JP2010238919A - Scheduling method for substrate processing apparatus, and program thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a scheduling method for a substrate processing apparatus that can improve processing efficiency by performing overtaking arrangement of a lot. <P>SOLUTION: Respective blocks are arranged from planning start positions PSP1 to PSP3 according to a recipe. When there is a standby time from a block B which uses a substrate standby section CWS to a next block C, an adjusted planning start position MSP2 is found by shifting the planning start position PSP2 of a second lot backward with respect to time. A control unit starts arranging the blocks in the order of temporally earlier lots at the planning start positions PSP1 and PSP3 including the adjusted planning start position MSP2. Consequently, overtaking is performed in which a third lot employing a recipe for performing short-time processing without changing the planning start position PSP3 is scheduled to be arranged temporally before the second lot at the adjusted planning start position MSP2, thereby improving the processing efficiency of the substrate processing apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a schedule creation method and program for a substrate processing apparatus for performing predetermined processing such as cleaning and drying on a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate of a liquid crystal display device (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate). The present invention relates to a technique for creating a schedule in advance before executing the process for.

  Conventionally, as a method of this kind, when a plurality of lots are processed by a substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of processing units for processing a substrate, the control unit is based on a recipe including a plurality of processing steps. For example, the processing order of each lot is determined in order to sequentially process each lot by each processing unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Since the schedule creation method for such a substrate processing apparatus determines which lot is to be processed at which point in time before actually starting the processing of the lot, the lot can be arranged in the front-end, Lots can be placed efficiently. Therefore, the operation rate of the substrate processing apparatus can be improved.

  As an example of the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus described above, a plurality of shelves are provided, and a plurality of substrates before processing are stored in a cassette, and a plurality of processed substrates are stored in a cassette. A first transfer unit that can be moved along the storage unit and that can be moved along the storage unit to take out the substrate before processing from the cassette and change the posture, or to change the posture of the processed substrate and transfer it to the cassette A second transport mechanism that delivers a substrate between the mechanism and the first transport mechanism, a drying processing unit, a pure water cleaning processing unit, a chemical solution processing unit, and the like disposed along the moving direction of the second transport mechanism; Some are equipped with.

  In addition, the delivery of the substrate between the first transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism is only one system. For this reason, when an unprocessed substrate is transferred from the first transfer mechanism to the second transfer mechanism, the processed substrate cannot be transferred from the second transfer mechanism to the first transfer mechanism. Conversely, when a processed substrate is transferred from the second transfer mechanism to the first transfer mechanism, an unprocessed substrate cannot be transferred from the first transfer mechanism to the second transfer mechanism. Therefore, in order to eliminate such inconvenience, a carry-in mechanism that is disposed between the first transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism and passes an unprocessed substrate from the first transport mechanism to the second transport mechanism; There has been proposed one provided with a payout mechanism that is disposed between the transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism and that delivers a processed substrate from the second transport mechanism to the first transport mechanism. A standby unit is provided on the downstream side of the carry-in mechanism so as to be able to stand by in order to deliver an unprocessed substrate to the second transport mechanism while holding the substrate.

  According to this proposed apparatus, when the processed substrate is paid out from the second transfer mechanism to the first transfer mechanism, the payout mechanism is made to pay out. Then, the unprocessed substrate is carried into the second carrying mechanism from the first carrying mechanism by the carrying-in mechanism. Thereby, carrying in and payout can be performed efficiently.

Japanese Patent No. 3758992

However, such a conventional example has the following problems.
That is, in the schedule creation method using the conventional proposed apparatus, for example, when processing three lots, the first lot and the second lot are processed for a long time in the first pure water cleaning processing unit. When the second lot performs processing for a short time in the second pure water cleaning processing unit, the following inconvenience may occur.

