JP2021098885A - Film deposition device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a film deposition device that can suppress increase in tact time by reducing time necessary for alignment and save a space on a film deposition chamber.SOLUTION: A film deposition device includes: a film deposition chamber 11 for depositing a film on a substrate; and a transportation chamber 13 in which transportation means for receiving and feeding the substrate is installed to the film deposition chamber 11. The transportation chamber 13 includes a substrate cooling part 133 for cooling the substrate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus.

In a film forming apparatus for forming an organic light emitting element (organic EL element; OLED), a cooling mechanism for suppressing a temperature rise of a substrate is provided together with a substrate stage in order to suppress deterioration and deterioration of the deposited organic material. is set up.

Further, in order to improve the film forming accuracy, the relative positions of the substrate and the mask are measured before the film forming process, and if the relative positions are deviated, the substrate and / or the mask are relatively moved. Adjust the position (alignment). Alignment between the substrate and the mask is performed in two stages: rough primary alignment and high-precision secondary alignment.

Normally, a plurality of film forming chambers are installed in one film forming cluster, but since both primary alignment and secondary alignment are performed in each film forming chamber, it takes a considerable amount of time for the alignment process and the tact time (tact time). There was a problem that the takt time) increased.

Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-192898) proposes a technique for performing an alignment process in an alignment chamber of a relay device before carrying a substrate from the relay device into a film forming cluster in an electronic device manufacturing apparatus. There is.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-192898

However, in the conventional electronic device manufacturing apparatus, since the substrate is placed on the substrate stage in the film forming chamber and then cooled, the cooling time is long, which causes an increase in takt time. Further, in order to shorten the cooling time, it is necessary to increase the size of the cooling mechanism, but there is a limit to the increase in size of the cooling mechanism due to the limited space of the film forming chamber.

Further, in Patent Document 1, even after the substrate is aligned in the alignment chamber, the substrate is transported to the film forming chamber via the transport chamber. Therefore, when the substrate is transported in this transport chamber, the position of the substrate is obtained. Misalignment may occur.

The present invention provides a film forming apparatus capable of reducing not only the cooling time of the substrate in the film forming chamber but also the time required for alignment to suppress an increase in tact time, and also can save space in the film forming chamber. The purpose is to provide.

The film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is a film forming apparatus including a film forming chamber for forming a film on a substrate and a conveying chamber having a conveying means for delivering the substrate to the film forming chamber. The transport chamber is characterized by including a substrate cooling unit for cooling the substrate.
The film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is a film forming apparatus in which a substrate is conveyed in the order of a first relay chamber, a transfer chamber, a film formation chamber, and a second relay chamber, and the transfer chamber is a container. The film forming apparatus includes a substrate cooling unit arranged in the container for cooling the substrate and a conveying means arranged in the container for holding and conveying the substrate. The transfer control unit includes a transfer control unit that controls the transfer means, and the transfer control unit transfers the substrate carried into the container from the first relay chamber to the substrate cooling unit and then to the film forming chamber. It is characterized in that the transport means is controlled so as to be performed.

According to the present invention, the takt time can be shortened and the productivity can be improved. In addition, the space of the film forming chamber can be saved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a part of an electronic device manufacturing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the configuration of the film forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a substrate transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a plan view and a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of a cooling plate provided in the substrate cooling portion of the substrate transfer system of FIG. FIG. 4B is a plan view and a cross-sectional view schematically showing another example of the cooling plate provided in the substrate cooling portion of the substrate transfer system of FIG. FIG. 5A is a schematic view of a substrate transfer system according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is a schematic view of a substrate transfer system according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is a diagram schematically showing a substrate transfer path in the substrate transfer system of FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the transfer path of the substrate in the substrate transfer system of FIG. 5A. FIG. 5B is a diagram schematically showing a substrate transfer path in the substrate transfer system of FIG. 5B.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments and examples merely illustrate preferred configurations of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to those configurations. Further, unless otherwise specified, the hardware configuration and software configuration, processing flow, manufacturing conditions, dimensions, materials, shapes, etc. of the apparatus in the following description are limited to those of the present invention. It is not the purpose.

The present invention can be applied to an apparatus for depositing various materials on the surface of a substrate to form a film, and can be preferably applied to an apparatus for forming a thin film (material layer) having a desired pattern by vacuum deposition. As the material of the substrate, any material such as glass, a film of a polymer material, a metal, and silicon can be selected, and the substrate is, for example, a substrate or a silicon wafer in which a film such as polyimide is laminated on a glass substrate. It may be. Further, as the vapor deposition material, any material such as an organic material and a metallic material (metal, metal oxide, etc.) may be selected. In addition to the vacuum deposition apparatus described in the following description, the present invention can be applied to a film forming apparatus including a sputtering apparatus and a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus. Specifically, the technique of the present invention can be applied to a manufacturing apparatus such as an organic electronic device (for example, an organic EL element, a thin film solar cell), an optical member, or the like. Among them, an apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL element, which forms an organic EL element by evaporating a vapor-deposited material and vapor-depositing it on a substrate via a mask, is one of the preferred application examples of the present invention.

