JP2022118052A - Method for detecting position of movable part, substrate processing method, substrate processing device, and substrate processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for efficiently making a pre-setting for detecting a position of a movable part in each chamber.

SOLUTION: A difference calculation unit 92 calculates a positional difference between a position of each chuck pin 26 in a reference image 80 and a position of each chuck pin 26 in a target image 82. A determination area setting unit 93 sets a determination area DR for detecting a position of a nozzle 30 in the target image 82. At that time, the determination area setting unit 93 sets the determination area DR in the target image 82 by correcting a position of a reference determination area SDR set in the reference image 80 in accordance with the positional difference of each chuck pin 26 which is an index part.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for processing a substrate using a movable part that moves within a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for detecting the position of the movable part. Substrates to be processed include, for example, semiconductor substrates, FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrates such as liquid crystal display devices and organic EL (Electroluminescence) display devices, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, Photomask substrates, ceramic substrates, solar cell substrates, printed circuit boards, etc. are included.

2. Description of the Related Art In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices and the like, substrate processing such as cleaning processing and resist coating processing is performed by supplying various processing liquids such as pure water, photoresist liquid, and etching liquid to substrates. As an apparatus for performing liquid processing using these processing liquids, there is a substrate processing apparatus that ejects processing liquid from nozzles onto the surface of the substrate while rotating the substrate.

2. Description of the Related Art A processing unit that performs processing on a substrate may use a movable part that moves to a predetermined position to perform processing. Such movable parts include nozzles that eject a processing liquid or air toward the substrate at predetermined processing positions, and brushes that contact predetermined positions on the substrate to perform processing such as physical cleaning. . In order to improve and uniform the substrate processing accuracy, it is desirable to increase the accuracy of the position where the movable portion is arranged.

In order to determine whether or not the predetermined position of the movable part is appropriate, the inside of the processing space may be imaged. In this case, it is determined whether or not the position of the movable portion is appropriate by detecting the position of the movable portion through image processing. However, since the installation position of the imaging means itself such as a camera that performs such imaging may be displaced, techniques for coping with such a case have been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

In Patent Literature 1, position information of a plurality of alignment marks (reference parts) and a movable part is obtained by image processing for detecting a plurality of alignment marks (reference parts) and a movable part from an original image obtained by imaging in one chamber. It describes specifying the position of the movable part in the processing space from the position information.

JP 2016-70693 A

A typical substrate processing apparatus may include a plurality of chambers for performing the same processing on substrates. In this case, the installation state of the cameras does not necessarily match between the chambers. For this reason, it is necessary to set in advance for accurately detecting the position of the movable portion for each chamber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for efficiently performing presetting for detecting the position of a movable portion in each chamber.

In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect is a movable part position detection method for detecting the position of a movable part that moves in a processing space in a chamber, comprising: (a) a first movable part arranged in the first chamber; (b) imaging the second movable portion and the second index disposed in the second chamber with a second camera; and (c) calculating a positional difference between the position of the first index portion in the first image and the position of the second index portion in the second image. (d) setting a determination region for detecting the position of the second movable portion in the second image based on the position of the first movable portion in the first image and the positional difference; and the step of

A second aspect is the movable portion position detection method of the first aspect, wherein the first indicator is provided in a plurality of locations in the first chamber.

A third aspect is the movable portion position detection method of the first aspect or the second aspect, wherein the first index portion is a substrate holding portion that holds the substrate in a horizontal posture.

A fourth aspect is the movable portion position detection method according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the step (d) includes (d-1) the first movable portion in the first image. (d-2) setting the determination region by applying the reference determination region and correcting the position according to the positional difference in the second image; including.

A fifth aspect is a substrate processing method for processing a substrate using a movable part that moves in a processing space in a chamber, comprising: (A) a first movable part and a first indicator arranged in a first chamber; (B) obtaining a first image by imaging with a first camera; (C) calculating a positional difference between the position of the first index portion in the first image and the position of the second index portion in the second image; ) setting a determination region for detecting the position of the second movable part in the second image based on the position of the first movable part in the first image and the positional difference; .

A sixth aspect is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate using a movable part that moves in a processing space within a chamber, comprising: a first chamber; a first movable part that moves within the processing space within the first chamber; a first processing unit including a first indicator provided in the first chamber; a second chamber; a second movable portion that moves within a processing space in the second chamber; a second processing unit including a second index portion, a first camera that captures the first movable portion and the first index portion to obtain a first image, the second movable portion and the second index portion and the position of the first index portion in the first image and the position of the second index portion in the second image. Determination for setting a determination region for detecting the position of the second movable part in the second image based on the calculation unit, the position of the first movable part in the first image, and the positional difference. and an area setting unit.

A seventh aspect is a substrate processing system comprising a first substrate processing apparatus, a second substrate processing apparatus, and an information processing section connected to the first and second substrate processing apparatuses so as to be capable of information communication. The first substrate processing apparatus comprises a first processing unit including a first chamber, a first movable portion that moves within a processing space within the first chamber, and a first indicator provided within the first chamber. and a first camera for capturing a first image by photographing the first movable portion and the first index portion, wherein the second substrate processing apparatus comprises: a second chamber; A second image is acquired by photographing a second processing unit including a second movable portion that moves in space and a second index portion provided in the two chambers, and the second movable portion and the second index portion. and a second camera, wherein the information processing section calculates a positional difference between the position of the first index portion in the first image and the position of the second index portion in the second image. Determination for setting a determination region for detecting the position of the second movable part in the second image based on the calculation unit, the position of the first movable part in the first image, and the positional difference. and an area setting unit.

According to the movable portion position detection method of the first aspect, the positional difference between the position of the first index portion in the first image and the position of the second index portion in the second image is used to determine the position of the field of view of the second camera with respect to the first camera. You can find the error. Therefore, the position of the second movable portion in the second image can be appropriately predicted from the positional difference between the position of the first movable portion and the index portion in the first image. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately set the determination region for detecting the position of the second movable portion in the second image. In addition, since determination regions can be set in other chambers using one chamber as a reference, preset settings for detecting the position of the movable portion can be efficiently performed in each chamber.

According to the movable part position detection method of the second aspect, the position information of each of the plurality of dispersed locations is acquired. As a result, it is possible to accurately obtain the error of the visual field position of the second camera with respect to the first camera.

According to the movable portion position detection method of the third aspect, the error in the visual field position can be obtained from the position information of the substrate holding portion.

According to the movable part position detection method of the fourth aspect, by applying the reference determination area set in the first image to the second image, the determination area can be quickly set in the second image. Further, by correcting the position of the reference determination area according to the positional difference of the index portion, the determination area can be set at an appropriate position in the second image.

According to the substrate processing method of the fifth aspect, the error in the visual field position of the second camera with respect to the first camera is calculated from the positional difference between the position of the first indicator in the first image and the position of the second indicator in the second image. can ask. Therefore, the position of the second movable portion in the second image can be appropriately predicted from the positional difference between the position of the first movable portion and the index portion in the first image. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately set the determination region for detecting the position of the second movable portion in the second image. In addition, since determination regions can be set in other chambers using one chamber as a reference, preset settings for detecting the position of the movable portion can be efficiently performed in each chamber.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the sixth aspect, the error in the visual field position of the second camera with respect to the first camera is calculated from the positional difference between the position of the first indicator in the first image and the position of the second indicator in the second image. can ask. Therefore, the position of the second movable portion in the second image can be appropriately predicted from the positional difference between the position of the first movable portion and the index portion in the first image. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately set the determination region for detecting the position of the second movable portion in the second image. In addition, since determination regions can be set in other chambers using one chamber as a reference, preset settings for detecting the position of the movable portion can be efficiently performed in each chamber.

