JP2012094908A - Substrate treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a treating apparatus with plural treating units which permits reducing the foot-print with neither lowering throughput nor accompanied problem in constructing the apparatus, while having a plurality of high flexibility in the treatment.SOLUTION: The treating apparatus comprises a first treating system A for conveying a substrate to be treated to one side of a predetermined direction X and treating the substrate to be treated; a second treating system B arranged in a direction Y perpendicular to the predetermined X with a space 40 with respect to the first treating system A, and for conveying the substrate to be treated to other side of the predetermined direction X and treating the substrate to be treated; a mounting section 41 arranged in the space 40 and for receiving and mounting the substrate to be treated and horizontally supported; and a conveying apparatus 33 arranged between upstream side treating units 22,21,31 at the other side of the first treating system A and downstream side treating units 32,23 at one side, and for conveying the substrate to be treated from the upstream side treating units 22,21,31 to the mounting section 41, and from the mounting section 41 to the downstream side treating units 32,23.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs a plurality of processes such as resist coating and development processing after exposure on a target substrate such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) glass substrate, and thermal processing performed before and after the resist coating. About.

  In the manufacture of LCD, after forming a predetermined film on the LCD glass substrate, which is the substrate to be processed, a photoresist film is applied to form a resist film, and the resist film is exposed corresponding to the circuit pattern, A circuit pattern is formed by a so-called photolithography technique in which this is developed.

  In this photolithography technique, the LCD substrate as a substrate to be processed is subjected to a series of processes including cleaning processing → dehydration baking → adhesion (hydrophobization) processing → resist coating → prebaking → exposure → development → post baking. A predetermined circuit pattern is formed on the resist layer.

  Conventionally, in such processing, processing units for performing each processing are arranged on both sides of the transport path in consideration of the process flow, and a substrate to be processed is carried into each processing unit by a central transport apparatus that can travel on the transport path. This is performed by a processing system in which one or a plurality of process blocks to be output are arranged. Since such a processing system is basically random access, the degree of freedom of processing is extremely high.

JP 11-274265 A JP-A-11-260883 JP 11-238672 A JP 2000-294616 A JP-A-10-189457

  However, recently, there is a strong demand for large-sized LCD substrates, and even a huge one having a side as long as 1 m has appeared. In a processing system having a planar arrangement as described above, the footprint is extremely large. There is a strong demand for a reduction in footprint from the viewpoint of space saving.

  In order to reduce the footprint, it is conceivable to stack the processing units in the vertical direction. However, in the current processing system, the transfer device moves a large substrate in the horizontal direction at high speed and high precision from the viewpoint of improving throughput. In addition to this, there is a limit to the movement in the height direction with high speed and high accuracy. In addition, the processing unit is also enlarged with the increase in size of the substrate, and it is extremely difficult to provide spinner units such as a resist coating processing unit and a development processing unit in an overlapping manner.

  As another means for reducing the footprint, it is conceivable to arrange the processing units in the order of processing without using the central transfer device, but in this case, only a predetermined series of processes can be handled. There is a problem that the degree of freedom of processing is small.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can reduce the footprint without reducing the throughput and without causing problems in the apparatus configuration, and has a high degree of freedom in processing. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus including the processing unit.

  A substrate processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate to be processed, which extends along a predetermined direction and moves the substrate to be processed to one side of the predetermined direction. However, the first processing system for processing the substrate to be processed and the first processing system are arranged in a state extending along the predetermined direction and having a space in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction with respect to the first processing system. A second processing system for processing the substrate to be processed while moving the substrate to be processed to the other side in the predetermined direction, and a mounting for receiving and mounting the substrate to be processed that is disposed in the space and supported horizontally Between the upstream processing unit, the upstream processing unit on the other side of the first processing system, and the downstream processing unit on the one side. To the downstream processing unit. To and a conveying device for conveying a substrate to be processed.

  A substrate processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate to be processed, which extends along a predetermined direction and moves the substrate to be processed to one side of the predetermined direction. However, the first processing system for processing the substrate to be processed and the first processing system are arranged in a state extending along the predetermined direction and having a space in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction with respect to the first processing system. A second processing system for processing the substrate to be processed while moving the substrate to be processed to the other side in the predetermined direction, and a mounting for receiving and mounting the substrate to be processed that is disposed in the space and supported horizontally Between the upstream processing unit, the upstream processing unit on the other side of the first processing system, and the downstream processing unit on the one side. To the downstream processing unit. To comprise a conveying device for conveying a substrate to be processed, the one provided in the downstream processing unit side, and a coating treatment device for supplying liquid toward a target substrate to be horizontally supported.

