JP2017215456A - Substrate treatment apparatus, substrate treatment method, program and article production method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment apparatus configured to conduct a transfer control of a substrate advantageous in productivity.SOLUTION: A substrate treatment apparatus includes: a first processing part configured to conduct first processing to a first substrate; a second processing part configured to conduct second processing to the first substrate having received the first processing; a determination part configured to determine a timing for putting a second substrate into the first processing part according to the time required for the second processing; and a change part configured to change an order of processing so that, when receiving a new processing request to process a third substrate while waiting for the putting of the second substrate until the determined timing, the third substrate is put into the first processing part ahead of the second substrate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate processing method, a program, and an article manufacturing method.

  There is a so-called cluster-type substrate processing apparatus that includes a plurality of processing units each performing substrate processing such as pattern formation. In a cluster type substrate processing apparatus, in general, a substrate transport unit is shared among a plurality of processing units from the viewpoint of reducing a footprint or reducing an apparatus cost. The substrate processing is performed in parallel.

  The cluster type substrate processing apparatus can include various preprocessing units in addition to a plurality of processing units. In order to achieve high productivity in the entire substrate processing apparatus, it may be necessary to optimize the processing flow (Patent Document 1).

  In recent years, miniaturization of circuit patterns of articles has progressed, and high accuracy is required for the processing unit. However, there are differences in attachment errors and operations and states in the processing units among the plurality of processing units, and thus there is a restriction on parallel processing so that a specific board can be executed only by a specific processing unit (Patent Document 1). ). When parallel processing of substrates from a plurality of substrate storage units is performed by a plurality of processing units, substrates to be processed are periodically taken out from the plurality of substrate storage units and sequentially introduced into the preprocessing unit. The substrate that has been pre-processed by the pre-processing unit is put into a processing unit corresponding to the substrate storage unit in which the substrate is stored.

Japanese Patent No. 4621698 JP-A-2015-195355

  Here, for example, consider a case where a new substrate processing job using another substrate storage unit is added. In this case, in order to achieve high productivity in the entire substrate processing apparatus, it is necessary to quickly transfer the substrate from the other substrate storage unit to the preprocessing unit by interruption and enter the periodic processing flow. It is.

  However, in the conventional operation, in many cases, a substrate exists in the preprocessing unit, and the corresponding processing unit waits for the previous substrate to be carried out. Therefore, it is necessary to wait for the previous substrate to be unloaded from the corresponding processing unit and to unload the substrate from the preprocessing unit accordingly, and then to transfer the substrate from the other substrate storage unit to the preprocessing unit. was there. For this reason, it was difficult to interrupt the preprocessing unit at an early timing.

  An object of the present invention is, for example, to provide a substrate processing apparatus that performs substrate transfer control which is advantageous in terms of productivity.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, a first processing unit that performs a first process on a first substrate and a second processing unit that performs a second process on the first substrate on which the first process has been performed. And a determination unit for determining a timing for loading the second substrate into the first processing unit based on a time required for the second processing, and waiting for the loading of the second substrate until the determined timing. And a change unit that changes the processing order so that the third substrate is put into the first processing unit in preference to the second substrate when a new processing request for processing the third substrate is received. A substrate processing apparatus is provided.

  According to the present invention, for example, it is possible to provide a substrate processing apparatus that performs substrate transfer control that is advantageous in terms of productivity.

The figure which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus in embodiment. The block diagram which shows the function structure of the control part in embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the management data in embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the processing flow of the board | substrate in embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the total processing time per board | substrate of each unit in a substrate processing apparatus. The figure which shows the example of the maximum conveyance time of the board | substrate to the next unit. The figure which shows the example of the process flow of a board | substrate in case two process parts are concerned. The figure which shows the example of the process flow of a board | substrate in case three process parts are used. The figure which shows the example of the management data when the new job which uses another board | substrate storage part is allocated in the processing flow of FIG. 10 is a timing chart of a partial section in the processing of the substrates of Job1 and Job2 in FIG. The figure which shows the example of the waiting time in each pre-processing system in each case where the number of the process parts in process is 1-4, and total waiting time. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of management data when a new job 3 is assigned during processing of the boards of Job 1 and Job 2 in FIG. 9. The figure which shows the example of management data when the new job which uses the board | substrate of another board | substrate storage part is allocated. 5 is a flowchart illustrating substrate transfer control processing according to the embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the processing flow of the board | substrate in embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the total processing time per board | substrate of each unit in a substrate processing apparatus. The figure which shows the example of the processing flow of the board | substrate in embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating substrate transfer control processing according to the embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to the following embodiment, It shows only the specific example advantageous for implementation of this invention. Moreover, not all combinations of features described in the following embodiments are indispensable for solving the problems of the present invention.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 in the embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is a so-called cluster type substrate processing apparatus that includes a plurality of processing units IST that each perform processing on a substrate, and performs processing in parallel in each processing unit. In the example of FIG. 1, the plurality of processing units IST include four processing units IST1, IST2, IST3, and IST4. However, the present invention is not limited to the number of specific processing units. Each of the plurality of processing units includes a lithography apparatus (exposure apparatus, charged particle beam drawing apparatus, imprint apparatus, etc.), a film forming apparatus (CVD apparatus, etc.), a processing apparatus (laser processing apparatus, etc.) that performs pattern formation on the substrate. ). The imprint apparatus forms a pattern on a substrate by curing the resin in a state where a mold (original) is in contact with an imprint material such as resin supplied on the substrate. The exposure apparatus exposes the photoresist supplied on the substrate through the original, thereby forming a latent image corresponding to the pattern of the original on the photoresist. The charged particle beam drawing apparatus forms a latent image on the photoresist by drawing a pattern with the charged particle beam on the photoresist supplied onto the substrate. Alternatively, each of the plurality of processing units is either a cleaning device that cleans the substrate, an etching device that etches the substrate, an inspection device that inspects the substrate, or a coating device that applies a resist (chemical solution) to the substrate It may be.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes transport units 3a and 3b that transport substrates to a plurality of processing units IST1 to IST4. Each of the transfer units 3a and 3b includes a robot having a transfer hand (not shown) and can transfer a plurality of substrates in parallel. The transport units 3a and 3b are configured to transport substrates along a transport path that is shared among a plurality of substrate storage units to be described later, the preprocessing units 4a and 4b, and the plurality of processing units IST. Yes.

