JP2018190870A - Conveyer, system, and manufacturing method for article - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveyer having an advantage for avoiding contact between a substrate and a housing case.SOLUTION: A conveyer for conveying a substrate includes: a conveyance unit having a hand for holding the substrate, the conveyance unit performing conveyance of the substrate including extraction of the substrate from a housing case and return of the substrate to the housing case; a detection unit for detecting an amount of positional deviation of the substrate with respect to the hand at the time of extraction of the substrate from the housing case by the conveyance unit; and a control unit for controlling conveyance of the substrate by the conveyance unit. So that a difference between a position of the substrate at the time of extraction of the substrate from the housing case and a position of the substrate at the time of return of the substrate to the housing case is reduced, the control unit controls the position of the substrate at the time of return of the substrate to the housing case by the conveyance unit on the basis of the amount of positional deviation detected by the detection unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyance device, a system, and a method for manufacturing an article.

  A lithography apparatus that forms a pattern on a substrate may be provided with a transport device that transports the substrate stored in a storage case such as a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) to the lithography apparatus. In such a transport device, if the substrate and the storage case come into contact with each other when the substrate is taken out from the storage case or returned to the storage case, the substrate may be damaged or foreign matter (particles) may be generated from the contact portion. sell. Patent Document 1 proposes a method for detecting the position in the height direction of a substrate stored in the storage case and controlling the removal of the substrate from the storage case based on the detection result.

Japanese Patent No. 5871845

  The storage case may be distorted due to manufacturing errors or changes with time, and the position where the substrate is stored may change from the original position in the horizontal direction. If such distortion occurs in the storage case, the substrate and the storage case may come into contact when the substrate is returned to the storage case based on the design value of the storage case.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a transfer device that is advantageous for avoiding contact between a substrate and a storage case when the substrate is returned to the storage case.

  In order to achieve the above object, a transport apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is a transport apparatus for transporting a substrate, and includes a hand for holding the substrate, and the substrate is taken out from the storage case and stored. A transport unit that transports the substrate including returning the substrate to a case, and a detection unit that detects a displacement amount of the substrate with respect to the hand when the substrate is taken out of the storage case by the transport unit. And a control unit that controls conveyance of the substrate by the conveyance unit, and the control unit positions the substrate when the substrate is taken out from the storage case and when the substrate is returned to the storage case. The position of the substrate when the substrate is returned to the storage case by the transport unit is controlled based on the positional deviation amount detected by the detection unit so that the difference between the substrates is reduced. It is characterized in.

  Further objects and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the preferred embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the conveyance apparatus advantageous in order to avoid the contact of a board | substrate and a storage case at the time of returning a board | substrate to a storage case, for example can be provided.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of a lithography system. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a detection part. It is a figure which shows the structure of a storage case. It is a flowchart which shows the control method of the conveyance process of a board | substrate. It is a flowchart which shows the control method of the conveyance process of a board | substrate. It is a figure which shows an example of the information of positional offset amount. It is a figure which shows the structure of an imprint apparatus. It is a figure which shows the manufacturing method of articles | goods.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same reference number is attached | subjected about the same member thru | or element, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted. The transfer apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to a system having a processing apparatus that performs processing such as lithography processing, development processing, and etching processing on a substrate, for example. In the following description, an example in which the transfer apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a lithography system having a lithography apparatus that performs a lithography process for forming a pattern on a substrate will be described.

<First Embodiment>
[About device configuration]
A lithography system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a lithography system 100. The lithography system 100 according to this embodiment may include a lithography apparatus 10 that forms a pattern on a substrate, and a transfer device 20 that transfers the substrate W stored in a storage case 30 to the lithography apparatus 10. The lithography system 100 is provided with a control unit 40 (control device) that controls the lithography apparatus 10 and the transport apparatus 20. The control unit 40 can be configured by a computer having a CPU, a storage unit 41 (memory), and the like. The control unit 40 of the present embodiment is configured to control both the lithography apparatus 10 and the transport apparatus 20, but the control unit that controls the lithography apparatus 10 and the control unit that controls the transport apparatus 20 are separate. May be provided.

  The lithography apparatus 10 includes a substrate stage 11 (positioning mechanism) that holds and positions the substrate W, and supply of the substrate W onto the substrate stage 11 and recovery of the substrate W from the substrate stage 11 are performed by the transfer device 20. Done. When the substrate W is supplied and recovered by the transport device 20, the substrate stage 11 can be moved to a position 11 'indicated by a broken line in FIG. As the lithography apparatus 10, for example, an imprint apparatus that forms an imprint material pattern on a substrate using a mold, an exposure apparatus that projects and exposes a mask pattern onto the substrate, and drawing on the substrate using a charged particle beam. Drawing apparatus to perform is mentioned. In the lithography system 100 of the present embodiment, one lithographic apparatus 10 is provided for one transport apparatus 20, but is not limited thereto, and a plurality of lithographic apparatuses 10 are provided for one transport apparatus 20. It may be provided.

