JP2010067878A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure capable of improving productivity even when conveying a large number of substrates to be processed. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate processing apparatus includes: a conveyance chamber 50 which is moved along a prescribed movement route 55 to convey a first cassette 54 wherein a plurality of processing object substrates 12 can be stored; a plurality of processing chambers 16 which are disposed around the moving route 55 of the conveyance chamber 50 and process the processing object substrates 12; a buffer chamber 42 which is disposed between the processing chambers 16 and the conveyance chamber 50 and has a second chamber 43 wherein the plurality of processing object substrates 12 can be stored; and a cassette placing part 47 capable of temporarily placing the first cassette 54 between the buffer chamber 42 and the conveyance chamber 50. When processing object substrates 12 are delivered one by one by a substrate delivery robot 44 provided between the first cassette 54 temporarily placed in the cassette placing part 47 from the conveyance chamber 50 and the second cassette 43 disposed in the buffer chamber 42, an inert gas or vacuum atmosphere is produced in the apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a substrate processing apparatus used when manufacturing an organic EL device, a liquid crystal device, and a semiconductor device includes a plurality of processing chambers that process a substrate to be processed as described in Patent Document 1, for example.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship of a conventional substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus 1000 is provided with a plurality of processing stations 1111 in which processing chambers 1112 are arranged in a cluster system. For example, when forming a thin film of a functional layer of an organic EL element that is weak against moisture, oxygen, or the like, the processing chamber 1112 is set to an atmosphere different from the atmosphere such as vacuum or nitrogen. In the processing station 1111, a transfer robot 1115 for transferring the substrate 1113 to be processed to each processing chamber 1112 is disposed at the center of the chamber 1114. Here, the plurality of processing stations 1111 are arranged in the order of processing with respect to the processing target substrate 1113, and the processing target substrate 1113 can be transferred to the adjacent processing station 1111 via the substrate transfer path 1116. Yes.
JP 2006-190894 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, since the substrate to be processed is transported one by one by a transport robot, the transport time per substrate to be processed increases as the number of substrates to be processed increases. . For this reason, it takes time to connect the chambers and replace the interior of each chamber with an atmosphere different from the atmosphere, and as a result, there is a concern that productivity may be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of improving productivity even when the number of substrates to be processed is large.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention includes a transfer chamber that transfers a first cassette that moves along a predetermined movement path and can accommodate a plurality of substrates to be processed, and a movement path of the transfer chamber. A plurality of processing chambers disposed around the substrate and processing the substrate to be processed; a buffer chamber having a second cassette disposed between the processing chamber and the transfer chamber and capable of accommodating the plurality of substrates to be processed; A cassette mounting portion that can temporarily place the first cassette between the buffer chamber and the transfer chamber, and the first cassette temporarily placed on the cassette mounting portion from the transfer chamber, When the substrates to be processed are transferred one by one by a substrate transfer robot provided between the second cassette and the second cassette, the internal atmosphere is changed. It characterized in that it is an active gas or vacuum atmosphere.
According to this configuration, since a plurality of substrates to be processed are collectively transported by the first cassette, the production time per substrate can be shortened. In the conventional substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the substrates to be processed are transported one by one, it takes time to connect the chambers and replace the interior of each chamber with an inert gas atmosphere, resulting in poor production efficiency. However, in the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, since a plurality of substrates to be processed are transported simultaneously in units of cassettes, the total production time is divided and reduced by the number of sheets accommodated in the first cassette. Can be increased.

In the present invention, the substrate storage chamber has at least two buffer chambers at positions where the substrate to be processed can be transferred from the first cassette temporarily placed on the cassette mounting portion of the substrate transfer robot. It is desirable that they are arranged.
According to this configuration, it is possible to accommodate a large number of substrates to be processed, and to separate and accommodate the substrates processed in the processing chamber and the unprocessed substrates, so that the production time per substrate can be greatly reduced. Can be shortened.