  A substrate processing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate to be processed, which extends along a predetermined direction and moves the substrate to be processed to one side of the predetermined direction. However, the first processing system for processing the substrate to be processed and the first processing system are arranged in a state extending along the predetermined direction and having a space in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction with respect to the first processing system. A second processing system for processing the substrate to be processed while moving the substrate to be processed to the other side in the predetermined direction, and a mounting for receiving and mounting the substrate to be processed that is disposed in the space and supported horizontally A turnable transfer device that is disposed between the first processing system, the other upstream processing unit of the first processing system, and the one downstream processing unit, and that transfers the substrate to be processed. Prepare.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of liquid processing units that perform liquid processing such as cleaning processing, resist processing, and development processing are configured such that predetermined liquid processing is performed while a substrate to be processed is transported substantially horizontally. However, these are arranged in the order of processing so that the transfer lines of the substrates to be processed are arranged in two parallel rows, and a series of processes are performed while flowing the substrates to be processed along the transfer lines, so that high throughput is maintained. In addition, a large-scale central transport device that travels between a plurality of processing units and a central transport path on which it travels are basically unnecessary, and space can be saved accordingly. Prints can be made smaller. In addition to the normal processing, there is a substrate holding / moving member that is movably provided in the space between the two rows of transfer lines and that transfers and holds the substrate between the transfer lines. Various patterns can be processed, and the degree of freedom of processing is high. At this time, unlike the conventional central transfer device, the substrate holding member only holds and moves the substrate to be processed, so a large-scale mechanism is not necessary, and the central transfer path of the conventional central transfer device travels. Such a large space is not necessary, and the space saving effect is maintained.

  In addition, as described above, the plurality of thermal processing units constitute a plurality of thermal processing unit sections that are aggregated for each of the thermal processing units, thereby further increasing the footprint. In addition, since the thermal processing can be performed along the processing flow of the substrate to be processed, the throughput can be further increased.

1 is a plan view showing a resist coating and developing treatment apparatus for an LCD glass substrate according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The top view which shows the inside of the resist processing unit of the resist coating and developing processing apparatus of the LCD substrate which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the 1st thermal processing unit section of the resist coating and developing processing apparatus of the LCD substrate which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the 2nd thermal processing unit section of the resist coating and developing processing apparatus of the LCD substrate which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the 3rd thermal processing unit section of the resist coating and developing processing apparatus of the LCD substrate which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the structure of the shuttle used for the resist application | coating development processing apparatus of the LCD substrate which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The top view which shows the resist application development processing apparatus of the LCD glass substrate which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The top view which shows the resist application development processing apparatus of the LCD glass substrate which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the structure of the shuttle used for the resist application development processing apparatus of the LCD substrate which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the structure of the delivery mechanism used for the resist application development processing apparatus of the LCD substrate which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The side view for demonstrating the operation | movement which mounts a board | substrate on the shuttle of FIG. 9 using the delivery mechanism of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the shuttle used for the resist application development processing apparatus of the LCD substrate which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a resist coating and developing apparatus for an LCD glass substrate according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  The resist coating and developing apparatus 100 is for performing a series of processing including resist coating and development on a cassette station (loading / unloading unit) 1 on which a cassette C that houses a plurality of LCD glass substrates G is placed. A processing station (processing unit) 2 having a plurality of processing units and an interface station (interface unit) 3 for transferring the substrate G to and from the exposure apparatus 4 are provided at both ends of the processing station 2. Cassette station 1 and interface station 3 are arranged respectively. In FIG. 1, the longitudinal direction of the resist coating and developing apparatus 100 is defined as the X direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X direction on the plane is defined as the Y direction.

  The cassette station 1 is provided with a transport device 11 for loading and unloading the LCD substrate G between the cassette C and the processing station 2. In this cassette station 1, the cassette C is loaded into and unloaded from the outside. Further, the transfer device 11 has a transfer arm 11a and can move on a transfer path 10 provided along the Y direction which is the arrangement direction of the cassettes C. The transfer arm 11a allows the cassette C and the processing station 2 to move. The substrate G is carried in and out.

  The processing station 2 basically has two parallel rows of transfer lines A and B for transferring the substrate G extending in the X direction. From the cassette station 1 side toward the interface station 3 along the transfer line A. A scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 21, a first thermal processing unit section 26, a resist processing unit 23, and a second thermal processing unit section 27 are arranged. In addition, the second thermal processing unit section 27, the development processing unit (DEV) 24, the i-ray UV irradiation unit (i-UV) 25, and the second one from the interface station 3 side toward the cassette station 1 along the transfer line B. Three thermal processing units 28 are arranged. An excimer UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 22 is provided on a part of the scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 21. An excimer UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 22 is provided to remove organic substances on the substrate G prior to scrubber cleaning, and an i-line UV irradiation unit (i-UV) 25 is used to perform a decoloring process for development. Provided.

