JP5048590B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is applied to substrates such as semiconductor wafers, liquid crystal display substrates, plasma display substrates, FED (Field Emission Display) substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, and photomask substrates. A substrate processing apparatus that performs processing on the substrate.

A single wafer type substrate processing apparatus used in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or the like includes an indexer unit and a load port for carrying the substrate in and out of the indexer unit.
The load port has a container holding unit that holds a substrate container that can hold a plurality of substrates in a stacked state, a passage port, and an internal space (indexer space) of the indexer unit and a container holding unit are arranged. And a partition wall that partitions the external space. The substrate container has an opening for taking in and out the substrate. In order to suppress the formation of an oxide film on the substrate accommodated in the substrate container, it is desirable that the atmosphere in the substrate container has a low oxygen concentration and humidity.

  In the indexer space, an indexer robot for taking in and out the substrate is accommodated. This indexer space is a downflow space in which a downflow for preventing the particles from rolling up is formed. After the substrate container is held by the container holder, the indexer robot accesses the substrate container through the open passage opening and opening, and puts the substrate in and out of the substrate container.

However, in such an apparatus, there is a risk that the atmosphere of the indexer space may enter the substrate container through the passage when the substrate is taken in and out. Since the atmosphere of the indexer space is not strictly controlled, when entering the substrate container, the oxygen concentration and humidity of the atmosphere in the substrate container increase, which may adversely affect the substrate.
Therefore, it has been proposed to replace the inside of the substrate container with a purge gas (N ₂ gas).

As a prior art regarding purging in the substrate container, for example, configurations proposed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 can be cited.
Patent Document 1 proposes a configuration in which a purge gas is blown into a substrate container from a purge gas introduction pipe disposed diagonally in front of the left and right sides of the opening of the substrate container to replace the inside of the substrate container with the purge gas. Yes.

In Patent Document 2, a bowl-shaped upper wall surface is provided in the partition wall above the passage port, and purge gas is discharged from the discharge port disposed on the upper wall surface into the substrate container, whereby the inside of the substrate container is A configuration for replacing with a purge gas has been proposed.
In Patent Document 3, a supply nozzle is arranged above the passage opening of the partition wall, a suction nozzle is arranged below the passage opening, the passage opening is shielded by a gas film, and the atmosphere of the downflow space is placed in the substrate container. A configuration for preventing entry is proposed.
JP 2004-235516 A JP 2003-45933 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-145245

However, in the configurations proposed in Patent Documents 1 and 3, since there is no mechanism for directly preventing the downflow flowing down the downflow space from flowing into the passage port, the downflow is placed into the substrate container. It is not possible to completely prevent the entry.
On the other hand, in the configuration proposed in Patent Document 2, it is possible to prevent the downflow flowing down the downflow space from directly flowing into the passage opening. However, the atmosphere flowing into the passage from the side of the passage cannot be prevented.

Therefore, even if it was any structure of the said patent documents 1-3, the oxygen concentration or humidity of the atmosphere in a substrate container was not able to fully be reduced.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of sufficiently reducing the oxygen concentration or humidity of the atmosphere in the substrate container.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a container holder (6) for holding a substrate container (C) having an opening (10) for taking in and out the substrate (W). And a passage (8) facing the opening of the substrate container held by the container holding part, and a downflow is formed with a holding space (OS) in which the container holding part is arranged. A partition wall (7) for partitioning the downflow space (IS), and protruding from the partition wall toward the downflow space side above the passage opening, allows the downflow to enter the substrate container. Upper purge gas spraying means (24) for spraying purge gas into the substrate container through the upper cover (20; 20A; 20B) for suppressing and the region (23) along the upper edge of the passage opening. And before A lateral cover (21, 22; 21A, 22A) provided on the side of the passage opening so as to protrude from the partition wall toward the down flow space side and to prevent the down flow from entering the substrate container. When, through the region (25, 27) along a side edge of the passage opening, seen including a horizontal purge gas blowing means (26, 28) for blowing a purge gas toward the substrate container within the lateral cover Is a substrate processing apparatus in which a horizontal air inlet (44) for sucking in the atmosphere in the downflow space is formed .

In addition, the alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies hereinafter.
According to this configuration, the purge gas is sprayed from the upper purge gas supply means and the lateral purge gas supply means toward the region along the upper edge portion and the side edge portion of the passage opening. By supplying the purge gas into the substrate container, the atmosphere in the substrate container is pushed out to the downflow space through the area where the purge gas is not sprayed (the central portion CA of the opening), and in the area of the opening, An airflow is formed from the inside of the substrate container toward the downflow space.

