JP4227623B2 - Semiconductor processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a semiconductor processing apparatus for performing semiconductor processing on an LCD (liquid crystal display) substrate or a semiconductor wafer. Here, the semiconductor processing means various processes performed for manufacturing a semiconductor device on a substrate to be processed such as an LCD substrate or a semiconductor wafer.

  Conventionally, for example, in the manufacturing process of an LCD panel, a so-called multi-chamber type vacuum processing apparatus having a plurality of vacuum processing chambers for performing predetermined semiconductor processing such as etching and ashing on an LCD substrate in a reduced pressure atmosphere has been used. Yes.

  Such a vacuum processing apparatus includes a load lock chamber in which a substrate transfer mechanism having a transfer arm and the like is provided, and a plurality of vacuum processing chambers provided around the load lock chamber. The substrate to be processed is carried into each vacuum processing chamber by the transfer arm in the load lock chamber, and the processed substrate is carried out from each vacuum processing chamber.

  In such an LCD substrate processing apparatus, a major technical problem is how to improve the number of processed substrates, that is, the throughput of the apparatus, that can be processed in a certain period. For this purpose, as described above, the apparatus is a multi-chamber type or the transfer arm is arranged in two upper and lower stages.

  When a two-stage transfer arm is used, with the unprocessed substrate mounted on the upper arm, the transfer arm accessed the mounting table in the vacuum processing chamber, and the lower arm was first advanced to receive the processed substrate. Thereafter, the lower arm is retracted, and then the upper arm is advanced to transfer the unprocessed substrate onto the mounting table.

However, the substrate replacement operation as described above has a certain limit in time reduction, and further improvement in throughput for the LCD substrate is required.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-115968 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 09-104982 (Japanese Patent Application No. 08-223120) JP-A-10-107127 (Japanese Patent Application No. 08-255889)

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a semiconductor processing apparatus capable of improving the throughput in substrate processing.

A first aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for performing semiconductor processing on a rectangular glass LCD substrate,
A first load lock chamber capable of loading and unloading the substrate through a first gate attached to a first side surface and set in a reduced pressure atmosphere;
The substrate can be carried in and out via a second gate attached to the first side surface, and can be set in a reduced pressure atmosphere separately from the first load lock chamber, and the first load can be set. A second load lock chamber disposed so as to overlap vertically with respect to the lock chamber;
The first and second gates pass through the third and fourth gates through which the substrate attached to the second side surfaces of the first and second load lock chambers opposite to the first side can pass. A transfer chamber connected to each of the second load lock chambers and capable of being set to a reduced pressure atmosphere;
A processing chamber connected to the transfer chamber via a gate and performing the semiconductor processing in a reduced pressure atmosphere;
A transfer mechanism disposed in the transfer chamber for transferring the substrate between the first and second load lock chambers and the processing chamber;
Comprising
At least one of the first and second load lock chambers has first and second support levels that are capable of supporting one of the substrates and overlapping one above the other;
It is characterized by.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to the first aspect, the at least one of the first and second load lock chambers having the first and second support levels is the first and second. And a plurality of support pins that can move up and down through the support level and can support the substrate.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to the first or second aspect, each of the first and second support levels is defined by a pair of openable and closable fingers that support the substrate. Supports the substrate in the closed state and allows the substrate to pass vertically between the pair of fingers in the open state.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the transport mechanism can move up and down.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the first and second support levels are set between a state in which the substrate is supported and a state in which the substrate is not supported. It can be switched.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, an interval between the first and second support levels is one of the substrates disposed in the transport mechanism. Is set to be larger than the interval between the upper and lower support levels capable of supporting each.

  According to the present invention, in a semiconductor processing apparatus, a substrate to be processed can be exchanged efficiently, so that the throughput can be significantly improved.

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

  Here, a multi-chamber type vacuum processing apparatus for performing an etching process and an ashing process in order to form a semiconductor device or the like on a glass LCD substrate will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overview of a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic transverse plan view showing the inside thereof.

  A transfer chamber 5 and a load lock chamber 3 connected via a gate valve 9a are disposed at the center of the processing apparatus 1. The transfer chamber 5 has a substantially square plane, and the remaining side surfaces not facing the load lock chamber 3 are provided with three processing chambers 2, 4 via a gate valve 9 a that hermetically seals the opening and can be opened and closed. , 6 are connected to each other.

