JP6571475B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate transfer method for performing processing using a processing liquid on a substrate. Substrates to be processed by the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate transfer method include, for example, semiconductor substrates, liquid crystal display substrates, plasma display substrates, FED (Field Emission Display) substrates, optical disk substrates, and magnetic disk substrates. , A magneto-optical disk substrate, a photomask substrate, and the like.

  In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device, a substrate processing apparatus that performs processing such as substrate cleaning on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer is used. The substrate processing apparatus includes a processing unit for processing a substrate, a cassette mounting unit for mounting a cassette in which the substrate is stored, and a substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate between the cassette and the processing unit. Yes.

  The cassette includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing, an opening formed in the casing, and a lid member that detachably closes the opening. The substrate processing apparatus further includes a lid opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the lid member of the cassette placed on the cassette placement section. The substrate transport mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus takes out the substrates one by one from the inside of the cassette from which the lid member is removed, transports the substrates to the processing unit, and returns the processed substrates processed by the processing unit to the cassette.

  The substrate transport mechanism includes a mapping mechanism that detects the holding positions of a plurality of substrates in the cassette using an optical sensor (see Patent Document 1). The substrate may be held in an inclined manner in the cassette, or a plurality of substrates may be held in an overlapping manner. In this state, when the hand of the substrate transport mechanism enters the cassette, the hand interferes with the substrate and breaks the substrate. Therefore, the mapping mechanism confirms the holding position of the substrate in the cassette in advance, thereby avoiding interference between the hand and the substrate.

JP 2012-235058 A

  In recent years, a substrate having a special shape may be used in a substrate transfer apparatus. When transporting a specially shaped substrate, the substrate transport mechanism needs to transport the substrate with a different trajectory from that of a normal substrate. That is, it is necessary to use teaching data different from usual for specially shaped substrates. The above-described prior art discloses a technique for correcting teaching data for an indexer robot in consideration of the substrate holding position in the cassette. No consideration is given to whether the substrate can be safely transported in the interior.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transport technique that can safely deposit a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus even if the substrate has a special shape.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 includes a cassette for holding a substrate, substrate holding means for holding the substrate at a reference position inside the cassette, a processing unit for processing the substrate, and the cassette. An indexer robot for unloading the substrate, a delivery area for placing the substrate unloaded from the indexer robot, a center robot for unloading the substrate from the delivery area and loading it into the processing unit, and the substrate held in the cassette Determining means for determining whether or not is held at the reference position and determining the shape of the substrate held in the cassette; and first reference teaching data applied when the indexer robot transports the substrate And second reference teaching data applied when the center robot transports the substrate. And憶部, based on the shape of the substrate determined by the determining means, the first reference teaching data, and a correcting means for correcting said second reference teaching data, by the determination unit, reference shape When it is determined that a substrate having a shape different from that in the cassette is held in the cassette, the correction unit corrects both the first reference teaching data and the second reference teaching data, and determines the determination. When it is determined by the means that the substrate having the reference shape is held at a position different from the reference position, the correction means corrects the first reference teaching data and sets the second reference teaching data. This is a substrate processing apparatus that is not corrected .

The invention according to claim 2 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the substrate is a curved state of the substrate.

  According to the invention described in each claim, the substrate can be safely transported to the processing unit regardless of the shape of the target substrate. For this reason, it becomes possible to improve the substrate conveyance performance of the substrate processing apparatus.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a front view of a cassette C. FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an electrical configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1. FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating board | substrate conveyance control. It is an example of the captured image Im. It is an example of the captured image Im. It is an example of the captured image Im. It is an example of the captured image Im. It is an example of the captured image Im.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the substrate processing apparatus 1 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using FIG. 1 and FIG. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is an internal side view of the substrate processing apparatus 1.
The substrate processing apparatus 1 is a single wafer type apparatus that processes a semiconductor wafer W (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate W”) as an example of a substrate one by one. The substrate processing apparatus 1 generally includes a plurality of cassette mounting tables 2 on which a cassette C in which a plurality of wafers W are stored, a cassette C mounted on the cassette mounting table 2, An indexer area 3 in which an indexer robot IR for carrying in is arranged, a plurality of processing units 4 for performing processing such as cleaning processing and drying processing on the substrate W, and a center robot CR for transporting the substrate W toward the processing unit 4 The disposed processing area 5 and the delivery area 6 for delivering the substrate W between the indexer area 4 and the processing area 5 are provided.

