KR101428522B1 - System for vacuum processing, buffer module therefor, and method for transferring tray therefor - Google Patents

System for vacuum processing, buffer module therefor, and method for transferring tray therefor Download PDF

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Publication number
KR101428522B1
KR101428522B1 KR1020080047005A KR20080047005A KR101428522B1 KR 101428522 B1 KR101428522 B1 KR 101428522B1 KR 1020080047005 A KR1020080047005 A KR 1020080047005A KR 20080047005 A KR20080047005 A KR 20080047005A KR 101428522 B1 KR101428522 B1 KR 101428522B1
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South Korea
Prior art keywords
tray
module
buffer
loading
unloading
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KR1020080047005A
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Korean (ko)
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KR20090120943A (en
Inventor
이주희
차근수
양효성
진상우
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주식회사 원익아이피에스
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Priority to KR1020080047005A priority Critical patent/KR101428522B1/en
Priority to CN2009801186700A priority patent/CN102037551B/en
Priority to PCT/KR2009/002678 priority patent/WO2009142446A2/en
Publication of KR20090120943A publication Critical patent/KR20090120943A/en
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Publication of KR101428522B1 publication Critical patent/KR101428522B1/en

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H01L21/67763—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations the wafers being stored in a carrier, involving loading and unloading
    • H01L21/67769—Storage means
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
    • H01L21/67155—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations
    • H01L21/67236—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations the substrates being processed being not semiconductor wafers, e.g. leadframes or chips
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/673—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere using specially adapted carriers or holders; Fixing the workpieces on such carriers or holders
    • H01L21/6734—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere using specially adapted carriers or holders; Fixing the workpieces on such carriers or holders specially adapted for supporting large square shaped substrates
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H01L21/67763—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations the wafers being stored in a carrier, involving loading and unloading
    • H01L21/67778—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations the wafers being stored in a carrier, involving loading and unloading involving loading and unloading of wafers

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)
  • Robotics (AREA)
  • Physical Vapour Deposition (AREA)

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum processing system, and more particularly, to a vacuum processing system that performs a vacuum process on a substrate by etching or vapor-depositing a surface of the substrate in a vacuum state.

The present invention relates to a loading / unloading module in which a plurality of substrates are loaded or unloaded in a tray; At least one processing module installed at one side of the loading / unloading module and having a closed processing space for carrying a process by transferring a tray loaded with a plurality of substrates; Wherein the tray has one or more buffers to which the tray is temporarily loaded, and the tray is transferred from the loading / unloading module to the buffer unit and is covered with a cover member having a plurality of slits formed on the tray before the transferring to the process module, A buffer module for removing a cover member from the tray before transferring the tray with the cover member from the process module to the loading / unloading module; And a transfer unit for transferring the tray between the loading / unloading module and the buffer module and the transfer of the tray between the processing module and the buffer module.

Vacuum, Buffer, Module

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a vacuum processing system, a buffer module used in a vacuum processing system, and a tray transfer method for a vacuum processing system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum processing system, and more particularly, to a vacuum processing system that performs a vacuum process on a substrate by etching or vapor-depositing a surface of the substrate in a vacuum state.

The vacuum processing system refers to a system including a vacuum processing module for performing a vacuum process such as depositing and etching a surface of a substrate placed on a substrate support in a closed process space.

The vacuum processing system can be configured in various ways according to the kind of the substrate to be processed and the type of the vacuum processing, and includes a loading / unloading module for loading / unloading the substrate, a vacuum processing A process module for performing a predetermined process, and a transfer robot for transferring the substrate between the loading / unloading module and the process module.

At this time, the substrates to be subjected to the vacuum treatment are generally transported one by one. However, in the case of a small substrate such as a solar cell substrate, a plurality of substrates can be transported using a tray in consideration of process efficiency.

In addition, in the vacuum processing apparatus, a cover member having a plurality of slits may be embedded in the upper side of the tray on which a plurality of substrates are loaded, and vacuum processing may be performed to increase the vacuum processing efficiency.

Meanwhile, in the above-described vacuum processing system, the TACT (Turn Around Cycle Time), which is defined as the time required for loading the substrate, processing the substrate, and unloading the processed substrate, determines the performance of the vacuum processing system It is one of the important factors.

