JP2868721B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention supplies various substrates such as semiconductor wafers and glass plates for liquid crystal panels with required processing liquids, and carries out processes such as substrate cleaning, thin film formation such as a photoresist film and development. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A substrate processing apparatus of this type discharges various processing liquids such as a photoresist, a developing solution or ultrapure water onto a substrate while the substrate is rotatably supported, and processes the substrate. And a processing liquid supply system including a processing liquid discharge nozzle for discharging a processing liquid to the processing equipment on which the substrate is set or the substrate. In addition to such a processing liquid supply system, a storage device or the like for storing a substrate processing procedure including processing condition data such as a type of processing liquid to be used and a discharge amount is provided.

Since a plurality of types of processing liquids are generally used for substrate processing, a plurality of processing liquid supply systems are provided in accordance with the processing liquids. That is, a plurality of processing liquid discharge nozzles corresponding to the number of types of processing liquid are provided, and each storage container for individually storing each processing liquid is connected to each processing liquid discharge nozzle.

When a substrate processing procedure stored in a storage device is specified when starting processing of a substrate, a processing liquid of the type specified in the substrate processing procedure is discharged by a processing liquid discharge nozzle by the specified discharge amount. Will be ejected.
In discharging the processing liquid, a control signal is output to a discharge pump, an opening / closing valve, and the like in a pipe connecting each processing liquid discharge nozzle and each storage container to drive and control each of these devices.

Incidentally, in the substrate processing apparatus having such a configuration, each storage container is provided with a processing liquid remaining amount sensor as a means for detecting the remaining amount of the processing liquid. In this substrate processing apparatus, when the remaining amount of the processing liquid in each storage container detected by the processing liquid remaining amount sensor becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount, an alarm is issued to the outside that the processing liquid is insufficient, and sometimes the alarm is issued. The equipment was forcibly shut down with the announcement.

Incidentally, in such a substrate processing apparatus, in order to avoid a stoppage of the apparatus due to a shortage of processing liquid which is not originally intended to be used, an alarm interrupt switch for cutting off a signal from each processing liquid remaining amount sensor is provided. Had been proposed.
That is, in such a substrate processing apparatus, a plurality of alarm interrupt switches corresponding to the respective processing liquid remaining amount sensors are provided, and when an arbitrary alarm interrupt switch is pressed, the processing liquid corresponding to the alarm interrupt switch is pressed. Even when the remaining amount of the processing liquid is detected by the remaining amount sensor, an alarm is not issued or the apparatus is not forcibly stopped.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional substrate processing apparatus, since the operation of the alarm suspending switch is manually performed by an operator or the like, the alarm suspending switch different from the desired one is erroneously operated. There were times when they were pressed. As a result, the detection signal from the processing solution remaining amount sensor may be cut off with respect to the processing solution used for the substrate processing, and when the remaining amount of the processing solution becomes insufficient, a lot of lot defects occur. did.

The substrate processing apparatus of the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and when detecting the shortage of the remaining amount of the processing liquid, the processing liquid which is not originally intended to be used is specified with high accuracy. And to prevent the occurrence of defective lots.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems and Their Functions and Effects In order to achieve such an object, the following structure is adopted as means for solving the problems.

That is, a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a substrate processing section for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate, and a plurality of processing liquid storage sections for individually storing a plurality of processing liquids to be supplied to the substrate processing section. A plurality of processing liquid supply means for supplying the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage section from each processing liquid storage section to the substrate processing section, and the type and supply amount of the processing liquid required to be supplied to the substrate processing section Storage means for storing a substrate processing procedure at least defining various processing conditions including: and selectively selecting at least one processing liquid supply means from the plurality of processing liquid supply means based on the substrate processing procedure stored in the storage means. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls execution of substrate processing by controlling the amount of processing liquid in each processing liquid storage unit; and detecting the processing liquid amount by the processing liquid amount detection unit. Arbitrary processing solution collection from the results A shortage detection unit that detects that the processing liquid in the unit is short, and a determination that there is an abnormality when the shortage detection unit detects that the processing liquid in any processing liquid storage unit is short. Determining whether or not the type of the processing liquid detected to be insufficient by the shortage detection unit is specified in the substrate processing procedure stored in the storage unit. An in-procedure determining means, and an abnormality determination canceling means for canceling the abnormality determination by the abnormality determining means when it is determined that the type of the processing liquid is not specified by the determining means. That is the gist.

In the substrate processing apparatus having the above structure, the amount of the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage section is detected by the processing liquid amount detecting means, and the shortage detecting means detects the shortage of the processing liquid based on the detection result. When the abnormality is detected, the abnormality determining means determines that the processing liquid is abnormal.Furthermore, the type of the processing liquid detected to be insufficient is defined in the substrate processing procedure stored in the storage means. Otherwise, when it is determined by the in-procedure determination means, the abnormality determination means cancels the determination of the abnormality by the abnormality determination means.

For this reason, when judging the shortage of the remaining amount of the processing liquid, it is necessary to reliably determine whether or not the insufficient processing liquid corresponds to the type of the processing liquid used for the processing to be performed at present. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a defective lot due to an erroneous operation.

Further, when the shortage of the processing liquid does not correspond to the type of the processing liquid specified in the substrate processing procedure, that is, when the processing liquid does not correspond to the type of the processing liquid used for the processing to be performed at present. In addition, no alarm is issued to the outside or the device is forcibly stopped. Therefore, if there is a sufficient amount of processing liquid to be used for the processing to be performed at present, it is determined that a shortage of unused processing liquid is detected.
Since there is no need to issue an alarm to the outside or to forcibly stop the device, it is possible to improve the working efficiency.

[0014]

Next, a preferred embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus (rotary substrate processing apparatus) according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the outline of the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 1 which is a schematic perspective view of the apparatus.

The rotary type substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus for rotating a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, spin-coating a photoresist or the like on the surface of the substrate and heat-treating the substrate. As shown in FIG. And a substrate processing unit. In the following description, the former substrate supply unit is referred to as a substrate transfer unit 2 and the substrate processing unit is referred to as a process processing unit 3 in order to clearly distinguish the two from each other.

The substrate transfer unit 2 takes out the substrates W from the cassettes C1 to C4 in which the substrates W are stored in multiple stages and transfers the substrates W to a substrate transfer position P which is a substrate transfer position, or transfers the substrates W from the substrate transfer position P. Then, the substrate W is stored in one of the cassettes capable of storing the substrate.
The process processing unit 3 includes a plurality of various processing devices including a rotary processing device that supplies a required processing liquid to the substrate and performs a rotation process as described later, and drives each of the processing devices to process the substrate. I do.

Next, each of the units will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate transfer unit 2 includes two cassettes C1 and C2 storing the substrates W in multiple stages and two cassettes C3 and C4 not storing the substrates, on the upper surface of the cassette mounting table 4.
Is provided. Further, the substrate transfer device 6 for taking out the substrate W from each cassette and supplying the substrate W to the processing unit 3 and storing the substrate W in each cassette is connected to the cassettes C1 to C4 by arrows D in FIG. To be able to move horizontally in any direction.

