JP4359109B2 - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for transporting a substrate as a workpiece. For example, in a method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device (hereinafter referred to as an IC), a semiconductor in which an integrated circuit including a semiconductor element is fabricated. The present invention relates to an effective material used for forming an oxide film, a nitride film, or a metal film on a wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer).

In an IC manufacturing method, the following multi-chamber CVD apparatus may be used to form an oxide film or a metal film on a wafer. That is, the multi-chamber CVD apparatus includes a first wafer transfer chamber configured in a load lock chamber structure that can withstand a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure (hereinafter referred to as negative pressure), and the first wafer transfer chamber. A first wafer transfer device installed in the front, a loading lock chamber constructed in a load-lock chamber structure and connected in front of the first wafer transfer chamber; A second wafer transfer chamber constructed in a structure capable of maintaining a pressure equal to or higher than atmospheric pressure (hereinafter referred to as a positive pressure) and installed in front of the carry-in spare chamber and the carry-out spare chamber; A second wafer transfer device installed in the wafer transfer chamber, a wafer carrier stage installed in front of the second wafer transfer chamber and on which a wafer carrier (substrate storage container) storing the wafer is mounted; Installed behind the first transfer chamber And a plurality of CVD units (e.g., see Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-115518 A

  As a wafer carrier used in a conventional substrate processing apparatus of this type, an open cassette which is a substantially cubic housing having a pair of opposite side walls opened and a substantially cubic shape having one side wall opened. There is a FOUP (front opening unified pod, hereinafter referred to as a pod), which is a casing formed with a cap detachably attached to an opening. When a pod is used as a wafer carrier, since the wafer is transported in a sealed state, the cleanliness of the wafer can be maintained even if particles or the like are present in the surrounding atmosphere. As a result, by reducing the cleanliness of the clean room in which the substrate processing apparatus is installed, the cost required for the clean room can be reduced. Therefore, in recent substrate processing apparatuses, pods have been used as wafer carriers. ing.

  However, in a multi-chamber CVD apparatus using a pod as a wafer carrier, when the processed wafer is stored in the pod by the second wafer transfer device, the wafer collides with the positioning portion on the back side of the pod. In addition, there is a problem that particles and the like are generated.

  The objective of this invention is providing the substrate processing apparatus which can prevent the collision at the time of accommodating a board | substrate in a substrate storage container.

  A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a substrate transfer device having a substrate placement plate for taking a substrate into and out of a substrate storage container, and the substrate placement plate at the time of taking out the substrate from the substrate storage container. The substrate transfer position is made different from the first substrate placement position and the second substrate placement position on the substrate placement plate when the processed substrate is stored in the substrate storage container. A controller for controlling the mounting apparatus is provided.

  According to the present invention, even when the substrate is in contact with the positioning portion on the back side of the substrate storage container when the substrate is taken out from the substrate storage container by the substrate mounting plate, the substrate is stored in the substrate storage container. Since the substrate placement position on the substrate placement plate at this time can be set so as not to collide with the positioning portion on the back side, it is possible to prevent the substrate from colliding with the substrate storage container.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured as a multi-chamber CVD apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a CVD apparatus) as shown in FIG. In the method, an insulating film such as silicon oxide or silicon nitride is formed on a wafer as a substrate to be processed, or a metal film such as tantalum pentoxide (Ta ₂ O ₅ ) or ruthenium (Ru) is formed on the wafer. It is used in the film forming process. In the CVD apparatus according to the present embodiment, a pod is used as a wafer carrier. In the following description, front, rear, left and right are based on FIG. That is, the wafer transfer chamber 40 side is the front side, the opposite side, that is, the wafer transfer chamber 10 side is the rear side, the loading spare chamber 20 side is the left side, and the unloading spare chamber 30 side is the right side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the CVD apparatus has a first wafer transfer chamber (hereinafter referred to as negative pressure transfer) having a load lock chamber structure that can withstand pressures lower than atmospheric pressure (hereinafter referred to as negative pressure). A negative pressure transfer chamber 10 (hereinafter referred to as a negative pressure transfer chamber case) 11 is formed in a box shape with a hexagonal shape in plan view and closed at both upper and lower ends. Has been. A wafer transfer device (hereinafter referred to as a negative pressure transfer device) 12 for transferring the wafer 1 under a negative pressure is installed at the center of the negative pressure transfer chamber 10. The negative pressure transfer device 12 is configured by a SCARA robot, and moves up and down while maintaining an airtight seal by an elevator 13 installed on the bottom wall of the negative pressure transfer chamber housing 11. It is configured as follows. The negative pressure transfer device 12 includes a first arm (hereinafter referred to as an upper arm) 14 positioned on the upper side and a second arm (hereinafter referred to as a lower arm) 15 positioned on the lower side. The upper end effector 16 and the lower end effector 17 formed in a bifurcated fork shape for supporting the wafer 1 from below are attached to the distal ends of the upper arm 14 and the lower arm 15, respectively.