  The scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 21 performs the cleaning process and the drying process while the substrate G is transported substantially horizontally without being rotated in the conventional manner. The development processing unit (DEV) 24 also performs the application of the developer, the developer cleaning after the development, and the drying process while being transported substantially horizontally without the substrate G being rotated. In the scrub cleaning processing unit (SCR) 21 and the development processing unit (DEV) 24, the substrate G is transported by, for example, roller transport or belt transport, and the transport inlet and transport outlet of the substrate G are short sides opposite to each other. Is provided. Further, the transport of the substrate G to the i-line UV irradiation unit (i-UV) 25 is continuously performed by a mechanism similar to the transport mechanism of the development processing unit (DEV) 24.

  2, the resist processing unit 23 applies a resist solution by dropping a resist solution from a nozzle (not shown) while rotating the substrate G by a spin chuck 51 in the cup 50. As shown in FIG. CT) 23a, a reduced pressure drying device (VD) 23b for drying the resist film formed on the substrate G in the reduced pressure container 52 under reduced pressure, and a solvent discharge head 53 capable of scanning four sides of the substrate G placed on the stage 54. The peripheral resist removing device (ER) 23c for removing excess resist adhering to the peripheral edge of the substrate G is disposed in that order, and the substrate G is interposed between the pair of sub-arms 56 guided and moved by the guide rail 55. Is transported substantially horizontally. The resist processing unit 23 is provided with a carry-in port 57 and a carry-out port 58 for the substrate G on opposite short sides. The guide rail 55 extends outward from the carry-in port 57 and the carry-out port 58, and the substrate is extended by the sub arm 56. Delivery of G is possible.

  The first thermal processing unit section 26 includes two thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 31 and 32 configured by stacking thermal processing units for performing thermal processing on the substrate G, The thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 is provided on the scrub cleaning processing unit (SCR) 21 side, and the thermal processing unit block (TB) 32 is provided on the resist processing unit 23 side. A first transfer device 33 is provided between the two thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 31 and 32. As shown in the side view of FIG. 3, the thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 includes a pass unit (PASS) 61 that transfers the substrate G in order from the bottom, and two dehydration processes that perform a dehydration baking process on the substrate G. The bake units (DHP) 62 and 63 and the adhesion processing unit (AD) 64 that performs the hydrophobic treatment on the substrate G are stacked in four stages, and the thermal processing unit block (TB) 32 includes: A pass unit (PASS) 65 that transfers the substrate G in order from the bottom, two cooling units (COL) 66 and 67 that cool the substrate G, and an adhesion processing unit (AD) that performs hydrophobic treatment on the substrate G There are 68 stacked layers. The first transfer device 33 receives the substrate G from the scrub cleaning processing unit (SCR) 21 through the pass unit (PASS) 61, carries in and out the substrate G between the thermal processing units, and the pass unit ( The substrate G is transferred to the resist processing unit 23 via the PASS) 65.

  The first transport device 33 includes a guide rail 91 that extends vertically, a lifting member 92 that moves up and down along the guide rail, a base member 93 that is pivotable on the lifting member 92, and moves forward on the base member 93. A substrate holding arm 94 that is provided so as to be retractable and holds the substrate G is provided. The elevating member 92 is moved up and down by the motor 95, the base member 93 is turned by the motor 96, and the substrate holding arm 94 is moved back and forth by the motor 97. Since the first transfer device 33 is provided so as to be able to move up and down, move back and forth, and turn as described above, it can access any of the thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 31 and 32.

  The second thermal processing unit section 27 includes two thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 34 and 35 configured by stacking thermal processing units that perform thermal processing on the substrate G, and The thermal processing unit block (TB) 34 is provided on the resist processing unit 23 side, and the thermal processing unit block (TB) 35 is provided on the development processing unit (DEV) 24 side. A second transport device 36 is provided between the two thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 34 and 35. As shown in the side view of FIG. 4, the thermal processing unit block (TB) 34 includes a pass unit (PASS) 69 that transfers the substrate G in order from the bottom, and three prebaking units that perform prebaking processing on the substrate G. (PREBAKE) 70, 71, 72 are stacked in four stages, and the thermal processing unit block (TB) 35 cools the substrate G and the pass unit (PASS) 73 that delivers the substrate G in order from the bottom. The cooling unit (COL) 74 and the two pre-baking units (PREBAKE) 75 and 76 for performing the pre-baking process on the substrate G are stacked in four stages. The second transfer device 36 receives the substrate G from the resist processing unit 23 via the pass unit (PASS) 69, carries in / out the substrate G between the thermal processing units, and passes through the pass unit (PASS) 73. The substrate G is transferred to all the development processing units (DEV) 24, and the substrate G is transferred to and received from an extension / cooling stage (EXT / COL) 44, which is a substrate transfer portion of the interface station 3 to be described later. The second transfer device 36 has the same structure as the first transfer device 33 and can access either of the thermal processing unit blocks 34 and 35.