  Each processing chamber 2, 4, 6 is connected to a supply means for supplying a predetermined processing gas and an exhaust means for exhausting the interior of the chamber. It is possible to set and maintain a reduced pressure atmosphere. For example, the same etching process is performed in the processing chambers 2 and 6, and the ashing process is performed in the other processing chamber 4. The combination of processing chambers is not limited to this, and appropriate processing can be combined, and arbitrary processing such as serial processing and parallel processing can be performed using a plurality of processing chambers.

  A mounting table 10 is disposed in each processing chamber 2, 4, 6. Four support pins 11 for supporting the substrate S are disposed on the mounting table 10. Four support members 12 for supporting the substrate are also arranged around the mounting table 10. Details of the support pin 11 and the support member 12 will be described later.

  The load lock chamber 3 can be set and maintained in an arbitrary reduced pressure atmosphere. As shown in FIG. 4, a buffer rack 30 having a pair of stands 31 for supporting the substrate S is disposed in the load lock chamber 3. The buffer rack 30 is configured to hold two substrates S at a time, thereby improving the vacuuming and purging efficiency.

  Each stand 31 includes two shelves 32 and 33 at the top and bottom. The shelves 32 and 33 form two horizontal substrate support levels corresponding to the two arms 52 and 53 of the transport mechanism 50. In the present embodiment, the support level interval of the buffer rack 30 is set larger than the support interval of the substrate S in the cassette 42. Further, a projection 34 made of synthetic rubber having a high friction coefficient is provided on the upper surface of each shelf 32, 33, thereby preventing the substrate from being displaced and dropped.

  The pair of stands 31 of the buffer rack 30 can be moved up and down integrally. By raising and lowering the buffer rack 30, one of the two substrates can be selectively taken out without raising or lowering the transfer mechanism 60 provided in the transfer chamber 5.

  In the load lock chamber 3, a pair of positioners 35 and 35 for aligning two substrates at once and an optical sensor (not shown) for confirming completion of alignment of the substrates are arranged. The pair of positioners 35 are disposed so as to face each other on an extension of the diagonal line of the substrate. Each positioner 35 includes a support 36 that can be activated in the direction of the reciprocating arrow A in the figure, and a pair of rollers 37, 37 that are rotatably supported on the support 36.

  The positioner 35 aligns the substrates in such a manner as to sandwich the two substrates supported by the buffer rack 30 in the diagonal direction. Since the roller 37 is aligned by pressing the side surface of the substrate S at four points, it is particularly suitable for aligning a substantially rectangular substrate. The roller 37 is detachably mounted on the support 36 and can be appropriately replaced according to the dimensions of the LCD substrate to be processed.

  The load lock chamber 3 is connected to the external atmosphere via the gate valve 9b. Two cassette indexers 41 are disposed on the outside of the load lock chamber 3, and cassettes 42 for accommodating LCD substrates are placed thereon. One of the cassettes 42 stores an unprocessed substrate, and the other stores a processed substrate. The cassette 42 can be moved up and down by an elevating mechanism 43.

  A substrate transport mechanism 50 is disposed on the support base 51 between the two cassettes 42. The transport mechanism 50 includes arms 52 and 53 arranged in two upper and lower stages, and a base 54 that integrally supports these so as to advance and retract and rotate. Four projections 55 for supporting the substrate are formed on the arms 52 and 53. The protrusion 55 is made of an elastic body made of a synthetic rubber having a high friction coefficient, and prevents the substrate from being displaced or dropped during substrate support.

  The transport mechanism 50 can transport two substrates at a time by the arms 52 and 53. That is, two substrates can be taken out from or loaded into the cassette 42 at a time. The height of each cassette 42 is adjusted by the elevating mechanism 43, and the position for taking out or loading the substrate by the arms 52 and 53 is set. The interval between the two arms 52 and 53 is set to be larger than the maximum value of the substrate support intervals of various cassettes. For this reason, it can respond to various cassettes.

  Only one cassette can be installed. In this case, the processed substrate is returned to an empty space in the same cassette.

  The transfer chamber 5 can be set and maintained in an arbitrary reduced pressure atmosphere. In the transfer chamber 5, as shown in FIG. 3, a transfer mechanism 60 and a buffer frame 70 configured to hold a plurality of LCD substrates are disposed. The substrate is transported between the load lock chamber 3 and the processing chambers 2, 4, 6 by the transport mechanism 60. Further, the unprocessed substrate or the processed substrate is temporarily held by the buffer frame 70. Thus, throughput is improved by temporarily holding the substrate.