  Of the six side walls of the negative pressure transfer chamber casing 11, two side walls located on the front side are provided with a carry-in spare chamber (hereinafter referred to as a carry-in chamber) 20 and a carry-out spare chamber (hereinafter referred to as a carry-out chamber). 30) are connected adjacent to each other. The housing 21 of the carry-in chamber 20 (hereinafter referred to as the carry-in chamber housing) 21 and the housing of the carry-out chamber 30 (hereinafter referred to as the carry-out chamber housing) 31 are each substantially rectangular in plan view and closed at both upper and lower ends. It is formed in a box shape and has a load lock chamber structure that can withstand negative pressure. Carry-in ports 22 and 23 are respectively provided in the side wall of the loading chamber housing 21 and the side wall of the negative pressure transfer chamber housing 11 which are adjacent to each other. A gate valve 24 that opens and closes 22 and 23 is provided. Unloading ports 32 and 33 are respectively provided on the side wall of the unloading chamber housing 31 and the side wall of the negative pressure transfer chamber housing 11 that are adjacent to each other, and the unloading port 33 on the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 side has an unloading port. A gate valve 34 that opens and closes 32 and 33 is provided. A carry-in room temporary table 25 is installed in the carry-in chamber 20, and a carry-out room temporary table 35 is installed in the carry-out chamber 30.

  On the front side of the carry-in chamber 20 and the carry-out chamber 30, a second wafer transfer chamber (hereinafter referred to as a positive pressure transfer chamber) configured to maintain a pressure equal to or higher than atmospheric pressure (hereinafter referred to as a positive pressure). .) 40 is connected adjacently, and the casing of the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 (hereinafter referred to as a positive pressure transfer chamber casing) 41 is a box whose top and bottom ends are obstructed in a horizontally long rectangle in plan view. It is formed into a shape. Carriage entrances 26 and 27 are respectively formed on the side wall of the carry-in chamber housing 21 and the side wall of the positive pressure transfer chamber housing 41 that are adjacent to each other. A gate valve 28 that opens and closes 26 and 27 is provided. Unloading ports 36 and 37 are respectively opened on the side wall of the unloading chamber housing 31 and the side wall of the positive pressure transfer chamber housing 41 which are adjacent to each other, and the unloading port 37 on the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 side has an unloading port. A gate valve 38 that opens and closes 36 and 37 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an alignment device 45 for aligning the center of the wafer 1 is installed on the left side of the positive pressure transfer chamber 40. A clean unit (not shown) for supplying clean air is installed in the upper part of the positive pressure transfer chamber 40. As shown in FIG. 1, three wafer loading / unloading outlets 47, 48, and 49 are arranged in the left-right direction on the front wall of the positive pressure transfer chamber housing 41. The carry-out ports 47, 48, and 49 are set so that the wafer 1 can be carried into and out of the positive pressure transfer chamber 40. Pod openers 42 are respectively installed at the wafer loading / unloading ports 47, 48 and 49. The pod opener 42 includes a mounting table 43 for mounting the pod 2, and a cap attaching / detaching mechanism 44 for attaching and detaching the cap 7 of the pod 2 mounted on the mounting table 43, and the pod mounted on the mounting table 43. 2 is configured to open and close the wafer loading / unloading port 4 of the pod 2 by attaching / detaching the cap 7 by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 44. The pod 2 is supplied to and discharged from the mounting table 43 of the pod opener 42 by an in-process transfer device (RGV) (not shown). Therefore, the mounting table 43 constitutes a pod stage as a wafer carrier stage.

