JPH0730207U - Substrate storage state detector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To make it possible to easily detect whether or not the substrate is correctly stored in the carrier. A substrate storage state detection device includes a carrier C having a large number of holding grooves 34 for storing a large number of substrates aligned.
Is a device for detecting the substrate storage state of the substrate holder 2
0, a lifting drive device, and an optical sensor. The substrate holder 20 includes a substrate detection unit 31 having a large number of grooves 33b into which the substrates W1 correctly stored in the carrier C are inserted, and a substrate W2 tilted and stored in the carrier C relative to the carrier C. It has the pushing-up part 32 which pushes up. The elevating / lowering drive unit lowers the substrate holder 20 so that the substrate W1 correctly stored in the carrier C enters into the groove 33b. The optical sensor detects whether or not the substrate has entered the groove 33 when the substrate holder 20 is lowered by the lifting drive unit.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a substrate storage state detection device, and more particularly to a substrate storage state detection device for detecting the substrate storage state of a carrier having a plurality of holding grooves for aligning and storing a large number of substrates.

[0002]

[Prior art and its problems]

 For example, in the manufacturing process of semiconductors and liquid crystal display devices, a large number of substrates are stored in a carrier and are collectively transported. In the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate is taken out from the carrier and various kinds of processing are performed on the substrate in a processing unit such as a processing tank. The processed substrate is stored in the carrier again. The substrate transfer between the carrier and the processing unit is performed by a substrate transfer robot having an arm having a large number of holding grooves corresponding to the holding grooves of the carrier.

When the substrate is transferred by the substrate transfer robot, it is necessary to detect the storage state of the substrate in the carrier. For example, if the substrates are obliquely housed in the carrier, the substrates may not be delivered normally, or the substrates may be damaged during delivery. By the way, as a device for detecting the presence / absence of a substrate in a carrier, there is a wafer counter disclosed in JP-A-64-743. This wafer counter has a detection unit having a large number of grooves into which the substrates stored in the carrier enter, and a drive unit that raises and lowers the detection units so that the substrates stored in the carrier enter the grooves of the detection unit. And a substrate detection means for detecting whether or not the substrate has entered the groove of the detection portion.

This wafer counter can detect whether or not a predetermined number of substrates are present in the carrier, but cannot detect a defect that the substrates are obliquely accommodated in the carrier. In other words, it is not possible to detect defects in the substrate storage state, including the problem of diagonal storage. In some cases, the substrate may enter the groove of the detection section at an angle, which may cause new problems such as substrate cracking.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily detect whether or not a substrate is correctly stored in a carrier.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The substrate storage state detection device according to the present invention is a device for detecting the substrate storage state of a carrier having a plurality of holding grooves for aligning and holding a large number of substrates, and includes a detection unit, a drive unit, and a substrate detection unit. It has and. The detection unit has a large number of grooves into which the substrates correctly stored in the carrier enter, and a push-up unit that pushes up the substrates that are tilted and stored in the carrier relative to the carrier. The drive unit raises and lowers the detection unit relative to the carrier so that the substrate correctly accommodated in the carrier enters the groove. The substrate detection means detects whether or not the substrate has entered the groove when the detection unit is moved up and down by the drive unit.

[0007]

[Action]

 In the substrate housed state detecting device according to the present invention, the substrate correctly housed in the carrier is inserted into the groove of the detecting portion and detected by the substrate detecting means. On the other hand, a substrate in a defective state stored in the carrier in an inclined state is pushed up by the pushing-up portion and does not enter the groove, so that it is not detected by the substrate detection means. This makes it possible to detect whether all the substrates in the carrier are properly stored.

[0008]

【Example】

 In FIG. 1, an immersion type substrate processing apparatus 1 to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied includes a loading / unloading section 2 for loading / unloading a carrier C for storing a substrate, a substrate transfer apparatus 3, and A substrate processing tank 4, a drying device 5, and a substrate transfer robot 6 are provided. The substrate processing apparatus 1 also has a plurality of chemical liquid storage containers 7a to 7e. The chemical liquid in each of the containers 7a to 7e is supplied to the substrate processing bath 4 according to a predetermined program.

