JP5280901B2 - Substrate processing system and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a substrate processing system and a substrate processing method. The substrate processing system (10) comprises a conveying part (15), a first processing chamber (16), a second processing chamber (18) and a main control part (30). The conveying part (15) is provided with a conveying manipulator (22) for conveying a workpiece (20). The first processing chamber (16) and the second processing chamber (18) are configured around the conveying part (15). The first processing chamber (16) and the second processing chamber (18) are respectively provided with a door (162, 182) which can be opened or closed in conveying the workpiece (20) in and out. The main control part (30) controls the action of the conveying manipulator (22) and the doors (162,182) so that the conveying manipulator (22) performs alternately conveying in or out for the first processing chamber (16) and the second processing chamber (18) instead of continuously performing conveying in or out for one selected from the first processing chamber (16) and the second processing chamber (18).

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing system configured to perform a heat treatment such as baking on a substrate such as liquid crystal glass, and a substrate processing method applicable to the system.

  When heat-treating a substrate such as liquid crystal glass in a color filter manufacturing process or the like, a systemized configuration is sometimes used to efficiently carry in, process, and carry out the substrate.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 1, the contents of substrate transport control in the conventional substrate processing system will be briefly described. Conventionally, the transfer robot 22 that has picked up an unprocessed workpiece from a loading section (not shown), for example, unloads the processed workpiece from the uppermost stage of the multi-stage rack 166 of the first processing chamber 16, and then the empty stage. Unprocessed workpieces are loaded into Thereafter, the transport robot 22 transports the processed workpiece to the unloading unit outside the drawing. Subsequently, the transfer robot 22 takes out the unprocessed work from the carry-in section again, and this time, it carries out the processed work from the second stage from the top of the multistage rack 166 of the first processing chamber 16, and then The unprocessed work is carried to the next stage. While repeating the same operation, the transfer robot 22 first performs a processed workpiece unloading process and an unprocessed workpiece unloading process for each stage from the uppermost stage to the lowermost stage of the multistage rack of the first processing chamber 16. After the processed workpiece unloading process and the unprocessed workpiece loading process for each stage from the uppermost stage to the lowermost stage of the multistage rack 166 of the first processing chamber 16 are completed, the second processing chamber 18 For each stage from the uppermost stage to the lowermost stage of the multi-stage rack 186, a processed workpiece unloading process and an unprocessed workpiece loading process are performed.

  In such a substrate processing system, when a heat treatment is performed on the substrate, a sublimable component (for example, a sublimable component contained in the photoresist) applied to the substrate is vaporized, and the sublimation product cleans the furnace. May decrease.

  For this reason, various contrivances have conventionally been made with respect to an exhaust system that sucks out generated sublimates from the furnace through a duct or the like. For example, in order to lower the concentration of the sublimation gas, the heat treatment apparatus is configured to heat the ventilation air and introduce it into the upstream portion of the circulating air passing through the work and to discharge a part of the air that has passed through the work. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP-A-10-141868

  In the conventional heat treatment apparatus including the heat treatment apparatus according to Patent Document 1 described above, it is necessary to shorten the substrate loading time interval to the furnace as much as possible in order to improve the throughput. When it becomes shorter, it becomes necessary to increase the displacement in order to keep the concentration of the sublimate gas low.

  As the amount of exhaust increases, the amount of exhaust heat or the heating capacity of the supply air also increases. As a result, in order to keep the inside of the furnace at a set temperature, it is necessary to supply a larger amount of heat from the heater. Occurs.

  Therefore, in the conventional heat treatment apparatus including the heat treatment apparatus according to Patent Document 1 described above, the power consumption must be increased in proportion to the improvement in the throughput. Therefore, it is necessary to sacrifice the throughput in order to reduce the power consumption. was there.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing system and a substrate processing method capable of reducing power consumption without sacrificing throughput.

  The substrate processing system according to the present invention is configured to perform a heat treatment on a substrate. Examples of the substrate include glass substrates for liquid crystal displays and plasma displays, and semiconductor wafers used for semiconductor devices.

  The substrate processing system includes a transfer unit, a plurality of processing chambers, and a control unit. The transport unit includes a transport robot that transports the substrate. The plurality of processing chambers are respectively arranged around the transfer unit. Each processing chamber has a door that can be opened and closed when the substrate is carried in and out.