However, the conventional vacuum processing system has a problem that the loading / unloading of the substrate in the tray, the covering and removing of the cover member are performed in the loading / unloading module, and the TACT is lengthened.

More specifically, first, since the loading / unloading of the substrate and the covering and removing of the cover member are performed in one loading / unloading module, the time required in one loading / unloading module becomes longer, There is a problem.

Second, the time required for loading / unloading the substrate in the loading / unloading module and for covering and removing the cover member is relatively longer than the time taken in the other module, so that loading / unloading of the substrate and closure and removal of the cover member There is a problem that another module must wait until it is completed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for performing a loading / unloading process of a substrate in a tray and a covering process for covering a cover member having a plurality of slits formed on a tray, A buffer module used in a vacuum processing system and a tray transfer method of a vacuum processing system capable of remarkably shortening a time required from loading of a substrate, vacuum processing of a substrate and unloading of a substrate .

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vacuum processing system capable of remarkably improving the speed of the entire process by additionally providing a buffer module having two or more buffers in which a tray is temporarily stored, And a tray transfer method of a vacuum processing system.

The present invention has been made in order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the present invention, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a loading / unloading module in which a plurality of substrates are loaded or unloaded on a tray; At least one processing module installed at one side of the loading / unloading module and having a closed processing space for carrying a process by transferring a tray loaded with a plurality of substrates; Wherein the tray has one or more buffers in which a tray is temporarily stored, and the tray is transferred from the loading / unloading module to the buffer unit, and is covered with a cover member having a plurality of slits formed on the tray before transferring the tray to the process module, A buffer module for removing a cover member from the tray before transferring the tray with the cover member from the process module to the loading / unloading module; And a transfer unit for transferring the tray between the loading / unloading module and the buffer module and the transfer of the tray between the processing module and the buffer module.

The buffer module includes: a module body; A tray support provided on the module body to support the tray; And a buffer part for temporarily storing the tray together with the tray supporting part. The tray is supported by the cover member when the tray is moved upward, supports the cover member when the tray is moved downward, And a cover supporting portion provided on the module main body with an interval spaced above the tray supporting portion so as to remove the member.

The buffer unit may be composed of two or more.

The buffer units may be arranged vertically. At this time, the buffer module may be configured to move the buffer units disposed up and down. In addition, the transfer unit may be configured to move the tray up and down by the upper and lower buffer units.

Meanwhile, the buffer units may be arranged horizontally. At this time, the buffer units may be configured to horizontally move the horizontally arranged buffer units. The transfer unit may be configured to move the tray to the horizontally arranged buffer units.

On the other hand, the tray supporting portion may protrude more than the cover supporting portion.

Wherein the buffer module and the one or more process modules are disposed along a guide rail installed at one side of the loading / unloading module, the transferring part moves along the guide rail, And a transfer robot for transferring the tray and transferring the tray between the process module and the buffer module.

The buffer module is installed at one side of the loading / unloading module, and the at least one process module is disposed along a guide rail installed at one side of the buffer module, and the transferring unit includes the loading / unloading module and the buffer module A first transfer robot for transferring the tray between the first transfer robot and the second transfer robot; And a second transfer robot moving along the guide rail to transfer the tray between the buffer module and the process module.

The process module may be configured to etch or deposit the surface of the substrate in a vacuum state. The loading / unloading module and the buffer module may be configured to be at atmospheric pressure.

The present invention also discloses a buffer module for use in such a vacuum processing system.

The present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: a substrate loading step of loading a plurality of substrates into a tray; A first tray loading step for transferring the loaded tray to a buffer for temporarily storing substrates; A cover covering step of covering the tray stored in the buffer unit with a cover member having a plurality of slits in the first tray transporting step; And a second tray loading step of transferring a tray having a cover formed with a plurality of slits from the buffer unit to the process module in the cover covering step.

The method for transferring trays of a vacuum processing system according to the present invention includes a first trailer loading step of storing a tray having a cover member clipped from the process chamber in a buffer unit; A cover removing step of removing the cover member from the tray stored in the buffer unit in the first tray loading step; A second tray loading step of taking out the tray from which the cover member has been removed from the buffer unit in the cover removing step; And unloading the substrates from the tray after the second trailing loading step.

The vacuum processing system may include at least two buffer units. In the buffer unit, the second tray loading step may be performed in another buffer unit after the first tray loading step. In the one buffer unit, The first tray loading step may be performed in another buffer unit after the irons loading step.