  Further, an upper cover is provided above the passage opening, and a lateral cover is provided on the side of the passage opening. The upper cover and the side cover prevent the downflow from flowing into a region along the upper edge portion and the side edge portion of the passage opening. Therefore, since the inflow of the downflow into the substrate container is suppressed in almost the entire area of the passage opening, only the purge gas is supplied into the substrate container without almost entering the atmosphere of the downflow space into the substrate container. can do. Thereby, the oxygen concentration or humidity of the atmosphere in the substrate container can be sufficiently reduced.

Further , a lateral intake port is formed on the side of the passage port. For this reason, the atmosphere flowing from the downflow space toward the passage opening is sucked into the side intake opening and hardly flows into the passage opening. As a result, the entry of the atmosphere in the downflow space into the substrate container can be more reliably suppressed.

A second aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect , wherein the horizontal purge gas blowing means has a discharge port (47) provided closer to the passage port than the horizontal suction port. .
According to this configuration, since the discharge port of the lateral purge gas spraying unit is disposed closer to the passage port than the lateral suction port, the purge gas blown from the discharge port toward the passage port is almost not in the lateral suction port. It is not inhaled. Thereby, the purge gas can be efficiently supplied into the substrate container.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate processing according to the first or second aspect , wherein an upper flange (42; 42B) protruding upward is formed at an edge of the upper cover on the side of the downflow space. Device.
According to this configuration, the upper flange prevents the downflow received by the upper cover from moving toward the passage opening. Therefore, the entry of the atmosphere in the downflow space into the substrate container can be more reliably suppressed.

  The upper purge gas spraying means may have a discharge port (46) provided closer to the passage port than the upper intake port. In this case, since the discharge port of the lateral purge gas blowing means is disposed closer to the passage port than the upper intake port, the purge gas blown from the discharge port toward the passage port is hardly sucked into the upper intake port. . Thereby, the purge gas can be efficiently supplied into the substrate container.

Invention according to claim 4, further comprising a lower portion of the substrate container held by said container holding portion, under a purge gas supply means for supplying a purge gas to the substrate container in the (52), according to claim 1 to 3 It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of these.
According to this configuration, the purge gas is supplied into the substrate container by the lower purge gas supply means. In addition to the supply of the purge gas from the upper purge gas supply means and the lateral purge gas supply means, the purge gas is supplied from the lower purge gas supply means, so that the atmosphere in the substrate container can be almost completely replaced with the purge gas. Thereby, the oxygen concentration or humidity of the atmosphere in the substrate container can be lowered more sufficiently.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment (first embodiment) of the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus is a single-wafer type apparatus that is installed in a clean room and processes substrates W such as semiconductor wafers one by one.
The substrate processing apparatus includes an indexer unit 2, a processing unit 3 coupled to the indexer unit 2, and a plurality of (for example, four) load ports 4 as interfaces for carrying the substrate W into and out of the indexer unit 2. And.

The processing unit 3 is disposed in the transport path (not shown) communicating with the internal space (indexer space) IS of the indexer unit 2, a plurality of processing chambers (not shown) arranged along the transport path, and the transport path. And a main transfer robot (not shown) for carrying in and out the substrate W from the processing chamber.
Each load port 4 includes a container mounting table 6 (a container holding unit) disposed in the external space OS on the opposite side of the processing unit 3 with respect to the indexer unit 2, and an indexer space IS and a container mounting table 6. A partition wall 7 for partitioning the external space (holding space) OS, and a door 9 for opening and closing a passage port 8 formed in the partition wall 7 (see also FIG. 2 and FIG. 6A). Yes. The container mounting table 6 is for mounting the substrate container C. The plurality of load ports 4 are arranged along a predetermined direction (a direction orthogonal to the paper surface).

  The substrate container C can accommodate a plurality of substrates W in a stacked state at a predetermined interval. In this embodiment, the substrate container C is a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) that accommodates the substrate W in a sealed state. That is, the substrate container C includes a substantially cubic container body 11 having an opening 10 for taking out the substrate W on one side surface, and a lid 12 for opening and closing the opening 10 (in FIG. 1, the lid 12 is opened). State). An unprocessed substrate W or a processed substrate W is stored in the substrate container C.

The substrate container C is mounted on the container mounting table 6 so that the opening 10 faces the passage port 8. In the open state of the door 9 (the state shown in FIG. 1), the opening 10 of the substrate container C is accommodated in the passage port 8.
A fan filter unit 13 (FFU) for supplying a down flow of clean air to the indexer space IS is provided on the top surface of the indexer unit 2. The fan filter unit 13 has a structure in which a fan (not shown) and a filter (not shown) are stacked one above the other, and the air blown by the fan is purified by the filter and supplied into the indexer space IS.

