7 and PASS8 for transferring the substrate W between the development processing block 4 and the interface block 5 adjacent to the development processing block 4 are vertically adjacent to the uppermost stage of the heat treatment tower 42. Built in. The upper substrate platform PASS7 is used to transport the substrate W from the development processing block 4 to the interface block 5. That is, the transport robot TR4 of the interface block 5 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS7 by the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4. On the other hand, the lower substrate platform PASS 8 is used to transport the substrate W from the interface block 5 to the development processing block 4. That is, the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4 receives the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS8 by the transport robot TR4 of the interface block 5. The substrate platforms PASS7 and PASS8 are open to both sides of the transport robot TR3 of the development processing block 4 and the transport robot TR4 of the interface block 5.

  Next, the interface block 5 will be described. The interface block 5 is provided adjacent to the development processing block 4 and receives from the resist coating block 3 a substrate W on which a resist coating process has been performed to form a resist film, and is an external device separate from the substrate processing apparatus. The exposure unit EXP is a block that receives the exposed substrate W from the exposure unit EXP and passes it to the development processing block 4. In the interface block 5 of the present embodiment, in addition to the transport mechanism 55 for transferring the substrate W to and from the exposure unit EXP, two edges for exposing the edge of the substrate W on which the resist film is formed are exposed. Exposure units EEW1 and EEW2 and heating units PHP7 to PHP12, a cool plate CP14, and a transfer robot TR4 that delivers the substrate W to the edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2 are provided in the development processing block 4.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the edge exposure unit EEW1. Also in FIG. 6, the same XYZ orthogonal coordinate system as in FIGS. 1 to 4 is attached. The following is a description of the edge exposure unit EEW1, but the same applies to the edge exposure unit EEW2. When the two edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2 are not particularly distinguished, they are collectively referred to as the edge exposure unit EEW. To do.

  The edge exposure unit EEW1 is an apparatus that performs an exposure process on an edge portion of the resist film formed on the main surface of the substrate W, and includes a base 101, a holding rotation unit 200, a Y-axis drive unit 300, and an X-axis drive. Unit 400, exposure unit 500, X-axis sensor 600, Y-axis sensor 700, edge sensor 800, and EEW controller 900.

  The holding rotation unit 200 sucks and holds the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture by the suction chuck 210, and the rotation motor (θ-axis motor) 220 drives the vertical axis (Z-axis) direction as the rotation axis in the θ direction around it. The substrate W is rotated.

  The Y-axis drive unit 300 is a drive mechanism that drives the exposure unit 500 to translate in the Y-axis direction. The Y-axis drive unit 300 is slidably attached to a Y-axis motor 310 fixed to the base 101, a Y-axis ball screw 320 connected to the rotation shaft, a Y-axis linear guide 330, and a Y-axis motor. And a Y-axis base 340 that is driven in translation by an axial ball screw 320.

  The X-axis drive unit 400 is a drive mechanism that drives the exposure unit 500 to translate in the X-axis direction. The X-axis drive unit 400 is hung on the Y-axis base 340 of the Y-axis drive unit 300 along the X-axis linear guide 410 provided along the X-axis direction, the X-axis motor 420, and the rotation axis of the X-axis motor 420. In addition, a drive mechanism in the X-axis direction includes a timing belt 430 provided along the X-axis direction.

  The exposure unit 500 includes an exposure base 510 slidably attached to the X-axis linear guide 410 of the X-axis drive unit 400 and a driving force transmission member 520 that is connected to the timing belt 430 and transmits the driving force to the exposure base 510. And an exposure head 530 provided on the exposure base 510, and the substrate W is irradiated with light to expose the edge of the main surface. The exposure head 530 incorporates a light source composed of a mercury xenon lamp or the like, a reflection mirror, and a lens system for condensing light, and irradiates the edge of the substrate W held by the holding rotation unit 200 with light. .

  The X-axis sensor 600 is a photosensor provided on the Y-axis base 340 with the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element facing each other, and detects the location of the exposure unit 500 in the X-axis direction. A projection (not shown) provided at the lower end of the exposure base 510 of the exposure unit 500 can pass through the gap between the light emitting element and the light receiving element, and the exposure unit 500 (strictly, the exposure base 510) is detected by detecting the passage state. Is detected in the X-axis direction.

  The Y-axis sensor 700 is provided with a photo sensor similar to the X-axis sensor 600 on the base 101, and detects the position of the exposure unit 500 in the Y-axis direction. The Y-axis sensor 700 detects the position of the exposure unit 500 (strictly, the Y-axis base 340) in the Y-axis direction by detecting a protrusion provided on the lower surface of the Y-axis base 340.