<Manufacturing equipment for electronic devices>
FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a configuration of a part of an electronic device manufacturing apparatus.
The manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 is used, for example, for manufacturing a display panel of an organic EL display device. VR
In the case of a display panel for an HMD, after forming a film for forming an organic EL element on a silicon wafer of a predetermined size, the silicon wafer is cut out along a region (scribe region) between the element forming regions. , Manufacture on multiple small size panels. In the case of a display panel for smartphones, a 4.5th generation substrate (about 700mm x about 900mm), a 6th generation full size (about 1500mm x about 1850mm) or a half cut size (about 1500mm x about 925mm) substrate can be used. After forming a film for forming an organic EL element, the substrate is cut out to produce a plurality of small-sized panels.

The electronic device manufacturing device generally includes a plurality of cluster devices 1 and a relay device that connects the cluster devices.
The cluster device 1 as a film forming system includes a plurality of film forming devices 11 or film forming chambers that perform processing (for example, film forming) on a substrate W, a plurality of mask stock devices 12 for accommodating masks M before and after use, and a plurality of mask stock devices 12. It is provided with a transport chamber 13 or a transport device arranged in the center thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport chamber 13 is connected to each of the plurality of film forming apparatus 11 and the mask stock apparatus 12.

A transfer robot 14 that transfers a substrate or a mask is arranged in the transfer chamber 13. The transfer robot 14 transfers the substrate W from the path chamber 15 of the relay device arranged on the upstream side to the film forming apparatus 11. Further, the transfer robot 14 transfers the mask M between the film forming apparatus 11 and the mask stock apparatus 12. The transfer robot 14 is, for example, a robot having a structure in which a robot hand holding a substrate W or a mask M is attached to an articulated arm.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, before the substrate W carried in from the pass chamber 15 is carried into the film forming apparatus 11, the substrate W is used by using a cooling mechanism (not shown) installed in the transport chamber 13. To cool. Further, the alignment step (for example, primary alignment) of the substrate W may be further performed before the substrate W cooled by the cooling mechanism is carried into the film forming apparatus 11. The details of the substrate W cooling step and alignment step performed in the transport chamber 13 and the apparatus (board cooling section and alignment section) for that purpose will be described later.

In the film forming apparatus 11 (also referred to as a vapor deposition apparatus), the vapor deposition material stored in the evaporation source is heated by a heater and evaporated, and is deposited on the substrate W via the mask M. A series of film formation processes such as transfer of the substrate W / mask M to and from the transfer robot 14, adjustment (alignment) of the relative positions of the substrate W and the mask M, fixing of the substrate W on the mask M, and film formation (deposited film) , Is performed by the film forming apparatus 11.

In the mask stock device 12, a new mask used in the film forming process in the film forming apparatus 11 and a used mask are separately stored in two cassettes. The transfer robot 14 transfers the used mask from the film forming apparatus 11 to the cassette of the mask stock device 12, and conveys a new mask stored in another cassette of the mask stock device 12 to the film forming apparatus 11.

The cluster device 1 includes a pass chamber 15 that transmits the board W from the upstream side to the cluster device 1 in the flow direction of the board W, and another board W on the downstream side that has been film-formed by the cluster device 1. A buffer chamber 16 for transmitting to the cluster device is connected. Depending on the embodiment, instead of the buffer chamber 16, the path chamber that transmits the substrate W to the cluster device on the downstream side may be directly connected to the cluster device 1. The transfer robot 14 in the transfer chamber 13 receives the substrate W from the path chamber 15 on the upstream side and transfers it to one of the film forming devices 11 (for example, the film forming device 11a) in the cluster device 1. Further, the transfer robot 14 receives the substrate W for which the film forming process in the cluster device 1 has been completed from one of the plurality of film forming devices 11 (for example, the film forming device 11b), and the buffer connected to the downstream side. Transport to room 16 or pass room.

A swivel chamber 17 that changes the orientation of the substrate may be installed between the buffer chamber 16 and the pass chamber 15. The swivel chamber 17 is provided with a transport robot 18 for receiving the substrate W from the buffer chamber 16, rotating the substrate W by 180 °, and transporting the substrate W to the pass chamber 15. As a result, the orientation of the substrate W is the same between the cluster device on the upstream side and the cluster device on the downstream side, and the substrate processing becomes easy.

The pass chamber 15, the buffer chamber 16, and the swivel chamber 17 are so-called relay devices that connect the cluster devices, and the relay devices installed on the upstream side and / or the downstream side of the cluster device are the pass room, the buffer room, and the like. Includes at least one of the swivel chambers.