A main operation panel 5 for giving various instructions to the substrate transfer unit 2 and a process unit 3 to be described later is incorporated in the front surface of the cassette mounting table 4. The main operation panel 5 includes a keyboard 5a (see FIG. 5) for performing various settings and numerical inputs, and a display 5b (see FIG. 5) for performing various displays based on instructions from the keyboard 5a.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate transfer device 6 includes a substrate suction arm 7 for sucking and sucking the substrate W on its lower surface.
The arrow E in the drawing can move up and down along the stacking direction of the substrates W in the cassette, and extends between a standby position before the illustrated cassette and a take-out position that has entered the cassette.
Prepare to be able to move back and forth in the direction.

For this reason, the substrate transfer device 6 is moved horizontally in the direction of arrow D in the figure to the front of the desired cassette,
Thereafter, the substrate suction arm 7 is raised to a height corresponding to the substrate storage groove at a desired stage in the cassette, the substrate suction arm 7 enters the cassette, the substrate suction arm 7 is slightly raised again, and the substrate suction arm 7 is lifted. Retreat, substrate suction arm 7
Are sequentially performed, the removal of the substrate W from the cassette is completed. Also, the substrate suction arm 7 is operated in the reverse order.
Is moved, the storage of the substrate W in the cassette is completed.

The substrate taken out of the cassette is transferred to the substrate transfer position P by the substrate transfer device 6 and then transferred to a substrate transfer device 37 attached to the processing unit 3 to be described later. It is sequentially conveyed to a spin coating device or the like for processing. The processed substrate that has been processed is returned to the substrate transfer position P by the substrate transfer device 37, and then stored in a predetermined cassette by the substrate transfer device 6.

The substrate transfer device 6 includes the substrate suction arm 7
In addition, in order to horizontally support the substrate W taken out of the cassette by the substrate suction arm 7, three support pins (not shown) are provided on the base 9 so as to be vertically movable. In order to align the center of the substrate W supported by each of the support pins, a position having four guide pins projecting from each other in an array having a curvature substantially equal to the outer diameter of the substrate W is provided. A mating plate 10 is provided on both sides of the base 9 so as to freely reciprocate horizontally. Therefore, when each alignment plate 10 is reciprocated horizontally while the substrate W is supported by the support pins raised from the base 9, each guide pin comes into contact with and separates from the outer periphery of the substrate W. The center alignment of W is completed.

Further, on the upper surface of the cassette mounting table 4, a cassette number accommodating a substrate to be processed, a procedure number numerical code required for specifying a substrate processing procedure, a processing order in cassette units, and the like are input. A cassette control panel 18 (see FIG. 5) is provided. further,
A substrate detection optical sensor 24 (see FIG. 5) for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W stored in each cassette is provided. The optical sensor 24 collectively detects the presence or absence of a substrate in the cassette while ascending along the cassette by the optical sensor elevating mechanism 25 (see FIG. 5) in association with the number of substrate storage grooves in the cassette. Note that the correspondence with the number of steps of the substrate storage groove is performed using a pulse generated by the timing detection sensor 42 (see FIG. 5) based on the moving state of the slit having the same pitch as the substrate storage groove of the cassette.

A process processing unit 3 which receives a substrate from the substrate transfer unit 2 described above and processes the substrate is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), spin coating devices 31 and 32 for forming a thin film by dropping a processing liquid (chemical solution) on the surface of a rotating substrate, and heat treatment for heating (heating and cooling) the substrate before and after processing with the spin coating device. The devices 33, 34, and 35 are provided. Further, each of the spin coating devices 31 and 32 and the heat treatment devices 33 and 3
4 and 35 are provided with a substrate transfer device 37 that can move horizontally in the direction of arrow A in the figure. As shown in the figure, each heat treatment device includes a heating heat treatment device in an upper stage and a cooling heat treatment device in a lower stage.

The spin coating devices 31 and 32 are vertically movable in the direction of arrow F in the drawing from nozzle positions 41 and 42 having three processing liquid discharge nozzles and extend over the center of the spin coating device. To be rotatable in the direction of arrow G in the figure. Then, as described later, the nozzle mechanisms 41 and 42 are moved from the illustrated standby position to a predetermined discharge position,
The processing liquid is discharged from any of the processing liquid discharge nozzles at the discharge position. Each of the spin coating devices 31 and 32 displays, on the front surface thereof, various push buttons, which will be described later, for specifying a processing liquid discharge amount, a processing liquid type, a substrate rotation speed, and the like, and various character strings and numerical values. A sub-operation panel 31 having a display and the like and usually housed in the main body of the process processing unit 3
A, 32A. In addition, a special operation panel 36A provided with a plurality of remaining amount alarm interruption push buttons 36 (described later) is provided on the front surface of the main body of the process processing unit 3.

Next, the structure around the nozzle tip of the nozzle mechanisms 41 and 42 in the spin coating devices 31 and 32 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the two spin coating devices have almost the same configuration, and thus only the spin coating device 31 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, a rotating body 4 that sucks and holds the placed substrate W and rotates it by a motor 43.
A chamber 45 is provided around the substrate 4 so as to surround the substrate W. An exhaust pipe 46 for forcibly exhausting the air in the chamber 45 and a discharge pipe 47 for discharging the surplus processing liquid or the used processing liquid accumulated in the bottom of the chamber 45 are connected to the bottom of the chamber 45. A rotation speed sensor 43a for detecting the rotation speed is provided below the motor 43, and the detected rotation speed is output to a spin coating device controller 31B described later.

A processing liquid recovery box 49 is provided below the discharge pipe 47 so that a storage container 48 for storing the processed processing liquid can be taken out. The discharged processing liquid 50 flowing out of the discharge pipe 47 is stored in the storage container 48. To be stored. In the processing liquid recovery box 49, a processing liquid vapor exhaust pipe 51 for exhausting the processing liquid vapor from the surface of the discharged processing liquid 50 stored in the storage container 48 is provided upright.

Processing liquid discharge nozzle 52 of nozzle mechanism 41
Is raised in a direction indicated by an arrow F in FIG. 2 from a standby position on the side of the rotating body 44 by a nozzle driving device 40 (see FIGS. 3 and 6) including an air cylinder and a swing motor to be described later.
It turns in the direction of arrow G in the figure to a position above a predetermined discharge position, and then descends to a discharge position near the substrate surface. An opening / closing valve 54 for opening and closing a pipe to the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52
The processing liquid is discharged from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52 onto the substrate W by the above operation, and at this time, alternate supply of different types of processing liquid becomes possible. The connection between these valves and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52 and the control of each valve will be described later. Although three processing liquid discharge nozzles 52 are provided as shown in FIG. 3, only one of them is shown in FIG. 2, and the others are not shown.

When the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52 is located at the standby position, the processing liquid vapor rising inside the processing liquid vapor exhaust pipe 51 wets the tip of the nozzle. Liquid solidification is unlikely to occur. Further, the processing liquid vapor exhaust pipe 51 and the switching valve 53
Is provided for each processing liquid discharge nozzle.