  Further, an exhaust port (not shown) for exhausting the atmosphere of the indexer space IS is formed on the bottom surface of the indexer unit 2. The floor surface of the clean room is configured by grating, and a substrate processing apparatus is installed on the grating floor surface. The exhaust from the bottom surface of the indexer space 2 is guided to the space below the grating through the grating. The space below the grating is maintained at a negative pressure so as to absorb the downflow in the substrate processing apparatus.

  The indexer unit 2 includes an indexer robot IR for loading / unloading the substrate W to / from the substrate container C placed on the container table 6. The indexer robot IR includes a hand for holding the substrate W, and the substrate W is loaded into / unloaded from the substrate container C by accessing the hand into the substrate container C through the passage port 8. It can be performed. Further, the indexer robot IR can deliver the substrate W to and from the main transport robot by allowing the hand to access the main transport robot.

  The load port 4 includes a support member 15 having a vertically long rectangular shape in front view for supporting the door 9 from the indexer space IS side. The support member 15 is provided so as to be able to move up and down, and an elevating drive mechanism 16 for moving the support member 15 up and down is coupled to the support member 15. The support member 15 is coupled to a slide drive mechanism 17 for sliding the door 9 in a direction orthogonal to the partition wall 7.

In the closed state of the door 9, the slide drive mechanism 17 is driven, the door 9 is slid toward the indexer space IS, and the lift drive mechanism 16 is driven to open the support member 15 (shown in FIG. 1). The door 9 is opened.
When the door 9 is in the open state, the lifting drive mechanism 16 is driven to raise the support member 15 to the closed position (position shown in FIG. 6A described later), and the slide drive mechanism 17 is driven to open the door. As the door 9 is slid and moved toward the side opposite to the indexer space IS, the door 9 is closed. In the open state of the door 9, almost the entire area of the passage opening 8 is opened.

A hook-shaped cover 18 for suppressing the downflow of the indexer space IS from entering the substrate container C is formed at the peripheral edge of the passage port 8 on the inner surface of the partition wall 7 (the surface on the indexer space IS side). Has been.
Further, an N ₂ gas blowing mechanism 19 for blowing N ₂ gas as a purge gas from the indexer space IS side toward the passage 8 is provided at the peripheral edge of the passage 8.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the passage 8 as viewed from the inside of the indexer space IS.
The passage port 8 is formed in a substantially square shape when viewed from the front. The upper side and the lower side of the passage port 8 are formed along the horizontal direction, and both side sides (the left side and the right side shown in FIG. 2) of the passage port 8 are formed along the vertical direction. The door 9 for opening and closing the passage port 8 is also formed in a substantially square shape when viewed from the front.

The cover 18 is formed in an inverted U-shape when viewed from the front, and is provided on the upper cover 20 provided above the passage 8 and on one side of the passage 8 (the left side shown in FIG. 2). The first horizontal cover 21 and the second horizontal cover 22 provided on the other side of the passage port 8 (the right side shown in FIG. 2) are provided.
The upper cover 20 is disposed above the upper side of the passage port 8 and protrudes horizontally from the partition wall 7 toward the inside (indexer space IS side). The upper cover 20 is formed along the upper side of the passage opening 8 from one end (the left end shown in FIG. 2) to the other end (the right end shown in FIG. 2). Yes. For this reason, the downflow flowing down the indexer space IS along the inner surface of the partition wall 7 is received by the upper cover 20.

  The upper cover 20 is formed in a cylindrical shape (for example, a rectangular cylindrical shape). An upper exhaust space 40 extending in the horizontal direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) along the partition wall 7 is formed inside the upper cover 20. On the lower surface of the upper cover 20 (the inner surface on the passing port 8 side), an upper intake port 41 for sucking in the atmosphere in the indexer space IS is formed. The upper intake port 41 is formed as a substantially rectangular opening from one end portion (left end portion shown in FIG. 2) of the passage port 8 to the other end portion (right end portion shown in FIG. 2).

An upper flange 42 that protrudes upward is formed at the edge of the upper cover 20 on the indexer space IS side. The upper flange 42 can prevent the downflow received on the upper surface of the upper cover 20 from moving toward the passage port 8.
The first horizontal cover 21 is disposed on the side (left side shown in FIG. 2) of one side (left side shown in FIG. 2) of the passage port 8, and protrudes horizontally from the partition wall 7 toward the indexer space IS. , And formed along the one side from the upper end of the passage port 8 to the lower end of the load port 4.

The second horizontal cover 22 is disposed on the side (the right side shown in FIG. 2) of the other side (the right side shown in FIG. 2) of the passage port 8, and protrudes horizontally from the partition wall 7 toward the indexer space IS. Along the other side, it is formed from the upper end portion of the passage port 8 to the lower end portion of the load port 4.
In this embodiment, the horizontal covers 21 and 22 extend from the upper end portion of the passage port 8 to the lower end portion of the load port 4, but the passage port so as to cover at least the side of the passage port 8. It is sufficient if it is formed from the upper end of 8 to the lower end.

