JP4111939B2 - Substrate loading / unloading apparatus and substrate processing apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate loading / unloading apparatus for loading / unloading a substrate to / from a cassette that accommodates substrates such as semiconductor wafers in multiple stages, and a substrate processing apparatus using the same, and more particularly to a cassette for loading / unloading a substrate. The present invention relates to a technique for detecting the presence / absence of a substrate.

  Conventionally, as this type of substrate loading / unloading apparatus, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-321706.

  Hereinafter, a conventional substrate loading / unloading apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 12A and 12B are a partially broken side view and a front view showing a state where a cassette is set on a cassette mounting device provided in a conventional apparatus. FIGS. 13A and 13B are a partially broken side view and a front view showing a state in which the presence or absence of a substrate in the cassette is detected.

  A cassette C that accommodates substrates W such as semiconductor wafers in multiple stages includes a container Ca having an opening on the front side and a lid Cb that closes the opening of the container Ca. Such a cassette C is particularly called a FOUP (Front Open Unified Pod) cassette. The cassette mounting apparatus includes a cassette stage 2 that can slide on the mounting table 1. The cassette C is positioned and placed on the cassette stage 2. The cassette mounting unit A on which the cassette C is mounted and the processing unit B that performs various processes on the substrate W are shielded by the partition wall 3. In the partition wall 3, a passage port 3 a is formed so that the substrate W can travel between the cassette mounting part A and the processing part B.

  When the processing of the substrate W is not performed, the passage opening 3a of the partition wall 3 is closed by the shutter mechanism 4 as shown in FIG. The shutter mechanism 4 includes a shutter member 5 that closes the passage opening 3a, an arm 6 that supports the shutter member 5, and a drive unit 7 that is provided on the base end side of the arm 6 and that swings and moves the shutter member 5 up and down. It is composed of

  On the processing section B side, a substrate transport mechanism 8 for loading and unloading the substrate W into and from the cassette C is provided. The substrate transport mechanism 8 includes a support base 9 that can be raised and lowered and a support arm 10 that slides on the support base 9. The support arm 10 includes a support structure for positioning and supporting the substrate W.

  As shown in FIG. 12B, a detection device 11 for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W in the cassette C is provided beside the shutter mechanism 4. The detection device 11 includes a large number of protrusions 13 held by the holding member 12 in accordance with the arrangement pitch of the substrates W in the cassette C. Each protrusion 13 is provided with a light emitting element and a light receiving element (not shown) so as to face each other with a small gap between the protrusions 13. The holding member 12 is driven up and down and swiveled by the air cylinder 14.

  According to the conventional cassette mounting apparatus configured as described above, each substrate W in the cassette C is detected as follows.

  First, the shutter member 5 that closes the passage port 3 a of the partition wall 3 holds the lid Cb of the cassette C. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 13, the arm 6 of the shutter mechanism 4 is driven to swing backward, whereby the shutter member 5 is retracted integrally with the lid Cb. Then, when the arm 6 is driven downward, the shutter member 5 moves to the retracted position below the passage port 3a. Next, the air cylinder 14 of the detection device 11 is actuated to raise the holding member 12, and the holding member 12 turns at a predetermined position facing the cassette C, whereby each projection 13 is located between the substrates W in the cassette C. Enter the gap. Light is emitted from the light emitting elements provided on the protrusions 13, and the presence or absence of the substrate W is detected based on whether or not the light receiving elements facing the light emitting elements receive the light.

  When the detection of the substrate W is completed, the holding device 12 is returned to the retracted position (the state shown in FIG. 12B) by driving the detection device 11 in the opposite direction to the operation described above. When the series of detection operations as described above is completed, the substrate transport mechanism 8 is driven based on the detected / stored data on the presence / absence of the substrate W, thereby unloading the substrate W from the cassette C and processing completed. The substrate W is loaded into the cassette C.

  However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.

  When detecting the presence / absence of the substrate W in the cassette C, the holding member 12 is lifted / turned and the holding member 12 is retracted following the opening operation of the shutter member 5. A considerable amount of time is required until the substrate W is carried in / out, and the throughput of the substrate processing apparatus using this type of substrate carrying-in / out device is reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a substrate loading / unloading apparatus capable of quickly detecting the presence / absence of a substrate in a cassette and loading / unloading a substrate is used. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus.

