JP2914949B1 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

Kind Code: A1 A substrate processing apparatus for performing processing such as cleaning on the surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display or a semiconductor wafer. The apparatus is reduced in size and cost, and maintenance is easy. Provided is a substrate processing apparatus capable of improving the processing capacity. A substrate processing apparatus includes a housing, a loader unit, and a surface processing unit that forms a U-shaped transfer path.
And a transfer unit 5, an unloader unit 6,
Maintenance area 7 and transport cassette buffer 8
And the processing cassette buffer unit 9, and the transfer unit 5 is disposed above the housing 2, so that it is easy to get in and out of the maintenance area 7, and work efficiency and space saving are achieved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing a surface treatment such as cleaning, peeling, rinsing, and drying on the surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display or a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a substrate). More particularly, the present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs processing on a plurality of substrates stored in a cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 6 to 9 show a conventional substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a conventional substrate processing apparatus, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the configuration inside the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a view showing the configuration of a loader-side robot, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a posture changing robot and a surface processing robot that transports a processing cassette provided in the substrate processing apparatus.

[0003] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a conventional substrate processing apparatus 101 includes a loader section 102 and a surface processing section 103.
, Unloader section 104 and maintenance area 105
, A transport cassette buffer unit 106 and a processing cassette buffer unit 107.

[0004] As shown in FIG. 7, a transfer cassette 116 in which a plurality of substrates are stored is loaded into the loading port 1 of the loader unit 102.
11 and is placed on the mounting table 114, the empty processing cassette 117 is placed on the mounting table 115 disposed in parallel with the mounting table 114 with the loader-side robot 118 interposed therebetween.
Are placed in a standby state. This processing cassette 11
Numeral 7 is positioned on the mounting table 115 in a rolled state such that the substrate is inserted in a horizontal state with the upper part facing the mounting table 114 side. The unprocessed substrates stored in the transfer cassette 116 mounted on the mounting table 114 are transferred to the processing cassette 117 mounted on the mounting table 115 by the loader-side robot 118.

As shown in FIG. 8, the loader-side robot 118 includes a base 118a and a shaft 118b provided in the base 118a so as to be extendable and contractible in the Z direction and rotatable.
A first arm 118c having a base end rotatably attached to an upper portion of the shaft 118b; and a first arm 118c.
The second arm 118d has a base end rotatably attached to the tip end of the second arm 118d, and a substrate mounting portion 118e having a base end rotatably attached to the tip end of the second arm 118d. Therefore, the loader-side robot 118 can insert and remove the substrate mounting portion 118e by the expansion and contraction of the first arm 118c and the second arm 118d.

Next, a description will be given of a substrate transfer operation performed by the loader-side robot 118.

First, the shaft 118b is expanded or contracted to position the substrate mounting portion 118e below the substrate stored in the lowermost (or uppermost) stage of the transport cassette 116, and then the first arm 118c and the first The two arms 118d are rotated synchronously and extended from the folded state shown in FIG. C, and the substrate mounting part 118e is inserted below the substrate stored in the lowermost stage of the transport cassette 116. Next, the shaft 118b is slightly extended in the Z direction, and the substrate mounting portion 118e is raised to be brought into contact with the lower surface of the substrate and sucked. In this state, the first arm 118c and the second arm 118d are synchronously rotated in a direction opposite to the rotation direction, and the substrate mounting portion 118e is taken out of the transport cassette 116.

Next, the shaft 118b is rotated by 180 degrees with respect to the base 118a so that the tip of the substrate mounting portion 118e is directed toward the processing cassette 117. This processing cassette 117
The operation of the loader-side robot 118 for the transfer to the transfer cassette 116 is almost the same as that of the transfer cassette 116, and a description thereof will be omitted.

When the transfer of all the substrates from the transfer cassette 116 to the processing cassette 117 is completed by the loader-side robot 118, the empty transfer cassette 116 is transferred to the unloader unit 104 via the transfer cassette buffer unit 106.
To the mounting table 121. Further, the processing cassette 117 containing a plurality of substrates before processing is provided in the surface processing unit 1.
Transfer to 03.

