KR101326992B1 - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention makes it a subject to provide the technique which suppresses the enlargement of an apparatus and suppresses increase of a footprint in the substrate processing apparatus which connected the several process chambers for processing a board | substrate to a vacuum conveyance chamber.
Around the vacuum conveyance chamber 13, the some process chamber 30 by which a process is performed with respect to a board | substrate is provided. The first guide rail 54 is provided on the upper side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 with the rotary table 6 interposed therebetween, and the guide rail 54 when the rotary table 6 stops at a corresponding position. The 2nd guide rail 52 is installed so that it may be located on the extension line of (). The cover 32 is moved along the first and second guide rails 52, 54 to the upper side of the processing chamber 30, and the cover holding mechanism 8 provided on the movable body 71 is raised to raise the lid 32. The holding part 5 provided in the side) is lifted and the cover 32 is opened from the processing chamber 30.

Description

[0001] SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS [0002]

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus in which a plurality of processing chambers for processing a substrate are connected to a vacuum transfer chamber.

For example, in the manufacturing process of a flat panel display (FPD), a plurality of processing chambers for processing substrates such as glass substrates are provided around the vacuum transfer chamber, and the substrate is transferred between the transfer chamber and the processing chamber by a transfer arm provided in the transfer chamber. Substrate processing apparatus is known. As a process performed in the said process chamber, processes, such as etching, ashing, and film-forming, are mentioned.

The processing chamber includes, for example, a container body in which a substrate is disposed and an upper portion thereof is opened, and a lid capable of opening and closing the opening of the container body, and the lid can be removed from the container body during maintenance of the processing chamber or maintenance of the lid. It is supposed to be. The cover is provided with a gas shower head for supplying a processing gas, and there is a replacement of parts of the gas shower head as one of maintenance work of the cover.

Patent Literature 1 proposes an opening and closing operation of the lid. In this structure, after a cover is raised from a container main body by the opening / closing mechanism of the cover provided for every process chamber, a cover is slid to the position off from a container main body. The cover is then lowered and then reversed. In this method, the area required for the opening / closing operation of the lid can be reduced by sliding the lid in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the substrate to the processing chamber.

However, since the FPD substrate is large, the size of one side in the planar shape of the processing chamber is, for example, a large cylindrical container of 3.0 m and 3.5 m, respectively. Therefore, in a configuration in which a space for inverting the cover is required for each processing chamber, it is difficult to secure a space for inverting the cover as the processing chamber is increased, and there is a concern that the apparatus will be further enlarged if the space is to be secured. Moreover, since the opening / closing mechanism of a cover is provided for every processing chamber, when the processing chamber increases, there exists a possibility that it may raise the manufacturing cost of an apparatus.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-67218 (see Figs. 1 and 19).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and in the substrate processing apparatus in which a plurality of processing chambers for processing a substrate are connected to a vacuum transfer chamber, it is possible to provide a technique for suppressing an increase in the size of an apparatus and suppressing an increase in footprint. .

The substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is configured by providing a preliminary vacuum chamber and a lid on the container body, respectively, and connecting a plurality of processing chambers for processing the substrate to the periphery of the vacuum transfer chamber provided with a substrate transfer mechanism therein. In one substrate processing apparatus,

A first guide member extending horizontally from the vacuum transfer chamber side toward the outside from the vacuum transfer chamber side and provided to move in the horizontal direction;

A movable body guided and moved by the first guide member,

A second guide member which is guided to move the movable body between the upper side of the processing chamber and the first guide member and is positioned horizontally on the extension line of the first guide member when the moving table stops at a corresponding position; Wow,

It is installed on the movable body, and when the movable body is located on the second guide member, the lid is held and lifted to detach the lid from the container body, and the movable body can move to the first guide member while the lid is held. It is characterized in that it comprises a cover holding mechanism configured to.

At this time, it may be provided above the said vacuum conveyance chamber, and may be provided with the movement table which moves to a horizontal direction, and the said 1st guide member may be provided in this movement table. Moreover, this moving table can be comprised as a rotating table which rotates around the vertical axis centering on the center part of a vacuum conveyance chamber.

In addition, the lid is provided with a holding portion including a locking portion which extends in the horizontal direction along the direction in which the second guide member extends and has a space formed below, and the locking portion is moved forward and backward. It may be configured to be provided with a holding portion for lifting the lid by entering the space below and pushing up the locking portion from the lower side.

Further, the second guide member may be configured to be provided for each processing chamber, may be accommodated on the moving table side when not in use, and may be configured to extend from the moving table side to the processing chamber side when in use.

The vacuum conveying chamber is formed in a polygonal planar shape, and the preliminary vacuum chamber and the processing chamber are respectively connected to the other side of the vacuum conveying chamber except one side for securing a maintenance area on the outer side thereof. do. At this time, the maintenance area may be provided with a cover inversion mechanism for holding and inverting the cover transmitted from the cover holding mechanism. Moreover, the said vacuum conveyance chamber may have six side surfaces, and may be comprised so that one said preliminary vacuum chamber and four process chambers may be connected to the side surface.

According to the present invention, the movable body is moved upward of each processing chamber along the first guide member and the second guide member extending from the vacuum transfer chamber, and the lid of each processing chamber is lifted by the lid holding mechanism provided in the movable body. Configure it. Therefore, if there is a space above the processing chamber, the cover can be opened, so that the space in the transverse direction of the processing chamber is unnecessary when the cover is attached or detached, and the enlargement of the installation space of the apparatus can be suppressed. Moreover, since the cover of several process chamber can be attached or detached with a common cover holding mechanism, enlargement of an apparatus can be suppressed and increase of a footprint (installation area) can be suppressed.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional plan view showing the interior of the substrate processing apparatus.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a processing chamber provided in the substrate processing apparatus.
4 is a front view illustrating a moving body and a processing chamber installed in the substrate processing apparatus.
5 is a side view illustrating a part of the substrate processing apparatus.
6 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the substrate processing apparatus.
It is a perspective view which shows the cover reversal mechanism provided in the said substrate processing apparatus.
8 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the substrate processing apparatus.
9 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the substrate processing apparatus.
10 is a side view for explaining the operation of the substrate processing apparatus.
It is a side view which shows another embodiment of the said substrate processing apparatus.
It is a side view which shows another embodiment of the said substrate processing apparatus.
It is a top view which shows further another embodiment of the said substrate processing apparatus.
It is a side view which shows still another embodiment of the said substrate processing apparatus.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, one Embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of this invention is demonstrated about the case where a process (for example, an etching process) is performed with respect to an FPD board | substrate. 1 is a perspective view showing an overview of the substrate processing apparatus 1, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view showing the inside thereof. In the drawings, reference numerals 1A and 1B denote carrier arranging portions for disposing carriers C1 and C2 that accommodate a plurality of FPD substrates (hereinafter referred to as "substrates") S from the outside. These carrier arranging parts 1A and 1B are comprised so that the carriers C1 and C2 may be raised and lowered by the elevating mechanism 11, for example, the unprocessed board | substrate S1 is accommodated in one carrier C1, and the other The processed substrate S2 is accommodated in the carrier C2 of the.