The transport device 20 can include, for example, a mounting table 21, a transport unit 22, and a detection unit 23.
The mounting table 21 is also called a load port, and a storage case 30 (for example, FOUP) for storing the substrate W is mounted thereon. A specific configuration of the storage case 30 will be described later. Moreover, in the conveying apparatus 20 of this embodiment, although the two mounting bases 21 are provided, the number of the mounting bases 21 is arbitrary. In addition, a storage case 30 ′ in which a substrate W (maintenance substrate) used for maintenance, cleaning, teaching, and the like is stored is mounted on the mounting table 24 disposed adjacent to the two mounting tables 21.

  The transport unit 22 includes, for example, a hand 22a that holds the substrate W by vacuum suction and a drive mechanism 22b that drives the hand 22a, and the substrate W stored in the storage case 30 on the mounting table 21 is transferred to the lithography apparatus 10. Transport. The drive mechanism 22b can be configured by, for example, a horizontal articulated robot arm having a hand 22a attached to the tip. The transport unit 22 may be provided with a sensor (not shown) that detects the holding force of the substrate W by the hand 22a. By providing such a sensor, the control unit 40 can determine whether or not the hand 22a normally holds the substrate W based on the output from the sensor. Here, although one hand 22a is provided in the transport unit 22 of the present embodiment, a plurality of hands 22a may be provided at the tip of the drive mechanism 22b (robot arm). A plurality of drive mechanisms 22b may be arranged side by side. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the time required to supply a new substrate W onto the substrate stage 11 after the substrate W is collected from the substrate stage 11 of the lithography apparatus 10. This can be advantageous in terms of throughput.

  The detection unit 23 performs so-called pre-alignment for detecting the position of the substrate W. For example, the detection unit 23 includes a PA stage 23a on which the substrate W taken out from the storage case 30 by the transport unit 22 is arranged, and detects the position of the edge of the substrate W arranged on the PA stage 23a. The position of W is detected. That is, the detection unit 23 detects the difference between the target position on the PA stage where the substrate W is to be placed by the transport unit 22 and the position on the PA stage where the substrate W is actually placed (ΔX, ΔY ) Can be detected. The target position, the position of the substrate W, and the like are, for example, the center position of the substrate W. The detected difference is the amount of displacement of the substrate W relative to the hand 22a when the substrate W is taken out of the storage case 30 by the transport unit 22 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “position displacement amount”). Can be matched.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the detection unit 23. 2A is a diagram of the detection unit 23 viewed from above (+ Z direction), and FIG. 2B is a diagram of the detection unit 23 viewed from side (−Y direction). The detector 23 is, for example, a PA stage 23a that holds and rotates the central portion of the substrate W, a light source 23b that emits light toward the edge of the substrate W held by the PA stage 23a, and a light source 23b that emits light. And a sensor 23c for detecting the intensity distribution of the light.

PA stage 23a includes a chuck 23a ₁ for holding a central portion of the substrate by vacuum suction, the chuck 23a ₁ and the rotary drive unit 23a ₂ for rotating (substrate W), the chuck 23a ₁ (substrate W) the XY direction (horizontal It may include an XY drive unit 23a ₃ for driving direction). The edge of the substrate W held by the PA stage 23a is arranged in the optical path between the light source 23b and the sensor 23c so that a part of the light emitted from the light source 23b is blocked by the substrate W. Provided. Thereby, a portion where the light intensity is greatly changed in the light intensity distribution (radial direction of the substrate W) detected by the sensor 23c can be detected as the position of the edge of the substrate W. Then, by arranging a plurality of such light sources 23b and sensors 23c along the outer periphery of the substrate W (three in the example shown in FIG. 2), the position of the substrate itself in the XY direction is arranged. Can be detected. Further, when the detected light intensity distribution on the sensor 23c while rotating the substrate W by the rotational driving unit 23a _2, the position of the notch formed on the substrate W (or orientation flat) is obtained, the substrate W from the position of the notch The position (posture) in the rotation direction can be detected.

  Although the detection unit 23 for detecting the position of the circular substrate W has been described in the present embodiment, the position of the rectangular substrate can also be detected by the detection unit having the same configuration. For example, when a light source and a sensor are provided for each of at least two sides of a rectangular substrate, the position of the substrate in the XY direction can be detected. Further, when a plurality of sets of light sources and sensors are provided on at least one side of a rectangular substrate, the position of the substrate in the rotation direction can be detected.