In this invention, the said cassette mounting part can be expanded-contracted in the said conveyance direction to the edge part by which the said 1st cassette is conveyed from the said conveyance chamber, and the said cassette mounting part and the said It is desirable to provide a seal member that is hermetically sealed by connecting the transfer chamber.
According to this configuration, since the cassette mounting portion in which the first cassette is disposed is hermetically connected to the transfer chamber without moving, the production efficiency is good and the first cassette can be reliably transferred. .

In the present invention, the substrate to be processed or the first cassette is provided at a transfer port of the substrate to be processed or the first cassette between the transfer chamber, the processing chamber, the buffer chamber, and the cassette mounting portion. It is desirable to provide a gate valve that hermetically seals a space to which at least one of them is delivered.
According to this configuration, the atmosphere of each chamber can be maintained at a predetermined atmosphere, and it is possible to easily add a new chamber or remove an existing chamber. Further, the substrate to be processed or the first cassette can be delivered while maintaining the inert gas atmosphere.

In the present invention, the transfer chamber includes a slider on which at least two of the first cassettes can be arranged, and the slider moves in the transfer chamber in a direction along the transfer path of the transfer chamber and the movement of the transfer chamber. It is desirable to be able to move in a direction perpendicular to the direction along the route.
According to this configuration, the first cassette can transport a large number of the first cassettes at the same time, and can accommodate an empty first cassette that does not contain a substrate to be processed and a substrate that has been processed in the processing chamber. Furthermore, since it can be placed separately in the first cassette that accommodates unprocessed substrates, the production time per substrate can be significantly shortened.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment shows one aspect of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Moreover, in the following drawings, in order to make each structure easy to understand, an actual structure and a scale, a number, and the like in each structure are different.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration plan view of a substrate processing apparatus 1 which is an embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus used for manufacturing an organic EL device, a liquid crystal device, a semiconductor device and the like provided with a substrate 12 to be processed. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a plurality of cluster-type processing stations 13a to 13f, a plurality of transmission / reception units 40a to 40f connected to the plurality of processing stations 13a to 13f, and a plurality of the transmission / reception units 40a to 40f. And a cassette transfer chamber 14 connected to be able to communicate with 40f.

  Therefore, for example, when manufacturing an organic EL device, a film forming process using a CVD method, a sputtering method, and a vapor deposition method in a vacuum atmosphere is applied to the element substrate as the substrate 12 to be processed, and a photolithography technique is used. Such a patterning process, an organic film sealing process in a nitrogen atmosphere, and a coating process using an inkjet method in a nitrogen atmosphere can be performed.

  Hereinafter, the first processing station 13a among the plurality of processing stations 13a to 13f will be mainly described, and the first transmission / reception unit 40a among the plurality of transmission / reception units 40a to 40f will be described in detail.

  The first processing station 13a includes a first fixed chamber 15a maintained in an inert gas atmosphere. Around the first fixed chamber 15a, a plurality of processing chambers 16 for performing desired processing on the substrate 12 to be processed in an inert gas atmosphere are arranged. Since the substrate 12 is continuously processed in an inert gas atmosphere, the other processing stations 13b to 13f are also transported between the processing chambers 16 and the processing stations 13a to 13f. It has a simple configuration.

  A substrate transfer robot 17 is disposed at the center of the first fixed chamber 15a. The substrate transport robot 17 includes an arm 18 that transports, picks up, and places the substrate 12 to be processed. The first fixed chamber 15a and the processing chamber 16 are connected to a vacuuming device (not shown) such as a vacuum pump and a nitrogen gas supply device (not shown) for creating an inert gas atmosphere.