According to the substrate processing system of the seventh aspect, the error in the visual field position of the second camera with respect to the first camera is calculated from the positional difference between the position of the first indicator in the first image and the position of the second indicator in the second image. can ask. Therefore, the position of the second movable portion in the second image can be appropriately predicted from the positional difference between the position of the first movable portion and the index portion in the first image. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately set the determination region for detecting the position of the second movable portion in the second image. In addition, since one chamber 10 in one substrate processing apparatus can be used as a reference to set the determination region in the chambers of other substrate processing apparatuses, preliminary setting for detecting the position of the movable portion can be efficiently performed in each chamber. be able to.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the substrate processing apparatus 100 of 1st Embodiment. 1 is a schematic plan view of a cleaning unit 1 of a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a cleaning unit 1 of a first embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship between the camera 70 and the nozzle 30 which is a movable part. 3 is a block diagram of camera 70 and control unit 9. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a procedure of advance preparation for position detection processing of the nozzle 30. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a reference image 80; FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a target image 82; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually showing a process of calculating a positional difference of index parts; 8 is a diagram showing a determination region DR set in a target image 82; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a procedure of substrate processing; It is a figure which shows the substrate processing system 1000 of 2nd Embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the constituent elements described in this embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them. In the drawings, for ease of understanding, the dimensions and numbers of each part may be exaggerated or simplified as necessary.

Expressions indicating relative or absolute positional relationships (e.g., "in one direction", "along one direction", "parallel", "perpendicular", "center", "concentric", "coaxial", etc.) are used unless otherwise specified. Not only the positional relationship is strictly expressed, but also the relatively displaced state in terms of angle or distance within the range of tolerance or equivalent function. Expressions indicating equality (e.g., "identical", "equal", "homogeneous", etc.), unless otherwise specified, not only express quantitatively strictly equality, but also have tolerances or equivalent functions It shall also represent the state in which there is a difference. Expressions indicating shapes (e.g., "square shape" or "cylindrical shape"), unless otherwise specified, not only represent the shape strictly geometrically, but also to the extent that the same degree of effect can be obtained, such as Shapes having unevenness, chamfering, etc. are also represented. The terms "comprise", "comprise", "comprise", "include" or "have" one element are not exclusive expressions that exclude the presence of other elements. Unless otherwise specified, "on" includes not only the case where two elements are in contact, but also the case where two elements are separated.

<1. First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus 100 is a single wafer processing apparatus that processes substrates W to be processed one by one. The substrate processing apparatus 100 performs a cleaning process using a chemical solution and a rinse liquid such as pure water on a substrate W, which is a circular thin plate-shaped silicon substrate, and then performs a drying process. Examples of the chemical solution include SC1 (ammonia-hydrogen peroxide mixture), SC2 (hydrochloric hydrogen peroxide mixed water solution), DHF solution (dilute hydrofluoric acid), and the like. be done. In the following description, the chemical liquid and the rinsing liquid are collectively referred to as "processing liquid". Note that the substrate processing apparatus 100 supplies a coating liquid such as a photoresist liquid for film formation processing, a chemical liquid for removing unnecessary films, and a chemical liquid for etching, instead of cleaning processing, to wet-process the substrate. may be configured to

A substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of cleaning processing units 1 , an indexer 102 and a main transfer robot 103 .

The indexer 102 transports into the apparatus a substrate W to be processed that has been received from outside the apparatus, and unloads a processed substrate W that has been subjected to the cleaning process to the outside of the apparatus. The indexer 102 has a plurality of carriers (not shown) and a transfer robot (not shown). As the carrier, a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) or a SMIF (Standard Mechanical InterFace) pod that stores the substrate W in a closed space, or an OC (Open Cassette) that exposes the substrate W to the outside air may be employed. The transfer robot transfers substrates W between the carrier and main transfer robot 103 .

The cleaning processing unit 1 performs liquid processing and drying processing on one substrate W. As shown in FIG. Twelve cleaning units 1 are arranged in the substrate processing apparatus 100 . Specifically, four towers each including three vertically stacked cleaning units 1 are arranged to surround the main transfer robot 103 . FIG. 1 schematically shows one of the cleaning units 1 stacked in three stages. The number of cleaning units 1 in the substrate processing apparatus 100 is not limited to twelve, and may be changed as appropriate.

The main transfer robot 103 is installed in the center of four towers in which the cleaning processing units 1 are stacked. The main transfer robot 103 carries the substrate W to be processed received from the indexer 102 into each cleaning processing unit 1 . Further, the main transport robot 103 unloads the processed substrate W from each cleaning unit 1 and passes it to the indexer 102 .

<Washing unit 1>
One of the twelve cleaning units 1 mounted on the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described below. have the same configuration.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the cleaning unit 1 of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the cleaning unit 1 of the first embodiment. 2 shows a state in which the spin chuck 20 does not hold the substrate W, and FIG. 3 shows a state in which the spin chuck 20 holds the substrate W. As shown in FIG.

The cleaning processing unit 1 includes a spin chuck 20 that holds the substrate W in a horizontal posture (a posture in which the normal to the surface of the substrate W is in the vertical direction), and the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . a processing cup 40 surrounding the spin chuck 20; and a camera 70 for imaging the space above the spin chuck 20. A partition plate 15 is provided around the processing cup 40 in the chamber 10 to partition the inner space of the chamber 10 into upper and lower parts.

The chamber 10 includes side walls 11 that extend vertically and surround the four sides, a ceiling wall 12 that closes the upper side of the side walls 11 , and a floor wall 13 that closes the lower side of the side walls 11 . A space surrounded by the side walls 11, the ceiling wall 12, and the floor wall 13 serves as a processing space for the substrates W. As shown in FIG. Further, a part of the side wall 11 of the chamber 10 is provided with a loading/unloading port for loading/unloading the substrate W by the main transfer robot 103 into/from the chamber 10 and a shutter for opening/closing the loading/unloading port (both not shown). ing.

A fan filter unit (FFU) 14 is attached to the ceiling wall 12 of the chamber 10 for further purifying the air in the clean room in which the substrate processing apparatus 100 is installed and supplying it to the processing space in the chamber 10 . . The FFU 14 is equipped with a fan and a filter (eg, HEPA filter) for taking air in the clean room and sending it out into the chamber 10 . FFU 14 creates a downflow of clean air into the processing space within chamber 10 . In order to uniformly disperse the clean air supplied from the FFU 14 , a punching plate with a large number of blowout holes may be provided directly below the ceiling wall 12 .

The spin chuck 20 has a spin base 21 , a spin motor 22 , a cover member 23 and a rotating shaft 24 . The spin base 21 has a disk shape and is fixed in a horizontal posture to the upper end of a rotating shaft 24 extending along the vertical direction. The spin motor 22 is provided below the spin base 21 and rotates the rotating shaft 24 . The spin motor 22 rotates the spin base 21 in the horizontal plane via the rotation shaft 24 . Cover member 23 has a tubular shape surrounding spin motor 22 and rotating shaft 24 .

The outer diameter of the disk-shaped spin base 21 is slightly larger than the diameter of the circular substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . Therefore, the spin base 21 has a holding surface 21a facing the entire lower surface of the substrate W to be held.