  The positive pressure transfer chamber 40 is provided with a second wafer transfer device (hereinafter referred to as a positive pressure transfer device) 50 for transferring the wafer 1 under a positive pressure. It is configured to be moved up and down by an elevator 51 installed in the pressure transfer chamber 40, and is configured to reciprocate in the left-right direction by a linear actuator (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, the positive pressure transfer device 50 is configured to be able to simultaneously transfer two wafers by a SCARA robot. That is, the positive pressure transfer device 50 includes a first arm (hereinafter referred to as an upper arm) 53 positioned on the upper side and a second arm (hereinafter referred to as a lower arm) 54 positioned on the lower side. An upper end effector 55 and a lower end effector 56 as substrate mounting plates are respectively attached to the distal ends of the upper arm 53 and the lower arm 54. Each of the upper end effector 55 and the lower end effector 56 is formed in the shape of a bifurcated fork plate (plate body) that can scoop up the wafer 1 and support it from below. Since the upper end effector 55 and the lower end effector 56 are formed in substantially the same shape, the configuration thereof will be described with the upper end effector 55 shown in FIG. 3 as a representative. A counterbore 55a is provided on the upper surface of the upper end effector 55 to prevent the wafer 1 from being displaced. The diameter Da of the arc surface formed by the rising surface of the counterbore 55a is slightly larger than the diameter Dw of the wafer 1. Is set to For example, when the diameter Dw of the wafer 1 is 300 mm, the diameter Da of the counterbore 55a is set to 303 to 305 mm. A controller 57 that is constructed by a computer or the like and controls the positive pressure transfer device 50 is connected to the positive pressure transfer device 50. The controller 57 is connected to the end effectors 55 and 56 when the wafer 1 is taken out from the pod 2. The first wafer placement position is different from the second wafer placement position at the end effectors 55 and 56 when the processed wafer 1 after processing the wafer 1 is stored in the pod 2. It is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 1, two side walls located on the back side among the six side walls of the negative pressure transfer chamber housing 11 have a first CVD unit 61 as a first processing unit, A second CVD unit 62 as a second processing unit is connected adjacently. Each of the first CVD unit 61 and the second CVD unit 62 is constituted by a two-sheet type hot wall type reduced pressure CVD apparatus. The remaining two opposite side walls of the six side walls in the negative pressure transfer chamber housing 11 have a first cooling unit 63 as a third processing unit and a second cooling unit as a fourth processing unit. Two cooling units 64 are connected to each other, and both the first cooling unit 63 and the second cooling unit 64 are configured to cool the processed wafer 1.

  A pod 2 as a substrate storage container for storing the wafer 1 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, the pod 2 includes a main body 3 formed in a substantially cubic box shape having a wafer loading / unloading port 4 that is a substantially square opening on one side wall, and a cap 7 that is detachably attached to the wafer loading / unloading port 4. I have. Of the upper, lower, left and right side walls adjacent to the wafer loading / unloading port 4 of the main body 3, a plurality of holding pieces 5 are arranged at equal intervals on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls and project at right angles to the side surfaces. The holding part pieces 5 are set to form the same plane and hold the wafer 1 horizontally. In addition, a pair of back side positioning portions 6 and 6 are formed on the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls, and the back side positioning portions 6 and 6 are respectively provided at two locations on the outer periphery of the wafer 1 held by the holding portion piece 5. It is set so as to regulate the position of the back side of the wafer 1 by contact. A front-side positioning portion 8 is provided at the center of the inner surface of the cap 7, and the front-side positioning portion 8 abuts on one location on the outer periphery of the wafer 1 held by the holding piece 5 and regulates the position of the front side of the wafer 1. By doing so, it is set so as to prevent rattling of the wafer 1 in cooperation with the back side positioning portions 6 and 6. A lock 9 is attached to the cap 7, and the lock 9 is configured to lock the cap 7 to the main body 3 by engaging with a part of the wafer loading / unloading port 4 of the main body 3.

  Hereinafter, a film forming process in an IC manufacturing method using the CVD apparatus according to the above configuration will be described.

  From now on, twenty-five wafers 1 to be deposited are transported by the in-process transport apparatus to the CVD apparatus for performing the film forming process in a state where 25 pods are stored in the pod 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the pod 2 that has been transferred is delivered from the in-process transfer device and mounted on the mounting table 43. The cap 7 of the pod 2 is removed by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 44, and the wafer loading / unloading port 4 of the pod 2 is opened.