[0010] As shown in FIG.
As indicated by a dashed line, a plurality of processing tanks 123 are provided along a “U” -shaped transport path. The plurality of substrates accommodated in the processing cassette 117 are washed with various cleaning liquids and the like by the plurality of processing tanks 123 and dried.

Next, the surface treatment section 103 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The surface processing section 103 is a processing cassette 1 mounted on a mounting table 115 of the loader section 102 in an overturned state.
17 and the processing cassette 1 standing by the posture changing robot 124.
The cassette transfer robots 125, 126, and 1 which receive the transfer cartridge 17 and transfer it along the “U” -shaped transfer path, and immerse it in each processing tank 123 to perform cleaning or drying.
27, and the processing cassette 117 in the upright state after the processing of the final step is completed by the cassette transport robot 127, is received and turned over, and the mounting table 122 of the unloader unit 104 is mounted.
And a posture changing robot 128 mounted thereon.

Next, as shown in FIG.
The configuration and operation of the third posture changing robot 124 and the cassette transfer robot 125 will be described. Note that the posture changing robot 128 has a posture changing robot 124.
And the cassette transfer robots 126 and 127
Is substantially the same as that of the cassette transfer robot 125, and the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9, the posture changing robot 12
Reference numeral 4 denotes a pair of guide rails 131a, a driving member 132b including a motor and a ball screw, and a driving member 13b.
A guide mechanism 131 including a table 132c driven by the guide rail 131a and driven by the guide rail 131a.
And the elevating member 13 erected on the table 132c
2, a driving unit 133 attached to the side surface of the elevating member 132 so as to be able to move up and down in the Z direction, and a base end of an arm 134a attached to both side ends of the driving unit 133, and a tip end of the arm 134a A chuck 134 comprising a chuck portion 134b rotatably attached by applying a driving force from a driving portion 133 to the arm 134a via a belt.

The cassette transport robot 125 includes a plurality of guide rails 125a, an elevating mechanism 125b that can move reciprocally in the Y direction along the guide rails 125a, and that can move up and down in the Z axis direction. Mechanism 125
an opening and closing support mechanism 125c having a pair of rotating shafts extending in the X direction at the upper end of the rotating shaft b and a hook that can be opened and closed at the tip of the rotating shaft
Consists of The opening / closing support mechanism 125c is for receiving the processing cassette 117 in a standing state by the posture changing robot 124 by hooking it on a hook, and transporting the processing cassette 117 to the processing tanks 123 at the subsequent stage. Then, the cassette transport robot 125 performs transport to PP1 shown in FIG. 7, and the processing cassette 117 is sequentially transferred to the cassette transport robot 126 (from PP1 to PP2) and the cassette transport robot 127 to perform each process.

When the final drying step is completed, the cassette transport robot 127 transfers the standing processing cassette 117 to the posture changing robot 128. The transfer operation of the processing cassette 117 is the reverse of the transfer operation from the posture changing robot 124 to the cassette transfer robot 125 described above. And the posture changing robot 1
28 changes the posture of the received processing cassette 117 from the upright state to the overturned state and mounts the processing cassette 117 on the mounting table 122 of the unloader unit 104.

The unloader section 104 includes the processing cassette 1
17, the same transfer cassette 116 as that before cleaning, which receives the substrate after the cleaning process, is waiting on the mounting table 121. Therefore, the unloader robot 119 performs the processing cassette 117 by the reverse operation of the loader robot 118. Are sequentially transferred into the transfer cassette 116. After the transfer is completed, the transport cassette 116 is unloaded from the unloading port 112. The unloader-side robot 119 has the same configuration as the loader-side robot 118, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[0018]

A conventional substrate processing apparatus 1
Reference numeral 01 denotes a configuration in which the transport cassette buffer unit 106 and the processing cassette buffer unit 107 are sequentially fed. In other words, the substrates in the transport cassette 116 carried in by the carry-in entrance 111 are transferred to the processing cassette 117 and subjected to the cleaning process, and thus have a one-to-one relationship. Therefore, the processing capacity of the substrate processing apparatus 101 is the number of cassettes that can be placed on the transport cassette buffer unit 106 and the processing cassette buffer unit 107. When the number of cassettes is increased, the size of the apparatus is increased.