The loading / unloading section 2 is provided with a substrate storage state detection device 9 for detecting the storage state of the substrate in the loaded carrier C, and a carrier transfer robot 10 for transporting the carrier C. The carrier transfer robot 10 can move up and down and rotate, and can move in the direction indicated by arrow A in FIG. 1 (the device depth direction). The substrate transfer device 3, the substrate processing tank 4, and the drying device 5 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. The substrate transfer robot 6 has a pair of arms 11 for holding the substrate. The substrate transfer robot 6 can be moved in the direction indicated by arrow B (left and right direction of the apparatus) and can be moved up and down. The substrate transfer robot 6 can transfer the substrate between the substrate transfer device 3 and the drying device 5. Further, the substrate processing tank 4 is provided with a substrate holder 12 capable of moving up and down for immersing the substrate in the processing liquid.

As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate storage state detecting device 9 includes first and second substrate holding devices 15 and 16, an elevating table 18 for elevating and lowering by placing two carriers C, and an elevating table. It has a lifting drive device 19 for lifting and lowering 18. The first and second substrate holders 15 and 16 include substrate holders 20 and 21 for holding a large number of substrates, supports 22 and 23 for supporting the substrate holders 20 and 21, respectively, and supports 22 and 23. Is fixed to a frame (not shown) of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The lifting table 18 is provided with a positioning member 45 for positioning the carrier C.

Since the substrate holders 20 and 21 have the same configuration, the substrate holder 20 will be described below. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the substrate holder 20 includes a base frame 30 that is long in the arrangement direction of the substrates W, a substrate detection unit 31 that is arranged in the center of the base frame 30 at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction, It has a substrate pushing-up unit 32 arranged on both sides (both upper and lower sides in FIG. 3) of the substrate detection unit 31. The base frame 30 is fixed to the upper end of the support tool 22.

The substrate pushing-up portion 32 and the substrate detecting portion 31 are comb-teeth shapes in which a rectangular thin plate is erected on the base frame 30, and guide grooves 33a and 33b are formed therein. The guide grooves 33a and 33b are formed at equal intervals with the substrate holding groove 34 formed in the carrier C. The groove width of the guide groove 33a is narrower than the groove width of the guide groove 33b so that the substrate W2 stored obliquely can be surely pushed up, and the upper end of the substrate pushing-up portion 32 is a horizontal plane. .

A transmissive optical sensor 35 for detecting the substrate W1 that has entered the guide groove 33b is disposed in the adjacent substrate detection units 31. Each optical sensor 35 is configured by a pair of a light projecting portion 35T and a light receiving portion 35R facing each other. In one substrate detection unit 31, a light transmitting unit 35T of one optical sensor and a light receiving unit 35R of another optical sensor 35 adjacent thereto are arranged, and as a result, the optical sensors 35 are staggered. It is arranged. The tip portions of the light projecting portion 35T and the light receiving portion 35R are formed of, for example, a side-view type optical fiber.

As shown in FIG. 2, the elevating and lowering drive device 19 has a guide rail 40 arranged vertically in the frame of the substrate processing apparatus 1. A guide portion 41 slidably engaged with the guide rail 40 is provided on the side wall portion 18a of the lifting table 18. A ball nut 42 is provided on the side wall portion 18 a of the lifting table 18.

On the other hand, a frame (not shown) of the substrate processing apparatus 1 supports a ball screw 43 extending in the vertical direction, and its lower end is connected to a motor 44. The ball nut 42 of the lifting table 18 is screwed onto the ball screw 43. As a result, the lifting table 18 can be moved up and down along the guide rail 40 by driving the motor 44.

As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate transfer device 3 includes first and second substrate holding devices 55 and 56, an elevating table 58 for elevating and lowering two cassettes C, and an elevating table. It has a lifting drive device 59 for lifting and lowering 58. The first and second substrate holding devices 55 and 56 respectively hold the holding means 60 and 61 for holding the substrate, the supporting means 62 and 63 for supporting the holding means 60 and 61, and the supporting means 62 and 63 close to each other. , And a moving mechanism 64 for separating them. The moving mechanism 64 moves the substrates W taken out from the two carriers C so as to be held together by the arm 11.

The supporting means 62 and 63 are supported by a fixed frame 65 fixed to a frame (not shown) of the substrate processing apparatus 1 so as to be movable in the left-right direction in FIG. The movement mechanism 64 performs the movement in the left-right direction. The lifting drive device 59 has a guide rail 66 arranged vertically in the frame of the substrate processing apparatus 1. A guide portion 67 slidably engaged with the guide rail 66 is provided on the side wall portion 58c of the lifting table 58. A ball nut 68 is provided on the side wall portion 58a of the lifting table 58.