A plurality of (four in this embodiment) chuck pins 26 are erected on the periphery of the holding surface 21 a of the spin base 21 . Each chuck pin 26 is arranged at equal intervals along the circumference corresponding to the outer diameter of the outer circumference of the circular substrate W. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, four chuck pins 26 are provided at intervals of 90°. Each chuck pin 26 is driven in conjunction with a link mechanism (not shown) accommodated in the spin base 21 . The spin chuck 20 grips the substrate W with each of the chuck pins 26 in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W, thereby holding the substrate W above the spin base 21 in a horizontal position close to the holding surface 21a. Hold (see FIG. 3). Further, the spin chuck 20 releases the grip of the substrate W by separating each of the chuck pins 26 from the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. Each chuck pin 26 is a substrate holder that holds the substrate W in a horizontal posture.

A cover member 23 covering the spin motor 22 has its lower end fixed to the floor wall 13 of the chamber 10 and its upper end reaching directly below the spin base 21 . At the upper end of the cover member 23, a brim-shaped member 25 is provided that projects substantially horizontally outward from the cover member 23 and further bends and extends downward. In a state where the spin chuck 20 holds the substrate W by gripping it with a plurality of chuck pins 26, the spin motor 22 rotates the rotation shaft 24, thereby rotating the rotation axis CX along the vertical direction passing through the center of the substrate W. The substrate W can be rotated. Note that the drive of the spin motor 22 is controlled by the control section 9 .

The nozzle 30 is configured by attaching an ejection head 31 to the tip of a nozzle arm 32 . The base end side of the nozzle arm 32 is fixedly connected to the nozzle base 33 . A motor 332 (nozzle moving unit) provided on the nozzle base 33 can rotate about an axis extending in the vertical direction.

By rotating the nozzle base 33, the nozzle 30 moves horizontally between a position above the spin chuck 20 and a standby position outside the processing cup 40, as indicated by an arrow AR34 in FIG. move in an arc along the The rotation of the nozzle base 33 swings the nozzle 30 above the holding surface 21 a of the spin base 21 . Specifically, above the spin base 21, it moves to a predetermined processing position TP1 extending in the horizontal direction. Note that moving the nozzle 30 to the processing position TP1 is the same as moving the ejection head 31 at the tip of the nozzle 30 to the processing position TP1.

The nozzles 30 are configured to be supplied with a plurality of types of processing liquids (including at least pure water), and the plurality of types of processing liquids can be discharged from the discharge head 31 . A plurality of ejection heads 31 may be provided at the tip of the nozzle 30, and the same or different treatment liquid may be ejected individually from each of them. The nozzle 30 (more specifically, the ejection head 31) stops at the processing position TP1 and ejects the processing liquid. The processing liquid discharged from the nozzle 30 lands on the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 .

The cleaning unit 1 of the present embodiment is provided with two nozzles 60 and 65 in addition to the nozzle 30 described above. The nozzles 60, 65 of this embodiment have the same or similar configuration as the nozzle 30 described above. That is, the nozzle 60 is configured by attaching a discharge head to the tip of a nozzle arm 62, and a nozzle base 63 connected to the base end side of the nozzle arm 62 moves upward above the spin chuck 20 as indicated by an arrow AR64. It moves in an arc between the processing position and the standby position outside the processing cup 40 . The nozzle 65 is configured by attaching a discharge head to the tip of a nozzle arm 67. A nozzle base 68 connected to the base end of the nozzle arm 67 moves the nozzle 65 to a processing position above the spin chuck 20 as indicated by an arrow AR69. and a standby position outside the processing cup 40 in an arc.

The nozzles 60 and 65 are also configured to supply a plurality of kinds of processing liquids including at least pure water, and discharge the processing liquids onto the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 at the processing position. At least one of the nozzles 60 and 65 is a two-fluid nozzle that mixes a cleaning liquid such as pure water with a pressurized gas to generate droplets, and injects a mixed fluid of the droplets and the gas onto the substrate W. may be Also, the number of nozzles provided in the cleaning unit 1 is not limited to three, and may be one or more.

It is not essential to move each of the nozzles 30, 60, 65 in an arc. For example, the nozzle may be moved linearly by providing a linear drive.

A lower surface treatment liquid nozzle 28 is provided along the vertical direction so as to pass through the inner side of the rotating shaft 24 . An upper end opening of the lower surface processing liquid nozzle 28 is formed at a position facing the center of the lower surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . The lower processing liquid nozzle 28 is also configured to be supplied with a plurality of processing liquids. The processing liquid discharged from the lower surface processing liquid nozzle 28 lands on the lower surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 .

A processing cup 40 surrounding the spin chuck 20 includes an inner cup 41, a middle cup 42 and an outer cup 43 which can be raised and lowered independently of each other. The inner cup 41 surrounds the spin chuck 20 and has a shape substantially rotationally symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis CX passing through the center of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . The inner cup 41 has an annular bottom portion 44 in plan view, a cylindrical inner wall portion 45 rising upward from the inner peripheral edge of the bottom portion 44, a cylindrical outer wall portion 46 rising upward from the outer peripheral edge of the bottom portion 44, and an inner wall. A first guide portion 47 that rises from between the portion 45 and the outer wall portion 46 and extends obliquely upward toward the center (direction approaching the rotation axis CX of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20) while drawing a smooth circular arc at its upper end. and a cylindrical inner wall portion 48 rising upward from between the first guide portion 47 and the outer wall portion 46 .

The inner wall portion 45 is housed with an appropriate gap maintained between the cover member 23 and the brim-shaped member 25 in the state in which the inner cup 41 is raised to the maximum. The intermediate wall portion 48 is housed with an appropriate gap maintained between a second guide portion 52 of the intermediate cup 42 and the processing liquid separation wall 53, which will be described later, in a state in which the inner cup 41 and the intermediate cup 42 are closest to each other. be.

The first guide portion 47 has an upper end portion 47b extending obliquely upward toward the center (in a direction approaching the rotation axis CX of the substrate W) while drawing a smooth arc. A disposal groove 49 is provided between the inner wall portion 45 and the first guide portion 47 for collecting and discarding the used treatment liquid. Between the first guide portion 47 and the inner wall portion 48 is an annular inner recovery groove 50 for collecting and recovering the used processing liquid. Further, between the inner wall portion 48 and the outer wall portion 46 is an annular outer recovery groove 51 for collecting and recovering a processing liquid different in kind from the inner recovery groove 50 .

The disposal groove 49 is connected to an exhaust liquid mechanism (not shown) for discharging the processing liquid collected in the disposal groove 49 and forcibly exhausting the inside of the disposal groove 49 . For example, four exhaust liquid mechanisms are provided at regular intervals along the circumferential direction of the disposal groove 49 . In the inner recovery groove 50 and the outer recovery groove 51, a recovery mechanism for recovering the processing liquid collected in the inner recovery groove 50 and the outer recovery groove 51 respectively to a recovery tank provided outside the substrate processing apparatus 100 is provided. (not shown) are connected. The bottoms of the inner recovery groove 50 and the outer recovery groove 51 are inclined by a slight angle with respect to the horizontal direction, and the recovery mechanism is connected to the lowest position. As a result, the processing liquid that has flowed into the inner recovery groove 50 and the outer recovery groove 51 is smoothly recovered.

The middle cup 42 surrounds the spin chuck 20 and has a shape substantially rotationally symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis CX passing through the center of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . The middle cup 42 has a second guide portion 52 and a cylindrical processing liquid separation wall 53 connected to the second guide portion 52 .

