JP2012094554A - Vacuum processing apparatus, manufacturing method of electronic component, and vacuum processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately detect the deformation of fingers of a substrate transfer robot.SOLUTION: A vacuum processing apparatus comprises: a transfer chamber equipped with a substrate transfer robot having fingers capable of holding a substrate, and substrate transfer ports through which the substrate is carried in/out by the robot; a sensing port equipped with a housing which is attachably/detachably connected to one of the substrate transfer ports, has an opening communicating to the inner side of the transfer chamber, and defines an internal space sealed from the outside, as well as a displacement sensor for detecting the deformation of the fingers inserted into the internal space; exhaust means which exhausts the transfer chamber and the inner side of the housing via an exhaust port provided on the transfer chamber; and control means which obtains, with the transfer chamber and the inner side of the housing depressurized by the exhaust means, a result of detection by the displacement sensor regarding the shape of the fingers inserted in the internal space of the housing.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus, a method for manufacturing an electronic component, and a vacuum processing program that can detect deformation of a finger of a substrate transfer robot quickly and accurately.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an electronic component manufacturing apparatus such as a semiconductor device, a robot that transports substrates and trays is disposed in a transport chamber, and the substrates and trays are transported to a process chamber that performs processing disposed around the transport chamber. An apparatus that performs processing is known. In such an apparatus, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a method of obtaining and correcting a positional deviation of a substrate or a tray in order to appropriately arrange the substrate or the tray in a process module is known.

JP 2002-261154 A

However, it was not possible to measure the deformation of the arm and fingers of the robot carrying the substrate. The reason for this is that it is difficult to arrange sensors in the transfer chamber because a large movable space of the arm must be secured in correspondence with various process chambers. On the other hand, sensors may be placed in the process chamber. However, in order to introduce an arm that detects shape abnormalities between processes, the process chamber is purposely evacuated or within the tact time. Adding measurement time to the time is a large loss in the process and could not be realized.
For this reason, there has been a problem that the deformation of the arm or finger cannot be found, and the deformed arm or finger damages the substrate or the stage.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide means capable of accurately detecting the deformation of a finger without breaking a vacuum during operation.

  The present invention relates to a substrate transfer robot having fingers capable of holding a substrate, a transfer chamber having a substrate transfer port for loading and unloading a substrate by the robot, and a detachable connection to the substrate transfer port A housing having an opening communicating with the inside of the transfer chamber and forming an internal space sealed with respect to the outside, and a displacement sensor for detecting deformation of the fingers inserted into the internal space. An exhaust means for exhausting the interior of the transport chamber and the housing through an exhaust port provided in the transport chamber, and a state in which the interior of the transport chamber and the housing is decompressed by the exhaust means. And control means for acquiring a detection result by the displacement sensor of the shape of the finger inserted into the internal space of the housing.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being damaged by deformation of the robot finger.

It is a schematic plan view of the vacuum processing apparatus provided with the sensing port. It is a functional block diagram of a vacuum processing apparatus. It is a perspective view showing the outline | summary of a sensing port. It is a front view (figure seen from the arrow Y direction of FIG. 3) of a sensing port. It is sectional drawing (AA sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 4) of a sensing port. It is a flowchart which shows the abnormality detection operation | movement which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a top view of the housing | casing for demonstrating the abnormality detection method by 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the abnormality detection operation | movement which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the abnormality detection operation | movement which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a vacuum processing apparatus provided with a sensing port 150 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows functional blocks of the vacuum processing apparatus.

  The vacuum processing apparatus in FIG. 1 is a cluster-type vacuum processing apparatus, and includes a process module 200 for processing a substrate, a transport module 100 for transporting a substrate, and a vacuum processing apparatus control for controlling them. And a load lock / unload lock module LL / UL. The vacuum processing apparatus control unit COM includes, for example, a computer, controls each process module 200 and the transfer module 100 in accordance with a predetermined substrate processing procedure (recipe), and a series of processes determined in the recipe for the substrate. Is executed. Note that the vacuum processing apparatus control unit COM is connected to a user interface 300 having an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse and an output device such as a speaker and a display, and a user can input recipes and other instructions. . The load lock / unload lock module LL / UL is connected to the substrate supply device FE and introduces the substrate into the transport module 100.