Next, how the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52 is moved by the nozzle driving device 40 will be described with reference to FIG. The nozzle mechanism 41, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3,
It has three processing liquid discharge nozzles: a processing liquid discharge nozzle 52a on the left side in FIG. 3, a processing liquid discharge nozzle 52b on the right side in FIG. 3, and a processing liquid discharge nozzle 52c in the center.
Each of these processing liquid discharge nozzles is connected to the nozzle arm 5.
5 is assembled. Further, each processing liquid discharge nozzle is positioned at the rotation center position of the nozzle arm 55.
Motor 56 (pulse motor) for turning in the direction of arrow G in the figure, and raising and lowering the motor 56 together with the processing liquid discharge nozzle and the nozzle arm 55 in the front and back directions on the paper of FIG. 3 (direction of arrow F in FIG. 2). An air cylinder 57 is provided. That is, the swivel motor 56 and the air cylinder 57 constitute the nozzle driving device 40 described above.

Therefore, each of the processing liquid discharge nozzles 52a to 52c repeats ascending in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 2, turning along the direction of arrow G in FIG. 2, and descending from the turning end position in this order. It moves from the standby position H0 on the side of the rotator 44 to the discharge position near the substrate surface. In addition, by moving in the reverse order, it returns to the standby position H0.

This discharge position is set at each processing liquid discharge nozzle 52.
Two types are prepared for each of a to 52c. Specifically, regarding the processing liquid discharge nozzles 52a and 52c,
As shown in the drawing, the discharge position H1 (center discharge position) at the center of the substrate W and the discharge position H2 near the end of the substrate W at the end of rotation.
(End ejection position), and the center ejection position H1 and the standby position H0 for the processing liquid ejection nozzle 52b.
The other end discharge position H3 is prepared. The discharge position for each of the processing liquid discharge nozzles is defined by a substrate processing procedure as described later. The end discharge positions H2 and H3 are determined according to the diameter of the substrate W to be processed.

Next, the processing liquid discharge nozzles 52a through 52
The configuration of the pipeline for discharging the processing liquid from 2c will be described with reference to the schematic route diagram of FIG. As shown in FIG.
A processing liquid supply pipe 110 is provided between the first processing liquid storage container 101 storing the processing liquid L1 and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52a.
a is provided. In this processing liquid supply pipe 110a,
From the upstream side, an opening / closing valve 54a, a processing liquid pressure pump 112a, and a filter 114a are sequentially provided. These valves and the processing liquid pressure feed pump are connected to the spin coating device controller 31B, and operate based on the control signals.

Further, between the second processing liquid storage container 102 for storing the processing liquid L2 and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52b,
A processing liquid supply pipe 110b is provided, and the processing liquid supply pipe 110b is provided with an opening / closing valve 54b, a processing liquid pressure pump 112b, and a filter 114b, similarly to the processing liquid supply pipe 110a. Similarly, a processing liquid supply pipe 110c provided between the third processing liquid storage container 103 storing the processing liquid L3 and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52c has an opening / closing valve 54c, a processing liquid pressure pump 112c, and a filter 114c. Is provided.

By operating the various valves and pumps based on control signals from the spin coating device controller 31B, the processing liquid L1 is discharged from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52a, and the processing liquid L2 is discharged from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52b.
The processing liquid L3 is discharged from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52c. In addition, each processing liquid storage container 101, 102, 1
In the lower part of 03, remaining amount sensors 115a, 115b, 115c for detecting the shortage of the remaining amount of the processing liquid are provided, respectively, and these remaining amount sensors 115a, 115b, 115 are provided.
The detection signal from c is input to the spin coater controller 31B. The remaining amount sensors 115a, 115b, 11
More specifically, 5c detects the remaining amount of the processing liquid stored from the weight of the processing liquid storage container, and when the remaining amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value, outputs a high level (ON state) detection signal.
The sensor outputs a low-level (off-state) detection signal when it does not fall below the predetermined value.

Each of the above-mentioned spin coating apparatus and heat treatment apparatus loads information (processing speed, temperature, type of processing liquid, discharge amount, nozzle position, etc.) of processing conditions in a substrate processing procedure from a main controller 60 described later. The controller includes a controller to be described later and a rotation speed sensor, a temperature sensor, and the like. And each spin coating equipment and heat treatment equipment,
Based on the detection signals of these sensors and a control command value (processing condition) in a substrate processing procedure described below that receives the load,
Feedback control is performed by a controller attached to each processing device. The substrate processing procedure referred to here is a rotation of the substrate that defines conditions for processing that directly acts on the substrate itself (hereinafter, referred to as substrate rotation processing), such as applying a processing liquid to the substrate or performing heat treatment. Information such as the number, type of processing liquid used, discharge amount, and temperature (information on these conditions that directly act on the substrate itself is hereinafter referred to as a substrate processing recipe) and processing performed immediately before or immediately after the substrate rotation processing operation itself It consists of information that specifies pre-work or post-work. The pre-processing operation and the post-processing operation include, for example, a so-called pre-dispense or after-dispense performed to prevent solidification or deterioration of the processing liquid in the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52, or a substrate processing after performing coating processing on a large number of substrates. It refers to the work of washing away the photoresist adhering to the chamber in the section with a solvent such as acetone. These operations are performed as needed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate transporting device 37
A head 39 is provided on the upper surface of a stage 38 which can be moved horizontally in the direction of arrow A by a drive system (not shown). The head 39 is pivotable in the direction of arrow B in the figure. The head 39 has U-shaped substrate support arms 37a and 37b. Are provided in two upper and lower stages. Each of the substrate support arms 37a and 37b is configured to be able to move in and out of the head 39.

The process processing unit 3 having the above configuration drives and controls the substrate transfer device 37 based on the transfer process in a predetermined substrate processing procedure, and moves the substrate transfer device 37 from the substrate transfer position P in the substrate transfer unit 2 to the spin coating device. The substrates are sequentially transferred to necessary processing equipment among the plurality of processing equipment. Then, the substrate is processed based on the processing conditions in the substrate processing procedure by a rotary coating device or the like to which the substrate has been transported, and the processed substrate that has been processed by each transported processing device is returned to the substrate transfer position P I do.

Next, a control system in the rotary substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to block diagrams shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, the control system according to the present embodiment includes a main controller 60 that integrally controls the entire rotary type substrate processing apparatus 1 and a substrate transfer unit controller that controls the substrate transfer unit 2 as a sub-controller. 70, a substrate transfer device controller 37A as a controller for each processing device constituting the process processing unit 3, spin coating device controllers 31B and 32B for each spin coating device, and a heat treatment device controller 33A for each heat processing device. 34A and 35A.

The main controller 60 is constituted as a logical operation circuit mainly including a well-known CPU 61 for executing a logical operation, a ROM 62 for storing various programs for controlling the CPU 61 in advance, a RAM 63 for temporarily storing various data, and the like. In addition, a storage disk 64 for storing a large amount of data, which will be described later, and capable of writing data and holding data at any time is built in.

The main controller 60
By an input / output port 66 connected to the CPU or the like via a common bus 65, input / output with the outside, for example,
Data is transferred between the main operation panel 5, the substrate transfer unit controller 70, the substrate transfer device controller 37A, the controllers 31B for each processing device, and the like.