  The control unit controls at least the transfer unit and the processing chamber. The control unit controls the operations of the transfer robot and the door so that the transfer robot sequentially accesses the plurality of process chambers without sequentially accessing the same process chamber.

  In this configuration, the opening / closing operation of the door of the different processing chamber is performed for each tact, and the substrates are sequentially carried into or out of the different processing chambers. In this way, by changing the order of loading substrates into a plurality of processing chambers, the amount of sublimation gas generated per unit time in a single processing chamber is suppressed, and the concentration of sublimation gas in the furnace is reduced. To do.

  As a result, it is possible to perform an operation with a reduced exhaust amount and an air supply amount as compared with the conventional case, and it is possible to reduce exhaust heat associated with the exhaust. That is, energy saving operation is possible without reducing the throughput. In addition, it is possible to reduce the frequency of maintenance such as the removal of sublimates attached to the furnace.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to significantly reduce power consumption without sacrificing throughput.

It is a figure which shows the control content of the board | substrate conveyance of the conventional substrate processing system. It is a top view which shows the outline of the substrate processing system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the outline of a 1st processing chamber, a 2nd processing chamber, and a conveyance robot. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of a substrate processing system. It is a figure which shows the control content by the main control part. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the substrate processing system which concerns on another embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the effect of the substrate processing system which has n process chambers. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the process chamber which concerns on another embodiment of this invention.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows the substrate processing system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the substrate processing system 10 is configured to perform a color filter manufacturing process, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to the color filter manufacturing process.

  The substrate processing system 10 includes a carry-in unit 12, a carry-out unit 14, a transfer unit 15, a first processing chamber 16, and a second processing chamber 18. The carrying-in part 12, the carrying-out part 14, and the conveyance part 15 are arrange | positioned inside the clean unit covered with the transparent member.

  The carry-in unit 12 is configured to function as a carry-in port for an unprocessed work (substrate) 20. In this embodiment, the workpiece 20 is a rectangular glass substrate having a long side of about 2.5 meters and a short side of about 2, 2 meters. However, the type of the workpiece 20 processed by the heat treatment system 10 is limited to this. Is not to be done. The carry-out unit 14 is configured to accommodate the processed workpiece 20.

  The transfer unit 15 is located at the center of the heat treatment system 10 and is disposed adjacent to the carry-in unit 12, the carry-out unit 14, the first processing chamber 16, and the second processing chamber 18. The transfer unit 15 is provided with a transfer robot 22 inside. The transfer robot 22 is configured to transfer the workpiece 20 among the carry-in unit 12, the carry-out unit 14, the first processing chamber 16, and the second processing chamber 18. The first processing chamber 16 and the second processing chamber 18 are configured to perform a heat treatment on the loaded workpiece 20.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the first processing chamber 16, the second processing chamber 18, and the transfer robot 22. The first processing chamber 16 includes a furnace body 164 having an opening through which the workpiece 20 is carried in and out, and a door 162 that selectively blocks the opening.

  The furnace body 164 includes a multi-stage rack 166 configured to support the workpiece 20 in each stage. The door 162 is composed of a plurality of shutter pieces that are supported so as to be movable up and down along axes extending in the vertical direction. Each shutter piece is configured to move up and down in cooperation with each other. For example, by bringing two adjacent shutter pieces apart or in contact with each other, the work 20 is carried into and out of a desired stage of the multistage rack 166. Is possible.

  Similar to the first processing chamber 16, the second processing chamber 18 includes at least a furnace body 184, a door 182, and a multistage rack 186. Since these configurations are substantially the same as those of the first processing chamber 16, description thereof is omitted here.