  The preprocessing units 4a and 4b include a plurality of preprocessing units that perform different preprocessing executed sequentially. Specifically, the pre-processing units 4a and 4b perform heat treatment, temperature adjustment processing, positioning processing, etc. on the substrate so that the substrate is in a state suitable for performing substrate processing by the plurality of processing units IST. Perform pre-processing. For example, the pretreatment unit 4a may include a baker (PBK) that performs heat treatment of the substrate, and a chiller (PCP) that cools the heat-treated substrate to a certain temperature. The storage unit 5a functions as an interface for receiving a substrate processed by the preprocessing unit 4a and passing it to the next preprocessing unit 4b. Here, the operation in which the storage unit 5a receives the substrate processed by the preprocessing unit 4a is called relay-in (FI), and the operation in which the transport unit 3b takes out the substrate from the storage unit 5a and passes it to the preprocessing unit 4b. This is called relay out (FO). The pre-processing unit 4b may include a substrate temperature adjustment processing (WTC) unit and a pre-alignment (PA) unit. Pre-alignment, for example, adjusts at least one of the position and rotation angle of the substrate by detecting the outer periphery and notch or orientation flat of the substrate while driving the substrate before transporting the received substrate to the processing unit IST. To do. Hereinafter, the preprocessing units 4a and 4b and the storage units 5a and 5b including various functions as described above may be collectively referred to as a preprocessing system.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 can connect a plurality of substrate storage units FP (storage containers), each of which can store a plurality of substrates. In the example of FIG. 1, the correspondence between each of the four substrate storage units FP1, FP2, FP3, and FP4 and the four processing units IST1, IST2, IST3, and IST4 is determined in advance. This correspondence is specified by management data described later. Each substrate is basically processed by a pattern forming unit corresponding to the substrate storage unit that has stored the substrate. Each of the plurality of substrate storage units FP1, FP2, FP3, and FP4 is a container for carrying a substrate in and out of the substrate processing apparatus 1, and each container can store a plurality of substrates. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is configured to be able to connect further substrate storage units in addition to the four substrate storage units FP1, FP2, FP3, and FP4.

  The control unit 7 comprehensively controls the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and controls substrate processing in the processing units IST1 to IST4, substrate transfer by the transfer units 3a and 3b, preprocessing by the preprocessing system, and the like. In particular, when the control unit 7 executes a substrate processing job using a part of the plurality of substrate storage units, a plurality of substrate processes are performed in parallel in the processing units involved in the job. The transporting unit controls the transport of the substrate from the plurality of substrate storage units to the pretreatment unit. In addition, the control unit 7 determines the processing order of a plurality of substrates in order to maximize the processing amount of the substrates, and schedules the substrate transport, preprocessing, storage, and processing to be optimal. The control unit 7 may include a calculation unit such as a CPU or a DSP (not shown) and a storage unit such as a memory or a hard disk that stores a control program or a recipe for performing the scheduling. The recipe means data including a series of processing parameters when processing a substrate.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the control unit 7. The control unit 7 includes a main control unit 201, a processing system control unit 202, a job execution unit 203, a transport system control unit 204, a recipe management unit 205, and a processing order management unit 206. Note that these may be realized as modules in the control program described above. The processing system control unit 202 executes a job (processing instruction) inside the substrate processing apparatus 1 generated by the job execution unit 203, and manages each state of the plurality of processing units IST1 to IST4 as management information. The recipe management unit 205 manages the recipe 207 a stored in the storage unit 207. The job execution unit 203 decomposes a job input to the substrate processing apparatus 1 by a host computer or a user into processing unit level internal jobs that can be executed by the plurality of processing units IST1 to IST4. The job execution unit 203 manages the progress of the job of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 based on the progress status of the internal job. The transport system control unit 204 controls the substrate transfer operation and the preprocessing operation including drive control of the transport units 3a and 3b, the preprocessing units 4a and 4b, and the storage units 5a and 5b. The processing order management unit 206 manages the processing order of the substrates determined by the main control unit 201. The processing order of the substrates is described in the management data 207b stored in the storage unit 207.

