JPH1145926A - Substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing device with which the processing time is shortened. SOLUTION: In this device, a transportation robot circulates/moves among a plurality of processing parts to process a plurality of lots L(1)-L(2) corresponding to different recipes R(1)-R(n) in turn. And, before a process for a last substrate of the preceding lot is completed, a process for a first substrate of the following lot is started. In this case, total processing times TT(1)-TT(n!) required for the process are calculated for all patterns P(1)-P(n!) of processing order of a waiting lot for processing before the process is started. And, a pattern relating to the time of a minimum value out of these total processing times is decided as a real processing order of the lot. As a result, the processing time is shortened in consideration of all the lots waiting process.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate for manufacturing semiconductor devices and a glass substrate for manufacturing liquid crystal displays (hereinafter referred to as "substrate") which are sequentially transferred to a plurality of processing units. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs a plurality of processes on a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a substrate processing apparatus for sequentially performing a series of several types of processing on a substrate, there is an apparatus provided with a plurality of processing units for each processing content. In such a substrate processing apparatus, even if a substrate is to be subjected to a series of different processes, the substrate is transported to a required processing unit among a plurality of processing units, and an appropriate process is performed.

For example, a first processing unit, a second processing unit,
A processing unit and a third processing unit are provided, and a certain substrate is transported to the first processing unit and then to the second processing unit for processing, and another substrate is processed to the second processing unit and the third processing unit. , And can be subjected to different processing.

In such a substrate processing apparatus, when there are a plurality of substrates to be subjected to the same processing in order to improve the throughput, the processing of the next substrate is completed after a series of processing of one substrate is completed. Instead of starting the process, a method of starting the processing of the substrate one after another is adopted. That is,
The transfer robot is circulated as appropriate between the plurality of processing units,
In each processing unit, a method is used in which a substrate is taken out from a processing unit in a previous process after the substrate is taken out, and the taken out substrate is transported to a processing unit in the next process. Thus, the processing of the substrate in each processing unit is performed simultaneously.

However, if the contents of a series of processing of a substrate to be processed first and the contents of a series of processing of a substrate to be processed next are different, such an operation becomes impossible.

For example, the substrate on which the processing is started first is the first
When the processing unit and the second processing unit are substrates to be sequentially processed, and the substrate to be processed later is a substrate to be sequentially processed by the second processing unit and the third processing unit. In
First, the previous substrate is put into the first processing unit by the circulating movement of the transfer robot, and the previous substrate is put into the second processing unit by the next circulating movement of the transfer robot. It is necessary to put it in the department. Of course, such a transport operation is impossible.

Therefore, a transport method that solves such a problem and does not reduce the throughput as much as possible is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-153765 filed by the applicant of the present invention. In this substrate transfer method, the processing of the subsequent substrate is started before the series of processing of the previous substrate is completed, but the subsequent substrate processing is performed so that no problem occurs between the transfer of the previous substrate and the transfer of the subsequent substrate. The start of substrate processing is delayed.

[0008]

As described above, in a substrate processing apparatus provided with a plurality of processing units, the processing procedure differs between a substrate whose processing is started first and a substrate whose processing is started later. Thus, the processing time is reduced. That is, the processing time is shortened by focusing only on the relationship between the substrate on which the processing is started and the substrate on which the processing is started immediately before.

However, there is a case where the degree of freedom may be given to the order of processing performed on the substrate which is carried into the substrate processing apparatus and is waiting for the processing to be started by the indexer unit or the like. In such a case, it is conceivable to further reduce the processing time in consideration of the processing procedure of all the substrates waiting to be processed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in a substrate processing apparatus provided with a plurality of processing units, the processing time is further reduced based on the processing procedure to be performed on all the substrates waiting to start processing, and the throughput is improved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of performing the above.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for sequentially processing a plurality of substrate groups having different processing procedures for each substrate group, comprising: a plurality of processing units for processing a substrate; Transport means for transporting a substrate to a required processing unit among the plurality of processing units according to the processing procedure while circulating between the plurality of processing units; and Transport control means for starting the processing of the first substrate of the succeeding substrate group which is subsequently processed before the processing is completed, and the plurality of substrate groups so that the time required for processing the plurality of substrate groups is minimized. And a processing order determining means for determining the processing order in advance.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the processing order determining unit determines the plurality of substrate groups for each of all patterns in the processing order of the plurality of substrate groups. The total processing time required to perform the above processing is calculated, and the pattern that minimizes the total processing time among all the patterns is determined as the actual processing order.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, when a new substrate group is added after the processing of the substrate is started, the processing order determining means includes: The processing order of a plurality of substrate groups waiting for processing including the new substrate group is determined again.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the transfer control means performs processing of the preceding substrate group for each of the plurality of processing units. The difference between the order in the order and the order in the processing procedure of the subsequent substrate group is obtained, the largest one of the differences is obtained as the order difference, and the number of processing units that the substrate passes through in the processing procedure of the preceding substrate group. Obtain the difference between the number of processing units through which the substrate passes in the processing procedure of the subsequent substrate group as a position number difference, and use the larger value of the order difference and the position number difference as a processing start wait cycle number. The processing of the first substrate of the succeeding substrate group is started after the transfer means circulates for the number of processing start waiting cycles from the start of processing of the last substrate of the preceding substrate group.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the transporting means includes a circulating movement time unique to a processing procedure of the group of substrates being processed. Circular moves according to the largest.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

<1. Description of Operation of Substrate Processing Apparatus> FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an indexer unit 2 on which a substrate loaded from the outside is placed, a processing unit 3 having a plurality of processing units for processing the substrate, and a transport robot 4 for transporting the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a transfer control unit 11 that controls the operation of the transfer robot 4 and a processing order determination unit 12 that determines the start order of processing the substrates.