  The third thermal processing unit section 28 includes two thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 37 and 38 configured by stacking thermal processing units for performing thermal processing on the substrate G, and The thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 is provided on the development processing unit (DEV) 24 side, and the thermal processing unit block (TB) 38 is provided on the cassette station 1 side. A third transfer device 39 is provided between the two thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 37 and 38. As shown in the side view of FIG. 5, the thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 includes a pass unit (PASS) 77 that transfers the substrate G in order from the bottom, and three posts that perform post-bake processing on the substrate G. The bake units (POBAKE) 78, 79, 80 are stacked in four stages, and the thermal processing unit block (TB) 38 transfers the post-bake unit (POBAKE) 81 and the substrate G in order from the bottom and cools them. A pass / cooling unit (PASS / COL) 82 to be performed and two post-bake units (POBAKE) 83 and 84 for performing a post-bake process on the substrate G are stacked in four stages. The third transfer device 39 receives the substrate G from the i-ray UV irradiation unit (i-UV) 25 through the pass unit (PASS) 77, carries the substrate G between the thermal processing units, and passes it. Transfer the substrate G to the cassette station 1 via the cooling unit (PASS / COL) 82. The third transfer device 39 has the same structure as the first transfer device 33 and can access any unit of the thermal processing unit blocks (TB) 37 and 38.

  The substrate G is carried into the scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 21 and the excimer UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 22 by the transfer device 11 of the cassette station 1. Further, as described above, the substrate G of the scrub cleaning processing unit (SCR) 21 is carried out to the pass unit (PASS) 61 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 by, for example, roller conveyance, and a pin (not shown) protrudes there. The substrate G thus lifted is transported by the first transport device 33. Further, the substrate G is carried into the resist processing unit 23 after the substrate G is transferred to the pass unit (PASS) 65 by the first transfer device 33 and then from the carry-in port 57 by the pair of sub arms 56. In the resist processing unit 23, the substrate G is transported by the sub arm 56 through the carry-out port 58 to the pass unit (PASS) 69 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 34, and on a pin (not shown) protruding there. The substrate G is unloaded. The substrate G is brought into the development processing unit (DEV) 24 by causing a pin (not shown) to project in the pass unit (PASS) 73 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 35 and lowering the substrate from the raised state. For example, the roller transport mechanism extended to the pass unit (PASS) 73 is operated. The substrate G of the i-ray UV irradiation unit (i-UV) 25 is carried out to the pass unit (PASS) 77 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 by, for example, roller transportation, and is lifted by protruding a pin (not shown) there. The substrate G thus transferred is transferred by the third transfer device 39. Further, the substrate G after the completion of all the processes is transported to the pass cooling unit (PASS / COL) 82 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 38 and unloaded by the transport device 11 of the cassette station.

  In the processing unit station 2, the processing units and the transport devices are arranged so as to constitute the two rows of transport lines A and B as described above and basically in the order of processing. , B is provided with a space 40. A shuttle (substrate mounting member) 41 is provided to be able to reciprocate in the space 40. The shuttle 41 is configured to be able to hold the substrate G, and the substrate G can be transferred between the transfer lines A and B.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the shuttle 41 is provided so as to be able to project and retract from the surface of the base member 101, the base member 101, and the substrate G is positioned. A guide member 103 for driving, a pin drive unit 104 for driving the elevating pin 102, and a connecting part 105. The connecting part 105 is slidably connected to a guide rail 106 extending in the X direction in the space 40. Yes. The shuttle 41 is moved along the X direction in the space 40 along the guide rail 106 by a driving mechanism (not shown) of an appropriate method such as driving using a magnet or belt driving. From the viewpoint of preventing dust generation, the magnet drive is more advantageous. Delivery of the substrate G to the shuttle 41 is performed by the first to third transfer devices 33, 36, and 39. Further, the transfer of the substrate G to the shuttle 41 can also be performed by the transfer device 11 of the cassette station 1.

  The interface station 3 includes a transfer device 42 that loads and unloads the substrate G between the processing station 2 and the exposure device 4, a buffer stage (BUF) 43 that places a buffer cassette, and a substrate that has a cooling function. An extension / cooling stage (EXT / COL) 44 serving as a delivery unit is provided, and an external device block 45 in which a titler (TITLER) and a peripheral exposure device (EE) are stacked vertically is adjacent to the transport device 42. Is provided. The transfer device 42 includes a transfer arm 42 a, and the transfer arm 42 a carries in and out the substrate G between the processing station 2 and the exposure device 4.

  In the resist coating and developing apparatus 100 configured as described above, first, the substrate G in the cassette C disposed in the cassette station 1 is transferred to the excimer UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 22 of the processing station 2 by the transport apparatus 11. The scrub is pre-processed. Next, the transport mechanism 11 carries the substrate G into a scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 21 disposed under the excimer UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 22 for scrub cleaning. In this scrub cleaning, the cleaning process and the drying process are performed while the substrate G is transported substantially horizontally without being rotated as in the prior art. It is possible to realize the same processing capacity as using two units in a smaller space. After the scrub cleaning process, the substrate G is carried out to the pass unit (PASS) 61 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 belonging to the first thermal processing unit section 26 by, for example, roller conveyance.

