JP2016117137A - Substrate treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a size of a substrate treatment device.SOLUTION: A substrate treatment device is provided with a polishing area in which at least one polishing module is arranged, a cleaning area in which at least one cleaning module and one drying module are arranged, and a conveyance mechanism in which a part of it is arranged above the polishing module, at least other part of it is arranged above the cleaning module and/or drying module, and a treated substrate is conveyed from the polishing area to the cleaning area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus including a polishing module, a cleaning module, and a drying module, and a transport mechanism that transports a substrate to be processed between the modules.

  A substrate processing apparatus such as a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) apparatus is a polishing module that polishes a substrate to be processed, a cleaning module that cleans a substrate to be processed using a cleaning liquid, and a substrate to be processed that has been cleaned. It has a drying module. Since each module is an independent module and located at a position apart from each other, the substrate processing apparatus also needs a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate to be processed between the modules (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-50436 A

In the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the transport mechanism occupies about 40% of the floor area, which leads to an increase in the size of the substrate processing apparatus. In addition, while many conventional substrates to be processed have a diameter of 300 mm, those with a diameter of 450 mm are becoming mainstream in the future. If the conventional substrate processing apparatus is simply increased in size in accordance with the increase in the size of the substrate to be processed, the substrate processing apparatus becomes extremely large.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to downsize the substrate processing apparatus.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a polishing area in which at least one polishing module is disposed, a cleaning area in which at least one cleaning module and a drying module are disposed, and a part are provided above the polishing module. And a transport mechanism that transports a substrate to be processed from the polishing area to the cleaning area, and at least a part of which is provided above the cleaning module and / or the drying module. Is provided.

  A load / unload unit that receives the substrate to be processed, transports the substrate to be processed in a vertical direction, and passes the substrate to the transport mechanism is provided. The load / unload unit, the cleaning area, and the polishing area are arranged in this order. The transport mechanism may transport the substrate to be processed from the load / unload unit to the polishing area, and transport the substrate to be processed processed in the polishing area to the cleaning area.

  The transport mechanism preferably includes a cleaning device that cleans the substrate to be processed being transported. The transport mechanism includes a holding stage that holds and transports a part of the lower surface of the substrate to be processed, and the cleaning device cleans the substrate to be processed by spraying a cleaning liquid from below the substrate to be processed. You may do it. Further, at least two of the polishing modules are arranged in the polishing area, and the transfer mechanism extends from the lower surface thereof between one polishing module and the other polishing module. A drain from which the cleaning liquid is discharged may be provided.

  The transport mechanism has an upper path and a lower path, transports the substrate to be polished to the polishing area by the upper path, and is processed by the polishing area by the lower path. The substrate may be transported to the cleaning area.

  Preferably, the transport mechanism includes a reversing mechanism that vertically flips the substrate to be processed being transported. As a specific example, in the polishing area, the substrate to be processed is processed with the surface to be processed facing down, and in the cleaning area, the substrate to be processed is processed with the surface to be processed facing upward, and the transport mechanism includes The substrate to be processed is received with the surface to be processed facing upward, and during the transfer to the polishing area, the substrate to be processed is turned upside down so that the surface to be processed faces downward and transferred from the polishing area to the cleaning area. The substrate to be processed may be turned upside down so that the substrate to be processed faces upward.

  In the polishing area, the substrate cleaning unit for cleaning the substrate to be processed, the abort unit for discarding the substrate to be processed, and / or the polishing area at a position where the transport mechanism is not provided above the polishing module. It is desirable to provide a filter fan unit that blows out clean air.

  The polishing area is provided with a polishing transfer robot that receives the substrate to be processed from the transfer mechanism, and one or a plurality of release units that release the substrate to be processed from the polishing transfer robot. Also good. In the polishing area, a robot cleaning unit for cleaning the polishing transport robot is preferably provided at a position where the transport mechanism is not provided above the polishing module.

  The release unit may buff and / or bevel clean the released substrate to be processed. As a specific example, the release portion may bevel-clean the substrate to be processed before and / or after polishing the substrate to be processed by the polishing module, and the release portion may be the substrate to be processed by the polishing module. After the processing substrate is polished, the substrate to be processed may be buffed.

In the polishing area, a plurality of the polishing modules may be arranged, and one release part may be provided at a position accessible from all the polishing modules, or corresponding to each of the polishing modules, The same number of release portions as the number of polishing modules may be provided.
In the cleaning area, a cleaning transfer robot that transfers the substrate to be processed from the transfer mechanism to the cleaning module and the drying module may be provided.
It is desirable that a plurality of the cleaning modules are provided in the cleaning area, and each of the plurality of cleaning modules has a cleaning liquid supply mechanism.