In the indexer unit 2, a plurality of substrates are placed in a carrier in a state of being accommodated in the carrier, and when the substrates are carried in and out of the apparatus, the substrates are carried out together with the carriers. In addition, the indexer unit 2 can transfer the substrates one by one from the carrier to the transfer robot 4, and can also store the substrate at a predetermined position of the carrier received from the transfer robot 4. I have.

The processing unit 3 has a plurality of processing units according to the type of processing performed on the substrate.
Then, first and second spin scrubber units 31 and 32 for performing a cleaning process on the substrate surface, first and second heat treatment units 33 and 34 for performing a heat treatment on the substrate, and a first unit for cooling the substrate are provided.
And second cooling units 35 and 36. The first and second spin scrubber units 31 and 32 are arranged so as to face other processing units with the transport path 5 interposed therebetween.
However, the first and second heat treatment sections 33 and 34 are actually disposed so as to overlap the first and second cooling sections 35 and 36.

The transfer robot 4 moves along the transfer path 5 while holding the substrate as shown by an arrow 4M. The transfer robot 4 transfers the substrate to and from the indexer unit 2, and
The loading and unloading of substrates from and to each processing unit is also performed. That is, the transfer robot 4 includes the indexer unit 2, the first and second spin scrubber units 31 and 32, the first and second heat treatment units 33 and 34, and the first and second cooling units 35 and 36 (hereinafter collectively referred to as these). The substrate is transported while being appropriately circulated between the “processing units”.

The transfer robot 4 is provided with two hands for holding the substrate. In each processing unit, etc., after one hand takes out (receives) the substrate, the other hand on the other hand that has been transferred. A substrate can be loaded (handed over).

The transfer control unit 11 controls the transfer operation of the transfer robot 4. The transfer robot 4 receives the substrates from the indexer unit 2 in the order determined by the processing order determination unit 12 and sends the substrates to the required processing units. The transfer is controlled.

The above is the outline of the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1. Next, a series of processes performed by the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described. In the following description, a processing procedure that is a series of processing performed on a substrate is referred to as a “recipe”, a group of one or more substrates is referred to as a “lot”, and one lot is referred to as a “lot”. In the case of a set of a plurality of substrates, it is assumed that the same recipe is processed for all of these substrates. Further, the lot is not necessarily different for each carrier, and a plurality of lots may be accommodated in one carrier.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the transfer order of the substrates in each of the first to third lots. That is, the drawing corresponds to the recipe of each lot.

As shown in FIG. 2A, after the substrate of the first lot is taken out from the indexer section 2, the first heat treatment section 3
3, the first cooling unit 35, and the first spin scrubber unit 31
, And are sequentially subjected to a heating process, a cooling process, and a cleaning process. Thereafter, the substrate is passed to the indexer unit 2 and collected.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 2B, the substrate of the second lot is moved from the indexer unit 2 to the first spin scrubber unit 3.
1, a cleaning process, a heating process, and a cooling process are performed via the second heat treatment unit 34 and the second cooling unit 36, and are collected in the indexer unit 2. As shown in FIG. 2C, the heat treatment, the cooling treatment, and the cleaning treatment are performed from the indexer unit 2 via the second heat treatment unit 34, the second cooling unit 36, and the second spin scrubber unit 32. The indexer unit 2 collects the data.

Next, the state of processing of the substrate when the substrate is carried into the indexer unit 2 and set in the order of the first lot, the second lot, and the third lot will be described with reference to the conventional substrate processing apparatus and the substrate according to the present invention. The description will be made in comparison with the processing apparatus 1. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a conventional substrate processing apparatus.
The same components as those of the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

The conventional substrate processing apparatus has a configuration in which the processing order determining unit 12 is removed from the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. Therefore, the substrates are sequentially processed in accordance with the order in which they are loaded into the indexer unit 2 or a predetermined order (such as a lot number) which does not aim to shorten the processing time. For example, when the substrates are loaded into the indexer unit 2 and set in the order of the first lot, the second lot, and the third lot, the substrates are processed in this order. On the other hand, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention determines in advance in which order these lots should be processed to minimize the processing time, and processes the substrates in the determined order. It is going to go.

In the following, as an explanation of the operation of the conventional substrate processing apparatus, first, an operation when sequentially processing a plurality of substrates in the same lot will be described. The operation when the operation is performed will be described.