  The substrate G arranged in the pass unit (PASS) 61 is lifted by protruding a pin (not shown), and is transported to the first thermal processing unit section 26 to be subjected to the following series of processes. That is, first, it is transferred to one of the dehydration bake units (DHP) 62 and 63 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 and subjected to heat treatment, and then the cooling unit of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 32 ( (COL) 66, 67, and after being cooled, an adhesion processing unit (AD) 64 of a thermal processing unit block (TB) 31 and a thermal processing unit block ( TB) is transported to one of 32 adhesion processing units (AD) 68, where it is subjected to adhesion processing (hydrophobization processing) by HMDS, and then transported to one of the cooling units (COL) 66, 67 to be cooled. Furthermore, the pass unit (PA) of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 32 S) is conveyed to the 65. At this time, all the conveyance processing is performed by the first conveyance device 33. In some cases, the adhesion process is not performed. In this case, the substrate G is immediately transferred to the pass unit (PASS) 65 after dehydration baking and cooling.

  Thereafter, the substrate G placed in the pass unit (PASS) 65 is carried into the resist processing unit 23 by the sub arm 56 of the resist processing unit 23. Then, the substrate G is first transported to the resist coating processing device (CT) 23a therein, where the resist solution is spin-coated on the substrate G, and then transported to the vacuum drying device (VD) 23b by the sub-arm 56 to reduce the pressure. The substrate is dried, and further conveyed to the peripheral resist removing device (ER) 23c by the sub-arm 56 to remove excess resist on the peripheral edge of the substrate G. After the peripheral resist removal is completed, the substrate G is unloaded from the resist processing unit 23 by the sub arm 56. As described above, the decompression drying device (VD) 23b is provided after the resist coating processing device (CT) 23a. If this is not provided, the substrate G coated with the resist is prebaked or after the development processing. After the post-bake treatment, the shapes of lift pins, fixing pins, etc. may be transferred to the substrate G. In this way, the solvent in the resist can be obtained by performing vacuum drying without heating by a vacuum drying apparatus (VD). Is released gradually and does not cause rapid drying as in the case of drying by heating, can accelerate the drying of the resist without adversely affecting the resist, and effectively prevents transfer on the substrate. Because it can be done.

  After the coating process is completed in this way, the substrate G carried out of the resist processing unit 23 by the sub arm 56 is transferred to the pass unit (PASS) of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 34 belonging to the second thermal processing unit section 27. ) Passed to 69. The substrate G placed in the pass unit (PASS) 69 is pre-baked (PREBAKE) 70, 71, 72 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 34 and the thermal processing unit block (TB) by the second transfer device 36. ) It is transported to one of 35 pre-baking units (PREBAKE) 75 and 76 and pre-baked, and then transported to a cooling unit (COL) 74 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 35 to be cooled to a predetermined temperature. Then, it is further transported by the second transport device 36 to the pass unit (PASS) 73 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 35.

  Thereafter, the substrate G is transferred to the extension / cooling stage (EXT / COL) 44 of the interface station 3 by the second transfer device 36, and transferred to the peripheral exposure device (EE) of the external device block 45 by the transfer device 42 of the interface station 3. Then, exposure is performed to remove the peripheral resist, and then the wafer is transferred to the exposure device 4 by the transfer device 42 where the resist film on the substrate G is exposed to form a predetermined pattern. In some cases, the substrate G is accommodated in a buffer cassette on a buffer stage (BUF) 43 and then transferred to the exposure apparatus 4.

  After the exposure is completed, the substrate G is loaded into the upper titler (TITLER) of the external device block 45 by the transfer device 42 of the interface station 3 and predetermined information is written on the substrate G, and then the extension / cooling stage (EXT / COL). ) 44, and is carried into the processing station 2 again from there. That is, the substrate G is transported by the second transport device 36 to the pass unit (PASS) 73 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 35 belonging to the second thermal processing unit section 27. Further, for example, a roller transport mechanism extended from the development processing unit (DEV) 24 to the pass unit (PASS) 73 by causing the pins to protrude in the pass unit (PASS) 73 and lowering the substrate G from the raised state. The substrate G is carried into the development processing unit (DEV) 24 and subjected to development processing. In this development processing, the substrate G is not rotated as in the prior art, and for example, the developer application, the developer removal after development, and the drying treatment are performed while being transported substantially horizontally by roller transport. As a result, the same processing capability as conventionally using three rotation type development processing units can be realized in a smaller space.

  After the development processing is completed, the substrate G is transported from the development processing unit (DEV) 24 to the i-line UV irradiation unit (i-UV) 25 by a continuous transport mechanism, for example, roller transport, and the substrate G is subjected to decolorization processing. The Thereafter, the substrate G is transferred to a pass unit (PASS) of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 belonging to the third thermal processing unit section 28 by a transfer mechanism in the i-ray UV irradiation unit (i-UV) 25, for example, roller transfer. ) It is carried out to 77.