  That is, the first lot is first scheduled at the plan start position, and then the second lot is scheduled at the plan start position following the first lot, but the second lot also uses the first lot. Therefore, the second lot needs to wait in the standby section on the downstream side of the loading mechanism until the first lot is unloaded from the first pure water cleaning section. Therefore, even though the third lot that uses the second pure water cleaning processing unit that is not used for a short time is in a processable state, at the plan start position of the third lot following the second lot. When scheduled, the third lot cannot be transferred to the second pure water cleaning process because the second lot is waiting. As a result, the third lot is made to wait for a long time by the carry-in mechanism. In other words, the third lot cannot pass the second lot, and the processing of the third lot cannot be started until the second lot is transferred to the first pure water cleaning processing unit. There is a problem that processing efficiency decreases.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a substrate processing apparatus schedule that can improve the processing efficiency by enabling the overtaking arrangement of the lot by devising the plan start position of the lot. It is an object to provide a creation method and a program thereof.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage unit that stores a lot made of a substrate before processing and a lot made of a processed substrate, and a first loading / unloading lot between the storage unit. Arranged between the transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism for delivering the lot between each processing unit, and between the first transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism, and is unprocessed from the first transport mechanism to the second transport mechanism. A carry-in mechanism for carrying in a lot, a payout mechanism for paying out a processed lot from the second carrying mechanism to the first carrying mechanism, a standby unit capable of waiting for a lot on the second carrying mechanism side of the carry-in mechanism, and a substrate Before processing a plurality of lots with each resource using a substrate processing apparatus including resources including a plurality of processing units that perform processing on the basis of a recipe consisting of a plurality of processing steps. TIMING used to arrange processing steps In the method for creating a schedule for a substrate processing apparatus, a plurality of lots adopting a recipe for performing long-time processing in the same processing unit and a recipe for performing short-time processing in a processing unit different from the processing unit are adopted. Assuming that lots are processed in that order, the schedule is set with a plan start position that defines the start position of the schedule. If a waiting time occurs between the process step using the part and the next process step, the process of obtaining the adjustment plan start position by adjusting the plan start position of the lot later in time, and the adjustment plan start position In order from the lot starting with the plan starting position including the plan starting position, the process is placed on each resource based on the recipe. And it is characterized in Rukoto.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the control unit first arranges processing steps in each resource based on the recipe from the planned start position that defines the start position of the schedule. As a result, when a standby time occurs between the processing step using the standby unit and the next processing step, an adjustment plan start position obtained by shifting the plan start position of the lot later in time is obtained. As a result, when scheduling is performed from the initially determined plan start position, it can be determined whether or not waste is caused by the standby time, and when waste occurs, the standby time can be suppressed by adjusting the arrangement. Further, the control unit starts the arrangement of the processing steps in the order of the lot earlier in time of the plan start position including the adjustment plan start position. As a result, it is possible to pass a lot that employs a recipe that performs processing for a short time at the plan start position and schedules the lot by placing it ahead of the lot at the adjustment plan start position. Therefore, the processing efficiency in the substrate processing apparatus can be improved.

  Further, in the present invention, in the process of obtaining the adjustment plan start position, with respect to a lot in which a standby time has occurred between a processing step using the standby unit and the next processing step, the use timing of the standby unit and the lot It is preferable to adjust the use timing of the previous resource including the use timing of the carry-in mechanism later in time in accordance with the use timing of the resource after the standby unit (claim 2). By adjusting the use timing of the waiting part of the lot in which the waiting time has occurred and the resource before the loading mechanism in time according to the use timing of the resource after the waiting part, by the first transport mechanism The removal of the lot from the storage unit will be shifted later in time. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the standby time in the standby unit and to prevent the standby time from occurring between the carry-in mechanism and the standby unit.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that after the step of obtaining the adjustment plan start position, a step of storing the obtained adjustment plan start position in association with a lot is performed. By associating the adjustment plan start position with the lot, the control unit can refer to the adjustment plan start position for each lot and perform the schedule reliably for each lot.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage unit for storing a lot made of a substrate before processing and a lot made of a processed substrate, and a first loading / unloading of the lot between the storage unit. Arranged between the transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism for delivering the lot between each processing unit, and between the first transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism, and is unprocessed from the first transport mechanism to the second transport mechanism. A carry-in mechanism for carrying in a lot, a payout mechanism for paying out a processed lot from the second carrying mechanism to the first carrying mechanism, a standby unit capable of waiting for a lot on the second carrying mechanism side of the carry-in mechanism, and a substrate Before processing a plurality of lots with each resource using a substrate processing apparatus including resources including a plurality of processing units that perform processing on the basis of a recipe consisting of a plurality of processing steps. Arrange processing steps in the timing of use In the schedule creation program of the substrate processing apparatus to be determined, a plurality of lots adopting a recipe that performs long-time processing in the same processing unit and a lot that adopts a recipe that performs short-time processing in a processing unit different from the processing unit When performing a schedule in a state where a plan start position that defines the start position of the schedule is set, a function for placing processing steps on each resource based on the recipe from the plan start position, and a standby unit When a waiting time occurs between the processing step using the process and the next processing step, the adjustment plan start position is obtained by adjusting the plan start position of the lot later in time and obtaining the adjustment plan start position. A function to place processing steps on each resource based on the recipe in order from the lot with the earlier plan start position among the plan start positions including It is characterized in that to execute a control unit computer.