Meanwhile, the first tray loading step and the second tray loading step are performed by the first transfer robot, the second tray loading step and the first tray loading step are performed by the second transfer robot, The first tray loading step, the second trailer loading step, the second tray loading step, and the first trailer loading step may be performed by one transfer robot.

The transfer robot can move the tray up and down to store or retrieve the buffer, or when the tray is stored or withdrawn from the buffer by the transfer robot, the buffer can be moved up and down.

In the vacuum processing system, the process of loading / unloading a substrate on a tray and the overlapping and removing process of a cover member on a tray are separated and performed in different modules, thereby reducing the waiting time of the transfer robot or the process module, There is an advantage that the TACT of the processing system can be remarkably reduced.

The present invention also separates the loading / unloading process of the substrate on the tray and the covering and removing process of the cover member on the tray and performing them in different modules to prevent the seating state of the substrate on the tray during the covering process of the cover There is an advantage to be able to.

The present invention is also advantageous in that the transfer of the trays on which the substrates are loaded can be efficiently performed by providing two or more buffer units, thereby remarkably increasing the speed of the entire process.

Hereinafter, a vacuum processing system according to the present invention, a buffer module used in a vacuum processing system, and a tray transfer method of a vacuum processing system will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a vacuum processing system according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views showing the construction and operation of a buffer module of the vacuum processing system of FIG. 1, Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a modification of the vacuum processing system according to the present invention. Fig.

1, the vacuum processing system 100 according to the present invention includes a loading / unloading module 110, a process module 130, a transfer unit, and a buffer module 200.

The loading / unloading module 110 is a structure for loading a plurality of substrates 1 for processing into the tray 2 or unloading the processed substrates 1 from the tray 2, Configuration is possible.

The tray 2 is a rectangular plate-shaped member for supporting the substrate 1, and the substrates 1 are transported to the respective modules in a loaded state. And the substrates 1 on the tray 2 may be arranged in a suitable form such as arranged in a plurality of rows.

In addition, the tray 2 may have a variety of configurations, such as a tab or the like, for transferring the transfer part and moving it into each module. In consideration of the case where the vacuum process is performed by plasma, .

The loading / unloading module 110 draws the substrate 1 from a cassette (not shown) on which a plurality of substrates 1 are stacked to load the substrate 1 at each position on the tray 2, A loading / unloading robot (not shown) such as an XY robot for unloading the substrate 1 at each position on the substrate 2 is provided.

The process module 130 is configured to perform a predetermined process such as a vacuum process such as etching or vapor deposition on the substrate 1, and various configurations are possible depending on the type of process.

As an example, the process module 130 includes a chamber body (not shown) and a top lead (not shown) detachably coupled to each other to form a process space, a shower head (not shown), a substrate support And may be configured to form a plasma to perform a vacuum process on the substrate 1. At this time, the loading / unloading module 110 and the buffer module 200 can be operated under atmospheric pressure except for the processing module 130 requiring a predetermined vacuum pressure.

The vacuum processing system 100 may include only one process module 130 but may include a plurality of process modules 130 that perform the same process or a plurality of process modules 130 that perform different processes, Can be installed.

The buffer module 200 is configured such that the tray 2 is temporarily stored and can be configured in various manners before the tray 2 is transferred from the loading / unloading module 110 to the processing module 130 Or one or more buffer portions S in which the tray 2 is temporarily stored before transferring the tray 2 from the processing module 130 to the loading / unloading module 110.

On the other hand, in the case of a solar cell substrate, the upper part of the tray 2 on which a plurality of substrates 1 are loaded needs to be covered by the cover member 3 according to the process. At this time, the covering operation of the cover member 3 is conventionally performed in the loading / unloading module 110, thereby increasing the TACT of the vacuum processing system.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cover member 3 includes a cover portion 3a on which a plurality of slits (not shown) are formed, 3a extending from the edge of the cover portion 3a so as to be spaced apart from the substrate 1 loaded on the tray 1. The support portion 3c may be formed to extend from the edge of the cover portion 3a. At this time, the cover member 3 is used for a predetermined purpose such as forming a concavity and convexity on the surface of the substrate 1 by confining the plasma introduced through the slit.