Further, the conventional substrate processing apparatus 101 includes a transfer cassette 116 in a transfer cassette buffer unit 106.
Feed mechanism, cassette buffer 10 for processing
7 requires a feed mechanism for sequentially feeding the processing cassette 117, the posture changing robot 124, and the posture changing robot 128, and the control of these devices must be performed, which complicates the control.

A conventional substrate processing apparatus 101 is similar to that of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, it is configured to enter from the maintenance entrance 108 in order to enter the maintenance area 105. As is clear from FIG.
And the cassette transfer robot 125 are transferred synchronously with each other, so that there is not much space. Therefore, the posture changing robot 124 is provided with a mechanism for moving in the Y direction along the guide rail 125a, as is apparent from FIG. By doing so, the posture changing robot 124 and the cassette transfer robot 125 can be moved closer to or away from each other. However, the transfer of the processing cassette 117 requires more precise synchronization control, so that more complicated control is performed.

The conventional substrate processing apparatus 101 includes a cassette transfer robot 125 and a cassette transfer robot 12.
6. Surface treatment unit 10 by cassette transport robot 127
3 are performed. As is clear from FIG.
Since the direction of the open / close support mechanism 125c (see FIG. 9) for locking the processing cassette 117 is different from that of the other cassette transport robots 125 and 127, the cassette transport robot 126 must change the shape of the hook at the tip. In addition, it is necessary to perform synchronous control for performing a receiving operation of the processing cassette 117 between the cassette transport robots 125, 126, and 127. In addition, each of the cassette transport robots 125, 126, and 127 is a processing cassette 1
17 must be sequentially transferred, so that there is a problem that it is impossible to operate the cassette transfer robots 125, 126, 127 at a speed higher than the moving speed and the processing capacity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing such as cleaning on the surface of a substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display or a semiconductor wafer. Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of reducing the size and cost of the apparatus, maintaining the apparatus easily, and improving the processing capacity.

[0023]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus for performing a surface treatment on a plurality of substrates stored in a cassette, wherein the plurality of substrates are stored at a predetermined pitch. The transfer cassette to be loaded
Shifting means for moving a predetermined distance between an outlet and a transfer position of the substrate, the transfer cassette and the predetermined pitch
And the substrate reassignment means for changing transfer substrates between the processing cassette having a different arrangement pitch, a posture change means for changing the posture of the processing cassette for accommodating the substrate after the pretreatment or treatment, the processing cassette a surface treatment unit having at least two cassette transport means for transporting a series of processes performed immersed in the cleaning tank or the like, hank of the surface treatment unit
A transfer unit that forms a substantially U-shaped transport path with Tsu preparative conveying means, a conveying cassette buffer for multiple stock the transport cassette, and processing cassette buffer for several stocks the processing cassette,
A transfer unit that moves the transfer cassette of the transfer cassette buffer unit and the processing cassette of the processing cassette buffer unit; and the transfer unit is disposed above the cleaning tank and the like. , A space is provided below which allows access to the maintenance area.

The transport cassette buffer section and the processing cassette buffer section of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention are each constituted by at least two or more stages.

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, the transport cassette in the transport cassette buffer unit and the processing cassette in the processing cassette buffer unit are transported by different processing methods. The transport cassettes are sequentially transferred by a first-loading method.