  The edge sensor 800 is also a photosensor similar to the X-axis sensor 600 and the Y-axis sensor 700, and includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element so as to sandwich the substrate W held on the suction chuck 210 of the holding rotation unit 200 from above and below. The position of the edge of the substrate W in the water surface (position in the XY plane) is detected. What is detected by the edge sensor 800 is the position of the edge of the substrate W sandwiched from above and below by the photosensor.

  In addition to the main parts described above, the edge exposure unit EEW1 includes an illuminance sensor that detects the illuminance of light emitted from the exposure head 530, an adsorption sensor that confirms the adsorption state of the substrate W by the adsorption chuck 210, and the like. The EEW controller 900 will be further described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the two edge exposure units EEW <b> 1 and EEW <b> 2 are stacked one above the other at the center of the interface block 5. The transfer robot TR4 disposed adjacent to the edge exposure unit EEW and the heat treatment tower 42 of the development processing block 4 has the same configuration as the transfer robots TR1 to TR3 described above.

  A return buffer RBF for returning the substrate is provided below the two edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2, and two substrate platforms PASS9 and PASS10 are stacked on the lower side of the return buffer RBF. When the development processing block 4 cannot perform the development processing of the substrate W due to some trouble, the return buffer RBF performs the post-exposure heating processing by the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 of the development processing block 4, and then the substrate W Is temporarily stored. The return buffer RBF is configured by a storage shelf that can store a plurality of substrates W in multiple stages. The upper substrate platform PASS9 is used to transfer the substrate W from the transport robot TR4 to the transport mechanism 55, and the lower substrate platform PASS10 transfers the substrate W from the transport mechanism 55 to the transport robot TR4. It is used to pass. Note that the transfer robot TR4 accesses the return buffer RBF.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the transport mechanism 55 includes a movable base 55a that can move horizontally in the Y direction, and a holding arm 55b that holds the substrate W is mounted on the movable base 55a. The holding arm 55b is configured to be capable of moving up and down, turning and moving in the turning radius direction with respect to the movable base 55a. With such a configuration, the transport mechanism 55 transfers the substrate W to and from the exposure unit EXP, transfers the substrate W to the substrate platforms PASS9 and PASS10, and transfers the substrate W to the substrate sending send buffer SBF. Storing and unloading. The send buffer SBF temporarily stores and stores the substrate W before the exposure processing when the exposure unit EXP cannot accept the substrate W, and is configured by a storage shelf that can store a plurality of substrates W in multiple stages. Yes.

  The indexer block 1, the bark block 2, the resist coating block 3, the development processing block 4 and the interface block 5 are always supplied with clean air as a downflow, and the process is caused by the rising of particles and airflow in each block. To avoid the negative effects of. In addition, the inside of each block is kept at a slightly positive pressure with respect to the external environment of the apparatus to prevent entry of particles and contaminants from the external environment.

  The indexer block 1, the bark block 2, the resist coating block 3, the development processing block 4 and the interface block 5 described above are units obtained by mechanically dividing the substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment. Each block is assembled to an individual block frame (frame body), and the substrate processing apparatus is configured by connecting the block frames.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the transport control unit for transporting the substrate is configured separately from the block that is mechanically divided. In the present specification, such a transport control unit for transporting a substrate is referred to as a “cell”. One cell is configured to include a transfer robot in charge of substrate transfer and a transfer target unit to which the substrate can be transferred by the transfer robot. Each of the substrate placement units described above functions as an entrance substrate placement unit for receiving the substrate W in the cell or an exit substrate placement unit for delivering the substrate W from the cell. That is, the transfer of the substrate W between the cells is also performed via the substrate mounting portion. Note that the transfer robot constituting the cell includes the substrate transfer mechanism 12 of the indexer block 1 and the transfer mechanism 55 of the interface block 5.

  The substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment includes six cells: an indexer cell, a bark cell, a resist coating cell, a development processing cell, a post-exposure bake cell, and an interface cell. The indexer cell includes a mounting table 11 and a substrate transfer mechanism 12, and has the same configuration as the indexer block 1 which is a mechanically divided unit. The bark cell includes a base coating processing unit BRC, two heat treatment towers 21 and 21, and a transfer robot TR1. This bark cell also has the same configuration as the bark block 2, which is a mechanically divided unit. Further, the resist coating cell includes a resist coating processing unit SC, two heat treatment towers 31 and 31, and a transfer robot TR2. This resist coating cell also has the same configuration as the resist coating block 3, which is a mechanically divided unit.

  On the other hand, the development processing cell includes a development processing unit SD, a heat treatment tower 41, and a transport robot TR3. As described above, the transfer robot TR3 cannot access the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 and the cool plate CP14 of the heat treatment tower 42, and the heat treatment tower 42 is not included in the development processing cell. In this respect, the development processing cell is different from the development processing block 4 which is a mechanically divided unit.