  FIG. 3 is a front view of the cassette C. The cassette C has a housing C2 with an opening C1 formed in the front surface, a support C3 that supports the peripheral edge of the substrate W from the lower surface of the substrate W inside the housing C2, and a lid member C4 (not shown) that closes the opening C1. And have. Since the intervals between the upper and lower support portions C3 are set to a uniform distance C5, a plurality (four in this case) of substrates W are supported at equal intervals C5 inside the housing C2. 2 illustrates the cassette C storing up to four substrates W, but the number of substrates W stored in the cassette C is not limited to four, and may be, for example, 25. The vertical positions of the plurality of substrates W are defined by the support part C3. The vertical positions of the substrates W when the substrates W are normally placed on the support C3 are defined as standard heights h1 to h4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 8 is formed in the partition wall 7 on the side facing the substrate mounting table 2 in the indexer area 3, and the substrate W in the cassette C is carried into the indexer area 3 from this opening 8. . The opening 8 is normally closed by a closing member 9 from the inside of the indexer area 3. The closing member 9 can be moved back and forth in a direction separating from the partition wall 7 (+ X direction) and a direction approaching the partition wall 7 (−X direction) by the opening / closing member 10. When opening the opening 8, the cassette C is first brought into close contact with the partition wall 7. Then, the lid member C4 of the cassette C is fixed to the closing member 9. Next, the opening / closing member 10 moves the closing member 9 in the + X direction, and finally moves downward from the position shown in FIG. Note that a camera 11 for executing an imaging process described later is attached to the upper surface of the closing member 9. The camera 11 photographs the inside of the cassette C when the closing member 9 moves downward, and acquires the holding position of each substrate W and the shape of each substrate W in the cassette C.

  An indexer robot IR is arranged in the indexer area 4. The indexer robot IR has two hands 21 and 22 stacked in the vertical direction for holding the substrate W. The indexer robot IR has an IR advancing / retracting mechanism 23 that moves the hands 21 and 22 individually in the horizontal direction. The indexer robot IR further includes an IR moving mechanism 24 that integrally rotates the hands 21 and 22 and the IR advance / retreat mechanism 23 and moves the hands 21 and 22 in the vertical direction, the X-axis direction, and the Y-axis direction.

  A center robot CR is disposed in the processing area 5. The indexer robot IR has two hands 31 and 32 stacked in the vertical direction for holding the substrate W. The center robot CR has a CR advancing / retracting mechanism 33 for moving the hands 31 and 22 individually in the horizontal direction. The center robot CR further includes a CR moving mechanism 34 that integrally rotates the hands 31 and 32 and the CR advancing / retracting mechanism 33 and moves the hands 31 and 32 in the vertical direction, the X-axis direction, and the Y-axis direction.

  In the delivery area 6, two placement plates 41 and 42 are arranged in the vertical direction. The lower mounting plate 42 is used when the unprocessed substrate W is transferred from the indexer area 3 to the processing area 5. That is, the indexer robot IR picks up an unprocessed substrate W from the cassette C using the lower hand 22 from the cassette C. Then, the substrate W is placed on the lower placement plate 42. The center robot CR picks up the unprocessed substrate W with the lower hand 32. Thereby, delivery of the unprocessed substrate W from the indexer area 3 to the processing area 5 is executed. The center robot CR carries the substrate W held by the lower hand 32 into a desired processing unit 4.

  On the other hand, the upper mounting plate 41 is used when the substrate W processed by the processing unit 4 is returned from the processing area 5 to the indexer area 3. That is, the center robot CR picks up the processed substrate W from the processing unit 4 using the upper hand 31. Next, the substrate W is placed on the upper placement plate 41. The indexer robot IR picks up the processed substrate W with the upper hand 21. Thereby, delivery of the unprocessed substrate W from the indexer area 3 to the processing area 5 is executed. The indexer robot IR carries the substrate W held by the upper hand 31 into a desired (usually original) cassette C.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the electrical configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 50 that controls the substrate processing apparatus 1 and a storage unit 60 that stores various data described below.

  The control unit 60 includes a shape recognition unit 51 that recognizes the arrangement positions and shapes of the plurality of substrates W arranged in the cassette C based on the captured image captured by the camera 11, and a reference arrangement (described later) of the storage unit 60. A determination unit 52 that performs various determinations based on the position data 61, the reference shape data 62, the threshold data 63, and the like, and a reference teaching data 64 (to be described later) in the storage unit 60 that is corrected based on the determination results of the determination unit 52. A data correction unit 53 that outputs the subsequent teaching data 64 (corrected teaching data 65) to the storage unit 60 and a transfer that creates a transfer plan for a plurality of substrates W in the substrate processing apparatus 1 with reference to the determination result by the determination unit 52 A plan unit 54, an IR advance / retreat mechanism 23, an IR movement mechanism 24, a CR advance / retreat mechanism 33, And it controls the R moving mechanism 34 conveyance control unit 55 to perform the transfer of the substrate W, and a city.