  In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.

  That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a substrate loading / unloading device that is arranged in parallel with a processing unit that performs a required process on a substrate, and loads and unloads the substrate with respect to a cassette that accommodates a plurality of substrates in multiple stages. And a partition that positions and mounts the cassette, a partition that separates the mount and the processing unit, and that has a passage opening that allows the substrate to pass therethrough, and a partition that passes through the partition. A shutter member that opens and closes a mouth, a shutter drive mechanism that moves the shutter member up and down across a position that closes the passage opening and a retreat position that opens the passage opening, a substrate detector that detects a substrate in the cassette, and a substrate detector The substrate detector is held at its distal end so that is located above the shutter member, and the base end portion of the substrate detector extends vertically downward in conjunction with the up and down movement of the shutter member. Based on the connecting mechanism that connects the shutter member and the holding member so that the holding member moves up and down, and the substrate storage information in the cassette detected by the substrate detector, the substrate is loaded into the cassette through the partition passage port. -A substrate transport mechanism for carrying out, and by guiding the proximal end portion of the holding member, the substrate detector is moved in a direction for entering the inside of the cassette and a direction for retracting to the outside of the cassette. And

  [Operation / Effect] The operation of the invention described in claim 1 is as follows.

  When a cassette containing a plurality of substrates is positioned and placed on the placement portion, the shutter drive mechanism is operated to move the shutter member that has closed the passage opening of the partition wall to the retracted position. Since the shutter member is connected to the holding member via the connecting mechanism, the holding member also moves as the shutter member moves. At this time, by guiding the proximal end portion of the holding member, the substrate detector is moved in the direction of entering the inside of the cassette and the direction of retracting to the outside of the cassette. When the substrate detector held by the holding member enters the inside of the cassette and moves up and down, the presence or absence of the substrate in the cassette is detected. Based on the substrate storage information in the cassette detected by the substrate detector, the substrate transport mechanism carries the substrate into and out of the cassette.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate carry-in / out device according to the first aspect, the substrate detector includes a light irradiation means and a light detection device arranged so as to face each other so as to sandwich the front end portion of the substrate in the cassette substantially horizontally. Means.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the invention described in claim 2, when the light irradiating means and the light detecting means arranged opposite to each other in the substantially horizontal direction move up and down in the cassette, there is a light if there is a substrate in the cassette. Since the light emitted from the irradiation means is blocked by the substrate and does not enter the light detection means, the presence or absence of the substrate is reliably detected by the change in the detection signal of the light detection means.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate carrying-in / out device according to the first or second aspect, the cassette includes a lid that closes an opening for taking in and out the substrate, and the shutter member detaches the lid of the cassette. A holding / removing mechanism is provided.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the invention described in claim 3, when a cassette (FOUP cassette) having a lid for closing an opening through which a substrate is taken in and out is placed on the placement portion, the shutter member is provided. The attached detaching mechanism removes and holds the lid of the cassette, and moves to the retracted position together with the lid. Therefore, the presence or absence of a substrate in the cassette can be reliably detected even in a cassette (FOUP cassette) having a lid that closes an opening for taking in and out the substrate.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided the substrate carrying-in / out device according to any one of the first to third aspects, and a processing unit that is arranged in parallel with the substrate carrying-in / out device and performs a required process on the substrate. It is.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the invention described in claim 4, the substrate detector of the substrate carry-in / out device detects the presence or absence of the substrate in the cassette, and the substrate transport mechanism is installed in the cassette based on the substrate storage information. The substrate is taken out and transported to the processing unit. The substrate after the processing is returned to the cassette by the substrate transport mechanism based on the detection result of the presence or absence of the substrate. Therefore, since the presence or absence of the substrate in the cassette can be quickly detected and the processing of the substrate can be performed, the throughput of the substrate processing apparatus can be improved.