  The post-exposure bake cell includes a heat treatment tower 42 located in the development processing block 4, an edge exposure unit EEW located in the interface block 5, and a transport robot TR 4. That is, the post-exposure bake cell extends over the development processing block 4 and the interface block 5 which are mechanically divided units. Thus, since one cell is comprised including the heating parts PHP7 to PHP12 and the transfer robot TR4 for performing the post-exposure heat treatment, the substrate W after the exposure is quickly carried into the heating parts PHP7 to PHP12 and subjected to the heat treatment. It can be performed. Such a configuration is suitable when a chemically amplified resist that needs to be heat-treated as soon as possible after pattern exposure is used.

  The substrate platforms PASS7 and PASS8 included in the heat treatment tower 42 are interposed for transferring the substrate W between the transfer robot TR3 of the development processing cell and the transfer robot TR4 of the post-exposure bake cell.

  The interface cell includes a transport mechanism 55 that transfers the substrate W to and from an exposure unit EXP that is an external device. This interface cell is different from the interface block 5 which is a mechanically divided unit in that the interface cell does not include the transport robot TR4 and the edge exposure unit EEW. The substrate platforms PASS9 and PASS10 provided below the edge exposure unit EEW are interposed for the transfer of the substrate W between the post-exposure bake cell transfer robot TR4 and the interface cell transfer mechanism 55.

  Next, the control mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an outline of the control mechanism. The substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a control hierarchy including three hierarchies: a main controller MC, a cell controller CC, and a unit controller. The hardware configuration of the main controller MC, cell controller CC, and unit controller is the same as that of a general computer. That is, each controller stores a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM that is a read-only memory that stores basic programs, a RAM that is a readable and writable memory that stores various information, and control applications and data. A magnetic disk or the like is provided.

  One main controller MC in the first hierarchy is provided for the entire substrate processing apparatus, and is mainly responsible for management of the entire apparatus, management of the main panel MP, and management of the cell controller CC. The main panel MP functions as a display for the main controller MC. Various commands can be input to the main controller MC from the keyboard KB. The main panel MP may be configured by a touch panel, and input work may be performed from the main panel MP to the main controller MC.

  The second-level cell controller CC is individually provided for each of the six cells (indexer cell, bark cell, resist coating cell, development processing cell, post-exposure bake cell, and interface cell). FIG. 7 illustrates a cell controller CC of the post-exposure bake cell. Each cell controller CC is mainly in charge of substrate transport management and unit management in the corresponding cell. Specifically, the cell controller CC of each cell sends information that the substrate W has been placed on a predetermined substrate placement unit to the cell controller CC of the adjacent cell, and the cell controller CC of the cell that has received the substrate W. Transmits / receives information that information indicating that the substrate W has been received from the substrate platform is returned to the cell controller CC of the original cell. Such transmission / reception of information is performed via the main controller MC. Each cell controller CC gives information to the transfer robot controller TC that the substrate W has been loaded into the cell, and the transfer robot controller TC controls the transfer robot to circulate the substrate W in the cell according to a predetermined procedure. Transport. The transfer robot controller TC is a control unit realized by a predetermined application operating on the cell controller CC.

  The unit controller in the third hierarchy controls an operation mechanism (for example, a motor or a heater) in the unit in accordance with an instruction from the cell controller CC. The EEW controller 900 shown in FIG. 6 is one of such unit controllers, and controls the operation mechanism of the edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2 in accordance with an instruction from the cell controller CC of the post-exposure bake cell. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the EEW controller 900 and its surrounding control mechanisms.

  The edge data acquisition unit 901, the edge data monitoring unit 902, the alarm notification unit 903, and the teaching data correction unit 904 are processing units realized by the CPU of the EEW controller 900 executing a predetermined processing program. The processing contents of the edge data acquisition unit 901, the edge data monitoring unit 902, the alarm notification unit 903, and the teaching data correction unit 904 will be described later.

  In addition to the X-axis sensor 600, the Y-axis sensor 700, the edge sensor 800, and the exposure head 530, the EEW controller 900 includes an X-axis drive circuit 425 that drives the X-axis motor 420, and a Y that drives the Y-axis motor 310. The shaft drive circuit 315 and the θ-axis drive circuit 225 that drives the rotary motor 220 are electrically connected. The EEW controller 900 controls each drive circuit based on the detection result of each sensor, thereby moving the exposure unit 500 in the XY plane, rotating the substrate W held on the suction chuck 210, and the exposure head 530. Irradiate with light. The edge sensor controller 805 directly controls the edge sensor 800, and the EEW controller 900 receives a detection signal from the edge sensor 800 via the edge sensor controller 805.

