JP2012109333A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of efficiently performing production processing and dummy processing by appropriately using a dummy wafer.SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus comprises: a plurality of processing chambers which process a substrate containing a dummy substrate and a product substrate; a first transport chamber provided with first transport means for holding the substrate in a substrate holding part and transporting it to each of the processing chambers; a second transport chamber provided with second transport means for transporting the substrate in an atmospheric pressure state; a preliminary chamber which can be decompressed and links the first transport chamber and the second transport chamber; exhaust means provided for the transport chambers and the preliminary chamber; and control means for controlling transfer of the first transport means between the substrate storage means in which a plurality of substrates were stored and the processing chambers and the second transport means. The control means individually manages the usage states of a plurality of dummy substrates and determines whether the usage state of each dummy substrate reached a predetermined usage state.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for managing a wafer (hereinafter referred to as a “dummy wafer”) used for the purpose of maintaining a process chamber in a suitable state in a substrate processing apparatus such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

  In a process chamber used in a process for processing one or more substrates, the atmosphere in the process chamber changes when the unused time (hereinafter referred to as “unexecuted time”) becomes long. A dummy wafer is used to keep such a process chamber in a state suitable for process processing.

  Conventionally, when such a dummy wafer becomes necessary, a carrier storing the dummy wafer is transferred to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and a process process using the dummy wafer, so-called dummy process, is performed.

  The following documents are disclosed as related conventional techniques.

JP 2008-270266 A

  However, when a carrier storing dummy wafers is transferred, the transfer time is a downtime of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. In addition, when a carrier in which a dummy wafer is stored is mounted in advance in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the number of load ports for arranging the carrier is reduced, for example. Since the number of load ports is limited, the number of mounted product boards is reduced, and as a result, the productivity of the product boards is affected. Furthermore, when a process using a dummy wafer exceeding the use limit is executed, the state of the process chamber may be deteriorated.

  An object of this invention is to provide the substrate processing apparatus which performs a production process and a dummy process efficiently by using a dummy wafer appropriately.

  A substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of processing chambers (process chambers) that perform processing on a substrate including a dummy substrate (dummy wafer) and a product substrate, and holding the substrate in each processing chamber on a substrate holder. A first transfer chamber having a first transfer means for transferring, a second transfer chamber having a second transfer means for transferring a substrate in an atmospheric pressure state, the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber. A pressure-reducing preparatory chamber to be connected; an exhaust means provided for the transport chamber and the preparatory chamber; the first transport means between the substrate storage means in which a plurality of substrates are stored and the processing chamber; and Control means for controlling the transport of the second transport means, wherein the control means individually manages the use states of the plurality of dummy substrates, and whether the use states of the dummy substrates have reached a predetermined use state Determine whether or not.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for managing a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a plurality of processing chambers that process a substrate including a dummy substrate and a product substrate; The first transfer chamber having the first transfer means for transferring, the second transfer chamber having the second transfer means for transferring the substrate in the atmospheric pressure state, and the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber are connected. A preparatory chamber capable of depressurization, an evacuation unit provided for the transfer chamber and the preparatory chamber, the first transfer unit and the second transfer unit between the substrate storage unit storing the plurality of substrates and the processing chamber And a control means for controlling the transfer of the transfer means to individually manage the use states of the plurality of dummy substrates, and whether or not the use states of the dummy substrates have reached a predetermined use state Determine.

  In addition, a substrate processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention transports a substrate between a substrate processing chamber that performs processing on a substrate including a plurality of dummy substrates and a product substrate, and a substrate storage unit that stores the substrate. And a control means for controlling the transfer means, the control means individually manages the usage state of the dummy substrate, and the usage state of each managed substrate is predetermined. It is determined whether the usage state has been reached.

  In addition, when the usage state of the dummy substrate reaches a predetermined usage state, the control unit performs a notification to prompt replacement of the carrier in which the dummy substrate is stored.