  Here, a specific configuration of the storage case 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the storage case 30. 3A is a view of the storage case 30 as viewed from above (Z direction), and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the storage case 30 (A-A cross-sectional view in FIG. 3A). is there. The storage case 30 is a shelf-like case having a plurality of storage areas 31 (slots) in which the substrate W can be stored, such as FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) and FOSB (Front Opening Shipping Box). Each storage region 31 includes a support member 32 that supports a part of the outer periphery of the substrate W, and the hand 22a of the transport unit 22 can be inserted between the substrates W adjacent to each other in the Z direction. Arranged to be able to. The support member 32 is configured in a tapered shape, and when the substrate W is inserted (loaded) into the storage region 31 by the transport unit 22 and placed on the support member 32, the support member 32 is placed in the storage region 31 by its own weight. The horizontal position can be adjusted. Here, the storage case 30 of the present embodiment is configured to be capable of storing a plurality of substrates W, but is not limited thereto, and may be configured to be capable of storing only one substrate W.

[Control of transport device]
Next, control of the transport device 20 will be described. In the transport apparatus 20 configured as described above, the substrate W stored in the storage case 30 is taken out of the storage case 30 by the transport unit 22 and transported onto the PA stage 23 a of the detection unit 23. When the position of the substrate W is detected by the detection unit 23, the substrate W is transferred to the target transfer position on the substrate stage 11 of the lithography apparatus 10 by the transfer unit 22 based on the detected position of the substrate. Then, the substrate that has been positioned by the substrate stage 11 and subjected to the lithography process in the lithography apparatus is returned from the stage to the storage case 30 by the transport unit.

  However, the storage case 30 may be distorted due to, for example, a manufacturing error or a change over time, and the position where the substrate W is stored may be shifted from the original position (design position) in the horizontal direction. In this case, when the distortion of the storage case 30 is not taken into account, when the substrate W is returned from the lithography apparatus 10 (on the substrate stage 11) to the storage case 30 by the transport unit 22, the substrate W and the storage case 30 may come into contact with each other. There is. For example, without considering the distortion of the storage case 30, the substrate W on the substrate stage 11 is held by the hand 22a at the original holding position with respect to the hand 22a, and the substrate W is returned to the storage case 30 through the original transport path. As a result, the substrate W and the storage case 30 may come into contact with each other. Specifically, the portion of the side surface of the substrate W closer to the storage case (the −Y direction side) and the storage case 30 collide from the front, or the substrate W and the inner wall of the storage case 30 rub against each other. W may be inserted in the depth direction (−Y direction) of the storage case 30. Then, the contact between the substrate W and the storage case 30 may damage the substrate W or the storage case 30 or generate particles from the contact portion.

  Therefore, in the transport apparatus 20 of the present embodiment, when the substrate W is returned to the storage case 30 by the transport unit 22, the position of the substrate W is controlled based on the amount of displacement detected by the detection unit 23. At this time, the position of the substrate W is controlled so that the difference in the position of the substrate W between when the substrate W is taken out from the storage case 30 and when the substrate W is returned to the storage case 30 is reduced. Thereby, the contact between the substrate W and the storage case 30 when returning the substrate W to the storage case 30 can be avoided. Below, the control method of the board | substrate conveyance process in the conveying apparatus 20 of this embodiment is demonstrated. Hereinafter, “the position of the substrate W when the substrate W is returned to the storage case 30 by the transport unit 22” may be referred to as “the return position of the substrate W”. The return position of the substrate W includes at least a position in the direction (X-axis direction) orthogonal to the depth direction of the storage case 30.

[Control method of substrate transport processing]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a method for controlling the transfer process of the substrate W by the transfer apparatus 20 of this embodiment. A program for executing the steps shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is stored in the storage unit 41. The control unit 40 reads the program stored in the storage unit 41 and executes each process of the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In S <b> 11, the control unit 40 holds the target substrate W to be transported to the lithography apparatus 10 among the plurality of substrates W stored in the storage case 30 by the hand 22 a, and takes out the substrate W from the storage case 30. The conveyance unit 22 is controlled. In S <b> 12, the control unit 40 controls the transport unit 22 so as to transport (place) the substrate W taken out from the storage case 30 onto the PA stage 23 a of the detection unit 23. When the storage case 30 is distorted and the storage position of the substrate W is shifted from the original position in the horizontal direction, in S11, the position of the substrate W with respect to the hand 22a is shifted from the original position. Note that the storage position of the substrate W means not the position of the substrate W with respect to the storage case 30 but an absolute position in space. Accordingly, in S12, the position (for example, the center position) of the substrate W placed on the PA stage 23a by the transport unit 22 is shifted from the target position on the PA stage 23a.

In S13, the control unit 40 determines the difference between the position of the substrate W placed on the PA stage 23a by the transport unit 22 and the target position, and the position of the substrate W with respect to the hand 22a when the substrate W is taken out from the storage case 30. The detection unit 23 detects the amount of deviation. In S <b> 14, the control unit 40 controls the transport unit 22 so as to transport the substrate W from the detection unit 23 to the lithography apparatus 10 (on the substrate stage 11). At this time, the position of the substrate W relative to the hand 22a and the transport path of the substrate W are corrected based on the amount of displacement detected by the detection unit 23 so that the substrate W is transported to the target transport position on the substrate stage 11. Is done. Correction of the position of the substrate W with respect to the hand 22a is, for example, when to hold the substrate W placed on the PA stage 23a of the detector 23 to the hand 22a, the position of the XY direction of the substrate W by the XY drive unit 23a ₃ It can be done by adjusting.

