KR100542631B1 - Semiconductor device fabrication installation - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing equipment for improving productivity (operation rate), the semiconductor manufacturing equipment of the present invention is to be stacked up and down with the first processing unit and the first processing unit to take a predetermined process by taking the substrates from the index; A processing unit including a second processing unit arranged to take over the substrates from the index and to clean the substrates; a first index robot installed in the index and dedicated to transferring the substrate to the first processing unit; It may include a second index robot dedicated to transfer the substrate with the processing unit.

Description

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment {SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE FABRICATION INSTALLATION}

1 is a plan view of a semiconductor manufacturing facility according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a side view of a semiconductor manufacturing facility in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a view for explaining a process processing unit of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

4 shows an index of a semiconductor manufacturing facility in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a view for explaining a transfer unit installed in an index.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

20: indexer

30: processing part

32a: first processing unit

32b: second processing unit

36a: first main robot

36b: second main robot

100: transfer unit

110: horizontal guide

120: vertical guide

130: arm

132: cover

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and more particularly, to a semiconductor manufacturing equipment for improving productivity (operation rate).

The semiconductor manufacturing process uses processes to which various methods are applied to form a desired electronic circuit on a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate, or a liquid crystal panel. In the semiconductor manufacturing process, photolithography is largely composed of a photoresist coating process, an exposure process, and a developing process. The photoresist coating process is a process of evenly applying a photoresist (PR), a material sensitive to light, to the surface of a substrate. An exposure process is a process of exposing a circuit pattern on the board | substrate with which PR film was formed by passing light through the circuit pattern drawn on the mask using a stepper. The developing process is a process of developing a film of a portion that receives light from the surface of the substrate through an exposure process.

The photolithography process includes an in-line facility in which an exposure system is connected to continuously process an application process, an exposure process, and a development process, and a spinner local facility in which the exposure system is not connected.

The local facility consists of a process processor consisting of indexer, application, development and bake modules. The indexer is a unit for the purpose of interfacing the user to the substrate and the process module (application modules and bake module). When the cassette is set in the load port of the indexer by the operator (or AGP), the indexer robot The substrate is extracted and conveyed to the main robot in the process module, and the conveyed substrate is loaded into the process module. After completion of the process, the substrate is recovered by the main robot and placed in the substrate cassette in the reverse order.

However, the existing local facility has a substrate supply throughput of 18 seconds at the indexer, which is equivalent to the throughput of the main robot. Therefore, there is a problem in that the inherent function of the facility is not satisfied because only the throughput in the in-line facility can be achieved despite being used as a local facility.

In addition, the indexer robot tends to have a particle attached to the back surface of the substrate. In order to improve the working efficiency of the substrate to be processed, it is a current trend to aggregate various processing modules that perform specific processing on the substrate. Therefore, also in the board | substrate conveyance apparatus which forms a part of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the design requirement which should reduce the area and space which this apparatus occupies is necessary.

The present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, the object is to provide a new type of semiconductor manufacturing equipment that can maximize the throughput of the equipment.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including: an index having at least two load ports on which a cassette on which a substrate is loaded is placed, and a transfer unit for transferring the substrate; A first processor which takes over substrates from the index and performs a predetermined process; A process processing unit disposed in parallel with the first processing unit and having a second processing unit which takes over the substrates from the index and cleans the substrates; The conveying portion and the horizontal guide; A first index robot moved horizontally along the horizontal guide and dedicated to transporting the substrate to the first processing unit; And a second index robot moved horizontally along the horizontal guide and dedicated to transferring the substrate to the second processor.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first processing unit and the second processing unit are arranged to be partitioned into layers.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first processing unit comprises: a first transport path connected to the index; Processing modules disposed along the first transport path; And a first main robot installed in the first transport path and receiving a substrate from the first index robot and bringing the substrate into the processing modules, wherein the second processor is connected to the index. Transfer path; Processing modules disposed along the second transport path; And a second main robot installed in the second transfer path and receiving a substrate from the second index robot and bringing the substrate into the processing modules.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, each of the first index robot and the second index robot supports a substrate, and is capable of advancing and rotating operation, covering an upper portion of the supported substrate, and having an opening for ejecting air. An arm comprising a cover; A vertical guide for guiding the movement of the arm in a vertical direction, including a frame moved along the horizontal guide and a plurality of vertical and spaced apart ones, the horizontal guide moving the belt for moving the vertical guide in a horizontal direction; And an exhaust pipe coupled to the horizontal guide side.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the vertical guide may have an exhaust passage formed therein.

Thus, according to the present invention, by providing an index robot dedicated to transferring the substrate between the first processing unit, and an index robot dedicated to transferring the substrate between the second processing unit, the substrate throughput can be improved by twice as much as before.