When there are a plurality of substrates to be processed by the same recipe, that is, when there are a plurality of substrates in one lot, while the transfer robot 4 circulates between the processing sections and the like, the Is transported from each processing unit to the next processing unit. Note that such a transfer operation is the same in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Specifically, a state of movement of three substrates in the first lot is illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows how three substrates move while being transported between processing units and the like with the passage of time.
Three solid lines, and the direction of movement of the substrate is appropriately indicated by arrows. Of these lines, a portion extending in the horizontal direction (time axis direction) indicates a state in which the substrate is present inside each processing unit, and a portion extending in the vertical direction indicates a state in which the substrate is being conveyed. ing. This drawing method is the same in FIGS. 4 to 7 below.

In FIG. 3, after each substrate is taken out from the indexer section 2, it is recovered to the indexer section 2 via the first heat treatment section 33, the first cooling section 35, and the first spin scrubber section 31 in this order. Go to Then, one movement from each processing unit to the next processing unit is performed during a time Tc100 indicated by a hatched band in FIG. That is, the transfer robot 4 transfers the substrate while circulating and moving between required processing units and the like during the time Tc100.

Here, the time from the start of one circulating movement of the transport robot 4 to the start of the next circulating movement (reference T in FIG. 3)
100) is referred to as “cycle time”. The “cycle time” determines the throughput of the substrate processing apparatus because one substrate is taken out of the indexer unit 2 during one circulation movement, and a substrate that has been processed is collected in the indexer unit 2. It is an important factor. In the following example, as shown in FIG. 3, the time Tc100 required for carrying the substrate is the cycle time T100.
The description will be made assuming that it is sufficiently smaller than.

As shown in FIG. 3, when substrates in the same lot are continuously taken out from the indexer unit 2, one substrate is taken out for each circulation movement of the transfer robot 4. Thereafter, the substrate is transported from each processing unit or the like to the next processing unit or the like for each circulation movement. That is,
The transport robot 4 removes (receives) a substrate from each processing unit and the like while circulating the processing unit and the like, and then inputs (hands over) the substrate from the processing unit and the like in the previous process, and transfers the removed substrate to the next process. The operation of transporting to the processing unit or the like is performed. As a result, the processing is performed in each processing unit simultaneously.

Next, a case where the first substrate of the second lot is taken out of the indexer unit 2 after the last substrate of the first lot is taken out of the indexer unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 to 7 used in the following description show only the movement of the substrate necessary for the description, and the movement of the other substrates is omitted.

When processing of the second lot is started following the first lot, the last substrate of the first lot is stored in the indexer unit 2.
Circulation movement C1 of the transfer robot 4 taken out from the container
Attempting to take out the first substrate of the second lot in the circulation movement C12 following the 1 (circulation movement performed at the time indicated by the symbol C11) causes interference of the substrates and makes the transfer impossible. In FIG. 4, a solid line 111 indicates a state of movement of the last substrate of the first lot, and a solid line 112 indicates a state of movement of the second to last substrate of the first lot. As shown by a broken line 113 in the figure, when the first substrate of the second lot is taken out in the next circular movement C12 in which the last substrate of the first lot is taken out from the indexer unit 2, the second last substrate of the first lot is taken out. And the introduction of the first substrate of the second lot into the first spin scrubber unit 31 is overlapped (indicated by the symbol X in the figure). Therefore, the substrate of the second lot cannot be removed from the indexer unit 2 by the circulating movement C12.

Therefore, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, the circulating movement C13 in which a series of processing of the last substrate of the first lot is completed.
Unloading of the first substrate of the second lot from the indexer unit 2 until the next circulating movement C14 (processing of the second lot starts)
(Indicated by a broken line 114 in FIG. 4).
In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 153765 (hereinafter, this technology for optimizing the waiting time for taking out substrates between different lots before and after is referred to as “succeeding lot processing start waiting optimizing technology”), The start of the processing of the second lot is delayed so that a problem such as interference with the first substrate of the second lot does not occur.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the first substrate of the second lot is placed next to the circulating movement C11 in which the last substrate of the first lot is taken out from the indexer unit 2 by using the subsequent lot processing start waiting optimization technology. Is taken out from the indexer unit 2 in a circulation movement C13 two times after the circulation movement C12 (shown by a dashed line 115). That is, the start of the processing of the second lot is made to wait for two circulation movements as indicated by reference numeral D1. Hereinafter, the number of times of the circulating movement that delays the start of the processing is referred to as “the number of processing start waiting cycles”.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state where the third lot is processed following the second lot. A chain line 211 indicates the state of the movement of the last substrate of the second lot, and a broken line 212 indicates the third lot from the circulation movement C25 next to the circulation movement C24 in which a series of processing of the last substrate of the second lot is completed. 2 shows a state of movement of the substrate when the processing of the first substrate is started.

When the subsequent lot processing start waiting optimization technique is used, as indicated by a two-dot chain line 213, the next circulation movement of the circulation movement C21 in which the last substrate of the second lot is taken out from the indexer unit 2 is performed. The processing of the third lot is started from the circulation movement C23 one time after C22. That is, the processing start waiting of the third lot is performed only for the time indicated by reference sign D2, and the number of processing start waiting cycles is one.