  The transport mechanism 60 is disposed at one end of the base 68, a first arm 62 that is pivotally disposed on the base 68, and a second arm that is pivotally disposed at the distal end portion of the first arm 62. 64 and a catcher 66 rotatably disposed on the second arm 64 and holding the substrate. By moving the first arm 62, the second arm 64, and the catcher 66 by a drive mechanism built in the base 68, the substrate can be transported. Further, the transport mechanism 60 can be moved up and down by a cylinder mechanism 69 disposed under the base 68 and can be rotated around the cylinder.

  The catcher 66 of the transport mechanism 60 has forks 66a and 66b configured in two stages. An unprocessed substrate is supported by the upper fork 66a, and a processed substrate is supported by the lower fork 66b. Although not shown, each fork is provided with a protrusion made of synthetic rubber having a high friction coefficient in order to prevent the substrate from being displaced or dropped.

  The buffer frame 70 is installed on the other end side of the base 68 so as to be movable up and down with respect to the base 68. The frame 70 includes four buffers 72, 74, 76, 78, which form a horizontal four-level substrate support level. These buffers are provided with protrusions 79 for supporting the substrate. The protrusion 79 is made of a synthetic rubber having a high friction coefficient, and prevents the substrate from being displaced or dropped during substrate support.

  The transport mechanism 60 and the buffer frame 70 rotate integrally with the base 68 with the cylinder 69 as an axis. By rotating the base 68 in this way, the transport mechanism 60 can selectively face either the processing chambers 2, 4, 6, or the load lock chamber 3.

  As described above, the mounting table 10 is disposed in each processing chamber 2, 4, 6. The mounting table 10 functions as a lower electrode for forming plasma. A ceramic shield ring 13 is disposed around the mounting table 10 as shown in FIG.

  The four support pins 11 (second support members) are disposed on the edge of the mounting table 10 so as to be able to advance and retreat. The four support members 12 (first support members) include a support bar 12a disposed in a shield ring 13 around the mounting table 10 so as to be able to advance and retreat, and an overhang member 12b disposed at the tip thereof. Have. The support bar 12a advances to be able to support the substrate, and supports the unprocessed substrate S1 at the first position when the substrate is received. Further, when the support pins 11 advance, it becomes possible to support the substrate, and the processed substrate S2 is supported at the second position below the first position when the substrate is delivered.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the support member 12 is in a state in which the protruding member 12 b does not cover the mounting table 10 in the retracted position. However, as shown in FIG. 9B, the support member 12 is in the support position where the projecting member 12b protrudes toward the mounting table 10 when the support rod 12a is rotated.

  The height of the catcher 66 is set such that the upper fork 66a corresponds to the first position and the lower fork 66b corresponds to the second position. As will be described later, when the unprocessed substrate is loaded into the processing chamber in a state where the unprocessed substrate is supported on the upper fork 66a, the unprocessed substrate is transferred to the support member 12 in the first position, and at the same time, the first The processed substrate supported by the support pins 11 at the position is transferred to the fork 66b.

  Next, the operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be described.

  First, the two arms 52 and 53 of the transport mechanism 50 are moved forward and backward, and two substrates S are loaded at one time from one cassette 42 (the left cassette in FIG. 1) containing unprocessed substrates. Carry in.

In the load lock chamber 3, two substrates S are held by the shelves 32 and 33 of the buffer rack 30. After the arms 52 and 53 are retracted, the gate valve 9b on the atmosphere side of the load lock chamber is closed. Thereafter, the inside of the load lock chamber 3 is evacuated, and the inside is decompressed to a predetermined degree of vacuum, for example, about 10 ⁻¹ Torr. After completion of evacuation, the substrate S is aligned by pressing the substrate with the four rollers 37 of the pair of positioners 35.

  After the alignment as described above, the gate valve 9a between the transfer chamber 5 and the load lock chamber 3 is opened. From the viewpoint of preventing contamination, the substrate S on the lower shelf 33 is carried into the transfer chamber 5 by the transfer mechanism 60 and held in the uppermost buffer 72 of the buffer frame 70. In this case, since the substrates S are supported on the buffer rack 30 at predetermined intervals, the operation control of the transport mechanism can be performed without depending on the substrate support intervals of the cassette 42. That is, complicated control means for changing the operation amount of the transport mechanism 60 for each support interval of different substrates is not necessary. Therefore, contamination in the apparatus can be reduced.

In a state where the substrate is carried into the transfer chamber 5, the vacuum is further reduced to about 10 ⁻⁴ Torr. Thereby, the contamination in the apparatus can be reduced. Next, the substrate S carried into the transfer chamber 5 by the transfer mechanism 60 and held in the buffer 72 is transferred to a predetermined processing chamber, for example, the processing chamber 2. In this case, a processed substrate exists in the processing chamber except when it is first transported, and the processed substrate and the unprocessed substrate are exchanged.