  A host computer 100 connected to the substrate processing apparatus via a LAN line is positioned as a higher-level control mechanism of the three-level control hierarchy provided in the substrate processing apparatus (see FIG. 1). The host computer 100 is a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM that is a read-only memory that stores basic programs, a RAM that is a readable and writable memory that stores various information, and a magnetic that stores control applications and data. It has a disk and the like, and has the same configuration as a general computer. The host computer 100 is normally connected with a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses of this embodiment. The host computer 100 passes a recipe describing the processing procedure and processing conditions to each connected substrate processing apparatus. The recipe delivered from the host computer 100 is stored in a storage unit (for example, a memory) of the main controller MC of each substrate processing apparatus.

  The exposure unit EXP is provided with a separate control unit that is independent from the control mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus. That is, the exposure unit EXP does not operate under the control of the main controller MC of the substrate processing apparatus, but performs independent operation control by itself. However, such an exposure unit EXP also performs operation control according to the recipe received from the host computer 100, and the substrate processing apparatus performs processing synchronized with the exposure processing in the exposure unit EXP.

  Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment will be described. Here, first, a general procedure for circulating and conveying a general substrate W in the substrate processing apparatus will be briefly described, and then a processing procedure in the edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2 will be described. The processing procedure described below is in accordance with the description contents of the recipe received from the host computer 100.

  First, an unprocessed substrate W is loaded into the indexer block 1 by AGV or the like while being stored in the carrier C from the outside of the apparatus. Subsequently, the unprocessed substrate W is dispensed from the indexer block 1. Specifically, the substrate transfer mechanism 12 of the indexer cell (indexer block 1) takes out an unprocessed substrate W from a predetermined carrier C and places it on the upper substrate platform PASS1. When an unprocessed substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS1, the transfer robot TR1 of the bark cell receives the substrate W using one of the transport arms 6a and 6b. Then, the transfer robot TR1 transfers the received unprocessed substrate W to any of the coating processing units BRC1 to BRC3. In the coating processing units BRC <b> 1 to BRC <b> 3, the coating liquid for the antireflection film is spin-coated on the substrate W.

  After the coating process is completed, the substrate W is transferred to one of the hot plates HP1 to HP6 by the transfer robot TR1. When the substrate W is heated by the hot plate, the coating liquid is dried and a base antireflection film is formed on the substrate W. Thereafter, the substrate W taken out from the hot plate by the transfer robot TR1 is transferred to one of the cool plates CP1 to CP3 and cooled. At this time, the substrate W may be cooled by the cool plate WCP. The cooled substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS3 by the transport robot TR1.

  Further, the unprocessed substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS1 may be transported by the transport robot TR1 to any one of the adhesion reinforcement processing units AHL1 to AHL3. In the adhesion strengthening processing units AHL1 to AHL3, the substrate W is heat-treated in a HMDS vapor atmosphere to improve the adhesion between the resist film and the substrate W. The substrate W that has been subjected to the adhesion strengthening process is taken out by the transport robot TR1, transported to one of the cool plates CP1 to CP3, and cooled. Since the antireflection film is not formed on the substrate W that has been subjected to the adhesion strengthening process, the cooled substrate W is directly placed on the substrate platform PASS3 by the transport robot TR1.

  Further, dehydration treatment may be performed before applying the coating solution for the antireflection film. In this case, first, the transfer robot TR1 transfers the unprocessed substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS1 to any one of the adhesion reinforcement processing units AHL1 to AHL3. In the adhesion strengthening processing units AHL1 to AHL3, the substrate W is simply subjected to heat treatment (dehydration bake) for dehydration without supplying HMDS vapor. The substrate W that has been subjected to the heat treatment for dehydration is taken out by the transport robot TR1, transported to one of the cool plates CP1 to CP3, and cooled. The cooled substrate W is transported to one of the coating processing units BRC1 to BRC3 by the transport robot TR1, and the coating liquid for the antireflection film is spin-coated. Thereafter, the substrate W is transported to one of the hot plates HP1 to HP6 by the transport robot TR1, and a base antireflection film is formed on the substrate W by heat treatment. Thereafter, the substrate W taken out from the hot plate by the transport robot TR1 is transported to one of the cool plates CP1 to CP3, cooled, and then placed on the substrate platform PASS3.

  When the substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS3, the resist coating cell transport robot TR2 receives the substrate W and transports it to one of the coating processing units SC1 to SC3. In the coating processing units SC1 to SC3, a resist is spin-coated on the substrate W. In addition, since precise substrate temperature control is required for the resist coating process, the substrate W may be transported to any one of the cool plates CP4 to CP9 immediately before the substrate W is transported to the coating processing units SC1 to SC3.