Hereinafter, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having processing modules for a photolithography process according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Advantages of the present invention over prior art will become apparent from the detailed description and claims with reference to the accompanying drawings. In particular, the present invention is well pointed out and claimed in the claims. However, the present invention may be best understood by reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements throughout the various drawings.

1 is a plan view of a semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a side view of a semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a semiconductor manufacturing equipment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention It is a figure for demonstrating a process process part. 4 is a diagram illustrating an index of a semiconductor manufacturing facility according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a view for explaining the transfer unit installed in the index.

1 to 3, the semiconductor manufacturing facility 10 according to the present invention includes an indexer 20 and a process processor 30.

2 and 3, the process processor 30 includes a first processor 32a and a second processor 32b, and the second processor 32b is an upper portion of the first processor 32a. Are stacked and placed in the. The first processor 32a may include a first transport path 34a connected to the index 20, a first main robot 36a installed on the first transport path 34a, and the first transport path ( Have processing modules 40 arranged along 34a). The second processor 32b may include a second transfer path 34b connected to the index 20, a second main robot 36b installed on the second transfer path 34b, and the second transfer path ( Processing modules 40 arranged along 34b). The processing modules 40 of the first and second processing units are for carrying out an application process and a developing process. The processing modules include a module that performs an application process and a module that performs substrate cooling. , A module for applying a photoresist to the surface of the substrate, a module for performing a soft bake process, and the like, and a module for heating the exposed substrate to a predetermined temperature using a module for performing a developing process, and cooling the substrate. A module for spraying a developer onto a substrate, a module for removing an exposed region or a region opposite thereto, a module for performing a hard bake process, and the like may be provided.

1 to 5, the indexer 20 is a part for the purpose of interfacing the user (user) to the substrate and the first and second processing units 32a and 32b of the processing unit 30. The indexer 20 includes four load ports 22a-22d on which the cassette c is placed, and a transfer part 100. Preferably, the transfer part 100 includes one horizontal guide 110 and first and second index robots 112a and 112b moving in the horizontal direction (Y direction) on the horizontal guide 110.

The first index robot 112a is in charge of substrate transfer between the first and second load ports 22a and 22b and the first processor 32a, and the second index robot 112b is the third and fourth rods. Since the substrate transfer between the ports 22c and 22d and the second processor 32b is dedicated, interference (collision) between the substrate transfers of the index robots 112a and 112b can be prevented. On the other hand, the second index robot (112b) is characterized in that it has a vertical guide relatively longer than the first index robot (112a) for substrate transfer with the second processing unit (32b).

For example, the first index robot 112a and the second index robot 112b simultaneously attempt to take over the substrate by each of the first and second main robots 36a and 36b of the first and second processing units 32a and 32b. In this case, the first main robot 36a and the second processing unit of the first processing unit 32a are placed in a diagonal direction while the substrates are alternately taken over each other, or to prevent mutual collision (interference). It can take over each with the 2nd main robot 36b of 32b.

Referring to FIG. 5, each of the first index robot 112a and the second index robot 112b supports the substrate to allow the arm 130 and the arm 130 to move forward and backward (X direction) and rotate. It has a vertical guide 120 which can be guided and moved in the Z direction, which consists of a body frame together with the horizontal guide 110.

Arms 130 of the first index robot 112a and the second index robot 112b are disposed inside the body frame 102 to form a substrate between the cassette c and the first and second processing units 32a and 32b. For conveyance, it may be rotated about an axis in the Z direction by a built-in rotary drive unit (not shown). The arm 130 is also extensible in the X direction for loading / unloading the substrate from the cassette c and for taking the substrate to the main robots 36a and 36b. In addition, as will be described later, the arm 130 is guided by the horizontal guide 110 and movable in the Y direction, and in addition, guided by the vertical guide 120 and movable in the Z direction. Therefore, the arm 130 of the present invention can be arbitrarily set in the movement trajectory, thereby ensuring the ease of receiving the substrate.

The arm 130 may further include a cover 132 covering the substrate so that the arm 130 may protect the substrate from relative airflow generated during the lifting operation in the Z direction. Therefore, during the lifting operation of the arm 130, it is possible to prevent the substrate from rising or airborne particles from adhering to the substrate surface. In addition, several openings 134 through which air is blown may be formed in the cover 132 to form an air curtain under the cover 132. The air curtain can be formed to protect the substrate from side airflow, particularly when the arm 130 moves in an oblique direction (eg, the sum of the Z and X directions).

As described above, the horizontal guide 110 is a driving guide for moving the arms 130 of the first and second index robots in the Y direction, and is coupled to the front end of the vertical guide 120. On the other hand, the inner surface of the horizontal guide 110 may be built in two horizontal drive unit including a conveying belt 118 to guide the horizontal movement of the first and second index robot (112a, 112b), respectively. Accordingly, the arms 130 of the first and second index robots are horizontally moved along the horizontal guide 110 by driving the transfer belt 118.