  Since a part of the transport mechanism is provided above the polishing module and at least another part is provided above the cleaning module and / or the drying module, the substrate processing apparatus can be downsized.

The side view which shows typically the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment The top view which shows typically the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment Schematic side view of the transport mechanism 12 in the load / unload unit 1 An example of polishing area 2 as seen from above Schematic perspective view of the polishing module 21a Schematic sectional view of the polishing module 21a Figure showing another example of polishing area 2 from above The figure which shows the lower stage of washing area 3 The figure which shows the upper stage of washing area 3 Schematic perspective view of the cleaning module 31a Schematic perspective view of linear transporter 42 Sectional view of the loft bridge 4 in the polishing area 2 Top view showing a schematic configuration of the cleaning device 44 Schematic perspective view showing an example of the substrate reversing mechanism 47

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 and 2 are a side view and a top view, respectively, schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus includes a load / unload unit 1, a polishing area 2, a cleaning area 3, and a loft bridge 4. This substrate processing apparatus is a dry-in / dry-out type, in which a dried substrate to be processed W is input, the substrate to be processed W is polished, washed and dried in order, and the dried substrate to be processed W is discharged. Hereinafter, the short side direction and the long side direction of the substrate processing apparatus are defined as an X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction, respectively, and the vertical direction is defined as a Z-axis direction.

  The load / unload unit 1 includes a plurality of (four in this embodiment) front load units 11 arranged along the X-axis direction adjacent to the housing of the substrate processing apparatus. A cassette for stocking a large number of substrates W such as semiconductor wafers is placed on each of the front load portions 11.

  The load / unload unit 1 has a transport mechanism 12 that can move in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction of the substrate processing apparatus and can rotate in the XY plane. By this movement and rotation, the transport mechanism 12 delivers the substrate W to be processed with each of the front load units 11, passes the substrate W to be processed to the loft bridge 4, and transfers the substrate W to be processed from the cleaning area 3. To receive.

Further, a filter fan unit 13 having a clean air filter such as a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter, an ULPA (Ultra Low Penetration Air) filter, a chemical filter, etc. is provided on the upper portion of the load / unload section 1 (FIG. 2). (Omitted for simplicity). From the filter fan unit 13, clean air from which particles, toxic vapor, and toxic gas are removed is constantly blown out.
A simple film measuring instrument may be provided adjacent to the load / unload unit 1.

  The polishing area 2 is adjacent to the cleaning area 3 and at least one polishing module is arranged. 1 and 2 show an example in which four polishing modules 21a to 21d are arranged on the floor surface. In the polishing area 2, a polishing transfer robot 22 that is an interface between the loft bridge 4 and the polishing modules 21 a to 21 d is provided.

  The cleaning area 3 is located between the load / unload unit 1 and the polishing area 2, and at least one cleaning module and one drying module are arranged. 1 and 2, the cleaning area 3 has a two-stage configuration, and in the lower stage, five cleaning modules 31a to 31e (only the cleaning modules 31a and 31b are shown in FIG. 1) are arranged on the floor surface. An example in which three cleaning modules 32a to 32c (only the cleaning module 32a is shown in FIG. 1 and only the cleaning modules 32a and 32b are shown in FIG. 2) and two drying modules 33a and 33b are arranged on the upper stage. Show.

  A filter fan unit 34 (not shown in FIG. 2 for simplification) is provided above each of the upper cleaning modules 32a to 32c and the drying modules 33a and 33b. Further, a measuring device may be provided.

  In the cleaning area 3, cleaning robots 35a and 35b serving as an interface between the loft bridge 4, the cleaning modules 31a to 31e, 32a to 32c, and the drying modules 33a and 33b are provided.

  The loft bridge 4 is attached to the upper part of the substrate processing apparatus, for example, the ceiling along the Y axis. That is, a part of the loft bridge 4 is located above at least one of the cleaning modules 31 a to 31 e and 32 a to 32 c and the drying modules 33 a and 33 b in the cleaning area 3, and at least another part is the polishing module in the polishing area 2. Above at least one of 21a-21d.

  The loft bridge 4 serves as an interface between the load / unload unit 1 and the polishing area 2 and between the polishing area 2 and the cleaning area 3. More specifically, the loft bridge 4 has an upper path 41a and a lower path 41b. First, the substrate W received from the load / unload unit 1 is transferred to the polishing area 2 through the upper path 41a. . Subsequently, the loft bridge 4 transports the target substrate W processed in the polishing area 2 to the cleaning area 3 through the lower path 41b.