  Further, for example, a load chamber 19 for carrying the substrate 12 to be processed into the substrate processing apparatus 1 from the outside is connected to one of the eight sides 20 of the first fixed chamber 15a. Further, the processing chamber 16 is connected to four of the eight sides 20. The four side portions 20 are provided with gate valves (not shown) that switch the side portions 20 to an open state or a closed state. Of the eight sides 20, one side 20 on the first transmission / reception unit 40a side (the transfer port for the substrate 12 to be processed) is connected to the transport path 23 via the gate valve 21a. The transport path 23 is connected to the first transmission / reception unit 40a via the gate valve 21b.

  The other processing stations 13b to 13f have the same configuration as the first processing station 13a. In the sixth processing station 13f, for example, an unload chamber 22 for carrying out the substrate 12 to be processed from the substrate processing apparatus 1 to the outside of one of the eight sides 20 of the sixth fixed chamber 15f. It is connected.

  The first transmission / reception unit 40a includes a first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a maintained in an inert gas atmosphere. A substrate transmission / reception robot 44 is disposed in the center of the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a. The substrate sending / receiving robot 44 includes an arm 45 that carries, picks up, and places the substrate 12 to be processed.

  Of the four sides of the first fixed delivery chamber 41a, one side on the first fixed chamber 15a side (the transfer port of the substrate 12 to be processed) is connected to the transfer path 23 via the gate valve 21b. ing. In addition, one of the four sides of the first fixed delivery chamber 41a on the cassette transfer chamber 14 side (the transfer port for the substrate 12 to be processed) can communicate with the cassette mounting portion 47 via the gate valve 21d. It is connected to the. Further, the cassette mounting section 47 can be expanded and contracted in the transport direction of the first cassette 54 on the cassette transport chamber 14 side, and the cassette mounting section 47 and the transport chamber 50 are connected to make the inside airtight. A sealing member 48 is provided. A gate valve 21e is provided on the cassette conveying chamber 14 side of the seal member 48.

  In addition, two of the four sides of the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41 a (portions other than the transfer port of the substrate 12 to be processed) are connected to the buffer chamber (substrate housing chamber) 42 so as to communicate therewith. At least two buffer chambers 42 are arranged to face the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a via the gate valve 21c. In the present embodiment, two buffer chambers 42 are arranged. Inside the buffer chamber 42, a second cassette 43 capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates to be processed 12 is disposed. A detailed description of the buffer chamber 42 will be described later. (See Figure 2)

  The cassette transfer chamber 14 is provided so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the substrate to be processed 12 is transferred to and from the cassette mounting portion 47 by the substrate transfer robot 44. One side of the four sides of the fixed transmission / reception chambers 41 a to 41 f is connected to both sides of the cassette transfer chamber 14. Here, in the cassette transfer chamber 14, a transfer chamber 50 for transferring the first cassette 54, a transfer base 51 for moving the transfer chamber 50, and the transfer base 51 along the direction in which the cassette transfer chamber 14 extends. And a conveyance guide (movement path) 55 as a conveyance rail to be guided. By this transfer guide 55, the transfer chamber 50 can be reciprocated in the extending direction. In the transfer chamber 50, a gate valve 21 f is attached to the transfer port of the first cassette 54 with the cassette mounting portion 47.

  The cassette transfer chamber 14 is set in a high clean atmosphere so that dust does not adhere to the transfer chamber 50. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the cassette transfer chamber 14 and prevent the dust from being caught even when the transfer chamber 50 and the cassette mounting portion 47 are in close contact with each other via the gate valves 21e and 21f. it can.

  The inside of the transfer chamber 50 is set to an inert gas atmosphere such as a vacuum atmosphere or a nitrogen atmosphere, and includes a slider 53 as a table on which the substrate 12 to be processed is placed. The slider 53 can arrange at least two first cassettes 54. In the present embodiment, the slider 53 can be arranged with two first cassettes 54. The slider 53 is movable by a drive mechanism (not shown) in a direction along the conveyance guide 55 and in a direction perpendicular to the direction along the conveyance guide 55.

