JP4785905B2 - Substrate transfer processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate transfer processing apparatus for transferring and processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a flat panel display substrate (FPD substrate).

  In general, in photolithography technology, a photoresist is applied to a substrate, a resist film formed thereby is exposed according to a predetermined circuit pattern, and a desired circuit pattern is formed on the resist film by developing this exposure pattern. It is performed by a series of steps to form.

  Such processing is generally performed by applying a resist coating processing unit for applying a resist solution to a substrate, processing a substrate after completion of resist coating processing or a substrate after exposure processing, and a substrate after heating processing. A cooling processing unit for cooling processing to a temperature, a developing processing unit for supplying a developing solution to the substrate and developing the substrate, etc. are provided in a state where they are individually stacked in a plurality of stages. The conveyance and the loading / unloading of the substrate are performed by the substrate conveying means.

  As a conventional substrate transfer processing apparatus of this type, a processing block including a carrier block in which a carrier capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates is disposed, and a processing unit that performs resist coating / development processing on the substrate taken out of the carrier. And a substrate transfer means arranged in the carrier block and the processing block, respectively, and capable of moving the substrate in the vertical and horizontal directions, and arranged between the carrier block and the processing block so that a plurality of substrates can be placed. In addition, there is known a substrate transfer processing apparatus including a substrate storage unit having a cooling plate that waits for a substrate and cools the substrate in advance before cooling the substrate to a predetermined temperature (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

  According to the substrate transfer processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in order to efficiently transfer a substrate corresponding to the time difference of the processing time of the substrate in each processing unit and to improve the throughput, a plurality of processing units are provided. A substrate having a plurality of stages in which a plurality of substrates can be accommodated is provided between the processing block and the interface block or in the interface block, and the substrate differs from the substrate accommodation unit in two directions of the substrate accommodation unit. The substrate can be delivered by the conveying means.

Depending on the type of resist film used, when an antireflection film is formed on the top and bottom sides of the resist film, or when an antireflection film is formed on either the top or bottom of the resist film, the antireflection film is formed only with the resist film. In some cases, the coating conditions differ depending on the lot, and therefore the processing conditions in the coating processing unit required for each lot, and the coating film forming unit such as the heating processing unit, cooling processing unit, and pre-cooling processing unit may differ. is there. In this case, in the configuration in which the coating processing unit, the heating processing unit, and the cooling processing unit are provided in the same processing block, the unit to be used differs depending on the type of the target resist film. Will be different. This further complicates the substrate transfer schedule, so that the number of substrates stored in the substrate storage unit described above is increased to allow waiting for a plurality of substrates before being subjected to the next processing.
JP 2007-288029 A (Claims, FIG. 1)

  However, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of (for example, three) support pins are erected up and down on a cooling plate disposed in the substrate storage unit, and the substrate is supported by these support pins. The substrate is transferred to and from the substrate transfer means. Therefore, there is a concern that it takes time to deliver the substrate. Further, since the height of the cooling plate and the support pins for the support pins is required, there is a problem that the number of cooling plates cannot be increased due to the height of the entire apparatus, and high production cannot be handled. Furthermore, it is necessary to pay attention to maintenance / inspection of the lifting / lowering drive mechanism of the support pin.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to reduce the arrangement space of the cooling plate in the substrate storage portion as much as possible so as to reduce the size of the apparatus and increase the number of substrates stored, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate transfer processing apparatus that can improve throughput and maintenance.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a first substrate transport processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a carrier block in which a carrier capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates is arranged, and an appropriate process including heat treatment on the substrate taken out from the carrier. A processing block including a processing unit to be applied, a substrate transporting means capable of moving at least in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction for transferring a substrate transported from the carrier block in the processing block to the processing unit, and the carrier block and the processing The substrate can be transferred between the substrate storage unit disposed between the blocks and capable of storing a plurality of substrates and the carrier block, and at least in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction for transferring the substrate to the substrate storage unit. Movable substrate delivery means, and the substrate storage section is configured to transfer the substrate transfer means or the substrate delivery means. A cooling plate for placing and cooling the substrate received from the transfer means, and a transfer plate for transferring the substrate , wherein the substrate transfer means and the substrate transfer means are substantially horseshoe-shaped by two curved arm pieces. And a plurality of support claws for supporting the substrate are provided on the lower end of the curved arm piece and the lower portion on the base end side, respectively, and the cooling plate has a supply channel and a discharge channel for the refrigerant fluid. A base block, a mounting base provided with a supply flow path and a discharge flow path that are stacked on top of the base block and communicated with the supply flow path and the discharge flow path, respectively, and communicated with the supply flow path and the discharge flow path And a coolant passage that is formed to have a smaller diameter than between the two curved arm pieces of the substrate transport means and the substrate transfer means, and is provided on the outer periphery to avoid interference of the lifting and lowering movement of the support claw. One or a plurality of cooling plate bodies having a disc portion provided with a hole, and the upper surface of the mounting base layer laminated on the upper surface of the base block to block the supply channel and the discharge channel. And a sealing plate for sandwiching the cooling plate main body in cooperation with the base block (Claim 1).

In addition to the first substrate transport processing apparatus, the second substrate transport processing apparatus of the present invention further includes a second processing block for appropriately processing the substrate, and the substrate storage portion is mounted on the carrier. Between the processing block and the processing block and the second processing block, similarly to the first substrate transport processing apparatus, the substrate storage unit is provided with the substrate transport means or A cooling plate for placing and cooling the substrate received from the substrate delivery means; and a delivery plate for delivering the substrate . The substrate transfer means and the substrate delivery means are substantially horseshoe-shaped by two curved arm pieces. is formed in a shape, a plurality of supporting pawls to support the respective substrate distally lower and the proximal side lower portion of the curved arm piece is provided, the cooling plate, the coolant fluid supply passage及A base block having a discharge flow path, and a mounting base supply passage and the discharge passage respectively communicating is provided in the supply passage and the discharge passage while being stacked on top of the base block, the supply passage and In order to have a refrigerant flow path communicating with the discharge flow path, to have a smaller diameter than between the two curved arm pieces of the substrate transport means and the substrate transfer means, and to avoid interference of the lifting and lowering movement of the support claws on the outer periphery One or a plurality of cooling plate bodies having a disc portion provided with a notch and a top surface of the mounting base layer stacked on the top surface of the base block are attached to the supply channel and the discharge channel. And a sealing plate that clamps the cooling plate body in cooperation with the base block (Claim 2).

  By configuring as described above, the support pins for raising and lowering the substrate are not required, and the substrate transferred by the substrate transfer means or the substrate transfer means is directly transferred to the cooling plate, and the substrate transferred by the cooling plate is transferred. It can be mounted and cooled (claims 1 and 2). In addition, by providing a delivery plate that is used only for delivery of the substrate, it is possible to smoothly carry the substrate between the carrier block and the processing block and between the processing block and the second processing block.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the base block, the mounting base of the cooling plate main body , and the sealing plate are detachably connected by a connecting member. In this case, the supply channel section and the discharge flow path portion between the mounting base of the base block and the cooling plate body, the supply channel section and the discharge flow path portion between the mounting base and the sealing plate of the cooling plate body, It is preferable to interpose a seal member (claim 4).

  With this configuration, the cooling plate can be configured by easily assembling the base block, the cooling plate body, and the sealing plate with the base block as a reference. Moreover, the number of cooling plate main bodies can be increased / decreased as needed.