  In S15, the control unit 40 determines whether or not the lithography process on the substrate in the lithography apparatus 10 has been completed. When the lithography process is completed, the process proceeds to S16. In S <b> 16, the control unit 40 controls the transport unit 22 so that the substrate W on which the lithography process has been performed is returned from the lithography apparatus 10 to the storage case 30. At this time, based on the amount of displacement detected by the detection unit 23 in S13, the control unit 40 determines the difference in the position of the substrate W when the substrate W is removed from the storage case 30 and when the substrate W is returned to the storage case 30. The return position of the substrate W to the storage case 30 is controlled so that becomes smaller.

  For example, the control unit 40 controls the return position of the substrate W so that the substrate W is returned to a position shifted from the set position set in advance as a target position when returning the substrate to the storage case 30 by a positional deviation amount. To do. When the X-axis direction component of the positional deviation amount of the substrate W detected in S13 is ΔX1, the return position of the substrate W is controlled so that the substrate W is returned by a deviation of ΔX1 with respect to the set value in S15. At this time, the same applies to the Y-axis direction component (the depth direction component of the storage case) of the positional deviation amount of the substrate W detected in S13. It is preferable to control the return position of the substrate W so that the difference in the position of the substrate W between when the substrate W is taken out from the storage case 30 and when the substrate W is returned to the storage case 30 is reduced.

  As a method of controlling the return position of the substrate W, for example, there is a method of adjusting the movement path of the hand 22a. Specifically, the control unit 40 shifts the movement path of the hand 22 a when returning the substrate W to the storage case 30 from the planned path by the amount of positional deviation detected by the detection unit 23. Thereby, the return position of the substrate W can be controlled. The planned path is the substrate W when it is assumed that the storage case 30 is not distorted (that is, there is no positional displacement of the substrate W with respect to the hand 22a when the substrate W is taken out of the storage case 30). This is the path of movement of the hand when returning to the storage case 30. That is, the planned path is a movement path of the hand 22a when the substrate W is returned to the storage case 30 in a state where the distortion (positional deviation amount) of the storage case 30 is not taken into consideration. It can be determined in advance accordingly.

  As a method for controlling the return position of the substrate W, for example, there is a method of adjusting the position of the substrate W with respect to the hand 22a. Specifically, when holding the substrate W on the substrate stage 11 by the hand 22a, the control unit 40 adjusts the relative position between the hand 22a and the substrate stage 11, and detects the position of the substrate W with respect to the hand 22a. The position is shifted from the position that should be originally held by the amount of displacement detected at 23. Also by this, the return position of the substrate W can be controlled. The position to be originally held is, for example, the position of the substrate W with respect to the hand 22a when the hand 22a holds the substrate W so that the center of gravity (center) of the substrate W and the center of gravity of the hand 22a coincide with each other in the horizontal direction. It is.

  Here, in this embodiment, only the return position of the substrate W is controlled. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the speed of the substrate W when returning the substrate W to the storage case 30, the substrate W by the hand 22a. You may use together with control of conveyance conditions, such as holding power. For example, the control may be performed so that the substrate W is moved slower or the holding force of the substrate W is weakened when the distortion of the storage case 30 is larger than when the distortion is small. By controlling the transport conditions, even when the substrate W and the storage case 30 are in contact with each other, the impact at the time of contact can be reduced.

  In S <b> 17, the control unit 40 determines whether or not the substrate W to be transported to the lithography apparatus 10 (hereinafter, the next substrate W) is in the storage case 30. If there is a next substrate W, the process returns to S11, and if there is no next substrate W, the process ends.

  As described above, the transport device 20 of the present embodiment uses the detection unit 23 to reduce the difference in the position of the substrate W when the substrate W is taken out of the storage case 30 and when the substrate W is returned to the storage case 30. Based on the detected displacement amount, the return position of the substrate W is controlled. Thus, even when the storage case 30 is distorted and the storage position of the substrate W is changed in the horizontal direction, the substrate W and the storage case 30 come into contact with each other when the substrate W is returned to the storage case 30. It can be avoided.

  In addition, the lithography system 100 to which the transport apparatus 20 of the present embodiment is applied prevents the processed substrate W and the storage case 30 from coming into contact with each other with respect to the unprocessed substrates W stored in the same storage case. It is possible to suppress the adhesion of particles. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of pattern formation defects when a pattern is formed on the unprocessed substrate W by the lithography apparatus 10. For example, when an imprint apparatus is used as the lithographic apparatus 10, pattern defects that occur at a portion where particles are attached can be reduced. Further, the present invention is not limited to this. Particles on the substrate adhere to the mold (mold) while the substrate W is moved, and a new pattern is formed on the mold to which the particles are adhered. Generation of pattern defects can be reduced. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the risk of breakage of the mold caused by continuing pattern formation using the mold to which particles are attached.