  In addition, when it is determined that the use state of each substrate has reached the predetermined use state, the control unit satisfies whether or not a carrier carry-out condition that is a carry-out condition of a carrier that houses the dummy substrate is satisfied. When the carrier unloading condition is satisfied, the carrier storing the dummy substrate is unloaded and loaded.

The carrier carry-out condition is one of the conditions that the product substrate at the time of determination is not being processed and that the dummy processing of the dummy substrate performed after the processing of the product substrate is not necessary.
In this case, if the carrier carry-out condition is not satisfied, the dummy process is given priority without carrying out and carrying in the carrier.

  In addition, the usage state uses the number of times the dummy substrate is used, the film thickness formed on the dummy substrate, the time placed in the processing chamber (process chamber), or the time placed in the substrate processing apparatus. Can be judged.

  In addition, the substrate processing method according to one aspect of the present invention is configured to transfer a substrate between a substrate processing chamber that processes a substrate including a plurality of dummy substrates and a product substrate, and a substrate storage unit that stores the substrate. In the substrate processing method in the substrate processing apparatus including the control unit and the control unit for controlling the transfer unit, the control unit uses the dummy substrate each time the dummy processing is performed on each of the plurality of dummy substrates. To determine whether the number of times of use has reached a predetermined number of times of use for the dummy substrate.

  Further, when it is determined that the number of times of use of each dummy substrate has reached the predetermined number of times of use, the control means satisfies a carrier carry-out condition that is a carry-out condition of a carrier that houses the dummy substrate. If it is determined whether or not the carrier unloading condition is satisfied, the carrier storing the dummy substrate is unloaded, and then the carrier storing a new dummy substrate is loaded.

  According to the present invention, the production process and the dummy process can be efficiently executed by appropriately using the dummy wafer. It is possible to detect the use limit of the dummy wafer and replace the dummy wafer in a timely manner.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cluster type substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a cluster type substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the controller for control for controlling the substrate processing apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the dummy wafer management table hold | maintained at the controller for control of the substrate processing apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the dummy wafer management in the substrate processing apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of execution of the dummy process and production process in the substrate processing apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a state of the dummy wafer stored in the dummy carrier in the substrate processing apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention.

  In the best mode for carrying out the present invention, as an example, the substrate processing apparatus is configured as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs processing steps in a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device (IC). FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration example of a cluster type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which is an example of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional configuration example of the cluster type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of FIG. In the configuration of FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of wafer transfer robots, a plurality of process chambers as processing chambers, and two load lock chambers for carrier delivery are connected.

  First, the outline | summary of a substrate processing apparatus is demonstrated using FIG.1 and FIG.2.

  In the substrate processing apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied, a FOUP (front opening unified pod, hereinafter referred to as “pod”) is used as a carrier for transporting a wafer W as a substrate. In the following description, front, rear, left and right are based on FIG. That is, with respect to the paper surface shown in FIG. 1, the front is below the paper surface, the back is above the paper surface, and the left and right are the left and right of the paper surface.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is a first transfer as a vacuum transfer chamber configured in a load lock chamber structure that can withstand a pressure (negative pressure) less than atmospheric pressure such as a vacuum state. The housing 111 of the first transfer chamber 110 is formed in a box shape having a pentagonal shape in plan view and closed at both upper and lower ends. The first transfer chamber 110 is provided with a first wafer transfer device 112 as a first transfer means capable of transferring two wafers W simultaneously under a negative pressure. The first wafer transfer device 112 is configured to be moved up and down by an elevator 113 while maintaining the airtightness of the first transfer chamber 110.

  Out of the five side walls of the casing 111 of the first transfer chamber 110, the first and second auxiliary / cooling chambers 131 and 141 for loading / unloading are respectively provided on one side wall located on the front side. They are connected via gate valves 134 and 144 as opening / closing means, and each has a load lock chamber structure capable of withstanding negative pressure. Furthermore, upper and lower substrate platforms 132, 133, 142, and 143 are installed in the preliminary chamber / cooling chambers 131 and 141 as the substrate preliminary chambers, respectively.

