JP2015079875A - Chemical container replacement device and substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chemical container replacement device capable of replacing a chemical container without requiring manual work, reducing a burden on an operator, and suppressing deterioration and particle contamination of a chemical liquid.SOLUTION: A plurality of container holders 2 on which a chemical container 3 is positioned are arranged along the orbit including the replacement position P13 of the chemical container 3. The container holder 2 on which the used chemical container is mounted is moved to the replacement position P13 along the orbit by a driving mechanism and the used chemical container in the replacement position P13 is replaced with a new chemical container by using a transfer mechanism. Furthermore, an area of arranging and replacing the chemical container 3 is made to be a closed area by also performing the attaching and detaching of a chemical liquid supply passage with a nozzle attaching/detaching mechanism.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for exchanging a chemical solution container in which a proximal end side of a chemical solution supply path is mounted and storing a chemical solution.

  In the photoresist process, which is one of the semiconductor manufacturing processes, a resist is applied to the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), which is a substrate, and the resist is exposed in a predetermined pattern and then developed to form a resist pattern. doing. This process is performed using a system in which an exposure apparatus is connected to a coating and developing apparatus (substrate processing apparatus) for applying and developing a resist.

  The coating and developing apparatus executes various processes related to the photoresist process such as a resist coating process and a developing process by sequentially supplying various chemicals to the wafer using a liquid processing module. For this reason, the coating / developing apparatus is provided with a storage area for a chemical container in which various chemical solutions are stored, from which chemical solutions are supplied to each processing solution processing module.

  When a large number of wafers are processed and the chemical solution in the chemical solution container becomes empty, the used chemical solution container is taken out of the storage area by, for example, an operator and replaced with a new chemical solution container. . However, some chemicals used in the coating and developing apparatus have properties that change due to contact with air, etc., and the operation of opening the storage area and replacing the chemical container is uniform between wafers. It also becomes an unstable factor when executing the processing. Further, when an external particle enters the container when the chemical container is replaced, there is a possibility that the chemical liquid mixed with the particles is supplied to the wafer and contaminates the wafer.

  Here, in Patent Document 1, a container for storing a resist solution or the like is placed on a table configured to be movable up and down with respect to a cap provided with a liquid take-out pipe, and the container is moved up and down. Describes a continuous liquid supply device for inserting and extracting a liquid take-out pipe. In addition, in Patent Document 2, an IC tag seal that stores information on the contents of a processing liquid storage container is attached to a processing liquid storage container in a substrate processing apparatus that performs resist coating processing and development processing, and a plurality of storage containers are installed. After the storage container is installed in a possible installation section, the wrong processing liquid is stored by collating the information read from the IC tag sticker with the information about the contents of the storage container to be placed in each installation section. A technique for suppressing the installation of the storage container is described.

  However, in any of these patent documents, there is no mention of a technique for suppressing deterioration of liquid or mixing of particles when a used container placed on a table or an installation section is replaced with a new container.

Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-82896: paragraphs 0006 to 0007, FIG. JP 2010-171258 A: Claim 1, paragraphs 0082 to 0083, 0135 to 0136, FIG.

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for exchanging a chemical solution container without human intervention.

The chemical liquid container exchange device of the present invention each holds a chemical liquid container to which the proximal end side of the chemical liquid supply path is attached, and a plurality of container holders arranged along a circular orbit including a replacement position of the chemical liquid container,
A transport mechanism for moving the plurality of container holders along a circular path,
A supply path attaching / detaching mechanism for attaching and detaching the base end side of the chemical liquid supply path to the chemical liquid container held by the container holder;
A loading / unloading port for carrying in a new chemical container in which chemical liquid is stored and carrying out a used chemical container;
To transfer a used chemical container in the container holding body stopped at the exchange position to the carry-in / out port, and to transfer a new chemical container placed in the carry-in / out port into the container holding body And a transfer mechanism.

The substrate processing apparatus of the present invention includes the above-described chemical container replacement device,
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing block including a liquid processing module for liquid processing a substrate with a chemical solution discharged from a chemical solution discharge unit provided at a distal end side of the chemical solution supply path.