The substrate transfer unit controller 70 is connected to the substrate transfer device 6, the cassette control panel 18, the optical sensor elevating mechanism 25, and the like, in addition to the optical sensor 24 and the timing detection sensor 42. Then, it outputs signals from these sensors and signals from the cassette control panel 18 and arithmetic operation data obtained by the controller to the main controller 60. The cassette control panel 18, optical sensor 24, timing detection sensor 42, optical sensor elevating mechanism 25, etc.
Are provided in each of the four cassettes C1 to C4 on the upper surface of the substrate, and are connected to the substrate transfer unit controller 70, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 6, the spin coater controller 31B attached to the spin coater 31 includes a well-known CPU 31B1 and a ROM 3 similar to the main controller 60.
1B2, a RAM 31B3, etc., as a logical operation circuit. The input / output port 31B6 has
The main controller 60, the motor 43, the rotation speed sensor 43a, the nozzle driving device 40, and the sub operation panel 31 described above.
A, the opening / closing valve 54 (54a, 54b, 54c) and the processing liquid pressure pump 112 (112a, 112b, 1) for each processing liquid discharge nozzle.
12c) are connected. Also, the input / output port 31
B6 includes the remaining amount sensor 115 (115a, 11
5b, 115c) and the remaining amount alarm interrupt push button 36 (36
a, 36b, 36c) are connected.

In the present rotary substrate processing apparatus 1, each processing liquid storage container 101,
It is configured to issue an alarm by detecting a shortage of the remaining amount of the processing liquid stored in the storage units 102 and 103 (the detailed configuration will be described later). 36c is the remaining amount sensor 115a, 1 only for the processing liquid stored in a desired storage container.
A switch for instructing not to issue a warning even if a shortage of remaining amount is detected based on 15b and 115c;
If it is not desired to permit the issuance of an alarm for the insufficient remaining amount of the first processing liquid storage container 101, the first remaining amount alarm interrupting push button 36a is pressed to indicate that the remaining amount of the second processing liquid storage container 102 is insufficient. On the other hand, if the user does not want to permit the issuance of an alarm, the second remaining amount alarm interrupting push button 36b is set to the third processing liquid storage container 1
When it is not desired to permit the issuance of an alarm for the remaining amount 03, the third remaining amount alarm interrupting push button 36c is pressed by the operator.

The heat treatment equipment controller 33A detects the processing temperatures of the heating heat treatment equipment 33a and the cooling heat treatment equipment 33b with a temperature sensor (not shown), and controls the temperature so as to keep the temperature at a desired value. In addition, the spin coating device controller 32B attached to the spin coating device 32,
Heat treatment equipment controller 3 attached to heat treatment equipment 34, 35
4A and 35A have the same configuration, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, a description will be given of a substrate processing procedure for controlling the driving of each of the processing equipment. As shown in FIG. 7, there are a plurality of types of substrate processing procedures, each of which stores a procedure number numerical code for specifying each substrate processing procedure in association with a control command value or the like in each processing apparatus, and stores them in advance. It is written and stored on the disk 64.

The substrate processing procedure will be described in more detail. In the substrate processing procedure, as shown in FIG. 7, the substrate processing recipe includes, as shown in FIG. Data about a process symbol representing a process, a processing device for performing the process, and processing conditions in the process are written.

That is, the symbols in the process symbol columns in the respective process steps correspond to the respective process names. The process symbol AD indicates the heating process before the application of the processing solution, AC indicates the cooling process before the application of the processing solution, and SC indicates the process. Represents a treatment liquid application step, and SB represents a heating step after treatment liquid application. Further, when a plurality of processing devices (processing devices 1, 2,...) Are written in the same processing step (the heat treatment devices 33a, 34a for the processing step 1 in the procedure number numerical code 01).
Indicates that processing may be performed by any of the processing devices.
However, the smaller the numerical value of the processing device, the higher the priority. For example, in the case of the procedure number numerical code 01, the heating heat treatment equipment 33a in the column of the processing equipment 1 is preferentially used, and if the heating heat treatment equipment 33a cannot be used as it is being processed, the processing equipment 2 Is used.

The processing steps other than the processing step 3 are heat treatment steps before and after the application of the processing liquid as can be seen from the process symbols AD, AC, SB, etc., and as described in the processing condition column, the corresponding processing equipment Is provided with numerical data representing a control command value such as a processing temperature or a processing time when controlling the control.

Processing step 3 of each processing step is as follows:
As can be seen from the process symbol SC, this is a processing liquid application step using a rotary processing device. Since the processing liquid application is repeatedly performed, the processing step is further divided into a first step portion and a second step portion.
.., I-th step part, etc.

That is, in the processing step 3, which is a processing liquid application step, the processing liquid (chemical liquid) is applied while rotating the substrate.
It is executed based on a number of processing conditions (control command values) such as rotation acceleration, processing liquid discharge time (discharge amount), substrate size (diameter), discharge position, and distinguishing the processing liquid discharge nozzle to be used. Are repeatedly performed. For this reason, the condition data is much larger than other processes, and by providing a data structure as described below, it is considered that several types of processing condition data can be stored. Note that the substrate size is initially set to, for example, 3 inches, 5 inches, 6 inches, 8 inches, or the like according to the substrate to be processed when using the rotary substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, the rotation speeds a1 to ai, the process time, the processing liquid to be discharged, Chemical data for defining the type of (chemical solution) and data indicating processing conditions such as nozzle position data for defining the used processing liquid discharge nozzle and discharge position are stored for each substrate processing procedure.

The numerical values (b1, c1, d1, e1, etc.) of the processes 1 to 4 in the process time column are as follows.
The time required to execute the corresponding first to i-th steps, the processing liquid discharge time (discharge amount), and the like are defined. C1 to C3 in the column of chemical data indicate the type of the processing liquid (chemical liquid) that can be used. Stipulate. Further, the nozzles and the discharge positions in the column of the nozzle position data define the processing liquid discharge nozzles to be used and the discharge positions thereof. Further, the numerical values described in C1 to C3 in the column of chemical data are numbers (codes) for specifying each processing liquid shown in FIG. 4, and are described in the nozzle and discharge position in the column of nozzle position data. The reference numerals 52a, H1, etc. indicate the processing liquid discharge nozzle and the discharge position of the processing liquid to be used, respectively (see FIG. 3). Further, the numerical value 0 in each column means that these are not specified because the processing liquid and the processing liquid discharge nozzle are not used.

Note that the nozzle position data has a data structure assuming that a required processing liquid is discharged alternately from a plurality of processing liquid discharge nozzles (two types in this embodiment). For example, in the first step, the processing liquid discharge nozzles 52c and 52a are used. In this case, the distinction between the processing liquids (the processing liquids defined by symbols L1 and L2, etc.) discharged from each nozzle, the discharge order, and the like are specified in the substrate processing procedure in FIG.

