JP3934191B2 - Semiconductor manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate transfer apparatus that performs transfer processing of a substrate to a plurality of chambers in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including a plurality of chambers.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a plurality of chambers for performing a plurality of predetermined processes on a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer and a glass substrate, and the substrate transfer apparatus performs a substrate transfer process between the chambers. There is something to make.
Such a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus will be described with reference to a part of the apparatus shown in FIG.
The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes process chambers PC1 to PC3 that perform predetermined processing on a substrate, and a substrate transfer device J that performs transfer processing of the substrate between the chambers.
[0003]
The process chambers PC1 to PC3 are chambers that perform different processes, and the shapes of the chambers are different.
The substrate transfer device J includes a substrate holding means T for placing and holding a substrate, and a driving means R for moving the substrate holding means T by performing rotation and expansion / contraction operations. The processing is performed based on the same preset conveyance speed and conveyance acceleration.
[0004]
For example, when a substrate is carried into the process chamber PC1, the driving means R moves the substrate holding means T on which the substrate is placed and held into the process chamber PC1 by the rotation and extension operations based on the setting, and a predetermined substrate is obtained. The substrate held by the substrate holding means T is placed at the placement position. Next, the driving means R moves the substrate holding means T out of the process chamber PC1 by a contraction operation based on the setting.
[0005]
On the other hand, when the substrate is unloaded from the process chamber PC1, the driving means R is moved into the process chamber PC1 by the rotation and extension operations based on the setting, and the substrate at a predetermined substrate placement position is transferred to the substrate holding means T. Place. Next, the driving means R moves the substrate holding means T, on which the substrate is placed and held, to the outside of the process chamber PC1 by the contraction operation based on the setting.
Then, the substrate is transported based on the same transport speed and transport acceleration set in advance for the other chambers.
When the drive device R is configured by a plurality of mechanisms (axes), the speed and acceleration for each axis may be set as the above-described transport speed and transport acceleration.
[0006]
In the invention described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-307373, the processing efficiency of the transfer process is improved by changing the speed and acceleration depending on whether or not the wafer is held in the transfer process of the wafer (substrate). Is described.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In semiconductor manufacturing equipment, it is desired to improve processing efficiency by shortening the time required for substrate transport processing. For this reason, in the above-described substrate transport device, the transport speed is increased and the transport acceleration is increased. Has been done.
[0008]
However, in the above-described conventional substrate transfer apparatus, the longer the extension length of the drive device, the greater the vibration applied to the substrate holding means, and the more the transfer speed is increased or the transfer acceleration is increased, the more the vibration is applied to the substrate holding means substrate. The transport speed and transport acceleration when the substrate holding means is holding the substrate are different from each other in the transport processing for the chamber that requires the longest extension operation by the driving device. In addition, it must be possible to prevent a situation such as dropping off the substrate, and there is a limit to shortening the time.
[0009]
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the conventional circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer apparatus that can prevent the substrate from being displaced in the transfer process and can further improve the processing efficiency of the substrate transfer process. .
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention was made paying attention to the fact that the conveyance speed and the acceleration at which the substrate is displaced may be different for each chamber to be conveyed. At least one control condition of transport speed and transport acceleration is set, and transport processing for each chamber is performed based on the control condition.
[0011]
A substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention is a substrate transfer apparatus for transferring a substrate to a plurality of chambers, a substrate holding means for holding and transferring a substrate, and a substrate holding means for moving the substrate relative to the chamber. A drive means for carrying, a drive control means for controlling the movement of the substrate holding means by the drive means for each chamber, based on the control conditions of at least one of the carry speed and the carry acceleration set for each chamber; It is provided with.
[0012]
In the substrate transport apparatus described above, the drive control unit controls the movement of the substrate holding unit by the drive unit based on the control condition of at least one of the transport speed and the transport acceleration set for each chamber, and transports the substrate to the chamber. Let it be done.
Therefore, by setting at least one control condition of the conveyance speed and the conveyance acceleration that does not cause the substrate displacement for each chamber, the occurrence of the substrate displacement can be prevented.
In addition, the time required for the transfer process can be shortened by setting the transfer speed to be high and the transfer acceleration to be large within a range where the substrate does not shift for each chamber.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A part of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, the same number is attached | subjected to the part same as a prior art example.
The substrate transfer device K includes a substrate holding means T for placing and holding a substrate, a driving means R for moving the substrate holding means T, a memory M for holding speed and acceleration control conditions that define the operation of the driving means R, and Drive control means C for controlling the drive means R based on the control conditions of the memory M.
[0014]
The driving means R has a configuration including a plurality of shafts, and the substrate holding means T is moved by performing operations such as expansion, contraction, and rotation by the operation of each shaft.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the memory M holds a speed and acceleration control condition corresponding to the state of operation by the driving means R as a table. In this embodiment, the memory M drives the speed and acceleration control condition. The means R is held separately for each axis.
[0015]