Outside the first guide portion 47 of the inner cup 41, the second guide portion 52 draws a smooth circular arc from the lower end portion 52a coaxial with the lower end portion of the first guide portion 47 and the upper end of the lower end portion 52a. It has an upper end portion 52b extending obliquely upward toward the center side (direction approaching the rotation axis CX of the substrate W), and a folded portion 52c formed by folding the tip portion of the upper end portion 52b downward. The lower end portion 52a is accommodated in the inner recovery groove 50 with an appropriate gap maintained between the first guide portion 47 and the middle wall portion 48 in a state where the inner cup 41 and the middle cup 42 are closest to each other. Further, the upper end portion 52b is provided so as to overlap the upper end portion 47b of the first guide portion 47 of the inner cup 41 in the vertical direction. is close to the upper end portion 47b of the . The folded portion 52c horizontally overlaps the tip of the upper end portion 47b of the first guide portion 47 when the inner cup 41 and the middle cup 42 are closest to each other.

The upper end portion 52b of the second guide portion 52 is formed so as to be thicker toward the bottom. The processing liquid separation wall 53 has a cylindrical shape extending downward from the lower outer peripheral edge of the upper end portion 52b. The processing liquid separation wall 53 is accommodated in the outer recovery groove 51 with an appropriate gap maintained between the inner wall portion 48 and the outer cup 43 in a state in which the inner cup 41 and the inner cup 42 are closest to each other.

The outer cup 43 has a shape substantially rotationally symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis CX passing through the center of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . The outer cup 43 surrounds the spin chuck 20 outside the second guide portion 52 of the inner cup 42 . This outer cup 43 has a function as a third guide portion. The outer cup 43 has a lower end portion 43a forming a cylindrical shape coaxial with the lower end portion 52a of the second guide portion 52, and a center side (direction approaching the rotation axis CX of the substrate W) while drawing a smooth arc from the upper end of the lower end portion 43a. It has an upper end portion 43b extending obliquely upward, and a folded portion 43c formed by folding the tip portion of the upper end portion 43b downward.

When the inner cup 41 and the outer cup 43 are closest to each other, the lower end portion 43a maintains an appropriate gap between the processing liquid separation wall 53 of the inner cup 42 and the outer wall portion 46 of the inner cup 41 to form an outer recovery groove. 51. The upper end portion 43b is provided so as to overlap the second guide portion 52 of the middle cup 42 in the vertical direction. Keep a very small distance and get close to each other. When the inner cup 42 and the outer cup 43 are closest to each other, the folded portion 43c overlaps the folded portion 52c of the second guide portion 52 in the horizontal direction.

The inner cup 41, the middle cup 42 and the outer cup 43 can be raised and lowered independently of each other. That is, each of the inner cup 41, the middle cup 42, and the outer cup 43 is provided with an elevating mechanism (not shown) so that it can be lifted and lowered independently. As such an elevating mechanism, various known mechanisms such as a ball screw mechanism and an air cylinder can be employed.

The partition plate 15 is provided around the processing cup 40 so as to vertically partition the inner space of the chamber 10 . The partition plate 15 may be a single plate-like member surrounding the processing cup 40, or may be a plurality of plate-like members joined together. Further, the partition plate 15 may have a through hole or a notch that penetrates in the thickness direction. A through hole is formed for passing the support shaft of.

The outer peripheral edge of the partition plate 15 is connected to the side wall 11 of the chamber 10 . Further, the edge portion of the partition plate 15 surrounding the processing cup 40 is formed in a circular shape with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the outer cup 43 . Therefore, the partition plate 15 does not hinder the lifting of the outer cup 43 .

Also, an exhaust duct 18 is provided in the vicinity of the floor wall 13 at a portion of the side wall 11 of the chamber 10 . The exhaust duct 18 is communicatively connected to an exhaust mechanism (not shown). Of the clean air supplied from the fan filter unit 14 and flowing down inside the chamber 10 , the air that has passed between the processing cup 40 and the partition plate 15 is discharged from the exhaust duct 18 to the outside of the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the camera 70 and the nozzle 30, which is a movable part. The camera 70 is provided above the substrate W in the vertical direction. The camera 70 includes, for example, a CCD, which is one of solid-state imaging devices, and an optical system such as an electronic shutter and a lens. The imaging direction of the camera 70 (that is, the optical axis direction of the imaging optical system) is set obliquely downward toward the rotation center (or its vicinity) of the upper surface of the substrate W in order to image the upper surface of the substrate W. Camera 70 includes in its field of view the entire top surface of substrate W held by spin chuck 20 . For example, in the horizontal direction, the field of view of the camera 70 includes the range enclosed by the dashed lines in FIG.

The camera 70 is installed at a position that includes at least the tip of the nozzle 30 at the processing position TP1, that is, includes the vicinity of the ejection head 31 in its imaging field of view. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a camera 70 is installed at a position for capturing an image of the nozzle 30 at the processing position TP1 from above and in front. Therefore, the camera 70 can image the imaging area PA including the tip of the nozzle 30 at the processing position TP1. Similarly, the camera 70 images the imaging area PA including each tip when the nozzles 60 and 65 are at the processing positions for processing the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . When the camera 70 is installed at the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the nozzles 30, 60 move laterally within the field of view of the camera 70, so that the tip of each nozzle 30, 60 at each processing position However, since the nozzle 65 moves in the depth direction within the field of view of the camera 70, there is a possibility that the movement in the vicinity of the processing position cannot be properly captured. In this case, a camera for imaging the nozzle 65 may be provided separately from the camera 70 .

By driving the nozzle base 33, the nozzle 30 is moved to the processing position TP1 (the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 4) above the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 and the waiting position (the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. solid line position). The processing position TP1 is a position where a processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle 30 onto the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 to perform cleaning processing. The processing position TP1 is a position closer to the edge than the center of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . The standby position is a position where the nozzles 30 stop discharging the treatment liquid and wait when the cleaning process is not performed. The standby position is a position away from above the spin base 21 and outside the processing cup 40 in the horizontal plane. A standby pod that accommodates the ejection head 31 of the nozzle 30 may be provided at the standby position.

Note that the processing position TP1 may be an arbitrary position such as the center of the substrate W, and furthermore, the processing position TP1 may be a position away from the substrate W above. In the latter case, the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle 30 is preferably scattered on the upper surface of the substrate W from the outside of the substrate W. FIG. Further, it is not essential to eject the processing liquid from the nozzles 30 while the nozzles 30 are stopped at the processing position TP1. For example, the nozzle 30 may be moved within a predetermined processing section extending horizontally above the substrate W with the processing position TP1 as one end while ejecting the processing liquid from the nozzle 30 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , an illumination unit 71 is provided inside the chamber 10 at a position above the partition plate 15 . The lighting unit 71 includes, for example, an LED lamp as a light source. The illumination unit 71 supplies illumination light required for the camera 70 to image the inside of the chamber 10 to the processing space. If the chamber 10 is a dark room, the control unit 9 may control the illumination unit 71 so that the illumination unit 71 irradiates the nozzles 30, 60, and 65 with light when the camera 70 takes an image.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of camera 70 and controller 9. As shown in FIG. The hardware configuration of the controller 9 provided in the substrate processing apparatus 100 is the same as that of a general computer. That is, the control unit 9 includes a CPU that performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM that is a read-only memory that stores basic programs, a RAM that is a readable and writable memory that stores various information, and control software (programs) and data. Equipped with a magnetic disk for storing data. When the CPU of the control unit 9 executes a predetermined processing program, the operation of each element of the substrate processing apparatus 100 is controlled by the control unit 9, and the processing in the substrate processing apparatus 100 proceeds.

An image processing unit 91, a difference calculation unit 92, and a position detection unit 93 shown in FIG. 5 are functional processing units realized in the control unit 9 by the CPU of the control unit 9 executing a predetermined processing program.