Therefore, based on such data, in the first step, the substrate is rotated at the rotation speed a1, and the processing of discharging the processing liquids L1, L2 of the chemical liquid numbers 1 and 2 to the substrate is performed. Then, the substrate is rotated at the rotation speed a2, and the processing using only the processing liquid L3 of the chemical number 3 is performed. That is, the selection of the processing liquid to be used and the nozzle for discharging the processing liquid, the discharge amount, and the like are determined based on these conditions, and the processing liquid is pumped and supplied to each processing liquid discharge nozzle. Is discharged toward the substrate. At this time, the processing liquid discharge nozzle to be used naturally moves to the specified discharge position. Also,
Information defining the pre-processing work and the post-processing work in the substrate processing procedure is similarly written. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the pre-processing work is pre-dispensing, and the processing liquid discharge nozzles 52a and 52c are to be performed only for the time f1.

As described above, a plurality of types of substrate processing procedures are recorded on the storage disk 64, including data of a huge amount of processing conditions. When a certain procedure number numerical code, for example, a numerical code of 00 is designated, the substrate processing procedure at this time is as follows.
Performs a heating process (processing step 1), then performs a cooling process in the cooling heat treatment device 33b (processing step 2), and subsequently performs a processing liquid application process in the spin coating device 32 (processing step 3). ), Heat treatment after application of the treatment liquid is performed by the heat treatment equipment for heating 35a (processing step 4).
Will be. Of course, if the data is created and stored in the processing steps 5 and subsequent steps, the processing is performed according to the data. In the pre-processing work, pre-dispensing is performed for the processing liquid discharge nozzles 52a and 52c.

In the initial stage of the operation of the rotary substrate processing apparatus 1, data is written into the storage disk 64 by, for example, inputting data from the keyboard 5 a of the main operation panel 5 or writing data on a magnetic tape, a flexible disk, or the like. This is performed by data transfer or the like from the external storage device 80 (see FIG. 5) for writing and storing data in the storage medium via the input / output port 66.

Further, an instruction to select a desired substrate processing procedure from among the plurality of substrate processing procedures stored in this manner is issued to the cassette control panel 18 or the main operation panel 5.
The operation is performed by operating the keyboard 5a or the like. The operation for selecting and instructing a desired substrate processing procedure is an operation of inputting a numerical value of a procedure number numerical code.

When a procedure number numerical code is designated when starting the substrate processing, the processing conditions in each processing step of the relevant substrate processing procedure are loaded from the main controller 60 to the controller attached to the relevant processing equipment. . For example, when a numerical code of 00 is designated, the processing conditions in the processing steps 1 and 2 are as follows: the heating heat treatment equipment 33a and the cooling heat treatment equipment 33b.
Is loaded into the heat treatment equipment controller 33A attached to the heat treatment equipment 33 having Similarly, the processing conditions in the processing step 3 are loaded into the spin coating device controller 31B attached to the spin coating device 31, and the processing conditions in the processing step 4 are loaded into the heat treatment device controller 35A attached to the heat treatment device 35 having the heating heat treatment device 35a. Is done.

The controllers 31B, etc., which have received various data loads in this way, perform the substrate processing while performing feedback control of the respective processing devices based on the control command values, which are the loaded processing conditions, and the detection signals from the sensors. Do.

Next, a substrate processing (main processing) routine executed in the rotary substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. The main processing routine shown in FIG.
After the procedure number numerical code is designated and the processing conditions in each processing step of the corresponding substrate processing procedure are loaded from the main controller 60 to the controller attached to the corresponding processing equipment, the spin coating equipment controllers 31B, 32
4 illustrates processing executed by the CPU B for each processing of one substrate.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the process is started,
First, the CPU of the spin coating device controller 31B performs a pre-check process for checking for a shortage of the processing liquid with respect to a processing liquid used in a substrate rotation processing to be described later and a pre-processing work performed prior to the substrate rotation processing. Execute (step 100). Next, the main controller 6
It is determined whether or not a process start command has been input from 0 (step 200), and further, it is determined whether or not a second type alarm described later has been issued in the pre-check process executed in step 100 (step 300). ). Here, the processing start command means that after the main controller 60 has set the substrate processing procedure through numerical input of the procedure number numerical code through the cassette control panel 18 or the keyboard 5a of the main operation panel 5, the main controller 60 This is a command input from 60. The second type alarm will be described later in detail together with the contents of the pre-check processing.

When it is determined in step 200 that the processing start command has not been input, or in step 300
When it is determined that the second type of alarm has been issued, the process returns to step 100 to repeatedly execute the pre-check process. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 200 that the processing start command has been input, and if it is determined in step 300 that the second type alarm has not been issued, the processing skips from step 700 to 400, and the so-called processing Perform pre-work and substrate rotation processing.

After executing the substrate rotation processing in step 400,
As for the processing liquid used in the post-processing work performed after the substrate rotation processing, a post-check processing is performed to check for a shortage of the processing liquid (step 500). Next, it is determined whether or not the second type alarm has been issued in the check processing after being executed in step 500 (step 600).
Here, when it is determined that the second type of alarm has been issued,
After the process returns to step 500, the check process is repeatedly executed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 600 that the second alarm has not been issued, the process proceeds to step 800.
To perform the post-processing work, and then to “END” to end this routine once.

Next, the pre-check processing executed in step 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. This pre-check processing includes a first pre-check step 100A for checking the shortage of the processing liquid L1 stored in the first processing liquid storage container 101, and a processing liquid stored in the second processing liquid storage container 102. It comprises a second pre-check step 100B for checking the shortage of L2 and a third pre-check step 100C for checking the shortage of the processing liquid L3 stored in the third processing liquid storage container 103. Hereinafter, the first pre-check process 100A will be described in detail,
Pre-check step 100B and third pre-check step 10
Regarding 0C, only the target processing liquid is different, and the other is the same.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the processing is started, first, it is determined whether or not the detection signal from the first remaining amount sensor 115a provided in the first processing liquid storage container 101 is on. Is determined (step 105). Here, if it is determined that the processing liquid L1 is not in the on state, that is, it is in the off state, it means that the processing liquid L1 is not insufficient and is sufficient, and therefore, the first type and the second type relating to the processing liquid L1 described later are used. A process for canceling the type of alarm is performed (step 11).
0) After that, the first pre-check step 100A is temporarily ended, and the process proceeds to the second pre-check step 100B.

The first type and second type alarms referred to here are warning signals output from the controllers 31B and 32B on the spin coating device side to the main controller 60 in the later-described steps, and both have different urgencies. Is an alarm with The first type of alarm indicates that although a shortage of the processing liquid is detected and measures such as replenishment of the processing liquid are required, there is still some margin before the processing liquid cannot be supplied. The second type of alarm indicates that a shortage of the processing solution may have an immediate adverse effect on the substrate currently being processed. In addition, the first type or the second type
The main controller 60 that has received the type of alarm displays the alarm on the display 5b.