On the other hand, a ball screw 69 extending in the vertical direction is supported on the frame side (not shown) of the substrate processing apparatus 1, and a motor 70 is connected to the lower end of the ball screw 69. The motor 70 enables the lifting table 58 to move up and down along the guide rail 66. The substrate processing apparatus 1 has a control unit 80 as shown in FIG. The control unit 80 is composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM and RAM. An operation panel 81, a motor 44 of the substrate storage state detection device 9, a carrier transfer robot 10, a substrate transfer robot 6, a substrate transfer device 3, a substrate processing tank 4, and a drying device 5 are connected to the control unit 80. ing. A large number of optical sensors 35 and other input / output units are also connected to the control unit 80.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. When the substrate is placed on the carry-in / carry-out unit 2, the substrate storage state detection device 9 detects the storage state of the substrate W stored in the carrier C. Here, the control unit 80 performs the control shown in FIG. First, in step S1, it is determined whether the carrier C is placed. This judgment is made by input from a sensor (not shown). When the carrier C is placed, the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the motor 44 is driven to lower the lifting table 18. During this descent, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the substrate W1 correctly held in the substrate holding groove 34 is fitted into the guide grooves 33a and 33b, and goes from the light projecting portion 35T to the light receiving portion 35R. Block the light. On the other hand, for example, the substrate W2, which is erroneously stored obliquely in the adjacent holding grooves 34, is pushed up by the substrate pushing-up unit 32 while being placed on the substrate pushing-up unit 32 as shown in FIG. As a result, the light emitted from the light projecting unit 35T is not blocked by the substrate W2 that is obliquely accommodated, and is received by the light receiving unit 35R.

In step S 3, the number and position of the substrates W correctly stored in the carrier C are detected from the detection result of the optical sensor 35. In step S4, the detected number and the preset number are compared. In step S5, it is determined whether the comparison results match. If the comparison results do not match, the process proceeds to step S6 and error processing is executed. Then, in step S7, the lifting table 18 is raised and returned to the original position.

In the error processing, an alarm is given to the operator and the substrate processing operation after step 7 is stopped. If the stored state of the substrate W is normal, the carrier transfer robot 10 holds the carrier C and conveys it to the substrate transfer device 3. When the two carriers C are transferred to the substrate transfer device 3, the elevating table 58 of the substrate transfer device 3 is lowered, and the substrate W is taken out of the carrier C by the substrate holding devices 55 and 56. The substrates W taken out are collectively held by the arm 11 of the substrate transfer robot 6 and transferred to the substrate processing bath 4. In the substrate processing bath 4, the substrate holder 12 receives the transported substrate W and immerses it in the processing bath. Then, a predetermined chemical solution treatment is performed. The substrate W 1 which has been subjected to the chemical treatment is transferred from the substrate holder 12 to the substrate transfer robot 6 and transferred to the drying device 5. In the drying device 5, the substrate W is received and dried. The dried substrate W is conveyed to the substrate transfer device 3 and is stored in the carrier C by the substrate transfer device 3. The carrier C containing the substrate W is returned to the loading / unloading section 2 by the carrier transfer robot 10.

At this stage, the process of FIG. 9 is executed again. As a result, at this stage as well, it is judged whether the stored state of the substrate W in the carrier C is good or bad. [Other Embodiments] Instead of lowering the carrier C, the base frame 30 may be raised.

[0023]

[Effect of device]

 In the substrate housed state detecting device according to the present invention, only the substrate properly housed in the carrier enters into a large number of grooves, and the substrate housed at an angle is pushed up by the push-up section, so that the substrate is properly housed in the carrier. It is possible to easily detect whether or not it is stored.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an immersion type substrate processing apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the substrate storage state detection device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a relationship between a carrier and a substrate holder.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a substrate holder.

5 is an enlarged view taken along line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway side view of the substrate transfer device.

FIG. 8 is a control block diagram of the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a control flowchart of substrate holding state detection processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 9 Substrate Storage State Detecting Device 19 Elevating / Driving Device 20, 21 Substrate Holding Tool 31 Substrate Detecting Section 32 Substrate Pushing Up Section 33b Guide Groove 35 Optical Sensor

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A substrate storage state detecting device for detecting a substrate storage state of a carrier having a plurality of holding grooves for aligning and storing a large number of substrates, wherein the properly stored substrate is inserted into the carrier. A detection unit having a large number of grooves and a push-up unit that pushes up the substrate that is tilted and stored in the carrier relative to the carrier; and the substrate that is correctly stored in the carrier is in the groove. A substrate storage state detection device comprising: a drive unit that raises and lowers the detection unit relative to the carrier so as to enter; and a substrate detection unit that detects whether or not the substrate has entered the groove.