JPH1116814A - Substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing device capable of reducing the height of the entire device. SOLUTION: With the device supported on a pillar 50, there exists a spacing S between the lower surface of the device and a floor surface G. A holding cabinet 49 is protruded from a bottom pat of a cabinet 40 below the lower surface of the device. In other words, so protruded that the lower end of the holding cabinet 49 is present in the spacing S. With a chemical bottle 46 housed in the holding cabinet 49, a space between the lower surface of the device and the floor surface G is effectively used, while the altitude of the chemical bottle 46 is lower than before, as the height of the cabinet 40 is reduced. As a result, the height of the entire device is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing various processes such as a chemical solution process for applying a chemical solution to a thin substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a "substrate") such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal glass substrate. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, generally, the above substrate is
Various processes such as resist coating, exposure, development, and associated heat treatment have been sequentially performed to perform desired substrate processing.

[0003] Among these various processes, a resist coating process,
For processing using a chemical solution such as development processing, a chemical solution bottle that is a means for supplying the chemical solution, a feed pump, and the like are stored in a storage space provided at a lower part of the substrate processing apparatus main body,
The drug solution was supplied from there.

[0004]

In recent years, as the diameter of a substrate increases, the footprint of the substrate processing apparatus (the area occupied by the substrate processing apparatus in a plane) has been increased.
Tend to increase. In view of the above, the processing units of the substrate, which are conventionally arranged in a plane, are stacked and arranged, thereby suppressing an increase in the footprint of the apparatus.

However, it is not very preferable that the overall height of the apparatus becomes too high due to the lamination of the substrate processing units from the viewpoint of substrate transportation and transportation of the apparatus itself.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of reducing the height of the entire apparatus.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate wherein a lower surface of the apparatus is supported at a predetermined distance from the floor surface by a column standing upright on the floor surface. In the processing apparatus, (a) provided above the lower surface of the apparatus, a chemical processing section that performs a chemical processing by applying a chemical to the substrate, (b) provided below the chemical processing section, the chemical A storage unit for storing a chemical liquid supply unit for supplying a chemical liquid to the processing unit, wherein a part of the storage unit is protruded below the lower surface of the apparatus to form a projecting storage unit, and A part of the supply means is stored in the protruding storage section.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, (b)
-1) a chemical solution container for storing a chemical solution, and (b-2) a chemical solution feeding means for feeding a chemical solution from the chemical solution container to the chemical solution processing section, and the chemical solution container is provided in the projecting storage section. It is stored.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the chemical solution supply means is disposed at an upper portion in the storage section.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sliding member capable of sliding the chemical solution feeding means in a horizontal direction toward an end face of the apparatus. Is provided in the storage section.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the overall configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be briefly described. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a planar arrangement of the substrate processing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the substrate processing apparatus. 1 to 5 are given an XYZ rectangular coordinate system in order to clarify the directional relationship. Here, the horizontal plane parallel to the floor is defined as the XY plane, and the vertical direction is defined as Z.
Direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an indexer ID, a heat treatment section 10, a transport path 20, and a chemical processing section 30.

The indexer ID has a cassette on which a plurality of substrates are stored, and has a function of paying out unprocessed substrates to a processing unit and storing processed substrates.

The heat treatment unit 10 includes a hot plate for performing a heating process and a cool plate for performing a cooling process. The chemical solution processing unit 30 supplies a chemical solution such as a developing solution or a resist solution to the substrate to provide a predetermined solution. And a resist coating unit for performing a chemical liquid process.

The transfer path 20 is provided between the heat treatment section 10 and the chemical processing section 30, and a transfer robot (not shown) for transferring a substrate is disposed in the transfer path 20. The transfer robot can transfer the substrate to and from the indexer ID, and can carry the substrate in and out of the heat treatment section 10 and the chemical solution processing section 30, and circulates and transports the substrate according to a predetermined processing procedure.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower surface of the substrate processing apparatus is supported by columns 50 at a predetermined distance from the floor G. The support by the columns 50 is for convenience and height adjustment when transporting the apparatus. Here, the “lower surface of the device” means the lower surface of the device main body defined by a frame F of the device described later. A cabinet 40 is provided below the chemical processing section 30. The cabinet 40 accommodates a chemical supply unit for supplying a chemical used in the chemical processing unit 30.

Next, the arrangement of the chemical supply means will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the chemical solution supply means accommodated in the cabinet 40 as viewed from the front (as viewed in the direction of (+ Y)), and FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the chemical solution supply means as viewed from the side ((+
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram (as viewed in a direction X).

The chemical supply means is mainly composed of a chemical container for storing the chemical and a chemical supply means for supplying the chemical to the chemical processing section. In the present embodiment, the drug solution bottle 46 functions as a drug solution container, and the drug solution pump 45 and the filter 44 play a role as drug solution feeding means.