  The replacement operation at this time will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the support member 12 is advanced from the state of FIG. 9A in a state where the processed substrate S2 is mounted on the mounting table 10 in the processing chamber. Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the support bar 12a is rotated so that the projecting member 12b protrudes toward the mounting table 10 side. In this state, the support member 12 can receive the unprocessed substrate S1 at the first position.

  Next, the support pins 11 are advanced to raise the processed substrate S2, and are supported at the second position. The state shown in FIG. 5 is formed by the operation as described above. In this case, the height of the catcher 66 of the transport mechanism 60 is set so that the upper fork 66a corresponds to the first position and the lower fork 66b corresponds to the second position. The unprocessed substrate S1 is supported on the upper fork 66a.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the catcher 66 is advanced above the mounting table 10, and the unprocessed substrate S <b> 1 is transported to the first position above the mounting table 10. In this case, the fork 66b is located immediately below the processed substrate S2 in the second position. In this state, the support rod 12a of the support member 12 is slightly raised, and at the same time, the support pin 11 is lowered. As a result, the unprocessed substrate S1 is supported by the support member 12, and the processed substrate is supported by the lower fork 66b of the catcher 66.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the catcher 66 supporting the processed substrate S2 is retracted. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the support pins 11 are advanced again to support the unprocessed substrate S1, and the support member 12 is retracted to return to the state shown in FIG. In parallel with the operation of FIG. 8, an operation for closing the gate valve 9 a between the processing chamber and the transfer chamber 5 is started, and pre-process processing is started. Therefore, the operation of FIG. 8 does not affect the throughput.

  As described above, in the replacement of the substrate in the processing chamber, the unprocessed substrate can be carried in and the processed substrate can be carried out by one movement of the holding portion (catcher). For this reason, it is possible to significantly reduce the substrate replacement time. Incidentally, the time required for this exchange operation in the past 17 seconds has been reduced to 8 seconds, which is less than half.

  While such an operation is performed, the substrate on the shelf 32 in the load lock chamber 3 is also carried into the transfer chamber 5 and held in one of the buffers. Such an operation is sequentially performed on the substrates in the cassette 42. At this time, the presence of the buffers in the first and second load lock chambers 20 and 3 allows the substrates to be continuously loaded into the apparatus without waiting time, which contributes to an improvement in throughput.

  The processed substrate S2 is returned to the transfer chamber 5 by the transfer mechanism 60, and further passes through the load lock chamber 3 and is then transferred to the processed substrate cassette 42 (the right-side cassette in FIG. 1) by the arms 52 and 53 of the transfer mechanism 50. insert.

  In the processing as described above, extremely high throughput unprecedented can be realized by the existence of the buffer mechanism and the high efficiency of the replacement of the substrate in the processing chamber.

  Further, the above apparatus can perform continuous processing of etching and ashing, and the efficiency is high also in this respect. Further, by changing the program, various processes corresponding to the user's needs such as etching, continuous etching process, and single etching process can be performed, which is extremely versatile.

  For example, a support member 12 having a support bar 12a provided with a flat plate-like overhanging member 12b is used. However, as shown in FIG. 10, the support member 12 is a pin-like support member 12x having a hook-like portion 12c. Also good. In the retracted position, the support member 12x is completely accommodated in the shield member 13 as shown in FIG. 11A, and a lid 12d is placed thereon. When the support member 12x advances to the support position, as shown in FIG. 11 (b), the lid 12 is opened, and when the support member 12x is raised to the support position, the support member 12x rotates and the hook-shaped portion 12c projects to the mounting table 10 side. . In addition, the support member (first support member) that supports the unprocessed substrate is not limited to a type that advances and retracts, that is, moves up and down, and may be a type that rotates and retracts, for example.

  Further, the catcher 66, that is, the holding unit is not limited to the above, and various types can be adopted. In addition, although a catcher in which two upper and lower forks are fixedly used is used, these forks can be moved independently. Furthermore, the substrate support portion is not limited to a fork shape, and may be a plate shape like the arms 52 and 53 of the transport mechanism 50.

  FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an overview of a vacuum processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 13 and 14 are a schematic transverse plan view and a schematic side view showing the inside thereof. In these drawings, portions common to the previous embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The processing apparatus 1B according to this embodiment has the same three processing chambers 2, 4, and 6 as the previous embodiment as shown in FIG. The processing chambers 2, 4, and 6 are connected to three sides of the transfer chamber 5 having a square plane through gate valves 9a, respectively. For example, the same etching process is performed in the processing chambers 2 and 6, and the ashing process is performed in the other processing chamber 4.

  In each processing chamber 2, 4, 6, a mounting table 10 having four support pins 11 and four support members 12 is disposed as in the previous embodiment. Therefore, as described above, in each of the processing chambers 2, 4, and 6, the operation of exchanging the processed substrate and the unprocessed substrate can be performed by one advance operation of the transport mechanism 60 disposed in the transport chamber 5. it can.

  Two load lock chambers 3a and 3b are connected to the other side of the transfer chamber 5 via gate valves 9a. Further, in order to transport the LCD substrate S between the load lock chambers 3a and 3b and the substrate cassette 42, a transport mechanism 80 having a structure different from that of the transport mechanism 50 of the previous embodiment is provided.

  The transport mechanism 80 has a base plate 81, and a slider 82 is disposed so as to be slidable along the longitudinal direction thereof. On the slider 82, an L-shaped stand 83 is attached so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. Further, a horizontal plate 84 is attached to the vertical portion of the stand 83 so as to be driven up and down.

  An upper fork 85 and a lower fork 86 for placing the substrate S are disposed on the horizontal plate 84. The lower fork 86 is attached to the horizontal plate 84 so as to be slidable along the longitudinal direction of the horizontal plate 84. A sub stand 87 is erected on the base 86 a of the lower fork 86, and the upper fork 85 is attached to the sub stand 87 so as to be able to be driven up and down. Therefore, the upper fork 85 slides integrally with the lower fork 86 along the longitudinal direction of the horizontal plate 84.

  The fingers 85b and 85c of the upper fork 85 and the fingers 86b and 86c of the lower fork 86 have the same vertical thickness, and are smaller than the interval in which the substrate S is stored in the cassette 42. The width between the inner edges of the fingers 85b and 85c of the upper fork 85 is set slightly larger than the width between the outer edges of the fingers 86b and 86c of the lower fork 86. Furthermore, the base 86a of the lower fork 86 is recessed below the fingers 86b and 86c by the thickness of the base 85a of the upper fork 85.

  Therefore, when the upper fork 85 is lowered most, the fingers 85b and 85c of the upper fork 85 and the fingers 86b and 86c of the lower fork 86 can overlap each other like a single plate when viewed from the side. At this time, the fingers 85b and 85c of the upper fork 85 are located on the same plane just outside the fingers 86b and 86c of the lower fork 86. At this time, at least the upper support surfaces of the forks 85 and 86 are made uniform. Here, since the thickness of both upper forks 85 and 86 is the same, the upper support surface and the lower bottom surface of both forks 85 and 86 are made uniform.

  When the transport mechanism 80 having such a configuration is used, storage of processed substrates in the cassette 42 and removal of unprocessed substrates from the cassette can be performed in parallel, thereby improving throughput. Since the transport mechanism 80 has one rotation system and all others are linear sliding systems, it can perform a high-speed and stable operation.

  The load lock chambers 3a and 3b can be individually set and maintained in an arbitrary reduced pressure atmosphere. Accordingly, the load lock chambers 3a and 3b are connected to the transfer chamber 5 via the individually operable gate valve 9a, and are connected to the external atmosphere via the individually operable gate valve 9b.

  In this embodiment, both load lock chambers 3a and 3b have the same internal structure as shown in FIG. That is, each of the load lock chambers 3a and 3b has two horizontal substrate support levels, and is configured to hold two substrates S at a time. The upper support level is defined by a pair of facing hands 91, and the lower support level is defined by a pair of facing hands 92.

  Each hand 91, 92 has a pair of fingers 93 arranged so as to spread forward. The finger 93 is attached to a drive unit 94 attached to the inner side wall, and is driven to rotate between the position shown in FIG. 15 and the retraction position where the finger 93 is retracted toward the side wall.

  Each load lock chamber 3a, 3b is provided with four support pins 96 that are driven up and down by a drive unit (not shown) provided below the bottom wall. The support pin 96 is movable between a retracted position retracted below the bottom wall and a projecting position projecting above an upper support level defined by the hand 91, and can be stopped at an arbitrary position. Become.

  When each finger 93 is closed and in the position shown in FIG. 15, the hands 91 and 92 can support the substrate S at a corresponding support level. On the contrary, when each finger 93 is opened to the retracted position, the substrate S supported by the support pins 96 can pass between the pair of opposed hands 91 and 91 or between the pair of hands 92 and 92.