In the present invention, the substrate storage unit may further include a substrate suction plate that is detachably mounted on the back surface of the cooling plate body. In this case, the substrate suction plate is provided on the base block. A through-hole that communicates the supplied supply and discharge channels and the coolant channel of the cooling plate body, and a suction channel that communicates with the suction holes provided in the cooling plate body. (Claim 5). In this case, the supply flow path section and the discharge section are respectively interposed between the cylindrical connection member inserted into the through hole of the substrate suction plate and the mounting base of the base block and the cooling plate body. It is preferable to form the flow path part in a gas-tight manner (claim 6). Further, the suction channel of the substrate suction plate is composed of a channel groove provided on the upper surface of the substrate suction plate, and a closing lid laid in an expanding step portion formed at the opening end of the channel groove. And it can be set as the structure connected to the suction hole of the cooling plate main body via the sealing member with the suction hole provided in the said obstruction | occlusion lid (Claim 7).

  By comprising in this way, the board | substrate mounted on the cooling plate, ie, a cooling plate main body, can be adsorbed-held, and the cooling heat of a refrigerant | coolant fluid can be efficiently transferred to a board | substrate.

  Further, in the present invention, the cooling plate base block and the piping portion connected to the supply flow path and the discharge flow path provided in the base block are fixed to the base plate and integrally formed, and the cooling plate is integrated. It is preferable to attach the base plate so that it can be pulled out with respect to the frame constituting the substrate storage portion.

  By comprising in this way, a cooling plate can be attached with respect to a board | substrate storage part so that extraction | drawer is possible.

  In the present invention, the substrate storage unit may further include a substrate storage shelf that can store a plurality of substrates. By comprising in this way, a several board | substrate can be made to wait in a board | substrate storage part.

  The invention according to claim 10 is the substrate transport processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing block is a coating film forming process for forming a coating film including a resist film on the substrate. An antireflection film forming processing unit for applying a chemical solution for the antireflection film to the unit, the substrate, and a heat treatment unit for heat-treating the substrate are provided.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the substrate transport processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein the processing block is a coating film forming processing unit for forming a coating film including a resist film on the substrate, An antireflection film forming processing unit for applying a chemical solution for the antireflection film to the substrate and a heat treatment unit for heat-treating the substrate are provided, and the second processing block includes an exposure apparatus. And

  In addition, according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the tenth or eleventh aspect, the processing block divides the coating film forming processing unit and the heat processing unit by a horizontal movement region of the substrate transfer means. A coating film forming unit block, a first antireflection film forming unit for forming an antireflection film below the coating film, and a heat treatment unit, which are partitioned by a horizontal movement region of the substrate transport means. The first antireflection film forming unit block, the second antireflection film forming unit for forming the antireflection film on the upper side of the coating film, and the heat treatment unit are partitioned by a horizontal movement region of the substrate transfer means. Two antireflection film forming unit blocks, and the substrate housing portion includes the coating film forming unit block, the first antireflection film forming unit block, and the second antireflection film forming unit block. A plurality of storage blocks are provided to correspond to the unit blocks for forming the antireflection film, and each storage block includes a plurality of mounting shelves and cooling plates.

  By configuring as described above, an antireflection film is formed on one or both of the upper and lower sides of the resist film in accordance with the type of resist film applied to the substrate and the processing time in each processing unit, or the resist In the case where the antireflection film is not formed with only the film, it is possible to ensure the standby of the substrate before the next processing, and it is possible to cool the substrate in the substrate storage portion and adjust it to a predetermined temperature. ).

  As described above, since the substrate transfer processing apparatus of the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the support pins for raising and lowering the substrate are not required, and the substrate conveyed by the substrate conveying means or the substrate delivering means is directly transferred to the cooling plate. Since the transferred substrate can be placed and cooled, the substrate heated in the processing block can be efficiently cooled in the transfer process, and the throughput can be improved. Moreover, since the space in the height direction of the cooling plate can be reduced, the number of cooling plates mounted can be increased, and productivity can be improved.

  (2) According to the third and fourth aspects of the invention, since the base block, the cooling plate body, and the sealing plate can be easily assembled on the basis of the base block, the cooling plate can be configured. In addition, the mounting accuracy of the cooling plate can be further increased. Moreover, the number of cooling plate bodies can be easily increased or decreased as necessary.

  (3) According to the fifth, sixth, and seventh aspects of the invention, the substrate placed on the cooling plate, that is, the cooling plate main body can be sucked and held, and the cooling heat of the refrigerant fluid is efficiently transferred to the substrate. Therefore, in addition to the above (1) and (2), the processing accuracy can be further improved.

  (4) According to the invention described in claim 8, since the cooling plate can be attached to the substrate housing portion so as to be able to be pulled out, the maintenance can be further improved in addition to the above (1) to (3).

  (5) According to the invention described in claim 9, since a plurality of substrates can be made to stand by in the substrate storage portion, productivity can be further improved in addition to the above (1) to (4).

  (6) According to the invention described in claims 10 to 12, the antireflection film is formed on one or both of the upper and lower sides of the resist film in accordance with the type of the resist film applied to the substrate and the processing time in each processing unit. In addition, when the antireflection film is not formed only with the resist film, it is possible to ensure the standby of the substrate before the next processing and to cool the substrate after the heat treatment. Therefore, in addition to the above (1) to (5), it is possible to efficiently perform complicated processing corresponding to the type of resist film applied to the substrate and the processing time in each processing unit.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, a case where the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer resist coating / development processing apparatus will be described.

  1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the resist coating / development processing apparatus, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view thereof, and FIG. 3 is the same schematic diagram, in which only unit blocks of a processing unit are overlapped in a planar state. FIG.

  The resist coating / developing apparatus includes a carrier block S1 for loading and unloading a carrier 20 in which, for example, 13 semiconductor wafers W (hereinafter referred to as wafers W), which are substrates, are hermetically contained, and a plurality of units, for example, 5 units. A processing block S2 configured by vertically arranging blocks B1 to B5, an interface block S3, and an exposure apparatus S4 as a second processing block are provided.

  The carrier block S <b> 1 includes a mounting table 21 on which a plurality of (for example, four) carriers 20 can be mounted, an opening / closing unit 22 provided on a wall surface in front of the mounting table 21, and an opening / closing unit 22. And a transfer arm C for taking out the wafer W from the carrier 20. This transfer arm C has horizontal X and Y directions and vertical Z directions so as to transfer wafers W to and from transfer stages TRS1 and TRS2 provided on a shelf unit U5 that constitutes a substrate storage unit to be described later. It is configured to be freely movable and to be rotatable about the vertical axis.

  A processing block S2 surrounded by a casing 24 is connected to the back side of the carrier block S1. In this example, the processing block S2 is formed on the lower side of the resist film from the lower side to the first and second unit blocks (DEV layers) B1 and B2 for performing development processing on the lower two stages. Third unit block (BCT layer) B3, which is a unit block for forming a first antireflection film for forming an antireflection film (hereinafter referred to as “first antireflection film”), a coating process of a resist solution Processing for forming a fourth unit block (COT layer) B4, which is a unit block for forming a coating film for performing coating, and an antireflection film (hereinafter referred to as "second antireflection film") formed on the upper layer side of the resist film Is assigned as a fifth unit block (TCT layer) B5, which is a second antireflection film forming unit block for performing the above. Here, the DEV layers B1 and B2 correspond to unit blocks for development processing, and the BCT layer B3, COT layer B4, and TCT layer B5 correspond to unit blocks for coating film formation.

  Next, the configuration of the first to fifth unit blocks B (B1 to B5) will be described. Each of these unit blocks B1 to B5 is disposed on the front surface side, and a liquid processing unit for applying a chemical solution to the wafer W, and disposed on the back surface side, before the processing performed in the liquid processing unit. Between the processing units such as various heating units for processing and post-processing, and the liquid processing unit disposed on the front side and the processing units such as the heating unit disposed on the back side, the wafer W Main arms A1 to A5, which are dedicated substrate transfer means for performing delivery.