  According to the present invention, since the substrate detector detects the presence or absence of the substrate in the cassette while the shutter member is moved up and down, that is, moved from the closed position of the passage opening to the retracted position, The presence or absence of the substrate can be detected efficiently.

      Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof.

  This substrate processing apparatus is roughly divided into a processing unit 20 that performs a required process on a substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer, and a substrate C that is arranged in parallel with the processing unit 20 and accommodates a plurality of substrates W. A substrate loading / unloading device 30 for loading / unloading W is constructed. The processing unit 20 includes, for example, a coating processing unit 21 that spin-coats a photoresist agent on the substrate W, a development processing unit 22 that performs development processing on the substrate W, a thermal processing unit 23 that performs thermal processing on the substrate W, and a substrate carry-in / out device 30. And a substrate transfer robot 24 that transfers the processed substrate W to the substrate loading / unloading device 30 and the like. The processing unit 20 is provided with an exposure device 25 that exposes a circuit pattern or the like on the substrate W coated with a photoresist agent.

  The substrate carry-in / carry-out device 30 includes a placement unit 31 that positions and places a plurality of cassettes C at regular intervals. The atmosphere between the mounting unit 31 and the processing unit 20 is blocked by a partition wall 32. A plurality of passage openings 32 a through which the substrate W passes are opened in the partition wall 32 so as to face each cassette C. A shutter member 33 is attached to each passage port 32a. These shutter members 33 are individually driven by the respective shutter drive mechanisms 34, thereby moving up and down over a position where the passage port 32a is closed and a retreat position where the passage port 32a is opened. A substrate transport mechanism 35 for loading / unloading the substrate W to / from each cassette C is provided so as to face the placement unit 31 with the partition wall 32 interposed therebetween. The substrate transport mechanism 35 takes unprocessed substrates W from the cassette C one by one and passes them to the substrate transfer robot 24 of the processing unit 20, and receives the processed substrates W from the substrate transfer robot 24 and loads them into the cassette C. To do. Further, as will be described in detail later, the substrate carry-in / out device 30 includes a substrate detector that detects the presence or absence of the substrate W in the cassette C in conjunction with the up-and-down movement of the shutter member 33.

  Hereinafter, the structure of each part of the board | substrate carrying in / out apparatus 30 is demonstrated in detail.

  Please refer to FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing the main configuration of the substrate carry-in / out device 30.

  The placement unit 31 has a placement table 36 for positioning and placing each cassette C, and each placement table 36 is connected to a screw feed mechanism 38 driven by a motor 37. When the cassette C is set on the mounting table 36 in the retracted position, the mounting table 36 moves forward and the cassette C faces the passage port 32 a of the partition wall 32.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cassette C is a FOUP (Front Open Unified Pod) cassette comprising a container Ca for storing a plurality of substrates W in multiple stages at regular intervals and a lid Cb for closing an opening Ca1 of the container Ca. It is. Grooves Ca2 for supporting both ends of the substrate W are formed at regular intervals on the inner wall surface of the container Ca. Inside the lid Cb, a pair of slide members Cb1 in which a rack is engraved on the inner surface is housed, and a locking pin Cb2 is formed at the tip of each slide member Cb1. Similarly, the slide member Cb1 meshes with a pinion Cb3 incorporated in the lid Cb. When the pinion Cb3 rotates in the forward and reverse directions, the slide member Cb1 is displaced up and down, and the locking pin Cb2 is moved to the upper and lower end surfaces of the lid Cb. It has come to infest. A small hole Ca3 is formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the opening Ca1 of the container Ca to fit into the locking pin Cb2 of the lid Cb. After the lid Cb is fitted into the opening Ca1 of the container Ca, the locking pin Cb2 protrudes and fits into the small hole Ca3, so that the container Ca is closed with the lid Cb.

  With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the structure of the shutter member 33 and the shutter drive mechanism 34 is demonstrated.

  The shutter member 33 is formed in a rectangular shape that fits into the passage port 32 a of the partition wall 32. The shutter member 33 includes a detaching mechanism 39 that detaches the lid Cb of the cassette C. Specifically, the attachment / detachment mechanism 39 includes a rotatable connecting pin 40 that protrudes from one surface (surface on the cassette C side) of the shutter member 33 and a shutter member for rotating the connecting pin 40. 33 is configured by a motor (not shown) or the like built in 33.