On the other hand, at step 105, the remaining amount sensor 11
If it is determined that the detection signal of FIG.
It is determined whether or not the remaining amount warning push button 36a is ON (step 115). Here, when it is determined that the processing liquid L is not in the on state, that is, in the off state, the processing liquid L
At the same time as issuing a first type alarm for 1 and canceling the second type alarm (step 120). In other words, when the shortage of the processing liquid L1 is detected by the remaining amount sensor 115a and the first remaining amount alarm interruption push button 36a is not pressed (the interruption of the alarm issuance for the insufficient remaining amount of the processing liquid L1). Is not issued), the first type of alarm is issued, and the process of releasing the second type of alarm is performed. After the execution of step 120, the first pre-check step 100A is terminated, and the second pre-check step 10A is completed.
Proceed to 0B.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 115 that the first remaining amount alarm interruption push button 36a is in the ON state, processing for canceling the first type of alarm for the processing liquid L1 is performed (step 125). Then, it is determined whether or not a processing start command has been input from the main controller 60 (step 130). If it is determined in step 130 that the processing start command has not been input, then the first
The pre-check step 100A is temporarily ended, and the process proceeds to the second pre-check step 100B. On the other hand, when it is determined in step 130 that the processing start command has been input, the following processing is executed.

First, it is determined whether or not there is a discharge of the processing liquid using the processing liquid L1 in the pre-processing work to be performed prior to the substrate rotation processing (step 135). Here, when it is determined that the processing liquid L1 is discharged, the processing liquid L1 is discharged.
It is determined whether or not a second type alarm is being issued for 1 (step 140). If it is determined in step 140 that the second type of alarm for the processing liquid L1 is not being issued, a second type of alarm for the processing liquid L1 is once issued (step 145), and thereafter, the first pre-check process 100A. To end.

After issuing the second type of alarm at step 145, the process returns to step 100 again through steps 200 and 300 described later, and returns to step 100 at step 140.
If it is determined that the type of alarm is being issued, it is then determined whether or not a second type of alarm release command has been input from the main controller 60 for the processing liquid L1 (step 150). Here, the second type of alarm cancel command is a keyboard 5a when the operator determines that the shortage of the processing liquid L1 used in the pre-processing work does not affect the subsequent substrate rotation processing. If it is determined that there is a special instruction input from the main controller 60 and a command input from the main controller 60 to input the second type alarm cancellation command, the process proceeds to step 160 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 150 that there is no input of the second type of alarm cancellation command, the first pre-check process 100A is temporarily terminated, and the process proceeds to the second pre-check process 100B.

If it is determined in step 135 that there is no discharge of the processing liquid using the processing liquid L1 in the pre-processing work, then the substrate is loaded on the controller 31B or 32B of the spin coating device and is currently being executed. It is determined whether or not the substrate processing recipe in the processing procedure includes a rule for using the processing liquid L1 stored in the first processing liquid storage container 101 (step 160). Here, when it is determined that the processing liquid L1 is specified in the substrate processing recipe, the processing proceeds to step 145, and a second type of alarm is issued for the processing liquid L1, while the processing liquid L1 is included in the substrate processing recipe. If it is determined that the treatment liquid L1 is not stipulated, a process for canceling the second type of alarm for the treatment liquid L1 is performed (step 165). In the processing of steps 160 to 165, even if the shortage of the processing liquid L1 is detected in step 105, if it is determined that the processing liquid L1 is not specified in the substrate processing recipe, the shortage of the processing liquid L1 is Since it is not used for the process to be performed, it is determined that the issuance of an alarm is unnecessary, and the second type of alarm is canceled.

After execution of step 165, the first pre-checking step 100A is terminated, and the second pre-checking step 100B
Proceed to. In the second pre-check step 100B, the target processing liquid is transferred from the processing liquid L1 stored in the first processing liquid storage container 101 to the second processing liquid storage container 102, as compared with the first pre-check step. The same processing is executed only by changing to the stored processing liquid L2. Subsequently, a third pre-check step 100C in which the target processing liquid is changed to the processing liquid L3 stored in the processing liquid storage container 103 is executed, and thereafter, the processing exits to "Return" and the present routine is temporarily terminated. I do.

That is, according to the pre-check processing configured as described above, the first remaining amount sensor 115a detects that the remaining amount of the processing liquid L1 stored in the first processing liquid storage container 101 is insufficient. And a first remaining amount alarm interrupt push button 3
When it is determined that 6a is in the ON state (when an instruction to interrupt the issuance of an alarm is issued for the insufficient amount of the processing liquid L1), in the pre-processing work executed prior to the substrate rotation processing, When the processing liquid L1 is discharged, a second type of alarm is issued for the processing liquid L1. As a result, in the main processing routine shown in FIG. 9, the pre-check processing is executed again by the determination in step 300, and the execution of the processing liquid discharge processing which is the pre-processing work is stopped. After receiving the second type of alarm, the operator replenishes the first processing liquid storage container 101 with the processing liquid L1 or operates the main operation panel 5 so that the second type of alarm is issued. When the release command is output from the main controller 60, the second type alarm is released, and as a result, step 70 is executed.
The process proceeds to 0,400, where execution of pre-processing work and substrate rotation processing is started.

According to the pre-check process, the first remaining amount sensor 115a detects that the remaining amount of the processing liquid L1 stored in the first processing liquid storage container 101 is insufficient. If it is determined that the alarm suspending push button 36a is in the ON state, and if the processing liquid L1 is specified in the substrate processing recipe, a second type of alarm for the processing liquid L1 is issued. As a result, in the main processing routine shown in FIG. 9, the pre-check processing is executed again by the determination in step 300, and the execution of the substrate rotation processing is stopped. After receiving the second type of alarm, the operator replenishes the processing liquid into the first processing liquid storage container 101 or changes the processing liquid to be executed by changing the substrate processing recipe to be executed. Is removed,
The second type of alarm is released, and the process proceeds to steps 700 and 400 to start the pre-processing work and the substrate rotation processing.

As described above, the second type of alarm in the pre-check processing is performed when the remaining amount of the processing liquid L1 is insufficient and the processing is performed in the pre-processing work or the substrate processing recipe. Despite the provision of liquid L1,
Instructing the interruption of the alarm issuance in response to the shortage of the remaining amount of the processing liquid L1, that is, an erroneous operation of the operator, is mainly issued when a processing start command is input from the main controller 60. Such a second type of alarm means that if left unattended, serious inconvenience may occur, so that the main controller 60 immediately stops the entire apparatus at that time, displays a message on the display 5b, and displays the fact on the display 5b. The device controller does not perform the scheduled pre-processing work or the board rotation processing work, and repeatedly executes the pre-check processing.

However, when the second type of alarm is related to the pre-processing work, for example, the processing liquid used for the above-mentioned pre-dispensing and is not related to the substrate processing recipe, that is, as shown in FIG. In the flowchart, when the instruction is issued by proceeding to 145 through steps 135 to 140 and not proceeding to step 145, the processing is performed in the operation of the pre-dispense, such as the operation immediately after the maintenance of the apparatus. Even if the processing liquid is not discharged due to a shortage of the liquid, the subsequent substrate processing may be possible without inconvenience. In this case, as described above, if the operator issues a second type alarm cancel command from the main controller 60 to the corresponding spin coating device controller as described above, the second type alarm is issued in step 165 through step 160. And cancel
The pre-processing operation of step 700 can be performed with the processing liquid shortage. In this case, the processing liquid is not sent even if the corresponding processing liquid pressure feed pump operates, but there is no disadvantage. Also, in this case, if it is determined in step 160 that the processing liquid is specified in the substrate processing recipe, the second type alarm remains issued.