  The process module 200 is a module for performing processing on a substrate. For example, a film forming module capable of forming a film by a sputtering method or a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method, an etching module capable of performing dry etching, or the like. A temperature adjustment module that can be heated and cooled is included. In addition, the process module 200 includes a chamber as a substrate processing chamber, an exhaust pump that decompresses the interior of the chamber when the substrate is transported, and a control unit such as a PLC (programmable logic controller) that controls each component of the module. .

  The transfer module 100 includes a transfer chamber 110 as a substrate processing chamber, a transfer robot 120, a transfer module control unit 130 (not shown in FIG. 1), a sensing port 150, and an exhaust pump 192 (not shown in FIG. 1). . In the transfer chamber 110, a plurality of substrate transfer openings are opened in the periphery, and the process module 200 can be connected to this through a gate valve GV. In the example of FIG. 1, the transfer chamber 110 has a regular octagonal prism shape, a substrate transfer port is formed on each side surface, and eight process modules 200 can be connected. The shape of the transfer chamber 110 and the number of substrate transfer ports are not limited to this. The exhaust pump 192 is a pump (such as a turbo molecular pump or a dry pump) for exhausting the inside of the chamber, and introduces the substrate in a state where the inside of the transfer chamber 110 and the sensing port 150 is decompressed by the exhaust pump 192.

  The transfer robot 120 is arranged in the transfer chamber 110 and transfers the substrate between the process module 200 connected to the periphery of the transfer chamber 110 and the transfer chamber 110. Specifically, the transfer robot 120 according to the present embodiment includes an arm 121 and a substrate mounting finger 122 attached to the tip of the arm 121. Further, the transfer robot 120 includes a rotation driving unit 127 that rotates the arm 121 around the arrangement center, a telescopic driving unit 126 that expands and contracts the arm 121 in the radial direction within the rotation plane, and the arm 121 in the height direction (described above). A height driving unit 125 that is driven in a direction perpendicular to the rotation surface. That is, the process module 200 is determined as to which process module 200 is transported by the rotation operation of the rotation drive unit 127, and is moved by a predetermined transport distance according to the process module 200 by the extension operation of the expansion / contraction drive unit 126. The substrate is transferred to a predetermined position. And the board | substrate delivery operation | movement is possible by the movement to a height direction. The telescopic drive unit 126 and the rotation drive unit 127 are configured with, for example, a motor, and the height drive unit 125 is configured with, for example, a ball screw.

  3 is a perspective view showing an outline of the sensing port 150, FIG. 4 is a front view of the sensing port 150 (viewed from the direction of arrow Y in FIG. 3), and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sensing port 150 (A in FIG. 4). -A line sectional view).

  The sensing port 150 is a device for detecting the deformation of the finger 122. The sensing port 150 communicates with the substrate transfer port 111 of the transfer chamber 110 and forms a sealed internal space with respect to the outside. Displacement sensor 151 for detecting the position 122. In the present embodiment, the casing 152 is formed in a box shape having an opening 153, and the opening side end thereof is fixed to the outer wall surface of the transfer chamber 110 by bolts 152 bt (see FIG. 4). Although the material of the housing | casing 152 is not specifically limited, For example, the same material (for example, Al etc.) as the conveyance chamber 110 can be used. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an O-ring made of, for example, fluororubber is interposed on the connection end surface between the casing 152 and the transfer chamber 110 as a seal member 152s so as to surround the periphery of the opening 153. Sealed against. Although the size of the opening 153 and the size of the housing 152 are not particularly limited, in this embodiment, the opening 153 is formed smaller than the substrate transfer port 111 of the transfer chamber 110 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a monitoring window 153g made of a transparent material such as quartz glass is provided on the front surface of the casing 152, so that the inside can be visually observed. Thereby, the deformation of the finger 122 can be actually confirmed. The monitoring window 153g is fixed to the casing 152 by a bolt 153bt via an O-ring as a seal member 153s, as shown in FIG. 4 through the monitoring window 153g.