  The substrate G placed in the pass unit (PASS) 77 is transferred by the third transfer device 39 to the post-baking units (POBAKE) 78, 79, 80 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 and the thermal processing unit block (TB). ) It is transported to one of 38 post-baking units (POBAKE) 81, 83, 84 and post-baked, and then transported to a pass / cooling unit (PASS / COL) 82 of a thermal processing unit block (TB) 38. After being cooled to a predetermined temperature, it is accommodated in a predetermined cassette C arranged in the cassette station 1 by the transfer device 11 of the cassette station 1.

  As described above, the scrub cleaning processing unit (SCR) 21, the resist processing unit 23, and the development processing unit (DEV) 24 are configured so that predetermined liquid processing is performed while the substrate G is transported substantially horizontally. Then, these are arranged in order of processing so that the transport lines of the substrate G are arranged in two rows, and a series of processing is performed while the substrate G flows along the two parallel rows of transport lines A and B. As a result, high throughput can be maintained, and a large-scale central transfer device that travels between a plurality of processing units as in the past and a central transfer path on which it travels are basically unnecessary, thereby saving space. And the footprint can be reduced. The scrub cleaning processing unit (SCR) 21 and the development processing unit (DEV) 24 are so-called flat-flow systems that perform processing while transporting the substrate G in the horizontal direction without rotating it, so that the conventional substrate G is rotated. It is possible to reduce the mist that has been generated a lot.

  The first scrub cleaning processing unit (SCR) 21, the resist processing unit 23, and the development processing unit (DEV) 24 are each integrated with a plurality of thermal processing units that perform subsequent thermal processing. Since the third heat treatment unit sections 26, 27, and 28 are provided, and these are constituted by the thermal processing unit block (TB) in which a plurality of thermal processing units are stacked, the footprint can be further reduced accordingly. In addition, the thermal processing can be performed along the flow of the processing of the substrate G by reducing the transport of the substrate G as much as possible, so that the throughput can be further increased. Further, since the first to third transfer devices 33, 36, 39 dedicated to each thermal processing unit section are provided corresponding to each thermal processing unit section, the throughput can be increased also by this. .

  The above is the basic processing pattern. In the present embodiment, the processing station 2 is provided with the space portion 40 between the two rows of the transfer lines A and B, and the space portion 40 can be reciprocated to be shuttled. 41 is provided, it is possible to process various patterns in addition to the above basic processing pattern, and the degree of freedom of processing is high.

  For example, when it is desired to perform only the resist processing, the following procedure is possible. First, the shuttle 41 is moved to a position adjacent to the cassette station 1, and then one substrate G of the cassette C is taken out by the transfer device 11 and placed on the shuttle 41, and the shuttle 41 is moved to the first transfer device. After the substrate G on the shuttle 41 is transported to one of the adhesion processing units (AD) 64 and 68 by the first transport device 33 and the substrate G is subjected to the adhesion processing. Then, the substrate G is cooled by a cooling unit (COL) 66 or 67 and carried into the resist processing unit 23 through the pass unit (PASS) 65 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 32. Then, in the resist processing unit 23, the resist removal processing by the peripheral resist removing device (ER) 23c is finished, and the substrate G is carried out to the pass unit (PASS) 69 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 34, and the second transfer. The apparatus 36 places the substrate G on the shuttle 41 and returns it to the cassette station 1. When the adhesion process is not performed, the first transfer device 33 that has received the substrate G from the shuttle 41 directly transfers the substrate to the pass unit (PASS) 65.

  If only development processing is desired, the following procedure can be used. First, the shuttle 41 that has received the substrate G from the cassette station 1 is moved to a position corresponding to the second transport device 36, and the second transport device 36 moves the substrate G on the shuttle 41 to the thermal processing unit block (TB). It is carried into the development processing unit (DEV) 24 through 35 pass units (PASS) 73. Then, after the development process and the decolorization process by the i-ray UV irradiation unit (i-UV) 25 are finished, the substrate G is carried out to the pass unit (PASS) 77 of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 37, and the third conveyance is performed. The apparatus 39 places the substrate G on the shuttle 41 and returns it to the cassette station 1.

  When the shuttle 41 is not used, the space 40 can be used as a maintenance space by retracting the shuttle 41 to the end of the space 40.