  According to the schedule creation method for a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, the control unit first arranges a processing step in each resource based on a recipe from a planned start position that defines the start position of the schedule. As a result, when a standby time occurs between the processing step using the standby unit and the next processing step, an adjustment plan start position obtained by shifting the plan start position of the lot later in time is obtained. As a result, when scheduling is performed from the initially determined plan start position, it can be determined whether or not waste is caused by the standby time, and when waste occurs, the standby time can be suppressed by adjusting the arrangement. Further, the control unit starts the arrangement of the processing steps in the order of the lot earlier in time of the plan start position including the adjustment plan start position. As a result, it is possible to pass a lot that employs a recipe that performs processing for a short time at the plan start position and schedules the lot by placing it ahead of the lot at the adjustment plan start position. Therefore, the processing efficiency in the substrate processing apparatus can be improved.

It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a time chart which shows the example of a recipe, (a) shows the 1st lot, (b) shows the 2nd lot, and (c) shows the 3rd lot. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart which shows a schedule process. It is a time chart for comparing this invention with the schedule preparation method of a prior art example, (a) shows a present Example and (b) shows a prior art example.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

  This substrate processing apparatus is an apparatus for performing chemical liquid processing, cleaning processing, and drying processing on the substrate W, for example. A plurality of (for example, 25) substrates W are stored in a horizontal posture with respect to the FOUP 1. The FOUP 1 storing the unprocessed substrate W is placed on the input unit 3 provided in the transport storage unit ACB. The input unit 3 is attached to a carry-in port (not shown) of the transport storage unit ACB. On the opposite side of the loading unit 3 along the transport storage unit ACB, a payout unit 7 is provided at a payout opening (not shown) of the transport storage unit ACB. Here, the FOUP 1 containing the processed substrate W is paid out.

  The transport storage unit ACB takes in the FOUP 1 storing the unprocessed substrates W from the input unit 3, and places the FOUP 1 on the first transport mechanism PCR side arranged adjacent to the transport storage unit ACB according to the created schedule. Then, the substrate W in the FOUP 1 is brought into a state where it can be unloaded. Depending on the schedule, the FOUP 1 is temporarily placed on a plurality of storage shelves provided inside. Further, the FOUP 1 is transported to the first transport mechanism PCR side according to the schedule so that the processed substrate W can be accommodated in the FOUP 1. In addition, the FOUP 1 storing the processed substrates W is paid out to the payout unit 7, but is temporarily placed on a plurality of storage shelves depending on the created schedule.

  The first transport mechanism PCR receives only the substrate W from the transport storage unit ACB from the FOUP 1 in which the unprocessed substrate W is stored, and performs posture conversion to convert the substrate posture from a horizontal posture to a standing posture. Then, the standing substrate W is configured as one lot, and the lot is transferred to the second transport mechanism WTR through the transport mechanism WTV2 arranged adjacent to the first transport mechanism PCR. Note that the first transport mechanism PCR may receive the substrates W from the two FOUPs 1 and perform a process of combining the substrates W stored in the two FOUPs 1 into one lot (for example, 50 sheets). .