  When the pod 2 is opened by the pod opener 42, the positive pressure transfer device 50 installed in the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 picks up the wafer 1 from the main body 3 of the pod 2 through the wafer loading / unloading port 47 and transfers the positive pressure. It is pulled out to the mounting device 50 and transferred to the alignment device 45 in the positive pressure transfer chamber 40. By the way, in order to prevent rattling in the stored state in the pod 2, the wafer 1 is pressed against the back side positioning portions 6 and 6 by the cap 7 as shown in FIG. 4. For this reason, when the positive pressure transfer device 50 picks up the wafer 1 from the main body 3 of the pod 2, the wafer 1 is in contact with the rear positioning portions 6, 6. Therefore, when the wafer 1 is picked up from the main body 3 of the pod 2, the case of the upper end effector (hereinafter referred to as end effector) 55 shown in FIG. The controller 57 controls the movement of the positive pressure transfer device 50 so as to get closer to the tip of the end effector 55. That is, the wafer 1 is picked up by the end effector 55 such that the center Ow of the wafer 1 is located slightly closer to the tip than the center Oa of the counterbore 55a of the end effector 55. At this time, since the diameter Da of the counterbore 55a is set to be larger than the diameter Dw of the wafer 1, an accident in which the wafer 1 gets on the counterbore 55a can be prevented. Further, since the position of the wafer 1 supported by the bottom surface of the counterbore 55a is regulated by the rising surface of the counterbore 55a, an accident of jumping out of the counterbore 55a due to inertial force, vibration, or the like can be prevented. Incidentally, a control method for placing the wafer 1 near the tip of the end effector 55 can be easily realized by a control method (teaching reproduction control) in which the controller 57 is taught (reduced) in advance and regenerated.

  As described above, when the wafer 1 is transferred to the alignment device 45 in a state where the wafer 1 is placed on the end effector 55, the wafer 1 is shifted to the alignment device 45. However, the deviation amount of the center Ow of the wafer 1 with respect to the center Oa of the end effector 55 is very small (for example, maximum ± 2.5 mm) and does not exceed the position detection amount (for example, minimum ± 7 mm) of the alignment device 45. Thus, there is no problem in aligning the center of the wafer 1 by the alignment device 45.

  When the alignment of the wafer 1 by the alignment device 45 is completed, the positive pressure transfer device 50 picks up the wafer 1 from the alignment device 45. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5B, the controller 57 controls the movement of the positive pressure transfer device 50 so that the wafer 1 is placed on the center of the end effector 55. That is, the wafer 1 is picked up by the end effector 55 so that the center Ow of the wafer 1 matches the center Oa of the counterbore 55a of the end effector 55. At this time, since the diameter Da of the counterbore 55a is set to be larger than the diameter Dw of the wafer 1, an accident in which the wafer 1 gets on the counterbore 55a can be prevented. Incidentally, the control method for placing the wafer 1 on the center of the end effector 55 can be easily realized by a control method for aligning the center Oa of the counterbore 55a of the end effector 55 with the center of the alignment device 45.

  When the wafer 1 is picked up from the alignment device 45, the positive pressure transfer device 50 loads the wafer 1 into the loading chamber 20 through the loading ports 26 and 27 (wafer loading), and transfers the wafer 1 to the temporary loading table 25 for loading chamber. To do. During the transfer operation, the carry-in ports 22 and 23 on the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 side are closed by the gate valve 24, and the negative pressure in the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 is maintained. When the transfer of the wafer 1 to the temporary loading table 25 for the loading chamber is completed, the loading ports 26 and 27 on the positive pressure loading chamber 40 side are closed by the gate valve 28, and the loading chamber 20 is exhausted (not shown). Is exhausted to a negative pressure.

  When the loading chamber 20 is depressurized to a preset pressure value, the loading ports 22 and 23 on the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 side are opened by the gate valve 24 and the wafer loading / unloading port 65 of the first CVD unit 61 is opened. It is opened by a gate valve (not shown). Subsequently, the negative pressure transfer device 12 in the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 picks up the wafer 1 from the carry-in chamber temporary placement table 25 through the transfer ports 22 and 23, and loads the wafer 1 into the negative pressure transfer chamber 10. The wafer is loaded (wafer loading) into the processing chamber of the first CVD unit 61 from the outlet 65 and is transferred (setting) to the substrate mounting table in the processing chamber. When the transfer of the wafer 1 to the substrate mounting table is completed, the wafer loading / unloading port 65 of the first CVD unit 61 is closed by the gate valve. In addition, when carrying the wafer into the first CVD unit 61, the oxygen and moisture inside are removed beforehand by evacuating the carry-in chamber 20 and the negative pressure transfer chamber 10, so that the external oxygen and moisture are removed. Is reliably prevented from entering the processing chamber of the first CVD unit 61 as the wafer is carried into the first CVD unit 61.