  In this example, the unit blocks B1 to B5 are formed in the same arrangement layout of the liquid processing unit, the processing unit such as a heating unit, and the conveying means between the unit blocks B1 to B5. Here, the same arrangement layout means that the center of the wafer W in each processing unit, that is, the center of the spin chuck that is a holding means of the wafer W in the liquid processing unit, the heating plate and the cooling plate in the heating unit, and so on. It means that the center is the same.

  The DEV layers B1 and B2 are similarly configured, and in this case, are formed in common. As shown in FIG. 1, the DEV layers B1 and B2 are substantially at the center of the DEV layers B1 and B2, and in the length direction of the DEV layers B1 and B2 (Y direction in the figure), the carrier block S1 and the interface block S3. A transfer area R1 (horizontal movement area of the main arm A1) for the wafer W is formed.

  On both sides of the transport region R1 viewed from the carrier block S1 side, a plurality of development processes for performing the development process as the liquid processing unit on the right side from the front side (carrier block S1 side) to the back side. For example, two stages of developing units 31 having a section are provided. Each unit block is provided with, for example, four shelf units U1, U2, U3, U4 in which heating units are multi-staged in order from the front side to the left side. The various units for performing the pre-processing and post-processing of the processing performed in the above are stacked in a plurality of stages, for example, three stages. In this way, the developing unit 31 and the shelf units U1 to U4 are partitioned by the transport region R1, and the cleaning air is ejected and exhausted to the transport region R1, thereby suppressing the floating of particles in the region. It has become.

  Among the various units for performing the above pre-processing and post-processing, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a heating unit (PEB1) called a post-exposure baking unit that heat-processes the wafer W after exposure. In addition, a heating unit (POST1) called a post-baking unit or the like for performing heat treatment to remove moisture of the wafer W after development processing is included. Each processing unit such as the heating unit (PEB1, POST1) is accommodated in a processing container 51, and the shelf units U1 to U4 are configured by stacking the processing containers 51 in three stages. A wafer loading / unloading port 52 is formed on the surface facing the transfer region R1.

  The main arm A1 is provided in the transfer region R1. This main arm A1 is used for all modules in the DEV layer B1 (where the wafer W is placed), for example, each processing unit of the shelf units U1 to U4, developing unit 31, and each part of the shelf unit U5. For this purpose, it is configured to be movable in the horizontal X and Y directions and the vertical Z direction, and to be rotatable about the vertical axis.

  The unit blocks B3 to B5 for forming the coating film are all configured in the same manner, and are configured in the same manner as the unit blocks B1 and B2 for development processing described above. Specifically, the COT layer B4 will be described as an example with reference to FIGS. 3, 7, and 8. As a liquid processing unit, a coating unit 32 for performing a resist liquid coating process on the wafer W is provided. The shelf units U1 to U4 of the COT layer B4 include a heating unit (CLHP4) that heat-treats the wafer W after application of the resist solution, and a hydrophobic treatment unit (ADH) that improves the adhesion between the resist solution and the wafer W. ), And is configured in the same manner as the DEV layers B1 and B2. That is, the coating unit 32, the heating unit (CLHP4), and the hydrophobizing unit (ADH) are configured to be partitioned by the transfer region R4 of the main arm A4 (horizontal movement region of the main arm A4). In the COT layer B4, the wafer W is delivered to the delivery stage TRS1 of the shelf unit U5, the coating unit 32, and the processing units of the shelf units U1 to U4 by the main arm A4. It has become. The hydrophobic treatment unit (ADH) performs gas treatment in an HMDS atmosphere, but may be provided in any one of the unit blocks B3 to B5 for forming a coating film.

  The BCT layer B3 is provided with a first antireflection film forming unit 33 for performing a first antireflection film forming process on the wafer W as a liquid processing unit. A heating unit (CLHP3) for heat-treating the wafer W after the antireflection film formation processing is provided, and is configured in the same manner as the COT layer B4. That is, the first antireflection film forming unit 33 and the heating unit (CLHP3) are configured to be partitioned by the transport area R3 of the main arm A3 (horizontal movement area of the main arm A3). And in this 3rd unit block B3, with respect to each delivery unit TRS1 of shelf unit U5, the 1st antireflection film formation unit 33, and each processing unit of shelf units U1-U4 by main arm A3, The delivery of the wafer W is performed.

  The TCT layer B5 is provided with a second antireflection film forming unit 34 for performing a second antireflection film forming process on the wafer W as a liquid processing unit. The configuration is the same as that of the COT layer B4 except that it includes a heating unit (CLPH5) for heating the wafer W after the antireflection film forming process and a peripheral exposure device (WEE). That is, the second antireflection film forming unit 34, the heating unit (CLHP5), and the peripheral exposure device (WEE) are configured to be partitioned by the transport region R5 of the main arm A5 (horizontal movement region of the main arm A5). Yes. In the TCT layer B5, the main arm A5 causes the wafer W to be transferred to the delivery stage TRS1 of the shelf unit U5, the second antireflection film forming unit 34, and the processing units of the shelf units U1 to U4. Delivery is to be performed.

  Further, in the processing block S2, a shuttle arm A, which is a substrate transfer means for delivering the wafer W between the delivery stage TRS2 provided in the shelf unit U5 and the shelf unit U6 on the interface block S3 side, has a horizontal Y direction. It can be moved freely and can be moved up and down in the vertical Z direction.

  The transfer area of the shuttle arm A and the transfer areas R1, R3 to R5 of the main arms A1, A2 to A5 are partitioned.

  Further, the area between the processing block S2 and the carrier block S1 is a transfer area R2 for the wafer W. In this area R2, as shown in FIG. 1, the transfer arm C and the main arms A1, A3 to A3. A shelf unit U5, which is a substrate storage unit, is provided at a position accessible by A5 and the shuttle arm A, and a delivery arm D serving as a substrate delivery means for delivering the wafer W to the shelf unit U5 is provided. . In this case, the shelf unit U5 is disposed on the axis of the horizontal movement direction (Y direction) of the main arms A1, A3 to A5 and the shuttle arm A, and the main arms A1, A3 to A5 and the forward and backward movement directions of the shuttle arm A The first opening 11 is provided in the (Y direction), and the second opening 12 is provided in the forward / backward direction (X direction) of the delivery arm D.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, the shelf unit U5 delivers the wafer W between the main arms A1, A3 to A5 and the shuttle arm A of each of the unit blocks B1 to B5. In addition, for example, two delivery stages TRS1 and TRS2 are provided, and storage blocks 10a to 10d divided into a plurality of units corresponding to the unit blocks B1 to B5 are provided, and a plurality of storage blocks 10a to 10d are provided. In order to adjust the wafer W to a predetermined temperature before the application of the mounting shelf 13 and the resist, to adjust the wafer W to a predetermined temperature before the antireflection film forming process, and to heat the wafer W heated after the exposure process. The cooling plate 14 (CPL1-CPL6) for adjusting to predetermined temperature is provided.

  In this case, the first storage block 10a corresponds to the first and second unit blocks B1 and B2 (DEV layer), the second storage block 10b corresponds to the third unit block B3 (BCT layer), and the third The storage block 10c corresponds to the fourth unit block B4 (COT layer), and the fourth storage block 10d corresponds to the fifth unit block B5 (TCT layer).