  After the resist coating process is completed, the substrate W is transferred to one of the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 by the transfer robot TR2. When the substrate W is heated by the heating units PHP1 to PHP6, the solvent component in the resist is removed, and a resist film is formed on the substrate W. Thereafter, the substrate W taken out from the heating units PHP1 to PHP6 by the transport robot TR2 is transported to one of the cool plates CP4 to CP9 and cooled. The cooled substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS5 by the transport robot TR2.

  When the substrate W on which the resist coating process is performed and the resist film is formed is placed on the substrate platform PASS5, the transfer robot TR3 of the development cell receives the substrate W and places it on the substrate platform PASS7 as it is. Put. Then, the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS7 is received by the post-exposure bake cell transport robot TR4 and carried into one of the edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2. In the edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2, exposure processing (edge exposure processing) of the edge portion of the substrate W is performed. The substrate W that has undergone the edge exposure process is placed on the substrate platform PASS9 by the transport robot TR4. The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS9 is received by the interface cell transport mechanism 55, carried into the exposure unit EXP, and subjected to pattern exposure processing. Since a chemically amplified resist is used in the present embodiment, an acid is generated by a photochemical reaction in the exposed portion of the resist film formed on the substrate W. In addition, before carrying in the exposure unit EXP, the board | substrate W which edge exposure processing was complete | finished may be carried into the cool plate 14, and may be made to perform a cooling process.

  The exposed substrate W for which the pattern exposure processing has been completed is returned from the exposure unit EXP to the interface cell again, and is placed on the substrate platform PASS10 by the transport mechanism 55. When the exposed substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS10, the post-exposure bakecell transport robot TR4 receives the substrate W and transports it to any of the heating units PHP7 to PHP12. In the heating parts PHP7 to PHP12, the product generated by the photochemical reaction at the time of exposure is used as an acid catalyst to advance a reaction such as crosslinking / polymerization of the resin of the resist, and the solubility in the developer is locally changed only in the exposed part. Heat treatment (Post Exposure Bake) is performed. The substrate W that has been subjected to the post-exposure heat treatment is cooled by being transported by a local transport mechanism (a transport mechanism in the heating units PHP7 to PHP12: see FIG. 1) having a cooling mechanism, and the chemical reaction is stopped. Subsequently, the substrate W is taken out from the heating units PHP7 to PHP12 by the transfer robot TR4 and placed on the substrate platform PASS8.

  When the substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS8, the transport robot TR3 of the development cell receives the substrate W and transports it to one of the cool plates CP10 to CP13. In the cool plates CP10 to CP13, the substrate W that has been subjected to the post-exposure heat treatment is further cooled and accurately adjusted to a predetermined temperature. Thereafter, the transport robot TR3 takes out the substrate W from the cool plates CP10 to CP13 and transports it to any of the development processing units SD1 to SD5. In the developing units SD1 to SD5, a developing solution is supplied to the substrate W to advance the developing process. After the development process is finished, the substrate W is transferred to one of the hot plates HP7 to HP11 by the transfer robot TR3, and then transferred to one of the cool plates CP10 to CP13.

  Thereafter, the substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS6 by the transport robot TR3. The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS6 is placed on the substrate platform PASS4 as it is by the transfer robot TR2 of the resist coating cell. Further, the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS4 is stored in the indexer block 1 by being placed on the substrate platform PASS2 as it is by the transfer robot TR1 of the bark cell. The processed substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS2 is stored in a predetermined carrier C by the substrate transfer mechanism 12 of the indexer cell. Thereafter, the carrier C storing the predetermined number of processed substrates W is carried out of the apparatus, and a series of photolithography processes are completed.

  Next, processing contents of the edge exposure unit EEW1 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the edge exposure unit EEW1. The processing procedure in the edge exposure unit EEW2 is exactly the same.

  First, as described above, the substrate W on which the resist coating process is performed and the resist film is formed is carried into the edge exposure unit EEW1 by the transport robot TR4 (step S1). The loaded substrate W is transferred to the suction chuck 210 of the holding rotation unit 200 and sucked and held in a substantially horizontal posture. At this time, the transfer robot controller TC of the post-exposure bake cell controls the transfer robot TR4 based on the teaching data TD (see FIG. 7), so that the substrate W is accurately transferred to the edge exposure unit EEW1 and delivered to the suction chuck 210. It is.