The film forming apparatus 11, the mask stock apparatus 12, the transport chamber 13, the buffer chamber 16, the swirl chamber 17, and the like are maintained in a high vacuum state in the process of manufacturing the organic light emitting element. The pass chamber 15 is usually maintained in a low vacuum state, but may be maintained in a high vacuum state if necessary.

In this embodiment, the configuration of the electronic device manufacturing apparatus has been described with reference to FIG. 1, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other types of apparatus and chambers may be provided, and these devices may be provided. And the arrangement between the chambers may change. For example, in the present invention, the substrate W and the mask M are coalesced by another device or chamber instead of the film forming apparatus 11, and then placed on a carrier and conveyed through a plurality of film forming apparatus arranged in a row. It can also be applied to an in-line type manufacturing apparatus that performs a film forming process while performing the film forming process.

The electronic device manufacturing apparatus includes a control unit (not shown). The control unit controls the transfer of the substrate W in the relay devices 15 and 16, the transfer of the substrate between the relay devices 15 and 16 and the transfer chamber 13, and the like. The control unit also has control functions such as cooling and alignment of the substrate W in the transfer chamber 13 as well as the transfer of the substrate W between the transfer chamber 13 and the film formation device 11 in the film formation cluster. It will be explained in detail later.
Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the film forming apparatus 11 will be described.

<Film formation equipment>
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the configuration of the film forming apparatus 11. In the following description, the two intersecting directions on the plane (XY plane) parallel to the film forming surface of the substrate W are defined as the X direction (first direction) and the Y direction (second direction), and the film forming surface of the substrate W. An XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is used in which the vertical direction perpendicular to is the Z direction (third direction). Further, the rotation angle (rotation direction) around the Z axis is represented by θ.

The film forming apparatus 11 includes a vacuum container 21 maintained in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen gas, a substrate support unit 22 provided inside the vacuum container 21, a mask support unit 23, and an electrostatic chuck. 24 and an evaporation source 25 are included.

The board support unit 22 is a means for receiving and holding the board W carried by the transfer robot 14 provided in the transfer chamber 13, and is also called a board holder.

The mask support unit 23 is a means for receiving and holding the mask M transported by the transfer robot 14 provided in the transfer chamber 13, and is also called a mask holder.
The mask M has an opening pattern corresponding to the thin film pattern formed on the substrate W, and is supported by the mask support unit 23. The material of the mask M may be metal, or may be a translucent material such as silicon or glass.

Above the substrate support unit 22, an electrostatic chuck 24 is provided as a substrate adsorption means for adsorbing and fixing the substrate W. The electrostatic chuck 24 is a Coulomb force type electrostatic chuck in which a dielectric having a relatively high resistance is interposed between an electrode and an adsorption surface, and adsorption is performed by a Coulomb force between the electrode and the object to be adsorbed. However, a dielectric having a relatively low resistance is interposed between the electrode and the adsorption surface, and adsorption is performed by the Johnson-Labeck force generated between the adsorption surface of the dielectric and the object to be adsorbed. It may be a Johnson-Labeck force type electrostatic chuck, or a gradient force type electrostatic chuck that adsorbs an object to be adsorbed by a non-uniform electric field.

When the object to be adsorbed is a conductor or a semiconductor (silicon wafer), it is preferable to use a Coulomb force type electrostatic chuck or a Johnson-Labeck force type electrostatic chuck, and the object to be adsorbed is an insulator such as glass. In this case, it is preferable to use a gradient force type electrostatic chuck.

The electrostatic chuck 24 may be formed of one plate, or may be formed so as to have a plurality of sub-plates capable of independently controlling the suction force. Further, even when formed by one plate, a plurality of electrode portions may be provided inside the plate so that the adsorption force can be independently controlled for each electrode portion in one plate.
As the substrate adsorption means, in addition to the electrostatic chuck by electrostatic attraction, an adhesive pad by adhesive force may be used.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the electrostatic chuck 24 does not need to be provided with a cooling plate that suppresses the temperature rise of the substrate W. As described above, the substrate W is cooled by the cooling mechanism (board cooling unit) installed in the transport chamber 13 while waiting in the transport chamber 13 before being carried into the film forming apparatus 11. The substrate W does not have to be cooled while the film forming step is performed by the film forming apparatus 11. As a result, the configuration of the film forming apparatus 11 is simplified, and the space inside the film forming apparatus 11 can be saved.

Alternatively, as shown in the figure, by providing a cooling plate 30 that suppresses the temperature rise of the substrate W on the side opposite to the suction surface of the electrostatic chuck 24, deterioration or deterioration of the organic material deposited on the substrate W is suppressed. It may be configured. In this case, since the substrate W is primarily cooled in the transport chamber 13, even if the size of the cooling plate 30 is reduced, deterioration or deterioration of the organic material can be prevented during the film forming process. , The temperature of the substrate W can be kept low.