  Each of the horizontal covers 21 and 22 is formed in a cylindrical shape (for example, a rectangular cylindrical shape). A lateral exhaust space 43 that communicates with the upper exhaust space 40 and extends in the vertical direction is formed inside each lateral cover 21, 22. A lateral intake port 44 for sucking the atmosphere in the indexer space IS is formed on the inner side surface (the inner surface on the passage port 8 side) of each lateral cover 21, 22. In each lateral exhaust space 43, an exhaust fan 45 for exhausting the upper exhaust space 40 and the lateral exhaust space 43 is disposed at the bottom of each lateral cover 21, 22. Air exhausted from the lateral exhaust space 43 by the exhaust fan 45 is guided to a space below the grating floor.

The N ₂ gas blowing mechanism 19 includes an upper nozzle block 24 as an upper purge gas blowing means for blowing a purge gas (N ₂ gas) toward an upper region 23 (region in the passage port 8) along the upper side of the passage port 8. The first horizontal nozzle block as a horizontal purge gas spraying means for spraying N ₂ gas toward the side region 25 (region in the pass port 8) along one side of the pass port 8 (the left side shown in FIG. 2). 26 and a second side as a purge gas blowing means for blowing N ₂ gas toward a side region 27 (region in the passage 8) along the other side (the right side shown in FIG. 2) of the passage 8 And a nozzle block 28.

The upper nozzle block 24 is arranged along the upper side of the passage port 8 and holds a plurality of (for example, six in FIG. 2) upper nozzles 30 for discharging N ₂ gas and the plurality of upper nozzles 30. The block body 31 is provided. The upper nozzle block 24 may be directly attached to the lower surface (the inner surface on the passage port 8 side) of the upper cover 20 or may be attached to the upper cover 20 via another member.

The first horizontal nozzle block 26 is arranged along one side (the left side shown in FIG. 2) of the passage port 8, and a plurality of (for example, six in FIG. 2) first horizontal nozzles for discharging N ₂ gas. 32 and a block body 33 for holding the plurality of first horizontal nozzles 32. The first horizontal nozzle block 26 may be directly attached to the inner side surface (the inner surface on the passage port 8 side) of the first horizontal cover 21 or may be attached to the first horizontal cover 21 via another member. It may be.

The second horizontal nozzle block 28 is arranged along the other side (the right side shown in FIG. 2) of the passage port 8, and a plurality of (for example, six in FIG. 2) second horizontal nozzles for discharging N ₂ gas. 34 and a block body 35 for holding the plurality of second horizontal nozzles 34. The second horizontal nozzle block 28 may be directly attached to the inner side surface (the inner surface on the passage port 8 side) of the second horizontal cover 22, or may be attached to the second horizontal cover 22 via another member. It may be.

A rectangular N ₂ gas pipe 36 is disposed at the periphery of the passage port 8 in a front view. Through the upper N ₂ valve 37 is in the N ₂ gas pipe 36, N ₂ gas from the N ₂ gas supply source is adapted to be supplied. The N ₂ gas line 36, the upper nozzle 30, the first lateral nozzles 32 and the second lateral nozzle 34 is connected, N ₂ gas flowing through the N ₂ gas pipe 36, the nozzles 30 and 32 , 34. Note that although the N ₂ gas as a purge gas, other inert gases such as Ar or He, or a low humidity gas, such as CDA (Clean dry air) can be employed as the purge gas.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the load port 4. FIG. 3 shows an open state of the lid 12 of the substrate container C, and illustration of the lid 12 and the door 9 is omitted.
The container mounting table 6 can mount the substrate container C, and the movable mounting table 50 is slidable in a direction orthogonal to the partition wall 7 (left and right direction in FIG. 3), and the movable mounting table 50 is slid. A slide drive mechanism 51 for movement and a lower purge gas supply mechanism (lower purge gas supply means) 52 for supplying N ₂ gas as purge gas into the substrate container C are provided. By driving the slide drive mechanism 51, the substrate container C placed on the movable placing table 50 (the container placing table 6) comes close to / separates from the passage port 8.

The lower purge gas supply mechanism 52 includes a discharge pipe 54 having a discharge port 53 at the tip, for example. The discharge pipe 54 is embedded in the movable mounting table 50, and only the tip portion projects upward from the upper surface of the movable mounting table 50. The discharge pipe 54, N ₂ gas supply pipe 55 which N ₂ gas from the N ₂ gas supply source is supplied is connected. A middle N ₂ gas supply pipe 55 is provided with a lower N ₂ valve 56 for switching between discharging / stopping N ₂ gas from the discharge port 53.