  A second transfer chamber 120 serving as an atmospheric transfer chamber used under atmospheric pressure is connected to the front side of the preliminary / cooling chambers 131 and 141 through gate valves 130 and 140. A second wafer transfer machine 122 capable of transferring two wafers W at the same time is installed in the second transfer chamber 120. The second wafer transfer machine 122 as the second transfer means is configured to be moved up and down by an elevator 123 installed in the second transfer chamber 120 and is reciprocated in the left-right direction by a linear actuator 124. It is comprised so that.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a notch aligning device 107 as a substrate position adjusting mechanism is installed on the left side of the second transfer chamber 120. As shown in FIG. 2, a clean unit 106 as an air supply mechanism that supplies clean air is installed in the upper portion of the second transfer chamber 120.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a wafer loading / unloading port 104 for loading / unloading the wafer W into / from the second transfer chamber 120 is provided in the housing 121 of the second transfer chamber 120, and A lid 105 for closing the wafer carry-in / out opening 104 and a pod opener 103 are installed. The pod opener 103 includes a cap of the pod 101 placed on the IO stage 100 as a load port and a cap opening / closing mechanism 102 that opens and closes a lid 105 that closes the loading / unloading port 104. The pod opener 103 is placed on the IO stage 100. The cap 105 and the lid 105 for closing the wafer loading / unloading port 104 are opened / closed by the cap opening / closing mechanism 102, whereby the wafer of the pod 101 can be taken in and out. The pod 101 is supplied to and discharged from the IO stage 100 by an in-process transfer device (AGV / OHT) (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the four side walls located on the back side among the five side walls of the casing 111 of the first transfer chamber 110 are subjected to a desired process on the wafer W. The fourth processing chambers 150, 151, 152, and 153 are connected adjacently via gate valves 160, 161, 162, and 163, respectively. The processing chambers 150, 151, 152, and 153 can all be connected to the same type of processing chamber. On the other hand, different processing chambers can be connected according to the purpose.

  Hereinafter, the process using the substrate processing apparatus 1 in this embodiment will be described.

  In a state where 25 unprocessed wafers W are stored in the pod 101, the unprocessed wafer W is transferred to the substrate processing apparatus 1 that performs the processing process by the in-process transfer apparatus. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pod 101 that has been transferred is transferred from the in-process transfer and placed on the IO stage 100. The cap 105 for opening and closing the cap of the pod 101 and the wafer loading / unloading port 104 is removed by the cap opening / closing mechanism 102, and the wafer loading / unloading port of the pod 101 is opened.

  When the pod 101 is opened by the pod opener 103, the second wafer transfer machine 122 installed in the second transfer chamber 120 picks up one wafer W from the pod 101. Then, the wafer W is transferred to a notch aligning device 107 as a substrate position adjusting mechanism, and the position of the wafer W is adjusted. Here, the notch aligning device 107 is a device that adjusts the position of the mounted wafer W in the X direction, the Y direction, and the circumferential direction.

  At the same time that the position of the wafer W is adjusted by the notch alignment device 107, the second wafer transfer device 122 picks up the next wafer W from the pod 101 and carries it out to the second transfer chamber 120.

  When the position adjustment of the wafer W is completed by the notch alignment device 107, the wafer W on the notch alignment device 107 is carried out to the second transfer chamber 120 by the second wafer transfer device 122, and at this time The wafer W held by the wafer transfer device 122 is transferred to the notch aligner 107. Then, position adjustment is performed on the wafer W.