Second Embodiment
A transport device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the transport apparatus according to the second embodiment, a reading unit 25 that reads an IC tag 33 attached to the storage case 30 is provided (see FIG. 1), and the amount of misalignment detected by the detection unit 23 is the storage case 30 and the storage. The information is stored in the storage unit 41 in association with the storage area 31 of the case 30. Then, based on the information on the amount of displacement stored in the storage unit 41, the removal of the substrate W from the storage case 30 and the return of the substrate W to the storage case 30 are controlled. Here, since the apparatus configuration of the transport apparatus of the second embodiment is the same as that of the transport apparatus 20 of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted. Also in the present embodiment, the substrate W is stored in the storage case 30 using at least information in a direction (X-axis direction) orthogonal to the depth direction of the storage case 30 among the information on the amount of displacement detected by the detection unit 23. To do.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling the transfer process of the substrate W by the transfer apparatus according to the second embodiment. A program for executing the steps shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is stored in the storage unit 41. The control unit 40 reads the program stored in the storage unit 41 and executes each process of the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In S <b> 21, the control unit 40 causes the reading unit 25 to read the IC tag 33 (ID of the storage case 30) attached to the storage case 30, and specifies the storage case 30 placed on the mounting table 21. In S <b> 22, the control unit 40 determines whether or not information on the amount of positional deviation for the storage case 30 placed on the placement table 21 is stored in the storage unit 41. When the information on the amount of positional deviation is stored in the storage unit 41, the process proceeds to S <b> 23, and information on the amount of positional deviation for the storage case 30 is acquired from the storage unit 41. On the other hand, if the information on the amount of displacement is not stored in the storage unit 41, the process proceeds to S24.

  S24 to S26 are the same as S11 to S13 in the flowchart of FIG. Here, when the information on the amount of misalignment is acquired in S23, the control unit 40 uses the transport unit 22 to take out the substrate W from the storage case 30 based on the information on the amount of misalignment in S24. The position of the substrate W relative to 22a may be corrected. Specifically, the control unit 40 corrects the position of the substrate W with respect to the hand 22a by shifting the position at which the hand 22a is inserted into the storage case 30 from the preset setting position by the acquired positional deviation amount. can do.

  In S27, the control unit 40 determines whether or not the difference between the positional deviation amount detected in S26 and the positional deviation amount acquired in S23 is within an allowable range. The allowable range can be set arbitrarily. If the difference is not within the allowable range, there is a high possibility that some abnormality has occurred in the transport device 20 or the storage case 30. Therefore, the process proceeds to S28, and the control unit 40 stops the conveyance of the substrate W by the conveyance unit 22, and displays, for example, on the console 26 provided in the conveyance device 20 that there is a high possibility that an abnormality has occurred. The user is notified by, for example. On the other hand, if the difference is within the allowable range, the process proceeds to S29. Here, when it is determined in S22 that the positional deviation amount information is not stored in the storage unit 41, S27 is omitted.

  In S29, the control unit 40 stores the amount of displacement detected in S26 in association with the storage case 30 (the ID of the storage case 30 read by the reading unit 25) and the storage area 31 of the storage case 30. 41. That is, the information on the amount of misalignment stored in the storage unit 41 is updated with the amount of misalignment detected in S26. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the positional deviation amount information stored in the storage unit 41. In the example shown in FIG. 6, information on the amount of misalignment for the three storage cases 30 (F01 to F03) is shown. Each information includes ID data 41 a of the storage case 30, positional deviation amount data 41 b in each storage area 31 of the storage case 30, and history data 41 c of the detection result of the detection unit 23 for each storage area 31. sell. In the history data 41c of the detection result, No. 1 shows the data of the first detection result. n indicates the latest detection result data. Here, when the position of the substrate W with respect to the hand 22a is corrected in S24, the positional deviation amount detected by the detection unit 23 in S26 is a difference with respect to the positional deviation amount previously detected by the detection unit 23. Therefore, in this case, the difference is added to the history data 41c of the detection result, and the positional deviation amount data 41b is updated by the difference.

  In S <b> 30, the control unit 40 transports the substrate W from the detection unit 23 to the lithography apparatus 10 (on the substrate stage 11). In S31, the control unit 40 determines whether or not the lithography process on the substrate W in the lithography apparatus 10 has been completed. When the lithography process is completed, the process proceeds to S32. In S <b> 32, the control unit 40 controls the transport unit 22 so that the substrate W on which the lithography process has been performed is returned from the lithography apparatus 10 to the storage case. At this time, based on the positional deviation information stored in the storage unit 41, the control unit 40 determines the difference in the position of the substrate W when taking out the substrate W from the storage case 30 and returning the substrate W to the storage case 30. The return position of the substrate W is controlled so that becomes smaller. The control of the return position of the substrate W is the same as S16 in the flowchart of FIG. In S <b> 33, the control unit 40 determines whether or not the next substrate W is in the storage case 30. If there is a next substrate W, the process returns to S24, and if there is no next substrate W, the process ends.