The evaporation source 25 includes a crucible (not shown) for storing the vaporized material deposited on the substrate, a heater for heating the crucible (not shown), and the vaporized material on the substrate until the evaporation rate from the evaporation source becomes constant. Includes shutters (not shown) that prevent scattering. The evaporation source 25 can have various configurations depending on the application, such as a point evaporation source, a linear evaporation source, and a planar evaporation source.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the film forming apparatus 11 includes a film thickness monitor (not shown) and a film thickness calculation unit (not shown) for measuring the thickness of the film deposited on the substrate.

A substrate support unit actuator 26, a mask support unit actuator 27, an electrostatic chuck actuator 28, a position adjusting mechanism 29, and the like are provided on the upper outer side (atmosphere side) of the vacuum vessel 21. These actuators and the position adjusting mechanism are composed of, for example, a motor and a ball screw, or a motor and a linear guide. The board support unit actuator 26 is a driving means for raising and lowering (moving in the Z direction) the board support unit 22. The mask support unit actuator 27 is a driving means for raising and lowering (moving in the Z direction) the mask support unit 23. The electrostatic chuck actuator 28 is a driving means for raising and lowering (moving in the Z direction) the electrostatic chuck 24.

The position adjusting mechanism 29 is an alignment stage mechanism as a means for adjusting the relative positions of the substrate W and the mask M. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the position adjusting mechanism 29 makes the entire electrostatic chuck 24 or the electrostatic chuck actuator 28 in the XYθ direction (X direction, Y) with respect to the substrate support unit 22 and the mask support unit 23. Move and / or rotate in at least one direction (direction, rotation direction). In the present embodiment, the electrostatic chuck 24 is positioned in the XYθ direction while the substrate W is adsorbed to perform alignment for adjusting the relative positions of the substrate W and the mask M. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and for example, the position adjusting mechanism 29 is not the electrostatic chuck 24 or the electrostatic chuck actuator 28, but the substrate support unit 22 or the substrate support unit actuator 26 and the mask support unit. The 23 or the mask support unit actuator 27 may have a configuration capable of moving relative to the electrostatic chuck 24 in the XYθ direction.

On the outer upper surface of the vacuum container 21, in addition to the drive mechanism and the position adjusting mechanism described above, an alignment mark formed on the substrate W and the mask M is photographed through a transparent window provided on the upper surface of the vacuum container 21. An alignment camera 31 for this purpose is installed. The alignment camera 31 is provided at a position corresponding to the alignment mark formed on the substrate W and the mask M. For example, the alignment camera 31 may be installed at least two diagonal corners or all four corners among the four rectangular corners on the circular substrate W.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the film forming apparatus 11 may further include an illumination light source that illuminates the alignment mark in order to capture the alignment mark by the alignment camera 31. Since the inside of the vacuum vessel 21 sealed in the film forming process is dark, a clearer image can be obtained by illuminating the alignment mark with a light source. Therefore, the light source is preferably, but is not limited to, coaxial illumination. The light source may be installed above the outside of the vacuum vessel 21 to illuminate the alignment mark from above, or may be installed inside the vacuum vessel 21 so as to illuminate the alignment mark from below.

The film forming apparatus 11 has a control unit. The control unit has functions such as transfer and alignment of the substrate W / mask M, control of the evaporation source 25, and control of film formation. The control unit is provided independently for each film forming apparatus 11, or is provided integrally for a plurality of film forming apparatus 11, or is one functional unit of the control unit of the electronic device manufacturing apparatus. It may be embodied as.

The control unit can be configured by, for example, a computer having a processor, memory, storage, I / O, and the like. In this case, the function of the control unit 33 is realized by the processor executing the program stored in the memory or the storage. As the computer, a general-purpose personal computer may be used, or an embedded computer or a PLC (programmable logical controller) may be used. Alternatively, a part or all of the functions of the control unit may be configured by a circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA.

<Board transfer system>
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a substrate transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate transfer system is carried out from the pass chamber (first relay device 15, first relay chamber) to the transfer device 13, from the transfer device 13 (convey room) to the film forming apparatus 11 (deposition chamber), and from the film forming device 11. This is for sequentially transporting the substrate W to the buffer chambers (second relay device 16, second relay chamber). As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the buffer chamber 16 may be a pass chamber or another relay device for the implementation of the electronic device manufacturing apparatus.

In the substrate transfer system of the present embodiment, the substrate W is preliminarily placed in the transfer device 13 while the substrate W carried into the transfer device 13 waits before being transferred to the film forming device 11 where the film forming step is performed. The transfer of the substrate W in the transfer device 13 is controlled so as to be cooled. Further, in the substrate transfer system of the present embodiment, the substrate W carried into the transfer device 13 is previously aligned in the transfer device 13 before being transferred to the film forming apparatus 11. The transport of the substrate W within 13 may be controlled.