The image processing unit 91 performs image processing such as correction processing and pattern matching processing on the captured image acquired by the camera 70 . The image processing unit 91 detects the nozzles 30 , 60 , 65 in the image captured by the camera 70 . Also, the image processing unit 91 identifies the position of the index portion in the captured image acquired by the camera 70 .

The index part is an element arranged in the chamber 10 and serves as an index for determining the position in the processing space of the imaging area PA, which is a photographed image. The index part is an element whose position in the processing space is known in advance. The indicator portion is, for example, a plurality of (specifically, three) chuck pins 26 . Each chuck pin 26 is arranged at a predetermined position when the spin base 21 stops rotating. The position of the imaging area PA in the processing space is specified by detecting each chuck pin 26 in the captured image.

The index portion is preferably a member that can be easily detected by image processing. For example, it is preferable that the ratio of brightness to the background in the photographed image is high. Since the chuck pin 26 has a high contrast ratio with respect to the spin base 21, it is easy to specify the position of the chuck pin 26 by image processing. The position of each chuck pin 26 in the captured image may be the position of a representative point such as the detected center of gravity of each chuck pin. Elements other than the chuck pin 26 (for example, the spin base 21, the nozzle base 33, etc.) may be employed as the index portion. Also, a plurality of marks having patterns of predetermined shapes may be provided in the chamber 10 . For example, when a mark (such as a cross) including an intersection where a plurality of straight lines intersect is adopted as the index portion, the intersection relatively easily detected in the captured image should be the position of the mark.

The difference calculation unit 92 calculates the position of the index part (chuck pin 26) in the captured image (reference image 80) acquired in the reference chamber 10 and the captured image (target image 82) acquired in the chamber 10 to be set. A positional difference, which is a difference from the position of the index portion (chuck pin 26), is calculated (see FIGS. 7 and 8). The positional difference of the index portion corresponds to the error in the field of view position of the camera 70 imaging the chamber 10 to be set with respect to the camera 70 imaging the reference chamber 10 . The field-of-view position of the camera 70 is the position of the imaging area PA of the camera 70 in each processing space.

The position detector 93 detects the positions of the nozzles 30, 60, 65 on the captured image. The position detection unit 93 includes a determination region setting unit 932 that sets a reference determination region SDR (see FIG. 7) and a determination region DR (see FIG. 10) for detecting the positions of the nozzles 30, 60, 65. FIG. The determination region setting unit 932 sets the reference determination region SDR based on the positions of the nozzles 30, 60, and 65 in the photographed image (reference image 80) acquired in the reference chamber-10. Further, the determination region setting unit 932 sets the determination region DR in the captured image (target image 82) acquired in the other chamber 10 to be set.

The mounting position of each camera 70 with respect to each chamber 10 may deviate from the proper position. That is, the field of view position of the camera 70 (the position of the imaging area PA of the camera 70 in the processing space) may differ for each cleaning processing unit 1 . Therefore, the determination region setting unit 932 sets the determination region DR by correcting the position of the reference determination region SDR according to the positional difference of the index portion corresponding to the error in the field of view position of the camera 70 to be set. As a result, even if there is an error in the position of the field of view of each camera 70, it can be dealt with appropriately.

The position detection unit 93 detects an image within the determination region DR including the nozzles 30, 60, and 65 to be detected, and an image within the reference determination region SDR of the nozzles 30, 60, and 65 obtained in the reference cleaning unit 1. Known pattern matching is performed with the image (reference determination area image), and a matching score indicating the degree of matching is calculated. The matching score increases when the nozzle 30 to be detected is located at the proper processing position TP1, and decreases when the nozzle 30 is displaced from the processing position TP1. An appropriate threshold value for the matching score may be set in advance by the operator, and the determination result obtained by comparison with the threshold value may be output to the output unit. The output unit is, for example, the display unit 97, a printer, an alarm lamp, a speaker, or the like.

The control unit 9 includes a storage unit 96 including the above RAM or magnetic disk. The storage unit 96 stores data of images captured by the camera 70, operator's input values, and the like. The storage unit 96 stores, for each chamber 10 of each cleaning processing unit 1, data indicating the positional difference of the indicator calculated by the difference calculation unit 92, and data of the determination region DR set by the determination region setting unit 932 on the photographed image. store data indicating the position of the

A display unit 97 and an input unit 98 are connected to the control unit 9 . The display section 97 displays various information according to the image signal from the control section 9 . The input unit 98 is composed of input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse connected to the control unit 9, and receives input operations performed on the control unit 9 by the operator.

<Description of operation>
The normal processing of the substrate W in the substrate processing apparatus 100 includes the step of loading the substrate W to be processed received from the indexer 102 by the main transfer robot 103 into each cleaning processing unit 1, and the cleaning processing unit 1 transferring the substrate W to the substrate W. It includes a step of performing cleaning processing and a step of carrying out the processed substrate W from the cleaning processing unit 1 by the main transfer robot 103 and returning it to the indexer 102 . A typical cleaning process procedure for the substrate W in each cleaning unit 1 is as follows: chemical solution is supplied to the surface of the substrate W to perform a predetermined chemical solution treatment; Then, the substrate W is rotated at a high speed to shake off the pure water, thereby drying the substrate W. As shown in FIG.

When the cleaning unit 1 processes the substrate W, the spin chuck 20 holds the substrate W and the processing cup 40 moves up and down. When the cleaning processing unit 1 performs chemical processing, for example, only the outer cup 43 is raised, and the spin chuck 20 is positioned between the upper end 43 b of the outer cup 43 and the upper end 52 b of the second guide portion 52 of the inner cup 42 . An opening is formed surrounding the periphery of the held substrate W. As shown in FIG. In this state, the substrate W is rotated together with the spin chuck 20 , and the chemical liquid is supplied to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W from the nozzle 30 and the lower surface processing liquid nozzle 28 . The supplied chemical liquid flows along the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W due to the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the substrate W, and eventually scatters sideways from the edge portion of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. As a result, the substrate W is processed with the chemical solution. The chemical liquid scattered from the edge of the rotating substrate W is received by the upper end 43 b of the outer cup 43 , flows down along the inner surface of the outer cup 43 , and is recovered in the outer recovery groove 51 .

When the cleaning processing unit 1 performs the pure water rinsing process, for example, the inner cup 41 , the middle cup 42 and the outer cup 43 are all raised, and the periphery of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 is the first cup of the inner cup 41 . It is surrounded by the guide part 47 . In this state, the substrate W is rotated together with the spin chuck 20 , and pure water is supplied to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W from the nozzle 30 and the lower surface processing liquid nozzle 28 . The supplied pure water flows along the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W due to the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the substrate W, and eventually scatters sideways from the edges of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. Thus, the pure water rinsing process of the substrate W proceeds. The pure water scattered from the edge of the rotating substrate W flows down along the inner wall of the first guide portion 47 and is discharged from the disposal groove 49 . When the pure water is recovered through a path different from that of the chemical liquid, the middle cup 42 and the outer cup 43 are raised, and the upper end portion 52b of the second guide portion 52 of the middle cup 42 and the first guide portion of the inner cup 41 are moved. An opening surrounding the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 may be formed between the upper end portion 47b of the portion 47 and the upper end portion 47b.

When the washing processing unit 1 performs the shake-off drying process, the inner cup 41, the middle cup 42, and the outer cup 43 all descend, and the upper end portion 47b of the first guide portion 47 of the inner cup 41 and the second guide portion of the middle cup 42 move downward. Both the upper end portion 52 b of the portion 52 and the upper end portion 43 b of the outer cup 43 are positioned below the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . In this state, the substrate W is rotated at high speed together with the spin chuck 20, water droplets attached to the substrate W are shaken off by centrifugal force, and a drying process is performed.