As described above, when the substrates of the first to third lots are processed in the order of the first lot, the second lot, and the third lot, the process between the first lot and the second lot is performed. At least the number of processing start wait cycles needs to be 2, and the number of processing start wait cycles must be at least 1 between the second lot and the third lot. Must be at least 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation when the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention handles the first to third lots.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention, when the first to third lots are carried into the indexer unit 2, the processing order of these lots is determined by the processing order determining unit 12 (see FIG. 1). You. Although the details of the specific determination method will be described later, in the case of the example of three lots shown in FIG. 2, the processing order is determined in the order of the first lot, the third lot, and the second lot. The transfer control unit 11 (see FIG. 1) controls the operation of the transfer robot 4 and the like in accordance with this order.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the state of movement of the substrate when the substrate processing apparatus 1 starts processing the third lot following the first lot. A solid line 311 indicates the movement of the last substrate of the first lot, and a two-dot chain line 312 indicates the movement of the third substrate.
This shows the movement of the first substrate of the lot. The movement of the other substrates is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the first substrate of the third lot is moved to the indexer unit by the circulation movement C32 following the circulation movement C31 in which the last substrate of the first lot is taken out from the indexer unit 2. Take out from 2. However, there is nothing in common between the processing unit that the first lot of substrates goes through and the processing unit that the third lot of substrates goes through.
There is no problem such as interference between the substrates. That is, the third
When starting the processing of the lot, the number of processing start waiting cycles can be set to zero.

The start of the processing of the third lot in the circulation movement C32 is determined by using the above-described subsequent lot processing start waiting optimization technology (the same applies to FIG. 7). In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the transfer control unit 11 performs the process of optimizing the process start waiting of the subsequent lot together with the control of the transfer robot 4. Also, in the processing order determination processing to be described later, since the calculation is performed assuming that the substrate is processed according to the operation of the transfer control unit 11, the subsequent lot processing start waiting optimization technology is used.

FIG. 7 shows how the substrate is moved when the processing of the second lot is started following the third lot. A two-dot chain line 411 indicates the movement of the last substrate of the third lot,
A chain line 412 indicates the movement of the first substrate of the second lot. As shown in FIG. 7, also in this case, the circulating movement C4 in which the last substrate of the third lot is taken out from the indexer unit 2
Even if the operation of taking out the first substrate of the second lot from the indexer unit 2 in the circulation movement C42 after the first, there is no problem that the substrates interfere with each other. That is, the number of waiting cycles for processing start can be set to zero.

As described above, the first lot, the third lot,
By determining the processing order in the order of the second lot, there is no waiting for starting the processing through the processing of all the lots. That is, the number of waiting cycles for processing start can be set to zero. Thereby, the time required to process the substrates of all lots can be shortened as compared with the case of processing in the order of the first lot, the second lot, and the third lot (the number of processing start waiting cycles is three). .

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention
Then, the substrate is processed after the indexer unit 2 determines in advance the processing order of the lots waiting for the processing to be optimal, so that the time required for processing all the substrates (all lots) is reduced, The throughput of the processing apparatus can be improved.

<2. Specific Example of Processing Order Determination Processing> The operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present invention has been described above using a simple example.
Will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 to 19.

In the processing order determination processing in the following description, a cycle time unique to a recipe (a cycle time for continuously processing substrates in a lot) determined for each recipe (lot) is considered. Has become
Further, when a new lot is loaded into the indexer unit 2 from outside the apparatus while processing the substrate, the processing order is determined again.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing how the processing sequence is optimized from the start of the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 to the end thereof.

First, before the substrate processing is started, some lots are loaded into the indexer unit 2 and set. At this time, preprocessing for identifying these lots is performed. That is, a lot number or the like for identifying the lot is assigned every time a new lot is carried in (step S11).

When all the lots carried into the indexer unit 2 are confirmed, the order of starting the processing of these lots is optimized and determined (step S12).

Thereafter, the processing of the lot is sequentially started in accordance with the determined processing order (repetition of steps S13 to S15). That is, in the first cyclic movement of the transfer robot 4, the first substrate of the first lot is moved to the indexer unit 2.
The second substrate is loaded into the first processing unit from the indexer unit 2 in the circulating movement of the transfer robot for the second time, and the first substrate is subjected to the first processing. Unit to the next processing unit.

Thereafter, the substrates of the first lot are sequentially taken out of the indexer unit 2 and processed, and as the next substrate after the last substrate of the first lot, the first substrate of the determined next lot is the subsequent substrate. It is extracted from the indexer unit 2 using the processing start waiting optimization technology.

The processing of the substrates is sequentially performed by performing the above operations, and when the processing of the last substrate of the last lot is completed and collected in the indexer unit 2, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 ends ( Step S15).

Further, while the processing of the substrates is sequentially performed, a new lot is carried into the indexer unit 2 from outside the apparatus for each circulation movement of the transfer robot 4 and each processing of the substrates (step S13). It is confirmed whether the setting has been made (step S14). Then, if a new lot has been delivered, the indexer unit 2 optimizes the processing order of the lots waiting to be processed again (redetermines the processing order) (step S12). Therefore, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the processing time is shortened even when a new lot is carried in during operation, and the throughput is improved.

In order to realize the above operation, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, every time the transfer robot 4 circulates once between the processing units and the like (step S13), a new lot is loaded and all substrates are processed. Is confirmed (steps S14 and S15).