Accordingly, the buffer module 200 transfers the tray 2 from the loading / unloading module 110 to cover the cover member 3 on the tray 2 before transferring the tray 2 to the process module 130, The cover member 3 may be configured to remove the cover member 3 from the tray before the cover 2 is transported from the module 130 to the loading / unloading module 110. At this time, the loading / unloading module 110 performs loading and unloading of the substrate 1 on the tray 2 only.

The buffer module 200 is configured to cover and remove the cover member 3, and may have various configurations according to the driving principle. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the buffer module 200 includes a module body 230; The buffer unit S may include a tray support unit 210 and a cover support unit 220. The buffer unit S may be configured to temporarily store the tray 2, 220 as shown in FIG.

The module body 230 may have a variety of configurations including a main body of the buffer module 200 for installing the tray supporting part 210 and the cover supporting part 220.

The buffer module 200 includes a buffer unit S for driving the cover unit 3 and a driving unit 240 for moving the module body 230 up and down for storing and removing the tray 2, As shown in FIG. Of course, the module main body 230 may be configured such that at least one of the tray supporting portion 210 and the cover supporting portion 220 is movable up and down in a stopped state, and any structure for covering and removing the cover member 3 It is possible.

The tray supporting portion 210 may be provided on the module body 230 to support both ends of the tray 2 and may be formed to protrude from the inner side surface of the module body 230.

As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the cover supporting portion 220 is covered by the cover member 3 when the tray 2 is moved upward, Is installed on the module main body 230 at an interval above the tray supporting portion 210 so as to support both ends of the cover member 3 and to remove the cover member 3 when the main body 2 is moved downward.

The cover supporting portion 220 may be formed to protrude from the inner side surface of the module body 230, such as the tray supporting portion 210, or the like.

The cover supporting part 220 may be formed to support the end of the cover member 3 so that only the cover member 3 can be supported and the end of the tray 2 is not caught.

The tray 2 may be formed to be shorter than both ends of the cover member 3. The tray support 210 protrudes more than the cover support 210 to support both ends of the tray 2 .

Meanwhile, the cover supporting part 220 and the tray supporting part 210 can be variously configured such as being fixedly installed or moved and installed for removing or covering the cover part 3 from the tray 2.

The buffer module 200 includes two or more buffer units S so that the tray 2 is stored in an empty buffer unit S and the tray 2 is taken out from another buffer unit S It is more efficient.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the buffer module 200 may have two or more buffer units S arranged vertically. At this time, the buffer units S may be installed so as to be movable up and down for pulling in and out of the tray 2 to be described later.

At this time, the transfer unit for loading and unloading the tray 2, that is, the transfer robot may be installed so that it can move up and down simultaneously with the vertical movement of the buffer unit S or separately. Of course, when the transferring unit is composed of a plurality of transferring robots, only at least one transferring robot may be configured to move up and down.

Also, as shown in FIG. 4, the buffer module 200 may have two or more buffer units S arranged horizontally. At this time, the buffer units S may be installed so as to be horizontally movable for pulling in and out of the tray 2 described later. Of course, the buffer units S may be configured to be movable in the vertical direction.

At this time, the transfer unit for pulling in and out of the tray 2 can be installed so as to move horizontally at the same time as the horizontal movement of the buffer unit S or separately. Of course, when the transferring unit is composed of a plurality of transferring robots, only at least one transferring robot may be configured to move horizontally. It should be noted that at least one of the transfer unit and the buffer unit S may be vertically movable along with the horizontal movement.

The transfer unit is configured to transfer the tray 2 between the loading / unloading module 110 and the buffer module 200, between the processing module 130 and the buffer module 200, Do. In particular, depending on the arrangement of the vacuum processing system 100, the transfer unit may be composed of one or more transfer robots R1 and R2.

The buffer module 200 in the vacuum processing system 100 may be installed between the loading / unloading module 110 and the process module 130 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, And may be installed together with the process module 130 along the guide rails 330 installed on one side of the loading / unloading module 110. [

When the transfer unit is installed between the loading / unloading module 110 and the process module 130, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the transferring / unloading module 110 and the buffer module 200 A first transfer robot (R1) for transferring the tray (2); And a second transfer robot R 2 for transferring the tray 2 in which the cover member 3 is clipped between the buffer module 200 and the process module 130.