In this embodiment, when the processing liquid is discharged from the nozzles 30 onto the upper surface of the substrate W, the camera 70 images the nozzles 30 stopped at the processing position TP1. Then, the position detection unit 93 detects an image within the determination region DR of the captured image (target image 82) obtained by imaging and an image within the reference determination region SDR of the reference captured image (reference image 80) acquired in advance. (Reference determination area image 960) to detect the positional abnormality of the nozzle 30. FIG. The technique will be described in detail below. Although the technique for detecting the position of the nozzle 30 will be described below, it can also be applied to the other nozzles 60 and 65 .

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a procedure of preliminary preparation for position detection processing of the nozzle 30 . The preparation shown in FIG. 6 is performed prior to the actual processing of the substrate W to be processed, and may be performed, for example, when starting up the substrate processing apparatus 100 or during maintenance work. . Each step shown in FIG. 6 is performed under the control of the control unit 9 unless otherwise specified.

In preparation, the control section 9 sets the determination region DR for each cleaning unit 1 . First, the controller 9 uses one of the cleaning units 1 as a reference cleaning unit 1, and uses the camera 70 (first camera) of the cleaning unit 1 to scan the inside of the chamber 10 (first chamber). An image is taken ( FIG. 6 : step S11). Through this step S11, a reference image 80 (first image), which is a reference captured image, is obtained.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the reference image 80. As shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the reference image 80 includes the four chuck pins 26 and the nozzle 30 (first movable part) that is correctly arranged at the processing position TP1. It is desirable that the reference cleaning processing unit 1 is, for example, one for which it has been confirmed that the mounting position and imaging direction of the camera 70 are appropriate. In this case, the photographed image of the inside of the chamber 10 taken by the camera 70 at the appropriate visual field position is acquired as the reference image 80 . Moreover, it is desirable that the reference cleaning unit 1 is one in which it has been confirmed that the processing position TP1 of the nozzle 30 is appropriate. In this case, the photographed image of the nozzles 30 correctly arranged at the processing position TP1 is obtained as the reference image 80. FIG.

When the reference image 80 is acquired, the control unit 9 specifies the position of each chuck pin 26, which is the index portion (first index portion), in the reference image 80 obtained in step S11 (FIG. 6: step S12). Specifically, the image processing unit 91 detects each chuck pin 26 in the reference image 80 by pattern matching processing. That is, the image processing unit 91 searches the reference image 80 for a portion that matches a prepared pattern corresponding to each chuck pin 26 . Then, the image processing unit 91 specifies representative points such as the detected centers of gravity of the respective chuck pins 26 as the positions of the respective index portions. In step S12, the positions ((a ₁ x, a ₁ y), (a ₂ x, a ₂ y), (a ₃ x,a ₃ y)) are identified.

Each chuck pin 26 is provided dispersedly at a plurality of locations in the chamber 10 . Therefore, the field of view position of the camera 70 can be specified by obtaining the position of each chuck pin 26 . Moreover, each chuck pin 26 has a left-right asymmetrical shape. Therefore, each chuck pin 26 has a different shape when viewed from the camera 70 . Therefore, each chuck pin 26 can be easily identified by pattern matching. In addition, it is preferable that the chuck pin 26, which is the index portion, does not overlap the nozzle 30, which is the movable portion, moved to the processing position TP1, which is the position to be detected, on the captured image.

Subsequently, the control unit 9 sets a reference determination region SDR for detecting the positions of the nozzles 30 in the reference image 80 (step S13). The reference determination region SDR in the reference image 80 may be set based on the operator's designation, for example. In this case, a reference image 80 is displayed on the display unit 97 , and the operator uses the input unit 98 to perform an operation to surround a part (for example, the tip) of the nozzle 30 (first movable part) on the reference image 80 . It is better to do it against Then, the determination region setting section 932 may set the enclosed range as the reference determination region SDR. Note that the setting of the reference determination region SDR in the reference image 80 may be performed automatically. For example, the image processing unit 91 detects a part (for example, the tip) of the nozzle 30 by pattern matching processing. Then, the determination region setting unit 932 preferably sets a region having a size including a portion of the detected nozzles 30 as the reference determination region SDR.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, in step S13, the reference determination region SDR is set at the tip of the nozzle 30 at the processing position TP1. The reference determination region SDR is smaller than the photographed image, and preferably has a width larger in the horizontal direction than the tips of the nozzles 30, 60, and 65 to be detected on the photographed image. As shown in FIG. 7, the reference determination region SDR is preferably set such that the center of the tip of the nozzle 30 in the horizontal direction coincides with the center of the reference determination region SDR.

An image obtained by cutting out the reference determination region SDR from the reference image 80 is stored in the storage unit 96 as a reference determination region image 960 . This reference determination region image 960 is used as a comparison target when detecting the positions of the nozzles 30 in step S24 shown in FIG.

Information indicating the position and size of the reference determination region SDR set in the reference image 80 is stored in the storage unit 96 as reference determination region information 962 . The reference determination region information 962 is appropriately read when the determination region setting unit 932 sets the determination region DR in the captured image (target image 82) of the chamber 10 to be set.

Subsequently, the controller 9 captures an image of the inside of the chamber 10 (second chamber) of the cleaning unit 1 to be set with the camera 70 (second camera) ( FIG. 6 : step S14). Through this step S13, the target image, which is the captured image to be set, is acquired. The target image is an example of a "second image".

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the target image 82. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the target image 82 includes four chuck pins 26 and the nozzles 30 arranged at positions corresponding to the processing positions TP1, similarly to the reference image 80 shown in FIG. In step S14, when the target image 82 is acquired, it is not essential that the nozzle 30 is moved to the detection target processing position TP1. For example, nozzle 30 may be in other positions, such as a standby position. However, on the captured image, it is preferable that the nozzle 30 is positioned so as not to overlap each chuck pin 26, which is the index portion (that is, the nozzle 30 and the chuck pin 26 do not overlap in the imaging direction of the camera 70). .

The cleaning processing unit 1 to be set has the same positional relationship as that of the reference cleaning processing unit 1 between the nozzle 30 that is the movable portion and each chuck pin 26 that is the index portion. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, of the four towers shown in FIG. 1, the nozzles 30 and chuck pins 26 have the same positional relationship in each of the cleaning units 1 belonging to two towers facing each other in the diagonal direction of the paper surface. be. Therefore, one of the cleaning units 1 belonging to the two opposing towers is set as a candidate for the reference cleaning unit 1, and one of the remaining units is set as the cleaning unit 1 to be set.

Note that the cleaning processing unit 1 to be set and the reference cleaning processing unit 1 have the same or bilaterally symmetrical relationship in the positions of the nozzle 30 as the movable portion and the chuck pins 26 as the index portion. For example, among the four towers shown in FIG. 1, the positions of the nozzles 30 and the chuck pins 26 are the same between the cleaning units 1 belonging to two towers facing each other in the diagonal direction of the paper surface. Therefore, one of the cleaning units 1 belonging to the two opposing towers is set as a candidate for the reference cleaning unit 1, and one of the remaining units is set as the cleaning unit 1 to be set. Further, among the four towers shown in FIG. 1, the positions of the nozzles 30 and the respective chuck pins 26 are symmetrical between two towers that are adjacent to each other in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction of the paper surface. Of the two adjacent towers, the cleaning unit 1 belonging to one tower may be used as a reference, and the cleaning unit 1 belonging to the other tower may be set. In this case, the position of the nozzle 30 and the chuck pin 26 in each photographed image can be apparently matched by horizontally reversing the reference photographed image (reference image) or the photographed image to be set (target image). . Of course, it is not essential to horizontally invert one of the photographed images, and the position information of each chuck pin 26 in the case of horizontally inverting. Also, the position information of the determination region DR may be obtained by computation.

