JP2009283535A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which eliminates the problem that a great number of on-screen manipulations makes operation troublesome to improve work efficiency and operation comfortability. <P>SOLUTION: The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a plurality of substrate processing modules capable of vacuum airtight condition each of which is connected in parallel to one side of an air transfer chamber and has a front chamber communicating with one side of the air transfer chamber and a substrate processing chamber communicating with the front chamber, a substrate housing unit which is connected to the other side of the air transfer chamber and holds a plurality of substrates, one substrate transfer device which is disposed in the air transfer chamber and transfers a substrate to the substrate processing module or to the substrate housing unit via the air transfer chamber, second substrate transfer devices each of which is disposed in each of the front chambers making up the substrate processing modules to transfer a substrate between the front chamber and substrate processing chamber, and a control means which controls pressure to the first substrate transfer device, to the second substrate transfer device, and to the front chamber. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly to a screen switching technique on an operation screen of an operation unit, and more particularly to screen control for controlling the screen.

  A screen controller of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes various screens such as a monitor data display screen and a parameter editing screen, and each screen is classified and managed according to the purpose of use.

  In order to access the target screen, detailed functions are selected in order from the upper layer, so that the number of screen operations increases and work efficiency decreases.

  When moving from the three-level VL1 gas screen of the screen 1 in FIG. 4 to the three-level VL1 recipe screen of the screen 2, to go back to the first-level system screen and move to the VL1 recipe editing screen and the VL1 recipe screen. The number of operations is 3. That is, the number of times of switching the screen is large and the operation is troublesome.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that solves the problems that the number of screen operations is large and the operation is troublesome, improves work efficiency, and improves operation comfort.

  The first feature of the present invention is an atmospheric transfer chamber and a substrate processing module capable of being vacuum-tightly connected in parallel to one side of the atmospheric transfer chamber, and communicates with one side of the atmospheric transfer chamber. A plurality of substrate processing modules configured from a front chamber and a substrate processing chamber communicating with the front chamber, a substrate storage unit connected to the other side of the atmospheric transfer chamber and holding a plurality of substrates, and the atmospheric transfer chamber A first substrate transfer apparatus for transferring a substrate to the substrate processing module or the substrate storage unit via an atmospheric transfer chamber, and a plurality of front chambers constituting the plurality of substrate processing modules And a second substrate transport device that transports a substrate between the front chamber and the substrate processing chamber, and controls the pressure of the first substrate transport device, the second substrate transport device, and the front chamber. Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus provided with control means There, the said control unit is to display the entire summary display screen that displays a summary of the entire semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

  According to a second feature of the present invention, in the first feature, a screen control unit that receives an input on a predetermined screen and a screen switching unit that switches a screen when a button is pressed on the predetermined screen are provided. When a predetermined item is selected on the overall overview display screen, the item screen is switched to be displayed.

  The third feature of the present invention is that, in the first or second feature, the overall summary display screen is displayed in a tree form.

  Since the number of screen operations is reduced, work efficiency is improved and operation stress is reduced.

  In the best mode for carrying out the present invention, as an example, the substrate processing apparatus is configured as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs processing steps in a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device (IC). FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of an in-line type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The in-line type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is divided into a vacuum side and an atmosphere side.

  Two substrate processing modules MD1 and MD2 are provided in parallel on the vacuum side. The substrate processing module MD1 includes a process chamber PM1 as a vacuum-tight substrate processing chamber connected in-line, and a vacuum-tight vacuum lock chamber VL1 as a front chamber provided in the preceding stage. The substrate processing module MD2 includes a process chamber PM2 serving as a vacuum-tight substrate processing chamber connected in-line, and a vacuum-tight vacuum lock chamber VL2 serving as a front chamber provided in the preceding stage. The process chamber PM1 and the vacuum lock chamber VL1 are connected by a gate valve G1. The process chamber PM2 and the vacuum lock chamber VL2 are connected by a gate valve G2.

  The process chambers PM1 and PM2 have a function of giving added value to the wafer W as a substrate, such as film formation by chemical reaction (for example, CVD). In addition, it has a mechanism suitable for the film formation method, such as a gas introduction / exhaust mechanism and a temperature control / plasma discharge mechanism.

  The vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2 are configured to be capable of controlling the vacuum or atmospheric pressure in the chamber. In addition, the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2 are independently provided with vacuum robots VR1 and VR2 as second substrate transfer devices, respectively, between the process chamber PM1 and the vacuum lock chamber VL1, or between the process chamber PM2 and the vacuum chamber. The wafer W can be transferred between the lock chambers VL2. Further, the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2 have a multi-stage type that can hold the wafer W, for example, two stages of upper and lower stages. The upper buffer stages LS1 and LS2 have a mechanism for holding the wafer W, and the lower cooling stages CS1 and CS2 have a mechanism for cooling the wafer W.