  As described above, the transport apparatus according to the second embodiment stores and manages the amount of positional deviation detected by the detection unit in the storage unit. Thereby, the holding position of the substrate by the hand (that is, the insertion position of the hand) when the substrate is taken out from the storage case by the transport unit can be corrected. Therefore, it is possible to avoid contact between the substrate (or hand) and the storage case when taking out the substrate from the storage case.

  Here, the storage case when returning the substrate W on which the lithography process has been performed by the lithography apparatus 10 may be different from the storage case when the substrate W is taken out. Also in this case, the control method as described above can be applied. Specifically, the control unit 40 identifies a storage case when returning the substrate W (hereinafter referred to as “return storage case”) by reading an IC tag, and determines the amount of positional deviation of the return storage case. Information is acquired from the memory | storage part 41. And the return position (carry-in position) of the board | substrate W to the storage case for a return is controlled based on the acquired information of the amount of positional deviation.

  When there is no information on the amount of misalignment for the return storage case, information on the amount of misalignment is newly generated using the substrate W (maintenance substrate) stored in the storage case 30 ′ on the mounting table 24. May be. Specifically, the control unit 40 causes the transport unit 22 to temporarily store the substrate W stored in the storage case 30 ′ on the mounting table 24 in the return storage case. Then, the substrate W is transported from the return storage case onto the PA stage 23a of the detection unit 23, and the detection unit 23 is caused to detect the amount of positional deviation. As a result, it is possible to newly generate information on the amount of positional deviation for the return storage case.

  Further, even when the return storage case and the storage case when the substrate W is taken out are the same, the stage of the storage case (storage region 31) when the substrate W is returned and when the substrate W is taken out The case of the storage case (storage region 31) may be different. Also in this case, the control method as described above can be applied. Specifically, the control unit 40 stores information on the amount of positional deviation in the storage unit 41 for each stage of the storage case, and stores information on the amount of positional deviation for the stage of the storage case when the substrate W is returned. Obtained from the unit 41. Then, the return position of the substrate W to the storage case is controlled based on the acquired positional deviation information. If there is no information on the amount of misalignment for the stage of the storage case when the substrate W is returned, the amount of misalignment can be determined using the substrate W (maintenance substrate) stored in the storage case 30 'of the mounting table 24. Information may be newly generated.

<Embodiment of Lithographic Apparatus>
As described above, examples of the lithography apparatus 10 used in the lithography system 100 include an imprint apparatus, an exposure apparatus, and a drawing apparatus. The imprint apparatus forms a pattern of an imprint material on a substrate using a mold. The exposure apparatus exposes the substrate with i-line, KrF excimer laser light, or the like to form an original transfer pattern on the substrate. The drawing apparatus forms a latent image pattern on a substrate using a laser beam or a charged particle beam. In this embodiment, an imprint apparatus among these lithography apparatuses will be described.

  The imprint apparatus is an apparatus that forms a cured product pattern in which the concave / convex pattern of the mold is transferred by bringing the imprint material supplied on the substrate into contact with the mold and applying energy for curing to the imprint material. It is. For example, the imprint apparatus cures the imprint material in a state in which the mold (mold) on which the uneven pattern is formed is in contact with the imprint material on the substrate, widens the space between the mold and the substrate, and cures. The mold is peeled off (released) from the imprint material. Thereby, the pattern of the imprint material can be formed on the substrate.

  As the imprint material, a curable composition (also referred to as an uncured resin) that cures when given energy for curing is used. As the energy for curing, electromagnetic waves, heat, or the like is used. The electromagnetic wave is, for example, light such as infrared light, visible light, or ultraviolet light whose wavelength is selected from a range of 10 nm to 1 mm.

  A curable composition is a composition which hardens | cures by irradiation of light or by heating. Among these, the photocurable composition cured by light contains at least a polysynthetic compound and a photopolymerization initiator, and may contain a non-polysynthetic compound or a solvent as necessary. The non-polysynthetic compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of a sensitizer, a hydrogen donor, an internal release agent, a surfactant, an antioxidant, and a polymer component.

  The imprint material is applied in a film form on the substrate by a spin coater or a slit coater. Alternatively, the liquid ejecting head may be applied on the substrate in the form of droplets, or in the form of islands or films formed by connecting a plurality of droplets. The imprint material has a viscosity (viscosity at 25 ° C.) of, for example, 1 mPa · s or more and 100 mPa · s or less.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an imprint apparatus as the lithography apparatus 10. The imprint apparatus includes, for example, a mold holding unit 3 that holds the mold 1, a substrate stage 4 (substrate stage 11) that holds the substrate 2 (substrate W), a measurement unit 5, a curing unit 6, and a supply unit 7. And a control unit 8. The control unit 8 is configured by, for example, a computer having a CPU, a memory, and the like, and controls imprint processing (controls each unit of the imprint apparatus). Here, the control unit 8 may be configured as a component of the control unit 40 of the lithography system 100.