Returning to FIG. 6, the control unit 9 specifies the position of each chuck pin 26, which is the index portion (second index portion), in the target image obtained in step S13 (FIG. 6: step S15). Specifically, the image processing unit 91 detects each chuck pin 26 in the target image by pattern matching processing. Then, the image processing section 91 specifies the detected center of gravity of each chuck pin 26 as the position of each index section.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 8, in step S15, the positions ((b ₁ x, b ₁ y), (b ₂ x, b ₂ y) in the target image 82 of the three chuck pins 26 serving as index portions are determined. , (b ₃ x, b ₃ y)) are identified. The positions of the three chuck pins 26 in the target image 82 are shifted from the positions of the three chuck pins 26 in the reference image 80 . This is mainly because the field-of-view position of the camera 70 to be set is deviated from the reference field-of-view position.

Returning to FIG. 6, the control section 9 calculates the positional difference of the index section (each chuck pin 26) (FIG. 6: step S16). Specifically, the difference calculation unit 92 calculates the position of each index portion (three chuck pins 26) in the reference image specified in step S12 and each index portion (three chuck pins 26) in the setting image specified in step S15. The positional difference of each chuck pin 26 is calculated from the position of the pin 26).

FIG. 9 is a diagram conceptually showing the process of calculating the positional difference of the indicator. The difference calculation unit 92 calculates the average value of the difference (difference amount) between the coordinates of each index portion in the target image 82 and the coordinates of each index portion in the reference image 80 as the positional difference of the index portions. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9, the horizontal positional difference Cx is obtained by Equation (1), and the vertical positional difference Cy is obtained by Equation (2). These positional differences indicate errors in the field of view position of camera 70, as described above.

Cx = {(a1x _{- b1x} )+(a2x _- b2x)+(a3x _{- b3x} )}/ ₃ ...equation (1)
Cy={(a1y _- b1y)+(a2y _- b2y)+(a3y _{- b3y} )}/ ₃ ...equation ( ₂ )

Returning to FIG. 6, after calculating the positional difference between the index portions, the control unit 9 sets the determination region DR in the target image 82 (step S17). Specifically, the determination region setting unit 932 applies the parameters (reference determination region information 962) indicating the position and size of the reference determination region SDR set in the reference image 80 in step S13 to the target image 82, and , corrects the position according to the positional difference of the index portion, and sets the determination region DR.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the determination region DR set in the target image 82. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10 , the determination region setting unit 932 first applies a determination region DR having the same parameters as the reference determination region SDR set in the reference image 80 . As a result, a temporary determination region DR is prepared at the position indicated by the dashed line (the same position as the reference determination region SDR). Subsequently, the determination region setting unit 932 sets the determination region DR in the target image 82 as indicated by the solid line by correcting the position of the provisional determination region DR by the positional difference (Cx, Cy). do. In the determination region DR set in the target image 82 in this manner, the tip of the nozzle 30 arranged at the processing position TP1 is arranged substantially in the center of the determination region DR. That is, the position and shape of nozzles 30 in determination region DR of target image 82 are brought closer to the positions and shapes of nozzles 30 in reference determination region SDR of reference image 80 .

Returning to FIG. 6, the control unit 9 appropriately refers to the management data for managing the cleaning processing units 1 to be set, thereby completing the setting of the determination regions DR for all the cleaning processing units 1 to be set. (FIG. 6: step S18). When setting has been completed for all the cleaning processing units 1 to be set (Yes in step S18), the control section 9 ends the setting process of the determination region DR, which is a preliminary preparation. If there is an unset cleaning unit 1 (No in step S18), the control unit 9 returns to step S14 and performs determination region DR setting processing for the unset cleaning unit 1. FIG.

Next, a procedure for processing the substrate W to be processed after the advance preparation shown in FIG. 6 is performed will be described. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the procedure of substrate processing. Each operation shown in FIG. 11 is assumed to be performed under the control of the control unit 9 unless otherwise specified.

The main transport robot 103 carries the substrate W to be processed into the specific cleaning unit 1 (step S21). The loaded substrate W is held in a horizontal posture by the spin chuck 20 . Also, the processing cup 40 moves up and down so as to reach a predetermined height position.

After the spin chuck 20 holds the substrate W, the nozzle 30 moves from the standby position to the processing position TP1 (step S22). The movement of the nozzle 30 is performed by the control unit 9 controlling the nozzle base 33 according to a preset recipe (which describes the processing procedure and conditions of the substrate W).

When the nozzle 30 moves to the processing position TP1, the camera 70 photographs the inside of the chamber 10 (step S23). As a result, a photographed image of the nozzle 30 moved to the processing position TP1 is acquired. Note that the camera 70 may continuously capture images of the image capturing area PA all the time. Continuous imaging refers to continuously imaging the imaging area PA at regular intervals, and for example, continuous imaging may be performed at intervals of 33 milliseconds. Alternatively, imaging may be started at an appropriate timing such as when the nozzle 30 starts moving from the standby position toward the processing position TP1.

Subsequently, the controller 9 detects the position of the nozzle 30 (step S24). Specifically, the position detection unit 93 detects the position of the nozzle 30 within the determination region DR set by the advance preparation shown in FIG. 6 in the photographed image obtained in step S23. Here, "detecting the position of the nozzle 30" means calculating the position of the nozzle 30 in the processing space, calculating the amount of deviation from the reference position, or calculating the amount of deviation from the reference position. including determining that based on a threshold.

Here, in step S24, the position detection unit 93 detects the reference determination region image 960 (the image within the reference determination region SDR in the reference image 80) and the determination region set in advance in the photographed image obtained in step S23. A matching score (matching degree) with the image in the DR is calculated. Then, the position detection unit 93 compares the matching coordinates of the image within the determination region DR with those of the reference image, and determines that the nozzle 30 has an abnormal position if there is a difference equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. . A determination result is output from a predetermined output unit. When it is determined that the nozzle 30 has a positional abnormality, the control section 9 may stop the substrate processing in the cleaning unit 1 in which the abnormality has occurred.

Subsequently, the nozzle 30 discharges the processing liquid toward the substrate W, thereby cleaning the substrate W (step S25). Although description is omitted, after this liquid processing, the control unit 9 may perform other processing (for example, processing for ejecting the processing liquid from the nozzles 60 and 65, spin dry processing, etc.) according to the recipe.

The spin chuck 20 releases the substrate W after the cleaning process of step S25. Also, the processing cup 40 descends to a predetermined height position so that the substrate W can be unloaded from the spin base 21 . Then, the main transport robot 103 unloads the processed substrate W from the cleaning unit 1 (step S26).

<effect>
In the substrate processing apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, the determination region DR is set in the target image 82 based on the positions of the nozzles 30 in the reference image 80 . Therefore, the determination region DR in the reference image 82 can be quickly set. In this case, even if the number of processing units 1 to be set increases, it can be easily dealt with.

Further, the position of the nozzle 30 in the target image 82 can be predicted from the position of the nozzle 30 in the reference image 80 and the positional difference of the index portion between the reference chamber 10 and the chamber 10 to be set. Therefore, the determination region DR for detecting the position of the nozzle 30 can be set at an appropriate position.

When the determination region DR is set in the target image 82, the reference determination region SDR set according to the position of the nozzle 30 in the reference image 80 is applied, and the position is corrected according to the positional difference of the index portion. be. As a result, it is possible to quickly set the determination area at an appropriate position in the second image.