  Unlike the conventional central transport apparatus, such a shuttle 41 only holds and moves the substrate to be processed, so that a large-scale mechanism is unnecessary, and is similar to a central transport path on which the conventional central transport apparatus travels. A large space is not necessary, and even if the shuttle 41 is provided, the space saving effect is maintained.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an LCD glass substrate resist coating and developing treatment apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the substrate G is loaded into the processing station 2 from one end in the Y direction in the cassette station 1 and unloaded from the other end. 100 'includes a processing station 2' that can carry in and out the substrate G from the center of the cassette station 1. Specifically, the processing station 2 ′ has a unit similar to the thermal processing unit block (TB) 38 in a portion corresponding to the center in the Y direction of the cassette station 1 instead of the third thermal processing unit section 28. Is disposed, and a thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 in which units similar to the thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 are stacked at the end of the transfer line B is disposed. 'Is provided, and a third transfer device 39' is provided at the end of the space 40 on the cassette station 1 side so that the substrate G can be transferred into and out of the processing station 2 '. Is also carried out by the third transfer device 39 'via the pass cooling unit (PASS COL) of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 38'. It is obtained by way. In addition, since the form of loading / unloading the substrate G is different from that of the first embodiment, in this embodiment, the carry-in port is provided on the space 40 side corresponding to the third transfer device 39 ′. A scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 21 ′ and a kisima UV irradiation unit (e-UV) 22 ′ are stacked in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Further, the transfer of the substrate G from the i-line UV irradiation unit (i-UV) 25 to the thermal processing unit block (TB) 37 ′ is performed by, for example, roller transfer.

  Also in the present embodiment, processing is basically performed in the same flow as in the first embodiment. At this time, since the third transport device 39 ′ always rotates 90 degrees when the substrate G is delivered, the orientation of the substrate G is changed when the third transport device 39 ′ is loaded into, for example, the scrub cleaning unit (SCR) 21. It will shift 90 degrees. In order to prevent this, a rotation mechanism is provided in the pass cooling unit (PASS COL) of the thermal processing unit block (TB) 38 '.

  In the present embodiment, since the substrate can be carried in and out from the center of the cassette station 1, even if the cassette station is not of the structure shown in the figure, for example, a type in which the transport device cannot move in the Y direction is designated. It can be used and is highly versatile.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an LCD glass substrate resist coating and developing treatment apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The resist coating and developing apparatus 100 ″ of the present embodiment has a shuttle 41 ′ having a form different from the shuttle 41 of the first and second embodiments, and a cassette at the end of the space 40 on the cassette station 1 side. A delivery mechanism 110 is provided for delivering the substrate G between the transport device 11 of the station 1 and the shuttle 41 ', and the rest is configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, the shuttle 41 ′ includes a base member 121, four support pins 122 that are provided near the four corners of the surface of the base member 121, and support the substrate G, and a connecting portion 123. The connecting portion 123 is slidably connected to the guide rail 124 extending in the X direction in the space portion 40. In the center of the base member 121, a cutout portion 125 is formed by being cut out in a circular shape.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the delivery mechanism 110 is supported by the support portion 131 by supporting the substrate G, a cylinder 132 that can move the support portion 131 up and down, and rotating the cylinder 132. And a rotation mechanism 133 that rotates the substrate G. The support portion 131 includes a cross-shaped member 135 attached to the upper end of the piston 134 of the cylinder 132 and four support pins 136 that support the substrate G protruding upward from the four ends of the cross-shaped member 135. Have.

  When the substrate G is transferred from the transport device 11 to the shuttle 41 ′, the cutout portion 125 of the shuttle 41 ′ corresponds to the support pin 136 of the delivery mechanism 110 as shown in FIG. 10. Specifically, the delivery is performed as shown in FIGS. First, as shown in (a), the shuttle 41 'is moved to a position corresponding to the delivery mechanism 110, and in that state, as shown in (b), the support pin 136 is passed through the cutout portion 125 by the cylinder 132. The support part 131 is raised so as to protrude upward. Then, the substrate G is delivered from the transfer device 11 onto the support 131, and in this state, the cylinder 132 is rotated by the rotation mechanism 133 to rotate the substrate G by 90 °. Next, the support part 131 is lowered by the cylinder 132, whereby the substrate G is placed on the support pins 122 provided on the base member 121, as shown in FIG.

  When the substrate G is transferred from the shuttle 41 ′ to the first to third transfer devices 33, 36, 39, the arm of each transfer device is inserted into the space between the substrate G and the base member 121 and then the arm. When the substrate G is delivered from the transfer device to the shuttle 41 ′, when the substrate G is positioned on the base member 121, the arm is lowered to bring the substrate G onto the support pins 122. To be placed.

  By interposing the delivery mechanism 110 in this way, the orientation of the substrate G when the substrate G is delivered from the transport device 11 to the shuttle 41 'can be adjusted. That is, since the transport device 11 holds the substrate G with the longitudinal direction of the substrate G set to the X direction, when the substrate G is simply delivered from the transport device 11 to the shuttle 41 ′, the longitudinal direction of the substrate G is on the shuttle 41 ′. Is in the X direction. In this state, when the substrate G is delivered from the shuttle 41 ′ to any of the first to third transfer devices 33, 36, 39, the substrate G is transferred when the substrate G is transferred from the transfer device to each processing unit. The direction of is shifted by 90 °. On the other hand, by rotating the substrate G by 90 ° by the delivery mechanism 110, such inconvenience is solved. By providing the delivery mechanism 110 in this manner, the substrate G can be transported in a predetermined direction without providing a mechanism for rotating the substrate G for each transport device.