  The storage unit 60 stores reference arrangement position data 60, reference substrate shape data 61, threshold data 63, and reference teaching data 64 in advance. The reference arrangement position data 60 is data relating to the arrangement position of the substrate W normally placed in the cassette C. The reference substrate shape data 61 is data relating to the shape of the substrate W generally used in the substrate processing apparatus 1. The threshold data 63 is data relating to deviations from the reference placement position data 60 and the reference substrate shape data 61 that the indexer robot IR and the center robot CR can safely transport the substrate W. The reference teaching data 64 is position coordinate data used as an index by the control unit 50 when the indexer robot IR or the center robot CR transports the substrate W having the reference shape arranged at the reference position.

  The storage unit 60 is also configured to store corrected teaching data 65 generated by a teaching data correction process described later.

  Next, substrate transport control in the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the substrate transfer control. It is assumed that a cassette C storing a plurality of substrates W is placed on the cassette placing table 2, and the opening C1 of the cassette C is closed by a lid member C4. From this state, the control unit 50 controls the opening / closing member 10 to cause the closing member 9 to hold the lid member C4. Next, the closing member 9 is moved in the + X direction to open the opening C1. In this state, the closing member 9 is lowered. When the closing member 9 is lowered, the camera 11 images the inside of the cassette C and acquires a two-dimensional captured image Im inside the cassette C (imaging step S1). The captured image Im is sent to the shape recognition unit 51, and the holding position of each substrate W in the cassette C, the tilt angle with respect to the horizontal plane, the thickness, the contour, the curved state with respect to the Z direction, and the like are recognized.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a standard captured image Im acquired as a result of the imaging step S1 (captured image Im1). In the captured image Im1, the holding positions of the substrates W1 to W4 coincide with the standard heights h1 to h4. Therefore, it can be seen that the substrates W1 to W4 are normally placed on the support C3 (see FIG. 3) described above. The standard heights h1 to h4 are an example of the reference arrangement position data 61 described above.

  On the other hand, the substrate W may not be normally placed on the support C3 of the cassette C. FIG. 7 is an example of a captured image Im captured in this case (captured image Im2). In the captured image Im2, the holding positions of the substrates W1, W3, and W4 stored in the cassette C coincide with the standard heights h1, h3, and h4. However, the second substrate W2 from the top is inclined in the Y direction and deviated from the standard height h2. In the captured image Im3 shown in FIG. 8, the substrate W2 is inclined forward and backward (in the X-axis direction). Although the substrate W2 in FIG. 8 is held at the standard height h2, the apparent thickness increases because the substrate W2 is inclined forward and backward.

  Further, the substrate processing apparatus 1 may use a specially shaped substrate W. FIG. 9 is a captured image Im showing an example of a specially shaped substrate W (captured image Im4). That is, the holding positions of the respective substrates W1 to W4 coincide with the standard heights h1 to h4, but have an upward curved shape. On the other hand, FIG. 10 is a captured image Im showing another example of the specially shaped substrate W (captured image Im5). That is, the holding positions of the substrates W1 to W4 coincide with the standard heights h1 to h4, but have a curved shape downward. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, you may handle the board | substrate W of thickness different from normal as a board | substrate of a special shape.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. After execution of imaging process S1, the determination process demonstrated below and correction | amendment of various teaching data TD are sequentially performed for every board | substrate W using the captured image Im. First, the first determination step S2 is performed. In the first determination step S2, the determination unit 52 determines whether the substrate W acquired by the shape recognition in the imaging step S1 is held at the reference position in the cassette C. For example, when the holding position of the substrate W coincides with any of the standard heights h1 to h4, it is determined as “No” because there is no positional deviation. If it is determined “No” in the first determination step S2, the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10, it is determined whether the determination work for all the substrates W stored in the cassette C has been completed. If it is determined “Yes” in Step S10, the process proceeds to Step S12. If it is determined “No”, the process proceeds to Step S11. In step S11, the determination target substrate W is changed to the next substrate W.

  When it is determined “Yes” in the first determination step S2, the process proceeds to the second determination step S3.

  In the second determination step S <b> 3, the determination unit 52 compares the holding position of the determination target substrate W with the threshold value data 63 to determine whether or not the amount of deviation of the holding position is acceptable. For example, in the first determination step S2, if the determination target substrate W can be carried out from the cassette C by the hands 21 and 22 of the indexer robot IR, it is determined “Yes”.