Moreover, the load lock chamber 12 and the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 which comprise a preliminary vacuum chamber are provided in the inner side of carrier mounting part 1A, 1B. Moreover, between the carrier arranging parts 1A and 1B, the board | substrate conveying means 21 for conveying the board | substrate S between the said 2 carriers C1 and C2 and the load lock chamber 12 is the support stand 14 It is installed above. This board | substrate conveying means 21 is equipped with the two arms 22 provided, for example, up and down, and the base 23 which supports them so that advancing and rotating can be carried out. The load lock chamber 12 is configured such that the atmosphere is switched between a vacuum atmosphere and an atmospheric pressure atmosphere, and as shown in FIG. 2, a buffer rack 15 for supporting the substrate S is disposed therein. In the drawing, reference numeral 16 is a positioner.

The vacuum conveyance chamber 13 is formed in a polygonal shape (for example, a regular hexagonal shape) in a planar shape, and is connected to the side of the load lock chamber 12 in a circumferential direction, and arranged in a circumferential direction. A plurality of processing chambers 30 are arranged. In this example, the process chamber 30 is hermetically connected to the side surface corresponding to four sides in the vacuum conveyance chamber 13, respectively.

Further, the load lock chamber 12 is hermetically connected to a side surface corresponding to one of the remaining two sides of the vacuum transfer chamber 13, and a maintenance region M is secured to the outer side of the side surface corresponding to the other side. The cover reversal mechanism 4 is provided in this maintenance area M. As shown in FIG. In this example, the load lock chamber 12 and the lid reversal mechanism 4 are disposed to face each other.

The vacuum conveyance chamber 13 is comprised so that it may be maintained in a vacuum atmosphere, and the board | substrate conveyance mechanism 25 is arrange | positioned inside as shown by the dotted line in FIG. And the board | substrate S is conveyed by the board | substrate conveyance mechanism 25 between the said load lock chamber 12 and four process chambers 30. As shown in FIG. Moreover, the opening part 17 (refer FIG. 6) for maintenance, and the removable cover which hermetically closes this opening part 17 are provided in the ceiling part of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13. This opening part 17 is comprised so that the board | substrate conveyance mechanism 25 in the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 can be taken out.

In addition, between the load lock chamber 12 and the vacuum transfer chamber 13, between the vacuum transfer chamber 13 and the processing chamber 30, and in the opening for communicating the atmospheric atmosphere of the load lock chamber 12 with the outside, a space between them is provided. Gate valves GV that are hermetically sealed and that can be opened and closed are interposed therebetween.

Next, the processing chamber 30 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 3. The processing chamber 30 includes, for example, a planar shape having a rectangular shape, and includes a container main body 31 having a ceiling opening and a lid 32 provided to open and close the ceiling opening of the container main body 31. The lid 32 is configured to be detachable from the container body 31 by a lid holding mechanism 8 described later. The substrate S is, for example, a square substrate having a size of about 2.2 m on one side and about 2.5 m on the other side, and the processing chamber 30 is set to a size of about 3.0 m on one side of the horizontal cross section and about 3.5 m on the other side, for example. It is.

In the inside of the container main body 31, the mounting table 33 for arranging the board | substrate S is arrange | positioned with the insulating member 33a on the bottom surface. The container body 31 is connected to a vacuum exhaust means including, for example, a vacuum pump 34 via an exhaust passage 34a. On the other hand, the gas supply part 35 which is a shower head containing an upper electrode is supported by the support part 36a which protrudes inside the cover 32 so that the upper part inside the process chamber 30 may face the mounting table 33. It is installed as possible. In the drawing, reference numeral 36b denotes an insulating member, reference numeral 35a denotes a gas discharge hole, reference numeral 37a denotes a gas supply pipe, reference numeral 37 denotes a gas supply system, reference numeral 38a denotes a feeding rod, reference numeral 38b denotes a matcher, and reference numeral 38 It is a high frequency power supply.

In such a processing chamber 30, by applying high frequency power from the high frequency power supply 38 to the gas supply unit 35, plasma of the processing gas is formed in the space above the substrate S, whereby The etching process will proceed. In addition, in drawings other than FIG. 3, the matching device 38b, the high frequency power supply 38, the gas supply system 37, etc. are abbreviate | omitted for convenience of illustration. In addition, the process chamber 30 and the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 are supported by the support | pillar 30a, 13a, respectively, as shown in FIG.

Here, the processing operation of the substrate S will be briefly described. First, the board | substrate conveying means 21 loads the board | substrate S1 into the load lock chamber 12 from the one carrier C1 which accommodated the unprocessed board | substrate S1. In the load lock chamber 12, the board | substrate S1 is hold | maintained by the buffer rack 15, after the arm 22 of the board | substrate conveying means 21 retreats, the inside of the load lock chamber 12 is exhausted, and the inside Reduce the pressure to a certain degree of vacuum. After completion of the vacuum state, the positioner 16 adjusts the position of the substrate S1.

Thereafter, the gate valve GV between the load lock chamber 12 and the vacuum transfer chamber 13 is opened, the substrate S1 is received by the substrate transfer mechanism 25, and the gate valve GV is closed. do. Subsequently, the gate valve GV between the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 and the predetermined process chamber 30 is opened, and the said board | substrate S1 is carried in to the said process chamber 30 by the board | substrate conveyance mechanism 25, and the said Close the gate valve GV.