  A vacuum pump 52 (for example, a dry pump) or a nitrogen gas supply device (not shown) for making the inside of the transfer chamber 50 an inert gas atmosphere such as a vacuum atmosphere or a nitrogen atmosphere is attached to the transfer base 51. Yes. However, only the vacuum pump 52 for making the inside of the transfer chamber 50 a vacuum atmosphere may be attached.

  The conveyance guide 55 is formed in a convex shape, for example, and extends from the first transmission / reception unit 40a side to the fifth transmission / reception unit 40e side. The transport base 51 is formed with a concave recess, and the convex transport guide 55 and the concave transport base 51 are slidably arranged. That is, by moving the transport base 51 with the transport guide 55 as a guide, the transport chamber 50 can be easily moved to the positions of the fixed transmission / reception chambers 41a to 41f.

  The positional relationship between the first fixed chamber 15a and the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a is such that the gate valve 21a of the first fixed chamber 15a and the gate valve 21b of the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a (upper side of the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a) respectively. The first fixed chamber 15a may be separated from the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a, for example, as long as the substrate 12 can be communicated in an open state and can be transported in the inert gas atmosphere.

  In addition, the positional relationship between the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a and the cassette mounting portion 47 is determined by the cassette mounting portion 47 via the gate valve 21d (below the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a) of the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a. It is only necessary that the substrate to be processed 12 can be transported in an inert gas atmosphere while being connectable.

  In addition, the positional relationship between the cassette mounting portion 47 and the cassette transport chamber 14 is such that the gate valve 21e of the cassette mounting portion 47 and the gate valve 21f of the cassette transport chamber 14 (upper side of the cassette transport chamber 14) are expanded and contracted by the seal member 48. As long as it can be connected and the first cassette 54 can be transported in an inert gas atmosphere, for example, the cassette transport chamber 14 may be separated from the cassette mounting portion 47.

  In other words, it is sufficient that only the connection portion can be brought into close contact with a specified accuracy. Further, as long as the gate valves 21a, 21b, 21d, 21e, and 21f satisfy the above-described positional relationship, the positions of the fixed chambers 15a to 15f and the fixed transmission / reception chambers 41a to 41f may be shifted from each other.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration perspective view of the buffer chamber 42 arranged to face the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a. The buffer chamber 42 includes a second cassette 43 that can accommodate a plurality of substrates 12 to be processed, and a vertical movement means 65. Further, the buffer chamber 42 is provided with a transfer port 44 for transferring the substrate 12 to be processed between the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a. Furthermore, a gate valve 21c (see FIG. 1) for switching opening and closing of the transfer port 44 is provided between the buffer chamber 42 and the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a.

  The second cassette 43 includes a support base 61 and a plurality of support columns 62 provided to protrude from the support base 61. The second cassette 43 can be moved in the vertical direction by the vertical movement means 65. The support base 61 is a plate-like member disposed substantially parallel to the horizontal plane, and is connected to the vertical movement means 65. A plurality of support columns 62 are provided so as to protrude from the upper surface of the support base 61 in a direction perpendicular to the support base 61.

  Each of the support columns 62 is formed with a plurality of accommodating convex portions 63 protruding toward the inside of the second cassette 43 at equal intervals. A plurality of chamber slots 64 stacked in the vertical direction are formed by the space formed by the accommodating convex portions 63 provided in each of the columns 62. That is, the substrate 12 to be processed is accommodated in the chamber slot 64 in a plane substantially parallel to the horizontal plane so that a plurality of edge portions are supported by the accommodating convex portions 63. Thereby, the to-be-processed substrate 12 is piled up and accommodated at intervals in the up-down direction.

  Although not shown, the configuration of the first cassette 54 is the same as the configuration of the second cassette 43 described above. That is, the second cassette 43 is fixedly disposed inside the buffer chamber 42, whereas the cassette 54 is freely movable without being fixed at a predetermined position.