  The cooling plate 14A (CPL7, CPL8) disposed in the first storage block 10a is horizontally provided on a holding plate 17 installed on the frame 16 via a support column 17a. The cooling plate 14A (CPL7) , CPL8), three support pins 15 are provided upright. The cooling plate 14A (CPL7, CPL8) has a function of transferring the wafer W between the main arm A1 and the transfer arm D.

  Further, the cooling plate 14 (CPL1 to CPL6) includes a base block 60 having a refrigerant fluid, for example, a constant temperature cooling water supply channel 61 and a discharge channel 62, as shown in FIGS. 6, 9, 10 and 12. And one or a plurality of (two are shown in the figure) cooling plate bodies 64 that are stacked on top of the base block 60 and have refrigerant passages 63 communicating with the supply passages 61 and the discharge passages 62, A sealing plate 65 that sandwiches the cooling plate main body 64 in cooperation with the base block, and a connecting member that connects the base block 60, the cooling plate main body 64, and the sealing plate 65 in a detachable manner, that is, a connecting bolt 66 is provided. ing. In addition, although the cooling plate 14 can use the thing of the water cooling system which circulates constant temperature cooling water, systems other than a water cooling system may be used. A substrate suction plate 67 is detachably mounted on the back surface of the cooling plate 14 (specifically, the cooling plate main body 64) with a fixing screw (not shown).

  In this case, the base block 60 is formed of a stainless steel member, for example, and is formed of a substantially cube with one corner cut. On one side of the base block 60, a supply port 60a connected to a supply pipe 71 connected to a cooling water supply source (not shown), a discharge port 60b connected to a discharge pipe 72, and a suction means (not shown) such as a vacuum pump are connected. A suction port 60c to which the suction pipe 73 to be connected is connected is provided. Further, a supply channel 61 communicating with the supply port 60 a and a discharge channel 62 communicating with the discharge port 60 b are provided in parallel in the vertical direction so as to open on the upper surface of the base block 60. A cylindrical connection member 68 is detachably inserted into the opening end portions of the supply flow path 61 and the discharge flow path 62 via an O-ring (not shown) as a seal member. An annular holding groove 68 a that holds an O-ring 69 that is a sealing member is provided around the upper opening end of the connection member 68.

  The connection member 68 configured as described above is used when the substrate suction plate 67 is mounted on the back surface of the cooling plate main body 64. That is, the connection member 68 is formed in a ring shape of the connection member 68 in a state where the connection member 68 is inserted into two through holes 74a and 74b that are provided in a mounting base portion 67a of the substrate suction plate 67, which will be described later. The O-ring 69 is attached to the holding groove 68a, and the supply flow path 61a and the discharge flow path 62a provided in the attachment base portion 64a of the cooling plate main body 64 are communicated with the supply flow path 61 and the discharge flow path 62 of the base block 60, respectively. Used for.

  The cooling plate body 64 is formed of, for example, an aluminum member. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, the cooling plate body 64 has a substantially rectangular mounting base 64 a having the same shape as the upper surface of the base block 60, and a mounting base. It is comprised by the disc part 64c formed in the front-end | tip of the arm part 64b which protrudes outward from the corner | angular part of 64a. A supply channel 61a and a discharge channel 62a communicating with the supply channel 61 and the discharge channel 62 of the base block 60 are provided in the mounting base portion 64a of the cooling plate main body 64 so as to penetrate the supply channel 61a. A refrigerant flow path 63 communicating with the discharge flow path 62a is provided in the disc part 64c via the arm part 64b. In FIG. 10, for convenience of explanation, the refrigerant flow path 63 is displayed in the cooling plate main body 64, but in actuality, a tubular refrigerant flow path 63 is embedded in the back surface of the cooling plate main body 64. Note that proximity pins 64e that support the wafer W with a slight gap, for example, 50 μm to 100 μm between the surface of the disk part 64c at a plurality of positions, for example, five positions on the upper surface of the disk part 64c of the cooling plate body 64. Is protruding. In addition, suction holes 64f are formed at four positions in the disk portion 64c where the refrigerant flow path 63 is avoided. Also, mounting holes 75 through which the connecting bolts 66 are inserted are provided at four locations on the side of the mounting base 64a.

  Further, main arm main arms A1, A3 to A5 (hereinafter, represented by reference numeral A1) entering from the first opening 11 of the shelf unit U5 are provided at six locations on the outer periphery of the disc portion 64c of the cooling plate body 64. In addition, a notch 64g is provided for avoiding the interference of the up-and-down movement when the delivery arm D entering from the second opening 12 of the shelf unit U5 delivers the wafer W to the cooling plate 14 (FIG. 11). In this case, the arm main body 90 of the delivery arm D is formed in a deformed horseshoe shape in which one curved arm piece 91 extends from the other curved arm piece 92 to the distal end side, and the distal end side of both arm pieces 91 and 92 Supporting claws 93 for supporting the wafer W are provided at three locations on the lower part and the lower part on the base side of the arm main body 90. In addition, the arm main body 80 of the main arm A1 is provided with support claws 83 for supporting the wafer W at four locations on the lower end side of the pair of curved arm pieces 81 and 82 projecting in a horseshoe shape and on the lower base side of the arm main body 80. ing. The six notches 64g provided on the outer periphery of the disc portion 64c of the cooling plate main body 64 are provided corresponding to the support claws 83 of the main arm A1 and the support claws 93 of the delivery arm D.

  Thus, by providing the notch 64g on the outer periphery of the disc portion 64c of the cooling plate main body 64, the wafer W of the main arm A1 and the delivery arm D can be delivered to the cooling plate 14 without requiring support pins. it can.

  The substrate suction plate 67 is formed of, for example, an aluminum member. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, a substantially rectangular mounting base 67 a having the same shape as the upper surface of the base block 60, and a mounting base It is comprised by the substantially circular adsorption | suction part 67c formed in the front-end | tip of the arm part 67b which protrudes outward from the corner | angular part of 67a. The attachment base 67 a is provided with through holes 74 a and 74 b that connect the supply flow path 61 and the discharge flow path 62 of the base block 60 and the refrigerant flow path of the cooling plate body 64. A connecting member 68 is inserted into the through holes 74 a and 74 b, an O-ring 69 is attached to the annular holding groove 68 a of the connecting member 68, and the supply channel 61 a provided in the attachment base portion 64 a of the cooling plate body 64 is discharged. The flow path 62a communicates with the supply flow path 61 and the discharge flow path 62 of the base block 60, respectively.

  Note that mounting holes 75 through which the connecting bolts 66 are inserted are provided at four locations on the side of the mounting base 67 a of the substrate suction plate 67. In addition, the substrate suction plate 67 is provided with a suction channel 67 d that communicates with a suction port 60 c provided in the base block 60 and communicates with a suction hole 64 f provided in the cooling plate main body 64. In this case, the suction channel 67d includes a channel groove 67e provided on the upper surface of the substrate suction plate 67, and a closing lid 67g laid in the expansion step portion 67f formed at the opening end of the channel groove 67e. The suction hole 67h provided in the closing lid 67g communicates with the suction hole 64f of the cooling plate main body 64 through a sealing member, for example, a donut-shaped packing 67i (see FIG. 12).

  On the other hand, the sealing plate 65 is formed of, for example, an aluminum member, and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape having the same shape as the upper surface of the base block 60 as shown in FIG. The four attachment holes 75 through which the connecting bolts 66 are inserted are provided.