  The main control unit 201 determines the processing order of the substrates in the substrate group designated by the substrate processing apparatus level job, and notifies the processing order management unit 206 of the processing order. The processing order of the substrates is determined based on, for example, information on the processing units IST1 to IST4, the state of the processing system control unit 202, and the state of the transport system control unit 204. Further, the main control unit 201 controls the job execution unit 203 and the transport system control unit 204 so that the substrates are processed in the determined processing order.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the management data 207b. In the management data 207b, for each job at the substrate processing apparatus level, a processing unit involved in the job, a substrate storage unit (storage container) corresponding to the processing unit, and a substrate number are described. In the embodiment, the board ID is represented by “PiWj”, Pi represents the job number, and Wj represents the board number. For example, “P1W1” at the top indicates the first substrate in Job1. It can be seen that each substrate storage unit stores 25 substrates (W1 to W25) of one lot. The management data 207b further describes the state of the substrate, the position of the substrate, and the processing order for each substrate ID. The “substrate state” represents the current state of processing in the preprocessing unit or processing unit. The “substrate position” indicates where the substrate is currently located in the substrate processing apparatus or the substrate storage unit. In the processing units IST1 to IST4, there are errors in attachment errors and operations and states in the processing units. Therefore, in a process that requires particularly fine accuracy, a specific substrate can be executed only by a specific processing unit. In addition, when different processing units are assigned to the substrates in the substrate storage units FP1 to FP4, it is necessary to manage recipes and errors (offsets) in units of substrates, which makes it difficult to manage the substrates in the external system. Become. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, in each job, each substrate in one lot is generally processed by the same processing unit.

  The main control unit 201 determines the processing order of the substrates from the information of the substrate storage unit FP and the processing unit IST for each job, and the state and position of the substrates, and notifies the processing order management unit 206 of them. Here, the processing order of the substrates refers to the order of the substrates scheduled to be processed by the processing units IST1 to IST4, particularly including the substrates being processed by the processing units IST1 to IST4. Since the processing units IST1 to IST4 have a small substrate processing amount (throughput) per unit time, the main control unit 201 can perform processing in parallel as much as possible without the processing units IST1 to IST4 being in a standby state. Determine the processing order.

  When a substrate is periodically taken out from a plurality of substrate storage units in the same order and the substrate processing is periodically performed by the corresponding processing units, this is referred to as “periodically progressing job”. If the job progresses periodically, cyclic processing is applied to determine the substrate processing order. Further, the production volume of articles is maximized by eliminating the conflict in the substrate processing flow as in Japanese Patent No. 4621698. In the present embodiment, even when an event in which the progress of the job is not periodic occurs, the control unit 7 optimizes the production amount of the article by changing the conveyance order according to the event. Is possible.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a substrate processing flow. FIG. 4 shows a processing flow when Jobs 1 to 4 are assigned at the same time corresponding to the management data of FIG. In FIG. 4, a graph 41 shows the relationship of the substrate transport path when various types of processing are performed, and a time chart 42 shows a processing flow for each unit time of each substrate according to the graph 41. Each part of the substrate storage units FP1 to FP4, PBK, PCP, FI, WTC, PA, and FO in the preprocessing system and the processing units IST1 to IST4 is referred to as a unit. In the time chart 42, the processing of each unit progresses for each substrate every unit time, but it can be seen that the processing of the processing units IST1 to IST4 requires 4 unit times.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the total processing time per substrate of each unit. Here, the total processing time means that the substrate is at least occupied by the unit including processing and pre-processing performed in the unit, as well as incidental processing such as suction holding of the substrate and lifting and lowering operation of the lift pins. Total time.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the maximum transport time of the substrate to the next unit in the processing flow of FIG. Here, the maximum transport time refers to the maximum transport time of the substrate in consideration of variations caused by different physical positions and postures of units or transport units (not shown).

  In this embodiment, the substrate processing takes a longer time than the pretreatment. According to the example of the total processing time of each unit shown in FIG. 5 and the maximum transport time of the substrate shown in FIG. 6, the processing unit IST (IST1 to IST4) is the maximum delay unit in the substrate processing flow. Recognize. Further, by determining the processing order so as to periodically process the substrates in the substrate storage units FP1 to FP4 by cyclic scheduling as in the substrate processing flow of FIG. 4, the production amount of articles is maximized.