  According to the present invention, in a chemical liquid container exchanging apparatus for exchanging chemical liquid containers, a plurality of container holders in which the chemical liquid containers are arranged are arranged along a circular orbit including a replacement position of the chemical liquid containers. Then, the used chemical solution container is moved to the replacement position along the circular path by the transport mechanism, and is automatically exchanged with a new chemical solution container. Accordingly, the operator does not have to enter the chemical container arrangement area, so that the chemical container arrangement and replacement area can be closed. For this reason, an operator's burden can be reduced and a chemical | medical solution alteration and particle contamination can be suppressed.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a front view which shows the structure of the chemical | medical solution block concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a transfer mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the container holding body concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the conveyance mechanism concerning 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the inside of a container holding body. It is explanatory drawing which shows the inside of a container holding body. It is explanatory drawing which shows the chemical | medical solution supply path to a chemical | medical solution nozzle. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of replacement | exchange of the chemical | medical solution container mounted in the container mounting part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of replacement | exchange of the chemical | medical solution container mounted in the container mounting part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the replacement | exchange process of a used chemical | medical solution container and a new chemical | medical solution container. It is explanatory drawing which shows the replacement | exchange process of a used chemical | medical solution container and a new chemical | medical solution container. It is explanatory drawing which shows the replacement | exchange process of a used chemical | medical solution container and a new chemical | medical solution container. It is explanatory drawing which shows the replacement | exchange process of a used chemical | medical solution container and a new chemical | medical solution container. It is explanatory drawing which shows the replacement | exchange process of a used chemical | medical solution container and a new chemical | medical solution container. It is explanatory drawing which shows the replacement | exchange process of a used chemical | medical solution container and a new chemical | medical solution container. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of replacement | exchange of the chemical | medical solution container mounted in the container mounting part. It is a schematic diagram which shows the position which can arrange | position a chemical | medical solution block with a coating and developing apparatus. It is a front view which shows the other example of the substrate processing apparatus concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment.

[First embodiment]
An embodiment applied to a coating and developing apparatus as a substrate processing apparatus provided with a chemical container replacement apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This coating and developing apparatus is configured by linearly connecting a carrier block D1, a chemical solution block D2, a processing block D3, and an interface block D4. An exposure station D5 is further connected to the interface block D4.

The carrier block D1 has a role of carrying a carrier C including a plurality of wafers W, which are circular substrates of the same lot, into and out of the apparatus. The carrier C mounting unit, the opening / closing unit 12, and the opening / closing unit 12 And a transport mechanism 13 for transporting the wafer W from the carrier C.
The processing block D3 is configured by laminating first to sixth unit blocks E1 to E6 for performing liquid processing on the wafer W in order from the bottom, and each unit block E1 to E6 has substantially the same configuration. In FIG. 1, the alphabetic characters given to the unit blocks E1 to E6 indicate the processing type, BCT is an antireflection film forming process, and COT is a resist film forming that supplies a resist to the wafer W to form a resist film. Processing and DEV represent development processing.

  In FIG. 3, the configuration of the unit block E3 is shown as a representative. The unit block E3 includes a main arm F3 that moves in a linear transport region R3 from the carrier block D1 side to the interface block D4, and a coating film forming apparatus. Coating unit 10, shelf units U <b> 1 to U <b> 5 in which thermal modules for heating and cooling wafer W are stacked, and shelf unit U <b> 6 including a peripheral exposure module.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the coating unit 10 is shared by, for example, the liquid processing modules 14 arranged in a row and a plurality of liquid processing modules 14, and is provided so as to be movable in the direction in which the liquid processing modules 14 are arranged. Nozzle arm 15. The nozzle arm 15 holds one or a plurality of chemical liquid nozzles in order to supply one type or a plurality of types of chemical solutions according to the type of liquid processing executed by the liquid processing module 14. .

  On the carrier block D1 side of the transport region R3, a shelf unit U7 configured by a plurality of modules stacked on each other is provided. The transfer of the wafer W between the transfer mechanism 13 and the main arm F3 is performed via the module of the shelf unit U7 and the transfer arm 16. Further, a wafer transfer unit 34 is provided in the chemical solution block D2. Inside the wafer transfer unit 34, a shuttle 27 is provided for transferring the wafer W between the transfer mechanism and the shelf unit U7 by moving the bottom surface of the wafer transfer unit 34.

  The interface block D4 is for transferring the wafer W between the processing block D3 and the exposure station D5, and includes shelf units U8, U9, and U10 in which a plurality of modules are stacked. In the figure, 17 and 18 are transfer arms for transferring the wafer W between the shelf units U8 and U9 and between the shelf units U9 and U10, respectively, and 19 in the figure is between the shelf unit U10 and the exposure station D5. The transfer arm for transferring the wafer W.

  To give specific examples of modules provided in the shelf units U7, U8, U9, U10, the above-described delivery module TRS, wafer W used when delivering the wafer W between the unit blocks B1 to B6. There are a temperature control module CPL that adjusts the temperature of the wafer, a buffer module BU that temporarily stores a plurality of wafers W, a hydrophobization module ADH that hydrophobizes the surface of the wafer W, and the like. In order to simplify the description, the hydrophobic treatment module ADH, the temperature control module CPL, and the buffer module BU are not shown.

  In this substrate processing apparatus, the wafer W transferred by the carrier C is transferred by the transfer arm 13 to the processing block D3, where the antireflection film formation (BCT) layer E1 (E2) → the resist film formation (COT) layer E3 (E4). ) In this order, and is transported to the exposure station D5 via the interface block D4 to be subjected to exposure processing. The exposed wafer W is transferred to the development layer DIVE5 (E6) via the interface block D4 and subjected to development processing, and returned to the carrier C of the carrier block D1 via the shelf unit U7 and the transfer arm 16.