Thus, in the present embodiment, a mechanism for transporting the substrate W to be processed between modules is provided as a loft bridge 4 above each module. Thereby, the floor area which the mechanism which conveys the to-be-processed substrate W in a substrate processing apparatus occupies can be reduced, and a substrate processing apparatus can be reduced in size.
This will be described in detail below.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the transport mechanism 12 in the load / unload unit 1. As illustrated, the transport mechanism 12 includes an upper hand 121, a lower hand 122, a robot body 123, a Z-axis direction travel axis 124, and an X-axis direction travel axis 125.

  The upper hand 121 receives the substrate to be processed W before processing from the front load unit 11 and transports it to the loft bridge 4. The lower hand 122 receives the processed substrate W from the cleaning area 3 and transports it to the front load unit 11. The robot body 123 holds the upper hand 121 and the lower hand 122, moves them in the Y-axis direction, and rotates them around the shaft 126. The robot body 123 is movably attached to the Z-axis traveling shaft 124 and is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) to move in the Z-axis direction. The Z-axis traveling shaft 124 is movably attached to the X-axis traveling shaft 125 and is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) to move in the X-axis direction.

Next, the polishing area 2 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a view of an example of the polishing area 2 as viewed from above. In the polishing area 2, four polishing modules 21a to 21d, a polishing transfer robot 22, and two release portions 23a and 23b are arranged. Specifically, the four polishing modules 21 a to 21 d are respectively arranged at the four corners of the polishing area 2. The polishing transport robot 22 is arranged at the center of the four polishing modules 21a to 21d. The release part 23a is disposed between the polishing modules 21a and 21b, and the release part 23b is disposed between the polishing modules 21c and 21d.

  Since only the transfer robot 22 for polishing occupies the floor surface in the polishing area 2, the four polishing modules 21 a to 21 d can be arranged in the polishing area 2 having a small area.

  The polishing transfer robot 22 can move in the Z-axis direction along the axis in the Z-axis direction and can rotate in the XY plane. The polishing transport robot 22 transports the substrate W to be processed between the loft bridge 4 and the release portions 22a and 22b.

  More specifically, the polishing transport robot 22 receives the substrate to be processed W, which is transported with the processing surface facing downward, from the upper path 41 a of the loft bridge 4 by the arm 221. Then, the polishing transfer robot 22 is lowered and rotated 90 degrees, and again releases the substrate to be processed W onto the release portions 23a and 23b. Further, the polishing transfer robot 22 grasps the substrate to be processed W released onto the release portion 23a by the polishing modules 21a and 21b or the substrate to be processed W released onto the release portion 23b by the polishing modules 21c and 21d. And the substrate W is transferred to the lower path 41 of the loft bridge 4.

  The release unit 23a can be accessed from both the polishing transport robot 22 and the polishing modules 21a and 21b, and the release unit 23b can be accessed from both the polishing transport robot 22 and the polishing modules 21c and 21d. The release portions 23a and 23b not only release the substrate to be processed W but also buff processing (simple polishing or cleaning of the substrate to be processed W performed after polishing) and / or bevel cleaning (the substrate W to be processed). It is desirable to have a function of cleaning the peripheral edge. That is, a table for buffing and / or bevel cleaning may be used as the release portion 23a.

  5 and 6 are a schematic perspective view and a cross-sectional view of the polishing module 21a, respectively. Since the structures of the polishing modules 21a to 21d are the same, the polishing module 21a will be described. The polishing module 21a includes a top ring 211, a top ring shaft 212 having a top ring 211 connected to a lower portion, a rotary table 213 provided with a polishing surface 213a on an upper surface, and a nozzle for supplying polishing liquid onto the rotary table 213. 214, a support shaft 215, and a top ring head 216 having a top ring shaft 212 connected to one end and a support shaft 215 connected to the other end.

  The top ring 211 holds the substrate W to be processed and presses it against the polishing surface 213a. As shown in detail in FIG. 6, the top ring 211 includes a top ring body 211 a and a retainer ring 211 b disposed below the top ring body 211 a. The substrate W to be processed is held on the top ring 211 by decompressing the space formed inside the top ring main body 211a and the retainer ring 211b. The periphery of the substrate to be processed W is surrounded by the retainer ring 211b so that the substrate to be processed W does not jump out of the top ring 211 during polishing.

  The center of the upper surface of the top ring 211 is connected to the top ring shaft 212. Then, when the motor (not shown) rotates the top ring shaft 212, the substrate W to be processed held by the top ring 211 rotates on the polishing surface 213a. Further, when the motor (not shown) rotates the support shaft 215, the top ring head 216 swings, and the top ring 211 moves between the polishing surface 213a and the release portion 23a.