In the transfer unit of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, at least one of the processing cassettes can be mounted on a table guided by guide means, and the processing cassettes are placed on standby on the table. It is possible.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention,
The above-described cassette transport means have different processing speeds.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the appearance and the inside of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration inside the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a substrate transfer process by a loader-side substrate transfer robot, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a transfer unit.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention comprises a housing 2, a loader section 3, a surface processing section 4, a transfer unit 5, an unloader section 6, and a maintenance area 7. , A transport cassette buffer unit 8 and a processing cassette buffer unit 9.

As shown in FIG. 1, the interior of the housing 1 is maintained in a highly clean atmosphere, so that dust and the like do not adhere to the substrate or the like during the process of performing the cleaning process.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the transport cassette 11 containing a plurality of substrates is loaded into the loading port 13 of the loader unit 3 in the X direction, the transport cassette 11 is not shown. It is mounted on a mounting table. The transport cassette 11 is shifted by one in the direction of the arrow Ya by a shift means (not shown). The shift means includes a driving mechanism such as a cylinder, and shifts the mounting table by one in the Ya direction by the driving mechanism such as the cylinder.
This is because the substrate W in the transfer cassette 11 (see FIGS. 4 and 5)
(Shown in FIG. 3), the further transfer cassette 11 is kept in the housing 2 to improve work efficiency, and a cassette transfer robot, which will be described later, can be further moved to the carry-in port 13 side. Therefore, working efficiency and space saving are achieved.

When the transfer cassette 11 is positioned at a predetermined position, a posture changing section disposed in parallel with the mounting table on which the transfer cassette 11 is mounted with the loader side substrate transfer robot 17 interposed therebetween. An empty processing cassette 12 is placed in a standby state on 15 substantially L-shaped arms 15a. In the processing cassette 12, the arm 15 a of the posture changing unit 15 is positioned in a horizontal position so that the substrate W can be inserted in a horizontal state with the upper part thereof facing the transfer cassette 11.

In this state, the unprocessed substrates stored in the transport cassette 11 are transferred to the processing cassette 12 by the loader-side substrate transfer robot 17. At this time,
The arrangement pitch of the plurality of substrates W in the transfer cassette 11 is as follows:
The pitch is larger than the arrangement pitch of the substrates in the processing cassette 12. The arrangement pitch of the substrates in the processing cassette 12 is as follows:
Although the pitch is optimal, the processing cassette 12
By making the arrangement pitch smaller than the arrangement pitch of the transport cassettes 11, the size of the cleaning tank is reduced.

Next, a loader-side substrate transfer robot 17 for transferring substrates from the transfer cassette 11 to the processing cassette 12 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In addition, about the unloader side substrate transfer robot 18,
Since the configuration is the same as that of the loader-side substrate transfer robot 17, the description is omitted. The loader-side substrate transfer robot 17 and the unloader-side substrate transfer robot 18 are referred to as substrate transfer means.

The loader-side substrate transfer robot 17 is installed on the floor of the housing 2 shown in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. 4, a base 17a and a drive (not shown) provided in the base 17a. Elevating shaft 17 provided to be vertically expandable and contractible in the Z-axis direction and rotatable in the R-direction by means
b, a rotating base 17c mounted and fixed on the upper part of the elevating shaft 17b, and a guide groove 17c _{1 of the} rotating base 17c.
Movable base end portion 17d ₁ causes unexpected drive mechanism by a pair of arms 17d ₂ attached to both ends of the driving force is guided granted proximal end portion 17d ₁ is the front-rear direction shown, i.e. in the X direction along the And a suitable substrate mounting portion 17d.

The transfer operation of the substrate W by the loader-side substrate transfer robot 17 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, a large-sized glass substrate W used for a substantially rectangular liquid crystal display or the like has an opening 11o in the front-rear direction and is formed in a box shape by a plurality of columns 11a. Are arranged at a predetermined pitch in the transfer cassette 11.