  Next, FIG. 7 shows an example of a substrate processing flow when two processing units are involved. FIG. 7 shows a processing flow when a job is being executed for the two processing units IST2 and IST3. FIG. 8 shows an example of a substrate processing flow when three processing units are involved. FIG. 8 shows a processing flow when a job is being executed for the three processing units IST1, IST2, and IST3. 7 and 8, similarly to FIG. 4, graphs 71 and 81 show the relationship of the substrate transport path when various processes are performed, and time charts 72 and 82 show the relationship between the substrates according to the graphs 71 and 81. A processing flow for each unit time is shown. 7 and 8, N, M, and O in the board number are two or more numbers indicating the number of processed boards of the job.

  FIG. 4 shows a case in which jobs are assigned to all the processing units, but there are cases in which jobs are assigned to only some of the processing units as shown in FIGS. This may occur in the article manufacturing process when the process flow is not normal in the previous process of the substrate processing apparatus 1 or when the production amount of the article is temporarily adjusted throughout the article manufacturing process. In this case, for example, the substrate processing is not performed in the processing unit IST4 to which no job is assigned. Also, in both FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the job is assigned by determining the processing order of the substrates so that the substrates are periodically processed within the range of the submitted jobs, and executing the processing. The production amount of articles is maximized in the range of the substrate storage unit.

  Next, a method for processing a substrate when a new job is assigned to a new substrate storage unit in the substrate processing flow of FIGS. 7 and 8 will be described as an event where the progress of the job is not periodic. .

  FIG. 9 shows a case where a new job Job3 using another substrate storage unit FP4 is allocated at the timing when the substrates of P1W (N) and P2W (M) are being processed by IST2 and IST3, respectively, in the processing flow of FIG. An example of management data 207b is shown. In FIG. 9, it is shown that the substrates P3W1 to P3W25 to which Job3 is assigned are in the “unprocessed” state, and the substrate position is currently in the substrate storage unit FP4. At this time, in order to achieve high productivity in the entire substrate processing apparatus 1, the substrate from the other substrate storage unit FP 4 is promptly transferred to the preprocessing unit by interruption and entered into the periodic processing flow. is necessary.

  However, if the processing amount of the processing units IST2 and IST3 of Job1 and Job2 decreases because the processing of the substrates P3W1 to P3W25 of the substrate storage unit FP4 is prioritized, the processing amount of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 is maximized. Otherwise, the processing efficiency may be lowered. For example, in order to prioritize the processing of the substrates P3W1 to P3W25 of the substrate storage unit FP4, the substrates P1W (N + 1), P1W (N + 2), P2W (M + 1), and P2W (M + 2) being preprocessed are temporarily transported. A method of storing in the storage unit 5b that is out of the range is conceivable. In this case, the substrate P1W (N + 1), P1W (N + 2), P2W (M + 1), P2W (M + 2) while any of the substrates P3W1 to P3W25 that have been preferentially processed is processed by the processing unit IST4. Is again input to the preprocessing unit. However, in such a case, the substrate cannot be transferred to the processing units IST2 and IST3 without delay.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, for a substrate that has been transported from the substrate storage unit FP and has been preprocessed, the substrate storage is scheduled to start next without changing the processing order of the substrates. The processing order is changed from the substrate in the part FP. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when a job is assigned to another substrate storage unit, the processing amount of the substrate of the job that has already been assigned is not reduced while giving priority to the processing of the substrate of the job. Further, even when no new job allocation occurs, the processing amount of the substrate of the job already allocated is maximized. Such an optimized substrate processing method will be described in detail below.

In the present embodiment, attention is paid to the standby time in the pretreatment system on the substrate transport path. FIG. 10 is a timing chart of a partial section in the substrate processing of jobs Job1 and Job2 of FIG. 9 according to the processing flow of FIG. The symbols in FIG. 10 are as follows.
T _IST : processing time in the processing unit IST2 or IST3,
T _PA : Pre-alignment PA processing time,
T _WPA : Standby time after pre-alignment T _WTC : Substrate temperature control WTC processing time
T _WWTC : Standby time after substrate temperature adjustment,
T _TIST : transport time from PA to IST2 or IST3,
T _TPA : transport time from WTC to PA,
T _TWTC : Transport time from FI to WTC T _WFI : Standby time in FI before transport to WTC

When no substrate is present in the pretreatment system, the next scheduled substrate is immediately transferred from the substrate storage container FP to the pretreatment system, and the pretreatment of the substrate in the pretreatment unit is performed. think of. In this case, since the processing time in the processing units IST2 and IST3 is sufficiently long, a standby time occurs in the preprocessing system. T _WPA , T _WWTC , and T _WFI indicate such a waiting time.

Let U _(i) (i = 1, 2,..., M) be a pretreatment system existing on the substrate transport path from the substrate storage unit FP to the processing units IST1 to IST4. Further, the preprocessing time in the preprocessing unit U _(i) is T _(i) , and the transport time from the preprocessing system unit U _(i) to U _{(i + 1)} is T _{T (i)} . Since the substrate is periodically processed at equal intervals by the preprocessing system and the processing units IST1 to IST4, the waiting time T _{w (i)} in the unit U _(i) of the preprocessing system is calculated by the following equation.