  The transfer robot 22 includes a hand 225 configured to support the workpiece 20. The transfer robot 22 is configured so that the workpiece 20 can be carried in and out of any stage of the multistage rack 166 and the multistage rack 186 by moving the hand 225 up and down and rotating.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an outline of the substrate processing system 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the first processing chamber 16 includes at least a door driving unit 169, a ventilation unit 168, a heat treatment unit 167, and a control unit 165. The door driving unit 169 is configured to perform an opening / closing operation of the door 166 described above. The ventilation unit 168 includes an introduction unit that introduces outside air into the furnace body 164 and an exhaust unit that exhausts gas inside the furnace body 164. The ventilation unit 168 has an exhaust amount and an air supply amount set in accordance with the concentration of the sublimate gas in the chamber. The heat treatment unit 167 is configured to heat the furnace body 164 at a set temperature (for example, 230 ° C.) and perform heat treatment on the workpiece 20 carried into the furnace body 164. The control unit 165 is configured to control the operation of each unit of the first processing chamber 16 based on control information supplied from the main control unit 30.

  The second processing chamber 18 includes at least a door driving unit 189, a ventilation unit 188, a heat treatment unit 187, and a control unit 185. Since these configurations are the same as those of the door drive unit 169, the ventilation unit 168, the heat treatment unit 167, and the control unit 165, description thereof is omitted here.

  The transfer robot 22 includes a movement mechanism unit 226, a hand drive unit 224, and a control unit 222. The moving mechanism unit 226 includes at least a mechanism for moving the transfer robot 22 in the horizontal direction and a mechanism for rotating the transfer robot 22. The hand driving unit 224 is configured to perform the lifting / lowering operation of the hand 225, the horizontal movement, the operation rotation, and the gripping / releasing of the workpiece 20. The control unit 222 is configured to control the operation of each unit of the transport robot 22 based on the control information from the main control unit 30.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the contents of control by the main control unit 30. In the substrate processing system 10 according to this embodiment, the main control unit 30 causes the transfer robot 22 to access the first processing chamber 16 or the second processing chamber 18 alternately. Accordingly, here, as shown in FIG. 1, the unloaded workpiece 20 unloading process and the unloaded workpiece 20 unloading process for each stage from the uppermost stage to the lowermost stage of the multistage rack 166 of the first processing chamber 16 are performed. After the completion, the processed workpiece 20 unloading process and the unprocessed workpiece 20 loading process are not performed on each stage from the uppermost stage to the lowermost stage of the multistage rack 186 of the second processing chamber 18, A process for unloading the processed workpiece 20 and a process for loading the unprocessed work 20 into the processing chamber 16, a process for unloading the processed work 20 and a process for loading the unprocessed work 20 into the second processing chamber 18, and Are performed sequentially.

  Specifically, the main control unit 30 causes the transfer robot 22 to take out the unprocessed workpiece 20 of the carry-in unit 12. Next, the main control unit 30 opens the door 162 of the first processing chamber 16 based on the stored information regarding the position and order of loading, and then controls the operation of the transfer robot 22, thereby controlling the multistage rack 166. The processed workpiece 20 is unloaded from the corresponding stage, and the unprocessed work 20 is loaded into the same stage that is empty. Here, the processed workpiece 20 means the workpiece 20 that has passed a predetermined time required for heat treatment after being loaded into the first processing chamber.

  Thereafter, the main control unit 30 causes the transfer robot 22 to discharge the processed work 20 to the carry-out unit 14, moves the transfer robot 22 to the front of the carry-in unit 12, and takes out the unprocessed work 20 from the carry-in unit 12. .

  Subsequently, the main control unit 30 opens the door 182 of the second processing chamber 18 based on the stored information regarding the position and order of loading, and then controls the operation of the transfer robot 22, thereby controlling the multistage rack 186. The processed workpiece 20 is unloaded from the corresponding stage, and the unprocessed work 20 is loaded into the same stage that is empty.

  Thereafter, the main control unit 30 causes the transfer robot 22 to discharge the processed work 20 to the carry-out unit 14, moves the transfer robot 22 to the front of the carry-in unit 12, and takes out the unprocessed work 20 from the carry-in unit 12. .

  Thereafter, such operations are successively performed on the first processing chamber 16 and the second processing chamber 18 so that the multi-stage racks 166 and 186 in the first processing chamber 16 and the second processing chamber 18 are moved to each other. The operations of the transfer robot 22 and the doors 162 and 182 are controlled so that all the supported workpieces 20 are heat-treated for a predetermined time.