  Next, the gate valve 130 is opened, and the wafer W is transferred into the first preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131, and the wafer W is transferred to the substrate mounting table 133. During this transfer operation, the gate valve 134 on the first transfer chamber 110 side is closed, and the negative pressure in the first transfer chamber 110 is maintained. Here, a load port on which the atmospheric transfer module places the pod 101, a second transfer chamber 120 as an atmospheric transfer chamber for transferring the substrate W under atmospheric pressure, and a spare / cooling chamber 131 as a substrate preliminary chamber. 141, and the substrate W is transported at atmospheric pressure in the atmospheric transport module.

  When the transfer of the wafer W to the substrate mounting table 133 is completed, the gate valve 130 is closed, and the first preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131 is exhausted to a negative pressure by an exhaust device (not shown).

  At the same time as the first preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131 is evacuated to a negative pressure, the second wafer transfer device 122 picks up the wafer W from the notch aligner 107 and opens the gate valve 140 to open the second preliminary chamber. The wafer W is carried into the cooling chamber 141 and the wafer W is transferred to the substrate mounting table 143. Then, the gate valve 140 is closed, and the second preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 141 is exhausted to a negative pressure by an exhaust device (not shown).

  As described above, the second wafer transfer machine 122 repeatedly carries the substrate from the pod 101 through the second transfer chamber 120 to the preliminary chambers / cooling chambers 131 and 141 which are the preliminary substrate chambers. However, if the first preparatory chamber / cooling chamber 131 and the second preparatory chamber / cooling chamber 141 are negative pressure, the wafers to the first preparatory chamber / cooling chamber 131 and the second preparatory chamber / cooling chamber 141 It stops at a predetermined position immediately before the first preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131 and the second preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 141 without carrying in W.

  When the first preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131 is depressurized to a preset pressure value, the gate valve 134 is opened. Subsequently, the first wafer transfer device 112 in the first transfer chamber 110 picks up the wafer W from the substrate mounting table 133. After the pickup, the gate valve 134 is closed, the first substrate preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131 is returned to atmospheric pressure, and preparations for loading the next wafer W are made.

  At the same time as the gate valve 134 is closed to return the first substrate preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131 to atmospheric pressure, the gate valve 160 of the first processing chamber 150 is opened, and the wafer transfer device 112 transfers the wafer W to the first. Into the processing chamber 150. Then, processing gas is supplied into the first processing chamber 150 from a gas supply device (not shown), and a desired processing is performed on the wafer W.

  Subsequently, when the second preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 141 is depressurized to a preset pressure value, the gate valve 144 is opened. Subsequently, the first wafer transfer device 112 in the first transfer chamber 110 picks up the wafer W from the substrate mounting table 143.

  After the pickup, the gate valve 144 is closed, the second preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 141 is returned to the atmospheric pressure, and preparations for loading the next wafer W are made.

  Simultaneously with closing the gate valve 144 and returning the second preparatory chamber / cooling chamber 141 to atmospheric pressure, the gate valve 161 of the second processing chamber 151 is opened, and the first wafer transfer device 112 removes the wafer W. It is carried into the second processing chamber 151. Then, processing gas is supplied from a gas supply device (not shown) into the second processing chamber 151, and a desired process is performed on the wafer W.

  Thereafter, similarly, the wafer W is loaded into the third processing chamber 152 and the fourth processing chamber 153, and desired processing is performed.

  When the desired processing is completed in the first processing chamber 150, the first wafer transfer machine 112 carries the wafer W carried out of the first processing chamber 150 into the first preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131. At this time, when an unprocessed wafer W exists in the first preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131, the first wafer transfer machine removes the unprocessed wafer W from the first preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131 to the first. It is carried out to the transfer chamber 110.

  Then, the gate valve 134 is closed, the cooling of the processed wafer W is started, and at the same time, an inert gas is introduced from an inert gas supply device (not shown) connected to the first preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131, The pressure in the preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131 is returned to atmospheric pressure.