Note that, in the present embodiment, the difference calculator 92 calculates the average value of the amount of parallel movement of each chuck pin 26 as the positional difference of the index portion between the images 80 and 82 . However, the difference calculation unit 92 may obtain an enlargement ratio or an amount of rotation as the positional difference of the index portion. That is, the difference calculation section 92 may calculate the magnification ratio and rotation amount between the images 80 and 82 from the positions of the chuck pins 26 in the images 80 and 82 . In this case, the determination region setting unit 932 may set the determination region DR in the target image 82 by correcting the reference determination region information 962 according to the magnification and rotation amount calculated by the difference calculation unit 92 .

In this embodiment, the nozzle 30 that supplies the treatment liquid is mainly described as the movable part, but the present invention is also effective when the movable part to be detected is a brush or the like.

<2. Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the following description, elements having functions similar to those already described may be assigned the same reference numerals or reference numerals with additional alphabetic characters, and detailed description thereof may be omitted.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a substrate processing system 1000 of the second embodiment. A substrate processing system 1000 includes a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 100A and 100B and an information processing section 104 . Each of the substrate processing apparatuses 100A and 100B includes an indexer 102, a main transfer robot 103, and a plurality of cleaning units 1, like the substrate processing apparatus 100. FIG. The information processing unit 104 is connected to control units (not shown) of the plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 100A and 100B via communication lines or the like so as to be capable of data communication.

In detecting the position of the nozzle 30 in each cleaning processing unit 1 of the substrate processing apparatuses 100A and 100B, the information processing section 104 sets the determination region DR for each cleaning processing unit 1 . Therefore, the information processing section 104 includes an image processing section 91, a difference calculation section 92, and a position detection section 93 as a configuration for setting the determination region DR.

In the second embodiment, one of the plurality of cleaning units 1 included in the substrate processing apparatus 100A is used as the reference cleaning unit 1, and the reference image 80 (see FIG. 7) is acquired in the cleaning unit 1. be. The remaining cleaning units 1 of the substrate processing apparatus 100A and the plurality of cleaning units 1 included in the substrate processing apparatus 100B are set as target cleaning units 1. In each of these cleaning units 1, the target image 82 (see FIG. 8) is obtained. The procedure for setting the determination region DR for each cleaning unit 1 is the same as the procedure described in the first embodiment, except that the information processing section 104 performs the setting instead of the control section 9 .

According to the substrate processing system 1000 of the second embodiment, the cleaning processing unit 1 of one substrate processing apparatus 100A among the plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 100A and 100B is used as a reference, and the cleaning processing unit 1 of the other substrate processing apparatus 100B is The determination region DR can be appropriately set. Also in this aspect, the determination region DR is set by correcting the position according to the positional difference of the index portion. Therefore, in each cleaning unit 1, the position of the nozzle 30, which is a movable part, can be detected with high accuracy.

In the substrate processing system 1000 of the second embodiment, the information processing section 104 is connected to two substrate processing apparatuses 100A and 100B, but may be connected to three or more substrate processing apparatuses. Using one cleaning unit 1 in a specific substrate processing apparatus as a reference, the determination region DR may be set for each cleaning unit 1 included in each other substrate processing apparatus.

Although the present invention has been described in detail, the above description is, in all aspects, illustrative and the present invention is not limited thereto. It is understood that numerous variations not illustrated can be envisioned without departing from the scope of the invention. Each configuration described in each of the above embodiments and modifications may be appropriately combined or omitted as long as they do not contradict each other.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1000 substrate processing system 100, 100A, 100B substrate processing apparatus 1 cleaning processing unit 9 control unit 10 chamber 20 spin chuck 21 spin base 22 spin motor 24 rotating shaft 26 chuck pin (indicator)
30, 60, 65 Nozzle 31 Ejection Head 32 Nozzle Arm 33 Nozzle Base 70 Camera 71 Illumination Section 80 Reference Image 82 Target Image 91 Image Processing Section 92 Difference Calculation Section 93 Position Detection Section 932 Determination Area Setting Section 96 Storage Section 960 Reference Determination Area image 962 Reference judgment area information 97 Display section 98 Input section 104 Information processing section DR Judgment area SDR Reference judgment area PA Imaging area TP1 Processing position W Substrate

Claims (7)

A movable part position detection method for detecting the position of a movable part moving in a processing space in a chamber, comprising:
(a) obtaining a first image by imaging the first movable portion and the first index portion arranged in the first chamber with a first camera;
(b) acquiring a second image by imaging the second movable portion and the second index portion arranged in the second chamber with a second camera;
(c) calculating a positional difference between the position of the first index portion in the first image and the position of the second index portion in the second image;
(d) setting a determination region for detecting the position of the second movable portion in the second image based on the position of the first movable portion in the first image and the positional difference; ,
A moving part position detection method, comprising: The movable part position detection method according to claim 1,
A method for detecting the position of a movable part, wherein the first indicator part is provided in a plurality of places in the first chamber. The movable part position detection method according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The movable part position detection method, wherein the first index part is a substrate holding part that holds the substrate in a horizontal posture. The movable part position detection method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The step (d) is
(d-1) setting a reference determination region including the first movable portion in the first image;
(d-2) setting the determination region in the second image by applying the reference determination region and correcting the position according to the positional difference;
A moving part position detection method, comprising: A substrate processing method for processing a substrate using a movable part that moves in a processing space within a chamber,
(A) obtaining a first image by capturing an image of the first movable portion and the first index portion arranged in the first chamber with a first camera;
(B) acquiring a second image by capturing an image of the second movable portion and the second index portion arranged in the second chamber with a second camera;
(C) calculating a positional difference between the position of the first index portion in the first image and the position of the second index portion in the second image;
(D) setting a determination region for detecting the position of the second movable portion in the second image based on the position of the first movable portion in the first image and the positional difference; ,
A method of processing a substrate, comprising: A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate using a movable part that moves in a processing space within a chamber,
a first processing unit including a first chamber, a first movable portion that moves within a processing space within the first chamber, and a first indicator provided within the first chamber;
a second processing unit including a second chamber, a second movable portion that moves within a processing space within the second chamber, and a second indicator provided within the second chamber;
a first camera that captures the first movable portion and the first index portion to obtain a first image;
a second camera that captures the second movable portion and the second index portion to obtain a second image;
a difference calculation unit that calculates a positional difference between the position of the first index portion in the first image and the position of the second index portion in the second image;
a determination region setting unit that sets a determination region for detecting the position of the second movable portion in the second image based on the position of the first movable portion in the first image and the positional difference; ,
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: A substrate processing system,
a first substrate processing apparatus;
a second substrate processing apparatus;
an information processing unit communicatively connected to the first and second substrate processing apparatuses;
with
The first substrate processing apparatus includes
a first processing unit including a first chamber, a first movable portion that moves within a processing space within the first chamber, and a first indicator provided within the first chamber;
a first camera that captures the first movable portion and the first index portion to obtain a first image;
with
The second substrate processing apparatus is
a second processing unit including a second chamber, a second movable portion that moves within a processing space within the second chamber, and a second indicator provided within the second chamber;
a second camera that captures the second movable portion and the second index portion to obtain a second image;
with
The information processing unit
a difference calculation unit that calculates a positional difference between the position of the first index portion in the first image and the position of the second index portion in the second image;
a determination region setting unit that sets a determination region for detecting the position of the second movable portion in the second image based on the position of the first movable portion in the first image and the positional difference; ,
A substrate processing system comprising:

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