According to the present embodiment, since the transfer device 13 cools the film in advance, the film forming apparatus 11 does not require cooling or the cooling time can be shortened, so that the time required for the entire film forming process can be shortened. Can be shortened. Further, the cooling means for the substrate W provided in the film forming apparatus 11 (for example, the cooling plate 30 installed on the electrostatic chuck 24) can be made compact or miniaturized. Further, by adjusting the position of the substrate W carried into the film forming apparatus 11 in advance in the conveying apparatus 11, even if the primary alignment step is omitted and only the secondary alignment step is performed in the film forming apparatus 11, it is high. Accurate position adjustment can be guaranteed, and the total time required for the alignment process can be significantly reduced.

Therefore, in the substrate transfer system of the present embodiment, the substrate W carried in from the pass chamber (first relay device, 15) is conveyed to the film forming apparatus 11, and the substrate whose film forming process is completed from the film forming apparatus 11 The transport device 13 that transports W to the buffer chamber (second relay device, 16) and the transport control unit 134 that controls the transport of the substrate W in the transport device 13 are included. The transfer device 13 includes a container 131, a transfer robot 132 installed in the container 131, and a substrate cooling unit 133.

The inside of the container 131 is maintained in a vacuum state, and it is preferable that the container 131 is maintained in a high vacuum state. The container 131 is arranged in the pass chamber 15 adjacent to each of the containers of the buffer chamber 16 and the film forming apparatus 11, and is individually connected to them. Although the drawing shows an embodiment in which the film forming apparatus 11 is provided with two, this is merely exemplary and may be provided with one or more. Then, although not shown in the drawing, the container of the mask stock device may be further connected to the container 131.

The transfer robot 132 includes receiving the substrate W from the pass chamber 15 and carrying out the substrate W to the buffer chamber 16 inside the container 131 of the transfer device 13 and between the transfer device 13 and the film forming device 11. It is for transporting W and is arranged in the container 131. The transfer robot 132 is, for example, a robot having a structure in which a robot hand holding a substrate W or a mask M is attached to an articulated arm. In this case, the articulated arm of the transfer robot 132 conveys the substrate W while expanding and contracting in the XY directions and turning around the Z-axis direction. Depending on the embodiment, the transfer robot 132 may be able to move up and down in the Z-axis direction.

The substrate cooling unit 133 is a mechanism for cooling the substrate W carried into the container 131 from the pass chamber 15 before being conveyed to the film forming apparatus 11. Normally, in the film forming apparatus 11, it takes a little longer time for the alignment step and the film forming process to be performed, so that the substrate W carried into the transfer device 13 from the pass chamber 15 waits in the container 131 for a predetermined time. It will be. According to the present embodiment, by installing the substrate cooling unit 133 in the container 131, cooling is performed while the substrate W is waiting in the container 131. As described above, in the present embodiment, since the cooling is performed by using the standby time, it is not necessary to separately add the time for cooling the substrate W in the substrate cooling unit 133 as compared with the conventional case.

The position where the substrate cooling unit 133 is arranged is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately arranged in the empty space in the container 131. As an example, when the substrate cooling unit 133 is arranged on the transport path of the substrate W from the pass chamber 15 to the film forming apparatus 11 in the container 131, the transport path from the pass chamber 15 to the film forming apparatus 11 is minimized. be able to.

One or more substrate cooling units 133 can be arranged in the container 131. As an example,
As shown in the drawing, it is preferable that the number of substrate cooling units 133 is the same as the number (2) of the film forming apparatus 11 connected to the container 131. For example, assuming that the number of the film forming apparatus 11 (deposition chamber) is N (N is an integer of 2 or more), the substrate cooling unit 133 may also be N. As a result, the film-forming device 11 and the substrate cooling unit 133 have a one-to-one correspondence (that is, the first film-forming device 11a corresponds to the first substrate cooling unit 133a, and the second film-forming device 11b has a second. Since it corresponds to the substrate cooling unit 133b), the cooling time in the substrate cooling unit 133 can be secured to the maximum for each substrate W. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of substrate cooling units 133 may be smaller than the number of film forming apparatus 11.

It is preferable that each of the plurality of substrate cooling units 133 is installed so as to be able to move up and down within the swirling region of the transfer robot 132 in the container 131. As a result, even if the transfer robot 132 rotates in the container 131 about the Z-axis direction (that is, the direction perpendicular to the substrate support surface of the substrate cooling unit 133), the substrate cooling unit 133 descends (face-up described later). Collision with the transfer robot 132 can be avoided by raising (when the mechanism is in the form) or ascending (when the mechanism is in the face-down form, which will be described later). As a result, even if a plurality of substrate cooling units 133 are installed in the container 131, the movement of the transfer robot 132 is not restricted by this.

There is no particular limitation on the method in which the substrate cooling unit 133 cools the substrate W. For example, the substrate cooling unit 133 may be a water-cooled mechanism that uses cooling water, or an air-cooled mechanism that uses a gas such as air.