  The shutter member 33 is connected to the shutter drive mechanism 34 via the arm 41. The shutter drive mechanism 34 includes a base plate 42 that can swing around the fulcrum P. A rodless cylinder 43 is mounted on the base plate 42, and a slider 43 a of the rodless cylinder 43 is connected to the base end portion of the arm 41. In addition, a linear scale 44 is mounted on the base plate 42, and the scale of the linear scale 44 is detected by a reflective optical sensor 45 attached to the lower end of the arm 41, thereby interlocking with the shutter member 33. The position of the substrate detector that moves up and down (which will be described later) is grasped. The base plate 42 is driven to swing by an air cylinder 46.

  With reference to FIG. 3, the structure of the board | substrate conveyance mechanism 35 is demonstrated.

  The substrate transport mechanism 35 has a support arm 47 for placing and supporting the substrate W, an X drive mechanism 48 for moving the support arm 47 back and forth in one horizontal direction (X direction), and a swing movement of the support arm 47 in a horizontal plane. A turning drive mechanism 49, a Z drive mechanism 50 that moves the support arm 47 up and down, and a Y drive mechanism 51 that moves the support arm 47 in the arrangement direction (Y direction) of the plurality of cassettes C are provided.

  Next, a configuration for detecting the presence or absence of the substrate W in the cassette C, which is a characteristic part of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to FIGS.

  6 is a front view of the peripheral mechanism of the substrate detector as viewed from the opening side of the cassette C, FIG. 7 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the substrate detector.

  First, the configuration of the substrate detector will be described with reference to FIG.

  The substrate detector 52 used in this embodiment includes a light irradiating means 53 and a light detecting means 54 which face each other so as to sandwich the front end portion of the substrate W in the cassette C almost horizontally (preferably slightly inclined). It has. Specifically, the substrate detector 52 is provided with a substantially “U” -shaped holder 55 in plan view, and the light emitting means 53 emits light to a pair of convex portions 55 a and 55 b protruding forward from the holder 55. The end 56 and the light incident end 57 of the light detection means 54 are provided so as to face each other. The light irradiating means 53 includes a light emitting portion 58 provided at a position away from the holder 55, and an optical fiber 59 that guides light generated by the light emitting portion 58 to the light emitting end 56. The light detection means 54 includes a light receiving unit 60 provided at a position away from the holder 55, and an optical fiber 61 that guides light incident on the light incident end 57 to the light receiving unit 60.

  According to the substrate detector 52 according to the present embodiment, the light emitting portion 58 and the light receiving portion 60 are not directly attached to the convex portions 55a and 55b of the holder 55, so that the size of the convex portions 55a and 55b entering the cassette C is increased. It can be configured compactly. However, the light emitting unit 58 and the light receiving unit 60 may be directly attached if there is a space.

  The holder 55 of the substrate detector 52 is cantilevered at the tip of an elongated holding member 62 extending substantially vertically. The holding member 62 is guided by the guide mechanism 63 so that the substrate detector 52 moves up and down facing the cassette C, and is connected to the shutter member 33 via the connecting mechanism 64, whereby the shutter member 33. It is configured to move up and down in conjunction with.

  Specifically, the guide mechanism 63 is configured as follows.

  A base member 65 is elongated in the vertical direction on the front side wall surface of the mounting portion 31, and a rail 66 and a cam member 67 are arranged side by side on the base member 65. A slide member 68 is slidably fitted on the rail 66, and a base end portion of a holding member 62 is supported on the slide member 68 so as to be swingable around a fulcrum Q. The base end portion of the holding member 62 is bent in an “L” shape, and a cam follower 69 is attached to the tip of the bent portion 62a. The cam follower 69 is fitted in the cam groove 70 of the cam member 67. A stopper 75 for receiving the slide member 68 is provided at the lower end of the base member 65.

  The coupling mechanism 64 is configured as follows.