  When a preset cooling time has elapsed in the first preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131 and the pressure in the first substrate preliminary chamber / cooling chamber 131 is returned to atmospheric pressure, the gate valve 130 is opened. Subsequently, the second wafer transfer device 122 in the second transfer chamber 120 picks up the processed wafer W from the substrate mounting table 132 and carries it out to the second transfer chamber 120 to close the gate valve 130. Then, it is stored in the pod 101 through the wafer loading / unloading port 104 of the second transfer chamber 120. By repeating the above operation, 25 wafers W are sequentially processed.

  When a desired process is performed on all the wafers W in the pod 101 and the storage into the 25 processed pods 101 is completed, the cap 105 of the pod 101 and the lid 105 that closes the wafer loading / unloading port 104 are replaced with the pod opener 103. Closed by. The closed pod 101 is transferred from the IO stage 100 as a load port to the next process by the in-process transfer apparatus.

  Here, a control controller is connected to the substrate processing apparatus 1, and the control controller is configured to have means for carrying control and process control. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control controller for controlling the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  In FIG. 3, the control controller 11 controls the operation unit 12, the overall control controller 13, the process chamber controller PMC (1) 14 for controlling the first processing chamber 150, and the second processing chamber 151. A process chamber controller PMC (2) 15 is connected by a LAN circuit 16. The overall controller 13 is connected to a vacuum robot controller 13a for controlling the first wafer transfer device 112, an atmospheric robot controller 13b for controlling the second transfer device 122, a mass flow controller MFC 13c, and the like. Further, the process chamber controller PMC (1) 14 is connected to a mass flow controller MFC 14a, APC 14b, temperature controller 14c, valve I / O 14d, and the like. The MFC 14a is a mass flow controller for controlling the gas flow rate, and the APC 14b is an auto pressure controller for controlling the pressure in the process chamber PM. The temperature controller 14c controls the temperature in the process chamber PM as a processing chamber, and the valve I / O 14d is an input / output port for controlling ON / OFF of a gas or exhaust valve. . The PMC (2) 15 has the same configuration as the PMC (1) 14. Although not shown, the process chamber controller PMC (3) for controlling the third processing chamber 152 and the process chamber controller PMC (4) for controlling the fourth processing chamber 153 have the same configuration. Similarly, it is connected to the LAN circuit 16.

  The storage unit 18 is connected to the LAN line 16 and stores instruction data and various recipes (process recipes, dummy substrate recipes, etc.) input via the screen displayed on the operation unit 12.

  The operation unit 12 has functions for displaying screens such as system control command instructions, monitor display, logging data, alarm analysis, and parameter editing. The overall control controller 13 performs overall system operation control, vacuum robot controller 13a control, atmospheric robot controller 13b control, and exhaust system control for controlling the MFC 13c, valves, pumps, and the like.

  Next, a basic operation example of the control controller 11 shown in FIG. 3 will be described. Receiving the command instruction from the operation unit 12, when the general controller 13 instructs the atmospheric robot controller 13b to instruct the wafer transfer, the atmospheric robot controller controls the second wafer transfer device 122 to transfer the wafer W. The pod 101 is transported to the preparatory and cooling chambers 131 and 141 through the notch aligning device 107. Then, when the overall controller 13 carries the wafer W, the overall controller 13 performs exhaust control (that is, control of pumps and valves) of the preliminary / cooling chambers 131 and 141. When the preparatory and cooling chambers 131 and 141 reach a predetermined negative pressure, the vacuum robot controller 13a is instructed to transfer the wafer W to the corresponding first processing chamber 150. Subsequently, an instruction to execute a process recipe for adding value to the wafer W is given to the PMC (1) 14 or PMC (2) 15, and the wafer W is subjected to predetermined processing. The processed wafer W is transferred from the first processing chamber 150 to the preparatory chambers / cooling chambers 131 and 141, returned to atmospheric pressure, and then transferred to the original pod 101. In the case where a different pod is designated as the transport destination in advance, it may be transported to the designated pod instead of the original pod 110.