Furthermore, if the difference in the transport time T _{T (i)} is almost zero, if the standby time occurs in the processing units IST1 to IST4, the processing amount is reduced, so the standby time needs to be zero. Therefore, when the processing time per substrate in the processing units IST1 to IST4 is T _IST , the expression (1) is regarded as the following expression.

Expression (2) applies when one of the processing units IST1 to IST4 is processing. When a plurality of the processing units IST1 to IST4 are being processed, apparently the time divided by the number of processing units can be regarded as the processing time in the processing units IST1 to IST4 per substrate. Accordingly, when the number of processing units being processed is n, the standby time T _{w (i)} in the unit U _(i) of the preprocessing system is expressed by the following equation.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of the waiting time and the total waiting time in each part of the preprocessing system calculated by Expression (3) for each of the processing units IST1 to IST4 being processed being 1 to 4. . The substrate is transferred from the substrate storage unit FP to which the job is assigned, and pre-processing is started. After that, it waits for the total waiting time until the next scheduled substrate pre-processing starts. FIG. 11 shows that even if the substrate is transferred from the substrate storage unit FP and the preprocessing is started, the substrate transfer unit 3a for the assigned job is reduced without reducing the processing amount of the substrate in the processing unit. It shows that pre-processing in the transport and pre-processing system in 3b can be performed.

Let U _(i) (i = 1, 2,..., M) be a pretreatment system existing on the substrate transport path from the substrate storage unit FP to the processing units IST1 to IST4. The preprocessing time in the preprocessing unit U _(i) is T _(i) , and the transfer time from the preprocessing system unit U _(i) to U _{(i + 1)} is T _{T (i)} . Also, T _{IST is} the processing time per substrate in the plurality of processing units IST1 to IST4, and n is the number of processing units that are executing (processing) the substrate processing. Here, after the substrate is transferred from the substrate storage unit FP to which the job is assigned, the preprocessing is performed, the substrate is unloaded, and the preprocessing unit enters the standby state of the substrate. Consider the waiting time to wait before starting the pre-treatment of the scheduled substrate. Even when this standby is executed, the waiting time of the substrate for the assigned job can be carried out by the transfer units 3a and 3b and the preprocessing in the preprocessing system can be performed without reducing the processing amount of the substrate in the processing unit. The maximum value is calculated by the following formula.

  The standby time calculated by Expression (4) is provided as the standby time for starting the preprocessing for the substrate of the substrate storage unit FP for the assigned job. Then, when a new job using a new substrate storage unit is assigned during standby, the processing order of the substrates is changed so that preprocessing is started with priority given to the substrate of the new substrate storage unit. As a result, since the substrate processing in the processing unit related to the new job is started in the shortest time, the number of processing units processed in parallel increases at the fastest, and the substrate processing amount of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 is improved. Is done.

However, when the following process is followed, the processing amount of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 may be reduced.
Waiting for the start of pre-processing for the substrate of the substrate storage unit FP for the assigned job for the maximum waiting time of Expression (4).
⇒ A new job that uses a new substrate storage unit is assigned to a processing unit that is not in process during standby until just before the maximum standby time.
⇒ Changed the processing order of the substrates so that pre-processing is started with priority given to the substrates in the new substrate storage unit.
⇒ When the preprocessing of the substrate is started, the start of the preprocessing of the substrate in the substrate storage unit FP for the assigned job is delayed.
⇒ There is a delay in starting the processing of the processing unit that processes the assigned job.

  In such a case, the processing amount of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 is reduced. In this embodiment, not the equation (4) but the equation (5) is set as the maximum waiting time.

  The standby time calculated by Expression (5) is provided as the maximum standby time for starting the preprocessing for the substrate of the substrate storage unit FP for the assigned job. Accordingly, when a new job using a new substrate storage unit is assigned during standby, the processing order of the substrates is changed so that the preprocessing is started with priority on the substrate of the new substrate storage unit. . Thereby, the substrate processing of the substrate from the new substrate storage unit is started in the shortest time, and the processing of the processing unit for the substrate of the substrate storage unit FP for the assigned job is not delayed. As a result, the substrate processing amount of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 is maximized.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of management data 207b when a new job 3 is assigned during processing of the boards of Job 1 and Job 2 in FIG. The processing order indicates the substrate being processed by the processing units IST2 and IST3 as a starting point. According to FIG. 12, after the assignment of Job3, the substrates P3W1 and P3W2 of the new substrate storage unit FP4 are more than the “unprocessed” substrates P1W (N + 3), P2W (M + 2), and P2W (M + 3) in Job1 and Job2. The processing order of the substrates is changed so that priority is given.