  In a state where the substrate container C is placed on the movable mounting table 50, the discharge pipe 54 is inserted into the introduction hole 57 formed in the bottom surface of the substrate container C. The discharge port 53 of the discharge pipe 54 inserted into the introduction hole 57 faces the internal space of the substrate container C. On the other hand, when the substrate container C is detached from the predetermined position of the container mounting table 6, the discharge pipe 54 is pulled out from the introduction hole 57. An opening / closing mechanism (not shown) is disposed in the introduction hole 57. This opening / closing mechanism normally closes the introduction hole 57, opens the introduction hole 57 in conjunction with the insertion operation of the discharge pipe 54, and closes the introduction hole 57 by the drawing operation of the discharge pipe 54.

Each upper nozzle 30 is positioned slightly above the upper side of the opening 10 of the substrate container C with the discharge port 46 directed toward the upper region of the opening 10 (upper region 23 of the passage port 8) (slightly diagonally). (Downward). In this embodiment, a sector nozzle is used as the upper nozzle 30. A sector nozzle is a nozzle in which the contour (ejection profile) of the ejection fluid forms a sector shape. A cross section perpendicular to the central axis of the discharge profile has an elliptical outline. Hereinafter, the major axis direction of the elliptical cross section is referred to as “the major axis direction of the nozzle” or the like. The upper nozzle 30 made of a fan-shaped nozzle is arranged such that its major axis is inclined at a minute angle (for example, 5 to 10 °) with respect to the upper side of the passage port 8 (opening 10). Since the upper nozzle 30 is disposed at a position shifted slightly above the upper side of the opening 10 with the discharge port 46 facing the upper region of the opening 10, the N ₂ gas from the upper nozzle 30 is supplied to the substrate container. It flows along the top of C.

Each upper nozzle 30 is disposed above the path of the substrate W that passes through the passage port 8. Therefore, the substrate W or the hand of the indexer robot IR and the upper nozzle 30 do not interfere with each other when the substrate W is inserted into or removed from the substrate container C.
The upper intake port 41 is provided on the indexer space IS side (the side opposite to the passage port 8) with respect to the discharge port 46 of the upper nozzle 30. For this reason, the purge gas blown from the upper nozzle 30 is hardly sucked into the upper intake port 41.

The horizontal intake port 44 is provided on the indexer space IS side (the side opposite to the passage port 8) with respect to the discharge port 47 of the second horizontal nozzle 34. For this reason, the purge gas blown from the second horizontal nozzle 34 is hardly sucked into the horizontal intake port 44.
The lateral intake port 44 is formed from the upper end portion to the lower end portion of the passage port 8. In the horizontal intake port 44 that is long in the vertical direction, the intake force is smaller in the upper part away from the exhaust fan 45 than in the lower part near the exhaust fan 45. Therefore, the opening width of the horizontal intake port 44 (opening width in the substrate transport direction (left and right direction in FIG. 3)) is set downward so that the flow velocity of the atmosphere sucked from the horizontal intake port 44 is substantially uniform in the vertical direction. It becomes narrower as it goes to. More specifically, the lateral air inlet 44 is formed in a wedge shape that becomes narrower as it goes downward.

In the configuration of FIG. 3, the exhaust fan 45 is disposed in the lateral exhaust space 43, but instead of providing the exhaust fan 45, the exhaust spaces 40 and 43 are exhausted by the exhaust power of the exhaust treatment facility provided in the factory. It is good.
Although the illustration of the first lateral cover 21 is omitted in FIG. 3, the lateral intake port 44 of the first lateral cover 21 has the same configuration as the lateral intake port 44 of the second lateral cover 22.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line IV-IV in FIG.
Each first horizontal nozzle 32 has its discharge port 47 disposed at a position slightly shifted to the side (right side shown in FIG. 4) from one side of the pass port 8 (right side shown in FIG. 4). 8 side regions 25 (slightly diagonally left in FIG. 4). In this embodiment, a fan-shaped nozzle is used as the first horizontal nozzle 32. The first horizontal nozzle 32 made of a fan-shaped nozzle has a major axis inclined at a minute angle (for example, 5 to 10 °) with respect to one side (the right side shown in FIG. 4) of the passage port 8 (opening 10). Is arranged. Therefore, the N ₂ gas from the first horizontal nozzle 32 flows in the substrate container C along the one side surface (the right surface shown in FIG. 4).