Further, according to the pre-check processing, the first processing liquid storage container 1 is detected by the first liquid amount sensor 115a.
01 is detected, and it is determined that the first remaining amount alarm suspending push button 36a is not in the ON state (the alarm for the insufficient remaining amount of the processing solution L1 is issued). The first type of alarm is issued when the instruction to interrupt the announcement has not been issued). The first type of alarm is issued mainly when the processing liquid is normally consumed and becomes insufficient during operation of the apparatus. Here, the remaining amount of the processing liquid L1 in the first processing liquid storage container 101 is already changed from the substrate transfer unit 2 to the heat treatment equipment 3 of the process processing unit 3.
At a point in time when there is a margin enough to process all the substrates sent to the processing liquid 3, 34, 35, etc., the first remaining amount sensor 115a detects the processing liquid in the first processing liquid storage container 101. It is desirable to set so as to detect the shortage of the remaining amount of L1. By doing so, in response to the issuance of the first type of alarm, the transmission from the substrate transfer unit 2 is stopped, but the heat treatment devices 33, 34, 35, and the spin coating device 3
It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a lot defect even by taking measures to continue the operations 1 and 32, and there is no need to immediately stop the apparatus and completely interrupt the processing. Excellent in nature.

Accordingly, when receiving the first type of alarm, the main controller 60 displays a message to that effect and stops the transmission from the substrate transfer unit 2, but does not stop the control of the spin coating device controller. . The control of the spin coating device controller proceeds to steps 700 and 400, and the heat treatment devices 33, 34 and 35, the spin coating device 31,
The operation at 32 continues. Then, the main controller 60 stops the operation of the apparatus when the processing of all the substrates already sent to the heat treatment devices 33, 34, 35 and the spin coating devices 31, 32 is completed.

Step 700 is executed at the time of processing the first substrate when the pre-dispensing operation is pre-dispensing and a plurality of substrates are continuously processed by the same substrate processing procedure. The pre-processing work is performed only in step 700, and in subsequent processing, even if there is a pre-dispensing rule in the substrate processing procedure, it is ignored and not executed.

When these relationships are illustrated, an event in which the first remaining amount sensor 115a detects that the remaining amount of the processing liquid L1 stored in the first processing liquid storage container 101 is insufficient is set S.
12, the event in which the first remaining amount alarm interrupt push button 36a is in the ON state is referred to as a set S2, and the event in which the processing liquid L1 is defined in the substrate processing recipe of the substrate rotation processing is referred to as a set S3. As shown, when the product SA of S1, S2, and S3 (S1ＳS2∩S3) corresponds to the portion SA, a second type of alarm for the processing liquid L1 is issued, and S1 and S2
(S1 ∩ S2 ∩ <S3>: where <S3> represents the complement of S3) corresponds to the portion SB, the second type of alarm for the processing liquid L1 is released. You. Further, the processing liquid L1 is detected by the first remaining amount sensor 115a.
The state in which the remaining amount is insufficient and the first remaining amount alarm interrupt push button 36a is not in the ON state is as shown in FIG.
The first type of alarm is issued, corresponding to the SC portion in the middle.

Next, the post-check processing executed in step 500 will be described in detail. Thereafter, the check processing is performed on the processing liquid L1 stored in the first processing liquid storage container 101.
A first post-checking process 500A for checking the shortage of
Processing liquid L stored in second processing liquid storage container 102
2nd post-checking process 500B for checking the shortage of 2
And a third post-check step 500 for checking the shortage of the processing liquid L3 stored in the third processing liquid storage container 103.
C. Hereinafter, the first post-check process 5
00A will be described in detail, but the second post-checking step 500B and the third post-checking step 500C are the same except for the treatment liquid to be processed, so that the description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the post-check processing is started, first, it is determined whether the detection signal from the first remaining amount sensor 115a provided in the first processing liquid storage container 101 is on. It is determined whether or not it is (step 505). Here, if it is determined that the processing liquid L1 is not in the on state, that is, it is in the off state, processing for canceling the first and second types of alarms for the processing liquid L1, which will be described later, is performed (step 510). The check step 500A is temporarily terminated, and the process proceeds to the second post-check step 500B. Here, the first and second types of alarms are warning signals output from the controllers 31B and 32B on the spin coating device side to the main controller 60, and are the first and second types of alarms in the pre-check processing described above. It is the same as an alarm.

On the other hand, at step 505, the remaining amount sensor 11
If it is determined that the detection signal of FIG.
It is determined whether the remaining amount warning push button 36a is ON (step 515). Here, when it is determined that the processing liquid L is not in the on state, that is, is in the off state,
At the same time as issuing a first type alarm for 1 and canceling the second type alarm (step 520). In other words, when the shortage of the processing liquid L1 is detected by the remaining amount sensor 115a and the first remaining amount alarm interruption push button 36a is not pressed (the interruption of the alarm issuance for the insufficient remaining amount of the processing liquid L1). Is not issued), the first type of alarm is issued, and the process of releasing the second type of alarm is performed. After the execution of step 520, the first post-checking process 500A is terminated, and the second post-checking process 50A is completed.
Proceed to 0B.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 515 that the first remaining amount alarm interrupt push button 36a is in the ON state, processing for canceling the first type of alarm relating to the processing liquid L1 is performed (step 525). Then, the following processing is executed.

First, it is determined whether or not the processing liquid is discharged using the processing liquid L1 in the post-processing operation performed after the substrate rotation processing (step 530). Here, the processing liquid L1
If it is determined that there is a second discharge, it is determined whether or not a second type alarm is being issued for the processing liquid L1 (step 5).
35). If it is determined in step 535 that the second type alarm is not being issued for the processing liquid L1, the processing liquid L1
Is issued once (step 54).
0) Then, the first post-check process 500A ends.

After issuing the second type alarm at step 540, the process returns to step 500 via step 600 described later, and at step 535, it is determined that the second type alarm is being issued. Then, the cancellation command of the second type alarm for the processing liquid L1 is sent to the main controller 6.
It is determined whether an input has been made from 0 (step 54).
5). Here, the second type of alarm cancellation command is a special instruction from the keyboard 5a by the operator when the operator determines that the shortage of the processing liquid L1 used in the post-processing work does not affect the subsequent processing. Is input from the main controller 60, and the second
If it is determined that an instruction for canceling the type of alarm has been input, the second type of alarm for the processing liquid L1 is canceled (step 55).
0) Then, the first post-checking process 500A is temporarily ended.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 545 that there is no input of the second type alarm cancel command, the first post-check process 500A is temporarily terminated, and the second post-check process 5A is terminated.
Go to 00B. Even if it is determined in step 530 that there is no discharge of the processing liquid using the processing liquid L1 in the post-processing work, the first post-check process 500A is immediately terminated once, and the second post-check Proceed to step 500B.