  The sealing plate 65 formed in this way is provided on the supply channel 61a and the discharge channel 62a on the upper surface of the mounting base 64a of the cooling plate main body 64 stacked on the upper surface of the base block 60 via the substrate suction plate 67. It is attached via an O-ring 69 which is a seal member, and a connecting bolt 66 is inserted into a mounting hole 75 provided in the cooling plate main body 64 and the substrate suction plate 67 and screwed to the mounting hole 75 of the base block 60. The cooling plate body 64 and the substrate suction plate 67 are clamped in cooperation with the base block 60.

  When the cooling plates 14 are stacked in a plurality of stages, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 12, the upper cooling plate 14, that is, the back surface is interposed on the upper surface of the mounting base portion 64 a of the lower cooling plate body 64 with a spacer 76 interposed. The cooling plate main body 64 to which the substrate suction plate 67 is attached can be stacked. In this case, like the base block 60, the spacer 76 is formed in a substantially cubic shape with one corner cut, and the supply flow path 61a and the discharge flow path 62a of the cooling plate main body 64 located immediately below the spacer 76. A supply channel 61b and a discharge channel 62b that communicate with each other are provided, and attachment holes 75 through which the connecting bolts 66 are inserted are provided at four locations on the side portion side. In addition, an O-ring 69 that is a seal member is interposed between the supply channel 61b and the discharge channel 62b of the spacer 76 between the lower cooling plate body 64 and the upper substrate suction plate 67, respectively. Thus, the air-water tightness of the supply flow path 61 and the discharge flow path 62 is maintained. The spacer 76 is provided with a suction port 60c through which the suction channel 67d of the substrate suction plate 67 communicates.

  In the above description, the case where the plurality of cooling plates 14 are stacked via the spacers 76 has been described. However, the structure in which the spacers 76 are integrally formed on the mounting base portion 64 a of the cooling plate body 64 or the mounting base portion 67 a of the substrate suction plate 67. It is good.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the substrate suction plate 67 is mounted on the back surface of the cooling plate main body 64 has been described. However, the cooling plate 14 may be configured by only the cooling plate main body 64. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the mounting base 64a of the cooling plate body 64 is placed on the upper surface of the base block 60 via an O-ring 69 as a seal member, and the O base is mounted on the mounting base 64a. The sealing plate 65 is attached via the ring 69 and is connected by the connecting bolt 66, that is, the cooling plate body 64 is sandwiched between the base block 60 and the sealing plate 65. In FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, so the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The base block 60 of the cooling plate 14 configured as described above, the supply pipe 71 and the discharge pipe 72 connected to the supply flow path 61 and the discharge flow path 62 provided in the base block 60, and the base block 60 are provided. The suction pipe 73 connected to the suction port 60c is integrally fixed to the base plate. A mounting bracket 78 for fixing the base plate 77 to the frame body 16 is provided at one side end lower portion of the base plate 77, and the base plate 77 is fixed to the frame body 16 by mounting bolts 79. .

  The base plate 77 in which the cooling plate 14 is integrated in this way is attached to the frame body 16 constituting the shelf unit U5, which is a substrate storage unit, so that it can be pulled out. Therefore, since the cooling plate 14 can be attached to the shelf unit U5 so as to be able to be pulled out, it is possible to improve maintenance such as replacement of the cooling plate 14 and maintenance / inspection.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the mounting shelf 13 is formed by a plurality of plate-like arms 13 a that enter the shelf unit U <b> 5 from one side of the shelf unit U <b> 5. In this case, the plate-like arm 13a includes, for example, a bifurcated portion 13b branched at an angle of about 120 ° at the tip, and a concentric circle at the tip of the plate-like arm 13a including the bifurcated portion 13b. Proximity pins 18a, 18b, and 18c for supporting the wafer W with a slight gap, for example, about 0.5 mm from the surface of the plate-like arm 13a are projected at three divided locations, and one of the first pins is provided. 18a is arranged in parallel to the direction in which the delivery arm D enters the shelf unit U5.

  In the above description, the plate-like arm 13a of the mounting shelf 13 has been described as having the bifurcated portion 13b. However, the arm main body 80 and the second opening of the main arm entering from the first opening 11 are explained. As long as the arm main body 90 of the delivery arm D entering from 12 does not interfere, it may have an arbitrary shape, for example, a circular shape.

  The plate-like arm 13a is provided so that one end is attached to a part of the frame 16 of the shelf unit U5 and enters the shelf unit U5 from one side of the shelf unit U5. The base ends of 13a are connected and fixed in a detachable manner in a stacked manner by connecting members such as connecting bolts (not shown) via spacers 19. In this way, by connecting and fixing the plate-like arms 13a constituting the placement shelf 13 in a detachable manner by connecting bolts, the number of stages of the placement shelf 13, that is, the plate-like arms, corresponding to the processing schedule and processing time. The increase / decrease of the number of 13a can be made easy.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, it is comprised so that the clean gas of predetermined flow volume may be supplied in the shelf unit U5 from the carrier block S1 side of the shelf unit U.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the delivery arm D is configured such that the arm main body 90 having the curved arm pieces 91 and 92 and the support claws 93 is movable forward and backward with respect to the shelf unit U5, and a moving mechanism (not shown). 3) can be moved up and down in the vertical Z direction. In this way, the arm main body 90 is configured to be movable back and forth and up and down in the X direction so that the wafer W can be transferred between the storage blocks 10a to 10d of the shelf unit U5 and the transfer stage TRS1. It has become. Driving of such a delivery arm D is controlled by a controller (not shown) based on a command from the control unit 100 described later.

  The main arms A1, A3 to A5 and the shuttle arm A are basically configured in the same manner. The shuttle arm A will be described as a representative example. The disk portion 64c of the cooling plate main body 64 and the plate of the mounting shelf 13 are described. A horseshoe-shaped arm body 80 having a pair of curved arm pieces 81 and 82 that do not interfere with the proximity pins 18a, 18b, and 18c provided on the arm 13a, and the distal ends of the curved arm pieces 81 and 82, Support claws 83 for supporting the wafer W are provided at four locations on the lower side on the base end side.

  Accordingly, as in the case of the delivery arm D, the arm main body 80 of the shuttle arm A moves in the vertical direction in the space between the mounting shelves 13, and the proximity pins 18 a, 18 b, 18 c of the mounting shelf 13. Therefore, it is possible to provide a minimum space in which the wafers W can be delivered, so that many mounting shelves 13 can be provided in the limited space. Further, since the shuttle arm A is provided with the support claws 83 at three positions of the horseshoe-shaped arm main body 80, the wafer W can be supported and transferred in a stable state.

  The intervals between the plurality of mounting shelves 13 are formed narrower than the thickness of the arm main body 90 of the delivery arm D and the thickness of the arm main body 80 of the main arm A. As a result, the storage space of the shelf unit U5 can be reduced as much as possible, and the number of wafers W stored in the shelf unit U5 can be increased, or the apparatus can be downsized when the number of wafers W stored is small. I can plan.

  The main arm A1 (A3 to A5) is configured in the same manner, and as shown in FIG. 4, a moving mechanism 85 for moving along the rotation drive mechanism 84, the horizontal guide rail 86, and the vertical guide rail 87. Can move forward and backward in the X direction, move in the Y direction, freely move up and down, and rotate about the vertical axis. It can be handed over. The driving of the main arm A1 is controlled by a controller (not shown) based on a command from the control unit 100. Further, in order to prevent heat storage in the heating unit of the main arm A1 (A3 to A5), the order of receiving the wafers W can be arbitrarily controlled by a program.

  Further, in the area adjacent to the processing block S2 and the interface block S3, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a shelf unit U6 is provided at a position where the main arm A1 and the shuttle arm A can access. As shown in FIG. 3, the shelf unit U6 transfers two wafers W to and from the main arm A1 of each DEV layer B1, B2. In this example, each DEV layer B1, B2 has two DEV layers B1, B2. A delivery stage TRS3 is provided.