  An elongated “U” -shaped guide piece 71 is fixed to the upper surface of the slide member 68 in a slightly floating state. On the other hand, a roller 73 is attached via an L-shaped bracket 72 to the lower right corner (see FIG. 6) of the shutter member 33 when viewed from the front. The roller 73 is fitted in the guide groove 71a of the guide piece 71 and is slidable in the horizontal direction. Further, a tension coil spring 74 is stretched between the intermediate portion of the holding member 62 and the tip portion of the guide piece 71, and the holding member 62 is always urged clockwise.

  Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus provided with the above-described substrate carry-in / out apparatus 30 will be described.

  A cassette C containing unprocessed substrates W is set on the mounting table 36 of the mounting unit 31. At this time, the passage port 32 a of the partition wall 32 is closed by the shutter member 33. When the cassette C is set, the placement table 36 operates, and the placement table 36 moves forward to a position where the lid Cb of the cassette C contacts the shutter member 33 (see FIG. 3).

  When the cassette C comes into contact with the shutter member 33, the connecting pin 40 of the shutter member 33 shown in FIG. 5 is fitted into the small hole Cb4 of the pinion Cb3 provided in the lid Cb. Subsequently, when the motor (not shown) of the detaching mechanism 39 of the shutter member 33 is operated and the connecting pin 40 rotates, the locking pin Cb2 of the lid Cb is immersed in the lid and the lid Cb can be opened. It becomes a state.

  When the cover Cb can be opened, the air cylinder 46 of the shutter drive mechanism 34 contracts as shown in FIG. 3, and the base plate 42 tilts backward. As a result, the shutter member 33 moves backward while holding the lid Cb, and the passage port 32a of the partition wall 32 is opened. Subsequently, the rodless cylinder 43 of the shutter drive mechanism 34 operates, and the slider 43a moves to the lower limit position. As a result, the shutter member 33 is lowered, and the shutter member 33 moves to the retracted position.

  In conjunction with the movement of the shutter member 33 retreating to open the passage port 32a and subsequently moving downward to the retracted position, the substrate detector 52 enters the cassette C, and subsequently descends, so that the inside of the cassette C The presence or absence of the substrate W is detected. Hereinafter, the movement of the substrate detector 52 will be described with reference to FIG. 9, Q1 to Q5 indicate the displacement positions of the swinging fulcrum Q of the holding member 62, and R1 to R5 indicate the positions of the cam followers 69 corresponding to the displacement positions Q1 to Q5 of the swinging fulcrum Q, respectively.

  The cam groove 70 of the cam member 67 has an operation curved surface composed of the following first to third strokes. That is, the first stroke L1 is an operation curved surface that guides the holding member 62 so that the substrate detector 52 is retracted to the outside of the cassette C when the shutter member 33 is close to the position where the shutter 32 is closed. . In the second stroke L2, the holding member 62 is guided so that the substrate detector 52 is lowered while entering the inside of the cassette C when the shutter member 33 moves downward from the opening 32a to the retracted position. It is a working curved surface. The third stroke L3 is an operation curved surface that guides the holding member 62 so that the substrate detector 52 is retracted to the outside of the cassette C when the shutter member 33 is near the retracted position.

  That is, when the shutter member 33 is in a position where it rises and closes the passage port 32a, the holding member 62 connected to the shutter member 33 via the connecting mechanism 64 is also in the upper limit position (see FIG. 10A). ). At this time, the swing fulcrum Q of the holding member 62 is at the position Q1 which is the upper limit position on the extension line of the rail 66, and the cam follower 69 is at the position R1 in the first stroke L1. As a result, the holding member 62 is inclined rearward, and the substrate detector 52 is in a retracted position away from the cassette C. Since the substrate detector 52 is in the retracted position when the shutter member 33 closes the passage port 32a in this way, the shutter member 33 and the substrate detector 52 do not interfere with each other.

  When the shutter member 33 moves backward to open the passage port 32a, the roller 73 of the coupling mechanism 64 slides in the guide groove 71a of the guide piece 71 in the horizontal direction, so that the substrate detector 52 is substantially in the retracted position. To maintain. Subsequently, when the shutter member 33 starts to descend, the swing fulcrum of the holding member 62 also moves downward from the position Q1 to the position Q2. Then, the cam follower 69 moves from the position R1 to R2 in the first stroke L1, so that the holding member 62 swings and displaces counterclockwise around the swing fulcrum Q, so that the substrate detector 52 moves inside the cassette C. enter in.