  The carry-in mechanism WTV2 delivers the lot received from the first transport mechanism PCR to the second transport mechanism WTR. The carry-in mechanism WTV2 only relays the lots from the first transfer mechanism PCR to the second transfer mechanism WTR. Further, the payout mechanism WTV1 delivers the lot received from the second transport mechanism WTR to the first transport mechanism PCR. The payout mechanism WTV1 only performs relay for transporting the lot from the second transport mechanism WTR to the first transport mechanism PCR. Although the carry-in mechanism WTV2 and the payout mechanism WTV1 are drawn in parallel in the horizontal direction for the sake of illustration, they may be stacked in the vertical direction, for example.

  A substrate standby unit CWS is disposed at a position between the carry-in mechanism WTV2 and the second transport mechanism WTR and at which the second transport mechanism WTR can move most toward the transport storage unit ACB (downstream side of the carry-in mechanism WTV2). Has been. This substrate standby part CWS is used as a standby position for temporarily waiting before delivering the substrate W from the carry-in mechanism WTV2 to the second transport mechanism WTR.

  The substrate standby unit CWS corresponds to the “standby unit” in the present invention.

  The second transport mechanism WTR is configured to be movable from the substrate standby unit CWS in the longitudinal direction of the apparatus. At a position along the moving direction of the second transport mechanism WTR, the drying processing unit LPD, the first processing unit 19, the second processing unit 21, and the third processing unit 23 are sequentially arranged from the substrate standby unit CWS side. Has been placed.

  The drying processing unit LPD performs a process of drying the substrate W. For example, the lot is accommodated in the chamber, and the chamber is decompressed to perform the drying process.

  The first processing unit 19 includes a pure water cleaning processing unit ONB1 for performing pure water cleaning processing on the substrate W constituting the lot, and a chemical solution processing unit CHB1 disposed adjacent thereto. The chemical processing unit CHB1 performs a chemical processing on the substrate W constituting the lot with a processing liquid containing a chemical. In addition, the first processing unit 19 delivers the lot to the second transport mechanism WTR and the lifter LF1, which can be lifted and lowered only by the pure water cleaning processing unit ONB1, and the chemical processing unit to deliver the lot to the second transport mechanism WTR. And a lifter LF2 that can be lifted and lowered only by CHB1.

  The second processing unit 21 has the same configuration as the first processing unit 19 described above. That is, the second processing unit 21 includes a pure water cleaning processing unit ONB2, a chemical processing unit CHB2, and lifters LF3 and LF4.

  The third processing unit 23 has the same configuration as the first processing unit 19 and the second processing unit 21 described above. That is, the third processing unit 23 includes a pure water cleaning processing unit ONB3, a chemical solution processing unit CHB3, and lifters LF5 and LF6.

  The substrate processing apparatus configured as described above is comprehensively controlled by the control unit 31 as shown in the block diagram of FIG. The control unit 31 corresponds to the “computer” in the present invention.

  The control unit 31 includes a CPU, a timer, and the like, and includes a scheduling unit 33 and a process execution instruction unit 35. A storage unit 37 connected to the control unit 31 is created in advance by a user or the like of this substrate processing apparatus, and includes a recipe including a plurality of processing steps that define how to process a lot of substrates W, A schedule creation program and a processing program for executing the created schedule are stored in advance. In addition to the lot group input and the recipe designation by the operator, the plan start position for each lot automatically assigned by the scheduling unit 33 based on the processing order is stored. As will be described later in detail, the adjustment plan start position obtained by the scheduling unit 33 is also stored in the storage unit 37. The control unit 31 controls all resources of the substrate processing apparatus. Here, the resources are the first transport mechanism PCR, the carry-in mechanism WTV2, the payout mechanism WTV1, the second transport mechanism WTR, the substrate standby unit CWS, the drying processing unit LPD, the pure water cleaning processing units ONB1 to 3, the chemical solution processing units CHB1 to CHB1. 3, the lifters LF1 to LF6.