Next, the process of optimizing the processing order of lots in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 (step S12) will be described.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an outline of the processing order optimizing process.

In the processing order optimizing process, first, the indexer unit 2 recognizes the type of the recipe R of each lot L waiting to be processed (step S21). It is assumed that lots are given numbers irrelevant to the processing order based on the order of input to the indexer unit 2 and the like, and the first lot is referred to as a lot L [1] and the second lot is referred to for convenience of explanation. Lot L
[2],..., The n-th lot is referred to as a lot L [n]. Also, recipes corresponding to each of these lots L [1] to L [n] are referred to as recipes R [1] to R [n].

In the case where a new lot is carried in after the start of the processing of the substrate and re-processing for optimizing the processing order is performed (step S12 after step S14), the unprocessed portion of the lot being processed is not processed. Is recognized as a new lot. For example, when three substrates among a lot of ten substrates have already been taken out from the indexer unit 2, the remaining seven substrates are re-recognized as one lot.

After recognizing the types of the lots L and recipes R waiting to be processed, all the patterns P in the processing order of these lots L [1] to L [n] are recognized (step S22). As shown in FIG. 10, there are (n!) Patterns P which are factorials of the number n of lots, and these patterns are referred to as patterns P [1], P [2],. !]. Also, when expressing the order of each lot in the pattern P, k
The second order is expressed as J [k]. For example, in FIG. 10, in the pattern P [3], the lot in the order J [2] is the lot L [2], and the lot in the order J [n-1] is the lot L [n-2].

When all of the patterns P are recognized, the total processing time required until the processing of all lots is completed when the processing is performed according to these patterns for each of the patterns P [1] to P [n!]. TT [1]-TT [n!]
Is calculated (step S23). That is, the total processing time TT [M] on the assumption that the subsequent substrate processing is performed in the order of lots according to the pattern P [M] under the control of the transfer control unit 11 is (1 ≦ M ≦ n!). The details of step S23 will be described later.

When the calculation of the total processing times TT [1] to TT [n!] Is completed, the pattern corresponding to the one with the smallest value among these total processing times is determined as the pattern to be actually adopted in the subsequent processing. (Step S2
4). As a result, the optimized processing order of the lot waiting to be processed can be reliably obtained, and the processing can be performed in the shortest processing time regardless of the order of loading the lot.

FIGS. 11 to 19 show the total processing time T.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for describing an example of a method of calculating T [1] to TT [n!].

Calculation of Total Processing Time (Step S2)
In 3), first, 1 is substituted for a variable M indicating a pattern number as an initial setting (step S31). This variable M is a variable for calculating the total processing time TT [M] corresponding to the pattern P [M] which is the lot processing order. As described above, the variable M is changed from 1 to ( n!), the total processing time TT [1] to TT
[n!] is calculated. Therefore,
The following processing flow is an operation for calculating the total processing time TT [M] in the pattern P [M].

In the processing for calculating the total processing time TT [M], first, for each recipe r of a lot processed by each processing unit in the processing unit 3 (see FIG. 1), the cycle time t and the last The remaining number of processing units u through which the substrate passes is recognized (step S32). In the following description, it is assumed that the number of types of the recipe r is a, and the recipes r [1] to r [a] and the cycle times t [1] to t [a] are correspondingly shown in FIG. , And the remaining number of copies u [1] to u [a]. Recognition of a processing lot is performed in the case of processing order optimization processing after the start of substrate processing (step S12 after step S14), and in the case of processing order optimization processing before the start of substrate processing. In (step S12 after step S11), the transfer robot 4 has not yet transferred the substrate, so that the substrate being processed is not recognized.

Here, the cycle time t means that when only the substrate to be processed in accordance with the recipe r is being processed by the substrate processing apparatus 1, the transfer robot 4 starts the current circulating movement between the processing units and the like. It means a time peculiar to the recipe r required from the start to the start of the next circulation movement. The remaining number u of processing units refers to the number of processing units to which the last substrate of a certain lot (the last substrate of a group of substrates (lot) to be processed according to the recipe r) is to be sent. In other words, it corresponds to the number of times of transportation until it is collected by the indexer unit 2.
The re-processing of the processing order optimization when a new lot is carried in during the processing of the substrate (step S1 after step S14)
In 2), as described above, for a lot in which only a part of the substrates has been processed, the unprocessed portion of the substrate group is re-recognized as one lot. The group is also re-recognized as one lot. Therefore, the remaining processing copy number u for the lot of the portion where the processing has already been started is the number of processing copies that pass according to the recipe r.

When information on the substrate being processed is obtained,
Next, information on a substrate waiting for processing is obtained (step S33). That is, each order J of the pattern P [M]
, The number W of substrates, the cycle time T, and the number of processing units U through which the substrate passes are recognized. With respect to the pattern P [M], the number of substrates W [1] to W of the lots corresponding to the orders J [1] to J [n] shown in FIG.
[n], cycle time T [1] to T [n], and number of processing units U
FIG. 13 shows the relationship between [1] to U [n].

The above is the initial processing for calculating the total processing time TT [M]. Thereafter, the specific calculation of the total processing time TT [M] in the pattern P [M] is performed.