  The storage unit 18 includes a dummy wafer management table 18a for managing dummy wafers individually. An example of the dummy wafer management table 18a is shown in FIG. A dummy wafer identification number is assigned in advance to each dummy wafer. As this dummy wafer identification number, for example, a wafer ID (Identification) conforming to a standard defined in SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International) can be applied.

  In this embodiment, the dummy wafer is stored in one carrier having the same standard as the carrier for the production substrate (this carrier is hereinafter referred to as “dummy carrier”). In this embodiment, the number of times of use of the dummy wafer is used as a reference for determining the use state (use limit) of the dummy wafer.

  In the dummy wafer management table 18a, the current position, threshold value, and current number of uses are registered for each dummy wafer. The current position indicates where the corresponding dummy wafer is currently arranged in the substrate processing apparatus 1. The threshold value indicates a limit on the number of times the corresponding dummy wafer is used. The current number of uses indicates how many times the corresponding dummy wafer has been used.

  Next, dummy wafer management processing by the overall controller 13 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The dummy wafer management process described below is executed for each processing chamber (process chamber PM) 150 to 153 provided in the substrate processing apparatus. The overall controller 13 refers to the dummy wafer management table 18a that the storage unit 18 has and performs the following processing.

  First, it is determined whether or not the non-execution time (idle time) of the process chamber PM of the substrate processing apparatus 1 has exceeded a predetermined time (step S101). When the non-execution time of the process chamber PM does not exceed the predetermined time (step S101, NO), the process of step S101 is executed again after a predetermined time has elapsed.

  If the non-execution time of the process chamber PM exceeds a predetermined time, dummy wafers are secured by the number required for dummy processing executed within the dummy processing execution period (step S102). After securing the dummy wafer, an operation using the dummy wafer (dummy process) is started (step S103).

  First, one secured dummy wafer is taken out from the dummy carrier, and the process is executed in the target process chamber PM using the taken-out dummy wafer (steps S104 and S105). When the dummy process is completed, the current number of times of use of the dummy wafer used for the dummy process is increased by one (step S106). For example, in the dummy wafer management table 18a shown in FIG. 4, when the dummy wafer with the identification number D1 is used, the current use count N1 is increased by one.

  When the current number of times of use of the dummy wafer management table 18a is updated, the dummy wafer is returned to the dummy carrier (step S107), and it is determined whether or not all dummy processes have been completed (step S108). For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a process using a dummy wafer may be executed a plurality of times within the dummy processing execution period. In such a case, a plurality of dummy wafers secured in step S102 described above are sequentially used. When all the dummy processes are not completed (step S108, NO), the processes from step S104 are executed again.

  When all the dummy wafers secured in the above-described step S102 are used in the dummy process, that is, when all the dummy processes are completed (YES in step S108), the operation using the dummy wafer is finished, and the dummy process is completed. The unprocessed time of the target process chamber PM is reset (step S109).

  After the operation using the dummy wafer is finished, it is determined whether or not the current number of times of use of any dummy wafer exceeds the corresponding threshold value (step S110). If none of the dummy wafers exceeds the threshold value (NO in step S110), the process returns to step S101 again after a predetermined time has elapsed.

  Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, when one or more dummy wafers out of the dummy wafers stored in the dummy carrier exceed the corresponding threshold (step S110, YES), the dummy carrier replacement notification is operated. Displayed on the screen of the unit 12.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the dummy carrier satisfies the carrier carry-out condition (step S111). A state in which all of the dummy wafers stored in the dummy carrier are not used in the dummy processing or is not scheduled to be used for the dummy processing is set as the carrier carry-out condition. For example, when one or more of the dummy wafers stored in the dummy carrier are in use in the dummy process, in other words, a dummy wafer is generated in the dummy process in the process chamber PM different from the process chamber PM to be determined in step S101. When used, it is not determined that the carrier carry-out condition is satisfied. Even if the dummy wafer is not in use, the carrier carry-out condition is satisfied even when the unused time of the process chamber PM different from the process chamber PM to be determined in step S101 exceeds a predetermined time. It is not determined to be. This is because it is necessary to perform dummy processing in a process chamber PM different from the process chamber PM to be determined.

  If the dummy wafer stored in the dummy carrier does not satisfy the carrier carry-out condition, the process is suspended until the carrier carry-out condition is satisfied (step S111, NO). If the dummy carrier satisfies the carrier unloading condition, the dummy carrier unloading process is executed, and the dummy carrier storing a new dummy wafer is loaded into the substrate processing apparatus 1 (step S112).

  The dummy wafer management process is realized through the above steps. According to such a dummy wafer management process, the production process and the dummy process can be efficiently executed by appropriately using the dummy wafer. It is possible to detect the use limit of the dummy wafer and replace the dummy wafer in a timely manner. The downtime of the substrate processing apparatus can be shortened.

  In this embodiment, the number of times of use of the dummy wafer is used as a reference for determining the use state (use limit) of the dummy wafer. However, other than this, the thickness of the film formed on the dummy wafer, the time placed in the process chamber PM, or the time placed in the substrate processing apparatus (stay time) may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is used as the substrate processing apparatus. However, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied not only to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus but also to an apparatus for processing a glass substrate such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) apparatus. The film forming process includes, for example, a process for forming a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition), an oxide film and a nitride film, and a process for forming a film containing a metal. In addition, the substrate processing apparatus includes an exposure apparatus, a lithographic apparatus, a coating apparatus, and a CVD apparatus using plasma. Further, although the cluster type substrate processing apparatus has been described, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to an inline type substrate processing apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus, 12 Operation part, 13 Central control controller, 18 Storage part, 18a Dummy wafer management table, 100 IO stage (load port), 101 Pod (FOUP), 102 Cap opening / closing mechanism, 103 Pod opener, 104 Wafer carry-in Exit, 105 Lid, 106 Clean unit, 107 Notch alignment device, 110 First transfer chamber (vacuum transfer chamber), 111 First transfer chamber casing, 112 First wafer transfer machine, 113 First wafer Elevator of transfer machine, 120 Second transfer chamber (atmosphere transfer chamber), 121 Housing of second transfer chamber, 122 Second wafer transfer machine, 123 Elevator of second wafer transfer machine, 124 Linear Actuator, 130 Gate valve, 131 First preliminary chamber / cooling chamber (substrate preliminary chamber), 132 bases Placement table (upper), 133 Substrate placement table (lower), 134 Gate valve, 140 Gate valve, 141 Second preliminary chamber / cooling chamber (substrate preliminary chamber), 142 Substrate placement table (upper), 143 Substrate placement table ( Bottom), 144 Gate valve, 150 First processing chamber (process chamber PM), 151 Second processing chamber (process chamber PM), 152 Third processing chamber (process chamber PM), 153 Fourth processing chamber ( Process chamber PM), 160 gate valve, 161 gate valve, 162 gate valve, 163 gate valve.

Claims (1)

A plurality of processing chambers for processing a substrate including a dummy substrate and a product substrate;
A first transfer chamber provided with a first transfer means for transferring the substrate to the respective processing chambers while holding the substrate in a substrate holder;
A second transfer chamber provided with a second transfer means for transferring a substrate in an atmospheric pressure state;
A pre-reducible spare chamber connecting the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber;
Exhaust means provided for the transfer chamber and the reserve chamber;
In the substrate processing apparatus provided with the control means for controlling the transfer of the first transfer means and the second transfer means between the substrate storage means storing a plurality of substrates and the processing chamber,
The control means is a substrate processing apparatus that individually manages use states of a plurality of dummy substrates and determines whether or not the use states of the dummy substrates have reached a predetermined use state.

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