  Further, in this embodiment, the transport mechanism 60x disposed in the transport chamber 5 is provided with a catcher 66 having upper and lower two forks 66a and 66b, but no buffer frame 70 is attached. This is because the two upper and lower load lock chambers 3a and 3b are arranged, and in addition to the processing chambers 2, 4 and 6, not only the load lock chambers 3a and 3b but also the exchange operation between the processed substrate and the unprocessed substrate. This is because the buffer frame 70 can be omitted. Further, since the catcher 66 does not need to be directed toward the buffer frame 70, the catcher 66 and the base 68 are connected by a single intermediate arm 63. Further, the base 68 can be driven up and down via a cylinder mechanism 69.

  With the configuration described above, in each of the load lock chambers 3a and 3b, the operation of exchanging the processed substrate and the unprocessed substrate can be performed by one advance operation of the transfer mechanism 60x. This operation is similar to the operation of exchanging the processed substrate and the unprocessed substrate realized by disposing the support pins 11 and the support members 12 on the mounting table 10 of the processing chambers 2, 4, 6.

  Note that the fingers 93 of the respective hands 91 and 92 of the load lock chambers 3a and 3b can be opened and closed, for example, when the processed substrate S is moved from the upper support level to the lower support level during the idle time. This corresponds to the operation. Accordingly, the finger 93 of each of the hands 91 and 92 is not opened / closed and is fixed at the position shown in FIG. 15 only when the exchange operation between the processed substrate and the unprocessed substrate is performed by a single advance operation of the transport mechanism 60x. It may be what was done.

  Next, in the load lock chambers 3a and 3b, an operation for exchanging a processed substrate and an unprocessed substrate by the transfer mechanism 60x of the transfer chamber 5 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the processed substrate S1 is supported by the lower fork 66b of the transport mechanism 60x, and the unprocessed substrate S2 is supported by the hand 91 (upper support level) of the load lock chamber 3a. Further, the interval between the upper and lower support levels of the load lock chamber 3a is set to be sufficiently larger than the interval between the upper and lower support levels of the transport mechanism 60x. A description of the incidental operation of the gate valve 9a and the like is omitted.

  First, the catcher 66 that supports the processed substrate S1 with the lower fork 66b is inserted into the load lock chamber 3a that supports the unprocessed substrate S2 with the hand 91. At this time, both the upper and lower forks 66a and 66b of the catcher 66 are positioned between the upper and lower hands 91 and 92 of the load lock chamber 3a.

  Next, the support pin 96 is raised, and the processed substrate S1 is received from the lower fork 66b of the catcher 66 by the support pin 96. Next, the catcher 66 is raised together with the support pins 96, and the unprocessed substrate S2 is received from the hand 91 by the upper fork 66a.

  Next, the catcher 66 that supports the unprocessed substrate S <b> 2 by the upper fork 66 a is retracted to the transfer chamber 5. Next, the support pins 96 are lowered, and the processed substrate S1 is placed on the hand 92 (lower support level).

  Next, following the above operation, an operation of exchanging the processed substrate and the unprocessed substrate by the transfer mechanism 80 on the external atmosphere side in the load lock chambers 3a and 3b will be described. Here, it is assumed that the processed substrate S1 is supported by the hand 92 (lower support level) of the load lock chamber 3a and the unprocessed substrate S3 is supported by the upper fork 85 of the transport mechanism 80. A description of the incidental operation of the gate valve 9b and the like is omitted.

  First, the transport mechanism 80 that supports the unprocessed substrate S3 with the upper fork 85 is inserted into the load lock chamber 3a that supports the processed substrate S1 with the hand 92. At this time, the space between the upper and lower forks 85 and 86 of the transport mechanism 80 is widened in advance so that the upper and lower hands 91 and 92 of the load lock chamber 3 a are positioned between the upper and lower forks 85 and 86.

  Next, the upper fork 85 is moved toward the lower fork 86 while raising the horizontal plate 84 of the transport mechanism 80. By this operation, the distance between the upper and lower forks 85 and 86 can be narrowed while being raised. Accordingly, the unprocessed substrate S3 can be placed on the upper hand 91 from the upper fork 85, and the processed substrate S1 can be received from the lower hand 92 by the lower fork 86.