  Next, Job1 to Job4 for processing the substrates of the substrate storage units FP1 to FP4 are assigned to all the processing units IST1 to IST4, respectively, and the substrates of the other substrate storage units FP5 are processed by the processing unit IST4. Consider a case where a job is newly assigned. FIG. 13 shows an example of the management data 207b at this time. According to FIG. 13, after Job5 is assigned, the boards P5W1 and P5W2 of the other board storage part FP5 are prioritized over the “unprocessed” boards existing in the board storage parts FP1, FP2 and FP3 of Job1, Job2 and Job3. As described above, the processing order of the substrates is changed. Thereby, the processing amount of the substrate of the whole substrate processing apparatus 1 is improved.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a substrate transfer control process according to this embodiment. The control unit 7 determines the processing order of the substrates for the assigned jobs, and transports the substrates from the substrate storage unit to the first unit and starts preprocessing according to the processing flow as shown in FIG. And the preprocessing unit are controlled (S2). When the pretreatment in the first unit is completed, the substrate is transferred to the next unit, and the first unit is in a standby state for the next substrate. Thereafter, the first substrate is transported to the first unit. However, in the present embodiment, the control unit 7 does not transport the next substrate as soon as the first unit is empty. In the present embodiment, the waiting time determined so that the processing unit does not wait for processing (for example, the maximum waiting time within a range where processing waiting does not occur in the processing unit), the next substrate is transferred to the first unit. Wait (S4). This maximum waiting time is determined based on the time required for substrate processing in the processing unit and the time required for each of the preprocessing units. For example, this maximum waiting time is calculated by equation (5).

  During standby, the control unit 7 determines whether a new job has been assigned to the new substrate storage unit (S6). When a new job is assigned to a new substrate storage unit during standby, the control unit 7 determines the processing order of the substrates so as to give priority to the processing of the substrate in the new substrate storage unit (S8). ). If a new job is not assigned to a new substrate storage unit during standby, the processing order of the immediately preceding substrate is taken over.

  Next, the control unit 7 starts preprocessing from the substrate storage unit for the next substrate based on the determined processing order (S10). Thereafter, the control unit 7 determines whether there is a substrate that has not started preprocessing (a “non-processed” substrate) in the substrate storage unit (S12). If an “unprocessed substrate” exists in the substrate storage unit, the process returns to S4 and the process is repeated for the substrate.

  As described above, according to the flowchart of FIG. 14, the processing order of the substrates in the substrate storage unit FP to which the job is assigned is determined, and the substrate is transferred, preprocessed, and processed. If a new job is assigned to a new processing unit that is not being processed for a new substrate storage unit during standby, the substrate processing order is changed so that the pre-processing of the substrate in the new substrate storage unit is given priority. Is done. As a result, the processing of the substrate in the processing unit that is not processing is started in the shortest time, and the processing of the processing unit for the substrate in the substrate storage unit for the assigned job is not delayed. As a result, the substrate processing amount of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 is maximized.

  The above embodiment is summarized. In the above-described embodiment, the pretreatment system functions as a first processing unit that performs a first treatment (pretreatment) on the first substrate. The four processing units IST1, IST2, IST3, and IST4 function as second processing units that perform second processing (pattern formation) on the first substrate on which the first processing has been performed. The control unit 7 functions as a determination unit that determines the timing of loading the second substrate into the first processing unit based on the time required for the second processing. The control unit 7 also accepts a new processing request (new job) for processing the third substrate (the substrate in the new substrate storage unit) while waiting for the insertion of the second substrate until the determined timing. The control unit 7 also functions as a changing unit that changes the processing order so that when the new processing request is received, the third substrate is put into the first processing unit with priority over the second substrate.

Second Embodiment
FIG. 15 is a graph showing the relationship between the substrate storage units FP1 to FP8, PBK1 to PBK4, PCP1 to PCP2, FI, WTC, PA, and FO as preprocessing systems, and the substrate transport paths in the processing units IST1 to IST4. is there. When the throughput of the processing units IST1 to IST4 is higher than that of the first embodiment, the preprocessing units can execute preprocessing by parallelizing a plurality of substrates, respectively, like the preprocessing units PBK1 to PBK4 and PCP1 to PCP2. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is configured.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the total processing time per substrate of each unit. The total processing time in the processing unit IST is shorter than that in the first embodiment (FIG. 5). Therefore, when the preprocessing unit PBK is not configured to be able to parallelize a plurality of substrates, the preprocessing by the preprocessing unit PBK causes a delay in the processing of the processing unit IST, and the processing amount of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 is improved. do not do.

  Also in the present embodiment, the processing order of the substrates in the substrate storage unit to which the job is assigned is determined according to the flowchart of FIG. When a new job using another substrate storage unit is assigned to a currently unused processing unit during standby, the substrate processing order is preferentially started so that the pre-processing of the substrate in the other substrate storage unit is started. To change. As a result, the processing of the substrate in the processing unit that is not processing is started in the shortest time, and the processing of the processing unit for the substrate in the substrate storage unit for the assigned job is not delayed. As a result, the substrate processing amount of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 is maximized.