The coating and developing apparatus of the present example having the configuration described above has a plurality of chemical solution containers 50 storing chemical solutions supplied to an antireflection film forming module BCT, a film forming module COT, and a developing module DEV that are liquid processing modules. Is provided with a chemical liquid block D2. Hereinafter, the detailed structure of the said chemical | medical solution block D2 is demonstrated.
The chemical solution block D2 in this example is divided from the atmosphere (external atmosphere) in the factory where the coating and developing device is arranged and other blocks, and is configured as a space surrounded by wall surfaces. Are arranged so that the front and rear are sandwiched between the carrier block D1 and the processing block D3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an FFU (Fan Filter Unit) 28 corresponding to a clean gas supply unit is provided on the ceiling of the coating and developing apparatus. The FFU 28 forms a downward flow of clean air in the casing constituting the chemical liquid block D2, and opens and closes the lid portion 29 and attaches / detaches the nozzle portion 61 in this atmosphere as will be described later. Mixing into the chemical is suppressed. The other blocks D1, D3, and D4 are also provided with a mechanism for forming a downdraft of clean gas in the atmosphere, but the description thereof is omitted. Examples of the clean gas include clean air or an inert gas such as nitrogen gas.

  The chemical liquid container 3 is configured as a narrow bottle made of plastic or glass, for example, and its opening (chemical liquid outlet) is sealed by a lid portion 29 such as a screw lid. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example, the chemical liquid container 3 is fixed to a bottomed rectangular tube-shaped tray 31 having an open top, with the lid portion 29 facing upward, and is loaded into the chemical liquid block D <b> 2. . On the side surface of the tray 31, a handle portion (not shown) for holding the tray 31 by a holding portion 101 of an OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport) 100 is provided. Furthermore, a space 32 into which the holding member 41 of the transfer mechanism 4 is inserted is formed at the bottom of the tray 31. The tray 31 prevents the chemical liquid from leaking into the apparatus when the chemical liquid container 3 is damaged, and facilitates the delivery of the chemical liquid container 3.

  In the following description, the carrier block D1 side is defined as the front, the processing block D3 side is defined as the rear, and the left and right sides when the processing block D3 is viewed from the carrier block D1 are defined as “left” and “right”. A first loading / unloading port 21 is provided at the lower part on the front side of the left side wall of the chemical liquid block D2. On the inner side (right side) of the first loading / unloading port 21, there is provided a tray mounting table 23 that is movable in the left-right direction in combination with the lower feed mechanism 24. The tray mounting table 23 corresponds to a carry-in / out port. Between the position where the chemical container 3 is carried in and placed by the tray mounting table 23 and the inside (right side) position where the chemical container 3 is transferred to and from the transfer mechanism 4. Can move.

  Further, a second loading / unloading port 22 for loading the chemical container 3 stored in the tray 31 via the OHT 100 is provided above the inner position of the tray mounting table 23. From the first loading / unloading port 21, a tray 31 in which the chemical solution container 3 is stored is placed on a tray placing table 23 placed at an outer position by an operator or an automated guided vehicle. On the other hand, from the second loading / unloading port 22, the chemical solution container 3 stored in the tray 31 is loaded via the OHT 100 and mounted on the tray mounting table 23. Panels 30 are provided at the first and second loading / unloading ports 21 and 22. The first and second loading / unloading ports 21 and 22 are interlocked, and the tray 31 can be conveyed by the feeding mechanism 24 by closing the panel 30.

  When viewed from the first loading / unloading port 21, a transfer mechanism 4 is provided further inside (on the right side) of the inner position of the tray mounting table 23, and a chemical solution container 3 is provided on the front side of the transfer mechanism 4. Is provided with an intermediate stage 26 for temporarily mounting the. Further, the right (inner side) region of the transfer mechanism 4 is set as an exchange position P13 for exchanging a used chemical container placed on a container holder 2 of the transport mechanism 20 described later with a new chemical container. Yes.

  The transfer mechanism 4 is configured as a joint arm including a holding member 41 for holding the tray 31 at the tip, for example, and the holding member 41 is configured to be rotatable about a vertical axis and to be able to advance and retract. Further, an elevating mechanism 42 is provided below the joint arm, and is configured to be movable up and down. The transfer mechanism 4 transfers the tray 31 by inserting the holding member 41 into a space 32 formed below the tray 31 and moving up and down. The transfer mechanism 4 serves to transfer the tray 31 between the tray mounting table 23 located at the inner position, the intermediate stage 26, and the container holder 2 located at the exchange position P13.

  At the right side of the transfer mechanism 4 in the chemical liquid block D2, as shown in FIG. 4, a circular track is formed along a plane orthogonal to the front-rear direction, and a transport mechanism that transports the container holder 2 along the circular track. 20 is provided. In the transport mechanism 20, for example, 16 container holders 2 are arranged along a circular path including the replacement position P <b> 13 of the chemical liquid container 3, and each container holder 2 is moved along the circular path by the drive mechanism 50. Configured to do.