  Further, in this embodiment, the displacement sensor 151 is provided outside the casing 152 and can measure the height of the finger 122 as a measurement target without contact. Specifically, a laser displacement sensor having a light emitting element that emits laser light to the finger 122 that has moved to the measurement position and a light receiving element that detects reflected light from the finger 122 is used as the displacement sensor 151. . By providing this at a position facing the finger 122 moved to the measurement position in the height direction, the height of the finger 122 can be detected based on the amount of reflected light received. Note that the housing 152 has a through hole 154 at a portion between the opening 153 and the light emitting element of the displacement sensor 151, and has a sensor window 154g that closes the end of the through hole 154, and transmits laser light. It is possible. As shown in FIG. 5, the sensor window 154g is also fixed by a bolt 154bt via a seal member 154s, and the inside of the housing 152 is sealed.

  The displacement sensor 151 is connected to an amplifier (not shown) via a cable 151c, and further connected to the transport module control unit 130 via this, and outputs a measurement result to the transport module control unit 130. In the present embodiment, two displacement sensors 122 are provided in order to measure the heights of both ends of the finger 122, but the location and number of sensors installed are not limited thereto. For example, three or more may be provided, or only one height at the end of the finger 122 may be detected.

  The transfer module control unit 130 includes a computer, a PLC, and the like, and has a function of controlling each component of the transfer module 200 such as the exhaust pump 192. In this embodiment, each function part of the conveyance control part 131 and the abnormality determination part 132 implement | achieved by execution of a program is provided. The transfer control unit 131 has a function of controlling the transfer robot 120. Specifically, the transfer control unit 131 sends a transfer command specifying a transfer position to the transfer robot 120 based on a recipe (or data specifying a substrate transfer procedure) and teaching data acquired from the vacuum processing apparatus control unit COM. Output. The transfer position is specified by, for example, an angle (rotation position of the rotation drive unit), a transfer distance (extension position of the arm 121), and a height (height of the arm 121). For example, the transfer position and the process module 200 are associated with each other. Further, it is held in the storage unit 133 as teaching data. Although the detailed operation will be described later, the abnormality determination unit 132 outputs a movement command to the sensing port 150 to the conveyance robot 120 via the conveyance control unit 131 when the abnormality detection timing of the finger 122 is reached. An abnormality is determined based on the input. If it is determined that the shape abnormality is within a correctable range, a correction process for correcting the teaching data is performed.

  Next, an abnormality detection operation flow by the displacement sensor 151 will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S101, the inside of the transfer chamber 110 and the sensing port 150 connected thereto is exhausted by the exhaust pump 192, for example, a reduced pressure state of 1.0 × 10 ⁻³ Pa or less. Thereafter, the transfer robot 120 transfers the substrate to each process module 200 according to the recipe (step S102). Before the substrate is transported, exhaust processing is performed in the process module 200 which is the transport destination of the substrate, and the inside is brought into a reduced pressure state of, for example, 1.0 × 10 ⁻³ Pa or less, and then the gate valve GV between the transport chamber 110 and The substrate is opened and the substrate is transferred from the transfer chamber 110 to the process module 200.

  Then, the transfer module control unit 130 determines whether it is the measurement timing between substrate transfers (step S103), and when the measurement timing comes (step S103: YES), moves the transfer robot 120 to the measurement position (step S103). S104). The measurement timing may be determined in advance by a program, or measurement may be performed by inputting an instruction from the user via the user interface 300. At this time, the measurement is performed without placing the substrate on the arm 121, but the measurement may be performed with the substrate placed. However, when the substrate is placed, the deformation state varies depending on the placement position and weight of the substrate, and therefore, more accurate detection is possible if measurement is performed without placing the substrate. .

  After the arm 121 stops at the measurement position, the heights of the finger ends 122a and 122a are calculated based on the input signals from the displacement sensor 151 (step S105), and it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality (step S106). The determination as to whether or not there is an abnormality is made, for example, by determining whether the heights of the finger ends 122a and 122a are within a predetermined range. When it is determined that there is an abnormality (step S106: abnormality), a replacement notification is sent to the user. This is due to, for example, alarm notification, warning display output on the screen, or the like.