  The teaching data TD is teaching information for finely adjusting the operation of the transport robot TR4. Teaching of each transfer robot is performed before the substrate processing apparatus starts the series of photolithography processes, for example, immediately after the substrate processing apparatus is assembled. Teaching is a reference carry-in position to a delivery target part such as the edge exposure unit EEW1 (a position to be carried in originally, and in the case of the edge exposure unit EEW1, the center of rotation of the suction chuck 210 and the center of the substrate W coincide. This is an operation to teach each transfer robot. Specifically, the transfer robot has access to the delivery target part on the transfer arm on which a jig equipped with an optical measuring element is placed, and optically detects the shift between the reference loading position and the actual access position, and the shift Get the fine adjustment data to eliminate. The acquired fine adjustment data is stored as teaching data on a magnetic disk or the like of each cell controller CC. For example, teaching data TD for the post-exposure bake cell transport robot TR4 is stored in the magnetic disk of the post-exposure bake cell controller CC. The teaching data TD may be stored in other storage means such as a memory, or may be stored in the storage means of the main controller MC. By performing the teaching, each transfer robot accurately accesses the reference carry-in position, and the series of photolithography processes described above proceed with high accuracy.

  Next, proceeding to step S2 in FIG. 9, under the control of the edge data acquisition unit 901, the rotation motor 220 rotates the substrate W sucked and held by the suction chuck 210 in the θ direction around the vertical axis as the rotation axis. The edge sensor 800 sequentially detects the position of the edge portion of the substrate W while being rotated, and acquires edge data including the edge portion position information of the substrate W. That is, the edge data acquisition unit 901 acquires the edge data by causing the edge sensor 800 to detect the position of the edge of the substrate W while causing the holding rotation unit 200 to rotate the substrate W once in a horizontal plane. When the substrate W is a circular semiconductor wafer having a diameter of 300 mm as in the present embodiment, the edge sensor 800 detects edge positions of approximately 3000 points and acquires edge data while the substrate W rotates once. .

  After the edge data is acquired, the process proceeds to step S3, where the edge data monitoring unit 902 determines whether there is an abnormality in the edge data. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the edge data acquired in step S2. As described above, since the transfer robot TR4 has loaded the substrate W into the edge exposure unit EEW1 in accordance with the teaching data TD, the substrate W should be accurately loaded at the reference loading position. When it is loaded ideally, the distance from the rotation center of the substrate W to the edge is always constant (300 mm) regardless of the rotation angle. However, in reality, no matter how accurately it is carried into the reference carry-in position, a slight eccentricity is inevitably caused microscopically, and the distance from the rotation center of the substrate W to the edge is the rotation angle. Fluctuates in response. Such a variation in the edge position of the substrate W is acquired as edge data, and the vertical axis in FIG. 10 indicates the reference position of the edge position of the substrate W (the substrate W is completely loaded into the reference loading position). The displacement from the edge portion position) is shown. That is, the difference between the distance from the rotation center of the substrate W to the edge and the radius (300 mm) of the substrate W. Further, the horizontal axis in FIG. 10 indicates the rotation angle of the substrate W.

  If the carry-in position of the substrate W is slightly decentered, the displacement of the edge position of the substrate W draws a sine curve as shown in FIG. Then, when the amplitude of the sine curve is equal to or greater than the threshold value Th, the edge data monitoring unit 902 determines that there is an abnormality because the eccentric amount of the substrate W exceeds the allowable amount and is excessive. On the other hand, if the amplitude of the sine curve is less than the threshold Th, the edge data monitoring unit 902 determines that there is no abnormality in the amount of eccentricity of the substrate W. Note that it may be determined that the amount of eccentricity of the substrate W is abnormal when the amplitude of the sine curve is larger than the threshold Th.

  Further, as indicated by reference numeral A1 in FIG. 10, the edge data also includes information on the notch angle of the substrate W. The semiconductor wafer which is the substrate W of this embodiment is obtained by slicing an ingot of single crystal silicon along a specific crystal orientation. In order to match the orientation of the substrate W during processing, a notch NT (V-shaped notch) as shown in FIG. 6 is formed at a predetermined position corresponding to the crystal orientation of the substrate W. When the edge data is acquired in step S2, the edge sensor 800 also detects the edge position at the notch NT, and therefore the notch angle information as indicated by reference numeral A1 in FIG. 10 is included in the edge data. is there.

  At the stage where a plurality of unprocessed substrates W are loaded into the indexer block 1 while being stored in the carrier C, the notch angles of the substrates W in the carrier C are aligned. Therefore, the notch angle of the substrate W carried into the edge exposure unit EEW1 should also be constant, but the substrate in any unit until the substrate W reaches the edge exposure unit EEW1 in the series of processing steps described above. When the W angle shift occurs, the notch angle of the edge data also shifts. Therefore, when the notch angle of the edge data (the rotation angle at the position where the notch is detected in the edge data) deviates from the reference notch angle on the substrate W by a predetermined value or more, the edge data monitoring unit 902 holds the data. It is determined that the notch angle of the substrate W held by the rotating unit 200 is abnormal.