  In the coating and developing apparatus, a plurality of types of resist solutions having different concentrations and components can be used properly, a developing solution for developing the resist film after exposure, a thinner for easily spreading the resist solution on the surface of the wafer, and a resist film Many kinds of chemicals such as an antireflection film formed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the material and a raw material solution for the protective film are used. The container holding body 2 is an arrangement position where the chemical liquid containers 3 storing these various chemical liquids are arranged one by one.

As shown in FIG. 6, the container holding body 2 is formed in a rectangular tube shape so as to accommodate the tray 31 therein, and the side wall facing the transfer mechanism 4 is opened.
As shown schematically in FIG. 7, the driving mechanism 50 includes a driving roller 51, three driven rollers 52, and an endless belt 53. When viewed from the Y-axis direction, the driving roller 51 and the three driven rollers 52 are arranged to be located at the apexes of the square, and the endless belt 53 is hung from the outside of the driving roller 51 and each driven roller 52, A square orbit is formed. The drive roller 51 is connected by a rotation mechanism 54 so that the endless belt 53 rotates when the drive roller 51 rotates.

  The container holder 2 is suspended from the endless belt 53 via a suspension mechanism 55 as shown in FIG. The suspension mechanism 55 is provided with a second fixing member 57 that is rotatable about the Y axis on the front side (D1 side) of the rod-shaped first fixing member 56 that extends in the front-rear direction in the Y-axis direction. The second fixing member 57 is connected to the upper ends of a pair of support members 58 that extend away from each other when viewed from the front side. The lower end side of the support member 58 is fixed to the left and right parts of the position closer to the upper side of the back side of the container holder 2. The container holding body 2 is suspended from the endless belt 53 by fixing the first fixing member 56 in the suspension mechanism 55 to the outer surface of the endless belt 53. The 16 container holders 2 are suspended so as to be arranged at equal intervals over the entire circumference of the endless belt 53, and the second fixing member 57 is rotatable with respect to the endless belt 53. Thereby, the chemical | medical solution container 3 accommodated in the container holding body 2 is comprised so that it may always become the same attitude | position. Note that, depending on the curve of the endless belt 53, the position of the container holding body 2 at the bent portion is lower than the container holding body 2 adjacent in the lateral direction, but in the figure, it is drawn at the same height position for convenience.

  As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the container holding body 2 is disposed inside the container holding body 2 with respect to the chemical liquid container 3 and the nozzle portion 61 constituting the base end side of the chemical liquid supply path 67 to the liquid processing module 14. A nozzle attaching / detaching mechanism 6 serving as a supply path attaching / detaching mechanism for attaching / detaching the lever 61 and a lid opening / closing mechanism 7 for opening / closing the lid for sealing the chemical liquid container 3 are provided. Although not shown in order to avoid complication of the drawing, a pipe for introducing, for example, nitrogen gas into the chemical liquid container 3 to push out the chemical liquid is provided in the portion where the nozzle portion 61 is attached to the chemical liquid container 3. It has been.

  The nozzle attaching / detaching mechanism 6 is provided, for example, on the front side (D1 side) of the tray 31 placed on the container holder 2. The nozzle attaching / detaching mechanism 6 supports the upper end portion of a nozzle portion 61 made of a resin or metal thin tube having an open lower end portion at its distal end portion, and supports a support arm 62 extending in a horizontal direction and a proximal end portion. And an elevating mechanism 63 configured to be extendable in the vertical direction.

  The nozzle portion 61 is set to a length such that the lower end portion where the opening is formed is located near the bottom surface of the chemical solution container 3 when the nozzle portion 61 is inserted into the chemical solution container 3. When the nozzle unit 61 is inserted into the chemical solution container 3, the nozzle unit 61 closes the opening by pressing the opening of the chemical solution container 3 from the upper surface side. For example, the nozzle unit 61 is held by the support arm 62 via a rubber holding unit 64. Has been. The raising / lowering mechanism 63 raises and lowers the support arm 62, whereby the entire nozzle part 61 is drawn to the upper side of the opening of the chemical liquid container 3 (FIG. 8), and the nozzle part 61 is moved to the chemical liquid container 3. The nozzle portion 61 is moved between the mounting position (FIG. 9) inserted therein.