  The mold 1 is usually made of a material that can transmit ultraviolet rays, such as quartz, and a partial area (pattern area 1a) on the surface on the substrate side is made of an imprint material supplied on the substrate. An uneven pattern for transfer is formed. Moreover, glass, ceramics, metal, semiconductor, resin, etc. are used as the board | substrate 2, and the member which consists of a material different from a board | substrate may be formed in the surface as needed. Specifically, the substrate 2 is a silicon wafer, a compound semiconductor wafer, quartz glass, or the like. Further, before applying the imprint material, an adhesion layer may be provided to improve the adhesion between the imprint material and the substrate 2 as necessary.

  The mold holding unit 3 includes a mold chuck 3a and a mold driving unit 3b. The mold chuck 3a holds the mold 1 by, for example, a vacuum suction force or an electrostatic force. The mold driving unit 3b includes an actuator such as a linear motor or an air cylinder, and drives the mold 1 (mold chuck 3a) in the Z direction. The mold driving unit 3b of the present embodiment is configured to drive the mold 1 in the Z direction, but is not limited thereto, and for example, drives the mold 1 in the XY direction and the θ direction (rotation direction around the Z axis). It may have a function to do. Here, the mold holding unit 3 is provided with a deforming unit 9 as a mechanism for deforming the pattern region by applying a force to a plurality of locations on the side surface of the mold 1. The deformation unit 9 may include a plurality of actuators such as piezo elements.

  The substrate stage 4 includes a substrate chuck 4a and a substrate driving unit 4b. The substrate chuck 4a holds the substrate 2 by, for example, vacuum suction force or electrostatic force. The substrate driving unit 4b includes an actuator such as a linear motor, and drives the substrate 2 (substrate chuck 4a) in the XY directions. The substrate drive unit 4b of the present embodiment is configured to drive the substrate 2 in the XY directions, but is not limited thereto, and may have a function of driving the substrate 2 in the Z direction and the θ direction, for example. Good. Here, in the present embodiment, the operation of changing the distance between the mold 1 and the substrate 2 (distance in the Z direction) is performed by the mold holding unit 3, but may be performed by the substrate stage 4, or by both of them. It may be performed relatively. Moreover, although the operation | movement which changes the relative position of the mold 1 and the board | substrate 2 in XY direction is performed by the substrate stage 4, it may be performed by the mold holding | maintenance part 3 and may be relatively performed by both of them. .

  The measurement unit 5 includes a detection unit (scope) that detects a mark provided on the mold 1 (pattern region 1a) and a mark provided on the substrate 2 (shot region 2a), and the pattern region 1a and shot region 2a. Measure the amount of misalignment and the shape difference. For example, the measurement unit 5 detects the marks provided at the four corners of the pattern area 1a and the marks provided at the four corners of the shot area 2a by the detection unit. Thereby, the measurement part 5 can measure the shape difference between the pattern area 1a and the shot area 2a as well as the positional deviation amount between the pattern area 1a and the shot area 2a.

  The curing unit 6 (irradiation unit) irradiates the imprint material on the substrate with light (ultraviolet rays) via the mold 1 in a state where the mold 1 and the imprint material on the substrate are in contact with each other. The print material is cured. The supply unit 7 supplies (applies) an imprint material onto the substrate.

  In the imprint apparatus configured as described above, after the imprint material is supplied onto the substrate by the supply unit 7, the mold 1 is brought into contact with the imprint material on the substrate by the mold holding unit 3. Further, the mold 1 and the substrate 2 are aligned by the substrate stage 4 and the deforming unit 9 based on the positional deviation amount and the shape difference measured by the measuring unit 5. After alignment, in a state where the mold 1 and the imprint material on the substrate are in contact with each other, the curing unit 6 irradiates the imprint material with light and is cured. Then, the mold 1 is peeled from the cured imprint material. Thereby, the pattern of the imprint material can be formed on the substrate.

<Embodiment of Method for Manufacturing Article>
The method for manufacturing an article according to an embodiment of the present invention is suitable, for example, for manufacturing an article such as a microdevice such as a semiconductor device or an element having a fine structure. The method for manufacturing an article according to this embodiment includes a step of forming a pattern on a substrate using the above-described lithography apparatus (imprint apparatus), and a step of processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed in such a step. 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.

  The pattern of the cured product formed using the imprint apparatus is used permanently on at least a part of various articles, or temporarily when various articles are manufactured. The article is an electric circuit element, an optical element, a MEMS, a recording element, a sensor, or a mold. Examples of the electric circuit elements include volatile or nonvolatile semiconductor memories such as DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, and MRAM, and semiconductor elements such as LSI, CCD, image sensor, and FPGA. Examples of the mold include an imprint mold.