  On the atmosphere side, there are an atmosphere loader LM as an atmosphere transfer chamber connected to the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2 constituting the substrate processing modules MD1 and MD2, and two units as substrate storage units connected to the atmosphere loader LM. Load ports LP1 and LP2 are provided. The atmospheric loader LM and the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2 have a multi-stage type capable of holding the wafer W, for example, two upper and lower stages. The upper buffer stages LS1 and LS2 have a mechanism for holding the wafer W, and the lower cooling stages CS1 and CS2 have a mechanism for cooling the wafer W.

  On the atmosphere side, there are an atmosphere loader LM as an atmosphere transfer chamber connected to the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2 constituting the substrate processing modules MD1 and MD2, and two units as substrate storage units connected to the atmosphere loader LM. Load ports LP1 and LP2 are provided. The atmospheric loader LM and the vacuum lock chamber VL1 are connected by a load door G3 (gate valve). The atmospheric loader LM and the vacuum lock chamber VL2 are connected by a load door G4 (gate valve). The atmospheric loader LM is provided with one atmospheric robot AR, and can transfer the wafer W between the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2 and the load ports LP1 and LP2. In addition, the atmospheric loader LM is provided with an aligner unit AU as a substrate position correction device, and it is possible to correct the deviation of the wafer W during transfer and perform notch alignment (hereinafter referred to as alignment) that aligns the notch in a certain direction. It has become. The load ports LP1 and LP2 are configured so that carriers CR1 and CR2 that can hold a plurality of wafers W can be delivered to the outside of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

  The above-described vacuum robots VR1, VR2, atmospheric robot AR, gate valves G1, G2, load doors G3, G4, gas introduction / exhaust mechanisms of process chambers PM1, PM2, temperature control / plasma discharge mechanism, and vacuum lock chamber VL1 , VL2 cooling mechanism and the like are controlled by the control means CNT.

  In addition, the control means CNT includes the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2 from the process chambers PM1 and PM2 of the substrate processing modules MD1 and MD2 that have completed processing in the process chambers PM1 and PM2 among the two substrate processing modules MD1 and MD2. The atmospheric robot AR is controlled so as to transport the processed wafer W. When it is detected that the processed wafer W has been transferred to the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2, the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2 are controlled to return from the vacuum pressure to the atmospheric pressure, and the processed wafer W is transferred. In order to transfer the unprocessed wafer W to the processed substrate processing modules MD1 and MD2, in parallel with this atmospheric pressure return control, the next unprocessed wafer W is transferred from the load ports LP1 and LP2 to the atmospheric loader LM. The vacuum robots VR1 and VR2 are controlled to wait.

  The means for detecting that the processed wafer W has been transferred to the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2 is that the processed wafer W is mounted on the substrate mounting portion of the vacuum robots VR1 and VR2, and the vacuum robots VR1 and VR2 A sensor configured to detect that the substrate placement unit is in the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2, or a sensor that detects the processed wafer W held in the substrate holding unit provided in the vacuum lock chambers VL1 and VL2. Or can be configured with

  A vacuum robot VR is provided inside the vacuum lock chamber VL, and the upper buffer stage LS includes three pins that can support the wafer W at three points. The lower cooling stage CS is composed of a plate PL that can come into surface contact with the wafer W.

  The sensor is attached to a predetermined location of the vacuum lock chamber VL. For example, the sensor S1 that detects the presence or absence of the wafer W on the stages LS and CS is provided on the lid side corresponding to a predetermined part on the plate PL. When the process chamber PM is carried in / out, the sensor S2 for detecting the presence / absence of a wafer on the vacuum robot VR is provided on the lid side corresponding to a predetermined part before the opening leading to the process chamber PM side. In the following description, the case of the sensor S1 will be described.

  In each of the substrate processing modules MD1 and MD2, the wafer W is transferred independently. The wafer W is received from the buffer stage LS1 or LS2 in the vacuum lock chamber VL1 or VL2 by the vacuum robot VR1 or VR2, and loaded into the process chamber PM1 or PM2, and the wafer W is processed, for example, plasma processing. When the processing of the wafer W is completed, the processed wafer W is received by the vacuum robot VR1 or VR2, and held in the cooling stage CS1 or CS2 in the vacuum lock chamber VL1 or VL2, thereby cooling the wafer W.

  After cooling, the vacuum lock chamber VL1 or VL2 is returned to atmospheric pressure. In parallel with returning the vacuum lock chamber VL1 or VL2 to atmospheric pressure, the unprocessed wafer W is taken out from the carrier CR1 or CR2 of the load port LP1 or LP2 to the atmospheric loader LM by the atmospheric robot AR, and the aligner unit AU is removed. Alignment is performed, and the process waits in front of the vacuum lock chamber VL1 or VL2 until the vacuum lock chamber VL1 or VL2 returns to atmospheric pressure.

  After returning to atmospheric pressure, the aligned wafer W that has been waiting is carried from the atmospheric loader LM to the buffer stage LS1 or LS2 in the vacuum lock chamber VL1 or VL2 by the atmospheric robot AR. On the other hand, the cooled wafer W is taken out from the vacuum lock chamber VL1 or VL2 by the atmospheric robot AR, and delivered to the carrier CR1 or CR2 of the load port LP1 or LP2 via the atmospheric loader LM. The above-described series of processing is repeated.