Further, a chemical liquid supply pipe 60 is connected to the nozzle portion 61, and the chemical liquid supply pipe 60 passes through the inside of the support arm 62 and the elevating mechanism 63 and is drawn around the inner surface of the front side wall of the container holder 2. After that, the container holder 2 is routed to the outside of the container holder 2 from a position near the upper side of the side wall on the front side.
The lid opening / closing mechanism 7 is provided on the rear side (D3 side) of the tray 31 placed on the container holder 2. The lid opening / closing mechanism 7 includes an opening / closing part 71 that opens and closes the lid 29, a support arm 72 that holds the opening / closing part 71, and an elevating mechanism 73 that raises and lowers the support arm 72.
The opening / closing part 71 is a member provided with an opening that is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lid part 29 that seals the chemical solution container 2, and is held at the tip of the support arm 72 with the opening directed downward. Yes. The opening / closing part 71 is configured to be rotatable around a vertical axis in a direction in which the lid part 29 is opened and a direction in which the lid part 29 is closed by a drive mechanism (not shown) provided in the support arm 72.

  In the support arm 72 of this example, a base end side arm 72b supported by the elevating mechanism 73 and a front end side arm 72a holding the opening / closing part 71 are connected via a rotating shaft 74 extending in the vertical direction. . As a result, the open / close portion 71 is opened and closed by making the open / close portion 71 face the upper end of the chemical solution container 3 (FIG. 8), and the open / close portion is retracted sideways from the open / close position. The opening / closing part 71 can be moved between a retracted position (FIG. 9) that avoids interference with the attaching / detaching operation of 61. In addition, the opening / closing part 71 moves to the retracted position while holding the removed lid 29 when moving to the retracted position.

  For example, the chemical solution supply pipe 60 routed to the outside of each container holder 2 is drawn to the position of the container holder 2 at the uppermost position when the transport mechanism 20 is viewed from the front side. As shown in FIG. 4, the position of the container holding body 2 is P1, and the positions of the container holding bodies 2 are P1 to P16 in the clockwise order when viewed from the front side, and are positioned from P1 to P16 in FIG. The container holders to be used are referred to as container holders A1 to A16, respectively. In this case, the exchange position is P13. In this example, the container holders A1 to A16 in the position shown in FIG. 4 can be roughly described, and half of the container holders A2 to A9 arranged counterclockwise with the container holder A1 as a branch point, The chemical solution supply pipes 60 are grouped into groups of half of the container holders A1 to A10 arranged around.

  For example, the chemical solution supply pipe 60 drawn to the outside of the container holders A2 to A9 is drawn toward the adjacent container holder in the counterclockwise direction. The chemical liquid supply pipe 60 drawn from the container holder A9 is bundled together with the chemical liquid supply pipe 60 extending from the adjacent container holder A8, and further drawn out toward the adjacent container holder A7. This is repeated, and the chemical solution supply pipes 60 drawn from the container holders A2 to A9 are bundled and drawn to the position of the container holder A1.

  On the other hand, the chemical solution supply pipe 60 drawn to the outside of the container holders A10 to A16 is drawn toward the adjacent container holder 2 in the clockwise direction. The chemical solution supply path 60 is bundled together with the chemical solution supply pipe 60 extending from the adjacent container holder 2 in the same manner as the chemical solution supply pipe routed from the container holders A2 to A9, and thus routed from the container holders A10 to A16. The chemical solution supply pipes 60 to be collected are brought together and drawn to the container holder A1. Then, the chemical liquid supply pipe 60 drawn from the container holder A1 is bundled together with the chemical liquid supply pipe 60 drawn from the container holders A10 to A16.

  Thus, the chemical liquid supply pipe 60 of the group of container holders A2 to A9 and the chemical liquid supply pipe 60 of the group of container holders A1 to A10 are bundled, respectively. Then, the chemical solution supply pipes 60 of each group are further bundled and wound, for example, on a winding shaft portion 59 disposed so as to be positioned at the center of the ring of the endless belt 53, and then provided, for example, below the chemical solution block D2. In FIG. 4, the supply pipe bundle 65 led to the pump arrangement section 25 is supported by a group of chemical liquid supply pipes 60 in which the chemical liquid supply pipes 60 of the group of container holders A <b> 2 to A <b> 9 are bundled. The group of chemical solution supply pipes 60 is bundled with a band or the like (not shown) at intervals along the direction in which the chemical solution supply tube 60 extends. The two sets of supply pipe bundles 65 are set so that the container holder A1 can move to the position P15 when rotated clockwise as viewed from the front, and P14 when rotated counterclockwise. It is set to a length that can be moved to the position.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a rectangular tube-shaped frame member 34 that defines a wafer transfer region is provided inside the circular track in the chemical block D2 so as to penetrate the chemical block D2 in the Y-axis direction. ing. Inside the frame member 34, a shuttle 27, which is a wafer transfer mechanism, is provided. The transport mechanism 20 is arranged so that the frame member 34 is located inside the ring formed by the endless belt 53 and at a position to the left of the center of the ring of the endless belt 53 when viewed from the front side.