  Thereafter, in the first CVD unit 61, the processing chamber is hermetically closed and exhausted by an exhaust pipe so as to be at a predetermined pressure, heated to a predetermined temperature by a heater unit, and a predetermined source gas is introduced into the gas. A desired film corresponding to a preset processing condition is formed on the wafer 1 by supplying a predetermined flow rate through the tube.

  When the processing time set in advance for the first CVD unit 61 elapses, the film-formed wafer 1 is picked up by the negative pressure transfer device 12 from the substrate mounting table of the first CVD unit 61 and maintained at a negative pressure. The negative pressure transfer chamber 10 is unloaded from the wafer loading / unloading port 65 of the first CVD unit 61.

  When the processed wafer 1 is unloaded from the first CVD unit 61 to the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 by the negative pressure transfer device 12, the wafer loading / unloading port 67 of the first cooling unit 63 is opened by the gate valve 67A. Subsequently, the negative pressure transfer device 12 carries the wafer 1 unloaded from the first CVD unit 61 into the processing chamber (cooling chamber) of the first cooling unit 63 through the wafer loading / unloading port 67, and at the same time the substrate mounting table in the processing chamber. To be transferred to. When the transfer operation of the wafer 1 from the first CVD unit 61 to the first cooling unit 63 is completed, the wafer loading / unloading port 67 in the processing chamber of the first cooling unit 63 is closed by the gate valve 67A. When the wafer carry-in / out port 67 is closed, the film-formed wafer carried into the first cooling unit 63 is cooled. In addition, the transfer work from the first CVD unit 61 to the first cooling unit 63 for the wafer 1 on which the film has been formed by the first CVD unit 61 is the first CVD unit 61, which is maintained at a negative pressure, Since the process is performed in the cooling unit 63 and the negative pressure transfer chamber 10, a natural oxide film is generated on the film formation surface of the wafer 1 when the wafer 1 is transferred from the first CVD unit 61 to the first cooling unit 63. It is prevented that foreign matter or the like is attached.

  When the wafer is transferred to the first cooling unit 63, the negative pressure transfer device 12 empties the wafer 1 prepared in advance in the temporary loading table 25 for the loading chamber 20 in the loading chamber 20 in the processing chamber of the first CVD unit 61. The substrate is transferred to the substrate mounting table by the operation described above. Even during this transfer operation, the negative pressures in the carry-in chamber 20 and the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 are maintained by closing the carry-in ports 26 and 27 on the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 side of the carry-in chamber 20 by the gate valve 28. Has been.

  When a preset cooling time has elapsed in the first cooling unit 63, the cooled wafer 1 is picked up from the first cooling unit 63 by the negative pressure transfer device 12 in the same manner as in the first CVD unit 61 described above. Then, it is carried out to the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 maintained at a negative pressure.

  When the cooled wafer 1 is unloaded from the first cooling unit 63 to the negative pressure transfer chamber 10, the unloading port 33 is opened by the gate valve 34. Subsequently, the negative pressure transfer device 12 conveys the wafer 1 unloaded from the first cooling unit 63 to the unloading port 33 of the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 and unloads it into the unloading chamber 30 through the unloading port 33, and for the unloading chamber. Transfer to the temporary table 35. When the transfer operation of the cooled wafer 1 from the first cooling unit 63 to the unloading chamber 30 is completed, the unloading ports 32 and 33 of the unloading chamber 30 are closed by the gate valve 34.

  When the carry-out ports 32 and 33 of the carry-out chamber 30 are closed by the gate valve 34, the carry-out ports 36 and 37 on the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 side of the carry-out chamber 30 are opened by the gate valve 38 and the load lock of the carry-out chamber 30. Is released. When the load lock of the unloading chamber 30 is released, the wafer loading / unloading port 48 corresponding to the unloading chamber 30 of the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 is opened by the pod opener 42 and the empty pod mounted on the mounting table 43. Two caps 7 are opened by the pod opener 42. Subsequently, the positive pressure transfer device 50 in the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 picks up the wafer 1 from the carry-out chamber temporary placement table 35 through the carry-out port 37 and carries it out to the positive pressure transfer chamber 40. The wafer is loaded (charged) into the main body 3 of the pod 2 through the wafer loading / unloading port 48 and the wafer loading / unloading port 4 of the main body 3 of the pod 2.