In the processing chamber 30, as described above, the plasma is formed in the space above the substrate S1, so that the etching process is performed on the substrate S1. After completion of the etching treatment, the substrate S2 is processed by the substrate transfer mechanism 25, and is transferred to the load lock chamber 12, and the substrate S2 is subsequently transferred by the transfer means 21. It is conveyed to the carrier C2 for the processed board | substrate. Thereby, although the process of one board | substrate is complete | finished, this process is performed with respect to all the board | substrates S1 mounted in the carrier C1 for unprocessed board | substrates.

Subsequently, further explanation about the process chamber 30 is continued. As shown in FIGS. 1-5, the to-be-held part 5 is provided in the said cover 32 upper surface. 4 is a side view of the processing chamber 30 seen from the vacuum transfer chamber 13 side, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus seen from the A-A line side in FIG. 2. The held portion 5 includes a pair of hooked members 51 and 51 disposed to face each other. Each vertical portion of these hooked members 51 and 51 is orthogonal to the side surface of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 to which the processing chamber 30 is connected, and the center portion of the lid 32 in the direction orthogonal to the side surface. They are arranged symmetrically with respect to each other and spaced apart from each other on the side of the processing chamber 30. Here, the side of the process chamber 30 means the side of the said process chamber 30 when the process chamber 30 is seen from the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 side.

Each horizontal portion of the hooked members 51 and 51 extends opposite to each other and includes a latching portion 50 held by a lid holding mechanism 8 described later. In this example, the four processing chambers 30 are configured in the same shape, and the holding portions 5 having the same shape are formed at the same positions on the upper surface of the lid 32 of each processing chamber 30. .

Moreover, the guide rail 52 containing a guide member is provided in the upper side of each side of the said processing chamber 30. As shown in FIG. This guide rail 52 is provided so that it may extend in the direction orthogonal to the side surface of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 to which each process chamber 30 was connected. In this example, the guide rails 52 on the processing chamber 30 side are provided in the state supported by the strut 53 so as to extend in parallel to each other in the upper vicinity of both side surfaces of the processing chamber 30.

On the other hand, the guide rail 54 which consists of a pair of guide member provided so that the ceiling part of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 may extend in parallel with each other by the same width as the said guide rail 52 is provided. The guide rail 54 on the side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 has the support frame 55 on the turntable 6 at the ceiling of the vacuum transfer chamber 13, and is outside from the vacuum transfer chamber 13 side. It is installed to face. The rotary table 6 constitutes a movable table moving in the horizontal direction.

Here, since the guide rail 54 of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 side is corresponded to the 1st guide member of a claim, it is called "the 1st guide rail 54" hereafter. In addition, since the guide rail 52 of the processing chamber 30 side corresponds to the 2nd guide member of a claim, it is called "2nd guide rail 52" hereafter.

In this example, the rotary table 6 is rotatably provided around the vertical axis so that its rotation center coincides with the central portion of the vacuum transfer chamber 13. The rotary table 6 is formed in a circular shape in a circular shape. Moreover, the rotary table 6 is provided so that the lower surface of the side wall part 61 may be connected to the plate-shaped object 63 provided in the ceiling part of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 via the bearing 62. As shown in FIG. In addition, the rotary table 6 may be provided directly on the upper plate which comprises the ceiling part of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13.

On the upper surface of the plate-shaped body 63, a moving path member 64 formed in a ring shape along a circle centered on the central portion of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 is provided. On the other hand, the guide member 65 guided to the movement path member 64 is provided in the lower surface of the turntable 6. In addition, a ring-shaped rack portion 66 is provided on the outer circumferential side of the turntable 6 in the plate-shaped body 63 as a circle concentric with the gear portion 66a formed on the outer surface over the entire circumference. . On the other hand, the pinion part (the planetary gear) 67 which gear-engages with the rack part 66 protrudes below the turntable 6 in the outer side part of the rack part 66 in the turntable 6, It is rotatably installed around the vertical axis. The rotation shaft 67a of the pinion portion 67 is configured to rotate through the speed reducer 69 by the drive motor 68 provided on the rotation table 6 side. In this way, the rotation table 6 is comprised so that rotation may be transmitted by the pinion part 67 rotating by the drive motor 68, and the guide member 65 may move along the movement path member 64. As shown in FIG. . In addition, except for FIG. 6, the rotating mechanism of the rotary table 6 is shown in simplified form.

Here, the rotary table 6 has a window 60 larger than the opening 17 so as to correspond to the opening 17 formed in the ceiling of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 when the rotary table 6 is in the standby position. Is formed. This standby position means the position where the front-end | tip (outer peripheral side of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13) of the 1st guide rail 54 faced the load lock chamber 12. As shown in FIG. 5 and 6, the support frame 55 and the first guide rail 54 are provided so as not to interfere with the window 60, and the opening 17 is also formed in the plate-shaped body 63. The window 63a larger than the opening part 17 is formed in the position corresponding to this. Therefore, when the turntable 6 is in the standby position, the window 60 and the opening 17 correspond to each other, and are configured to be able to maintain the substrate transfer mechanism 25 through the opening 17. .

Here, in this example, the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 is comprised by the regular hexagon in planar shape, and the rotation table 6 is comprised so that rotation is possible centering on the center of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 as a rotation center. Therefore, the 1st guide rail 54 is comprised so that it may move along the circumferential direction of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 so that the front-end | tip may pass through the position which faced each process chamber 30 by rotation of the turntable 6. do. The position facing the processing chamber 30 is a position where the processing chamber 30 is viewed in the front direction when viewed from the vacuum transfer chamber 13 side. When the tip of the first guide rail 54 is in the corresponding position facing the processing chamber 30, the corresponding second guide rail 52 is positioned horizontally on the extension line of the first guide rail 54. , They are installed with their heights aligned with each other. In addition, a state inclined a little is also included in the horizontal here.

At this time, since the 1st guide rail 54 moves along the circumferential direction of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 as mentioned above, the tip of the 1st guide rail 54 and the 2nd guide rail 52 at the time of this movement. The length and the installation position of each other are determined so that the tip (vacuum conveyance chamber 13 side) of () does not interfere. In this example, the strut 53 of the second guide rail 52 is provided on the processing chamber 30 side rather than the gate valve GV, as shown in FIG. 5 in consideration of the maintenance of the gate valve GV.