(Transport operation)
3 and 4 are explanatory views showing the periphery of the cassette transfer chamber 14 in the transfer operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The overall transfer operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1, and in particular, the transfer operation around the cassette transfer chamber 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Note that the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment performs, for example, processing from the first processing station 13a to the third processing station 13c first, and then sequentially to the sixth processing station 13f.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 12 to be processed is carried into the substrate processing apparatus 1 through the load chamber 19. Next, in the first processing station 13a, a desired process is performed on the substrate 12 to be processed in an inert gas atmosphere. The substrate 12 to be processed is transferred from the load chamber 19 to the processing chamber 16 by the substrate transfer robot 17. Further, the substrate transfer robot 17 also transfers between the processing chambers 16.

  Next, the substrate 12 to be processed is transferred from the first processing station 13a to the first transmission / reception unit 40a. First, the gate valves 21a and 21b are changed from the closed state to the open state, and the first fixed chamber 15a and the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a are communicated with each other. Then, the substrate 12 to be processed is transferred from the first fixed chamber 15 a to the transfer path 23 using the substrate transfer robot 17. Next, the substrate 12 is transferred from the transfer path 23 to the first fixed transfer chamber 41a using the substrate transfer robot 44, and then the gate valves 21a and 21b are changed from the open state to the closed state.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3A, the gate valve 21c between the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a and the buffer chamber 42 is changed from the closed state to the open state, and the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a and the buffer chamber 42 are connected. Communicate. Then, the substrate 12 is accommodated in the second cassette 43 inside the buffer chamber 42 from the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41 a by using the substrate transmission / reception robot 44. By repeating the above steps, a desired number of substrates to be processed 12 can be accommodated in the second cassette 43. Further, since two buffer chambers 42 are provided, at least one buffer chamber 42 can be used according to the number of substrates 12 to be processed. In the present embodiment, one buffer chamber 42 is used.

  Next, the slider 53 in the transfer chamber 50 is moved to a position close to the cassette mounting portion 47. On the slider 53, an empty cassette 54a in which the substrate 12 to be processed is not accommodated and a cassette 54b in which the substrate 12 to be processed are accommodated are placed in parallel. That is, the position where the empty cassette 54 a of the slider 53 is placed is moved to a position close to the cassette placement portion 47. Note that the slider 53 may be made to wait in advance at a position close to the cassette mounting portion 47. Further, since the cassette mounting portion 47 is in an inert gas atmosphere, the inside of the transfer chamber 50 is kept in an inert gas atmosphere.

  Next, the seal member 48 at the end of the cassette mounting portion 47 is changed from the contracted state to the extended state, and the gate valve 21e on the cassette transfer chamber 14 side of the cassette mounting portion 47 and the gate valve provided in the transfer chamber 50 are used. 21f is adhered. Next, the gate valves 21e and 21f are changed from the closed state to the open state, and the cassette mounting portion 47 and the transfer chamber 50 are communicated with each other. Then, an empty cassette 54 a is disposed on the cassette mounting portion 47 from the slider 53 provided inside the transfer chamber 50. After disposing the empty cassette 54a, the gate valves 21e and 21f are changed from the open state to the closed state.

  Next, the gate valve 21d of the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a is changed from the closed state to the open state, and the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a and the cassette mounting portion 47 are communicated with each other. Next, the gate valve 21c between the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a and the one buffer chamber 42 in which the substrate 12 to be processed is accommodated is changed from the closed state to the open state, and the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a One buffer chamber 42 is communicated. The first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a and one buffer chamber 42 may be communicated in advance.