  Similarly to the shelf unit U5, the upper portion of the shelf unit U6 is, for example, 2 to transfer the wafer W between the main arms A1, A3 to A5 and the shuttle arm A of the unit blocks B1 to B5. Each of the storage blocks 10e to 10h is provided with a plurality of storage blocks 10e to 10h. The storage blocks 10e to 10h include a plurality of mounting shelves. 13 and a cooling plate 14 (CPL9 to CPL16) for adjusting the wafer W to a predetermined temperature after the antireflection film forming process or adjusting the wafer W heated after the exposure process to a predetermined temperature, and a buffer A mounting shelf 13 is provided.

  In this case, the first storage block 10e corresponds to the first and second unit blocks B1, B2 (DEV layer), the second storage block 10f corresponds to the third unit block B3 (BCT layer), and the third The storage block 10g corresponds to the fourth unit block B4 (COT layer), and the fourth storage block 10h corresponds to the fifth unit block B5 (TCT layer).

  A delivery arm E having the same structure as the substrate delivery arm D is disposed on the back side in the X direction of the shelf unit U6. The delivery arm E allows the cooling plates 14, 14A of the storage blocks 10e to 10h to be cooled. The wafer W can be delivered to (CPL9 to CPL16) and the mounting shelf 13.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the layout of these processing units. This layout is for convenience, and the processing units are a heating unit (CLHP, PEB, POST), a hydrophobizing apparatus (ADH), a peripheral edge. In addition to the exposure apparatus (WEE), other processing units may be provided. In an actual apparatus, the number of units installed is determined in consideration of the processing time of each processing unit.

  On the other hand, an exposure apparatus S4, which is a second processing block, is connected to the back side of the shelf unit U6 in the processing block S2 via an interface block S3. The interface block S3 includes an interface arm F for delivering the wafer W to each part of the shelf unit U6 of the DEV layers B1 and B2 of the processing block S2 and the exposure apparatus S4. The interface arm F serves as a means for transporting the wafer W interposed between the processing block S2 and the exposure apparatus S4. In this example, the interface arm F moves the wafer W to the delivery stage TRS3 of the DEV layers B1 and B2. It is configured to be movable in the horizontal X and Y directions and the vertical Z direction, and to be rotatable about the vertical axis so as to perform delivery.

  In the resist coating / development processing apparatus configured as described above, between the unit blocks B1 to B5 stacked in five stages, the transfer arms D and E described above pass through the transfer stages TRS1 to TRS5, respectively. The wafer W can be freely transferred and the wafer W can be transferred between the processing block S2 and the exposure apparatus S4 via the development processing unit blocks B1 and B2 by the interface arm F described above. It is configured to be able to.

  Next, the transfer processing mode of the wafer W in the resist coating / developing apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, 7 and 8. Here, in the lowermost first storage block 10a of the storage blocks 10a to 10d of the shelf unit U5, two cooling plates CPL7 and CPL8 are arranged, and in the upper second storage block 10b, 2 Two-stage cooling plates CPL1, CPL2 and a plurality of mounting shelves 13 (BUF1) are arranged, and the upper third storage block 10c has two-stage cooling plates CPL3, CPL4 and a plurality of mounting shelves 13 (BUF2). A case where two cooling plates CPL5 and CPL6 and a plurality of mounting shelves 13 (BUF3) are arranged in the upper storage, that is, the uppermost fourth storage block 10d will be described. In addition, two cooling plates CPL9 and CPL10 are disposed in the lowermost first storage block 10e of the storage blocks 10e to 10h of the shelf unit U6, and two stages of cooling are provided in the upper second storage block 10f. Plates CPL11 and CPL12 and a plurality of placement shelves 13 (BUF1) are arranged, and two stages of cooling plates CPL13 and CPL14 and a plurality of placement shelves 13 (BUF2) are arranged in the upper third storage block 10c. A case where two stages of cooling plates CPL15 and CPL16 and a plurality of mounting shelves 13 (BUF3) are arranged in the upper storage, that is, the uppermost fourth storage block 10d will be described.

<Conveying treatment form in which an antireflection film is formed under the resist film>
First, the carrier 20 is carried into the carrier block 21 from the outside, and the wafer W is taken out from the carrier 20 by the transfer arm C. After the wafer W is transferred from the transfer arm C to the transfer arm D, the wafer W is transferred by the transfer arm D to the cooling plate 14 (CPL1) of the second storage block 10b of the shelf unit U5 and placed on the cooling plate CPL1. Then, the temperature is adjusted to a predetermined cooling temperature such as room temperature. Then, it is delivered to the main arm A3 of the BCT layer B3.

  In the BCT layer B3, the first antireflection film forming unit 33 → the heating unit (CLHP3) → the mounting shelf BUF1 of the second storage block 10b of the shelf unit U5 is conveyed by the main arm A3 in the order of the first antireflection film forming unit 33 → the heating unit (CLHP3). An antireflection film is formed. The wafer W mounted on the mounting shelf BUF1 in the second storage block 10b is transferred to the cooling plate CPL3 (CPL4) of the third storage block 10c by the delivery arm D, and mounted on the cooling plate CPL3 (CPL4). The temperature is adjusted to a predetermined temperature (for example, room temperature).

  Subsequently, the wafer W of the third storage block 10c is transported by the main arm A3 in the order of the coating unit 32 → the heating unit CLHP4 → the mounting shelf BUF2 of the third storage block 10c of the shelf unit U5, and the first antireflection. A resist film is formed on the upper layer of the film. The wafer W placed on the placement shelf BUF2 of the third storage block 10c is transferred to the cooling plate CPL3 (CPL4) of the third storage block 10c by the delivery arm D, and placed on the cooling plate CPL3 (CPL4). Then, the temperature is adjusted to a predetermined temperature (for example, room temperature).

  Thereafter, the delivery arm D enters the cooling plate CPL3 (CPL4) of the third storage block 10c of the shelf unit U5, receives the wafer W, and delivers it to the delivery stage TRS2 of the shelf unit U5. Subsequently, the shuttle arm A is transported to the delivery stage TRS5 of the shelf unit U6. Subsequently, the wafer W on the delivery stage TRS5 is transferred to the exposure apparatus S4 by the interface arm F, where a predetermined exposure process is performed.

  The wafer W after the exposure processing is transferred by the interface arm F to the delivery stage TRS3 of the shelf unit U6 → the heating unit (PEB1) → the cooling plate CPL9 (CPL10) of the shelf unit U6 → the developing unit 31 → the heating unit (POST1). A predetermined development process is performed. The wafer W thus developed is transferred to the cooling plate CPL7 (CPL8) of the first storage block 10a of the shelf unit U5 and adjusted to a predetermined temperature in order to deliver the wafer W to the transfer arm C. After that, the transfer arm C returns the original carrier 20 placed on the carrier block S1.

<Conveying treatment mode in which an antireflection film is formed on the upper side of the resist film>
First, the carrier 20 is carried into the carrier block 21 from the outside, and the wafer W is taken out from the carrier 20 by the transfer arm C. The wafer W is transferred to the transfer stage TRS1 of the shelf unit U5 by the transfer arm C, and then transferred to the cooling plate CPL3 of the third storage block 10c of the shelf unit U5 by the transfer arm D. On the cooling plate CPL3 The temperature is adjusted to a predetermined cooling temperature, for example, room temperature. Then, it is delivered to the main arm A4 of the COT layer B4. Then, the wafer W is transferred by the main arm A4 to the cooling plate CPL4 of the third storage block 10c of the hydrophobizing unit (ADH) → the shelf unit U5, and is placed on the cooling plate CPL4 to a predetermined temperature (room temperature). The temperature is adjusted. Next, the wafer W taken out from the shelf unit U5 by the main arm A4 is transferred to the coating unit 32, and a resist film is formed in the coating unit 32. The wafer W on which the resist film is formed is transferred to the heating unit (CLHP4) by the main arm A4, and pre-baked to evaporate the solvent from the resist film. Thereafter, the wafer W is stored on the mounting shelf BUF2 of the third storage block 10c of the shelf unit U5 by the main arm A4 and temporarily stands by.