On the other hand, in order to maintain the strength of the 2nd guide rail 52, it is not profitable to install so that the 2nd guide rail 52 may extend long from the support | pillar 53 to the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 side. For this reason, in order to reduce the clearance with the 2nd guide rail side 52, the 1st guide rail 54 is installed so that it may be extended outward slightly rather than the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 in the state supported by the support frame 55. FIG. do. Since the tip end of the first guide rail 54 moves along a trajectory as shown by a dashed-dotted line in FIG. 2, the first guide rail 54 does not interfere with the movement of the first guide rail 54. The position of the front end side of the second guide rail 52 is set so as to reduce the gap with the second guide rail 52.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 is guided along the second guide rail 52 and the first guide rail 54 while moving between the upper side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 and the upper side of the processing chamber 30. A door-shaped moving body 71 is provided. The movable body 71 is configured such that one end side thereof is guided along one of the pair of guide rails 52 and 54, and the other end side thereof is guided along the other side of the guide rails 52 and 54. In this example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the movable body 71 extends downward from the horizontal member 72 extending horizontally from the horizontal member 72 toward one of the rails 52a and 54a. It is provided with the vertical member 73 which becomes, and the vertical member 74 extended downward from the horizontal member 72 toward the other rail 52b, 54b.

On the lower end side of the vertical member 73, a plurality of wheels 75A (two in this example) are provided along the moving direction of the moving body 71, and these wheels 75A are moved by the moving motor 76A. Configured to be driven. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, the wheel 75B of several pieces (two in this example) is provided in the lower end side of the said vertical member 74 along the said moving direction, and these wheels 75B are a moving motor ( 76B). These moving motors 76A and 76B move on the guide rails 52 and 54 in a state where the horizontal member 72 of the moving body 71 is in parallel with the side surface of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 in which the processing chamber 30 is installed. The drive is controlled so as to. In this example, the wheels 75A and 75B and the moving motors 76B and 76B constitute a drive unit for moving the movable body 71 along the guide member.

In addition, when the movable body 71 is positioned on the second guide rail 52, the lid 32 is attached to the movable body 71 so as to attach and detach the lid 32 from the container body 31. The lid holding mechanism 8 is provided so that the movable body 71 can move to the first guide rail 54 while the lid is held up and down and the lid 32 is held. The lid holding mechanism 8 enters the space below the locking portion 50 while moving along the second guide rail 52, and then rises to push up the locking portion 50 from the lower side. As a result, a holding part 80 for lifting the lid 32 is provided. The holding portion 80 includes a pair of hooked members 81 and 81 disposed to face each other. Each vertical portion of these hooked members 81 and 81 has hooked members 51 and 51 of the held portion 5 at the opening and closing position where the holding portion 80 enters the space below the locking portion 50. Parallel to each of the vertical portions, and arranged outside the hooked members 51 and 51. Further, each horizontal portion 80a of the hook members 81 and 81 is configured to extend inwardly to each other.

These hook members 81 and 81 are provided on the vertical members 73 and 74 of the movable body 71 so as to be liftable by jack mechanisms 82 and 82 including a lift mechanism. The jack mechanism 82 includes a lifting shaft 83 engraved with a screw thread, and a movable body 84 having a screw thread screwed to the lifting shaft 83 on an inner surface thereof. The upper ends of the hook members 81 and 81 are connected to the lower ends of the 84, respectively. In the drawing, reference numeral 85 denotes a lift motor, 86 denotes a guide mechanism, and 87 denotes a cover member covering the periphery of the lift shaft 83. In such a jack mechanism 82, when the lifting shaft 83 is rotated by the lifting motor 85, the movable body 84 moves up and down along the guide mechanism 86 with respect to the lifting shaft 83 in the rotational direction. It is composed. In addition, the two lifting motors 85 are configured to be driven based on the instructions of the controller 100 to be described later, and are controlled to rotate the lifting shafts 83 in a state in which they are synchronized with each other.

In this way, when the cover holding mechanism 8 is in the opening-closing position which opens and closes the cover 32 of the processing chamber 30, the horizontal part 80a of the holding | maintenance part 80 will be hold | maintained 5 It is comprised so that raising / lowering is possible between the lowered position located in the lower side of the latching | locking part 50 of), and the raising position which lifts the cover 32 by pushing the said latching part 50 from the lower side. Here, as mentioned later, the movable body 71 moves to the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 side in the state which hold | maintained the lid | cover 32 in the raised position. Therefore, the raised position is a height at which the lower surface of the lid 32 lifted by the lid holding mechanism 8 can move above the vacuum conveying chamber 13 without colliding with the ceiling of the vacuum conveying chamber 13 or the like. Set to position.

Moreover, when the moving body 71 moves to the upper side of the process chamber 30 from the upper side of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 in the state which set the lid holding mechanism 8 in the lowered position with respect to each process chamber 30, the moving body ( 71 moves without interfering with the held portion 5 of each processing chamber 30. And in the opening-closing position of the cover 32 in each processing chamber 30, the horizontal part 80a of the cover holding mechanism 8 may be located under the latching part 50 of the to-be-held part 5 located. do.

As a result, when the lid holding mechanism 8 is raised at the opening and closing position of the lid 32 in each processing chamber 30, the latching portion 50 is lifted by the lid holding mechanism 8 to cover the lid 32. Is opened. On the other hand, the lid 32 held by the lid holding mechanism 8 is transferred to the vessel body 31 to block the opening of the vessel body 31 by lowering the lid holding mechanism 8 at the opening and closing position. . Then, the movable body 71 further lowers the lid holding mechanism 8 from the transfer position to the lowered position, and then resumes movement to the vacuum transfer chamber 13 side.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 5, the wheel stopper 56 of the wheels 75A and 75B of the moving body 71 is located at the base end side (the opposite side to the vacuum transfer chamber 13) of the second guide rail 52. Is provided and the moving body 71 stops at the opening-closing position of the cover 32 in each processing chamber 30 by stopping at this position. On the other hand, the wheel stopper 57 is also provided in the base end side (opposite side of the processing chamber 30) of the 1st guide rail 54, and this position is the atmosphere of the moving body 71 in the upper side of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13. Location. FIG. 8A shows the state where the movable body 71 is located at its standby position, but in this manner, the movable body 71 is positioned near the center of the turntable 6.