  FIG. 10 illustrates a chemical solution supply path 67 from the chemical solution container 3 to which the nozzle unit 61 is mounted to the chemical solution nozzle 66 of each liquid processing module 14 via the chemical solution supply pipe 60. The outline of the liquid processing module 14 will be described. In order to supply one type or a plurality of types of chemical liquids according to the type of liquid processing performed in the liquid processing module 14, the nozzle arm 15 One or a plurality of chemical liquid nozzles 66 are held. Then, a predetermined amount of chemical solution is sequentially supplied from the chemical solution nozzle 66 to the surface of the wafer W held one by one on the spin chuck 44 that rotates about the vertical axis by the rotation drive unit 43, thereby supplying the wafer W to the wafer W. Liquid treatment is performed for each leaf. The chemical liquid shaken off from the rotating wafer W is received by the cup body 45 disposed around the spin chuck 44 and discharged to the outside through the liquid discharge port 46. Further, the airflow flowing into the cup body 45 is discharged to the outside through the exhaust port 47.

  The chemical liquid containers 2 arranged in the respective container holders 2 are sucked from the chemical liquid container 2 by the chemical liquid pump 68 provided in the chemical liquid supply path 67 and fed to the respective chemical liquid nozzles 66. An open / close valve 69 is disposed downstream of the chemical liquid pump 68, and by driving the open / close valve 69, supply / disconnection of the chemical liquid to each chemical liquid nozzle 66 is performed. The chemical solution pump 68 and the opening / closing valve 69 provided in each chemical solution supply path 67 are arranged together in, for example, the pump arrangement unit 25 provided below the chemical solution block D2, and the chemical solution dispensed from the chemical solution container 3 is pumped. The liquid is supplied toward the liquid processing module 14 of each layer E1 to E6 of the unit block by the chemical pump 68 provided in the arrangement unit 25.

  The coating / developing apparatus includes a control unit 9 as shown in FIGS. The control unit 9 is composed of a computer having a CPU and a storage unit. The storage unit operates the coating and developing apparatus, that is, the transfer of the wafer W in each of the blocks D1 to D4, the processing of the wafer W, and the chemical solution in the chemical block D2. A program in which a group of steps (commands) regarding operations related to the conveyance of the container 3 and the replacement of the chemical liquid container 3 of the transfer mechanism 4 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 first embodiment of the present invention will be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the state in which the supply pipe bundle 65 is extended from the winding shaft portion 59 toward the container holder 2 at the position P7 is defined as the initial arrangement state. The treatment liquid is supplied from the chemical liquid container 3 placed on the container holder 2 arranged in the initial arrangement state, and the amount of the chemical liquid in the chemical liquid container B1 placed on the container holder 2 located at P4 is small. An example will be described. For example, based on the flow rate of a flow sensor (not shown) provided in the chemical solution supply path 67, the control unit 9 determines the replacement time. Made. Then, for example, a new chemical solution container B2 in which a predetermined chemical solution is stored by the OHT 100 is carried into the chemical solution block D2 from the second carry-in port 22 and placed on the tray placement unit 23.
On the other hand, after the chemical liquid container B1 is emptied, the transport mechanism 20 is rotated counterclockwise to move the used chemical liquid container B1 to the replacement position P13 as shown in FIGS. In this embodiment, the chemical liquid container B1 is moved to P13 after it is emptied. However, the chemical liquid container B1 is still in use while the chemical liquid is still being supplied. Good.

After the used chemical liquid container B1 is moved to the replacement position P13, as shown in FIG. 14, the nozzle portion 61 inserted into the used chemical liquid container B1 is extracted upward. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the lid 29 is attached to the opening of the used chemical container B <b> 1 by the lid opening / closing mechanism 7. The lid portion 29 is the lid portion opening / closing mechanism 7 that has been removed and held when the used chemical container B1 is carried into the container holder 2. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 16, the used chemical container B <b> 1 is placed on the intermediate stage 26 by the transfer mechanism 4. Next, as shown in FIG. 17, a new chemical solution container B2 is placed on the container holder 2, and then the used chemical solution container B1 is placed on the tray mounting table 23, and is carried out of the chemical solution block D2 by the OHT 100, for example.
Further, the new chemical solution bottle B2 placed on the container holder 2 is operated in the reverse direction to that shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, so that the lid portion 29 is opened and the nozzle portion 61 is opened as shown in FIG. Installed.

  This series of steps can be performed in the chemical solution block D2 that is a clean atmosphere space without intervention of the operator. Thereafter, the supply of the chemical solution from the new chemical solution container B2 is started, the transport mechanism 20 is rotated clockwise, and the container holder 2 on which the new chemical solution container B2 is placed is positioned at P4 as shown in FIG. Return to. When the arrangement of the container holder 2 is in the above-described initial arrangement state, the container holder at the positions P1 to P5 and P14 to P16 is moved to the replacement position P13 by rotating the transport mechanism 20 clockwise. be able to. On the other hand, by rotating the transport mechanism 20 counterclockwise, the container holder 2 located at positions P6 to P12 can be moved to the replacement position P13.