An accurate slider 41 is fixed to the upper part of the side wall of the cabinet 40, and a slide member 43 is slidably attached to the accurate slider 41 in the Y direction. Further, an L-shaped slider cover 42 is fixedly provided on the wall surface of the cabinet 40 so as to surround the side of the accurate slider 41. The slide member 43 includes a chemical liquid pump 45 and a filter 4.
4 are fixed. Therefore, the chemical pump 45 and the filter 44 are configured to be movable in the Y direction with respect to the cabinet 40. FIG. 4 does not show the slider cover 42 for convenience of illustration.

On the other hand, the chemical solution bottle 46 is housed in a holding cabinet 49 provided to project downward from the bottom of the cabinet 40.

Here, the main body of the substrate processing apparatus is supported by supporting columns 50 composed of bolts to a frame F of the main body of the apparatus. The space is present between the lower surface of the device and the floor G by the device being supported by the columns 50. The holding cabinet 49 is located below the lower surface of the apparatus from the bottom of the cabinet 40,
That is, the lower end of the holding cabinet 49 is protruded so as to exist at the interval S.

Therefore, by accommodating the chemical bottle 46 in the holding cabinet 49, the space between the lower surface of the apparatus and the floor surface G can be effectively utilized, and the height position of the chemical bottle 46 can be reduced. And the height of the cabinet 40 can also be reduced. As a result, the height of the entire device can be reduced.

The chemical stored in the chemical bottle 46 is pumped up by the chemical pump 45 and
The liquid is supplied to the chemical processing unit 30 via the control unit 4. Liquid medicine bottle 46,
Chemical pump 45, filter 44, and chemical processing unit 30
Are connected by pipes such as tubes, respectively. Conventionally, the chemical solution container and the chemical solution supply means are placed on a tray provided at the bottom of the cabinet 40. It was necessary to route the pipe connecting the means to the vicinity of the lower part of the apparatus.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a chemical solution feeding means such as a chemical solution pump 45 and a filter 44 is disposed in the upper part of the cabinet 40. Chemical treatment section 3
0 (see FIG. 4). Therefore, the piping connecting the chemical solution processing section 30 and the chemical solution supply means can be shortened, and the maintainability is improved.

Further, the operator of the apparatus performs maintenance of the chemical solution supply means from the front of the apparatus (from the side of the chemical solution processing section 30). In the present embodiment, an accuride slider 41 is fixed to the side wall of the cabinet 40. And the drug solution bottle 46
Is taken out, the chemical liquid supply means such as the chemical liquid pump 45 and the filter 44 is easily horizontally moved to the front of the apparatus ((-Y)).
Can be easily moved), so that the maintenance of the chemical solution supply means can be easily performed.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above example. For example, as shown in FIG.
May be projected from the vertical direction. With this configuration, the liquid medicine bottle 46 can be held in an inclined state in accordance with the degree of inclination of the holding cabinet 49, so that the height of the liquid medicine bottle 46 in the vertical direction is reduced, and as a result, the device The overall height can be further reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, if the upper portion of the chemical bottle 46 is inclined toward the front of the apparatus, the chemical bottle 46 can be easily taken out when replacing the chemical bottle 46, so that the workability is improved. improves. Furthermore, if the chemical is pumped while the chemical bottle 46 is inclined, the chemical can be used without waste even if the remaining amount of the chemical in the bottle is reduced.

[0029]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, a part of the chemical solution supply means is stored in the projecting storage portion provided below the lower surface of the apparatus. As a result, the space between the lower surface of the device and the floor surface can be effectively used, and the height of the storage portion for storing the chemical solution supply means can be reduced. The height can also be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the chemical solution supply means is disposed in the upper portion of the storage section, the piping connecting the chemical solution treatment section and the chemical solution supply means can be shortened, and the maintenance property can be improved. Also improve.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the chemical supply means is provided with the sliding member which can slide in the horizontal direction toward the end face of the apparatus, the maintenance of the chemical supply means is performed. Can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a chemical solution supply unit housed in the cabinet of FIG. 2 as viewed from the front.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a chemical solution supply unit housed in the cabinet of FIG. 2 as viewed from a side.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state in which the holding cabinet is projected from the vertical direction while being inclined.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 Chemical solution processing unit 40 Cabinet 41 Accurate slider 44 Filter 45 Chemical solution pump 46 Chemical solution bottle 49 Hold cabinet 50 Column

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus in which a lower surface of an apparatus is supported at a predetermined distance from the floor surface by a column erected on a floor surface, (a) provided above the lower surface of the apparatus; (B) a storage unit that is provided below the chemical processing unit and that stores a chemical supply unit for supplying a chemical to the chemical processing unit; A part of the storage part is protruded below the lower surface of the device to form a protruding storage part, and a part of the chemical solution supply unit is stored in the protruding storage part. A substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the chemical solution supply means comprises: (b-1) a chemical solution container for storing a chemical solution; and (b-2) a chemical solution from the chemical solution container to the chemical solution processing section. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a chemical solution feeding means for feeding; and storing the chemical solution container in the projecting storage portion. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said chemical solution supply means is disposed at an upper portion in said storage section. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a slide member capable of horizontally sliding the chemical solution feeding means toward an end face of the apparatus is provided in the storage section. Substrate processing apparatus.