  Next, the substrate 12 to be processed is transferred from the one buffer chamber 42 to the cassette mounting portion 47. That is, the substrate 12 is transferred from one second cassette 43 to an empty cassette 54a using the substrate transmission / reception robot 44. Here, since the inside of the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a and the inside of the buffer chamber 42 are maintained in an inert gas atmosphere, the plurality of substrates to be processed 12 can be transferred continuously to the empty cassette 54a. Then, after transferring the desired number of substrates 12 to be processed, the gate valve 21c between the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a and one buffer chamber 42, and the gate valve 21d of the first fixed transmission / reception chamber 41a, Change from open to closed. Next, the gate valves 21e and 21f are changed from the closed state to the open state, and the cassette mounting portion 47 and the transfer chamber 50 are communicated with each other.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, after a cassette 54c in which a desired number of substrates to be processed 12 are transferred is arranged on the slider 53, the gate valves 21e and 21f are changed from the open state to the closed state, and then the seal is formed. The member 48 is changed from the extended state to the contracted state, and the gate valves 21e and 21f are separated (close contact is released). Next, the slider 53 is moved from a position close to the cassette mounting portion 47 to the original position. Here, on the slider 53, a cassette 54b in which the substrate to be processed 12 is accommodated and a cassette 54c in which a desired number of substrates to be processed 12 are transferred are placed in parallel.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4A, the cassette 54c is conveyed to the third transmission / reception unit 40c. First, the transfer chamber 50 is moved to the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41 c side, and then the slider 53 is moved to a position close to the cassette mounting portion 47. Here, the position on which the first cassette 54 c where the desired number of substrates 12 to be processed has been moved is moved to a position close to the cassette mounting portion 47. It should be noted that the slider 53 may be placed on standby at a position close to the cassette placement portion 47 in advance. Further, since the cassette mounting portion 47 is in an inert gas atmosphere, the inside of the transfer chamber 50 is kept in an inert gas atmosphere.

  Next, the seal member 48 at the end of the cassette mounting portion 47 is changed from the contracted state to the extended state, and the gate valve 21e of the cassette mounting portion 47 and the gate valve 21f of the transfer chamber 50 are brought into close contact with each other. Next, the gate valves 21e and 21f are changed from the closed state to the open state, and the cassette mounting portion 47 and the transfer chamber 50 are communicated with each other. Then, the first cassette 54 c is arranged from the slider 53 of the transfer chamber 50 to the cassette mounting portion 47. After the first cassette 54c is arranged, the gate valves 21e and 21f are changed from the open state to the closed state.

  Next, the gate valve 21d of the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c is changed from the closed state to the open state, and the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c and the cassette mounting portion 47 are communicated with each other. Next, the gate valve 21c between the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c and the empty buffer chamber 42 in which the substrate 12 to be processed is not accommodated is changed from the closed state to the open state, so that the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c and the buffer The chamber 42 is communicated. The third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c and the empty buffer chamber 42 may be communicated in advance.

  Next, the substrate 12 to be processed is transferred from the cassette mounting portion 47 to the empty buffer chamber 42. That is, the substrate to be processed 12 is transferred from the first cassette 54 c to the empty second cassette 43 using the substrate transmission / reception robot 44. Here, since the inside of the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c and the inside of the buffer chamber 42 are maintained in an inert gas atmosphere, the plurality of substrates to be processed 12 can be transferred continuously to the empty second cassette 43. . After the desired number of substrates to be processed 12 are transferred, the gate valve 21c between the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c and the buffer chamber 42 and the gate valve 21d of the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c are opened. To the closed state.

  Next, the substrate 12 to be processed is transferred from the buffer chamber 42 to the transfer path 23. First, the gate valve 21c between the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c and the buffer chamber 42 and the gate valve 21b (upper side of the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c) of the third fixed transmission / reception chamber 41c are changed from the closed state to the open state. Thus, the buffer chamber 42 and the transfer path 23 are communicated with each other. Then, the substrate to be processed 12 is transferred from the buffer chamber 42 to the transfer path 23 using the substrate sending / receiving robot 44. After the substrate 12 is transferred, the gate valves 21c and 21b are changed from the open state to the closed state.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 12 to be processed is transferred from the transfer path 23 to the third processing station 13c. First, the gate valve 21a is changed from the closed state to the open state, and the transfer path 23 and the third fixed chamber 15c are communicated. Then, the substrate to be processed 12 is transferred from the transfer path 23 to the third fixed chamber 15 c using the substrate transfer robot 17. After the substrate 12 is transferred, the gate valve 21a is changed from the open state to the closed state. In the third processing station 13c, the substrate 12 to be processed is transferred between the processing chambers 16 by the substrate transfer robot 17 and processed.