In the second post-checking step 500B, the processing liquid to be processed is stored in the first processing liquid storage container 101 in comparison with the first post-checking step 500A.
The same processing is executed only by changing from 1 to the processing liquid L2 stored in the second processing liquid storage container 102. Subsequently, the third post-check step 5 in which the target processing liquid is changed to the processing liquid L3 stored in the processing liquid storage container 103
00C, and then the process exits to “Return” to end this routine once.

That is, according to the post-check processing configured as described above, the first remaining amount sensor 115a detects that the remaining amount of the processing liquid L1 stored in the first processing liquid storage container 101 is insufficient. And a first remaining amount alarm interrupt push button 3
When it is determined that the substrate 6a is in the ON state (when an instruction to interrupt the issuance of an alarm is issued for the insufficient remaining amount of the processing liquid L1), in the post-processing work executed after the substrate rotation processing, When the liquid L1 is discharged, a second type of alarm is issued for the processing liquid L1. As a result, in the main processing routine shown in FIG. 9, the post-check processing is executed again by the determination in step 600, and the execution of the processing liquid discharge processing, which is the post-processing work, is stopped. Note that this second
After receiving the type of alarm, the operator replenishes the processing liquid L1 to the first processing liquid storage container 101 or operates the main operation panel 5, and the second type of alarm release command is issued by the main controller. When output from 60, the second type of alarm is released, and as a result, execution of the post-processing work is resumed.

As described above, the second type of alarm in the post-check process also indicates an erroneous operation by the operator, as in the second type of alarm in the pre-check process. Therefore, the main controller 60 indicates this to the display 5b. Display,
At that point, stop the device immediately. Similarly, the first type alarm is also issued when the processing liquid is normally consumed and becomes insufficient during the operation of the apparatus. Here, when the remaining amount of the processing liquid L1 in the first processing liquid storage container 101 has a margin sufficient for the post-processing work, the first remaining amount sensor 115a detects the first processing liquid. Storage container 1
It is desirable that the setting is made so as to detect the shortage of the remaining amount of the processing liquid L1 in the storage unit 01. By doing so, it is not necessary to immediately stop the apparatus and completely interrupt the processing even when the first type alarm is issued. When receiving the first type of alarm, the main controller 60 displays a message to that effect and stops the operation of the apparatus when the post-processing operation is completed. When the post-check processing ends, the process proceeds to step 800, where the post-processing work is executed.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the first to third processing solution storage containers 10 are operated by the first to third remaining amount warning interruption push buttons 36a.
By designating a specific processing liquid storage container from among 1, 102, and 103, it is possible to avoid issuing an alarm based on the detection results of remaining amount sensors 115a, 115b, and 115c corresponding to the specified processing liquid storage container. be able to. Further, the first to third remaining amount alarm interrupt push buttons 36a
Is given to the wrong processing liquid storage container, the type of the processing liquid contained in the wrong processing liquid storage container is defined in the substrate processing procedure to be processed. The warning is issued without avoiding the warning. As a result, there is no occurrence of a defective lot without knowing the abnormality, and the apparatus is excellent in reliability.

Further, the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is not limited to the case of the substrate rotation processing, but may be a pre-dispensing or an after-dispensing of the processing liquid discharge nozzle 52, and the spin coating device 3.
In the pre-processing and post-processing operations such as cleaning performed on the first and second chambers 45 and the like, similar alarms can be issued and avoided, and the reliability of the apparatus is higher.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the first remaining amount sensor 115a detects that the remaining amount of the processing liquid L1 is insufficient, and the first remaining amount alarm interrupt push button 36a
If is not in the ON state, it is determined that the processing liquid is normally insufficient during operation of the apparatus, and only the first type of alarm is issued without immediately stopping the apparatus. Therefore, when replenishing the processing solution or the like, the processing can be continued until the currently processed lot reaches one end, and the workability is excellent.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the remaining amount sensors 115a, 115b, and 115c for detecting the amount of the processing liquid from the weight may be used. Alternatively, by using a configuration that detects the amount of the processing liquid from the capacitance, or by connecting pipes from a plurality of processing liquid storage sections in the middle, multiple types of processing liquid can be processed from a single processing liquid discharge nozzle. Needless to say, the present invention can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention, such as a configuration in which the liquid can be selectively discharged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a rotary substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the vicinity of the tip of a processing liquid discharge nozzle in a spin coating device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a state of movement of a processing liquid discharge nozzle in a rotary coating device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic path diagram showing a configuration of a pipeline for discharging a processing liquid from a processing liquid discharge nozzle in a rotary coating apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system centering on a main controller in the rotary substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control system centered on a spin coating device controller in the spin coating device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a substrate processing procedure when a substrate is rotated by a processing unit.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining details of a processing step 3 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a main processing routine executed in the spin coating device controller.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a pre-check process in the main process routine.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing post-check processing in the main processing routine.

FIG. 12 illustrates the substrate processing of the present embodiment using the events S1, S2, and S3 respectively indicating the state of the remaining amount sensor, the state of the push button for interrupting the remaining amount alarm, and the prescribed state of the processing liquid in the substrate processing recipe. 6 is a graph showing the operation of the device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 rotary substrate processing apparatus 2 substrate transfer unit 3 process processing unit 5 main operation panel 31 spin coating device 31A sub operation panel 31B spin coating device controller 32 spin coating device 32A sub operation panel 32B spin coating device controller 36a, 36b, 36c remaining Volume alarm interruption push button 40 Nozzle driving device 41 Nozzle mechanism 52 Processing liquid discharge nozzle 60 Main controller 61 CPU 62 ROM 63 RAM 70 Substrate transfer unit controller 52a, 52b, 52c Processing liquid discharge nozzle 54a, 54b, 54c Open / close valve 101 First Processing liquid storage container 102 second processing liquid storage container 103 third processing liquid storage container 110a, 110b, 110c processing liquid supply pipe 112a, 112b, 112c processing liquid pressure pump 115a first residue Third remaining capacity sensor L1 sensor 115b second level sensor 115c, L2, L3 processing liquid

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A substrate processing unit for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate; a plurality of processing liquid storage units for individually storing a plurality of processing liquids to be supplied to the substrate processing unit; A plurality of processing liquid supply means for supplying the processed processing liquid from each processing liquid storage section to the substrate processing section, and at least various processing conditions including the type and amount of processing liquid required to be supplied to the substrate processing section. A storage unit that stores a substrate processing procedure to be performed, and selectively executes at least one processing liquid supply unit from the plurality of processing liquid supply units based on the substrate processing procedure stored in the storage unit. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing liquid amount detection unit configured to detect an amount of the processing liquid in each processing liquid storage unit; and an arbitrary processing liquid storage unit based on a detection result of the processing liquid amount detection unit. Processing solution is insufficient Shortage detecting means for detecting that the processing liquid in any of the processing liquid storage units is insufficient by the shortage detecting means, and abnormality determining means for determining that the processing liquid is abnormal. Further, in the substrate processing procedure stored in the storage means, processing procedure determination means for determining whether or not the type of the processing liquid that is detected to be insufficient by the shortage detection means is defined, A substrate processing apparatus provided with abnormality determination canceling means for canceling the abnormality determination by the abnormality determining means when it is determined that the type of the processing liquid is not specified by the determination means.