  When the shutter member 33 is further lowered, the swing fulcrum of the holding member 62 is also moved downward from the position Q2 to the position Q4. At this time, since the cam follower 69 is in the second stroke (positions R2 to R4) extending in the vertical direction, the posture of the holding member 62 is maintained. That is, the substrate detector 52 is lowered while entering the inside of the cassette C. FIG. 8 shows the positional relationship between the substrate detector 52 and the substrate W in the lowered state. The substrate detector 52 detects the presence or absence of the substrate W in the cassette C while moving downward. The detection operation will be described later.

  When the swing fulcrum Q of the holding member 62 is lowered to the position Q4, the substrate detector 52 is moved to the lower limit position in the cassette C, and the detection operation of the substrate W is completed. When the shutter member 33 is further lowered, the swing fulcrum Q of the holding member 62 is moved downward from the position Q4 to Q5. Then, the cam follower 69 moves from the position R4 to R5 in the third stroke, so that the holding member 62 is oscillated and displaced clockwise around the oscillating fulcrum Q, and the substrate detector 52 is moved from the inside to the outside of the cassette C. Move backwards. Thus, the substrate detector 52 is prevented from interfering with the cassette C when the shutter member 33 is lowered to the vicinity of the retracted position. FIG. 10B shows a state where the shutter member 33 is in the retracted position.

  Next, the substrate detection operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  The light receiving unit 60 connected to the light incident end 57 of the substrate detector 52 by the optical fiber 61 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the presence / absence in the cassette C. That is, if the light receiving unit 60 does not detect incident light, a detection signal “with substrate” is output, and if incident light is detected, a detection signal “without substrate” is output. The detection signals are collected in the data collecting unit 76. On the other hand, while the substrate detector 52 is lowered in the cassette C, the optical sensor 45 attached to the lower end of the arm 41 of the shutter member 33 detects the scale of the linear scale 44. Since the arrangement pitch of the substrates W in the cassette C is known, it is possible to know where the substrate detector 52 is in the cassette C based on the detection signal of the optical sensor 45. The position detection unit 77 takes in the detection signal of the optical sensor 45 and detects the position of the substrate detector 52. When the data collection unit 76 collects the detection signal “with substrate”, the processing unit 78 receives a signal to that effect from the data collection unit 76 and is detected by the position detection unit 77. And the position is written in the memory 79. In this way, the same operation is performed every time the data collection unit 76 collects the “substrate presence” detection signal, and information on the presence / absence of the substrate (substrate storage information) associated with the position information in the cassette C is obtained. Stored in the memory 79.

  The substrate transport mechanism control unit 80 that controls the substrate transport mechanism 35 enters the cassette C through the open passage 32a based on the substrate storage information stored in the memory 79, and the substrate W in the cassette C. Take out one by one. The substrate W supported by the support arm 47 of the substrate transport mechanism 35 is transferred to the substrate transfer robot 24 of the processing unit 20 and transferred to the processing units 21, 22, and 23 to perform a required substrate processing. The processed substrate W is transferred from the substrate transfer robot 24 to the substrate transfer mechanism 35. The substrate transport mechanism 35 refers to the substrate storage information in the memory 79 and loads the substrate W to the original position in the cassette C.

  When the processing of all the substrates W in the cassette C is completed, the passage 32a of the partition wall 32 is closed by the shutter member 33 by the operation opposite to the opening operation of the shutter member 33 described above. Cb is attached. The processing as described above is sequentially executed for each cassette C set on the placement unit 31.

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the apparatus of the present embodiment, since the presence or absence of the substrate W in the cassette C is detected in the process in which the shutter member 33 is opened and moved downward to the retracted position, the shutter member 33 is detected. When the substrate moves to the retracted position, the substrate W can be taken out from the cassette C by the substrate transport mechanism 35 immediately. That is, since there is no waiting time for substrate detection, the throughput of this type of substrate processing apparatus can be improved.