In addition, as long as the process chamber 30 is comprised between a pair of rails 52a, 52b, 54a, 54b, the process chamber 30 may be comprised differently. In this case, when the lid holding mechanism 8 is in the lowered position when the movable body 71 is moved above the processing chamber 30, the lid holding mechanism 8 and the holding portion of each processing chamber 30 are moved. Each processing chamber is positioned so that the movable body 71 is positioned at the opening / closing position in each processing chamber 30 without causing interference, and the held portion 5 is lifted up when the lid holding mechanism 8 is raised. The held part 5 and the moving body 71 of the 30 are comprised. With such a configuration, the lids 32 of all the processing chambers 30 can be opened and closed by the movable body 71.

The lid reversing mechanism 4 is configured to hold and invert the lid 32 transmitted from the lid holding mechanism 8, and as shown in FIG. 7, for example, the frame 41 on which the lid 32 is held; And a rotation drive part 42 for rotating the frame 41 along a horizontal rotation axis. This rotation drive part 42 is provided with the drive motor 43, the speed reducer 44, and the bearing 45, These are supported by the support stand 46. As shown in FIG. The frame 41 maintains the periphery of the lid 32 when the movable body 71 holding the lid 32 moves to the delivery position of the lid 32 and the lid 32 is lowered from this position. It is configured to.

Also in the side of this cover reversal mechanism 4, the guide rail 47 is provided so that it may orthogonally cross the side surface of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 in which the cover reversal mechanism 4 is provided. This guide rail 47 is comprised similarly to the 2nd guide rail 52 mentioned above, and when the 1st guide rail 54 is in the position which faced the cover reversing mechanism 4, the guide rail 47 and the agent are made. It is comprised so that the moving body 71 may move between 1 guide rails 54. As shown in FIG. And the movable body 71 which hold | maintained the cover 32 can move to the delivery position of the cover 32 on this guide rail 47. As shown in FIG. At this time, the guide rail 47 is supported by the support 48 so that it may not interfere with the rotation drive part 42 of the cover reversal mechanism 4, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 47A denotes a wheel stopper of the wheels 75A and 75B of the movable body 71.

Moreover, the control part 100 containing a computer is provided in this board | substrate processing apparatus. This control part 100 is provided with the data processing part containing a program, a memory, and a CPU, The said program contains the etching processing apparatus, a conveyance system, the moving motors 76A, 76B, and elevating of the moving body 71 from the control part 100. The control signal is sent to the motor 85, the drive motor 68 of the rotary table 6, the drive motor 43 of the lid reversing mechanism 4, and the like, and the predetermined steps are performed on the substrate S by carrying out the predetermined steps. For example, commands (each step) are issued so that the etching process, the opening / closing operation of the lid 32, and the inversion operation of the lid 32 are performed. This program is stored in a storage unit such as a computer storage medium such as a flexible disk, a compact disk, a hard disk, or an MO (magnet) disk and installed in the control unit 100.

In addition, the control part 100 moves the rotary table 6 along the circumferential direction of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 based on the instruction | command from an operator, or moves the moving body 71 above the vacuum conveyance chamber 13. The cover 32 is moved from the standby position toward the upper side of the processing chamber 30 to be opened, or the movable body 71 holding the cover 32 is moved to the upper side of the cover reversing mechanism 4. And a command to transmit the lid 32 to the lid inversion mechanism 4 are output to the moving motors 76A and 76B and the lifting motor 85.

In addition, in the control part 100, when the front end side of the 1st guide rail 54 is located in the position which faced each process chamber 30 by the encoder of the drive motor 68 in the turntable 6, respectively. Figure out the stop position. Moreover, the stop position which stops the moving body 71 in each opening-closing position in the process chamber 30 by the encoder of the said moving motor 76A, 76B, and the moving body 71 above the vacuum conveyance chamber 13. The stop position for stopping at the standby position on the side is managed. The lowering position and the rising position of the lid holding mechanism 8 are managed by the encoder of the lifting motor 85.

In such a substrate processing apparatus 1, normally, as shown to Fig.8 (a), in the state which located the front end side of the 1st guide rail 54 in the standby position facing the load lock chamber 12, The above-mentioned etching process is performed with respect to the board | substrate S. In the standby position, as described above, the movable body 71 is located at the proximal end of the first guide rail 54 and is positioned near the center of the turntable 6. In addition, in FIG.8 and FIG.9, the code | symbol of 30A-30D is attached | subjected to the four process chambers 30. In addition, in FIG.

And when opening the cover 32 at the time of maintenance of the cover 32 and the process chamber 30, the 1st guide rail 54 is vacuum-conveyed toward the upper side of 30 A of target process chambers from the said standby position. It moves to the circumferential direction of the chamber 13, and it stops in the position toward 30 A of the process chambers.

Then, the moving body 71 is moved to the upper side of the process chamber 30A along the 1st guide rail 54 and the 2nd guide rail 52, and the opening-closing position which opens and closes the cover 32 of the process chamber 30A. Stop at (see FIG. 8 (b)). Here, although the clearance gap is formed between the 1st guide rail 54 and the 2nd guide rail 52 as mentioned above, by moving the wheels 75A and 75B larger than the said clearance, the movable body 71 is both positive and negative. It can move between the rails 52, 54.