  Also, discrete data (discontinuous values) as shown by reference numeral A2 in FIG. 10 may appear on the sine curve drawn by the edge position of the substrate W. When such discrete data appears, the edge sensor 800 or the edge sensor controller 805 is often defective. For this reason, when discrete data appears in the edge data, the edge data monitoring unit 902 determines that the edge sensor 800 or the edge sensor controller 805 has an abnormality.

  If the edge data monitoring unit 902 determines that there is an abnormality in the edge data, the process proceeds to step S4, and the alarm reporting unit 903 issues an alarm. Specifically, for example, the alarm notification unit 903 may display a warning message on the main panel MP. In addition to this, the contents of the alarm, that is, “abnormality of eccentricity”, “abnormality of notch angle”, and “abnormality of edge sensor” may be displayed.

  The worker who has recognized the alarm is taking necessary measures. For example, when there is an abnormality in the amount of eccentricity of the substrate W, it is considered that some trouble occurred in the transport robot TR4 and sudden teaching deviation occurred. Therefore, the operation of the transfer robot TR4 and the teaching data TD are confirmed, and teaching is performed again if necessary. Further, when there is an abnormality in the notch angle of the substrate W, it is considered that there is an angle shift of the substrate W in any of the processing units of the base coating processing unit BRC or the resist coating processing unit SC. Inspect the unit. Further, when there is an abnormality in the edge sensor 800 or the edge sensor controller 805, the edge exposure unit EEW1 itself has a cause, so the edge sensor 800 and the edge sensor controller 805 are inspected.

  On the other hand, when the edge data monitoring unit 902 does not recognize the abnormality as described above in the edge data, the process proceeds to step S5, and the edge exposure process is executed. Specifically, first, the EEW controller 900 refers to the detection results from the X-axis sensor 600 and the Y-axis sensor 700 and drives the X-axis motor 420 and the Y-axis motor 310 to set the exposure unit 500 to a predetermined exposure position. To move. The predetermined exposure position is a position where the light irradiated from the exposure head 530 reaches the edge of the semiconductor wafer W held on the suction chuck 210.

  Subsequently, the EEW controller 900 starts the light irradiation from the exposure head 530 and drives the rotation motor 220 to start the rotation of the semiconductor wafer W. At this time, based on the edge data acquired in advance, the EEW controller 900 slightly moves the exposure unit 500 with the rotation of the substrate W to perform eccentricity correction so that a constant exposure width is always obtained. That is, even if the amplitude of the sine curve drawn by the edge position of the substrate W is less than the above threshold value Th, there is a slight variation in the edge position, and the exposure unit 500 is fixed at a fixed position. If the edge exposure process is performed by rotating the substrate W while keeping the exposure width, the exposure width becomes non-uniform. For this reason, the EEW controller 900 transmits a control signal to the X-axis drive circuit 425 and the Y-axis drive circuit 315 according to the sine curve of the edge data to drive the X-axis motor 420 and the Y-axis motor 310, and The exposure unit 500 is moved so as to cancel out the minute fluctuation of the part position. In this way, after the edge exposure process proceeds and ends, the suction by the suction chuck 210 is released, and the substrate W is unloaded from the edge exposure unit EEW1 by the transport robot TR4.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, before performing edge exposure processing in the edge exposure unit EEW1 for every substrate W to be processed, edge data including edge portion position information of the substrate W is acquired. And monitoring whether or not there is an abnormality, specifically, whether there is an abnormality in the eccentricity of the substrate W, an abnormality in the notch angle of the substrate W, or an abnormality in the edge sensor 800 or the edge sensor controller 805. ing. The edge data itself is used not only for determining whether there is an abnormality, but also for correcting the eccentricity of the substrate W in order to obtain a constant exposure width during the edge exposure process. It is also necessary data. In other words, the edge data is also acquired for process needs, and if such an edge data is used to determine the presence or absence of an abnormality, the apparatus is stopped without performing special work by stopping the apparatus. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of defects.

  While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be modified in various ways other than those described above without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, when it is determined that there is an abnormality in the edge data, the alarm notification unit 903 notifies the operator of the abnormality by issuing an alarm. Instead of or in addition, the teaching data correction unit 904 may correct the teaching data TD. Specifically, when an abnormality was found in the amount of eccentricity of the substrate W, it was considered that a sudden teaching shift occurred with respect to the transfer robot TR4 that loads the substrate W into the edge exposure unit EEW1. Based on the edge data, the teaching data correction unit 904 corrects the teaching data TD of the transport robot TR4. In this way, since the teaching data TD can be automatically corrected without stopping the apparatus and performing teaching again, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the apparatus operating rate.