  The scheduling function unit 33 handles, for example, a plurality of substrates W stored in the FOUP 1 placed on the loading unit 3 as one lot, and is stored in advance in the storage unit 37 instructed by the apparatus operator. Depending on the recipe, before actually starting the processing, a schedule is created so that the processing steps for each lot can be efficiently arranged in time series. At that time, the plan start position is obtained in advance for each lot in accordance with the recipe in the order of input and stored in the storage unit 37. Then, when creating a schedule, blocks (details will be described later) consisting of processing steps are arranged with reference to the plan start position corresponding to each lot. When placing each block of each lot, the lot with the earliest scheduled end time of the previous block is prioritized and the subsequent blocks are placed. However, as will be described later, for a lot that has a waiting time under certain conditions, an adjustment plan start position obtained by shifting the plan start position later in time is obtained, and the lot's Place blocks.

  In the present embodiment, in order to facilitate understanding, a case where three lots of a first lot, a second lot, and a third lot are processed will be described as an example. The first lot and the second lot are subjected to a long-time pure water cleaning process by the same pure water cleaning processing unit ONB1, and the third lot is a short time pure water cleaning by the pure water cleaning processing unit ONB2. Processing shall be performed. In the present embodiment, since the third processing unit 23 is not used, the description is omitted in the following time charts (FIGS. 3 to 41).

  Next, the recipe for each lot will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a time chart showing an example of a recipe, where (a) shows the first lot, (b) shows the second lot, and (c) shows the third lot. These time charts are single batch schedules showing processing steps in the time chart using only a single lot.

  In the time chart, each processing unit, which is a resource, is arranged on the vertical axis as a processing step. Further, the transfer storage unit ACB in the substrate processing apparatus described above is omitted because it has a low relationship with the recipe. Specifically, the processing step a is, for example, processing such as transport / posture change by the processing unit of the first transport mechanism PCR. The processing step b is, for example, a payout process by the processing unit of the payout mechanism WTV1. Processing step c is a carry-in process by the processing unit of the carry-in mechanism WTV2. The processing step d is, for example, a transport process by the processing unit of the second transport mechanism WTR. The processing step e is, for example, standby processing by the processing unit of the substrate standby unit CWS. The processing step f is, for example, a drying process by the processing unit of the drying processing unit LPD. The processing step g is a pure water cleaning process performed by the pure water cleaning processing unit ONB1. The processing step h is a chemical processing by the processing unit of the chemical processing unit CHB1. The process step i is a pure water cleaning process performed by the processing unit of the pure water cleaning processing unit ONB2. The processing step j is a chemical processing by the processing unit of the chemical processing unit CHB2. However, in this embodiment, the processing steps h and j are not used.

The recipe for the first lot is, for example, as shown in FIG.
That is, in the recipe of the first lot, processing steps a and c constitute block A, processing step e constitutes block B, processing step d and processing step g constitute block C, processing step d and Processing step f constitutes block D, processing step d and processing step b constitute block E, and processing step a constitutes block F. These blocks are grouped in processing steps that can interrupt processing. In this example, the processing step g of the block C is a “long-time” pure water cleaning process by the pure water cleaning processing unit ONB1.

The recipe for the second lot is, for example, as shown in FIG.
The recipe of the second lot is the same as the recipe of the first lot described above, and the block configuration is also the same.

The recipe for the third lot is, for example, as shown in FIG.
That is, in the recipe of the third lot, processing steps a and c constitute block A, processing step e constitutes block B, processing step d and processing step i constitute block C, processing step d and Processing step f constitutes block D, processing step d and processing step b constitute block E, and processing step a constitutes block F. These blocks are grouped in processing steps that can interrupt processing. In this example, the process step i of the block C is a “short time” pure water cleaning process by the pure water cleaning processing unit ONB2.