  Further, in this embodiment, since there is no pin drive unit in the shuttle 41 ', the weight can be reduced and the burden on the drive mechanism can be reduced. Further, since there is no cylinder in the shuttle 41 ', air piping for the moving shuttle 41' becomes unnecessary.

Next, another example of the shuttle will be described.
As shown in FIG. 12, the shuttle 41 ″ of this example includes a base member 141 that supports the substrate G, a cover member 142 that is detachably provided to the base member 141, and covers the space above the base member 141. 12A, when the substrate G is transported, the substrate G is present in a sealed space by the cover member 142. The side wall of the cover member 142 is the side wall of the base member 141. The base member 141 and the cover member 142 are locked in the state (a) by a lock mechanism (not shown). A substrate between each transport device and the shuttle 41 ″. When delivering G, with the lock mechanism removed, as shown in FIG. 12B, a plurality of, for example, four serials provided at the delivery position of the shuttle 41 ″ are provided. The cover member 142 is lifted by the slider 143 (only two are shown) In this way, the region where the substrate G exists on the base member 141 is made a sealed space by the cover member 142, so that the substrate 41 can be transported by the shuttle 41 ″. It is possible to prevent particles and the like from adhering to the substrate G. Further, since the shuttle 41 ″ is not provided with a cylinder for opening and closing the cover member 142, the complexity of the air piping can be avoided.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the idea of the present invention. For example, the device layout is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. Further, the structure of the shuttle is not limited to the above structure, and may be the same structure as the sub arm 56 used in the resist processing unit 23 in the above embodiment, for example. Further, a plurality of substrates may be held on the shuttle. The processing is not limited to the processing by the resist coating and developing processing apparatus as described above, but can be applied to other apparatuses that perform liquid processing and thermal processing. Furthermore, although the case where an LCD substrate is used as the substrate to be processed has been described, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to the case of processing other substrates to be processed such as color filters.

1 …… Cassette station 2 …… Processing station 3 …… Interface station 21 …… Scrub cleaning unit (liquid processing unit)
23 …… Resist processing unit (liquid processing unit)
24 …… Development processing unit (liquid processing unit)
26... First thermal processing unit section 27... Second thermal processing unit section 28... Third thermal processing unit section 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 38. Block 33 …… First transfer device 36 …… Second transfer device 39 …… Third transfer device 40 …… Space 41, 41 ′, 41 ″ …… Shuttle 100, 100 ′, 100 ″ …… Resist coating Development processing equipment (processing equipment)
G …… LCD glass substrate

Claims (8)

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate to be processed,
A first processing system that extends along a predetermined direction and processes the substrate to be processed while moving the substrate to be processed to one side in the predetermined direction;
The substrate extends along the predetermined direction and is disposed with a space provided in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction with respect to the first processing system, and moves the substrate to be processed to the other side of the predetermined direction. A second processing system for processing the substrate to be processed;
A placement section for receiving and placing a substrate to be processed which is disposed in the space and is horizontally supported;
Arranged between the other upstream processing unit of the first processing system and the one downstream processing unit, from the upstream processing unit to the mounting unit, and from the mounting unit A transfer device for transferring the substrate to be processed to the downstream processing unit;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate to be processed,
A first processing system that extends along a predetermined direction and processes the substrate to be processed while moving the substrate to be processed to one side in the predetermined direction;
The substrate extends along the predetermined direction and is disposed with a space provided in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction with respect to the first processing system, and moves the substrate to be processed to the other side of the predetermined direction. A second processing system for processing the substrate to be processed;
A placement section for receiving and placing a substrate to be processed which is disposed in the space and is horizontally supported;
Arranged between the other upstream processing unit of the first processing system and the one downstream processing unit, from the upstream processing unit to the mounting unit, and from the mounting unit A transfer device for transferring the substrate to be processed to the downstream processing unit;
A coating processing apparatus that is provided in the downstream processing unit on the one side and supplies a liquid toward a substrate to be horizontally supported;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate to be processed,
A first processing system that extends along a predetermined direction and processes the substrate to be processed while moving the substrate to be processed to one side in the predetermined direction;
The substrate extends along the predetermined direction and is disposed with a space provided in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction with respect to the first processing system, and moves the substrate to be processed to the other side of the predetermined direction. A second processing system for processing the substrate to be processed;
A placement section for receiving and placing a substrate to be processed which is disposed in the space and is horizontally supported;
A swivelable transport device that is disposed between the other upstream processing unit of the first processing system and the one downstream processing unit and transports a substrate to be processed;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transfer device is further capable of moving up and down and moving back and forth.   5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the space is a maintenance space for at least one of the first processing system and the second processing system. 6.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cover member that covers at least a side exposed to the space in the periphery of the placement unit.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the space is provided between the cover member and the second processing system.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the cover member is formed with an openable / closable opening that allows access to the mounting portion.

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