The vertical guide 120 is a kind of travel guide for moving the arm 130 in the Z direction, and is coupled to the horizontal guide 110. Accordingly, the arm 130 may be guided by the horizontal guide 110 and moved in the Y direction, and guided by the vertical guide 120 and also moved in the Z direction. That is, the arm 130 can be moved in the diagonal direction corresponding to the sum of the Y direction and the Z direction. On the other hand, the vertical guide 120 is composed of a plurality of spaced apart from each other, for example, two vertical frames, the arm 130 can be freely moved into the spaced space between the two frames.

As shown in Figure 5, the exhaust pipe 140 may be further installed on the outer side of the horizontal guide (110b). Undesired gases or particles generated inside the body frame 100 during a predetermined treatment process are exhausted to the outside through the exhaust pipe 140.

The vertical guide 120 has an exhaust passage 122 of gas or particles therein. For example, undesired gas or particles generated inside the body frame 102 during a predetermined process are sucked into the exhaust passage 122 inside the vertical guide 120, and the sucked gas or particles are directed to the direction of the arrow. It can be moved down together and discharged to the outside.

Such an apparatus of the present invention is not suitable for an in-line facility in which an exposure system is connected to a photolithography process to continuously process an application process, an exposure process, and a development process, but only an application process and a development process. It is well suited for ongoing spinner local installations (facilities without exposure systems).

Substrate transfer in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment as described above is as follows.

When cassettes C are set in the first load port 22a and the third load port 22c of the indexer 20 by an operator (or AGP), the first indexer robot 112a is the first load port. The substrate is taken out from the cassette (c) set at (22a) and conveyed to the first main robot (36a) of the processing unit (30), and the second indexer robot (112b) is transferred to the third load port (22c). The board | substrate is extracted from the set cassette c, and is conveyed to the 2nd main robot 36b in the said process process part. As described above, in the indexer 20, two indexer robots may transfer the substrate to the process processor 30 at about the same time (or continuously), thereby doubling the substrate throughput. In this way, the substrates respectively conveyed to the first main robot 36a and the second main robot 36b are loaded into the respective processing modules 40. The substrates after the end of the process are recovered by the respective main robots and placed in the substrate cassette in reverse order.

The foregoing detailed description illustrates the present invention. In addition, the foregoing description merely shows and describes preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can be used in various other combinations, modifications, and environments. And, it is possible to change or modify within the scope of the concept of the invention disclosed in this specification, the scope equivalent to the written description, and / or the skill or knowledge in the art. The above-described embodiments are for explaining the best state in carrying out the present invention, the use of other inventions such as the present invention in other state known in the art, and the specific fields of application and uses of the present invention. Various changes are also possible. Accordingly, the detailed description of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to the disclosed embodiments. Also, the appended claims should be construed to include other embodiments.

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the two indexer robots can transport the substrate to the processing unit almost simultaneously (or continuously), thereby doubling the performance improvement compared to the substrate throughput. Moreover, a board | substrate can be conveyed efficiently in the small occupied space, without particle sticking phenomenon on the surface of a board | substrate.

Claims (5)

In semiconductor manufacturing equipment: An index having at least two load ports on which a cassette on which a substrate is loaded is placed, and a conveying portion for transferring the substrate; A first processor which takes over substrates from the index and performs a predetermined process; A process processing unit disposed in parallel with the first processing unit and having a second processing unit which takes over the substrates from the index and cleans the substrates; The conveying portion and the horizontal guide; A first index robot moved horizontally along the horizontal guide and dedicated to transferring the substrate to the first processing unit; And a second index robot moved horizontally along the horizontal guide and dedicated to transferring the substrate to the second processor. The method of claim 1, And the first processing unit and the second processing unit are arranged to be partitioned into layers. The method of claim 1, The first processing unit A first transport path connected to the index; Processing modules disposed along the first transport path; And A first main robot installed in the first transport path and receiving a substrate from the first index robot and bringing the substrate into the processing modules; The second processing unit A second transport path connected to the index; Processing modules disposed along the second transport path; And And a second main robot installed in the second transfer path and receiving a substrate from the second index robot and bringing the substrate into the processing modules. The method of claim 1, Each of the first index robot and the second index robot An arm supporting the substrate, capable of advancing and rotating operations, the arm covering an upper portion of the supported substrate and having an opening for blowing air; A vertical guide for guiding the movement of the arm in a vertical direction, including a frame moved along the horizontal guide and a plurality of vertical and spaced apart one another; The horizontal guide comprises a transfer belt for moving the vertical guide in the horizontal direction, and a semiconductor manufacturing equipment, characterized in that it comprises an exhaust pipe coupled to the side of the horizontal guide. The method of claim 4, wherein The vertical guide further comprises an exhaust passage therein.

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