  FIG. 16 is an explanatory view for sequentially showing the transfer sequence of the LCD substrate S in the vacuum processing apparatus according to the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. Here, it is assumed that the same etching process is performed in the processing chambers 2 and 6 and the ashing process is performed in the processing chamber 4. In FIG. 16, in order to avoid confusion, reference numerals for the respective chambers of the processing apparatus are attached only to (a). The numbers in (b) to (s) indicate only the coefficients of the substrates S1 to S8 which are the LCD substrates S.

  First, the substrate S1 is introduced into the lower load lock chamber 3b, and the substrate S2 is introduced into the upper load lock chamber 3a (FIGS. 16B and 16C). Next, the substrate S1 is loaded from the lower load lock chamber 3b through the transfer chamber 5 (FIG. 16D) to the processing chamber 2, and etching of the substrate S1 is started. In parallel with loading the substrate S1 into the processing chamber 2, the substrate S3 is loaded into the lower load lock chamber 3b (FIG. 16E). Then, during the processing of the substrate S1, the substrate S2 is loaded from the upper load lock chamber 3a through the transfer chamber 5 (FIG. 16 (f)) into the processing chamber 6, and etching of the substrate S2 is started. In parallel with loading the substrate S2 into the processing chamber 6, the substrate S4 is loaded into the upper load lock chamber 3a (FIG. 16G).

  Next, during the processing of the substrates S1 and S2, the substrate S3 is moved from the lower load lock chamber 3b to the transfer chamber 5 (FIG. 16 (h)). Further, during the processing of the substrate S2, the etched substrate S1 and the substrate S3 are exchanged by a single advance operation of the transfer mechanism 60x, the substrate S1 is unloaded into the transfer chamber 5, and the substrate S3 is loaded into the process chamber 2. . In parallel with this, the substrate S5 is carried into the lower load lock chamber 3b (FIG. 16 (i)).

  Next, during the processing of the substrates S2 and S3, the substrate S1 is loaded from the transfer chamber 5 into the processing chamber 4, and ashing of the substrate S1 is started (FIG. 16 (j)). Further, during the processing of the substrates S2, S3, and S1, the substrate S4 is moved from the upper load lock chamber 3a to the transfer chamber 5 (FIG. 16 (k)). Then, during the processing of the substrates S3 and S1, the etched substrate S2 and the substrate S4 are exchanged by a single advance operation of the transport mechanism 60x, the substrate S2 is unloaded into the transport chamber 5, and the substrate S4 is moved into the processing chamber 6. Load it. In parallel with this, the substrate S6 is carried into the upper load lock chamber 3a (FIG. 16 (l)).

  Next, during the processing of the substrates S3 and S4, the ashed substrate S1 and the substrate S2 are exchanged by a single advance operation of the transfer mechanism 60x, the substrate S1 is unloaded into the transfer chamber 5, and the substrate S2 is transferred to the processing chamber 4 (FIG. 16 (m)). Further, during the processing of the substrates S3, S4, and S2, the processed substrate S1 and the substrate S5 are exchanged by a single advance operation of the transfer mechanism 60x, the substrate S1 is returned to the lower load lock chamber 3b, and the substrate S5 is transferred to the transfer chamber 5. Move (FIG. 16 (n)). Then, during the processing of the substrates S4 and S2, the etched substrate S3 and the substrate S5 are exchanged by a single advance operation of the transfer mechanism 60x, the substrate S3 is unloaded into the transfer chamber 5, and the substrate S5 is moved into the process chamber 2. Load it. In parallel with this, the processing completion substrate S1 and the substrate S7 are exchanged by an advance operation of the transfer mechanism 80 on the external atmosphere side, the substrate S1 is unloaded, and the substrate S7 is loaded into the lower load lock chamber 3b ( FIG. 16 (o)).

  Thereafter, by repeating the same operation (FIGS. 16 (p) to (s)), the substrates S1 to S8 can be processed from the smallest of those coefficients and then unloaded from the vacuum processing apparatus.

  In the processing as described above, an extremely high throughput unprecedented can be realized by increasing the efficiency of substrate replacement in the processing chamber and the load lock chamber.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible within the range of the summary of this invention. In particular, the respective characteristic parts of the processing apparatus have been described separately for each embodiment, but these characteristic parts can be arbitrarily combined. For example, the transfer mechanism 80 described with reference to FIG. 12 and the load lock chambers 3a and 3b described with reference to FIG. 15 can be used in the processing apparatus shown in FIG. In addition, the transport mechanism 60 described with reference to FIG. 3 and the load lock chamber 3 described with reference to FIG. 4 can be used in the processing apparatus shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, for example, the present invention can be effectively applied to a processing apparatus having a single processing chamber, and can be applied not only to vacuum processing but also to a normal pressure or positive pressure processing apparatus. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to an etching and ashing apparatus but also to various other processing apparatuses such as a film forming apparatus. Furthermore, the substrate to be transported is not limited to the LCD substrate, but may be another substrate such as a semiconductor substrate.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a semiconductor processing apparatus capable of improving throughput in substrate processing.