  Thereafter, the substrate to be processed 12 is transported from the second processing station 13b to the sixth processing station 13f by the same method, and the substrate to be processed 12 is processed. Then, after the processing of the sixth processing station 13f is completed, the substrate 12 to be processed is taken out from the unload chamber 22.

  In this embodiment, the transport operation for transporting the substrate 12 to be processed from the first processing station 13a to the third processing station 13c has been described. First, the substrate to be processed is transferred from the first processing station 13a to the second processing station 13b. 12 may be conveyed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the second fixed chamber 15b of the second processing station 13b, the substrate 12 is transferred from the second processing station 13b to the fourth processing station on one side 20 of the eight sides 20. A direct conveyance path 32 is directly connected to 13d. This direct conveyance path 32 is connected to one side 20 of the eight sides 20 of the fourth fixed chamber 15d in the fourth processing station 13d. In the fixed chambers 15b and 15d, a side valve 20 (not shown) connected to the direct conveyance path 32 is provided with a gate valve (not shown). The substrate 12 can be directly transferred from the second fixed chamber 15b to the fourth fixed chamber 15d.

  In the substrate processing apparatus 1 configured as described above, since the direct transfer path 32 is provided, the transfer chamber 50 is used to transfer the substrate 12 to be processed to the second fixed chamber 15b, for example, depending on the processing contents. When the substrate 12 is unloaded from the second fixed chamber 15b to the fourth fixed chamber 15d, the direct transfer path 32 can be used. Therefore, the substrate 12 to be processed, which is different from the substrate 12 to be transferred by the direct transfer path 32, can be transferred to the other fixed chamber 15 by the transfer chamber 50. Further, depending on the contents of processing, the unload chamber 33 may be disposed in the fourth fixed chamber 15d, and the substrate 12 to be processed may be directly carried out of the unload chamber 33 to the outside. Other configurations are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, when the cassette 54 is transported to the third transmission / reception unit 40c, the cassette placement section 47 indicates the placement position of the first cassette 54c to which a desired number of substrates to be processed 12 have been transferred. However, as shown in FIG. 4B, the position where the first cassette 54b in which the substrate 12 to be processed is previously stored is moved to a position close to the cassette mounting portion 47. You may let them.

  According to the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the substrates to be processed 12 are transferred one by one between the first cassette 54 and the second cassette 43, and a plurality of substrates to be processed 12 are batched in the first cassette 54. Therefore, the production time per substrate can be shortened. In the conventional substrate processing apparatus 1000 (see FIG. 5) described in Patent Document 1, since the substrate to be processed 12 is transferred one by one, it takes time to connect the chambers and replace the interior of each chamber with an inert gas atmosphere. However, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present invention, the total production time is divided by the number of sheets accommodated in the first cassette by simultaneously transferring a plurality of substrates to be processed 12 in units of cassettes. Therefore, productivity can be significantly improved.

  Here, the point which can raise productivity remarkably is demonstrated. As an example, a case will be described in which ten substrates to be processed 12 are accommodated in the second cassette 43, and all the ten substrates to be processed 12 are transferred to empty cassettes 54a. In the prior art, it took 10 minutes to process one substrate 12 to be processed, including the time for connecting the chambers and replacing the interior of each chamber with an inert gas atmosphere. In the present invention, a plurality of substrates to be processed 12 can be transported in units of cassettes. However, since the transmission / reception unit 40 and the cassette mounting portion 47 are disposed, the connection of the chambers and the interior of the chambers are inert gas. The processing time including the time for replacing the atmosphere becomes longer, and it takes 40 minutes. However, the processing time of 40 minutes is 4 minutes when divided by the number of the 10 substrates to be processed 12 transferred from the second cassette 43 to the empty cassette 54a. As a result, when converted into one substrate, The production efficiency is improved by processing in units of cassettes as in the present invention, rather than processing the substrates 12 to be processed one by one as in the prior art.