Then, the loader-side substrate transfer robot 17
Is used to expand or contract the elevating shaft 17b,
positioning d of the arm 17d ₂ below the substrate W stored at the bottom (or top) of the transport cassette 11.
This positioning is performed by a control device (not shown) as control means including a microcomputer or the like provided in the substrate processing apparatus 1. It should be noted that various controls according to the present invention are all performed by this control device.

Next, the rotation base 17c that is attached to the elevator shaft 17b and the upper end is rotated in the R direction to position toward the arm 17d ₂ of the substrate platform 17d to opening 11o of the transport cassette 11. After this positioning, the rotary base 17c moves by applying a driving force to the proximal end portion 17d ₁ of the substrate mounting portion 17d by advancing the arm 17d ₂ in the opening 11o of the transport cassette 11 on the lower surface of the substrate W . Next, the elevating shaft 17b is slightly extended in the Z direction to raise the substrate mounting portion 17d and abut on the lower surface of the substrate W for suction. Incidentally, this adsorption depends on the suction means such as vacuum suction provided in the arm 17d _2, not shown in FIG.

When the substrate mounting portion 17d holds the substrate W,
The operation opposite to the above is performed. That is, the substrate mounting portion 17d
From the transport cassette 11 to rotate the rotary base 17c in the Rv direction. 1 and 2
As shown in FIG.
To the opening 12o. This processing cassette 12
Is the same as the transport cassette 11 except that the arrangement pitch is different. Accordingly, the loader side substrate transfer robot 1
When the substrate 7 transfers the substrate W from the transport cassette 11 to the processing cassette 12, the arrangement pitch is different, so that it is necessary to position the elevating shaft 17b.

By the above operation, the substrate W is transferred from the transport cassette 11 to the processing cassette 12.

Next, the processing cassette 12 in the overturned state, in which a plurality of substrates W before processing are stored, is centered on the support shaft 15b so that the opening 12o faces upward by the posture changing part 15 as the posture changing means. It is driven by a driving means (not shown) to rotate to an upright state (see an arrow Ro in FIG. 1). The posture changing section 15 as the posture changing means is fixed to fixing means (not shown) in the housing 2. Note that the posture changing unit 16 has the same configuration as that of the posture changing unit 15, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the processing cassette 12 in the posture changing section 15 is transferred to the surface processing section 4 by a cassette transfer robot 21 as a cassette transfer means. Since the cassette transfer robot 22 as the cassette transfer means has the same configuration as the cassette transfer robot 21, description thereof will be omitted. The cassette transfer robot 21 mainly transfers to the cleaning process, and the cassette transfer robot 22 mainly transfers to the rinsing and drying processes. This surface treatment section 4 is provided with a transfer unit 5 described later,
It forms a substantially "U" -shaped transport path.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the surface treatment unit 4
The washing step and the rinsing step consist of seven tanks. That is, the chuck cleaning tank 23 for cleaning the chuck of the cassette transfer robot 21 and the peeling cleaning tanks 24 and 2
5. DM for rinsing stripping solution in stripping cleaning tanks 24 and 25
SO (dimethyl sulfoxide = dimethyl su)
lfoxide) cleaning tank 26, rinsing tanks 27 and 28,
This is a drying tank 29. These tanks are hereinafter referred to as cleaning tanks and the like, and various cleaning liquids and rinsing liquids are referred to as cleaning liquids and the like.

Next, the surface treatment section 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

The surface treatment section 4 includes cleaning tanks (23 to 2).
9) and the processing cassette 1 before processing from the posture changing unit 15
A cassette transport robot 21 as a cassette transport means for transporting the cleaning cassette 2 to each cleaning tank and the like; and a cassette transport means for transporting the processed cassette 12 to each of the cleaning tanks and the like and transferring the processed processing cassette 12 to the attitude changing unit 16. Transfer robot 22
It consists of

Next, the cassette transfer robot 21 as a cassette transfer means will be described with reference to FIG.