  Here, the control means CNT for controlling the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus described above will be specifically described. The control means CNT is connected to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus as a control controller, and the control controller is configured to have means for carrying control and process control. The structure of the controller for control like FIG. 2 is shown.

  As the control controller, the operation unit 100, the overall control controller 90, and the process chamber controllers PMC 1 and PMC 2 are connected by a LAN circuit 80. The operation unit 100 is configured to have screens and functions for system control command instructions, monitor display, logging data, alarm analysis, parameter editing, and the like. Here, the control controller corresponds to the control means CNT in FIG.

  The overall control controller 90 controls the operation of the entire system, the vacuum robot controller 91, the atmospheric robot controller 92, and the VL exhaust system (MFC 93, valves, pumps, etc.).

  In the process chamber controllers PMC1 and PMC2, in order to individually control each process chamber PM, a mass flow controller MFC11 that controls the flow rate of gas, an auto pressure controller APC12 that controls the pressure in the process chamber PM, and the temperature in the chamber Are connected to a temperature regulator 13 for controlling the on / off operation, an input / output valve I / O 14 for controlling on / off of a gas exhaust valve, and the like.

  As an operation example of this control controller, the overall controller 90 that has received a command instruction from the operation unit 100 instructs the atmospheric robot controller 92 to instruct wafer W transfer. After the wafer W is transferred from the carrier CR to the buffer stage LS of the vacuum lock chamber VL, vacuum exhaust control (pump and valve control) of the vacuum lock chamber VL is performed. When the vacuum lock chamber VL reaches a predetermined vacuum pressure, the vacuum robot VR is instructed to transfer the wafer W to the process chamber PM. When the transfer is completed and the gate valve G is closed, a process recipe execution instruction is issued to the corresponding process chamber controller PMC.

  The operation unit 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control controller includes an operation unit 100 constructed from a personal computer or the like. The operation unit 100 is connected to the overall controller 90 process chamber controllers PMC1, PMC2, etc. via the LAN circuit 80. The operation unit 100 is connected to an input device 81 configured with a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, a display device 82 configured with a television monitor, a storage device 83 configured with a storage medium driving device, and the like. The operation unit 100 can be connected to the host computer 84.

  The operation unit 100 includes a GUI (graphical user interface) system as the screen control unit 85. The GUI system selects an icon (graphic symbol representing a function) on the operation screen displayed on the display device 82 by pointing with the mouse pointer for quick operation or by selecting with the cursor for selection. And data (information) such as processes, commands, judgments, and control parameters can be input.

  The operation unit 100 incorporates a screen switching system (screen switching unit) 86. When a predetermined button is pressed, the screen switching unit 86 displays a menu screen on the operation screen, and when an item (file) displayed on the menu screen is selected, the screen is switched to the selected screen. It is configured as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the menu screen in the present embodiment is configured in a tree shape with the screen displaying the outline of the entire apparatus as the top.

  The menu screen is always displayed on an arbitrary screen and can be moved and resized. The hierarchy can be expanded and closed by pressing the upper right icon (+ (or-) button, etc.) like the folder display of Windows Explorer.

  By clicking (selecting) a menu (item) displayed on the menu screen, the clicked (selected) screen can be displayed.

It is a top view which shows the structure of the in-line type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus by embodiment. It is a block diagram of the controller for control of the in-line type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus by embodiment. It is a detail drawing of the controller for control of the in-line type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus by embodiment. Diagram for explaining conventional screen switching Menu screen showing substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

85 Screen controller (GUI)
86 Screen switching unit (screen switching system)
90 General controller 100 Operation unit (CNT control means)

Claims (3)

An atmospheric transfer chamber, a vacuum-tight substrate processing module connected in parallel to one side of the atmospheric transfer chamber, a front chamber communicating with one side of the atmospheric transfer chamber, and a substrate processing chamber communicating with the front chamber A plurality of substrate processing modules, a substrate storage unit connected to the other side of the atmospheric transfer chamber and holding a plurality of substrates, and the substrate processing provided in the atmospheric transfer chamber via the atmospheric transfer chamber A first substrate transfer device for transferring a substrate to the module or the substrate storage unit, and a plurality of front chambers constituting the plurality of substrate processing modules, respectively; a front chamber and a substrate processing chamber; A semiconductor substrate manufacturing apparatus comprising: a second substrate transfer device for transferring a substrate between the first substrate transfer device; a first substrate transfer device; a second substrate transfer device; and a control means for controlling the pressure in the front chamber. And
The said control means displays the whole outline | summary display screen which displays the outline | summary of the whole semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.   The control means includes a screen control unit that receives an input on a predetermined screen, and a screen switching unit that switches a screen when a button is pressed on the predetermined screen, and when a predetermined item is selected on the overall overview display screen 2. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the item screen is switched and displayed. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the overall overview display screen is displayed in a tree form.

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