However, when the substrate processing apparatus 1 configures a preprocessing system that can preprocess a plurality of substrates in parallel, the preprocessing time of the substrate in the preprocessing unit is apparently divided by the number of substrates that can be parallelized. It can be regarded as a pretreatment time in the pretreatment unit per substrate. Let U _(i) (i = 1, 2,..., M) be a pretreatment system existing on the substrate transport path from the substrate storage unit to the processing unit. Further, the preprocessing time in the preprocessing unit U _(i) is T _(i) , the transport time from the preprocessing system unit U _(i) to U _{(i + 1)} is T _{T (i)} , and the processing unit the processing time per one substrate in IST1~IST4 and T _IST. Further, n is the number of processing units being processed, and P _(i) is the number of substrates that can be preprocessed in parallel in the unit U _(i) of the preprocessing system. The substrate is transferred from the substrate storage unit to which the job is assigned and pre-processing is started. After that, the process waits for a waiting time until the next scheduled substrate pretreatment is started. Even if this standby is performed, the maximum value of the standby time during which the substrate transfer unit for the assigned job and the preprocessing in the preprocessing system can be performed without reducing the processing amount of the substrate in the processing unit is Is calculated by the following equation.

<Third Embodiment>
Substrate processing method for changing the processing order of substrates so that processing of a substrate in a substrate storage unit to which a job has been newly assigned has priority over “unprocessed” substrates existing in the substrate storage unit to which a job has been allocated Explained. In the first and second embodiments described above, the substrate processing method does not change the processing order of the substrates with respect to the substrate on which the preprocessing is started. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, when the substrate processing apparatus 1 is configured with a preprocessing system that can perform preprocessing by parallelizing a plurality of substrates, the substrate processing is performed on the substrate transported to the next unit. A substrate control process for changing the order will be described.

  FIG. 17 is a graph showing the relationship of the substrate transport paths starting from the preprocessing units PBK1 to PBK4. In the present embodiment, the substrate is transferred from the pretreatment units PBK1 to PBK4 to the pretreatment units PCP1 and PCP2, and the pretreatment units PCP1 and PCP2 start pretreatment of the substrate. Thereafter, after waiting for the waiting time, the processing order of the substrates in the preprocessing units PBK1 to PBK4 is changed, and the next substrate is transferred from the preprocessing units PBK1 to PBK4 to the preprocessing units PCP1 and PCP2 based on the processing order. . The maximum value of the waiting time can be calculated by the same method as in the first and second embodiments described above.

For example, U _(i) (i = 1, 2,..., M) is a pre-processing unit existing on the substrate transport path from the substrate storage unit FP to the processing units IST1 to IST4. Further, the preprocessing time in the preprocessing unit U _(i) is T _(i) , and the transport time from the preprocessing system unit U _(i) to U _{(i + 1)} is T _{T (i)} . In addition, the processing time per substrate in the processing units IST1 to IST4 is T _IST , the number of processing units being processed is n, and the number of parallelizable substrates in the preprocessing unit U _(i) is P _{( i)} . Pre-processing unit U _(a) (a = 1,2, ..., M-1) that can pre-process / store a plurality of substrates in parallel, and then the pre-processing unit Consider a waiting time to wait from U _(a) to the start of substrate transfer. Even if this standby is performed, the maximum value of the standby time during which the substrate for the assigned job can be transferred in the transfer unit and pre-processing in the preprocessing system without reducing the processing amount of the substrate in the processing unit is Is calculated by the following equation.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the substrate processing method in the present embodiment. The controller 7 transports the substrate from the preprocessing unit U _(a) to the preprocessing unit U _{(a + 1)} (S22). After that, the control unit 7 waits for the maximum waiting time calculated by the equation (7) and the next scheduled substrate to be transferred from the substrate storage unit to the unit U _{(a) of the} pretreatment system (S24).

When a new substrate is transferred to the pre-processing unit U _(a) (any of PBK1 to PBK4 in the example of FIG. 17 ₎ during standby (YES in S26), the control unit 7 The processing order of the substrates transported from U _(a) is changed (S28). If a new substrate is not transferred to the preprocessing unit U _(a) during standby (NO in S26), the processing order of the immediately preceding substrate is taken over.

Next, the control unit 7, (if it is changed in S28 processing order after the change) processing order based on the unit U _(a pre-processing system for the next substrate from the pre-processing system of the unit U _{(a) +1)} (S30). Thereafter, the control unit 7 determines whether there is another substrate to be transported from the pre-processing unit U _(a) (S32). If there is another substrate to be transferred from the pre-processing unit U _(a) , the process returns to S24 and the processing is repeated for the substrate.

In this embodiment, when changing the processing order of the substrate transported from the preprocessing unit U _(a) to the preprocessing system unit U _{(a + 1)} , the next transported substrate is the preprocessing system unit U. _{In (a)} , a case of pre-processing may occur. In this case, the substrate is not transported, and the substrate in the next processing order is transported.

  As described above, the processing order of the substrates existing in the preprocessing system is determined according to the flowchart of FIG. If a new job is assigned to a new processing unit that is not being processed for a new substrate storage unit during standby, the substrate processing order is changed so that the pre-processing of the substrate in the new substrate storage unit is given priority. Is done. As a result, the processing of the substrate in the processing unit that is not processing is started in the shortest time, and the processing of the processing unit for the substrate in the substrate storage unit for the assigned job is not delayed. As a result, the substrate processing amount of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 is maximized.