The cassette transfer robot 21 includes a guide mechanism 21a including a plurality of guide rails and the like, and a guide mechanism 2a.
A lifting mechanism 21b which is supported by 1a, is reciprocally movable in the X direction by being provided with a driving force by a belt or a chain, and is vertically movable in the Z axis direction, and extends in the Y direction at the upper end of the lifting mechanism 21b. It comprises a support arm 21c and an opening / closing mechanism 21d having a hook which can be opened and closed below the support arm 21c.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cassette transfer robot 21 is configured to enter a position where one end of the guide mechanism 21a is aligned with the posture changing unit 15, that is, a line indicated by A. With this configuration, the posture changing unit 15
Since the arm 15a of the posture changing portion 15 can be fixed between the rolled state and the upright state, the arm 15a of the posture changing section 15 can be fixed to the fixing means (not shown) in the housing 2.
The control of the transfer of the processing cassette 12 is simple. Further, the transport cassette 11 is moved to the park position P _{1 in} order to allow the guide mechanism 21a to enter a position aligned with the posture changing unit 15.
By having a configuration in which the shift to the park position P ₂ from the following transport cassette 11 on standby to the park position P ₁ in the housing 2 has a configuration capable of immediately performing the following process.

Opening / closing mechanism 21 of cassette transfer robot 21
As for d, the processing cassette 12 in an upright state is received by the posture changing part 15 by being hooked on a hook, and the processing cassette 12 is sequentially immersed in each of the cleaning tanks 23 to 26 for cleaning.

The cassette transfer robot 21 uses the DMSO
When the cleaning of the cleaning tank 26 is completed, the processing cassette 12 is transferred to the transfer unit 5. As shown in FIG. 2, a DMSO cleaning tank 26 is provided below the transfer unit 5, and the other end of the guide mechanism 21a of the cassette transport robot 21 is provided alongside the DMSO cleaning tank 26. Then, the cassette transfer robot 21 can enter the innermost part.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer unit 5 is disposed above the DMSO cleaning tank 26, and the lower part of the transfer unit 5 is an open space to freely enter and exit the maintenance area 7. It is possible. With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention facilitates maintenance work on the buffer cleaning tanks 31 and 32 serving as buffers and each device, which is one of the features of the present invention. I have.

Next, the configuration and operation of the transfer unit 5 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the transfer unit 5 is straddled by two track rails 35a and the track rails 35a. A slider 35b guided reciprocally along the track 35a, a table 35c fixed to the slider 35b,
An endless belt 35d attached to the center of the lower surface of the table 35c and wound around a pair of pulleys 35e, and a motor 35f for applying a driving force to one of the pair of pulleys 35e.
It consists of The track rail 35a and the slider 35b are referred to as guide means.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the cassette transfer robot 21 locks the processing cassette 12 from the DMSO cleaning tank 26, on which the cleaning processing has been completed, to the hook of the opening / closing mechanism 21d, and Table 3
5c is placed at a predetermined position. And the motor 35f
When driven by a command from a control device (not shown), the table 35c moves in the Y direction together with the endless belt 35d. When the processing cassette 12 arrives above the rinsing tank 27, the processing cassette 12 is transferred to a cassette transport robot 22 as cassette transport means.

In the table 35c of the transfer unit 5, one processing cassette 12 is mounted in FIG. 5, but it is also possible to have a size in which a plurality of processing cassettes 12 are mounted. is there. In this case, the endless belt 35d and the table 35f are configured to avoid the elevating mechanism of the cassette transport robot 22 (see the elevating mechanism 21b of the cassette transport robot 21), that is, to provide a slit at the center of the table, or to move the endless belt 31d to one side. What is necessary is just to have a structure.

That is, the transfer unit 5
In the case where time is required for the processing step due to the processing speed or moving speed of the cassette transport robots 21 and 22, the processing cassette 12 can be temporarily put on standby on the table 35c of the transfer unit 5. It is. By doing so, the cassette transport robot 21
And the cassette transport robot 22 are not always required to be synchronized, so that the processing speed of the work is improved and the control is easy.