  In the above embodiment, the edge data monitoring unit 902 determines whether there is an abnormality in the eccentric amount of the substrate W, an abnormality in the notch angle, and an abnormality in the edge sensor 800 or the edge sensor controller 805 based on the edge data. The items to be monitored by the edge data monitoring unit 902 are not limited to these, and the presence or absence of other abnormalities may be determined.

  In the above embodiment, the edge data is acquired by fixing the edge sensor 800 and rotating the substrate W once, but conversely, the substrate W is fixed and the edge sensor 800 is attached to the substrate W. You may make it acquire edge data by moving along an edge part. That is, the edge sensor 800 may be moved relative to the edge of the substrate W.

  In addition, the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2, and is incorporated in the substrate processing apparatus described above and performs other substrate processing while rotating the substrate W. It may be a unit. For example, the edge sensor 800 may be installed in the coating processing units SC1 to SC3 and the development processing units SD1 to SD5, and edge data may be acquired before the resist coating processing and development processing to determine whether there is an abnormality. Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to a cleaning processing unit that performs a cleaning process while rotating the substrate W, for example, different from the substrate processing apparatus. However, since the edge exposure units EEW1 and EEW2 include the edge sensor 800 as an essential element necessary for the process, the edge data can be acquired using the edge sensor 800, and the hardware can be modified. The present invention can be practiced without doing so.

  The substrate W to be processed by the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to a φ300 mm semiconductor wafer, and may be a φ200 mm semiconductor wafer, and further, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. Etc. In the case of a semiconductor wafer having a diameter of 200 mm, since an orientation flat (orientation flat) is formed instead of the notch, an abnormality in the orientation flat angle is determined based on the edge data.

  Further, the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus incorporating the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the form shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and various arrangement configurations can be adopted. is there.

1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus incorporating a rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a front view of the liquid processing part of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a front view of the heat processing part of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the periphery structure of the substrate mounting part of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating a conveyance robot. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of an edge exposure unit. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the control mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows an EEW controller and its surrounding control mechanism. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence in an edge exposure unit. It is a figure which shows an example of edge data.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indexer block 2 Bark block 3 Resist application block 4 Development processing block 5 Interface block 200 Holding | maintenance rotation part 210 Adsorption chuck | zipper 220 Rotation motor 300 Y-axis drive part 400 X-axis drive part 500 Exposure part 530 Exposure head 800 Edge sensor 900 EEW controller 901 Edge data acquisition unit 902 Edge data monitoring unit 903 Alarm issuing unit 904 Teaching data correction unit EEW1, EEW2 Edge exposure unit BRC1 to BRC3, SC1 to SC3 Application processing unit CC Cell controller MC Main controller NT Notch SD1 to SD5 Development processing unit TC Transfer robot controller TD Teaching data TR1 to TR4 Transfer robot W Substrate

Claims (8)

A rotary substrate processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing while rotating a substrate,
Holding and rotating means for holding and rotating the substrate;
Edge detection means for detecting the position of the edge of the substrate held by the holding rotation means;
Before performing the predetermined processing, the edge including the edge position information of the substrate is obtained by causing the edge detection unit to sequentially detect the position of the edge of the substrate while rotating the substrate by the holding and rotating unit. Edge position information acquisition means for acquiring data;
Monitoring means for monitoring the acquired edge data;
A rotary substrate processing apparatus comprising: The rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The rotary substrate processing apparatus, wherein the monitoring unit determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the amount of eccentricity of the substrate held by the holding and rotating unit based on the edge data. The rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The rotation is characterized in that the monitoring means determines that the amount of eccentricity of the substrate is abnormal when the amplitude of the sine curve drawn by the edge position information included in the edge data is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. Type substrate processing apparatus. In the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The rotary substrate processing apparatus, wherein the monitoring unit determines whether or not the notch angle of the substrate held by the holding and rotating unit is abnormal based on the edge data. In the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The rotary substrate processing apparatus, wherein the monitoring unit determines whether or not the edge detection unit is abnormal based on the edge data. In the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
A rotary substrate processing apparatus, further comprising warning issuing means for issuing a warning when the monitoring means determines that there is an abnormality. In the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,
When the monitoring unit determines that there is an abnormality in the amount of eccentricity of the substrate, the information processing unit further includes teaching information correction unit that corrects teaching information of a transfer robot that loads the substrate into the rotary substrate processing apparatus based on the edge data. A rotary substrate processing apparatus. In the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
An exposure head for irradiating light to the edge of the substrate held by the holding rotation means;
The predetermined process is an edge exposure process in which the edge of the substrate rotated by the holding and rotating means is irradiated with light from the exposure head to expose the edge. Substrate processing equipment.

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