In the example described above, an example in which the chemical solution container 3 is carried in / out by the OHT 100 is shown, but the chemical solution container may be manually carried in / out by an operator from the first carry-in / out port 21.
In the above-described embodiment, the plurality of container holders 2 in which the chemical solution containers 3 are arranged are arranged along the orbit including the replacement position P13 of the chemical solution container 3. Then, the container holder 2 on which the used chemical solution container B1 is placed is moved along the circular path to the replacement position P13 by the drive mechanism 50, and the used chemical solution container at the replacement position P13 is used by using the transfer mechanism 4. Exchange of B1 and new chemical | medical solution container B2 is performed. Further, the attaching / detaching operation of the chemical solution supply path 67 is executed by the nozzle attaching / detaching mechanism 6. Therefore, the operator does not have to enter the arrangement area of the chemical liquid container 3, so that the arrangement and replacement area of the chemical liquid container 3 can be closed. For this reason, an operator's burden can be reduced and a chemical | medical solution alteration and particle contamination can be suppressed.

Or the quantity of the chemical | medical solution in the chemical | medical solution container 3 mounted in the container holder | retainer 2 may be monitored, for example with the liquid level gauge not shown provided in the container holder | retainer 2, and in this case When the amount of the chemical solution falls below a preset liquid level, it may be determined that it is time to replace the chemical solution container 3.
Further, for example, a rubber lid is attached to the opening of the chemical liquid container 3. And you may comprise so that the chemical | medical solution supply path may be connected to the chemical | medical solution container 3 by piercing the cover part with the nozzle part 6 and the pipe line which sharpened the front-end | tip. In this case, it is not necessary to provide the lid opening / closing mechanism 7.

Furthermore, the variation of the arrangement position of the chemical | medical solution block D2 is demonstrated. FIG. 20 shows the positions where the chemical liquid blocks D2 and D2a to D2e can be arranged by filling them with hatched hatching. When the wafer W is transferred through the space separated from the atmosphere in the chemical solution block D2 by providing the wafer transfer path, the arrangement area of the shelf unit U7 and the delivery arm 16 in the processing block D3, and the unit block Between the areas where E1 to E6 are stacked (chemical solution block D2a in FIG. 13), between processing block D3 and interface block D4 (chemical solution block D2b in FIG. 13), and between interface block D4 and exposure apparatus D5 The chemical liquid blocks D2a to D2c can also be arranged in (chemical liquid block D2c in the figure).
Further, the chemical solution block D2d may be placed on the front side of the carrier block and above the placement table 11 of the carrier C. In addition, a chemical solution block D2e may be provided on both the left and right sides of the body of the coating and developing apparatus.

[Another example of the first embodiment]
As another example of the first embodiment, instead of the driving mechanism 50 using the endless belt 53 for moving the container holding body 2 along the circular path, the rotating cylinder 75 and the rotating cylinder 75 rotate as shown in FIG. A configuration using a support member 76 extending radially from the cylinder 75 may be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 21, a rotating cylinder 75 is provided, and a wafer transfer unit 34 through which the shuttle 27 passes is provided. The base end sides of twelve support members 76 having the same length are connected at equal intervals around the rotation shaft 75, and each support member 76 is provided so as to extend radially from the rotary cylinder 75.

The container holder 2 is supported at the tip of each support member 76 by a suspension mechanism 55 (see FIG. 6) having the same configuration as that of the above-described embodiment. After the chemical liquid supply pipes 60 provided in the container holder 2 are drawn along the respective support members 76, for example, four chemical liquid supply pipes 60 are grouped together at a position on the outer surface of the rotating cylinder 75. Three supply pipe bundles 65 are provided.
The rotating cylinder 75 is provided with a rotating mechanism (not shown) so that the rotating cylinder 75 can rotate 180 degrees clockwise and 180 degrees counterclockwise. The three supply pipe bundles 65 are routed to, for example, the pump placement unit 25 provided below the chemical solution block D2, but do not hinder the rotation when the rotating cylinder 75 is rotated clockwise and counterclockwise. Is set. Then, the position of the sixth container holding body 2 is set as the replacement position counterclockwise from the container holding body 2 positioned vertically above, and the transfer mechanism 4 is provided at a position corresponding to the container holding body 2. .

  Even in this configuration, the transport mechanism 20 is rotated to move the used chemical solution bottle B1 to the replacement position, and the transfer mechanism 4 uses the used chemical solution container B1 and the new chemical solution container B2. Can be replaced. Therefore, it is possible to replace the chemical solution container 3 without human intervention, and the same effect can be obtained.

[Second Embodiment]
Further, as the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment, the chemical solution block D2 is provided below the processing block D3, and the plurality of container holders 80 are moved in the horizontal direction so as to go around the track including the replacement position. You may comprise. For example, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, a chemical solution block D2 surrounded by a wall surface is provided under the BCT layer in the processing block D3.