Next, the cassette transfer robot 22 receives the processing cassette 12 from the transfer unit 5, and after the final drying tank 29 is completed through the rinsing tanks 27 and 28, the posture changing unit 16 moves the processing cassette 12 upright. Deliver the cassette 12. The transfer operation of the processing cassette 12 is the reverse of the transfer operation from the attitude changing unit 15 to the cassette transfer robot 21 described above. Then, the posture changing unit 16 receives the processing cassette 12
The posture is changed from a standing state to a rollover state. Then, the process of the unloader unit 6 is performed. The unloader unit 6 loads the substrates W after processing by the unloader substrate transfer robot 18 as substrate transfer means into the processing cassette 1.
The same transport cassette 1 that transports the substrate W from 2
1 and is carried out of the transfer port 14. The transfer operation of the substrate W from the unloader-side substrate transfer robot 18 has the same configuration as that of the loader-side substrate transfer robot 17, except that the transfer operation of the substrate W is reversed. And, as shown in FIG. 2, the park position P ₃
Shifting operation to the park position P ₄ from will be omitted because it is same as the park position P ₁ and the park position P ₂ as described above.

Next, a description will be given of the transport cassette buffer unit 8, the processing cassette buffer unit 9, and the cassette moving unit 10, which are features of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, each of the transport cassette buffer section 8 and the processing cassette buffer section 9 has an upper and lower two-stage configuration. With this configuration, it is possible to save space and to stock a plurality of transfer cassettes 11 and processing cassettes 12. The transport cassette buffer section 8 and the processing cassette buffer section 9 have a two-stage configuration,
It may be composed of a plurality of stages.

The transport cassette buffer section 8 and the processing cassette buffer section 9 are common in that they have a two-stage configuration in the upper and lower stages, but the transport cassette buffer section 8 and the processing cassette buffer section 9 are of a feed system. Are different. That is, the transport cassette buffer unit 8 is called a first-loading type, and is transported out of the transport outlet 13 while maintaining the order of the transport cassettes 11 loaded from the transport entrance 13. Therefore, the substrates W stored in the transport cassette 11 are returned to the same transport cassette 11 after the cleaning process. Therefore, the arrangement of the upper and lower two stages of the transport cassette buffer unit 8 is controlled in order according to a predetermined rule.

The processing cassette buffer 9
Since the processing cassette 12 only has to circulate the transport path of the surface processing section 4 and the transfer unit 5, the posture changing section 1 is randomly moved by the cassette moving means 10 described later.
5. Therefore, in FIGS. 1 and 3, the transport cassette 11 and the processing cassette 12 are arranged in an orderly manner.
The processing cassette 12 received from 6 is conveyed to the location. Of course, as in the case of the transport cassette 11, a first-stuffing method may be used, but this method improves the processing speed.

Next, the structure and operation of the cassette moving means 10 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cassette moving means 10
Is a pair of guide rails 38a and the guide rails 3
A substantially L-shaped base 38b guided reciprocally in the Y direction by driving means (not shown) along the base 8b;
elevating table 38c that can be moved up and down in the Z-axis direction along the standing portion b
Then, the transport cassette 11 and the processing cassette 12 are taken out of the transporting cassette 11 and the processing cassette 12 so as to be able to advance and retreat into the transporting cassette 11 and the processing cassette 12 by being driven by a driving means (not shown) on the support portion 38c so as to advance and retreat. And a cassette moving piece 38d.

When the transport cassette 11 is to be moved, the cassette moving means 10 moves the elevator 38 c to the support 1.
1, the cassette moving piece 38d is extended to enter the transporting cassette 11, and then the elevating table 38c is raised to place the cassette moving piece 38d on the cassette moving piece 38d so that the transporting cassette 11 is positioned at a predetermined position. To the position.
The same applies to the processing cassette 12.

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention
Since the processing of the transport cassette buffer unit 8 and the processing cassette buffer unit 10 is performed by the cassette moving unit 10, the installation space can be reduced and the processing capacity can be improved.