First, 0 is substituted for a total variable TTv, which is a temporary variable, as an initial setting (step S34). This variable finally becomes the total processing time TT [M] as a result of the calculation. Next, the variable X is set to 1
Is substituted (step S35). This variable X is 1 to n
And variables used for calculation when lots are processed in the order of J [1] to J [n]. The content of the operation differs depending on whether or not X is 1. Therefore, in the following description, the case where the variable X is 1 and the case where the variable X is 2 or more will be described separately.

First, when the variable X is 1, the processing start waiting cycle number S required for the lot in the order J [1] in which the processing is to be started first in the pattern P [M]. [1]
Is obtained (step S36). In the processing order optimization processing (step S12 after step S11) before the processing of the substrate is started, since there is no preceding substrate, the processing start waiting cycle number S [1] naturally becomes 0. In the processing order optimization processing (step S12 after step S14) when a new lot is carried in later, the processing order is determined by using the subsequent lot processing start waiting optimization technology described above.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the outline of the calculation of the number of cycles to wait for the start of processing (step S36).
The details are disclosed in JP-A-8-153765.

In the calculation of the number of waiting cycles to start processing, first, for each processing section A, the order M1 [A] (1 ≦ A ≦
(The number of processing units in the apparatus)), and the order M2 [A] in which the substrates are put into the processing unit A in the recipe of the subsequent lot is recognized, and (M1 [A] −M2 [A]) Maximum value is rank difference Ss1
(Step S41). The value of (M1 [A] -M2 [A]) is set to 0 for the processing unit A not commonly used between the preceding and succeeding lots, and (M1 [A] -M2 [A])
Is negative, Ss1 is determined as 0.

The order difference Ss1 obtained by this calculation is a value corresponding to the number of processing start waiting cycles for preventing the substrate of the following lot from being input earlier in each processing unit than the substrate of the preceding lot.

Next, the number N1 of processing units into which each substrate is loaded in the recipe of the preceding lot and the number N2 of processing units into which each substrate is loaded in the recipe of the succeeding lot are recognized. N2) is obtained as the position number difference Ss2 (step S42). The position number difference Ss2 obtained by this calculation is a value corresponding to the number of processing start wait cycles for the first substrate of the succeeding lot to complete processing earlier than the last substrate of the preceding lot.

After the above calculation, the larger of the rank difference Ss1 and the position number difference Ss2 is obtained as the processing start wait cycle number S [1] (step S43).

When the processing start waiting cycle number S [1] is obtained, the time that elapses while the transport robot 4 performs the circulation movement for the processing start waiting cycle number S [1] is obtained. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of the processing at this time.

In the calculation process shown in FIG. 15, first, the cycle times t [1] to t [1] of the recipes r [1] to [a] relating to the substrate being processed are set.
Of t [a], the largest one is acquired as the maximum cycle time Tmax (step S53). The maximum cycle time Tmax corresponds to the cycle time of the operation of the transfer robot 4 at this point. That is, since the transfer control unit 11 controls the transfer robot 4 according to the maximum cycle time Tmax, the calculation according to the control is performed by the processing order determination unit 12. In order for the maximum cycle time Tmax to correspond to the cycle time of the transfer robot 4, the time required for one cycle of the transfer movement of the transfer robot 4 is sufficiently longer than the time required for processing the substrate in each processing unit. It is necessary to be short, but when such a condition is not satisfied, the calculation content is appropriately corrected so that the time physically required for the circulating movement of the transfer robot 4 becomes the cycle time.

Next, the maximum cycle time Tmax is added to the total processing time variable TTv (step S5).
4). Thus, the circulation movement 1 assumed at this time is performed.
The cycle time of the batch is added to the total processing time variable TTv. In addition, since the last substrate of the lot being processed moves to the next processing unit or the like in one circulation movement, 1 is subtracted from each of the remaining number of processing units u [1] to u [a] (step). S55). Further, the remaining number of processed copies u [1]
Since the last substrate of a lot (recipe r) is recovered in the indexer unit 2 when the value of the u-a! The cycle time t is changed to 0 (step S56, FIG.
6: Steps S101 to S105).

By repeating the above calculation shown in FIG. 15 for the number of cycles S [1] waiting for processing to be started, the time elapsed between waiting for the processing start of the subsequent lot is reduced by the total processing time variable T.
Tv (steps S51 and S51).
52).

When the time required to wait for the processing start of the lot in the order J [1] is obtained, the time required until all the substrates of this lot are taken out from the indexer unit 2 is added to the total processing time variable TTv. An operation is performed.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the flow of the calculation at this time. FIG. 19 shows a general description of the case of the lot in the order J [X].

When calculating the time required until all the substrates of the lot in the order J [1] are taken out from the indexer unit 2, first, the number of substrates W [1] is determined as an initial process.
Is substituted for the remaining number of substrates Wv, which is a temporary variable (step S71).

Thereafter, the recipe of order J [1], which is the recipe related to the lot being processed, and the recipes r [1] to r [a] (however, the recipes r [1] to r [a] are already processed. Is completed, the cycle time t is changed to 0 and handled, so no problem occurs.)
Of [1] to t [a], the one having the largest value is updated as the maximum cycle time Tmax, and the total processing time variable TTv
(Steps S72 and S73). This allows
At this point, the cycle time for one circulation movement of the transfer robot 4 assumed at this time is added to the total processing time variable TTv.