  An example of processing in the polishing area 2 will be described. First, the polishing transfer robot 22 moves up and receives the substrate W to be processed from the upper path 41 a of the loft bridge 4. The polishing transfer robot 22 is lowered and rotated to release the substrate W to be processed to the release unit 23a. Then, the top ring head 216 of the polishing module 21a swings to access the release portion 23a, and the top ring 211 holds the substrate to be processed W released to the release portion 23a. Next, the top ring head 216 rotates in the reverse direction and descends, thereby pressing the substrate W to be processed onto the polishing surface 213a. Further, the top ring 211 and the turntable 213 rotate to polish the substrate W to be processed. The substrate to be processed W after polishing is released again onto the release portion 23 a by the swinging of the top ring head 216. Thereafter, the polishing transport robot 22 passes the substrate W to be processed on the release unit 23 a to the lower path 41 b of the loft bridge 4.

  In the polishing area 2, four polishing modules 21a to 21d are arranged. When polishing the substrate W to be processed only once, the throughput can be improved by using the polishing modules 21a to 21d in parallel. It is also possible to arrange two or more polishing modules 21a to 21d having different polishing performances and perform polishing a plurality of times in order.

  When the release portions 23a and 23b have a buff processing function and a bevel cleaning function, the substrate W to be processed can be bevel cleaned before and / or after polishing by the polishing modules 21a to 21d, and buffed after polishing. For example, the bevel cleaning in the release part 23a, the polishing in the polishing module 21a, and the buffing process in the release part 23a may be performed in this order. As another example, bevel cleaning in the release part 23a, polishing in the polishing module 21a, buffing in the release part 23a, and bevel cleaning in the release part 23a may be performed in this order. As another example, polishing in the polishing module 21a, buffing in the release part 22a, and bevel cleaning in the release part 22a may be performed in this order.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 4, the loft bridge 4 extends only from the cleaning area 3 to the vicinity of the polishing transfer robot 22. Therefore, there is a space in the portion above the polishing modules 21a to 21d where the loft bridge 4 is not provided. Therefore, a filter fan unit for blowing clean air may be provided in this space. Further, in the space 24 accessible from the polishing transfer robot 22, a substrate cleaning unit for simply cleaning the substrate W to be processed, an abort unit for escaping and discarding the defective substrate W to be processed may be provided. Further, a robot cleaning unit that cleans the arm 221 of the polishing transport robot 22 with spray or ultrasonic waves may be provided in the space 24. Thus, it is desirable to effectively utilize the space in the substrate processing apparatus.

  FIG. 7 is a view of another example of the polishing area 2 as viewed from above. As a difference from FIG. 4, four release portions 23 a to 23 d and two processing portions 25 a and 25 b are arranged in the polishing area 2.

  The release portions 23a to 23d are for the polishing modules 21a to 21d, respectively, and are disposed close to the polishing modules 21a to 21d and equidistant from the polishing transport robot 22. Each of the release portions 23a to 23d desirably has a function of cleaning the top ring 211 (for example, removing slurry accumulated in the gap of the retainer ring 211b).

  The polishing transport robot 22 can access any of the release parts 23a to 23d. The polishing transport robot 22 transports the substrate W to be processed not only between the loft bridge 4 and the release parts 23a to 23d but also between the release parts 23a to 23d.

  The processing unit 25a is disposed between the polishing modules 21a and 21b, and the processing unit 25b is disposed between the polishing modules 21c and 21d. Then, the processing units 25a and 25b perform buffing and / or bevel cleaning of the substrate W to be processed.

  The polishing module 21a can access the release portion 23a, polish the substrate W to be processed on the polishing surface 213a, and access the processing portion 25a by swinging the top ring head 216. The same applies to the other polishing modules 21b to 21d.

  With such a configuration of the polishing area 2, the substrate W to be processed can be bevel cleaned or buffed after polishing before and / or after polishing by the polishing modules 21a to 21d. Moreover, you may make it grind | polish twice in order with arbitrary two grinding | polishing modules. Also in this case, the processing in the processing units 25a and 25b may be performed at an appropriate timing. For example, the first polishing in the polishing module 21c, the second polishing in the polishing module 21a, and the processing in the processing unit 25a may be performed in this order. As another example, the processing in the processing unit 25a, the first polishing in the polishing module 21a, and the second polishing in the polishing module 21b may be performed in this order. As another example, the processing in the processing unit 25a, the first polishing in the polishing module 21a, the second polishing in the polishing module 21b, and the processing in the processing unit 25a may be performed in this order.