Each first horizontal nozzle 32 is arranged outside the path of the substrate W that passes through the passage port 8. Accordingly, the substrate W or the hand of the indexer robot IR does not interfere with the first horizontal nozzle 32 when the substrate W is taken in and out of the substrate container C.
The second horizontal nozzle 34 has its discharge port 47 on the side of the pass port 8 at a position slightly shifted from the other side of the pass port 8 (left side shown in FIG. 4) to the side (left side shown in FIG. 4). It is arranged toward the direction area 27 (slightly diagonally right in FIG. 4). In this embodiment, a fan-shaped nozzle is used as the second horizontal nozzle 34. The second horizontal nozzle 34 formed of a fan-shaped nozzle is inclined so that the major axis direction is inclined by a minute angle (for example, 5 to 10 °) with respect to the other side (the left side shown in FIG. 4) of the passage port 8 (opening 10). Is arranged. Therefore, the N ₂ gas from the second horizontal nozzle 34 flows in the substrate container C along the one side surface (the left surface shown in FIG. 4).

Each second horizontal nozzle 34 is disposed outside the path of the substrate W that passes through the passage port 8. Therefore, the substrate W or the hand of the indexer robot IR does not interfere with the second horizontal nozzle 34 when the substrate W is taken in and out of the substrate container C.
In FIG. 4, a load port 4 </ b> A disposed adjacent to one side of the load port 4 (the right side shown in FIG. 4) is illustrated. The first horizontal cover 21 of the load port 4 is provided on the other side of the passing port 8A of the adjacent load port 4A (left side shown in FIG. 4). That is, the first horizontal cover 21 of the load port 4 also serves as the second horizontal cover 22 of the adjacent load port 4A. An intake port 44A for the load port 4A is formed on the outer side surface (the side surface not facing the passage port 8) of the first horizontal cover 21, and the atmosphere sucked into the intake port 44A is The air is exhausted through the side exhaust space 43 of the side cover 21.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state in which the purge gas is sprayed as seen from the direction of arrow V in FIG. A region indicated by hatching in FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional shape of the N ₂ gas jet discharged from each nozzle 30, 32, 34.
The N ₂ gas flow discharged from each nozzle 30, 32, 34 is formed in inverted U-shaped regions 23, 25, 27 along the peripheral edge of the passage port 8 in front view. The major axis direction of the upper nozzle 30 made of a fan-shaped nozzle is inclined by a minute angle (for example, 5 to 10 °) with respect to the upper side of the passage port 8, and the major axis direction of the horizontal nozzles 32 and 34 also made of fan-shaped nozzles. However, the N ₂ gases discharged from the nozzles 30, 32, and 34 interfere with each other because they are arranged so as to be inclined at a minute angle (for example, 5 to 10 °) with respect to both sides of the passage port 8. In addition, the width of the N ₂ gas flow discharged from the nozzles 30, 32, and 34 can be expanded.

The N ₂ gas from the upper nozzle 30 flows in the substrate container C toward the back side along the top surface. N ₂ gas from the horizontal nozzles 32 and 34 flows in the substrate container C toward the back side along both side surfaces thereof. For this reason, the atmosphere in the substrate container C passes through the central portion CA of the opening 10 of the substrate container C (the region excluding the upper region 23 and the side regions 25 and 27 in the opening 10) on the indexer space IS side. Will be pushed out. That is, an air flow from the substrate container C toward the indexer space IS is formed in the central part CA of the opening 10 of the substrate container C, and the downflow of the indexer space IS is caused by the central part CA (passage port 8) of the opening 10. Cannot enter the substrate container C through the central portion.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the loading / unloading of the substrate container C with respect to the load port 4.
The substrate container C carried into the load port 4 of the substrate processing apparatus by an unillustrated container transfer device is a movable mounting table at a predetermined transfer position of the container mounting table 6 as shown in FIG. 50. For example, an engagement pin (not shown) provided on the container mounting table 6 is engaged with a groove (not shown) formed in the bottom of the substrate container C, whereby the substrate is placed on the movable mounting table 50. The container C is fixed. In a state where the substrate container C is placed on the movable mounting table 50, the discharge pipe 54 is inserted into the introduction hole 57 (see FIG. 3) of the substrate container C, and the discharge port 53 (see FIG. 3) is accommodated in the substrate. It comes to face the internal space of the container C. At this time, the lower N ₂ valve 56 is opened in advance, and the introduction hole 57 is opened in conjunction with the insertion operation of the discharge pipe 54 by the aforementioned opening / closing mechanism (not shown). As a result, N ₂ gas is discharged from the discharge port 53 of the discharge pipe 54, and N ₂ gas is introduced into the substrate container C. The discharge of the N ₂ gas from the discharge port 53 is continued for a period during which the substrate container C is placed on the movable mounting table 50. Further, the discharge of N ₂ gas from the discharge port 53 may be continued during the period when the lid 12 of the substrate container C is open, or may be stopped only during the period.