  Note that the first to third lots are distinguished by attaching a number before each of the blocks A to F. That is, the block A of the first lot is represented as “1-A”, the block A of the second lot is represented as “2-A”, and the block A of the third lot is represented as “3-A”. It expresses. In addition, the previous part (blank part) in each of the processing steps a to j described above is a preparation work, the subsequent part (blank part) represents rear-cleaning, and the central part (hatched part) represents the substance of processing. Yes. However, depending on the processing step, there may be no clean-up.

  Here, a specific operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation, and FIGS. 5 to 40 are time charts showing the schedule process.

Step S1
The control unit 31 operates the conveyance storage unit ACB to receive the first lot, the second lot, and the third lot from the input unit 3 to the conveyance storage unit ACB in that order. Furthermore, it is assumed that the above-described recipe is designated for each lot through an operation unit (not shown) by the apparatus operator. Then, the control part 31 branches a process according to whether it is the scheduling by batch start. Here, the process proceeds to the next step S2 because it is a batch start.

Steps S2 to S9
The scheduling unit 33 of the control unit 31 reads the plan start position PSP1 of the first lot from the storage unit 37, and displays the first lot from the plan start position PSP1 of the first lot on the time chart in the scheduling shown in FIG. The first block A (reference numeral 1-A) is arranged. Then, the blocks B to F of the first lot are arranged in order (FIGS. 6 to 10). When the block C after the substrate standby unit CWS is arranged, the block B and the block C subsequent thereto are arranged. It is determined whether a waiting time has occurred in the meantime (step S6), and the process branches. In the example of the first lot, the block C (reference numeral 1-C) of the first lot is arranged in FIG. 7, but no waiting time occurs as shown in FIG. Therefore, all the blocks can be arranged through steps S6 to S9, so that the plan start position PSP1 remains unchanged.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 11 to 25, the first lot and the second lot are arranged. In this case, since a plurality of lots are arranged, it is performed under a rule that gives priority to a block of a lot whose earlier scheduled end time of the previous block is earlier. In the first placement, a lot with an earlier planned placement position is given priority.

  First, as shown in FIG. 11, the block A (reference numeral 1-A) of the first lot is arranged with reference to the plan start position PSP1, and then the block A (reference numeral 2-A) of the second lot is arranged. It arrange | positions on the basis of the plan start position PSP2. However, since both lots collide with each other in the carry-in mechanism WTV2, the arrangement of the block A (reference numeral 2-A) of the second lot is avoided, and as shown in FIG. Block B (reference numeral 1-B) is arranged. Next, when the block A (reference numeral 2-A) of the second lot is arranged from the plan start position PSP2, no collision occurs in the carry-in mechanism WTV2, so the block A (reference numeral 2-A of the second lot) is placed at that position. ) Is arranged (FIG. 13). Next, since the scheduled end time of the first lot is earlier, the block C (reference numeral 1-C) is arranged (FIG. 14). At this time, since the determination in step S6 does not cause a waiting time, the remaining blocks of both lots are sequentially arranged. First, as shown in FIG. 15, the block B (reference numeral 2-B) of the second lot is arranged following the block A (reference numeral 2-A) of the second lot. However, as shown in FIG. 16, since the block C (reference numeral 2-C) of the second lot cannot be arranged following the block C (reference numeral 1-C) of the first lot, the first lot Following block C (reference numeral 1-C), the block D (reference numeral 1-D) of the first lot is arranged as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the second block C (reference numeral 2-C) is arranged subsequent to the block D (reference numeral 1-D) of the first lot. In the block C after the substrate standby unit CWS, A waiting time wt occurs. Therefore, the process branches to step S7 in step S6. First, as shown in FIG. 19, the second lot block B (reference numeral 2-B) is shifted and arranged later in time so as to eliminate the machine time wt in the substrate standby unit CWS. Specifically, the position is shifted to the position of the preparatory work in the processing step d of the subsequent block C (reference numeral 2-C). Furthermore, since there is a block A (reference numeral 2-A) before the substrate standby unit CWS, this also shifts later in time (FIG. 20). Specifically, the process shifts to the preparation work for the block B (reference numeral 2-B) of the second lot. Since the head block A (reference numeral 2-A) is now arranged, the head position is set as an adjustment plan start position MSP2 instead of the plan start position PSP2. The scheduling unit 33 stores the adjustment plan start position MSP2 in the storage unit 37 (step S8). Next, block E (reference numeral 1-E) of the first lot is arranged (FIG. 21), and block F (reference numeral 1-F) of the first lot is arranged (FIG. 22). Now that all the blocks of the first lot have been arranged, the remaining second blocks DF (reference numerals 2-D to 2-F) are arranged (FIGS. 23 to 25).