The perspective view which shows the general view of the vacuum processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional plan view showing the inside of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. The perspective view which shows the conveyance mechanism and buffer frame which were arrange | positioned in the conveyance chamber of the apparatus shown in FIG. The perspective view which shows the buffer rack and positioner which were arrange | positioned in the load lock room of the apparatus of FIG. The figure for demonstrating the replacement | exchange operation | movement of the board | substrate in the processing chamber of the apparatus shown in FIG. The figure for demonstrating the replacement | exchange operation | movement of the board | substrate in the processing chamber of the apparatus shown in FIG. The figure for demonstrating the replacement | exchange operation | movement of the board | substrate in the processing chamber of the apparatus shown in FIG. The figure for demonstrating the replacement | exchange operation | movement of the board | substrate in the processing chamber of the apparatus shown in FIG. The figure which shows operation | movement of the supporting member which supports a non-processed substrate in the processing chamber of the apparatus of FIG. The figure which shows the modification of the supporting member which supports a non-processed substrate in the processing chamber of the apparatus of FIG. The figure which shows operation | movement of the supporting member of FIG. The perspective view which shows the general view of the vacuum processing apparatus which concerns on another embodiment of this invention. FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional plan view showing the inside of the apparatus shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 13 is a schematic side view showing the inside of the apparatus shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view showing the inside of a load lock chamber of the apparatus shown in FIG. 12. FIGS. 13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams sequentially illustrating a substrate transfer sequence in the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 12; FIGS.

Explanation of symbols

  2, 4, 6 ... processing chamber; 3, 3a, 3b ... load lock chamber; 5 ... transport chamber; 10 ... mounting table; 11 ... support pin (second support member); ... support member (first support member); 30 ... buffer rack; 42 ... LCD substrate cassette; 50 ... transport mechanism; 60, 60x ... transport mechanism; 62 ... arm; 66b ... fork; 80 ... transport mechanism; 85, 86 ... fork; 91, 92 ... hand; S ... LCD substrate.

Claims (8)

An apparatus for performing semiconductor processing on a rectangular glass LCD substrate,
A first load lock chamber capable of loading and unloading the substrate through a first gate attached to a first side surface and set in a reduced pressure atmosphere;
The substrate can be carried in and out via a second gate attached to the first side surface, and can be set in a reduced pressure atmosphere separately from the first load lock chamber, and the first load can be set. A second load lock chamber disposed so as to overlap vertically with respect to the lock chamber;
The first and second gates pass through the third and fourth gates through which the substrate attached to the second side surfaces of the first and second load lock chambers opposite to the first side can pass. A transfer chamber connected to each of the second load lock chambers and capable of being set to a reduced pressure atmosphere;
A processing chamber connected to the transfer chamber via a gate and performing the semiconductor processing in a reduced pressure atmosphere;
A transfer mechanism disposed in the transfer chamber for transferring the substrate between the first and second load lock chambers and the processing chamber;
Comprising
At least one of the first and second load lock chambers can support one of the substrates, and is supported by the first and second support levels that overlap each other and the first and second support levels. An alignment mechanism for aligning the substrate .   The at least one of the first and second load lock chambers having the first and second support levels is movable up and down through the first and second support levels and supports the substrate. The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of possible support pins.   Each of the first and second support levels is defined by a pair of openable and closable fingers that support the substrate, the fingers supporting the substrate in a closed state, and the substrate in the open state. The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor processing apparatus is allowed to pass vertically between the two.   The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism is movable up and down.   5. The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second support levels are switchable between a state in which the substrate is supported and a state in which the substrate is not supported. 6. .   An interval between the first and second support levels is set to be larger than an interval between upper and lower support levels capable of supporting one of the substrates disposed in the transport mechanism. Item 6. The semiconductor processing apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 5.   The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the alignment mechanism performs alignment in a manner of sandwiching the substrate in a diagonal direction.   The at least one of the first and second load lock chambers and the transport mechanism are configured so that a processed substrate and an unprocessed substrate can be exchanged by one advance operation of the transport mechanism. 8. The semiconductor processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor processing apparatus is characterized in that:

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