The polishing modules 21c and 21d may perform the first polishing, the polishing modules 21a and 21b may perform the second polishing, the polishing modules 21c and 21a perform the first polishing, and the polishing modules 21d and 21b may The second polishing may be performed, the polishing modules 21d and 21b may perform the first polishing, the polishing modules 21c and 21a may perform the second polishing, or the polishing modules 21a and 21b may perform the first polishing. Polishing may be performed so that the polishing modules 21c and 21d perform the second polishing.
Next, the cleaning area 3 will be described.

  8 and 9 are diagrams showing a lower stage and an upper stage of the cleaning area 3, respectively. In the cleaning area 3, eight cleaning modules 31a to 31e, 32a to 32c, two drying modules 33a and 33b, and two cleaning transfer robots 35a and 35b are arranged. Specifically, the four cleaning modules 31 a to 31 d are arranged at the lower four corners of the cleaning area 3, respectively. The drying modules 33a and 33b and the cleaning modules 32a and 32b are arranged in the upper part of the cleaning area 3, that is, above the cleaning modules 31a, 31c, 31b, and 31d. The cleaning modules 31e and 32c are arranged at the lower and upper stages of the center of the cleaning area 3, respectively.

  The cleaning transport robot 35a is disposed between the cleaning modules 31a and 31b, and the cleaning transport robot 35b is disposed between the cleaning modules 31c and 31d. As indicated by the dotted lines in FIG. 8, it is desirable that the cleaning transfer robots 35a and 35b can be turned and pulled out of the housing of the substrate processing apparatus. When a film measuring instrument is provided adjacent to the load / unload unit 1, it is preferable to turn to the polishing area 2 side.

  This facilitates maintenance of the cleaning transport robots 35a and 35b, and also allows a person to enter the space created by the cleaning transport robots 35a and 35b being pulled out, so that the center of the cleaning area 3 (ie, directly below the loft bridge 4). Maintenance of the cleaning modules 31e and 32c is also facilitated.

  The cleaning transfer robots 35a and 35b have an arm 351 that holds the substrate W to be processed. The cleaning transfer robots 35a and 35b can move up and down along an axis in the Z-axis direction, and can rotate in the XY plane around the axis. The cleaning transfer robots 35a and 35b receive the target substrate W from the lower path 41b of the loft bridge 4 and transfer the target substrate W between the modules.

  That is, the cleaning transfer robots 35 a and 35 b receive the substrate W to be processed, which is transferred upward, from the lower path 41 a of the loft bridge 4 by the arm 351. Then, the cleaning transfer robot 35a is lowered and rotated (if necessary) and passes the substrate W to be processed to any one of the cleaning modules 31a, 31e, 31b, 32c, 32a and the drying module 33a. The cleaning transport robot 35b descends and rotates (if necessary), and also passes the substrate W to be processed to one of the cleaning modules 31c, 31e, 31d, 32c, 32b and the drying module 33b.

  Further, the cleaning transfer robot 35a receives the substrate to be processed W processed by any one of the cleaning modules 31a, 31e, 31b, 32c, 32a and the drying module 33a, and ascends and descends (if necessary). Then, the substrate W is rotated upward and handed over to the other one of the cleaning modules 31a, 31e, 31b, 32c, 32a and the drying module 33a. The cleaning transfer robot 35b receives the substrate to be processed W processed by any one of the cleaning modules 31c, 31e, 31d, 32c, 32b and the drying module 33b, and raises, lowers and / or removes (if necessary). Alternatively, the substrate is rotated and the substrate W to be processed is handed over to any one of the cleaning modules 31c, 31e, 31d, 32c, 32b and the drying module 33b.

  The cleaning modules 31e and 32c arranged in the center of the cleaning area 3 are accessible from both cleaning robots 35a and 35b. Therefore, each of the cleaning robots 35a and 35b can access the five cleaning modules, and can use the one cleaning robot 35a (or 35b) to realize a maximum of five stages of cleaning. In addition, by using both the cleaning robots 35a and 35b to access all the cleaning modules and all the drying modules, it is possible to realize a maximum of eight steps of cleaning.

  Since only the transfer robots 35a and 35b for cleaning occupy the floor in the cleaning area 3, the eight cleaning modules 31a to 31e and 32a to 32c and the two drying modules 33a and 33b are provided in the cleaning area 3 having a small area. Can be placed.

  The number of cleaning modules and drying modules arranged in the cleaning area 3 is not particularly limited. For example, six cleaning modules and four drying modules may be arranged in the cleaning area 3. By arranging one washing module and one drying module in the center of the washing area 3, each washing robot 35a, 35b can access four washing modules and two drying modules, and at most four-stage washing and two-stage drying. Can be realized.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of the cleaning module 31a. Since the structures of the cleaning modules 31a to 31e and 32a to 32c are the same, the cleaning module 31a will be described. The cleaning module 31 a includes four rollers 311, two roll sponges 312, a rotation mechanism 313, a cleaning liquid supply nozzle 314, a cleaning liquid supply mechanism 315, a rinse liquid supply nozzle 316, and a rinse liquid supply mechanism 317. Have.