  Subsequently, the wafer W of the third storage block 10c is transferred to the cooling plate CPL5 (CPL6) of the fourth storage block 10d of the shelf unit U5 by the delivery arm D, and is placed on the cooling plate CPL5 (CPL6) to a predetermined temperature. After the temperature is adjusted to (room temperature), it is transferred by the main arm A5 to the main arm A5 of the TCT layer B5. In the TCT layer B5, the main arm A5 transports the second antireflection film forming unit 34 → the heating unit (CLHP5) → the mounting shelf BUF3 of the fourth storage block 10c of the shelf unit U5 in the order Two antireflection films are formed. In this case, after the heat treatment by the heating unit (CLHP5), the wafer is transferred to the peripheral exposure apparatus (WEE), and after the peripheral exposure process, the wafer is transferred to the mounting shelf BUF3 of the fourth storage block 10c of the shelf unit U5. May be.

  Thereafter, the delivery arm D enters the mounting shelf BUF3 of the fourth storage block 10d of the shelf unit U5, receives the wafer W, and delivers it to the delivery stage TRS2 of the shelf unit U5. Subsequently, the shuttle arm A is transported to the delivery stage TRS5 of the shelf unit U6. Subsequently, the wafer W on the delivery stage TRS5 is transferred to the exposure apparatus S4 by the interface arm F, where a predetermined exposure process is performed.

  The wafer W after the exposure processing is transferred by the interface arm F to the delivery stage TRS3 of the shelf unit U6 → the heating unit (PEB1) → the cooling plate CPL9 (CPL10) of the shelf unit U6 → the developing unit 31 → the heating unit (POST1). A predetermined development process is performed. The wafer W thus developed is transferred to the cooling plate CPL7 (CPL8) of the first storage block 10a of the shelf unit U5 and adjusted to a predetermined temperature in order to deliver the wafer W to the transfer arm C. After that, the transfer arm C returns the original carrier 20 placed on the carrier block S1.

  In the above description, the conveyance processing mode in which the antireflection film is formed below the resist film and the conveyance processing mode in which the antireflection film is formed below the resist film have been described. With respect to the transfer processing mode in which the antireflection film is formed on the lower side and the upper side and the transfer processing mode without the antireflection film, the wafer W can be processed by combining the steps of the transfer processing mode.

  In the above, the coating / development processing apparatus described above manages the recipe of each processing unit, schedule management of the transfer flow (transfer path) of the wafer W, processing in each processing unit, main arms A1, A3 to A5, A control unit 100 including a computer that controls driving of the transfer arm C, the transfer arms D and E, and the interface arm F is provided. The control unit 100 uses the unit blocks B1 to B5 to transfer the wafer W. The process is to be performed.

  The transfer flow schedule designates the transfer path (transfer order) of the wafers W in the unit block, and is created for each of the unit blocks B1 to B5 according to the type of coating film to be formed. A plurality of transport flow schedules are stored in the control unit 100 for each of the blocks B1 to B5.

  Further, depending on the coating film to be formed, a mode in which the wafer W is transferred to all the unit blocks B1 to B5, a unit block (DEV layer B1, B2) for performing development processing, and a unit block (COT layer B4) for applying a resist solution. ) And a unit block (BCT layer B3) for forming the first antireflection film, a mode in which the wafer W is conveyed, and a unit block (DEV layers B1 and B2) for performing development processing and a resist solution are applied. Only the mode for transporting the wafer W to the unit block (COT layer B4) and the unit block (TCT layer B5) for forming the second antireflection film, and the unit blocks (DEV layers B1, B2) for performing development processing There is a mode in which the wafer W is transferred, and the mode selection unit of the control unit 100 is used to transfer the wafer W according to the type of coating film to be formed. By selecting the block and selecting the optimum recipe from a plurality of transport flow schedules prepared for each selected unit block, the unit block to be used is selected according to the coating film to be formed, In the unit block, driving of each processing unit and arm is controlled, and a series of processing is performed.

  In such a coating / development processing apparatus, main arms A1 to A5 or delivery arms are provided between the carrier block S1 and the processing block S2 and between the processing block S2 and the second processing block S4 (exposure apparatus), respectively. Since the shelf units U5 and U6 (substrate storage units) including the cooling plate 14 which mounts and cools the wafer W received from D and E and does not require the support pins are provided, the lifting time of the support pins can be saved. The cooling time by the cooling plate 14 can be extended. Therefore, throughput and processing accuracy can be improved. Further, since the drive mechanism of the support pins can be reduced, the risk of failure of the cooling plate 14 can be reduced, maintenance can be facilitated, and the space in the height direction of the cooling plate 14 can be reduced. Miniaturization can be achieved.

  Furthermore, the cooling plate 14 has a cooling plate body having a refrigerant flow path 63 communicating with the supply flow path 61 and the discharge flow path 62 at the upper part of the base block 60 having the supply flow path 61 and the discharge flow path 62 of the refrigerant fluid. Since the necessary number of 64 is stacked and fixed, the number of cooling plates 14 can be increased and productivity can be improved.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a resist coating / development processing system for a semiconductor wafer has been described. Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a development processing system.

1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a resist coating / development processing apparatus to which a substrate transfer processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied. It is a schematic perspective view of the said resist application | coating / development processing apparatus. It is the schematic of the said resist application | coating / development processing apparatus, Comprising: It is a schematic block diagram which overlaps and shows only the unit block of a process part in a planar state. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the unit block (DEV layer) of the processing block in this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows the board | substrate accommodating part in this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the said board | substrate accommodating part. It is a schematic plan view which shows the unit block (COT layer) of the process block in this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of the processing unit of the processing block in this invention. It is a side view which shows an example of the cooling plate in this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the lamination | stacking state of the base block in this invention, a cooling plate main body, a board | substrate adsorption | suction plate, and a sealing plate. It is a schematic plan view which shows the relationship between the cooling plate main body in this invention, a main arm, and a delivery arm. It is sectional drawing (b) in alignment with the II line | wire of (a) and (a) which shows the lamination | stacking state of the base block in this invention, a cooling plate main body, a board | substrate adsorption | suction plate, and a sealing plate. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the lamination | stacking state of the base block, cooling plate main body, and sealing plate in this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the lamination | stacking state of the base block, cooling plate main body, and sealing plate in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