In this open / close position, as shown to FIG. 10 (a), the horizontal part 80a of the cover holding mechanism 8 in the moving body 71 catches the hold | maintenance part 5 of the said processing chamber 30A. It is located below the part 50. Subsequently, as shown in FIG.10 (b), the cover holding mechanism 8 is raised so that the latching | locking part 50 may be pushed up in the horizontal part 80a, and the cover 32 from the process chamber 30A. )

In this way, the movable body 71 is moved along the 2nd guide rail 52 and the 1st guide rail 54 in the state which hold | maintained the lid | cover 32 with the movable body 71 above the vacuum conveyance chamber 13. To the side. Subsequently, as shown to Fig.9 (a), when the moving body 71 is moved to the standby position of the upper side of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13, the rotating table 6 will be shown to Fig.9 (b). As described above, the tip of the first guide rail 54 is moved to the position facing the lid reversal mechanism 4. Subsequently, the movable body 71 holding the lid 32 is moved above the lid inversion mechanism 4 along the first guide rail 54 and the guide rail 47 to be stopped at the transfer position.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11C, the lid holding mechanism 8 is lowered to transfer the lid 32 to the frame 41. Then, the lid holding mechanism 8 is lowered to the lowered position so that the horizontal portion 80a of the lid holding mechanism 8 is lower than the latched portion 50 of the held portion 5 of the lid 32. After moving to, the movable body 71 is moved to the upper side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 so as not to interfere with the inversion operation of the lid 32. On the other hand, in the lid reversal mechanism 4, as shown in FIG. 11D, the frame 41 is driven by the rotation drive unit 42 while the lid 32 is held by the frame 41. Is rotated around the horizontal axis to reverse the lid 32. The gas supply part 35 etc. are attached to the back surface of the cover 32, and maintenance is performed by inverting the cover 32 and making the said gas supply part 35 face upward.

In the above-described embodiment, the movable body 71 is moved above the processing chamber 30, and the lid 32 of the processing chamber 30 is lifted by the lid holding mechanism 8 provided in the movable body 71. do. Therefore, if there is a space above the processing chamber 30, the cover 32 can be opened, so that the space in the transverse direction of the processing chamber 30 is unnecessary at the time of attaching and detaching the cover, and the enlargement of the installation space of the apparatus can be suppressed. Can be.

Moreover, since the cover 32 of all the process chambers 30 can be attached or detached by the common moving body 71, compared with the structure which provides the opening / closing mechanism of the cover 32 for every process chamber 30, the process chamber 30 The size of the device can be reduced, the size of the device can be suppressed, and the increase in footprint can be suppressed.

Moreover, since the moving body 71 is provided so that it may move to the upper side of the process chamber 30 and the vacuum conveyance chamber 13, compared with the structure which provides the cover opening / closing mechanism around the process chamber 30, the process chamber 30 itself Can be miniaturized. Moreover, since what is necessary is just to provide the common moving body 71 with respect to the some process chamber 30, it is advantageous in terms of manufacturing cost. In addition, since it is not necessary to secure the maintenance area of the cover 32 for each processing chamber 30, a common maintenance area should be secured for the plurality of processing chambers 30, so that the size of the apparatus can be suppressed from this viewpoint. .

In addition, when the moving body 71 is comprised in a door shape, the both ends move along a rail, respectively. For this reason, since the load is distributed, the lid 32 lifted by the lid holding mechanism 8 can be moved in a stable state. As mentioned above, since the process chamber 30 is considerably large and the cover 32 also has a weight of about 10000 kg, it is very merit to move in a state where the load is dispersed.

In addition, the moving body 71 is provided separately from the processing chamber 30, and the processing chamber 30 or the vacuum transfer chamber also includes the second guide rail 52, the turntable 6, the first guide rail 54, and the like. We can install later to structure of (13). Therefore, it can be provided in combination with the existing substrate processing apparatus, and the use value is high.

In this example, the strut 53 of the second guide rail 52 is provided on the processing chamber 30 side rather than the gate valve GV between the processing chamber 30 and the vacuum transfer chamber 13. For this reason, an obstacle does not exist in the side of the gate valve GV, and it does not interfere with maintenance work. In addition, by forming the window 60 in the rotary table 6 as described above, by placing the rotary table 6 in the standby position, by moving the movable body 71 to a position which does not interfere with the window 60. The opening 17 of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 can be accessed. For this reason, there exists an advantage that the board | substrate conveyance mechanism 25 can be taken out from the opening part 17, and can be maintained when needed.

Moreover, even if the cover 32 is removed with respect to one process chamber 30, the process of the board | substrate S can be continued in the other process chamber 30, and the fall of a throughput can be suppressed. In addition, in attaching and detaching the cover 32, the locking part 50 of the to-be-held part 5 and the horizontal part 80a of the cover holding mechanism 8 correspond, and the cover holding mechanism 8 is then continued. In order to raise and lower, even if one drive shaft is sufficient, the apparatus can be simplified and reduced in cost. In addition, since the gate valve GV is not provided in the side wall of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 in the maintenance area M side, the opening / closing part which is not shown in figure is shown in the side wall of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 in the maintenance area M side. It may be provided so that the board | substrate conveyance mechanism 25 may be taken out.

In this example, although the 2nd guide rail 52 was comprised so that it may be supported by the support | pillar 53, you may comprise so that it may attach to the side wall of the container main body 31 of the process chamber 30 via a support member.

In addition, the 2nd guide rail 52 may be provided so that lifting / lowering is possible by the lifting mechanism 91, for example, as shown in FIG. In this example, the second guide rail 52 is configured to be capable of lifting up and down by the lifting mechanism 91 via the support 92. Then, by the elevating mechanism 91, the lower position where the upper surface of the second guide rail 52 is located below the gate valve GV (see FIG. 12A) and the first guide rail 54. ) And the upper position where the height position is aligned (see FIG. 12 (b)) and the height between the lower position and the upper position, the upper surface of the second guide rail 52 moves the first guide rail 54. It is made to move up and down with the standby position which does not inhibit this. At this time, the front end (vacuum conveyance chamber 13 side) of the support 92 of the 2nd guide rail 52 is provided so that the side of the gate valve GV may be raised and lowered, and accordingly, of the 2nd guide rail 52 The tip (vacuum conveyance chamber 13 side) is provided to extend to the vicinity of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 while being supported by the support 92.

In this example, first, the second guide rail 52 is placed in the standby position. The rotary table is positioned so that the tip of the first guide rail 54 faces the processing chamber 30 to open the lid 32 in a state where the movable body 71 is disposed above the vacuum transfer chamber 13. Rotate (6). Subsequently, as shown in FIG.12 (b), the 2nd guide rail 52 is raised from the said standby position to the said upper position, and then, the moving body 71 is moved to the upper side of the process chamber 30 after that. The cover 31 is opened.

Subsequently, after moving the moving body 71 which hold | maintained the cover 32 to the upper side of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13, the 2nd guide rail 52 is lowered to the said standby position, and the 1st guide rail 54 The turntable 6 is rotated so that the tip of the face faces the lid reversal mechanism 4. Then, the movable body 71 is moved from the upper side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 to the upper side of the lid inversion mechanism 4, and the lid 32 is transferred to the lid inversion mechanism 4. ) Is moved above the vacuum transfer chamber 13.