  Further, since the holding member 62 of the substrate detector 52 and the shutter member 33 are mechanically interlocked and connected, a special actuator for driving the substrate detector 52 is unnecessary, and the apparatus configuration can be simplified accordingly. it can. Further, since the movement of the holding member 62 is regulated by the cam member 67, electrical control synchronized with the movement of the shutter member 33 is unnecessary, and the configuration of the control system is simplified.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be modified as follows.

  (1) In the embodiment, a so-called transmission type substrate detector that detects the presence / absence of a substrate in the cassette by light shielding / non-shielding is used, but instead of this, reflection of light irradiated on the substrate in the cassette is reflected. A so-called reflective optical sensor that detects the presence or absence of the substrate based on the presence or absence of the substrate may be used.

  (2) In the embodiment, the case where the FOUP cassette whose opening is closed with a lid is illustrated, but the present invention is also applied to detection of a substrate in a so-called open type cassette in which no opening is provided with a lid. be able to.

It is the front view which showed schematic structure of one Example of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the top view which showed schematic structure of one Example of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a partially broken side view of the board | substrate carrying in / out apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a perspective view of a FOUP cassette. It is a perspective view of a shutter member. It is a front view of a substrate detector and its peripheral mechanism. It is a side view of a substrate detector and its peripheral mechanism. It is a perspective view of a substrate detector. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a board | substrate detector. (A) is a front view which shows the state which has a shutter member in the obstruction | occlusion state, (b) is a front view which shows the state in which a shutter member exists in a retracted position. It is a control block diagram for the board | substrate detection in an Example apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a conventional apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a conventional apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

C ... cassette Cb ... lid W ... substrate 20 ... processing unit 30 ... substrate loading / unloading device 31 ... placement unit 32 ... partition wall 32a ... passage port 33 ... shutter member 34 ... shutter drive mechanism 35 ... substrate transport mechanism 39 ... desorption mechanism 52 ... Substrate detector 53 ... Light irradiation means 54 ... Light detection means 62 ... Holding member 63 ... Guide mechanism 64 ... Connection mechanism 67 ... Cam member L1 ... First stroke L2 ... Second stroke L3 ... Third stroke

Claims (4)

A substrate loading / unloading device for loading / unloading a substrate to / from a cassette that accommodates a plurality of substrates in multiple stages, which is arranged in parallel with a processing unit that performs a required process on a substrate,
A placement section for positioning and placing the cassette;
A partition wall that separates the placement unit and the processing unit and is opened so that a passage port through which the substrate passes is opposed to the cassette;
A shutter member for opening and closing the passage opening of the partition;
A shutter drive mechanism for moving the shutter member up and down across a position for closing the passage opening and a retreat position for opening the passage opening;
A substrate detector for detecting the substrate in the cassette;
Holding the substrate detector at its distal end so that the substrate detector is located above the shutter member, and a holding member whose base end portion extends vertically downward;
A coupling mechanism that couples the shutter member and the holding member so that the holding member moves up and down in conjunction with the up and down movement of the shutter member;
Based on the substrate storage information in the cassette detected by the substrate detector, a substrate transport mechanism that carries the substrate in and out of the cassette through the partition opening,
A substrate loading / unloading apparatus, wherein the substrate detector is moved in a direction to enter the inside of the cassette and a direction to retract to the outside of the cassette by guiding the proximal end portion of the holding member. In the board | substrate carrying in / out apparatus of Claim 1,
The substrate detector is a substrate carry-in / out device comprising light irradiation means and light detection means arranged to face each other so as to sandwich the front end portion of the substrate in the cassette substantially horizontally. In the board | substrate carrying in / out apparatus of Claim 1 or 2,
The cassette includes a lid that closes an opening for taking in and out the substrate,
The shutter member is a substrate loading / unloading device having a detaching mechanism for detaching / holding the lid of the cassette. A substrate carrying-in / out device according to claim 1;
A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a processing unit that is arranged in parallel with the substrate carry-in / out device and performs a required process on the substrate.

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