  The four rollers 311 can be moved toward and away from each other by a drive mechanism (not shown), and hold and rotate the substrate W to be processed by approaching. The roll sponge 312 can also move in the direction toward and away from each other, and comes into contact with the substrate W to be processed held by the roller 311 to clean the upper and lower surfaces thereof. The rotation mechanism 313 rotates the roll sponge 312. The cleaning liquid supply nozzle 314 supplies the cleaning liquid (for example, pure water) from the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 315 to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W to be processed. The rinse liquid supply nozzle 316 supplies the rinse liquid (chemical liquid) from the rinse liquid supply mechanism 317 to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W to be processed.

  Such a cleaning module 31a operates as follows. First, the substrate to be processed W is transferred from the cleaning transfer robot 35a in a state where the rollers 311 are separated from each other and the roll sponge 312 is separated from each other. Then, when the rollers 311 come close to each other, the substrate W to be processed is held by the rollers 311. In addition, the roll sponge 312 comes into contact with the substrate W to be processed due to the proximity of the roll sponge 312. Then, while supplying the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 314, the roller 311 rotates the substrate to be processed W and the roll sponge 312 rotates, whereby the substrate to be processed W is scrubbed.

  When scrub cleaning is completed, the roll sponges 312 are separated from each other. Thereafter, by supplying the rinsing liquid from the rinsing liquid supply nozzle 316, the substrate W to be processed is rinsed (the substrate W to be processed is rinsed). When the rinsing is completed, the cleaning transport robot 35a supports the lower surface of the substrate W to be processed and the rollers 311 are separated from each other, and the substrate W to be processed is transferred to the cleaning transport robot 35a. Then, the cleaning transport robot 35a transports the substrate W to be processed to one of the following cleaning modules 31b, 31e, 32a, 32c and the drying module 33a.

  In the cleaning module 31a shown in FIG. 10, a cleaning liquid supply mechanism 315 and a rinsing liquid supply mechanism 317 are provided in the cleaning module 31a. The same applies to the other cleaning modules 31b to 31e and 32a to 32c. If the cleaning liquid supply mechanism and the rinsing liquid supply mechanism of all the cleaning modules 31a to 31e and 32a to 32c are collectively provided at a certain position in the substrate processing apparatus, the distance to the cleaning module and the cleaning module are arranged in the upper stage. The supply amount of the cleaning liquid or the rinsing liquid varies depending on whether it is arranged at the lower stage. In particular, when many cleaning modules are arranged by providing the loft bridge 4 above the cleaning area 3, this problem becomes significant.

  In contrast, in this embodiment, since the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 315 and the rinse liquid supply mechanism 317 are provided in each cleaning module, such variation can be suppressed even if the number of cleaning modules increases. As another effect, by providing the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 315 and the rinsing liquid supply mechanism 317 in each cleaning module, assembling can be performed in units of cleaning modules, and the manufacturing process of the cleaning module can be simplified.

  In addition, although the example wash | cleaned with the roll sponge 312 was shown in FIG. 10, you may wash | clean the to-be-processed substrate W with a pencil sponge. Also, some of the plurality of cleaning modules may be a roll sponge type, and the other part may be a pencil sponge type.

As the drying modules 33a and 33b, known ones may be used, and the substrate W to be processed is removed by removing the cleaning liquid by receiving the substrate W to be processed from the cleaning transfer robots 35a and 35b and rotating the substrate at a high speed. When the drying process is completed, the substrate W to be processed is transferred to the transport mechanism 12 in the load / unload unit 1.
Next, the loft bridge will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the loft bridge 4 has an upper path 41a and a lower path 41b.

  The upper path 41 a receives the substrate to be processed W from the transport mechanism 12 through the opening on the load / unload unit 1 side. And the to-be-processed substrate W is conveyed by the upper path | route 41a to the polishing area 2 through drying module 33a, 33b, washing | cleaning module 31a-31e, 32a-32c, and polishing module 21a, 21c, and polishing area 2 2 Passed to the polishing transport robot 22 through the upper opening.

The lower path 41 b receives the substrate W after the polishing process from the polishing transport robot 22 through the opening above the polishing area 2. Then, the substrate W to be processed is conveyed to the cleaning area 3 through the polishing modules 21a and 21b and the cleaning modules 31a to 31e and 32a to 32c in the lower path 41b, and is cleaned through the opening above the cleaning area 3. It is passed to one of the transfer robots 35a and 35b.
The substrate W to be processed is transported by the linear transporter provided in each of the upper path 41a and the lower path 41b.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of the linear transporter 42. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the loft bridge 4 in the polishing area 2 (A-A ′ cross-sectional view of FIG. 2). The linear transporter 42 includes a hand 421 having a holding stage 421a, a linear guide 422, and a drive mechanism 423.