In addition, since the number of remaining substrates Wv, which is the number of substrates waiting to be processed in the lot of order J [1], is reduced by one by one circulation movement of the transfer robot 4, the number of remaining substrates Wv is reduced by one. Is subtracted (step S74).

Further, the last substrate of the lot being processed is also transported to the next processing section or the like by one circulation movement.
1 is also subtracted from the remaining processing copies u [1] to u [a] (step S75), and the cycle time t associated with the remaining processing copies u being 0 or less is changed to 0 (step S77,
FIG. 16: Steps S101 to S105).

The above steps S72 to S77 are performed in order J
By repeating the number of substrates W [1] of the lot of the lot [1], the cycle time until the last substrate of the lot is circulated and removed from the indexer unit 2 is added to the total processing time variable TTv (step S79). ). Steps S76 and S78 in FIG. 19 are excluded from the calculation when the variable X is 1.

When the last substrate of the lot of the order J [1] is taken out from the indexer unit 2, the first substrate of the lot of the order J [2] is taken out of the indexer unit 2 next. To the processing start waiting cycle number S for starting the processing of the lot in the order J [2].
The calculation of [2] is performed (steps S80 and S81, FIG. 1).
1: Step S36).

As described above, the number S [2] of waiting cycles for processing start is obtained by the calculation shown in FIG.
41 to S43). Thereafter, the number of waiting cycles for processing start S [2]
17 is added to the total processing time variable TTv.
Shown in

In the calculation of the processing start waiting time, the cycle times T [1] and t [1] related to the recipe of the lot being processed are set.
最大 t [a] is added to the total processing time variable TTv as the maximum cycle time Tmax (steps S63 and S64). As a result, the cycle time of one circulation movement assumed at this time is added to the total processing time variable TTv.

Further, since the substrate being processed is transported to the next processing unit or the like by one circulation movement, the number of remaining processing units u
One is subtracted from [1] to u [a], and the remaining number of processing units of the last substrate of the lot in the order J [1] being processed is also the number of processing units U for each cyclic movement
[1] minus 1 (steps S65 and S6)
6). Further, when the number of remaining processing units u [1] to u [a] or the number of processing units U [1] from which 1 is subtracted for each cyclic movement becomes 0 or less, processing of all substrates in the lot is completed. Therefore, among the cycle times t [1] to t [a] and T [1], those related to the processed lot are changed to 0 (steps S67 and S68, FIG. 16: step S101).
To S105, FIG. 18: Steps S111 to S115).

The above steps S63 to S68 are repeated by the number of processing start wait cycles S [2], thereby obtaining the order J [2].
Is added to the total processing time variable TTv (steps S61 and S6).
2).

When the processing start waiting for the lot in the order J [2] is completed, the processing of this lot is performed next. Therefore, the time that elapses while all the substrates in the lot are taken out from the indexer unit 2 is total processing. It is added to the time variable TTv. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the flow of the calculation at this time.

First, as an initial process, the number of substrates W [2] of the lots in the order J [2] is substituted into the remaining number of substrates Wv as a variable (step S71).

Next, as in the above-described processes, a change process is performed by the circulation movement of the transfer robot 4 once. That is, first, the cycle times T [1], T
[2], the maximum value Tmax of t [1] to t [a] is added to the total processing time variable TTv (steps S72 and S73), whereby the time required for one circulation movement is added to the total processing time variable TTv. Added. Next, since one substrate is taken out from the indexer unit 2, 1 is subtracted from the number of remaining substrates Wv (step S74). Then, since each substrate being processed is transported to the next processing unit or the like, the number of remaining processing units u
Subtract 1 from [1] to u [a] and further change the number of processed copies U indicating the number of remaining processed copies of the last substrate of the lot in order J [1].
Subtract 1 from [1] by the number of circulation movements (step S7)
5, S76). Further, the cycle times t [1] to t [a], T
Of the lots related to [1], the cycle time is changed to 0 for all the substrates in the lot that have been processed (steps S77 and S78, FIG. 16: step S10).
1 to S105, FIG. 18: Steps S111 to S11
5).

The above steps S72 to S78 are performed in order J
By repeating the number of substrates W [2] of the lot of the lot [2], the cycle time until the last substrate of the lot is circulated and removed from the indexer unit 2 is added to the total processing time variable TTv (step S80). ).

Thereafter, steps S36, S61 to S68,
By performing S71 to S79 while adding 1 to the variable X until X becomes n, the time required until substrates of all lots are taken out from the indexer unit 2 in the pattern P [1] becomes the total processing time variable TTv. They are added (steps S80 and S81).

In the above arithmetic processing, the time required for the transfer robot 4 to circulate until the last substrate of the last lot is taken out from the indexer unit 2 is added to the total processing time variable TTv. Therefore, as the last calculation process, the time from when the last substrate of the last lot is collected from the first processing unit to the indexer unit 2 is added to the total processing time variable TTv. That is, the cycle time T
The product of the number of repetitions of circulation movement U [n] is added to [n] (step S82). Accordingly, the value of the total processing time variable TTv is the processing time of all lots when it is assumed that the substrate is processed according to the pattern P [1]. Substitute for time TT [1] (step S83).