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 26 to 40, the first lot to the third lot are arranged at the plan start positions PSP1 and PSP3 including the adjustment plan start position MSP2. The plan start position PSP2 of the second lot is temporally earlier than the plan start position PSP3 of the third lot, but the adjustment plan start position MSP2 is shifted later in time, so the start order is the first A lot is followed by a third lot and a second lot. When the block C (reference numeral 3-C) of the third lot is arranged (FIG. 28), the determination in step S6 is made. In this case, the block B (reference numeral 3-B) and the block of the third lot are determined. Since the waiting time wt does not occur with C (reference numeral 3-C), the planned start position PSP3 of the third lot is not changed. When the schedule advances in this way, the final result is as shown in FIG.

  The schedule created in this way is stored in the storage unit 37, and each resource is operated under the control of the process execution instruction unit 35, and processing is actually performed for three lots.

  As described above, the control unit 31 first arranges each block based on the recipe from the plan start positions PSP1 to PSP3. As a result, when the standby time wt occurs between the block B using the substrate standby unit CWS and the next block C, the adjustment plan in which the plan start position PSP2 of the second lot is shifted later in time. The starting position MSP2 is obtained. As a result, when scheduling is started from the plan start position PSP2 determined first, it can be determined whether or not waste is caused by the standby time wt. If waste occurs, the arrangement of blocks before the standby time wt is arranged. The standby time wt can be suppressed by adjusting the position. Further, the control unit 31 starts block arrangement in the order of lots earlier in time at the plan start positions PSP1 and 3 including the adjustment plan start position MSP2. As a result, the third lot adopting the recipe for performing the short-time processing in the second pure water cleaning processing unit ONB2 that remains at the plan start position PSP3 is set to be more time than the second lot at the adjustment plan start position MSP2. This enables overtaking to be placed in front and scheduled. Therefore, the processing efficiency in the substrate processing apparatus can be improved.

  Incidentally, a comparison between the present embodiment and the schedule according to the conventional example is as shown in FIG. FIG. 41 is a time chart for comparing the schedule creation method of the present invention and the conventional example, where (a) shows the present example and (b) shows the conventional example.

  In this way, in the present example and the conventional example, although the total time required to process the three lots does not change, the block is temporally preceded by the schedule in which the long standby time is generated in the conventional example. It can be seen that the resources can be used efficiently because they can be arranged in a packed manner. At first glance, in the case of the present invention, it seems that there is a waste in the second half, but when processing more lots, the processing of those lots can be packed in this second half, which is efficient. There is no waste.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified as follows.

  (1) In the above-described embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus having the configuration as shown in FIG. 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the case where there are two lots for which long-time processing is performed and one lot for which short-time processing is performed is taken as an example. Even in this case, the same effects as described above can be obtained.

  (3) In the above-described embodiments, the long-time process is the pure water cleaning process and the short-time process is the pure water cleaning process, but the present invention is not limited to these processes. For example, the long-time process may be a pure water cleaning process and the short-time process may be a chemical liquid process, or the long-time process may be a chemical liquid process and the short-time process may be a pure water cleaning process.