In such a structure, since the 2nd guide rail 52 and the support | pillar 53 are provided so that lifting and lowering are possible, and it is made to descend to the said downward position at the time of maintenance of the gate valve GV, the space for performing the said maintenance is made. The second guide rail 52 and the strut 53 can be provided on the side of the gate valve GV while securing. For this reason, the clearance gap between the 1st guide rail 54 and the 2nd guide rail 52 can be made small, ensuring the strength of the 2nd guide rail 52. FIG. As a result, the wheel of the movable body 71 can be made small, so that the movable body 71 can be miniaturized.

In addition, when moving the 1st guide rail 54, since the 2nd guide rail 52 is lowered to a standby position so that this movement may not be inhibited, the clearance required for the movement of the 1st guide rail 54 will be made. It becomes unnecessary, and the said gap can also be made small from this point. However, also when the 1st guide rail 54 is moved, the 2nd guide rail 52 may be located in the said upper position, and may be located in the said lower position.

Also in this example, since the lid 32 is raised and lowered with respect to the processing chamber 30 by the movable body 71, and the lid 32 is opened and closed, the size of the apparatus is suppressed as in the above-described embodiment. The increase in footprint can be suppressed.

In addition, similarly to the above-described embodiment, since the movable body 71 is formed in a door shape, the lid 32 can be moved in a stable state in a state where the load is dispersed, and the guide rails 52, 54, The moving body 71 and the turntable 6 can be provided later with respect to the existing substrate processing apparatus. Moreover, the opening part 17 mentioned above can be formed in the ceiling part of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13, and maintenance becomes convenient.

Then, another embodiment of this invention is described using FIG. 13 and FIG. The second guide member in this example is configured to be stored on the turntable 6 side when not in use, and to extend from the turntable 6 side to the processing chamber 30 side when in use.

For example, the guide rail 94 including the second guide member is integrally formed with the first guide rail 54 described above, and when not in use, the guide rail 94 is folded at the tip of the first guide rail 54 and vacuum-conveyed. It is stored so that it may enter in the vicinity of the ceiling part of the chamber 13. And in use, it extends from the front-end | tip of the 1st guide rail 54, is located in the upper side of the both sides of the corresponding process chamber 30, respectively, and guides the moving body 71 to the said opening-closing position in the process chamber 30. It is configured to.

For example, as shown in FIG. 13B, the first guide rail 54 and the second guide rail 94 are connected by a hinge mechanism 96 having a vertical rotational shaft 96a. In the figure, reference numeral 97 denotes a drive motor of the hinge mechanism 96. When not in use, the first guide rail 54 and the second guide rail 94 are arranged in a horizontal direction with each other, and the second guide rail 94 is positioned inside the first guide rail 54. The hinge mechanism 96 is controlled by the drive motor 97 so as to be in a folded state. On the other hand, in use, the second guide rail 94 is opened to rotate in the horizontal direction from the stowed position, and the second guide rail 94 is driven horizontally on the extension line of the first guide rail 54. The hinge mechanism 96 is controlled by the motor 97. It is the same as the structure shown in FIG. 1 mentioned above except the 2nd guide rail 94 being folded. Further, the first guide rail 54 and the second guide rail 94 are connected by a hinge mechanism having a vertical rotational shaft, and when not in use, the second guide rail 94 on the first guide rail 54. ) May be folded and stored.

On the other hand, the support post 95 is provided in advance in the position where the 2nd guide rail 94 in the process chamber 30 and the cover reversal mechanism 4 is extended, and the weight of the movable body 71 and the cover 32 The second guide rail 94 is made to withstand. In addition, this support | pillar 95 may be provided so that raising and lowering is possible. In addition, in FIG. 13, the support | pillar 95 is abbreviate | omitted for convenience of illustration.

In this example, first, as shown in FIG. 14A, the first guide is placed in a state where the second guide rail 94 is accommodated and the movable body 71 is located above the vacuum transfer chamber 13. The rotary table 6 is rotated so that the tip of the rail 54 faces the processing chamber 30 to which the lid 32 is to be opened. Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 14B, the second guide rail 94 is extended and supported by the support post 95. Thereby, the 2nd guide rail 94 will be in the state extended to the upper side of the side of the process chamber 30. FIG. After that, the movable body 71 is moved to the upper side of the processing chamber 30, and the lid 31 is opened.

Then, after moving the moving body 71 which hold | maintained the cover 32 to the upper side of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13, the 2nd guide rail 94 is folded and accommodated. Then, the rotary table 6 is rotated so that the tip end of the first guide rail 54 in the housed state faces the lid reversal mechanism 4. Subsequently, the second guide rail 94 is extended upward to the side of the lid reversal mechanism 4 and supported by the support 95. After that, the movable body 71 is moved to the upper side of the lid inversion mechanism 4, and the lid 32 is transferred to the lid inversion mechanism 4, and then the movable body 71 is moved in the vacuum transfer chamber 13. Move upwards.

Thus, in this embodiment, when the 2nd guide rail 94 is comprised so that it can be accommodated and the rotary table 6 which corresponds to the nonuse is moved along the circumferential direction of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13, 2 Fold the guide rails 94 and store them. And when moving the moving body 71 corresponded to the upper side of the process chamber 30 and the cover reversal mechanism 4 at the time of use, the 2nd guide rail to the upper side of the side of the processing chamber 30 and the cover reversal mechanism 4 It is comprised so that the tip of 94 may be extended.

In such a structure, it is not necessary to ensure the space for rotation of the 1st guide rail 54 between the 2nd guide rail 52 like the case where the 2nd guide rail 52 is fixed and installed. For this reason, since the clearance gap between the 1st guide rail 54 and the 2nd guide rail 94 is suppressed to the minimum, the wheel of the movable body 71 can be made small, and the movable body 71 can be miniaturized. have. Further, since the gap is small, the movable body 71 can be smoothly moved between the upper side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 and the upper side such as the processing chamber 30.