W Semiconductor wafer (substrate)
A Shuttle arm (substrate transfer means)
A1, A3 to A5 main arm (substrate transfer means)
B1, B2 First and second unit blocks (DEV layer)
B3 Third unit block (BCT layer)
B4 Fourth unit block (COT layer)
B5 Fifth unit block (TCT layer)
C Transfer arm D, E Delivery arm (substrate delivery means)
S1 Carrier block S2 Processing blocks R1, R3 to R5 Transport area R2 Delivery area U1 to U4 Shelf unit (processing unit)
U5, U6 shelf unit (board storage)
10a-10d storage block 11,12 opening 13 mounting shelf 14 cooling plate (CPL1-CPL6, CPL11-CPL16)
14A Cooling plate (delivery plate) (CPL7, CPL8, CPL9, CPL10)
20 Carrier 31 Development unit (processing unit)
32 Coating unit (processing unit)
33 First antireflection film forming unit (processing unit)
34 Second antireflection film forming unit (processing unit)
60 Base block 61, 61a Supply flow path 62, 62a Discharge flow path 63 Refrigerant flow path 64 Cooling plate body 64f Adsorption hole 65 Sealing plate 66 Connection bolt (connection member)
67 Substrate suction plate 67d Suction channel 67e Channel groove 67f Expanding step portion 67g Closure lid 67h Suction hole 67i Donut packing 68 Cylindrical connecting member 69 O-ring (seal member)
71 Supply piping 72 Discharge piping 73 Suction piping 74a, 74b Through hole 75 Mounting hole 77 Base plate

Claims (12)

A carrier block for arranging a carrier capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates;
A processing block including a processing unit that performs an appropriate process including a heating process on the substrate taken out of the carrier;
Substrate transporting means capable of moving at least in the vertical and horizontal directions for transferring the substrate transported from the carrier block to the processing unit in the processing block;
A substrate storage unit disposed between the carrier block and the processing block and capable of storing a plurality of substrates;
Substrate delivery means capable of delivering a substrate to and from the carrier block, and delivering the substrate to the substrate storage unit, which is movable at least in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, and
The substrate storage unit includes a cooling plate for placing and cooling the substrate received from the substrate transport unit or the substrate delivery unit, and a delivery plate used for delivering the substrate,
The substrate transfer means and the substrate transfer means are formed in a substantially horseshoe shape by two curved arm pieces, and a plurality of support claws for supporting the substrate are provided at the lower end side and the lower base side of the curved arm piece, respectively. And
The cooling plate includes a base block having a refrigerant fluid supply channel and a discharge channel, and a supply channel and a discharge channel that are stacked on the base block and communicate with the supply channel and the discharge channel, respectively. It has a mounting base portion provided, a refrigerant flow path communicating with the supply flow path and the discharge flow path, is formed to have a smaller diameter than between the two curved arm pieces of the substrate transport means and the substrate transfer means, and on the outer periphery. One or a plurality of cooling plate bodies having a disc portion provided with a notch for avoiding interference of the support claw's up-and-down movement, and an upper surface of the mounting base portion stacked on the upper surface of the base block. A sealing plate that is attached and closes the supply flow path and the discharge flow path, and sandwiches the cooling plate body in cooperation with the base block;
A substrate transfer processing apparatus. A carrier block for arranging a carrier capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates;
A processing block including a processing unit that performs an appropriate process including a heating process on the substrate taken out of the carrier;
A second processing block for appropriately processing the substrate;
Substrate transporting means capable of moving at least in the vertical and horizontal directions for transferring the substrate transported from the carrier block to the processing unit in the processing block;
A substrate storage unit disposed between the carrier block and the processing block, and between the processing block and the second processing block, and capable of storing a plurality of substrates;
Substrate delivery means capable of delivering a substrate to and from the carrier block, and delivering the substrate to the substrate storage unit, which is movable at least in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, and
The substrate storage unit includes a cooling plate for placing and cooling the substrate received from the substrate transport unit or the substrate delivery unit, and a delivery plate used for delivering the substrate,
The substrate transfer means and the substrate transfer means are formed in a substantially horseshoe shape by two curved arm pieces, and a plurality of support claws for supporting the substrate are provided at the lower end side and the lower base side of the curved arm piece, respectively. And
The cooling plate includes a base block having a refrigerant fluid supply channel and a discharge channel, and a supply channel and a discharge channel that are stacked on the base block and communicate with the supply channel and the discharge channel, respectively. It has a mounting base portion provided, a refrigerant flow path communicating with the supply flow path and the discharge flow path, is formed to have a smaller diameter than between the two curved arm pieces of the substrate transport means and the substrate transfer means, and on the outer periphery. One or a plurality of cooling plate bodies having a disc portion provided with a notch for avoiding interference of the support claw's up-and-down movement, and an upper surface of the mounting base portion stacked on the upper surface of the base block. A sealing plate that is attached and closes the supply flow path and the discharge flow path, and sandwiches the cooling plate body in cooperation with the base block;
A substrate transfer processing apparatus. In the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A substrate transfer processing apparatus, wherein the base block, the mounting base of the cooling plate main body , and the sealing plate are detachably connected by a connecting member. In the board | substrate conveyance processing apparatus in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3,
A supply channel portion and the discharge flow path portion between the mounting base of the base block and the cooling plate body, the supply channel section and the discharge flow path portion between the mounting base and the sealing plate of the cooling plate body, respectively seal member A substrate transfer processing apparatus characterized by comprising an intervening material. The substrate transfer processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The substrate storage unit further includes a substrate suction plate that is detachably mounted on the back surface of the cooling plate body,
The substrate suction plate has a through-hole that communicates the supply flow path and the discharge flow path provided in the base block with the coolant flow path of the cooling plate body, and the suction hole provided in the cooling plate body. A suction flow path communicating with the
A substrate transfer processing apparatus. The substrate transfer processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
A supply flow path section and a discharge flow path section with a sealing member interposed between the cylindrical connection member inserted into the through hole of the substrate suction plate and the mounting base of the base block and the cooling plate main body , respectively. Is formed in a gas-tight manner. The substrate transfer processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
The suction channel of the substrate suction plate is composed of a channel groove provided on the upper surface of the substrate suction plate, and a closing lid laid in an expansion step formed at the opening end of the channel groove, A substrate transfer processing apparatus, wherein the suction hole provided in the closing lid communicates with the suction hole of the cooling plate body through a seal member. In the board | substrate conveyance processing apparatus in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 7,
A base block of the cooling plate and a pipe portion connected to a supply flow path and a discharge flow path provided in the base block are fixed to the base plate and integrally formed,
The base plate integrated with the cooling plate is mounted so as to be able to be pulled out with respect to a frame constituting the substrate storage unit.
A substrate transfer processing apparatus. The substrate transfer processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The substrate storage processing apparatus, wherein the substrate storage unit further includes a substrate storage shelf capable of storing a plurality of substrates. In the substrate transfer processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 3 to 9,
The processing block includes a coating film forming processing unit for forming a coating film including a resist film on a substrate, an antireflection film forming processing unit for applying a chemical solution for the antireflection film to the substrate, and heating for heating the substrate. Comprising a processing unit,
A substrate transfer processing apparatus. The substrate transfer processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 9,
The processing block includes a coating film forming processing unit for forming a coating film including a resist film on a substrate, an antireflection film forming processing unit for applying a chemical solution for the antireflection film to the substrate, and heating for heating the substrate. A processing unit;
The second processing block includes an exposure apparatus.
A substrate transfer processing apparatus. The substrate transfer processing apparatus according to claim 10 or 11,
The processing block includes a coating film forming unit block in which the coating film forming processing unit and the heat processing unit are partitioned by a horizontal movement region of the substrate transfer means, and a first antireflection film is formed below the coating film. A first antireflection film forming unit block defined by a horizontal movement region of the substrate transport means and a second antireflection film formed on the upper side of the coating film. The antireflection film forming unit and the heat treatment unit are laminated with a second antireflection film forming unit block defined by a horizontal movement region of the substrate transfer means,
The substrate storage unit includes a storage block that is divided into a plurality of sections so as to correspond to the coating film forming unit block, the first antireflection film forming unit block, and the second antireflection film forming unit block. , Each storage block comprises a plurality of mounting shelves and cooling plates;
A substrate transfer processing apparatus.

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