The holding stage 421a is composed of an annular support member 43a and six pins 43b provided on the upper surface thereof, and only the outer periphery of the lower surface of the substrate W to be processed is held by these pins 43b. The linear guide 422 extends from the load / unload part 1 to the upper side of the polishing area 2 in the Y-axis direction. The linear guide 422 supports the hand 421 in a movable manner. The drive mechanism 423 moves the hand 421 along the linear guide 422. As a specific configuration example, the drive mechanism 423 includes a pair of pulleys, a belt hung on the pulleys, and a servo motor that rotates one of the pulleys.
As shown in FIG. 12, the loft bridge 4 is preferably provided with a cleaning device 44 for cleaning the substrate W to be processed.

  FIG. 13 is a top view illustrating a schematic configuration of the cleaning device 44. The cleaning device 44 includes three spray supply pipes 441 that are supported by an annular support member 440 and extend in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction (Y-axis direction). Since the substrate W to be processed is circular, the central spray supply pipe 441 is longer than the other spray supply pipes 441.

  A plurality of openings 442 for spraying a cleaning liquid (chemical solution) toward the upper substrate W to be processed are provided on the upper surface of the spray supply pipe 441. As shown in FIG. 11, since the hand 421 holds only the outer periphery of the lower surface of the substrate W to be processed, the cleaning liquid hits the lower surface of the substrate W to be processed in addition to the outer periphery and is cleaned. The support member 440 of the cleaning device 44 may be attached below the hand 421 and may move with the substrate W to be processed while spraying the cleaning liquid. Alternatively, the cleaning device 44 may be fixed, and the cleaning liquid may be sprayed at a timing when the substrate to be processed W is positioned above.

  As shown in FIG. 12, a drain 45 extending between the polishing modules 21a and 21b is provided below the loft bridge 4. The floor surfaces 46a and 46b of the upper path 41a and the lower path 41b are inclined, and the cleaning liquid from the cleaning device 44 flows on the floor surfaces 46a and 46b and is drained from the drain 45. Further, clean air such as nitrogen gas is introduced from the ceiling of the upper path 41 a and the lower path 41 b through a clean air filter and exhausted from the drain 45.

  The drain 45 may extend between modules in the cleaning area 3. Further, the drain 45 may join with one of the pipes of the cleaning module, and the cleaning liquid from the cleaning device 44 and the cleaning liquid from the cleaning module may be discharged together.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the hand 421 of the linear transporter 42 has a substrate reversing function, or the upper path 41a and the lower path 41b of the loft bridge 4 (more specifically, the cleaning transfer robot 35a, It is desirable that a substrate reversing mechanism 47 be provided between 35b and the polishing transfer robot 22).

  The substrate inversion mechanism 47 inverts the substrate W to be processed while the substrate W is being transferred from the load / unload unit 1 to the polishing area 2. The reason is that the loft bridge 4 receives the substrate to be processed W from the load / unload unit 1 with the surface to be processed facing upward, but the substrate to be processed W is processed in the polishing area 2 with the surface to be processed facing downward. Because.

  In addition, the substrate reversing mechanism 47 reverses the top and bottom of the substrate W to be processed while the substrate W is being transferred from the polishing area 2 to the cleaning area 3. The reason is that the loft bridge 4 receives the substrate W to be processed from the polishing area 2 with the surface to be processed facing downward, but in the cleaning area 3 the substrate W to be processed is processed with the surface to be processed facing upward. is there.

  FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the substrate reversing mechanism 47. The substrate reversing mechanism 47 includes a gripping mechanism 471 that grips the substrate and a rotation mechanism 472 that rotates the gripped substrate.

  The gripping mechanism 471 includes a pair of gripping arms 48 facing each other and an opening / closing mechanism 49. The gripping arm 48 is provided with a chuck 48a projecting downward from both ends thereof, and the chuck 48a grips the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W to be processed. The opening / closing mechanism 49 closes the pair of gripping arms 48 to bring them close to the substrate W to be processed, or opens the gripping arms 48 to separate them from the substrate W to be processed. The gripping mechanism 471 is attached to a linear guide (not shown) extending in the Z-axis direction and can move up and down.

  The rotating mechanism 472 includes a rotating shaft 50 connected to the gripping mechanism 471 and a motor 51 that rotates the rotating shaft 50. When the motor 51 drives the rotary shaft 50, the entire gripping mechanism 471 is rotated by 180 degrees, whereby the substrate W to be processed gripped by the gripping mechanism 471 is turned upside down.