  In the second determination step S3, the determination unit 52 compares the shape of the determination target substrate W with the threshold data 63 so that the determination target substrate W has a shape that can be transferred by the indexer robot IR. It is also determined whether there is no hindrance to access to the delivery area 6, whether there is no hindrance to the transfer of the substrate W by the center robot CR and the access to the delivery area 6 and the processing unit 4. If any of these is determined to be satisfactory, the determination is “affirmed” and the process proceeds to the third determination step S4. On the other hand, if the second determination step is determined to be “No”, the process proceeds to step S10.

  In the third determination step S4, the determination unit 52 determines whether the determination target substrate W is simply shifted from the reference position and held in the cassette C (see FIGS. 7 and 8) or any special shape (see FIG. 7). 8 and FIG. 9) is determined from the shape recognition result obtained in step S1.

  If it is determined in the third determination step S4 that the determination target substrate W is merely shifted from the reference position and held in the cassette C, the process proceeds to the first TD correction step S5. As described above, the storage unit 60 stores the teaching data when the indexer robot IR accesses the substrate W held at the reference position in the cassette C as the reference teaching data TD64. In the first TD correction step S5, the data correction unit 53 corrects the reference teaching data TD64 based on the deviation amount between the holding position of the substrate W acquired in the imaging step S1 and the reference position, and generates corrected teaching data TD65. To do. Thus, the indexer robot IR can safely carry out the substrate W from the cassette C regardless of the holding position of the determination target substrate W. For example, if the substrate is held at an angle as in the case of the substrate W2 in FIG. 7, the teaching data for the IR advance / retreat mechanism 23 and IR movement mechanism 24 of the indexer robot IR is corrected, and the hand 22 is rotated in the X direction. It is set so that the substrate holding surface of the hand 22 matches the inclination angle of the substrate W2. Alternatively, if it is tilted back and forth like the substrate W2 in FIG. 8, the indexer robot is such that the movement trajectory of the hand 22 relative to the cassette C is different from the normal in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. The teaching data for IR IR advance / retreat mechanism 23 and IR movement mechanism 24 are corrected.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in the fourth determination step S4 that the determination target substrate W is the special shape substrate W, the process proceeds to the second TD correction step S6. In the second TD correction step S6, the data correction unit 53 corrects the reference teaching data 64 when the indexer robot IR accesses the cassette C based on the shape of the substrate W acquired in the imaging step S1, thereby correcting corrected teaching data. 65 is generated. That is, the reference teaching data 64 is corrected according to the amount of deviation of the target substrate W from the reference substrate shape. Thereby, even if the substrate W to be determined has a special shape, the indexer robot IR can safely carry out the substrate W from the cassette C, and can safely carry the substrate W into the cassette C. For example, as in the case of the substrates W1 to W4 in FIGS. 9 and 10, if the hand 22 is curved in the + Z direction, the movement trajectory of the hand 22 with respect to the cassette C is different from the normal in the Z-axis direction. The teaching data 64 for the IR advance / retreat mechanism 23 and IR movement mechanism 24 of the indexer robot IR is corrected.

  Next, the process proceeds to the third TD correction step S7. In the third TD correction step S7, the data correction unit 53 corrects the reference teaching data TD64 when the indexer robot IR accesses the delivery area 6 based on the shape of the substrate W acquired in the imaging step S1, and corrects teaching. Data TD65 is generated. Thus, even if the determination target substrate W has a special shape, the indexer robot IR can safely place the substrate W on the placement plate 42 in the delivery area 6, and can safely place the substrate W from the placement position 41. The substrate can be taken out. For example, as in the case of the substrates W1 to W4 in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the movement trajectory of the hands 21 and 22 with respect to the delivery area 6 is different from the normal in the Z-axis direction. Thus, the teaching data 64 for the IR advance / retreat mechanism 23 and IR movement mechanism 24 of the indexer robot IR is corrected.

  Next, the process proceeds to the fourth TD correction step S8. In the fourth TD correction step S8, the data correction unit 53 corrects the reference teaching data TD64 when the center robot CR accesses the delivery area 6 based on the shape of the substrate W acquired in the imaging step S1, and corrects teaching. Data TD65 is generated. Thereby, even if the determination target substrate W has a special shape, the center robot CR can safely carry out the substrate W from the mounting plate 42 in the delivery area 6, and the substrate W can be safely transferred to the mounting position 41. Can be placed. For example, as in the case of the substrates W1 to W4 in FIGS. 9 and 10, the movement trajectory of the hands 31 and 32 with respect to the cassette C is different from the normal in the Z-axis direction. Then, the teaching data 64 for the CR advance / retreat mechanism 33 and the CR movement mechanism 34 of the center robot CR is corrected.