  Thereafter, the slide drive mechanism 51 (see FIG. 3) is driven to move the substrate container C in a direction approaching the passage port 8. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the lid 12 of the substrate container C and the door 9 come into contact with each other, and then the lid 12 engages with the door 9 and is held by the door 9. Further, the lock engagement between the lid 12 and the container body 11 is released by a lock operation mechanism (not shown) provided on the door 9 side.

Next, the slide drive mechanism 17 (see FIG. 1) is driven to move the door 9 to the indexer space IS side, and the lift drive mechanism 16 (see FIG. 1) is driven to lower the support member 15. As a result, the door 9 is opened as shown in FIG. With this door 9, the lid 12 is also opened. In synchronization with the opening operation of the door 9, the upper N ₂ valve 37 is opened, and the blowing of N ₂ gas from the nozzles 30, 32, 34 to the passage port 8 is started.

When the passage port 8 is opened, the indexer robot IR accesses the hand into the substrate container C through the opening 10 and takes out the unprocessed substrates W stacked in the substrate container C. Then, the indexer robot IR delivers the extracted substrate W to the main transfer robot. The unprocessed substrate W transferred to the main transfer robot is subjected to a predetermined process in the processing chamber of the processing unit 3, and the processed substrate W is transferred to the main transfer robot. The processed substrate W is transferred from the main transfer robot to the indexer robot IR. The indexer robot IR causes the hand to access the substrate container C through the opening 10 and stores the processed substrate W in the substrate container C. Until the predetermined number of substrates W are processed and the substrates W are stored in the substrate container C, the open state of the passage port 8 is continued. While the passage port 8 is open, the N ₂ gas is continuously blown from the nozzles 30, 32, and 34.

After the predetermined number of substrates W are returned to the substrate container C, the elevating drive mechanism 16 is driven to raise the support member 15 and the slide drive mechanism 17 is driven to move the door 9 to the indexer space IS. The door 9 is moved to the opposite side to the closed side (see FIG. 6D). Further, the lid 12 is locked to the container body 11 by the above-described lock operation mechanism provided on the door 9. Then, the upper N ₂ valve 37 is closed, and the blowing of N ₂ gas from the nozzles 30, 32, 34 is stopped. Next, the slide drive mechanism 51 is controlled to move the substrate container C in the direction away from the passage port 8, and the fixation of the substrate container C to the movable mounting table 50 is released. Thereafter, the substrate container C is unloaded by the container transfer device.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the N ₂ gas is blown from the nozzles 30, 32, 34 provided in the indexer space IS toward the upper region 23 and the side regions 25, 27 of the passage port 8. By such supply of the N ₂ gas into the substrate container C, the atmosphere in the substrate container C is pushed out into the indexer space IS through the central portion CA of the opening 10 where N ₂ gas is not blown, and this opening An air flow from the substrate container C toward the indexer space IS is formed at the center portion CA of the ten.

Further, an upper cover 20 is provided above the passage port 8, and lateral covers 21 and 22 are provided on the sides of the passage port 8. The upper cover 20 and the lateral covers 21 and 22 prevent the downflow from flowing into the upper region 23 and the side regions 25 and 27 of the passage port 8.
Further, the upper cover 20 and the side covers 21, 22 are formed with intake ports 41, 44 on the indexer space IS side of the nozzles 30, 32, 34. For this reason, if the atmosphere in the indexer space IS near the nozzles 30, 32, and 34 flows toward the passage port 8, such an atmosphere is captured at the intake ports 41 and 44.

Therefore, since the inflow of the downflow into the substrate container C is suppressed in almost the entire area of the passage port 8, the atmosphere of the indexer space IS hardly enters the substrate container C, and the inside of the substrate container C. It is possible to supply only N ₂ gas. Thereby, the oxygen concentration or humidity of the atmosphere in the substrate container C can be sufficiently reduced.
FIG. 7 is a front view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment (second embodiment) of the present invention.

In the second embodiment, parts corresponding to those shown in the first embodiment (the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6) are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. The description is omitted.
The substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is different from the substrate processing apparatus of the first embodiment described above in place of the upper cover 20 and the lateral covers 21 and 22 in which exhaust spaces 40 and 43 are formed. Thus, a flat upper cover 20A and side covers 21A and 22A are provided.

  In the second embodiment, not only the upper flange 42 is provided on the upper cover 20A, but also the first and second horizontal covers 21A and 22A are provided with horizontal flanges 60 and 61, respectively. Specifically, a first horizontal flange 60 protruding toward one side (left side shown in FIG. 2) is provided at the edge of the first horizontal cover 21A on the indexer space IS side. In addition, a second horizontal flange 61 protruding toward the other side (the right side shown in FIG. 7) is provided at the edge of the second horizontal cover 22A on the indexer space IS side. The lateral flanges 60 and 61 can prevent the downflow received by the first and second lateral covers 21 </ b> A and 22 </ b> A from moving toward the passage port 8.