  The substrate reversing mechanism 47 operates as follows. When the hand 421 (FIG. 11) of the linear transporter 42 moves and the target substrate W is positioned below the gripping mechanism 471, the gripping arm 48 is opened until the chuck 48a is positioned on the same plane as the target substrate W. In this state, the gripping mechanism 471 is lowered. Then, the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W to be processed is gripped by closing the gripping arm 48. Next, the gripping mechanism 471 is raised so as not to interfere with the hand 421 during the reversal of the substrate W to be processed. Then, the motor 51 rotates the rotating shaft 50, and the substrate W to be processed is turned upside down. Thereafter, when the gripping mechanism 471 is lowered and the target substrate W is positioned on the pin 43b of the hand 421, the gripping arm 48 is opened. As a result, the inverted substrate W to be processed is placed on the hand 421.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the transport mechanism for the substrate W to be processed is provided above each module as the loft bridge 4. Therefore, the floor area of the transfer mechanism can be reduced, and the substrate processing apparatus can be downsized. In particular, even a substrate processing apparatus for processing a large target substrate W having a diameter of 450 mm can suppress an increase in size.

  The embodiment described above is described for the purpose of enabling the person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs to implement the present invention. Various modifications of the above embodiment can be naturally made by those skilled in the art, and the technical idea of the present invention can be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be the widest scope according to the technical idea defined by the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Load / unload part 2 Polishing area 21a-21d Polishing module 22 Polishing transfer robot 23a, 23b Release part 3 Cleaning area 31a-31e, 32a-32c Cleaning module 33a, 33b Drying module 35a, 35b Cleaning transfer robot 4 Loft Bridge 41a Upper path 41b Lower path 44 Cleaning device 45 Drain 47 Substrate reversing mechanism

Claims (13)

A polishing area in which at least one polishing module is disposed;
A washing area in which at least one washing module and one drying module are arranged;
A part is provided above the polishing module, and at least another part is provided above the cleaning module and / or the drying module, and the substrate to be processed is transferred from the polishing area to the cleaning area. A substrate processing apparatus. A load / unload unit that receives the substrate to be processed, transports the substrate to be processed in a vertical direction, and passes the substrate to the transport mechanism;
The load / unload unit, the cleaning area, and the polishing area are arranged in this order,
The transport mechanism is
Transport the substrate to be processed from the load / unload unit to the polishing area;
Transporting the substrate to be processed processed in the polishing area to the cleaning area;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism includes a cleaning device that cleans the target substrate being transported. The transport mechanism has a holding stage that holds and transports a part of the lower surface of the substrate to be processed,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cleaning apparatus cleans the target substrate by spraying a cleaning liquid from below the target substrate. In the polishing area, at least two of the polishing modules are arranged,
5. The drain according to claim 4, wherein the transport mechanism is provided with a drain extending from a lower surface thereof between the one polishing module and the other polishing module and from which the cleaning liquid is discharged. Substrate processing equipment. The transport mechanism has an upper path and a lower path,
In the upper path, the substrate to be processed is transferred to the polishing area,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate to be processed processed in the polishing area is transferred to the cleaning area through the lower path. The transport mechanism has a reversing mechanism that flips the substrate to be processed being transported up and down,
In the polishing area, the substrate to be processed is processed with the processing surface facing downward,
In the cleaning area, the substrate to be processed is processed with the surface to be processed facing upward,
The transport mechanism is
Receiving the substrate to be processed with the surface to be processed facing upward;
During the transfer to the polishing area, the substrate to be processed is turned upside down so that the surface to be processed faces downward,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate to be processed is turned upside down so that the substrate to be processed faces upward during conveyance from the polishing area to the cleaning area. In the polishing area, there is no transport mechanism above the polishing module.
A substrate cleaning section for cleaning the substrate to be processed;
Abort for discarding the substrate to be processed, and / or
A filter fan unit for blowing clean air into the polishing area;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is provided. In the polishing area,
A polishing transfer robot for receiving the substrate to be processed from the transfer mechanism;
One or a plurality of release portions from which the substrate to be processed is released from the polishing transfer robot;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is provided.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a robot cleaning unit for cleaning the polishing transfer robot is provided in the polishing area at a position where the transfer mechanism is not provided above the polishing module.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the release unit performs buffing and / or bevel cleaning on the released substrate to be processed.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the release unit bevel-cleans the substrate to be processed before and / or after polishing the substrate to be processed by the polishing module.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the release unit buffs the substrate to be processed after the substrate to be processed is polished by the polishing module.

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