  Further, according to this configuration, since the buffer chamber 42 is disposed at least two locations so as to face the fixed transmission / reception chamber 41 via the gate valve 21c, the buffer chamber 42 can accommodate a large amount of the substrate 12 to be processed. Since it can be stored separately in the processing chamber 16 and unprocessed one, the production time per substrate can be remarkably shortened.

  In addition, according to this configuration, since the seal member 48 is provided, the cassette mounting portion 47 in which the first cassette 54 is disposed is hermetically connected to the transfer chamber 50 without being moved. The first cassette 54 can be reliably transferred.

  Further, according to this configuration, since the gate valve 21 is provided, the atmosphere of each chamber can be maintained at a predetermined atmosphere, and a new chamber can be easily added or an existing chamber can be easily removed. It becomes possible. Moreover, the to-be-processed substrate 12 or the 1st cassette 54 can be delivered, maintaining an inert gas atmosphere.

  In addition, according to this configuration, since the slider 53 is provided, the first cassette 54 can be transported many times at the same time, and the empty first cassette 54a in which the substrate 12 to be processed is not accommodated, or the processing chamber 16 can be placed separately into the first cassette 54c that accommodates the substrate to be processed 12 processed in 16 and the first cassette 54b that accommodates the unprocessed substrate 12 to be processed. Production time can be significantly reduced.

1 is a schematic plan view of a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. It is a schematic structure perspective view of a buffer chamber. It is explanatory drawing of the conveyance operation of a substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a transport operation of the substrate processing apparatus subsequent to FIG. 3. It is a schematic plan view of a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate processing apparatus, 12 ... Substrate to be processed, 16 ... Processing chamber, 21 ... Gate valve, 42 ... Buffer chamber, 43 ... Second cassette, 44 ... Substrate sending / receiving robot, 47 ... Cassette mounting part, 48 ... Sealing member , 50 ... transfer chamber, 53 ... slider, 54 ... first cassette, 55 ... transfer guide (movement path)

Claims (5)

A transport chamber that transports a first cassette that moves along a predetermined movement path and can accommodate a plurality of substrates to be processed, and a plurality of processes that are arranged around the movement path of the transport chamber and that process the substrate to be processed A buffer chamber having a second cassette disposed between the processing chamber and the transfer chamber and capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates to be processed; and the first cassette between the buffer chamber and the transfer chamber A cassette placement section that can be temporarily placed,
The substrate to be processed is received one by one by a substrate transmission / reception robot provided between the first cassette temporarily placed on the cassette placement section from the transfer chamber and the second cassette arranged in the buffer chamber. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the internal atmosphere is an inert gas or a vacuum atmosphere when delivered.   The buffer chamber is arranged at least at two positions at which the substrate to be processed can be delivered from the first cassette temporarily placed on the cassette mounting portion of the substrate sending / receiving robot. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to 1.   The cassette mounting portion can be expanded and contracted in the direction in which the first cassette is transferred from the transfer chamber in the transfer direction, and the cassette mounting portion and the transfer chamber are connected to each other. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a sealing member that hermetically seals the inside.   At least one of the substrate to be processed or the first cassette is provided at a transfer port of the substrate to be processed or the first cassette between the transfer chamber, the processing chamber, the buffer chamber, and the cassette mounting unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a gate valve that hermetically seals a delivered space.   The transfer chamber includes a slider capable of disposing at least two of the first cassettes, and the slider has a direction along the transfer path of the transfer chamber inside the transfer chamber and a direction along the transfer path of the transfer chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is movable in a direction orthogonal to each other.

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