  When picking up the wafer 1 from the carry-out chamber temporary placement table 35, the controller 57 controls the movement of the positive pressure transfer device 50 so that the wafer 1 gets on the center of the end effector 55. That is, the wafer 1 is picked up by the end effector 55 in the state shown in FIG. 5B where the center Ow of the wafer 1 matches the center Oa of the counterbore 55a of the end effector 55. At this time, since the diameter Da of the counterbore 55a is set to be larger than the diameter Dw of the wafer 1, an accident in which the wafer 1 gets on the counterbore 55a can be prevented. Incidentally, the control method for placing the wafer 1 on the center of the end effector 55 can be easily realized by controlling the center Oa of the counterbore 55a of the end effector 55 to coincide with the center of the temporary placement table 35 for the carry-out chamber.

  When the wafer 1 held by the end effector 55 is stored in the main body 3 of the pod 2 in a state where the center Ow of the wafer 1 coincides with the center Oa of the counterbore 55a, the wafer 1 is picked up from the main body 3 of the pod 2. The controller 57 controls the movement of the positive pressure transfer device 50 so that the end effector 55 is inserted at the position when it is inserted into the main body 3. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when picking up the wafer 1 from the main body 3 of the pod 2, the wafer 1 (see the imaginary line in FIG. 6) that is in contact with the rear positioning portions 6, 6 is ended. Since the scooping is performed near the tip of the effector 55, the center Oa of the counterbore 55a of the end effector 55 is a position retreated from the position of the center Ow of the wafer 1 indicated by an imaginary line. As shown in FIG. 6, since the center Ow of the wafer 1 when being accommodated in the main body 3 of the pod 2 is in a state of being coincident with the center Oa of the counterbore 55a, the wafer 1 is positioned on both inner sides. The parts 6 and 6 do not collide. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of failures such as particles generated by collision of the wafer 1 with the rear positioning portions 6 and 6 of the main body 3 of the pod 2 and damage to the wafer 1.

  When the storage of 25 processed wafers 1 into the pod 2 is completed, the cap 7 of the pod 2 is attached to the wafer loading / unloading port 4 by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 44 of the pod opener 42 and the pod 2 is closed. The closed pod 2 is transported from the mounting table 43 to the next process by the in-process transport apparatus.

  By repeating the above operations, the wafers are sequentially processed. The above operation has been described by taking the case where the first CVD unit 61 and the first cooling unit 63 are used as an example, but the same operation is also performed when the second CVD unit 62 and the second cooling unit 64 are used. To be implemented.

  According to the embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

1) When removing the wafer from the pod, scoop the wafer near the tip of the end effector, and when storing the wafer in the pod, carry the wafer into the pod while holding the wafer in the center of the end effector. Since the phenomenon of colliding with the rear side positioning portion of the pod can be prevented, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of failures such as damage to particles and wafers.

2) When removing the wafer from the pod, scoop the wafer near the end of the end effector, and when returning the wafer to the pod, carry the wafer into the pod while holding the wafer in the center of the end effector. The teaching of this position can improve the work efficiency because only the take-out position needs to be executed without teaching the wafer take-out position and the wafer return position.

  It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

  For example, the wafer placement position at the end effector when removing the wafer from the pod is set closer to the tip of the end effector, and the wafer placement position at the end effector when storing the wafer in the pod is set to the center. First, the wafer placement position at the end effector when removing the wafer from the pod is set at the center of the end effector, and the wafer placement position at the end effector when storing the wafer in the pod is set closer to the rear end. May be. In short, the wafer placement position on the end effector when the wafer is taken out from the pod and the wafer placement position on the end effector when the wafer is stored in the pod so that the wafer does not collide with the rear positioning portion of the pod. What is necessary is just to make it different.

  The processing unit for processing a wafer disposed around the negative pressure transfer chamber is not limited to a CVD unit and a cooling unit equipped with a two-wafer hot wall type low-pressure CVD apparatus, but a batch type CVD apparatus. Or a CVD unit equipped with a single wafer CVD apparatus, or a processing unit including a substrate processing apparatus such as an oxidation apparatus, a diffusion apparatus, a heat treatment apparatus, a sputtering apparatus, a dry etching apparatus, or a cleaning apparatus. Good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where a film is formed has been described. However, the oxidation treatment, the diffusion treatment, the annealing treatment, the plasma treatment, the sputtering treatment, the dry etching treatment, the cleaning treatment, the cooling treatment, the preheating treatment, and the combination processing thereof are also performed. Can be applied.