  As shown in FIG. 24, two inlets 81 are provided on the left side wall of the chemical liquid block D2 when viewed from the carrier block D1, and the tray mounting table 23 is provided inside thereof. Is provided with a transfer mechanism 4. An intermediate stage 26 is provided on the left side of the transfer mechanism 4 when viewed from the tray mounting table 23 side. The tray 82 is configured in the same manner as the tray 31 according to the first embodiment except that the tray 82 has a cylindrical shape, for example, and the chemical liquid container 3 is accommodated in the tray 82 and carried into the chemical liquid block D2. The

  Next, the transport mechanism 83 will be described. For example, the belt conveyor 84 is provided so as to circulate in an elliptical shape extending in the width direction of the substrate processing apparatus. For example, two belt conveyors 84 are provided side by side in the length direction of the substrate processing apparatus. Above the belt conveyor 84, for example, as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, twelve container holders 80 are arranged at equal intervals and are configured to circulate in the horizontal direction. The container holding body 80 is configured in a hollow cylindrical shape, for example. A part of the side surface of the container holder 80 is open, and a tray 82 in which the chemical liquid container 3 is stored can be placed.

  The container holding body 80 is arranged so that the transfer mechanism 4 is positioned further to the left of the container holding body 80 in the position on the left front side when viewed from the carrier block D1 side, and the position of the container holding body 80 becomes the exchange position. . Each container holding body 80 is circulated by the belt conveyor 84, and is arranged so that the part opened to the transfer mechanism 4 side faces when located at the replacement position. Inside the container holding body 80, a nozzle attaching / detaching mechanism 6 and a lid opening / closing mechanism 7 having the same configuration as those shown in FIGS. The chemical solution supply pipe 60 is routed to the outside from the ceiling portion of the container holding body 80, and then collected, for example, is routed to a pump mounting portion provided outside the chemical solution block D2.

  Even in such a configuration, by rotating the belt conveyor 84, the used chemical solution bottle B1 is moved to the replacement position, and the transfer mechanism 4 uses the used chemical solution container B1 and the new chemical solution container B2. Can be replaced. Therefore, it is possible to replace the chemical solution container 3 without human intervention, and the same effect can be obtained.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the container holders 2 and 80 are configured such that one side wall is opened, but are closed except when a shutter (not shown) is provided on the side wall and the chemical liquid container 3 is replaced. You may comprise. As an example using the first embodiment, the container holding body 2 is configured so that the carry-in port of the chemical liquid container 3 is opened and closed by providing a shutter movably in the left-right direction. For example, the opening / closing control of the shutter can be performed by setting a program in the control unit 9 so that the shutter is closed before the container holder 2 to be replaced with the chemical liquid container 3 starts moving at the replacement position P13 shown in FIG. it can.

2, 80 Container holder 3 Chemical container 4 Transfer mechanism 6 Nozzle attaching / detaching mechanism 7 Lid opening / closing mechanism 10 Coating unit 14 Liquid processing module 19 Lid 20 Container holding mechanism 21 First loading / unloading port 22 Second loading / unloading port 23 Tray Mounting table 24 Wafer transfer path 25 Pump mounting unit 26 Intermediate stage 31, 82 Tray 41 Holding member 50 Transfer mechanism 60 Chemical solution supply pipe 65 Outer pipe 84 Belt conveyor

Claims (8)

A plurality of container holders each holding a chemical solution container to which the proximal end side of the chemical solution supply path is attached and arranged along a circular path including a replacement position of the chemical solution container;
A transport mechanism for moving the plurality of container holders along a circular path,
A supply path attaching / detaching mechanism for attaching and detaching the base end side of the chemical liquid supply path to the chemical liquid container held by the container holder;
A loading / unloading port for carrying in a new chemical container in which chemical liquid is stored and carrying out a used chemical container;
To transfer a used chemical container in the container holding body stopped at the exchange position to the carry-in / out port, and to transfer a new chemical container placed in the carry-in / out port into the container holding body And a transfer mechanism for the chemical solution.   The chemical solution container exchange device according to claim 1, wherein the chemical solution container is placed on a table and transferred from the carry-in / out port to a container holder.   The chemical solution container replacement device according to claim 1, wherein the supply path attaching / detaching mechanism is provided on the container holding body.   A lid opening / closing mechanism is provided that closes the chemical liquid outlet of the used chemical liquid container after the chemical liquid supply path is removed with a lid, removes the lid of the new chemical liquid container, and opens the chemical outlet. The chemical | medical solution container replacement | exchange apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3.   The chemical liquid container exchanging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the lid opening / closing mechanism is provided in the container holding body. The chemical container replacement device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing block including a liquid processing module for liquid processing a substrate with a chemical solution discharged from a chemical solution discharge unit provided at a distal end side of the chemical solution supply path.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the arrangement area of the plurality of container holders is partitioned from an external atmosphere of the substrate processing apparatus.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a clean gas supply unit configured to make a region partitioned from the external atmosphere a clean gas atmosphere.

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