For example, when the acceleration (deceleration) of the driving means R is “speed 1”, the initial adjustment when the driving means R is normally moved, and the first adjustment of the event of transporting the substrate while detecting foreign matter in the process chamber Speed is “speed 2”, the speed of a certain event in which the operation of the driving means R by the axes 1 to 4 is performed, and the second adjustment speed of a certain event in which the movement of the driving means R by the axes 5 and 6 is performed. And “speed 3”, the speed when the substrate holding means T is not holding the substrate is “speed 4”, and the substrate holding means T is holding the substrate in the operation with respect to the process chamber PC1. In this operation, the substrate holding means T holds the substrate in the operation with respect to the process chamber PC2 with the conveyance speed that does not cause the substrate being shifted as "speed 5". The feeding speed is set to “speed 6”, and the transport speed that does not cause the displacement of the substrate when the substrate holding means T holds the substrate in the operation with respect to the process chamber PC2 is held as “speed 7”. ing.
Here, the speed “speed 4” when the substrate is not held is set to be higher than the speeds “speed 5”, “speed 6”, and “speed 7” when the substrate is held. Yes.
[0016]
If the speed is the same even for a plurality of events, the storage efficiency of the memory M can be improved by grouping them into the same entry as in “speed 2” described above. Further, when the axis that operates in a certain event and the axis that operates in another certain event do not overlap, the storage efficiency of the memory M is improved by grouping them into the same entry as in the above “speed 3”. Can be improved.
[0017]
The table shown in FIG. 2 may be displayed on a display device (not shown) such as a display device so that the operator can set information in the memory M from an input means (not shown) such as a keyboard. it can.
[0018]
The drive control means C takes out the speed and acceleration corresponding to the situation from the memory M according to the situation in which the drive means R is operated, and controls each axis of the drive means R according to the taken out speed and acceleration.
For example, when the substrate is carried into the process chamber PC1, “speed 1” and “speed 5” are taken out from the memory M, and the “speed 1” thus taken is taken as the carrying acceleration, and “speed 5” is taken as the carrying speed. As described above, each axis of the driving means R is controlled.
[0019]
Next, the operation of the substrate transfer apparatus K described above will be described by taking as an example a case where a substrate placed in the process chamber PC1 is transferred to the process chamber PC3.
First, the drive control means C takes out the substrate non-holding speed “speed 4” and the acceleration “speed 1” from the memory M, and rotates and expands the drive means R according to the “speed 4” and “speed 1” to obtain the substrate. The substrate holding means T not holding the substrate is moved into the process chamber PC1, and the substrate at a predetermined substrate placement position is placed on the substrate holding means T. Next, the drive control means C takes out the substrate transport speed “speed 5” from the memory M to the process chamber PC1, and contracts the drive means R in accordance with the “speed 5” and “speed 1” to thereby provide the substrate holding means T. Is moved out of the process chamber PC1.
[0020]
Next, the drive control means C takes out the substrate transfer speed “speed 7” for the process chamber PC3 from the memory M, and rotates and expands the drive means R according to the “speed 7” and “speed 1” to thereby provide the substrate holding means T. Is moved into the process chamber PC3, and the substrate held by the substrate holding means T is placed at a predetermined substrate placement position. Next, the drive control means C takes out the substrate non-holding speed “speed 4” from the memory M, and contracts the driving means R in accordance with the “speed 4” and “speed 1”, thereby bringing the substrate holding means T into the process chamber PC3. Move outside.
[0021]
Thus, when the substrate holding means T holds the substrate during the operation by the driving means R for each chamber, the substrate is transferred according to the transfer speed for each chamber that does not cause the substrate to shift. It is possible to prevent the substrate from being displaced. In addition, as the transfer speed for each chamber is increased within a range in which the substrate does not shift, the transfer processing time can be shortened.
In addition, since the speed is increased when the substrate is not transported compared to when the substrate is held, the time for the transport process can be further shortened.
[0022]
In addition, for example, when carrying out a transfer process for a process chamber that performs a high-temperature process, since the time for the transfer process can be shortened, the amount of heat taken away from the chamber during the transfer process can be suppressed, Temperature control for the chamber can be facilitated.
[0023]
In the above-described embodiment, the transfer acceleration is the same in the transfer process for any chamber. However, if the transfer acceleration is set for each chamber, the transfer process for each chamber can be more effectively performed. It is possible to prevent the substrate from being displaced and to shorten the time for carrying processing.
In addition, the acceleration when the substrate is not held can be larger than the conveyance acceleration when the substrate is held, so the acceleration when the substrate is not held is higher than when the substrate is held. If it is set to a large value, it is possible to further shorten the time for carrying processing.
[0024]
In the above-described embodiment, the transfer processing time is more effectively shortened by making the speed when the substrate is not held faster than the transfer speed when the substrate is held. Even when the same speed is set for each chamber regardless of whether or not it is held, the time for the transfer process can be shortened.
[0025]
In the above-described embodiment, the driving unit is controlled based on the control conditions for both the transport speed and the transport acceleration set for each chamber. However, the control condition for only the transport acceleration is set for each chamber. And the control may be performed based on the control condition. In short, the control may be performed based on the control condition of at least one of the transport speed and the transport acceleration set for each chamber.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention, at least one control condition of transfer speed and transfer acceleration is set for each chamber, and the substrate is transferred based on the control condition. In the transfer process for each chamber, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the substrate is displaced, and to shorten the time required for the transfer process.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partial configuration diagram of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating speed and acceleration control conditions for controlling a driving unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a partial configuration diagram of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including a substrate transfer apparatus according to a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
PC1, PC2, PC3 ... Process chamber,
J, K ... substrate transfer device,
T. ・ Substrate holding means,
R ... Drive means,
C ... Drive control means
M ... memory

Claims (1)

In a substrate transfer apparatus that performs substrate transfer processing for a plurality of chambers,
A substrate holding means for holding and transferring the substrate;
Driving means for moving the substrate holding means to carry the substrate to the chamber;
A memory for holding a plurality of transfer speeds and transfer accelerations set for each chamber;
Driving for controlling the movement of the substrate holding means by the driving means with respect to the chamber in accordance with the selected conveying speed and the conveying acceleration in accordance with the selected conveying speed and the conveying acceleration when performing the carrying process on the chamber. And a control means.

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