  The pattern of the cured product is used as it is as a constituent member of at least a part of the article or temporarily used as a resist mask. After etching or ion implantation or the like is performed in the substrate processing step, the resist mask is removed.

  Next, a specific method for manufacturing an article will be described. As shown in FIG. 8A, a substrate 1z such as a silicon wafer on which a workpiece 2z such as an insulator is formed is prepared. Subsequently, the substrate 1z is formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z by an inkjet method or the like. A printing material 3z is applied. Here, a state is shown in which the imprint material 3z in the form of a plurality of droplets is applied on the substrate.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, the imprint mold 4z is opposed to the imprint material 3z on the substrate with the side having the concave / convex pattern formed thereon. As shown in FIG.8 (c), the board | substrate 1z with which the imprint material 3z was provided, and the type | mold 4z are made to contact, and a pressure is applied. The imprint material 3z is filled in a gap between the mold 4z and the workpiece 2z. In this state, when light is irradiated as energy for curing through the mold 4z, the imprint material 3z is cured.

  As shown in FIG. 8D, when the imprint material 3z is cured and then the mold 4z and the substrate 1z are separated, a pattern of a cured product of the imprint material 3z is formed on the substrate 1z. This cured product pattern has a shape in which the concave portion of the mold corresponds to the convex portion of the cured product, and the concave portion of the mold corresponds to the convex portion of the cured product, that is, the concave / convex pattern of the die 4z is transferred to the imprint material 3z. It will be done.

  As shown in FIG. 8 (e), when etching is performed using the pattern of the cured product as an etching resistant mask, the portion of the surface of the workpiece 2z where there is no cured product or remains thin is removed, and the grooves 5z and Become. As shown in FIG. 8 (f), when the pattern of the cured product is removed, an article in which the groove 5z is formed on the surface of the workpiece 2z can be obtained. Although the cured product pattern is removed here, it may be used as, for example, a film for interlayer insulation contained in a semiconductor element or the like, that is, a constituent member of an article without being removed after processing.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to these embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible within the range of the summary.

10: Lithography apparatus, 11: Substrate stage, 20: Transfer apparatus, 21: Mounting table, 22: Transfer section, 23: Detection section, 30: Storage case, 100: Lithography system

Claims (13)

A transfer device for transferring a substrate,
A transport unit that has a hand for holding the substrate and transports the substrate including taking out the substrate from a storage case and returning the substrate to the storage case;
A detection unit that detects a displacement amount of the substrate with respect to the hand when the substrate is taken out of the storage case by the transport unit;
A control unit for controlling conveyance of the substrate by the conveyance unit;
Including
The control unit detects the amount of misalignment detected by the detection unit so that a difference in position of the substrate between when the substrate is taken out from the storage case and when the substrate is returned to the storage case is small. And a position of the substrate when the substrate is returned to the storage case by the transport unit.   The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the position of the substrate when returning the substrate to the storage case based on the position of the hand.   The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the position of the substrate when returning the substrate to the storage case based on the position of the substrate with respect to the hand.   The control unit controls the position of the substrate so that the substrate is returned to a position shifted from the position set in advance as a target position of the substrate when returning the substrate to the storage case by the displacement amount. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein   The transport unit transports the substrate to a device including a positioning mechanism for positioning the substrate, holds the substrate positioned by the positioning mechanism with the hand, and returns the substrate to the storage case. The transport apparatus according to claim 1.   The detection unit includes a stage on which the substrate taken out from the storage case by the transport unit is disposed, and the target position on the stage where the substrate is to be disposed by the transport unit and the substrate actually The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a difference from a position on the stage that is arranged is detected as the displacement amount.   The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores the misregistration amount detected by the detection unit in a storage unit in association with the storage case. . The storage case has a plurality of storage areas each storing a plurality of substrates,
The transport device according to claim 7, wherein the control unit stores the amount of positional deviation detected by the detection unit in the storage unit for each storage area.   The control unit corrects the position of the substrate relative to the hand when the substrate is taken out from the storage case by the transport unit based on the information on the amount of displacement stored in the storage unit. The transport apparatus according to claim 7 or 8.   The control unit updates the information on the shift amount stored in the storage unit based on the detection result of the detection unit every time the substrate is taken out from the storage case by the transport unit. The transport apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9. A processing apparatus for processing the substrate;
The transfer apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein a substrate stored in a storage case is transferred to the processing apparatus.
A system characterized by including.   The system according to claim 11, wherein the processing apparatus includes a lithographic apparatus that performs a lithographic process for forming a pattern on a substrate as the process. Forming a pattern on a substrate using the system of claim 12;
Processing the substrate on which the pattern is formed in the forming step, and
A method for manufacturing an article, wherein the article is manufactured from the substrate processed in the processing step.

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