According to one embodiment, the water-cooled substrate cooling unit 133 may be a face-up type mechanism that cools while supporting the bottom surface (lower surface) of the substrate W. For example, the substrate cooling unit 133 may be configured to include a predetermined support structure installed on the bottom surface of the container 131 and a cooling plate installed on the upper portion of the support structure.

4 (a) and 4 (b) are a plan view and a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of a cooling plate provided in the face-up type substrate cooling unit 133, respectively. As shown in FIG. 4A, the cooling plate is formed along a cooling water channel in which the cooling water flowing into the inflow port (IN) is formed in the plate-shaped member as a whole. It may have a structure in which the water flows and is discharged from the outlet (OUT). Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the cooling plate has a cooling water inflow port (IN) formed on one side of a plate-shaped member having an open central portion, and an outflow port on the other side. It may be a structure in which (OUT) is formed. In this case, the inlet (IN) is located on the bottom surface of the plate-shaped member so that the cooling water having a relatively low temperature flows into the central portion and the cooling water having a relatively high temperature flows out from the central portion. It is preferable that the outlet (OUT) is formed at a height close to the upper surface of the plate-shaped member.

According to another embodiment, the water-cooled substrate cooling unit 133 may be a face-down type mechanism that cools the substrate W while sucking and holding the upper surface thereof. For example, the substrate cooling unit 133 includes an electrostatic chuck that attracts and holds the substrate W, and a cooling mechanism such as a cooling plate coupled to the electrostatic chuck. Alternatively, instead of the electrostatic chuck, another form of substrate adsorption means such as an adhesive pad or the like that attracts and holds the upper surface of the substrate W may be used.

The transfer control unit 134 controls the transfer operation of the substrate W by the transfer robot 132. The transfer control unit 134 basically receives the substrate W carried in from the pass chamber 15 of the relay device arranged on the upstream side, transfers the substrate W to the film forming apparatus 11, and then forms the substrate W in the film forming apparatus 11. The substrate W for which the film process has been completed controls the transfer robot 132 so as to transfer the substrate W to the buffer chamber 16 of the relay device arranged on the downstream side. Then, according to this embodiment, the transfer control unit 134 controls the transfer robot 132 so as to transfer the substrate W to the substrate cooling unit 133 before transferring the substrate W to the film forming apparatus 11. The specific transfer path of the substrate W controlled by the transfer control unit 134 will be described later.

The transfer control unit 134 may be embodied in a computer processor separately provided in the transfer robot 132 so as to control the operation of the transfer robot 132. Alternatively, the transfer control unit 134 is embodied as a functional unit of a control unit that controls the transfer device 13, or is embodied as a functional unit of a control unit of a film forming system or an electronic device manufacturing apparatus including the transfer device 13. You may.

5A and 5B are schematic views showing the configuration of a substrate transfer system according to another embodiment of the present invention, respectively. Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the substrate transfer system of the present embodiment includes transfer devices 13a and 13b and a transfer control unit 134, and the transfer devices 13a and 13b are installed in the container 131 and the container 131. The inclusion of the transfer robot 132 and the substrate cooling unit 133 is the same as the substrate transfer system of the embodiment shown in FIG. However, the substrate transfer system of the present embodiment further includes an alignment unit 135 installed in the container 13, whereby the alignment unit 135 is included in the transfer path of the substrate W controlled by the transfer control unit 134. This is different from the substrate transfer system of the embodiment shown in FIG. Hereinafter, only the differences from the substrate transfer system of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

The alignment unit 135 is for adjusting the position of the substrate W carried into the container 131, or more accurately, the substrate W cooled by the substrate cooling unit 133. More specifically, the alignment unit 135 adjusts the position of the substrate W with respect to a predetermined reference (for example, a reference mark) installed at a specific position in the container 131, and the specific mounting thereof. The form is not particularly limited.

For example, the alignment unit 135 includes a substrate stage on which the substrate W is placed in the container 131, an alignment mechanism for aligning the substrate W, and a control means for controlling the operation of the alignment mechanism. May be good. The alignment mechanism uses a position information acquisition means (for example, an alignment camera) for acquiring information about the position where the substrate W is placed on the substrate stage (information indicating the position of the substrate W with respect to the container 131) and X the substrate stage. A substrate stage drive mechanism (XYθ actuator) for driving in the axial direction, the Y-axis direction, and the θ direction can be included. The board stage is connected to the XYθ actuator by a shaft.