  Further, the case of processing a wafer has been described, but the present invention can be applied to all substrates such as a liquid crystal panel, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk.

1 is a plan sectional view showing a multi-chamber type CVD apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows a positive pressure transfer apparatus. The end effector is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view. It is a plane sectional view showing a pod. It is a top view which shows the wafer mounting position in an end effector, (a) has shown the state near the front-end | tip, (b) has shown the center state. FIG. 6 is a partially omitted plan cross-sectional view showing a state where a wafer is stored in a pod.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wafer (substrate), 2 ... Pod (substrate storage container), 3 ... Main body, 4 ... Wafer taking-in / out opening, 5 ... Holding part piece, 6 ... Back side positioning part, 7 ... Cap, 8 ... Front side positioning part, 9 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS: Lock, 10 ... Negative pressure transfer chamber (wafer transfer chamber), 11 ... Negative pressure transfer chamber housing, 12 ... Negative pressure transfer device (wafer transfer device), 13 ... Elevator, 14 ... Upper arm, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 ... Lower arm, 16 ... Upper end effector, 17 ... Lower end effector, 20 ... Carry-in chamber (carrying-in spare room), 21 ... Carry-in chamber housing, 22, 23 ... Carry-in port, 24 ... Gate valve, 25 DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS: Temporary loading table for loading / unloading chamber, 26, 27 ... Loading port, 28 ... Gate valve, 30 ... Unloading chamber (preliminary chamber for unloading), 31 ... Unloading chamber housing, 32, 33 ... Unloading port, 34 ... Gate valve, 35 ... Temporary storage table for unloading chamber, 36, 37 ... Unloading port, 38 ... Gate valve, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 0 ... Positive pressure transfer chamber (wafer transfer chamber), 41 ... Positive pressure transfer chamber housing, 42 ... Pod opener, 43 ... Mounting table, 44 ... Cap attaching / detaching mechanism, 45 ... Alignment device, 46 ... Clean unit, 47, 48, 49 ... Wafer loading / unloading port, 50 ... Positive pressure transfer device (wafer transfer device), 51 ... Elevator, 53 ... Upper arm, 54 ... Lower arm, 55 ... Upper end effector (substrate mounting plate) ), 55a ... Counterbore, 56 ... Lower end effector, 57 ... Controller, 61 ... First CVD unit (first processing unit), 62 ... Second CVD unit (second processing unit), 63 ... First cooling unit ( Third processing unit), 64 ... Second cooling unit (fourth processing unit), 65, 67 ... Wafer loading / unloading port, 67A ... Gate valve, 68 ... Wafer loading / unloading port.

Claims (3)

Substrate transfer device that supports a substrate by a support portion of a substrate mounting plate whose base end is supported by an arm and puts it in and out of the substrate storage container, and positioning on the back side provided on the inner surface of the side wall adjacent to the substrate loading / unloading port A substrate storage container having a section, and a controller for controlling the substrate transfer apparatus,
When the substrate in contact with the rear positioning portion of the substrate storage container is taken out from the substrate storage container, the center of the substrate is closer to the tip of the substrate mounting plate than the center of the support portion. And controlling the substrate transfer device,
When storing the substrate in the substrate storage container, by controlling the substrate transfer device so that the center of the substrate is the center of the support portion,
The center of the substrate at the time of storage is controlled to be a position retracted in the direction of the substrate insertion / removal from the center of the substrate at the time of taking out,
A substrate processing apparatus.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is counterbore. A substrate transfer device for supporting a substrate by a support portion of a substrate mounting plate whose base end is supported by an arm has a back side positioning portion provided on the inner surface of the side wall adjacent to the substrate loading / unloading port. A substrate processing method for taking in and out of a storage container,
The substrate transfer device includes:
When the substrate in contact with the rear positioning portion of the substrate storage container is taken out from the substrate storage container, the center of the substrate is closer to the tip of the substrate mounting plate than the center of the support portion. So that the substrate is supported by the substrate mounting plate,
When storing the substrate in the substrate storage container, by supporting the substrate by the substrate mounting plate so that the center of the substrate is the center of the support portion,
The center of the substrate when storing is controlled so as to be a position retracted in the direction of the substrate insertion / removal from the center of the substrate when taking out.
And a substrate processing method.

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