The total operation time TT [1] for the pattern P [1] is obtained by the above operation. Next, 1 is added to the variable M (step S84), and the above operation is repeated to obtain the pattern P [1]. Total processing time T in [2]
T [2] is required. Thereafter, by performing the calculation until the variable M becomes (n!), The total processing time TT assuming that the processing is performed according to all the patterns P [1] to P [n!]
[1] to TT [n!] Are calculated (step S85).

The above is the total processing time TT [1] to TT [n
!], The minimum of these total processing times is determined as the actual processing order of the lot of the substrate processing apparatus 1 as described above (FIG. 9: step S24). Is performed. Accordingly, it is possible to process the lot waiting for the processing start in the shortest time without being restricted by the order in which the lots are carried into the indexer unit 2.

<3. Modifications> While the operation and lot processing order determination processing of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. ,
Various modifications are possible.

Although the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is for performing a cleaning process on a substrate, any type of substrate processing apparatus that sequentially transports the substrate to a plurality of processing units can be used. Can also utilize the present invention. For example, a substrate processing apparatus that performs a developing process, a coating process, and the like may be used, and the number of processing units is not limited to that illustrated in FIG.

The number of substrates in a lot handled by the substrate processing apparatus is not limited to a plurality of substrates, and the recipe may be different for each substrate.

The operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the flow of the arithmetic processing shown in FIGS. 8 to 19 are merely examples, and any method of calculating the total processing time may be used.

Further, instead of calculating the total processing time for all the patterns in the lot processing order, conditions such as inappropriate patterns are registered in advance, and the total processing time is calculated from the patterns which do not correspond to these conditions. May be determined. This makes it possible to quickly determine the processing order.

[0108]

According to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the processing order of a plurality of substrate groups is determined in advance so as to minimize the time required for processing. In addition, the processing time can be reduced in consideration of the processing order of all the substrate groups, and the throughput can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the total processing time is calculated for all the patterns in the processing order, so that the processing order of the substrate group can be optimized.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the processing order is determined again when a new substrate group is added. Therefore, even in such a case, the substrate processing can be optimized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIGS. 2A to 2C are diagrams showing a transfer order of substrates of each lot.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state of substrate movement when substrates in the same lot are continuously processed.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state of movement of a substrate in a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state of movement of a substrate in a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a state of movement of a substrate in the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state of movement of a substrate in the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG.

8 is a flowchart showing an operation of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of a processing order optimization process shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a pattern of a processing order.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a total processing time calculation step.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a relationship among a recipe, a cycle time, and the number of copies to be processed.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a relationship among a lot order, the number of substrates, a cycle time, and the number of processing units.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process of calculating the number of waiting cycles to start processing.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a total processing time calculation process.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a total processing time calculation process.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a total processing time calculation process.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a total processing time calculation process.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing total processing time calculation processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 substrate processing apparatus 4 transfer robot 11 transfer control unit 12 processing order determination unit 31 first spin scrubber unit 32 second spin scrubber unit 33 first heat treatment unit 34 second heat treatment unit 35 first cooling unit 36 second cooling unit C31, C32, C41, C42 Circulation movement T100 Cycle time S12, S14, S23, S24, S41 to S43, S
53, S63, S72 steps

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for sequentially processing a plurality of substrate groups having different processing procedures for each substrate group, comprising: a plurality of processing units for processing a substrate; Transport means for transporting a substrate to a required processing unit of the plurality of processing units according to the processing procedure; and a subsequent processing unit that completes processing of the last substrate of the preceding substrate group to be processed earlier. Transfer control means for starting the processing of the first substrate of the subsequent substrate group, and processing order determining means for previously determining the processing order of the plurality of substrate groups so as to minimize the time required for processing the plurality of substrate groups. And a substrate processing apparatus. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing order determination unit performs processing on the plurality of substrate groups for each of all patterns in the processing order of the plurality of substrate groups. A substrate processing apparatus which calculates a total processing time required for the processing, and determines a pattern having the shortest total processing time among all the patterns as an actual processing order. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when a new substrate group is added after the processing of the substrate is started, the processing order determining unit sets the new substrate group. A processing order of a plurality of substrate groups waiting to be processed, including: 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer control unit is configured to perform, for each of the plurality of processing units, an order in the processing procedure of the preceding substrate group and the subsequent order. Obtain a difference from the order in the processing procedure of the substrate group, obtain the largest of the differences as a rank difference, the number of processing units that the substrate passes in the processing procedure of the preceding substrate group and the number of the subsequent substrate group In the processing procedure, a difference between the number of processing units through which the substrate passes is obtained as a position number difference, and a larger value of the order difference and the position number difference is obtained as a processing start wait cycle number, and the preceding A substrate processing apparatus, wherein processing of the first substrate of the succeeding substrate group is started after circulating the transport means for the number of processing start waiting cycles from the start of processing of the last substrate in the substrate group. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transport means circulates according to a maximum one of a circulation movement time inherent in a processing procedure of a substrate group being processed. A substrate processing apparatus characterized by moving.