<Fourth embodiment>
Consider the case where the second embodiment and the third embodiment are used together, or the case where the substrate processing order is changed for a plurality of units in the pretreatment system in the third embodiment. In these cases, when waiting for the maximum waiting time calculated by the equations (6) and (7), a delay occurs in the substrate processing in the processing units IST1 to IST4, and the substrate processing amount of the substrate processing apparatus 1 decreases. . For this reason, the control part 7 distributes so that the sum total of each waiting time may not exceed Formula (6) and Formula (7).

<Embodiment of article manufacturing method>
The method for manufacturing an article according to an embodiment of the present invention is suitable for manufacturing an article such as a microdevice such as a semiconductor device or an element having a fine structure. The article manufacturing method of the present embodiment includes a step of transferring an original pattern onto a substrate using the above-described lithography apparatus (exposure apparatus, imprint apparatus, drawing apparatus, etc.), and a substrate on which the pattern is transferred in such a process. Process. Further, the manufacturing method includes other well-known steps (oxidation, film formation, vapor deposition, doping, planarization, etching, resist stripping, dicing, bonding, packaging, and the like). The method for manufacturing an article according to the present embodiment is advantageous in at least one of the performance, quality, productivity, and production cost of the article as compared with the conventional method.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program This process can be realized. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

1: substrate processing apparatus, IST: processing unit, 3a, 3b: transfer unit, 4a, 4b: preprocessing unit, 5a, 5b: storage unit, FP: substrate storage unit, 7: control unit

According to one aspect of the present invention, a second processing unit that performs a first processing unit that performs first processing on board, the second processing for the board of the first processing has been performed, the based on the time required for the second processing standby, a determining section for determining a timing to inject board to the first processing unit, it poured while waiting the insertion of board at the determined Taiminguma processed when receiving a new process request for processing the different other substrates and in which a substrate, such that in favor of the other substrate than the substrate waiting the charged charged into the first processing unit There is provided a substrate processing apparatus including a changing unit that changes the order.

Claims (9)

A first processing unit for performing a first process on a first substrate;
A second processing unit that performs a second process on the first substrate on which the first process has been performed;
A determination unit that determines the timing of loading the second substrate into the first processing unit based on the time required for the second processing;
When a new processing request for processing the third substrate is received while waiting for the loading of the second substrate until the determined timing, the third substrate is given priority over the second substrate. A change unit for changing the processing order to be input to one processing unit;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer unit that transfers the substrate along a transfer path shared between the first processing unit and the second processing unit. The second process is a process of performing pattern formation on the substrate,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first process is a preprocess for forming the pattern on the substrate. The first processing unit includes a plurality of preprocessing units that perform different preprocessing executed sequentially,
The determining unit determines a timing of loading the second substrate into a first preprocessing unit of the plurality of preprocessing units based on a time required for the second processing;
When the change unit receives the new processing request while waiting for the second substrate to be inserted until the determined timing, the changing unit gives priority to the third substrate over the second substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processing order is changed so as to be put into the preprocessing unit. The first processing unit includes a plurality of preprocessing units that perform different preprocessing executed sequentially,
Each of the second processing units includes a plurality of pattern forming units that perform the pattern formation,
A plurality of substrate storage portions each capable of storing a plurality of substrates are connected to the substrate processing apparatus,
The correspondence relationship between the plurality of substrate storage units and the plurality of pattern forming units is predetermined,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each substrate is processed by a pattern forming unit corresponding to a substrate storage unit that stores the substrate.   The determination unit is executed in each of the plurality of pre-processing units, the time required for the pre-processing executed in each of the plurality of pre-processing units, the number of pre-processing units in the plurality of pre-processing units, and each of the plurality of pattern forming units. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the timing is determined based on a time required for pattern formation and the number of pattern formation portions in the plurality of pattern formation portions. Performing a first process on the first substrate in the first processing unit;
Performing a second process on the first substrate on which the first process has been performed in a second processing unit;
Determining the timing of loading the second substrate into the first processing unit based on the time required for the second processing;
When a new processing request for processing the third substrate is received while waiting for the loading of the second substrate until the determined timing, the third substrate is given priority over the second substrate. A step of changing the processing order to be put into one processing unit;
A substrate processing method comprising: On the computer,
Performing a first process on the first substrate in the first processing unit;
Performing a second process on the first substrate on which the first process has been performed in a second processing unit;
Determining the timing of loading the second substrate into the first processing unit based on the time required for the second processing;
When a new processing request for processing the third substrate is received while waiting for the loading of the second substrate until the determined timing, the third substrate is given priority over the second substrate. A step of changing the processing order to be put into one processing unit;
A program for running A step of performing pattern formation on the substrate using the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3;
Processing the substrate on which the pattern has been formed in the step;
An article manufacturing method comprising:

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