  On the other hand, when the heights of the finger ends 122a and 122a are deviated from the predetermined value but within the correctable range (step S107: correctable range), correction processing is performed (step S108), and the process proceeds to step S110. . The correction process is performed, for example, by correcting teaching data in the height direction. More specifically, when the tip of the finger 122 is warped upward due to thermal deformation or the like, for example, the initial value h0 of the teaching data in the height direction when the substrate is placed in the process module 200 is set. , The value h0 ′ (= h0−Δh) which is lower by the amount Δh along. After the correction process, a replacement notice is given (step S109). This is a notification that the replacement time is near, for example, by displaying the amount of deformation or displaying the time when replacement is estimated to be necessary.

  When it is determined that the heights of the finger ends 122a and 122a are within a normal range that does not require correction or replacement (step S106: normal), the process proceeds to step S110, and the heights of the finger ends 122a and 122a It is determined whether the difference is within a predetermined threshold. If it is determined that the predetermined threshold is exceeded (step S110: NO), a replacement notification is made (step S107). If it is normal (step S110: YES), the substrate transfer is executed again according to the recipe (step S102).

  As described above, by providing the sensing port 150 for detecting the deformation of the finger so that the transfer chamber and the exhaust pump can be used in common, without any loss such as exhaust processing for measurement, it is always possible. The deformation of the finger can be detected with high accuracy. This can prevent the substrate from being damaged.

Further, when the amount of deformation is large, the correction of the automatic correction can prevent the positional deviation of the substrate. Further, when the correction amount exceeds the specified amount, it is possible to detect the operation stop time of the apparatus and the replacement time of the robot, and preparation can be made in advance.
[Second Embodiment]

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in which two displacement sensors in the height direction are used as the displacement sensor 151, one using a displacement sensor in the height direction, and one in the expansion / contraction direction and the rotation direction. A two-dimensional displacement sensor capable of detecting the position is used. Since other points are common to the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view of the housing 152 for explaining the abnormality detection method according to the present embodiment.

  A mark 122m for position detection is attached to one end of the finger 122, and a two-dimensional displacement sensor 151 acquires two-dimensional coordinates (x, y) in the rotation plane of the mark 122m. As the two-dimensional displacement sensor 151, for example, a CCD sensor is used, and the mark 122m is imaged. The installation position of the displacement sensor 151 is the same as that in the first embodiment.

  Next, the abnormality detection operation flow according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  Steps S201 to S204 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. In step S <b> 205, the tip height of the finger 122 is calculated by the transport module control unit 130 based on the input from the height direction displacement sensor 151. Next, based on the input of imaging data of the mark 122m from the two-dimensional displacement sensor 151, the two-dimensional coordinates (x, y) are acquired by the transport module control unit 130. Then, by converting this into (r, θ) coordinates with the arrangement center of the transfer robot 120 as a reference, the rotation direction position and the expansion / contraction direction position are acquired (step S206).

  In step S207, abnormality determination is performed based on the detection results of the height direction position, the rotation direction position, and the expansion / contraction direction position of the tip of the finger 122 acquired in steps S205 and S206. The abnormality determination is performed, for example, by determining whether the position in each direction is within a predetermined threshold. Of course, the determination may be made based on whether the combination of positions in each direction is within the combination range of the predetermined threshold.

  As a result, when it is determined that the range is abnormal (step S207: abnormal), the user is notified of replacement (step S208). On the other hand, when it determines with it being in a normal range (step S207: normal), it returns to step S202 and repeats the operation | movement after it. If it is determined that the current position is out of the normal range but is within the correctable range (step S207: correctable), teaching data correction processing is performed (step S209), the process returns to step S202, and the subsequent operations are repeated. .

  As described above, by detecting all of the height direction, the rotation direction, and the expansion / contraction direction and using them for abnormality determination, it is possible to detect various shape changes, and to prevent the positional deviation of the substrate, the collision of the fingers 122, and the like.

  The application of the present invention is not limited to that shown in the second embodiment. For example, when it is determined that replacement is required, only the detection result of the height direction position may be used, and the detection result of the expansion / contraction direction position or the rotation direction position may be used only for teaching correction.

[Third Embodiment]

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The third embodiment is substantially the same as the second embodiment, but differs in that one displacement sensor 151 in the height direction and a temperature sensor are used instead of the two displacement sensors 151. The installation position of the sensor in the sensing port is the same as in the other embodiments. For example, a radiation thermometer can be used as the temperature sensor.