Also in this example, since the lid 32 is raised and lowered with respect to the processing chamber 30 by the movable body 71, and the lid 32 is opened and closed, similarly to the above-described embodiment, the enlargement of the apparatus is suppressed. The increase in footprint can be suppressed. In addition, similarly to the above-described embodiment, since the movable body 71 is configured in the shape of a door, the lid 32 can be moved in a stable state while the load is dispersed, and the guide rails and the movable body 71 are existing. It is possible to install later about the substrate processing apparatus. Moreover, the opening part 17 mentioned above can be formed in the ceiling part of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13, and maintenance becomes convenient.

In addition, when the ceiling part of the process chamber 30 is lower than the ceiling part of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13, you may comprise in the state which extended the 1st guide rail from the beginning, and may comprise the support | pillar to be able to raise / lower. In this case, in the state which made the support | pillar lower than the height position of a 1st guide rail, it moved so that the 1st guide rail may be extended to the upper side of the process chamber 30 of the objective, and then raises the support, and By supporting the first guide rail is performed.

In the above, when the moving body 71 is not limited to a door shape and is extended so that it may extend to the upper side of the process chamber 30 from either side wall part of the process chamber 30, and the process chamber 30 is small and lightweight, May be configured to support only one side. In this case, the guide member is provided on one side of the side of the processing chamber 30.

Further, the plurality of moving bodies 71 are provided to move along a common guide member, and for example, when one moving body 71 is located above the processing chamber 30 or the maintenance region M, the other moving body 71 71 may be positioned above the processing chamber 30 different from these, or above the vacuum transfer chamber 13 to move the plurality of lids 32. In addition, the planar shape of the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 is not limited to a regular polygonal shape, and is not limited to the case where several process chambers also comprise mutually the same shape. Further, two processing chambers may be arranged on one side of the vacuum transfer chamber. In this case, the movement table is comprised combining the rotation table and the linear movement mechanism. In addition, as long as the number of the process chambers 30 connected to the conveyance chamber 13 is two or more, what kind of thing may be sufficient, and it is not necessary to necessarily provide the cover reversal mechanism 4 of the cover 32. Moreover, also about the case where the cover inversion mechanism 4 is provided, the arrangement | positioning of the process chamber 30 and the cover inversion mechanism 4 around the vacuum conveyance chamber 13 can be selected suitably.

Moreover, the drive part for moving a movable body along a guide member may be the slider which moves by a motor along a guide member. In addition, the elevating mechanism for elevating the lid holding mechanism 8 is provided with an elevating shaft at the upper end of the hook members 81 and 81, and a screw unit body having a female threaded portion for the screwed portion of the elevating shaft is provided above the elevating shaft. The lifting shaft may be moved up and down along the screw body by rotating the screw body.

In addition, the to-be-held part 5 provided in the cover 32 is not limited about the shape, as long as the cover holding mechanism 8 raises and lowers the hold | maintained part 5, The shape of the cover 32 It may be installed on the side. In addition, it is not necessary to provide the holding part 5 to the cover 32, but a magnet may be provided in the lower end of the lid holding mechanism 8, and it may make it hold | maintain and lift up a lid with this magnet.

Moreover, you may comprise so that the 1st guide member may be provided above the vacuum conveyance chamber, and the 1st guide member itself may turn by a rotation mechanism. In addition, the rotary table 6 may be provided in an upper region of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 through a support member extending from the bottom surface. In addition, you may make it maintain the gas supply part 35 in the state which lifted the cover 32 by the cover holding mechanism 8. As shown in FIG. The standby position of the lid holding mechanism 8 when the etching process is performed on the substrate S is not limited to the upper side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13, and interferes with the processing and the transfer of the substrate S. As long as it is not positioned, the upper side of maintenance area M and the upper side of process chamber 30 may be sufficient.

In addition, the processing chamber 30 is not limited to the etching process of the substrate S, and may be subjected to a film forming process such as CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) or a vacuum process such as ashing. In the substrate processing apparatus, as the substrate S to be treated, a circular substrate such as a semiconductor wafer may be used in addition to the rectangular glass substrate.

S: FPD substrate 13; Conveying room
3: etching processing apparatus 30: processing chamber
31: container body 32: cover
4: cover reverse mechanism 5: holding part
50: locking portion 52: second guide rail
54: first guide rail 6: turn table
71: moving body 8: cover holding mechanism
80: holding portion 80a: horizontal portion

Claims (9)

In the substrate processing apparatus which provided the preliminary vacuum chamber and the cover on the container main body, respectively, and connected the several process chambers for processing with respect to a board | substrate around the vacuum conveyance chamber in which the board | substrate conveyance mechanism was provided,
A rotary table provided above the vacuum transfer chamber and rotating around a vertical axis about a central portion of the vacuum transfer chamber;
A first guide member extending horizontally from the vacuum conveying chamber side toward the outside on the rotary table, the first guide member being installed to move in a rotational direction together with the rotary table;
A movable body guided and moved by the first guide member,
A second guide provided to move the movable body between the upper side of the processing chamber and the first guide member and to be positioned horizontally on an extension line of the first guide member when the rotary table stops at a corresponding position; Absence,
It is installed on the movable body, and when the movable body is located on the second guide member, the lid is held and lifted to detach the lid from the container body, and the movable body can move to the first guide member while the lid is held. Cover retaining mechanism
Wherein the substrate processing apparatus further comprises: delete delete The said cover is provided with the to-be-held part extended in the horizontal direction along the direction in which the 2nd guide member extends, Comprising: The latched part including the latched part in which the space was formed below, The said cover holding mechanism moves forward and backward. And a holding portion for entering the space below the locking portion and then lifting to lift the lid from the lower side to lift the lid from the lower side. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the second guide member is provided for each processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the second guide member is accommodated on the turntable side when not in use, and extends from the turntable side to the processing chamber side when in use. . The said vacuum conveyance chamber is formed in polygonal shape of Claim 1 or 4,
The preliminary vacuum chamber and the processing chamber are connected to other side surfaces of the vacuum transfer chamber except for one side for securing a maintenance area on the outer side thereof. 8. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 7, wherein a cover inversion mechanism for holding and inverting a cover transmitted from the cover holding mechanism is provided in the maintenance region. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the vacuum transfer chamber has six side surfaces, and one preliminary vacuum chamber and four processing chambers are connected to the side surfaces thereof.

Images