  Here, the uppermost stage of the multistage rack 166 → the uppermost stage of the multistage rack 186 → the second stage from the top of the multistage rack 166 → the second stage from the top of the multistage rack 186 → ... → the lowermost stage of the multistage rack 166 → the multistage rack 186 Although an example in which the transfer robot 22 accesses in the order of the lowest level is shown, the access order is not limited to this example.

  FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of the substrate processing system 11 including six processing chambers 17. The substrate processing system 11 includes a carry-in unit 12, a carry-out unit 14, a transfer unit 150, and six processing chambers 17. The basic configuration of the substrate processing system 11 is the same as that of the substrate processing system 10 except that the number of processing chambers 17 is six.

  Also in the substrate processing system 11, the transfer robot 22 is controlled so as to sequentially access the six processing chambers 17 and not to continuously access the same processing chamber 17.

  Also here, the main control unit 30 performs processing for unloading the processed workpiece 20 to one of the six processing chambers 17 based on the stored information regarding the position and order of loading, and the empty stage. The process which carries in the unprocessed workpiece | work 20 in the same stage which became is performed. Thereafter, the main control unit 30 causes the transfer robot 22 to discharge the processed work 20 to the carry-out unit 14, moves the transfer robot 22 to the front of the carry-in unit 12, and takes out the unprocessed work 20 from the carry-in unit 12. . Then, the same operation is performed on the next one of the six processing chambers 17. Thereafter, such operations are sequentially continued for the six processing chambers 17 so that heat treatment for a predetermined time is performed on all the workpieces 20 supported by the multistage racks in the six processing chambers 17. The operations of the transfer robot 22 and the doors 162 and 182 are controlled.

  As described above, when there are two processing chambers, a pair of operations of carrying out the processed workpiece 20 and carrying in the untreated workpiece 20 is performed on the first processing chamber, and then the second processing is performed. A similar pair of operations are performed on the chambers, and thereafter, this operation is repeated alternately between the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber. Further, when six processing chambers are provided in the substrate processing system, the above-described pair of operations are performed in the order of the first to sixth processing chambers, and similar operations are performed thereafter.

  Generalizing this and explaining the case where there are n processing chambers, the main control unit 30 performs a pair of operations of unloading the processed workpiece 20 and loading unprocessed workpiece 20 into the first processing chamber. Followed by a similar operation on the second processing chamber, a similar operation on the n-1 th processing chamber, and a similar processing on the n th processing chamber. The same operation is again performed on the first processing chamber, and thereafter, such operations are successively continued. As a result, the residence time in the chamber can be made the same for all the workpieces 20 regardless of the number of processing chambers.

  In general, as the number of processing chambers in the substrate processing system increases, the exhaust amount and the heater capacity can be further reduced. For example, the substrate processing system 11 shown in FIG. 6 can further reduce the displacement and the heater capacity than the substrate processing system 10 shown in FIG.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, in the substrate processing system 11 in which a plurality of processing chambers are installed, it is possible to average the maximum number of input sheets per unit time by distributing the input order of the workpieces 20. It is possible to suppress the generation amount of sublimate gas per unit time in one processing chamber 17. As a result, the heater capacity can be reduced, and the running cost can be reduced. Furthermore, since it becomes easy to prevent sublimation from adhering to the inside of the processing chamber 17, the maintainability of the processing chamber 17 is improved.

  FIG. 7 shows an overview of the effects of the substrate processing system 10 having n processing chambers. Here, the description will be made on the assumption that the overall throughput of the substrate processing system 10 is the same as that of the conventional substrate processing system. As shown in the figure, in the substrate processing system 10, for each of the first to n-th processing chambers, the input time interval of the workpiece 20 can be increased by n times (n is the number of processing chambers provided in the system). It becomes possible. As a result, it is theoretically possible to suppress the generation amount of sublimation gas generated with the introduction of the workpiece 20 to 1 / n. Further, it is theoretically possible to suppress the ventilation amount necessary for maintaining each of the first to n-th processing chambers to an allowable cleanliness, that is, the exhaust amount, to 1 / n. Therefore, the configuration of the ventilation unit 168 and the ventilation unit 188 can be simplified, and the amount of power consumed in the ventilation unit 168 and the ventilation unit 188 can be reduced.