When transferring or receiving the processing cassette 12 to / from the attitude changing section 15 and the attitude changing section 16, the cassette moving means 10 communicates with the loader-side substrate transferring robot 17 and the unloader-side substrate transferring robot 18. In order to avoid collision, the height of the lifting platform 38c and the lifting shaft 17b are controlled so that they do not collide.

[0069]

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is capable of accommodating a large number of cassettes because both the transport cassette buffer section and the processing cassette buffer section are composed of a plurality of stages. In addition, since the transport cassette buffer unit and the processing cassette buffer unit use different feeding systems, the processing speed can be improved and the working efficiency can be improved.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, since the processing between the transport cassette buffer section and the processing cassette buffer section is performed by the cassette moving means, the configuration of the apparatus is simple and the control is easy. Cost can also be reduced.

Further, since the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention has a transfer unit, it is possible to easily enter and exit the maintenance area, so that the maintenance is easy and the substrate processing apparatus can be replaced with a cassette transport robot. Because of the transfer unit, the entire apparatus is not complicated and the control is easy. Especially,
There is no need to perform synchronous control between cassette transfer robots.
In addition, when the cassette transport robot is working, the transfer unit can be in a standby state, so that the working efficiency and the working speed can be improved.
In addition, according to the present invention, since the number of processing tanks is different, the work time is different for cassette transport robots having the same processing speed. Therefore, by providing such a transfer unit, it is possible to eliminate the time difference between them. Becomes Further, by effectively utilizing the transfer unit, it is possible to use cassette transport robots having different processing speeds.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the appearance and the inside of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration inside a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating movement of a cassette by a cassette moving unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a substrate transfer process by a loader-side substrate transfer robot.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a transfer unit.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a configuration inside the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a loader-side robot.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a posture changing robot and a surface processing robot that transports a processing cassette provided in the substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 2 Housing 3 Loader part 4 Surface treatment part 5 Transfer unit 6 Unloader part 7 Maintenance area 8 Transport cassette buffer part 9 Processing cassette buffer part 10 Cassette moving means 11 Transport cassette 12 Processing cassette 13 Loading entrance 14 Loading port 15, 16 Attitude change section 17 Loader-side substrate transfer robot 18 Unloader-side substrate transfer robot 21, 22 Cassette transfer robot

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a surface treatment on a plurality of substrates stored in the cassette, the transport cassette for accommodating a plurality of substrates at a predetermined pitch entrance or unloading port and the substrate Shift means for moving a predetermined distance between the transfer cassette and the transfer cassette, and a substrate transfer for transferring a substrate between the transport cassette and a processing cassette having an arrangement pitch different from the predetermined pitch. Replacement means; attitude changing means for changing the attitude of a processing cassette for storing substrates before or after processing; and at least two or more of performing a series of processing by transporting the processing cassette and immersing it in a cleaning tank or the like. a surface treatment unit having a cassette carrying unit, wherein the surface and transfer unit that forms a substantially U-shaped transport path with processing of the cassette transport means, a plurality of the transport cassette stopper Transport cassette buffer unit, a processing cassette buffer unit that stocks a plurality of the processing cassettes, a cassette movement that moves the transport cassette of the transport cassette buffer unit and the processing cassette of the processing cassette buffer unit Means, wherein the transfer unit is disposed above the cleaning tank and the like, and a space is provided below the transfer unit so that the space can enter and exit the maintenance area. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport cassette buffer unit and the processing cassette buffer unit each include at least two or more stages. 3. The transport cassette of the transport cassette buffer unit and the processing cassette of the processing cassette buffer unit are transported by different processing methods, and the transport cassette of the transport cassette buffer unit is first-filled. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus sequentially transfers the substrates. 4. The transfer unit according to claim 1, wherein at least one or more of the processing cassettes can be mounted on a table guided by guiding means, and the processing cassettes can be on standby on the table. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two or more cassette transport units have different processing speeds.