FIG. 8 is a front view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to still another embodiment (third embodiment) of the present invention.
In the third embodiment, parts corresponding to those shown in the second embodiment (the embodiment shown in FIG. 7) are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. .
The substrate processing apparatus according to the third embodiment is different from the substrate processing apparatus of the second embodiment described above in that the upper cover 62 is formed in an upward convex shape instead of the flat upper cover 20A. 20B is provided. The upper surface 62 is formed such that the middle portion in the horizontal direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 8) along the passage opening 8 is high and both end portions in the direction are low. In this embodiment, according to the shape of the upper cover 20B, the front shape of the upper flange 42B is also formed in an upward convex shape.

In this embodiment, the downflow received by the upper surface 62 of the upper cover 20B is guided toward the side of the passage port 8 (the left-right direction in FIG. 8). Thereby, since a downflow can be rectified | straightened, the inflow to the passage 8 of a downflow can be suppressed more effectively.
While the three embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can also be implemented in other forms.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the upper flanges 42 and 42B and the lateral flanges 60 and 61 are formed to extend outward, that is, in a direction away from the opening 8, but in addition to these flanges, inward, In other words, an inward flange extending in a direction approaching the opening 8 may be further provided, and the back side (indexer space IS side) of the nozzle blocks 24, 26, and 28 may be covered with the inward flange. According to this, the entrainment of the atmosphere in the indexer space IS due to the airflow blown from the nozzles 30, 32, 34 can be further prevented.

In each of the above-described embodiments, it has been described that the N ₂ gas is continuously blown from the nozzles 30, 32, and 34 while the door 9 is in the open state. ₂ Gas spraying may be performed. Further, the N ₂ gas may be constantly blown regardless of whether the door 9 is open or closed.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the unprocessed substrate W is taken out from the substrate container C, and the processed substrate is stored (returned) in the original substrate container C after the processing of the taken-out substrate W. Although the case has been shown as an example, a configuration in which the processed substrate W is stored in another substrate container C may be used.

In each of the above-described embodiments, a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) that accommodates the substrate W in a sealed state is illustrated as the substrate container C. However, in addition to this, a SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface) pod Other types of substrate containers such as OC (Open Cassette) can also be used.
In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.

It is an illustration sectional view for explaining the composition of the substrate processing device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is the front view which looked at the passage mouth from the indexer space. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part of a load port. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line IV-IV in FIG. 3. It is a front view which shows the blowing state of the purge gas seen from the arrow V direction of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating attachment / detachment of the board | substrate container with respect to a load port. It is a front view which shows diagrammatically the composition of the substrate processing device concerning other embodiments of the present invention. It is a front view which shows diagrammatically the composition of the substrate processing device concerning other embodiments of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

6 Container placement table (container holder)
7 Partition 8 Passing port 10 Opening 20, 20A, 20B Upper cover 21, 21A First horizontal cover 22, 22A Second horizontal cover 23 Upper region (region along upper side of passage port)
24 Upper nozzle block (Upper purge gas spraying means)
25 Side area (Area along the side of the passage)
26 1st horizontal nozzle block (horizontal purge gas spraying means)
28 Second horizontal nozzle block (horizontal purge gas spraying means)
30 Upper nozzle 32 First horizontal nozzle 34 Second horizontal nozzle 41 Upper intake port 44 Horizontal intake port 46 Discharge port 47 Discharge port IS Indexer space (down flow space)
OS external space (retention space)

Claims (4)

A container holder for holding a substrate container having an opening for taking in and out the substrate; and
A partition having a passage opening facing the opening of the substrate container held by the container holding part, and partitioning a holding space in which the container holding part is arranged and a downflow space in which a downflow is formed When,
An upper cover provided to protrude from the partition wall toward the downflow space above the passage, and to prevent entry of downflow into the substrate container;
Upper purge gas spraying means for spraying purge gas through the region along the upper edge of the passage opening and into the substrate container;
A lateral cover provided on the side of the passage opening so as to protrude from the partition wall toward the downflow space side, and for suppressing entry of downflow into the substrate container,
A lateral purge gas spraying means for spraying purge gas through the region along the side edge of the passage opening and into the substrate container;
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the side cover is formed with a side inlet for sucking in the atmosphere in the downflow space.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal purge gas blowing unit has a discharge port provided closer to the passage port than the horizontal suction port.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an upper flange protruding upward is formed at an edge of the upper cover on the side of the downflow space. From the bottom of the substrate container held by said container holding portion, the further comprising a purge gas supply means under supplying purge gas to the substrate container in the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .

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