W ... Substrate 1 ... FOUP
ACB ... transport storage section 3 ... input section 7 ... payout section PCR ... first transport mechanism WTV1 ... payout mechanism WTV2 ... carry-in mechanism WTR ... second transport mechanism CWS ... substrate standby section LPD ... drying processing section 19 ... first processing section 21 ... 2nd process part 23 ... 3rd process part ONB1-ONB3 ... Pure water washing | cleaning process part CHB1-CHB3 ... Chemical solution process part LF1-LF6 ... Lifter 31 ... Control part 33 ... Scheduling part 35 ... Process execution instruction part 37 ... Memory | storage part PSP1 to PSP3 ... Plan start position MSP2 ... Adjustment plan start position wt ... Standby time

Claims (4)

Between each processing unit, a storage unit that stores a lot consisting of a substrate before processing and a lot consisting of a processed substrate, a first transport mechanism that carries in and out a lot between the storage unit, and each processing unit A second transfer mechanism that delivers the lot; a carry-in mechanism that is arranged between the first transfer mechanism and the second transfer mechanism and carries an unprocessed lot from the first transfer mechanism to the second transfer mechanism; and a second transfer A payout mechanism that pays out a processed lot from the mechanism to the first transport mechanism, a standby unit that can wait for the lot on the second transport mechanism side of the carry-in mechanism, and a plurality of processing units that process the substrate Before actually processing multiple lots with each resource using a substrate processing apparatus equipped with resources, the control unit arranges the processing steps for each resource based on a recipe consisting of multiple processing steps and determines the use timing Schedule for substrate processing equipment In Le creation method,
Assuming that a plurality of lots adopting recipes for long-time processing in the same processing unit and lots adopting recipes for short-time processing in processing units different from the processing unit are processed in that order, When performing a schedule with the plan start position that defines the start position set,
The process of placing processing steps on each resource based on the recipe from the plan start position,
In the case where a waiting time occurs between the processing step using the standby unit and the next processing step, the process of obtaining the adjustment plan start position by adjusting the plan start position of the lot later in time,
The process of arranging the processing steps to each resource based on the recipe in order from the lot with the earlier plan start position among the plan start positions including the adjustment plan start position;
A method for creating a schedule for a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: In the schedule preparation method of the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1,
In the process of obtaining the adjustment plan start position,
For a lot that has a waiting time between the processing step using the standby unit and the next processing step, the use timing of the previous resource including the use timing of the standby unit and the use timing of the carry-in mechanism of the lot A schedule creation method for a substrate processing apparatus, wherein the schedule is adjusted later in time according to the use timing of resources after the standby unit. In the schedule preparation method of the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1 or 2,
A method of creating a schedule for a substrate processing apparatus, wherein after the step of obtaining the adjustment plan start position, a step of storing the obtained adjustment plan start position in association with a lot is performed. Between each processing unit, a storage unit that stores a lot consisting of a substrate before processing and a lot consisting of a processed substrate, a first transport mechanism that carries in and out a lot between the storage unit, and each processing unit A second transfer mechanism that delivers the lot; a carry-in mechanism that is arranged between the first transfer mechanism and the second transfer mechanism and carries an unprocessed lot from the first transfer mechanism to the second transfer mechanism; and a second transfer A payout mechanism that pays out a processed lot from the mechanism to the first transport mechanism, a standby unit that can wait for the lot on the second transport mechanism side of the carry-in mechanism, and a plurality of processing units that process the substrate Before actually processing multiple lots with each resource using a substrate processing apparatus equipped with resources, the control unit arranges the processing steps for each resource based on a recipe consisting of multiple processing steps and determines the use timing Schedule for substrate processing equipment In Le creation program,
Assuming that a plurality of lots adopting recipes for long-time processing in the same processing unit and lots adopting recipes for short-time processing in processing units different from the processing unit are processed in that order, When performing a schedule with the plan start position that defines the start position set,
A function to place processing steps on each resource based on the recipe from the plan start position,
In the case where a waiting time occurs between the processing step using the standby unit and the next processing step, a function for obtaining the adjustment plan starting position by adjusting the plan starting position of the lot later in time,
A function that arranges processing steps on each resource based on the recipe in order from the lot with the earlier plan start position among the plan start positions including the adjustment plan start position;
Is executed by a computer which is the control unit.

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