The abnormality detection flow in this case will be described with reference to FIG.
Steps S301 to S305 are the same as in the second embodiment. In the next step S306, the temperature of the finger tip 122a is detected. Then, in the subsequent abnormality determination in S307, it is determined whether the height of the finger tip 122a is within a predetermined threshold. At this time, different threshold values are applied according to the temperature of the finger tip 122a. Specifically, for example, the higher the temperature, the larger the threshold range, so that it is not determined to be abnormal when the deformation has temporarily occurred due to the high temperature, and conversely, even if the temperature is low, the deformation When the amount is large and plastic deformation has occurred, it can be determined as abnormal. Thereafter, if it is determined that there is an abnormality, a replacement notification is performed (step S308), if it is determined that it is within the correctable range, teaching correction is performed (step S309), and if normal, the processing from step S302 is repeated.

  As described above, by combining the displacement sensor and the temperature sensor, it is possible to detect the occurrence of a steady shape abnormality even if the abnormality is detected between arbitrary processes. A temperature sensor may be used as the displacement sensor. That is, the deformation amount may be estimated based on the temperature measurement result, and the deformation amount may be used for abnormality determination.

100 Transfer Module 120 Transfer Robot 121 Arm 122 Finger 150 Sensing Port 151 Displacement Sensor 152 Case 200 Process Module GV Gate Valve LL / UL Load Lock / Unload Lock Module FE Substrate Supply Device

Claims (9)

A substrate transfer robot having fingers capable of holding the substrate, and a transfer chamber provided with a substrate transfer port for loading and unloading the substrate by the robot;
A housing that is detachably connected to the substrate transfer port, has an opening that communicates with the inside of the transfer chamber, and forms an internal space hermetically sealed with respect to the outside, and the fingers inserted into the internal space A sensing port with a displacement sensor for detecting deformation;
Exhaust means for exhausting the inside of the transfer chamber and the housing through an exhaust port provided in the transfer chamber;
Control means for acquiring a detection result by the displacement sensor of the shape of a finger inserted in the internal space of the casing in a state where the inside of the transfer chamber and the casing is decompressed by the exhaust means;
A vacuum processing apparatus comprising:   The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes a notification unit that notifies the finger shape abnormality based on a detection result of the displacement sensor.   The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes a correction unit that corrects a movement amount of the robot during substrate transfer according to a degree of deformation of the fingers.   The said control means has a movement control part which moves the said finger | toe in the state which does not hold | maintain a board | substrate to the internal space of the said housing | casing between board | substrate conveyance. Vacuum processing equipment.   The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the casing is supported and fixed to the transfer chamber.   The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displacement sensor detects deformation of a tip of the finger.   The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displacement sensor is provided outside the housing. The finger is deformed via the substrate transfer port into a transfer chamber having a substrate transfer robot having fingers capable of holding the substrate and a substrate transfer port for loading and unloading the substrate by the robot. An exhaust step of connecting a sensing port provided with a displacement sensor for detection and exhausting the inside of the transfer chamber and the sensing port by an exhaust means provided in common;
A detection step of moving the finger into the sensing port decompressed by the exhaust step and detecting the deformation by the displacement sensor;
A method for manufacturing an electronic component, comprising: A substrate transfer robot having fingers capable of holding a substrate, a transfer chamber having a substrate transfer port for loading and unloading a substrate by the robot, and the transfer port detachably connected to the substrate transfer port. A sensing port having a housing having an opening communicating with the inside of the chamber and forming an internal space sealed from the outside, and a displacement sensor for detecting deformation of the finger inserted into the internal space And a control unit for controlling the robot and the exhaust unit through the exhaust port provided in the transfer chamber, and a control unit for controlling the robot and the exhaust unit. A program executed by a device,
An exhausting step of reducing the pressure inside the transfer chamber and the housing by the exhausting means;
A moving step of moving a finger to the internal space of the housing in a state where the pressure is reduced by the exhausting step;
An acquisition step of acquiring a detection result of the shape of the finger by the displacement sensor;
A vacuum processing program comprising: