JP2013102235A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus that includes a load port on which a transfer container containing a plurality of substrates is placed, and a container store part storing the transfer container, and that is capable of increasing the number of transfer of the transfer container in the load port, thereby processing the substrate with high throughput.SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus includes a first load port 21 in which a transfer container 10 containing a plurality of substrates is transferred along conveyance paths 102A, 102B by using conveyance devices 104A, 104B conveying the transfer container 10, and a second load port 22 provided in a stepwise manner with respect to the first load port 21.

Description

  The present invention includes a load port on which a transfer container containing a plurality of substrates is placed, and a container storage unit for storing the transfer container, and performs a process on a substrate taken out of the transfer container In an apparatus, it is related with the technical field for carrying in and carrying out a conveyance container efficiently.

  In general, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a load port into which a transfer container containing a plurality of substrates is loaded, a substrate transfer mechanism for taking out a substrate from the transfer container and returning a processed substrate to the transfer container, and a substrate. And a processing block for performing processing. As the transport container, a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) having a lid that opens and closes the front surface is used instead of the conventional open type carrier. For this reason, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus opens and closes the FOUP lid. A mechanism is also attached.

  Processing for the substrate includes single-wafer processing such as vacuum processing and coating and developing processing (resist coating and development after exposure), and batch processing such as heat processing using a vertical heat processing apparatus and substrate cleaning processing. And as a single wafer processing, the substrate is often taken out from the transport container placed on the load port, but in the case of batch processing, a container storage unit called a stocker is provided between the load port and the processing unit, By temporarily storing the transfer container in the container storage unit, the transfer container is prevented from staying in the load port, thereby improving the processing efficiency.

  For example, in a batch type cleaning apparatus, 50 semiconductor wafers (hereinafter referred to as “wafers”) are arranged in a cleaning container and sequentially immersed in a plurality of cleaning tanks, but the substrate is taken out from the transport container. The speed of a series of processes is progressing due to improvements in the mechanism from delivery to the cleaning container. For this reason, an apparatus having about 600 substrates per hour (processing capacity) has been developed, but higher throughput is required. For example, if processing of 900 sheets per hour is performed, if the number of substrates accommodated in the transport container is 25, it is 1 from a transport apparatus disposed in the factory, for example, a ceiling transport apparatus (ceiling traveling type on-site transport apparatus: OHT). 36 transport containers must be carried into the load port per hour, and in this case, each of the transport and unload operations is 72 times (36 × 2).

  By the way, the number of stages of transfer containers arranged in a line in the load port is usually three or four, but in order to meet the above demand, the number of stages of the load port must be about eight, for example. However, increasing the number of stages arranged in a row increases the width of the device, and the area on the back side of the load port is a dead space and includes that space as an installation area. This is a configuration that is difficult to adopt.

Here, in Patent Document 1, a retreat position where a large number of FOUPs can be retreated is secured on the upper surface of the ceiling portion of the substrate processing apparatus, and the FOUP supplied from the ceiling transport device is once placed in the retreat position, and then A technique is described in which a FOUP is moved to a support plate member above a load port by a moving mechanism, and is then carried into the load port by a ceiling transport device.
In Patent Document 2, a load port is configured by arranging three lower FOUP stages in a vertically movable manner on the front side of three pod openers (lid opening / closing mechanism) in a single-wafer CVD apparatus ("three load ports"). Further, there is described a configuration in which three upper FOUP stages are provided on the upper surface of the ceiling of the apparatus body, and FOUP can be transferred between the upper FOUP stage and the upper FOUP stage.
Although these techniques can prevent stagnation of FOUPs at the load port, there is a limit in securing higher throughput as described above, and examination of techniques for achieving higher throughput is desired.

JP 2008-277764 A JP 2008-263004 A

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and a substrate processing apparatus including a load port on which a transport container containing a plurality of substrates is placed, and a container storage unit for storing the transport container In the present invention, it is possible to increase the number of times of delivery of the transfer container in the load port, and thereby to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of processing a substrate with high throughput.

A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a first transfer path and a second transfer path that are provided on the upper side of the substrate processing apparatus so that lateral positions are different from each other, and a transfer container that contains a plurality of substrates. The transport container includes a first transport device and a second transport device that transport the transport container along the first transport path and the second transport path, respectively. A substrate processing apparatus that takes out a substrate in a container by a substrate transport mechanism and performs processing in a processing unit,
A first load port in which a plurality of container placement portions are arranged in a line corresponding to the first conveyance path and the delivery container is delivered by the first conveyance device;
The first load port is provided in a step shape at a position higher than the first load port, and a plurality of container placement portions are arranged in a line corresponding to the second transport path and A second load port through which the transfer container is delivered by the two transfer devices;
A substrate mounting portion for transferring the substrate on which the transfer container is mounted in order to transfer the substrate in the transfer container to and from the substrate transfer mechanism;
A container storage section provided on the back side of the first load port or the second load port, and provided with a plurality of container placement sections for storing a plurality of transport containers;
A container transport mechanism for transporting a transport container between each of the first load port, the second load port, and each container placing part of the container storage part, and the container placing part for transferring the substrate; Prepared,
The first load port, the second load port, the container storage unit, and the substrate placement unit for transferring the substrate are different from each other and do not interfere with the transport path of the transport container by the container transport mechanism. It is provided.

The substrate processing apparatus may include the following features.
(A) At least a part of the plurality of container placement units provided in the container storage unit is provided on the back side of the first load port and below the second load port. about.
(B) The first load port and the second load port are provided outside a housing forming an exterior body of the substrate processing apparatus, and the container storage unit is provided inside the housing, The container transport mechanism includes: an auxiliary transport mechanism that transports the transport container between the first load port and an internal position of the housing that faces the first load port; and the internal position And a main transport mechanism that transports the transport container between the container loading sections of the second load port and the container storage section and the container mounting section for transferring the substrate.
(C) The auxiliary transport mechanism includes a mechanism for horizontally moving the container placement portion of the first load port.
(D) A shutter for closing the opening is provided except when the transfer container is moved between the first load port and the region in the housing.
(E) One of the first load port and the second load port is used only for carrying in the transport container, and the other is used only for carrying out the transport container.
(F) In each of the above-described substrate processing apparatuses, the first transfer path used in the transfer system is provided on the floor surface on which the substrate processing apparatus is placed instead of being provided above the substrate processing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, the first conveyance path provided in the upper side of the substrate processing apparatus so that the lateral positions are different from each other (including the case where the first conveyance path is a conveyance path provided on the floor surface). And a second transport path, and a transport system comprising a first transport device and a second transport device that transport the transport container along the first transport path and the second transport path, respectively. On the other hand, since the substrate processing apparatus side is provided with a first load port (lower stage side) and a second load port (upper stage side) in two upper and lower stages corresponding to these two systems of on-site transfer apparatuses. The number of transfer of the transfer container can be increased between the transfer apparatus and the substrate processing apparatus, and thus the substrate can be processed with high throughput.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of the system which conveys FOUP to the wafer cleaning apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a cross-sectional top view of the said wafer cleaning apparatus. It is a vertical side view which shows the internal structure of the interface part provided in the said wafer cleaning apparatus. It is a partially broken perspective view which shows the internal structure of the process part provided in the said wafer cleaning apparatus. It is a partially broken perspective view which shows the structure of the carrying in / out part provided in the said wafer cleaning apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of the said carrying in / out part and the conveyance path of FOUP. It is a perspective view which shows the mechanism which slides the mounting tray provided in the 1st load port of the said carrying in / out part. It is a vertical side view which shows the internal structure of the said carrying in / out part. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the lifter provided in the said carrying in / out part. It is a 1st explanatory view showing operation of the lifter. It is the 2nd explanatory view showing operation of the lifter.

  Embodiments in which the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a batch type wafer cleaning apparatus will be described below. First, the configuration of a wafer transfer system in a semiconductor manufacturing factory where the wafer cleaning apparatus is installed will be briefly described.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a wafer transfer system in a semiconductor manufacturing factory in which a wafer cleaning apparatus 1 according to an embodiment is installed. The wafers W are sequentially transferred to various substrate processing apparatuses 103 disposed in a distributed manner in the factory, and processing such as resist coating, exposure, development, etching, and cleaning is performed in each substrate processing apparatus 103. .

  In this semiconductor manufacturing factory, a plurality of wafers W are stored in a transfer container such as the above-described FOUP, and this FOUP is transferred between the substrate processing apparatuses 103 in each process by a transfer robot called OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport), for example. Be transported. In this example, the FOUP can store, for example, 25 wafers W held in a shelf shape in the horizontal direction.

  The transport system includes a rail track provided on the ceiling of a factory and an OHT that travels on the rail track. In the semiconductor manufacturing factory, for example, a processing block B in which a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 103 are collectively arranged for each processing step is formed, and the inter-process transfer path 101 including the rail track described above includes a plurality of processing steps. Plays a role of connecting blocks B. From the inter-process transfer path 101, an in-process transfer path 102 branches off in a branch shape, passes over the substrate processing apparatus 103 provided in each processing block B, and loads each substrate processing apparatus 103. FOUP can be exchanged with the port.

  In the transfer system having the above-described configuration, the processing block B in which the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is disposed (in this example, disposed in the upper right area in FIG. 1) includes a wafer. In order to eliminate the mismatch between the processing speed of the wafer W by the cleaning apparatus 1 and the FOUP loading / unloading speed by the transfer system, the in-process transfer path 102 has double lines, for example, two lines.

  The wafer cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can thus deliver FOUPs to and from the OHT traveling on the double-track in-process transfer path 102. Hereinafter, the configuration of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 will be described. 2 is a plan view of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view thereof. When the left side is the front side in these drawings, the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 is taken out from the FOUP 10 between the loading / unloading unit 20 where the loading / unloading of the FOUP 10 is performed, and the loading / unloading unit 20 and the subsequent processing unit 40. When delivering the wafer W, the interface unit 30 for adjusting the position of the wafer W, changing the posture of the wafer W, and the processing unit 40 for performing liquid processing and drying processing of the wafer W are provided in the housing 11 from the front side. The configuration is provided in this order.

  The loading / unloading unit 20 loads the FOUP 10 transferred by the OHT traveling on the in-process transfer path 102 into the apparatus 1, and takes out the wafer W while the wafer W is being processed. This serves as a stock area (stocker) for storing the FOUP 10, and its detailed configuration will be described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the interface unit 30 divides the space in the housing 11 that forms the exterior body of the wafer cleaning apparatus from the loading / unloading unit 20 and the processing unit 40 by the front and rear partition walls 12 and 13. Furthermore, the partition wall 14 partitions the first interface chamber 301 and the second interface chamber 302. The first interface chamber 301 is a space for transporting the unprocessed wafer W toward the processing unit 40. The interface chamber 301 includes a wafer take-out arm 311, a notch aligner 32, and a first posture. A conversion device 33 is provided.

  The wafer take-out arm 311 corresponds to the substrate transfer mechanism of the present invention and plays the role of taking out the wafer W from the FOUP 10 and is configured to be movable in the left-right direction, vertically movable up and down, and rotatable as viewed from the front side. ing. The notch aligner 32 supports and rotates each wafer W taken out by the wafer take-out arm 311 one by one on a plurality of plates, detects the position of the notch provided in each wafer W by, for example, a photo sensor, By aligning the notch position between the wafers W, the wafer W is positioned.

  The first posture changing device 33 grips both opposite end portions of the peripheral portion of each wafer W positioned by the notch aligner 32, holds these wafers W in a horizontal state in a shelf shape, By adjusting the interval between the wafers W and then rolling the wafers W arranged in a shelf shape by 90 degrees while holding both ends of each wafer W, as schematically shown in FIG. A function of converting the posture of the wafer W into a vertical posture is provided. In FIG. 3, the wafer W in a horizontal posture is indicated by a solid line, and the wafer W in a vertical posture is indicated by a broken line. The first attitude changing device 33 also corresponds to the substrate transport mechanism of the present invention.

  On the other hand, the other second interface chamber 302 partitioned by the partition wall 14 is a space for transporting the wafer W that has been processed by the processing unit 40 toward the FOUP 10. A second posture changing device 34 and a wafer storage arm 312. The transfer arm 35, the second posture changing device 34, and the wafer storage arm 312 also correspond to the substrate transfer mechanism of the present invention.

  The transfer arm 35 plays a role of receiving and transporting the wafer W after being processed by the processing unit 40 in a vertical state, and the second posture changing device 34 is different from the first posture changing device 33 described above. On the contrary, it has a function of converting the wafers W arranged in a vertical posture into a horizontal posture. The wafer storage arm 312 is configured in substantially the same manner as the wafer take-out arm 311 described above, and the wafer W whose posture has been changed to the horizontal state by the second posture changing device 34 is stored in the loading / unloading unit 20. It plays a role of storing in the FOUP 10.

  Next, the processing unit 40 removes particles and organic contaminants adhering to the wafer W transferred from the interface unit 30 and a first processing unit 41 for removing metal contamination adhering to the wafer W. 2, a cleaning / drying processing unit 43 that removes the chemical oxide film formed on the wafer W and performs a drying process, and a transfer arm 45 that transfers the wafer W between the processing units 41 to 43. And a chuck cleaning unit 44 for cleaning the wafer holding chuck provided in the transfer arm 45.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a cleaning / drying processing unit 43, a second processing unit 42, a first processing unit 41, and a chuck cleaning unit 44 are linearly arranged in this order from the front side in the processing unit 40. Arranged in a shape. The transfer arm 45 is configured to be movable up and down in the vertical direction and rotatable, and can move in the front-rear direction while being guided by a transfer track 46 provided along these units 41 to 44. The transfer arm 45 plays a role of transferring and transferring the wafer W between the processing units 41 to 43 and the interface unit 30, and can transfer, for example, 50 wafers W arranged in a vertical posture.

  The first and second processing units 41 and 42 are chemicals such as an APM (Ammonium hydroxide-hydrogen Peroxide-Mixture) solution (a mixed solution of ammonia, hydrogen peroxide and pure water) and HPM (HCl-hydrogen Peroxide-Mixture). ) A treatment tank capable of filling a solution (mixed solution of hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide solution and pure water) or the like. These processing units 41 and 42 are provided with wafer boats 411 and 421 for transferring wafers W to and from the transfer arm 45 in a lump and immersing these wafers W in a chemical solution.

On the other hand, the cleaning / drying processing unit 43 is configured as a processing tank that can be filled with a chemical solution for removing the chemical oxide film formed on the surface of the wafer W, for example, hydrofluoric acid. The same wafer boat 431 as the second processing units 41 and 42 is provided. Further, after removing the oxide film, the cleaning / drying processing unit 43 discharges the chemical solution in the processing tank and supplies the drying vapor, for example, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) gas, to perform the drying processing of the wafer W. It is possible to cover the processing tank with a hood 432 so as to form a sealed space. The chuck cleaning unit 44 has a function of supplying pure water to the wafer holding chuck provided on the transfer arm 45 for cleaning, and then supplying a dry gas such as N ₂ gas or air to perform drying. I have.

  In the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the loading / unloading unit 20 has a configuration capable of delivering the FOUP 10 to / from the OHT traveling on the two in-process transfer paths 102. Further, by using the two in-process transfer paths 102, even in the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 capable of processing a large number of wafers W, for example, 900 wafers per hour, the loading of the FOUP 10 without reducing the wafer W processing speed, Unloading can be performed. Hereinafter, a detailed configuration of the carry-in / out unit 20 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the loading / unloading unit 20 according to the present embodiment is provided in two steps in a stepped manner on the front surface (outside of the casing 11 that forms the exterior body of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1). The first load port 21 and the second load port 22 are provided. The first load port 21 is provided on the forefront of the carry-in / out unit 20 and is configured as a mounting table on which, for example, four FOUPs 10 can be mounted in a row in the width direction. The first load port 21 is provided at a height position that is accessible not only from the in-process conveyance path 102 but also to a person such as an operator or an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle).

  The second load port 22 is located behind the first load port 21 by, for example, one FOUP 10, and is higher than the first load port 21 having a height from the floor surface of, for example, about 1 m. It is provided in a staircase at the position. Similar to the first load port 21, the second load port 22 is configured as a mounting table on which, for example, four FOUPs 10 can be mounted in a row in the width direction. The second load port 22 does not interfere with the transport height of the FOUP 10 using the OHT, and, for example, from above the opening 210 described later provided in the first load port 21. Within the range up to the ceiling surface, the FOUP 10 is provided at the maximum height position where the FOUP 10 can be loaded into and unloaded from the loading / unloading unit 20 in the lateral direction. The height to the ceiling surface of the apparatus 1 is also limited to, for example, the transport height of the FOUP 10, and the transport height of the FOUP 10 may be in accordance with, for example, SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International) standards. Thereby, the space in the carry-in / out part 20 is enlarged, and the number of FOUPs 10 that can be placed in a stock area described later is increased.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, in the wafer cleaning apparatus 1, the placement area of the FOUPs 11 arranged in a row in the first load port 21 is connected to the in-process transfer path 102 </ b> A on one side that forms the first transfer path. Correspondingly, the loading area of the FOUPs 11 arranged in a row in the second load port 22 is installed so as to correspond to the other in-process conveyance path 102B forming the second conveyance path. As a result, the FOUP 10 is delivered only to the first load port 21 from the OHT 104A, which is the first transport device traveling on the in-process transport path 102A, and to the second load port 22. The FOUP 10 is delivered only from the OHT 104B, which is the second transfer device that travels on the in-process transfer path 102B.

  In the following example, a case where the first load port 21 is used exclusively for loading the FOUP 10 into the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 and the second load port 22 is used exclusively for unloading the FOUP 10 from the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 will be described. However, the operation method of the load ports 21 and 22 is not limited to this example.

  The first load port 21 serves as a container placement unit, and a placement tray 212 is provided at a position where the FOUP 10 is placed. An opening 210 is provided at a position facing the FOUP 10 on the placement tray 212.

  Each loading tray 212 is configured to be slidable in the front-rear direction (movable in the horizontal direction), and a configuration for sliding these loading trays 212 is shown in FIG. Below the mounting tray 212, an elongated plate-like rail member 213 is fixed with a space in the left-right direction when viewed from the front, and a mechanism for sliding the mounting tray 212 is mounted on the rail member 213 and the mounting tray. It is provided in a flat space formed between the tray 212. In this space, a first air cylinder 215 fixed to the floor surface of the first load port, a plate 216 fixed to the tip of the operating rod of the first air cylinder 215, and the plate 216 And a second air cylinder 217 fixed to the housing.

  The mounting tray 212 is fixed to the operating rod of the second air cylinder 217 on the back side. When the first air cylinder 215 is operated, the plate 216, the second air cylinder 217, and the mounting tray 212 3. When two members are pushed out toward the opening 210 and the second air cylinder 217 is further operated, the loading tray 212 is further pushed out. Thereby, the mounting tray 212 can be slid and the FOUP 10 mounted on the mounting tray 212 can be moved between the first load port 21 and the loading / unloading unit 20.

  The mechanism for sliding the loading tray 212 described above allows the FOUP 10 to be moved between the first load port 21 and the internal position in the housing 11 facing the first load port 21 through the opening 210. This corresponds to an auxiliary transport mechanism which is one of the container transport mechanisms for transport. In each drawing other than FIG. 7, the description of the structure for sliding the mounting tray 212 such as the first and second air cylinders 215 and 217 is omitted.

  Further, as described above, the first load port 21 is provided at a height position accessible to a person. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. The shutter 211 is closed except when the FOUP 10 is moved via the shutter 211. Further, 218 shown in FIG. 7 is a pin for fixing the FOUP 10 on the loading tray 212.

  Next, the second load port 22 will be described. The second load port 22 also includes a placement tray 221 that forms a container placement portion at a position where the FOUP 10 is placed, and the second load port 22 is placed on the placement tray 221. An opening 220 is provided on the side wall surface of the housing 11 of the loading / unloading unit 20 facing the placed FOUP 10. In this example, since the FOUP 10 placed on the second load port 22 is carried into the carry-in / out unit 20 by, for example, a lifter 23A described later, the loading tray 221 on the second load port 22 side is slidable. It is not a proper structure. Since the opening 220 is provided at a height that is difficult for humans to access, the opening 220 on the second load port 22 side is not provided with a shutter in this example. The shape of the portion 220 is also different from the first load port 21 side, and has an elongated opening shape common to the four loading trays 220.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, a plurality of holding plates 241 are attached to the wall surface of the partition wall 12 that partitions, for example, the carry-in / out unit 20 and the interface unit 30 in the carry-in / out unit 20. For example, in this example, a total of 16 holding plates 241 are provided in four rows in the vertical direction and four rows in the width direction. Further, for example, four holding plates 241 in four rows in one stage are attached to the inner wall surface of the housing 11 below the second load port 22. As described above, a total of 20 holding plates 241 are provided on the rear side (back side) of the first load port 21 and the second load port 22, and the holding plate 241 includes the wafer W. It plays the role of a container placement unit for placing the FOUP 10 that has been removed and emptied. The area where the holding plate 241 is provided corresponds to the stock area 24 of the FOUP 10. This stock area 24 corresponds to the container storage section of the present invention. Needless to say, the stock area 24 may be loaded with the FOUP 10 containing the wafer W.

  As described above, in the carry-in / out section 20, the stock regions 24 are provided so as to face each other along the side wall surface of the front casing 11 and the rear partition wall 12 surface. As shown in FIG. 8, an elevating space 28 for elevating the FOUP 10 is formed between 24. As shown in FIGS. 1, 8, 10, etc., the lift space 28 is provided with two lifters 23 </ b> A and 23 </ b> B which are one of the container transport mechanisms of the present invention and form the main transport mechanism. ing. The lifters 23A and 23B extend in the horizontal direction from the left and right inner wall surfaces as viewed from the front, and the FOUP 10 can be freely conveyed in the carry-in / out section 20 by the lifters 23A and 23B.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the lifters 23 </ b> A and 23 </ b> B have a structure in which gripping portions 234 for gripping the top flange of the FOUP 10 are provided at both ends of an elongated plate-like fixing plate 233 extending in the left-right direction when viewed from the front side. Thus, the two FOUPs 10 can be simultaneously transported by the lifters 23A and 23B. The fixing plate 233 is provided at a distal end position of a scalar arm portion 232 that can extend in the front-rear direction, and a base end side of the scalar arm can be expanded and contracted in the left-right direction when viewed from the front side. Connected to the unit 231. Further, the base end side of the telescopic arm portion 231 is configured to be vertically movable along the lift rail 25.

  As a result, the lifters 23A and 23B can be moved up and down as shown in FIG. 8, can be extended in the front and rear directions as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, and can be seen from the front side as shown in FIG. Since it can be expanded and contracted in the left-right direction, it is loaded on the FOUP 10 or the second load port 22 that is loaded into the loading / unloading section 20 (internal position of the casing 11) by sliding the loading tray 212. Placed in each area of the loading / unloading unit 20 such as the FOUP 10 stored in the stock area 24, the FOUP 10 placed in the ports 26 and 27 for accessing the interface unit 30 described later, and the like. The FOUP 10 can be freely accessed. Here, when the telescopic arm portions 231 of the lifters 23A and 23B are extended as shown in FIG. 11, the other lifters 23B and 23A are retracted in either the upper or lower direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, in the loading / unloading unit 20, four ports 26 and 27 for accessing the interface unit 30 are provided in a row at a position below the rear stock region 24. Of these four ports, two of the four ports arranged on the right hand when viewed from the front side of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 are take-out ports 26 for taking out the wafer W from the FOUP 10 toward the first interface chamber 301. Reference numeral 2 denotes a storage port 27 for storing the wafer W from the second interface chamber 302 to the FOUP 10. The take-out port 26 and the storage port 27 correspond to a substrate mounting portion for transferring a substrate in the present invention.

  On the front surface of each access port 26, 27, an open / close door 121 that can be raised and lowered between a position facing the FOUP 10 and a retracted position below the FOUP 10 is provided. In order to take out and store, it plays the role of opening and closing the lid provided on the side surface of the FOUP 10.

  The wafer cleaning apparatus 1 having the above configuration is connected to a control unit 5 as shown in FIG. For example, the control unit 5 includes a computer having a CPU and a storage unit (not shown). The operation of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1, that is, the FOUP 10 is loaded into each loading / unloading unit 20 and the wafer W is taken out. A program in which a group of steps (commands) related to the operation from the execution of various types of liquid processing to the storage of the wafer W in the FOUP 10 and the unloading of the FOUP 10 is recorded. This program is stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magnetic optical disk, or a memory card, and installed in the computer therefrom.

  The operation of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, for example, the FOUP 10 storing the wafer W that has been processed in another substrate processing apparatus 103 is transferred into the in-process transfer path 102A by the OHT 104A. When the OHT 104A reaches the upper portion of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the OHT 104A extends the elevating belt 105 to lower the FOUP 10 and loads the FOUP 10 on one of the loading trays 212 of the first load port 21. Put.

  When the FOUP 10 is placed on the first load port 21, the shutter 211 is opened and the placement tray 212 is slid to carry the FOUP 10 into the carry-in / out unit 20. Next, for example, the FOUP 10 is lifted from the placement tray 212 by the lifter 23 </ b> A provided on the right hand when viewed from the front, and the FOUP 10 is placed on the take-out port 26. The lid of the FOUP 10 placed on the take-out port 26 is removed by the open / close door 121, the wafer take-out arm 311 is moved into the FOUP 10 to take out the wafer W, and the wafer W is loaded into the first interface chamber 301. Is done. The FOUP 10 that has been emptied after the wafer W is taken out is closed until the lid is closed, and is transported to the stock area 24 by, for example, the lifter 23A, and stored until the processing of the wafer W is completed.

  The wafer W carried into the first interface chamber 301 is positioned by the notch aligner 32, adjusted in interval by the first attitude changing device 33, and changed in attitude, and then transferred into the interface unit 30. It is delivered to the arm 45. After the wafer W held by the transfer arm 45 is transferred to the wafer boat 411 of the first processing unit 41 and immersed in the APM solution filled in the processing tank, particles and organic contamination are removed, It is cleaned with a cleaning liquid such as pure water.

  The wafer W that has been subjected to the primary cleaning in the first processing unit 41 is transferred again to the transfer arm 45, transferred to the wafer boat 421 of the second processing unit 42, and immersed in a chemical solution such as an HPM solution to cause metal contamination. Are removed and washed with pure water. The wafer W after the secondary cleaning is transferred to the transfer arm 45 again, transferred to the cleaning / drying processing unit 43, transferred to the wafer boat 431, and the chemical oxide film is removed by hydrofluoric acid, and the IPA gas. The drying process is executed.

  After the drying process, the wafer W is transferred to the transfer arm 35 in the second interface chamber 302, and then the posture is changed from the vertical state to the horizontal state by the second posture conversion device 34. In parallel with this operation, for example, the lifter 23B provided on the left hand side when viewed from the front side transports the FOUP 10 stored in the stock area 24 to the storage port 27, and the lid of the FOUP 10 is removed by the opening / closing door 121. Wait in state.

  The wafer storage arm 312 loads the wafer W from the second posture changing device 34 into the FOUP 10 on the storage port 27, closes the lid when the wafer W is stored, and lifts the FOUP 10 with the lifter 23B, for example. And the FOUP 10 is placed on the second load port 22. The FOUP 10 placed on the second load port 22 is lifted from the second load port 22 by the OHT 104B traveling on the in-process conveyance path 102B passing above the second load port 22, and the next substrate processing apparatus. It is conveyed to 103. In the wafer cleaning apparatus 1, the above-described operation is continuously executed. For example, 900 wafers W are processed in one hour.

  The wafer cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has the following effects. The in-process transport paths 102A and 102B, which are the first transport path and the second transport path, which are provided on the upper side of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 so that the lateral positions thereof are different from each other, and the FOUP 10 are transferred to these in-process transport paths 102A. , 102B, respectively, and the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 side uses a first load port in two upper and lower stages corresponding to these two systems of OHTs 104A, 104B. 21 (lower stage side (accessible from the floor side, such as a person or AGV)) and the second load port 22 (upper stage side) are provided, so that the FOUP 10 is connected between the OHTs 104A and 104B and the wafer cleaning apparatus 1. The number of times of delivery can be increased, whereby the wafer W can be processed with high throughput.

  Further, since the first load port 21 is fixed for loading and the second load port 22 is fixed for loading and unloading, the FOUP 10 is loaded and unloaded. Therefore, in each OHT 104 traveling on the two in-process conveyance paths 102, the FOUP 10 The carry-in operation and the carry-out operation are not mixed, and the carry-in / out of the FOUP 10 can be executed smoothly. However, the operation method of the first and second load ports 21 and 22 is not limited to the above-described case, and the wafer W may be loaded and unloaded at each of the load ports 21 and 22.

  As described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, in this example, the height position where the second load port 22 is provided is a range that does not interfere with the transport height of the FOUP 10 by OHT defined by, for example, the SEMI standard. Thus, the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 is provided at the highest position within the range of the restriction on the apparatus height. As a result, the space in the carry-in / out section 20 is increased, and the number of FOUPs 10 that can be placed in the stock area 24 is increased as much as possible. Therefore, for example, an OHT that travels at a height position higher than the SEMI standard is developed, and the height of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 is increased, and the second load port 22 is also positioned at a higher height position accordingly. The number of FOUPs 10 that can be placed in the stock area 24 may be increased.

  On the other hand, the height position at which the second load port 22 is provided is not limited to the case where the second load port 22 is provided at the uppermost part of the height of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1, and may be provided below this. Wafer cleaning apparatus 1 and second load port 22 are provided in this order in a step-like manner from the lower side, and a vertical trajectory in which FOUP 10 is transferred between in-process transfer paths 102A and 102B, and a loading / unloading unit If the FOUP 10 can be carried in / out without interfering between these trajectories in each of the lateral trajectories in which the FOUP is carried in / out of the FOUP 20, and the trajectories do not interfere with each other. Can be obtained.

  Further, the number of load ports provided in the carry-in / out unit 20 of the wafer cleaning apparatus 1 is not limited to two, but three according to the number of in-process transfer paths 102 provided in the processing block B. You may provide the above load ports. In this case, of the two selected from the load ports provided in the loading / unloading unit 20, the lower one side corresponds to the first load port and the higher other side corresponds to the second load port. It will be.

  Further, the first load port and the second load port provided in a staircase pattern according to the present invention can be applied not only to a batch type cleaning apparatus but also to, for example, a coating and developing apparatus.

B Processing block W Wafer 1 Wafer cleaning device 10 FOUP
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Transfer system 101 Inter-process transfer path 102 In-process transfer path 103 Substrate processing apparatus 104 OHT
11 Housing 121 Opening / closing door 20 Loading / unloading unit 21 First load port 210 Opening 211 Shutter 212 Loading tray 221 Loading tray 220 Opening 23A, 23B
Lifter 24 Stock region 241 Holding plate 26 Extraction port 27 Storage port 30 Interface unit 311 Wafer extraction arm 312 Wafer storage arm 32 Notch aligner 33 First attitude conversion device 34 Second attitude conversion device 35 Delivery arm 40 Processing unit 41 First Processing unit 42 Second processing unit 43 Cleaning / drying processing unit 5 Control unit

Claims (1)

Wherein the conveyance path was set vignetting on the upper side of the substrate processing apparatus, a transportable OkuSo location you send transportable along a transport vessel containing a plurality of substrates on the conveyance path by the conveying system with a A substrate processing apparatus in which a transport container is carried in and out, a substrate in the transport container is taken out by a substrate transport mechanism, and processing is performed in a processing unit,
A first load port of delivery of the transport container is performed by the pre Ki搬 feeding apparatus with a plurality of container platform are arranged in a row corresponding to the prior Ki搬 feed path,
Provided stepwise for this the at first a position higher than the load port first load port before with a plurality of container platform are arranged in a row corresponding to the prior Ki搬 feed path Ki搬 A second load port through which the transfer container is delivered by the feeding device;
A substrate mounting portion for transferring the substrate on which the transfer container is mounted in order to transfer the substrate in the transfer container to and from the substrate transfer mechanism;
A container storage section provided on the back side of the first load port or the second load port, and provided with a plurality of container placement sections for storing a plurality of transport containers;
A container transport mechanism for transporting a transport container between each of the first load port, the second load port, and each container placing part of the container storage part, and the container placing part for transferring the substrate; Prepared,
The first load port, the second load port, the container storage unit, and the substrate placement unit for transferring the substrate are different from each other and do not interfere with the transport path of the transport container by the container transport mechanism. A substrate processing apparatus is provided.

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