  Next, the process proceeds to the fifth TD correction step S9. In the fifth TD correction step S9, the data correction unit 53 corrects the reference teaching data TD64 when the center robot CR accesses the processing unit 4 based on the shape of the substrate W acquired in the imaging step S1, and corrects teaching. Data TD65 is generated. Thereby, even if the substrate W to be determined has a special shape, the center robot CR can safely carry in the processing unit 4 and can safely carry out the processed substrate W from the processing unit 4. For example, as in the case of the substrates W1 to W4 in FIGS. 9 and 10, the movement trajectory of the hands 31 and 32 with respect to the processing unit 4 is different from the normal in the Z-axis direction. As described above, the teaching data 64 for the CR advance / retreat mechanism 33 and the CR movement mechanism 34 of the center robot CR is corrected.

  When the above-described steps S1 to S11 are executed for all the substrates W (determined as “Yes” in step S10), the process proceeds to the transfer planning step S12. In the transfer planning step S12, the transfer planning unit 54 sends, to the processing unit 4, each of the substrates W stored in the cassette C other than the substrate W determined as “unacceptable” in the second determination step S3. A substrate transfer plan for transferring the processed substrate W to the cassette C again is created.

  Next, it transfers to board | substrate conveyance process S13. In the substrate transfer step S13, the transfer control unit 55 controls the IR advance / retreat mechanism 23, the IR move mechanism 24, the CR advance / retreat mechanism 33, the CR move mechanism 34, and the like according to the substrate transfer plan created by the transfer plan unit 54, and cassette cassette All the substrates W stored in C are sequentially transferred. At this time, corrected teaching data 65 corresponding to the substrate W to be transported is read from the storage unit 60 and dynamically applied to the transport control unit 55. As a result, the transfer control unit 55 can control the IR advance / retreat mechanism 23 and the like according to the corrected teaching data 65 created according to the shape and the like of each substrate W. For this reason, the conveyance control unit 55 can safely convey the substrate W regardless of the shape of the substrate W or the like.

  In the above-described embodiment, the bending amount of the substrate W is acquired for each substrate W, and the corrected teaching data 65 is created for each substrate W according to the bending amount. However, when there are multiple types of typical substrate shapes, correction teaching data 65 is stored in advance in the storage unit 60 for each of these typical substrate shapes, and to which shape the substrate to be transported belongs. These teaching data 65 may be switched and applied to the transport control unit 55 while judging the above.

  In the above-described embodiment, the substrate shape in the cassette C is acquired by taking an image with the camera 11. However, the shape of each substrate is input to the control unit 50 using an appropriate input means such as a keyboard / mouse. Also good.

  The present invention can be effectively used for transporting a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 2 Cassette mounting base 3 Indexer area 4 Processing unit 5 Processing area 5 Indexer area 6 Delivery area 10 Opening / closing member 11 Camera 21 Hand 22 Hand 23 IR advance / retreat mechanism 24 IR movement mechanism 31 Hand 32 Hand 33 CR advance / retreat mechanism 34 CR Movement mechanism 50 Control unit 51 Shape recognition unit 52 Determination unit 53 Data correction unit 54 Transfer plan unit 55 Transfer control unit 60 Storage unit 61 Reference placement position data 62 Reference board shape data 63 Threshold data 64 Reference teaching data 65 Correction teaching data W Substrate C Cassette CR Center robot IR Indexer robot

Claims (2)

A cassette for holding a substrate;
Substrate holding means for holding the substrate at a reference position inside the cassette;
A processing unit for processing the substrate;
An indexer robot for unloading the substrate from the cassette;
A delivery area for placing the substrate unloaded from the indexer robot;
A center robot that unloads the substrate from the delivery area and loads it into the processing unit;
Determining means for determining whether or not the substrate held in the cassette is held in the reference position, and determining a shape of the substrate held in the cassette;
A storage unit for storing first reference teaching data applied when the indexer robot transports a substrate and second reference teaching data applied when the center robot transports a substrate;
Correction means for correcting the first reference teaching data and the second reference teaching data based on the shape of the substrate determined by the determination means ;
With
When it is determined by the determining means that a substrate having a shape different from the reference shape is held in the cassette, the correcting means is configured to store the first reference teaching data and the second reference teaching data. Correct both
When the determination unit determines that the substrate having the reference shape is held at a position different from the reference position, the correction unit corrects the first reference teaching data, and the second reference teaching is performed. Do not correct the data,
Substrate processing equipment. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a shape of the substrate is a curved state of the substrate.

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