  Therefore, the heater capacity necessary for keeping the first to n-th processing chambers at the set temperature can be theoretically suppressed to 1 / n, so that the power consumption in the substrate processing system 10 is greatly increased. It becomes possible to reduce.

For example, in the substrate processing system 10 having the first processing chamber 16 or the second processing chamber 18, when the conventional substrate carry-in time interval is extended from 60 seconds to 120 seconds, the generation amount of sublimate gas is reduced to 30 ppm. To 15 ppm. Therefore, when operating the contamination degree as conventional the same criteria in the chamber, so reducing possible to become until the exhaust amount 40 m ³ / min to 20 m ³ / min, 90kw heater capacity to compensate for the exhaust component heat It is theoretically possible to reduce to 45 kw. That is, it is theoretically possible to suppress the power consumption to about half of the conventional one without reducing the throughput.

  Furthermore, in addition to the operations described in the above embodiments, the substrate processing system according to the present invention can perform various operations depending on the configuration of the arm and hand of the transfer robot 22. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the transfer robot 22 takes out the processed workpiece 20 from the processing chamber, and at the same time, carries the operation to carry the gripped unprocessed workpiece 20 into the processing chamber. When a transfer robot that can hold only one workpiece 20 is used, the transfer robot 22 is transferred in the order of unloading the processed workpiece 20 → moving to the unloading unit 14 → moving to the loading unit 12 → loading unprocessed workpiece 20. It is good to operate. In this case, it is preferable to close the door of the processing chamber while the transfer robot 22 is away from the processing chamber.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the transfer robot 22 loads and removes the workpieces 20 one by one in the processing chamber has been described. However, a plurality of transfer robots 22 at a time with respect to the processing chamber (for example, the two most recent sheets). The workpiece 20 may be taken in and out.

  The configuration of the processing chamber used in the substrate processing system of the present invention is not limited to the configuration described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a pivotable small door 40 is provided corresponding to each stage, and a processing chamber configured to open and close each small door 40 by driving a cylinder is used for the substrate processing of the present invention. It can also be applied to the system.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the number of processing chambers provided in the substrate processing system (10, 11) is two or six has been described, but the number of processing chambers may be two or more. It is not limited to examples.

  The above description of the embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10- Substrate processing system 12- Loading part 14- Unloading part 15- Transfer part 16- 1st processing chamber 18- 2nd processing chamber 22- Transfer robot 30- Main control part

Claims (2)

A plurality of processing chambers configured to heat-treat the substrate;
A transfer robot for transferring substrates;
A substrate processing system comprising a controller for controlling the processing chamber and the transfer robot, and configured to perform heat treatment on the substrate,
The processing chamber has a multi-stage rack capable of supporting a substrate on each stage, and a door that can be opened and closed corresponding to a desired stage of the multi-stage rack when the substrate is carried in and out.
The control unit unloads a substrate that has passed a predetermined time after being loaded into one processing chamber from the one processing chamber, and then loads an unprocessed substrate into the one processing chamber. A substrate that has passed a predetermined time after being loaded into one processing chamber is unloaded from the other processing chamber, and an untreated substrate is loaded into the other processing chamber. The transfer robot is configured so that heat treatment for a predetermined time is performed on all the substrates supported by the multistage racks in the plurality of processing chambers by sequentially continuing such operations on the plurality of processing chambers. And a substrate processing system for controlling the operation of the door. A multi-stage rack capable of supporting a substrate on each stage, and a plurality of processing chambers having doors that can be opened and closed corresponding to a desired stage of the multi-stage rack at the time of loading and unloading the substrate;
A substrate processing method that is applied to a substrate processing system configured to perform a heat treatment on a substrate,
The transfer robot unloads a substrate that has passed a predetermined time after being loaded into one processing chamber from the processing chamber, and then loads an unprocessed substrate into the processing chamber. A substrate that has passed a predetermined time after being loaded into the chamber is unloaded from the other processing chamber, and then an unprocessed substrate is loaded into the other processing chamber.
Thereafter, a substrate processing method for performing a heat treatment for a predetermined time on all the substrates supported by the multi-stage rack in the plurality of processing chambers by sequentially continuing such operations for the plurality of processing chambers.

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