Like the substrate cooling unit 133, one or more alignment units 135 can be arranged in the container 131. As an example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the alignment portion 135 may be arranged in a smaller number (1) than the number (2) of the film forming apparatus 11 connected to the container 131. In this case, as will be described later, the substrates W are conveyed to different substrate cooling units 133a and 133b, respectively, and even the cooled substrate W is conveyed to the same alignment unit 135 for alignment. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5B, the alignment portions 135a and 135b may be arranged in the same number (2 pieces) as the number (2 pieces) of the film forming apparatus 11 connected to the container 131. For example, assuming that the number of film forming apparatus 11 (deposition chamber) is N (N is an integer of 2 or more), there may be N alignment portions 135 as well. As a result, the film forming apparatus 11a and 11b, the substrate cooling units 133a and 133b, and the alignment units 135a and 135b have a one-to-one correspondence (that is, the first film forming apparatus 11a, the first substrate cooling unit 133 and the first alignment). Since the parts 135a correspond to each other, and the second film forming apparatus 11b, the second substrate cooling part 133b, and the second alignment part 135b correspond to each other), the cooling time in the substrate cooling unit 133 and the cooling time in the substrate cooling unit 133 for each substrate W. The maximum alignment time in the alignment unit 135 can be secured.

It is preferable that the alignment unit 135 is also installed in the container 131 so as to be able to move up and down, like the substrate cooling unit 133. As a result, even if the transfer robot 132 rotates in the container 131 about the Z-axis direction (that is, the direction perpendicular to the substrate support surface of the alignment portion 135),
By lowering and / or raising the alignment unit 135, it is possible to avoid a collision with the transfer robot 132. As a result, even if the alignment unit 135 is installed in the container 131, the movement of the transfer robot 132 is not restricted by this.

Then, according to the present embodiment, the transfer control unit 134 has the substrate cooling unit 133 and the alignment unit (135) before the substrate W carried into the transfer devices 13a and 13b is transferred to the film forming apparatus 11.
, FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B), and the transfer robot 132 is controlled so as to sequentially transfer.
A specific transfer path of the substrate W controlled by the transfer control unit 134 will be described later.

<Transfer path of substrate W in substrate transport system>
6A, 6B, and 6C are diagrams schematically showing the transfer path of the substrate W in the substrate transfer system illustrated in FIGS. 3, 5A, and 5B, respectively. As described above, the transfer path of the substrate W is controlled by the transfer control unit 134 controlling the operation of the transfer robot 132.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the first substrate W1 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13 from the pass chamber 15 is first conveyed to the first substrate cooling unit 133a. Then, after the substrate W1 is cooled from the first substrate cooling unit 133a for a predetermined time, it is conveyed to the first film forming apparatus 11a. In the first film forming apparatus 11a, the film forming step of the substrate W1 is performed, and the substrate W1 for which the film forming step is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16.

Then, the second substrate W2 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13 from the pass chamber 15 is conveyed to the second substrate cooling unit 133b. At this time, the first substrate W1 may be subjected to a cooling step by the first substrate cooling unit 133a, or may be subjected to a film forming step by the first film forming apparatus 11a. After the substrate W2 is cooled by the second substrate cooling unit 133b for a predetermined time, it is conveyed to the second film forming apparatus 11b. In the second film forming apparatus 11b, the film forming step of the substrate W2 is performed, and the substrate W2 for which the film forming step is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16.

Next, referring to FIG. 6B, the first substrate W1 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13a from the pass chamber 15 is first conveyed to the first substrate cooling unit 133a. Then, after the substrate W1 is cooled by the first substrate cooling unit 133a for a predetermined time, it is conveyed to the alignment unit 135. After the position of the substrate W1 is adjusted by the alignment unit 135, the substrate W1 is conveyed to the first film forming apparatus 11a. In the first film forming apparatus 11a, the film forming step of the substrate W1 is performed, and the substrate W1 for which the film forming step is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16.

Then, the second substrate W2 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13a from the pass chamber 15 is conveyed to the second substrate cooling unit 133b. At this time, the first substrate W1 has a cooling step performed by the first substrate cooling unit 133a, an alignment process performed by the alignment unit 135, or a film forming process performed by the first film forming apparatus 11a. It may be done. After the substrate W2 is cooled by the second substrate cooling unit 133b for a predetermined time, it is conveyed to the alignment unit 135. At this time, the first substrate W1 may be subjected to the film forming step by the first film forming apparatus 11a. Further, when the substrate W2 is conveyed to the alignment unit 135, the third substrate W1 may be carried in from the pass chamber 15 and conveyed to the first substrate cooling unit 133a. Subsequently, after the position of the substrate W2 is adjusted by the alignment unit 135, the substrate W2 is conveyed to the second film forming apparatus 11b. In the second film forming apparatus 11b, the film forming step of the substrate W2 is performed, and the substrate W2 for which the film forming step is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16.

Next, referring to FIG. 6C, the first substrate W1 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13b from the pass chamber 15 is first conveyed to the first substrate cooling unit 133a. Then, after the substrate W1 is cooled by the first substrate cooling unit 133a for a predetermined time, it is conveyed to the first alignment unit 135a. After the position of the substrate W1 is adjusted by the first alignment portion 135a, the substrate W1 is conveyed to the first film forming apparatus 11a. In the first film forming apparatus 11a, the film forming step of the substrate W1 is performed, and the substrate W1 for which the film forming step is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16.

Then, the second substrate W2 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13b from the pass chamber 15 is conveyed to the second substrate cooling unit 133b. At this time, the first substrate W1 is either cooled by the first substrate cooling unit 133a, aligned by the first alignment unit 135a, or filmed by the first film forming apparatus 11a. The process may be performed. After the substrate W2 is cooled by the second substrate cooling unit 133b for a predetermined time, it is conveyed to the second alignment unit 135b. At this time, the first substrate W1 may be subjected to an alignment step by the first alignment unit 135a or a film forming step by the first film forming apparatus 11a. Further, when the substrate W2 is conveyed to the second alignment portion 135b, the third substrate W1 is carried in from the pass chamber 15 and is conveyed to the first substrate cooling portion 133a, or the substrate W1 whose cooling is completed is the first. 1 It may be conveyed to the alignment unit 135a. Subsequently, after the position of the substrate W2 is adjusted by the second alignment portion 135b, the substrate W2 is conveyed to the second film forming apparatus 11b. In the second film forming apparatus 11b, the film forming step of the substrate W2 is performed, and the substrate W2 for which the film forming step is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16.

The above embodiment is only an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and may be appropriately modified within the scope of the technical idea.

11, 11a, 11b: film forming chamber or film forming apparatus, 13, 13a, 13b: transfer chamber or transfer device, 14, 132: transfer robot, 15: pass chamber, 16: buffer chamber, 131: container 133, 133a , 133b: Substrate cooling unit, 134: Transfer control unit, 135, 135a, 135b: Alignment unit

Claims (16)

A film forming chamber for forming a film on a substrate and
A transport chamber having a transport means for delivering the substrate to the film forming chamber, and a transport chamber.
In a film forming apparatus equipped with
The transport chamber is a film forming apparatus including a substrate cooling unit for cooling the substrate. A control unit for controlling the operation of the film forming apparatus is further included.
The control unit is characterized in that the transfer means controls the substrate to be conveyed to the substrate cooling unit to cool the substrate before the substrate carried into the transfer chamber is conveyed to the film forming chamber. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1. The film forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transport chamber further includes an alignment portion for adjusting the position of the substrate. The control unit is characterized in that the transport means controls to transport the substrate cooled by the substrate cooling unit to the alignment unit and adjust the position of the substrate before transporting the substrate to the film forming chamber. The film forming apparatus according to claim 3. The substrate cooling unit and the alignment unit are each installed so as to be able to move up and down in a swivel region through which the transport means passes when rotating about a direction orthogonal to the substrate support surface of the substrate cooling unit. The film forming apparatus according to claim 4. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the substrate cooling unit includes a cooling plate that supports the lower surface of the substrate and has a cooling water channel formed therein. .. Any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the substrate cooling unit includes a substrate adsorption means for sucking and holding the upper surface of the substrate, and a cooling mechanism coupled to the substrate suction means. The film forming apparatus according to the section. The film forming chamber includes N (N is an integer of 2 or more).
The film forming according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the transport chamber includes N of the substrate cooling portions corresponding to each of the N film forming chambers on a one-to-one basis. apparatus. The film forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the transport chamber includes 1 to N alignment portions for adjusting the position of the substrate. A film forming apparatus in which a substrate is conveyed in the order of a first relay chamber, a transfer chamber, a film formation chamber, and a second relay chamber.
The transport chamber includes a container, a substrate cooling unit arranged in the container for cooling the substrate, and a transport means arranged in the container for holding and transporting the substrate.
The film forming apparatus includes the transport chamber and a transport control unit that controls the transport means.
The transport control unit is characterized in that the transport means is controlled so that the substrate carried into the container from the first relay chamber is transported to the substrate cooling unit and then to the film forming chamber. Film forming equipment. The transport chamber is installed in the container and further includes an alignment portion for adjusting the position of the substrate.
10. The transfer control unit is characterized in that the transfer control unit controls the transfer means so as to transfer the substrate cooled by the substrate cooling unit to the alignment unit before transporting the substrate to the film forming chamber. The film forming apparatus according to the above. The substrate cooling unit and the alignment unit are each installed so as to be able to move up and down in a swivel region through which the transport means passes when rotating about a direction orthogonal to the substrate support surface of the substrate cooling unit. The film forming apparatus according to claim 11. The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the substrate cooling unit includes a cooling plate that supports the lower surface of the substrate and has a cooling water channel formed therein. .. Any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the substrate cooling unit includes a substrate adsorption means for sucking and holding the upper surface of the substrate, and a cooling mechanism coupled to the substrate suction means. The film forming apparatus according to the section. The film forming chamber includes N (N is an integer of 2 or more).
The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the transport chamber includes N of the substrate cooling portions corresponding to each of the N film forming chambers on a one-to-one basis. .. The film forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the transport chamber includes 1 to N alignment portions for adjusting the position of the substrate.

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