The first transfer robot Rl transfers the tray 2 between the loading / unloading module 110 and the buffer module 200, so that the first transferring robot Rl can perform any configuration as long as it can only linearly move. The loading / unloading module 110 ). Here, the first transfer robot Rl may be installed to be movable up and down.

The second transfer robot R 2 may move the tray 2 in which the cover member 3 is folded between the buffer module 200 and the process module 130 in at least one of linear movement, And may be configured to allow movement of some combinations.

In addition, the second transfer robot R 2 may be installed on one side of the buffer module 200 to move along a guide rail 330 for guiding the movement of the robot, considering that a plurality of modules are installed.

 5, when the buffer module 200 and the process module 130 are installed along the guide rail 330 installed at one side of the loading / unloading module 110, the loading / A guide rail 330 installed at one side of the unloading module 110; And a transfer robot R 2 that moves along the guide rail 330 and transfers the tray 2 between the buffer module 200 and the process module 110. At this time, the transfer robot R2 has a configuration similar to that of the second transfer robot R2 shown in FIGS.

The transfer process of the tray 2 in the vacuum processing system having the above-described structure will be described in detail as follows. At this time, the vacuum processing system 100 has two or more buffer units S and two transfer robots R 1 and R 2, and the cover member 3 is covered in the buffer unit S of the buffer module 200 For example,

The vacuum processing system 100 may include a substrate loading step of loading a plurality of substrates 1 onto a tray 2; A first tray loading step of transferring the tray (2) loaded with the substrates (1) to the buffer section (S) for temporarily loading after the substrate loading step; Covering the tray (2) stored in the buffer unit (S) with the cover member (3) in the first tray transporting step; The tray 2 is transferred through the second tray loading step of transferring the tray 2 from which the cover member 3 is clipped from the buffer unit S to the process module 130 in the cover covering step.

A process step of performing a process in the process module 130 after the second transfer step; A first trailer loading step of storing the tray 2 from the process chamber 110 into the buffer unit S after the process performing step; A cover removing step of removing the cover member (3) from the tray (2) loaded in the buffer part (S) in a first trailer loading step; A second tray loading step of taking out the tray 2 from which the cover member 3 has been removed from the buffer unit S in the cover removing step; A substrate unloading step is performed to unload the substrates 1 loaded on the tray 2 after the second tray loading step.

In the loading step, the loading / unloading module 110 processes the substrate 1 from a cassette (not shown) loaded with a plurality of substrates 1 by a loading / unloading robot, So that the substrate 1 is loaded at each position on the tray 2.

The first tray loading step is performed after all the substrates 1 are loaded on the tray 2 and the tray 2 is moved from the loading / unloading module 110 to the buffer part 200 of the buffer module 200 by the transfer part. (S) out of the buffer areas (S).

The tray 2 may be transported by the first transport robot R1 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 and may be transported to the second transport robot R2 as shown in FIG.

Meanwhile, the first transfer robot R 1, which is a transfer unit for transferring the tray 2, is loaded on another buffer unit S, which is the reverse of the first tray loading step, after the first tray loading step of transferring the tray 2 A second tray unloading step of taking out the tray 2 and transferring the tray 2 to the loading / unloading module 110 may be performed.

Also, the second transfer robot R 2, which is a transfer unit after the first trioran loading step, may perform the second tray loading step.

In the above-described tray transfer method, the process of pulling in and pulling out the tray 2 will be described in more detail as follows.

The process of the tray 2 loaded with the plurality of substrates 1 into the buffer unit S from the loading / unloading module 110 is as follows. As shown in FIG. 2A, ) To the tray supporting unit 220.

When the first transfer robot R 1 is retracted after loading the tray 2 onto the tray support 220, the second transfer robot R 2 is moved to the lower side of the tray 2 as shown in FIG. 2B Enter.

When the second transfer robot R 2 completes the entry, the buffer module 200 moves downward, and the tray 2 is supported by the second transfer robot R 2 and relatively moved upward. Here, the second transfer robot R 2 may move upward instead of moving the buffer module 200 upward.

When the tray 2 is moved to the position of the cover member 3 supported by the cover supporting portion 210 as shown in FIG. 2C, the buffer module 200 stops its movement, and the second transfer robot R2 extracts the tray 2 in which the cover member 3 is clipped from the buffer unit S and transfers the tray 2 to the process module 130. [

On the other hand, when the process is completed in the process module 130, the second transfer robot R 1 takes out the tray 2 from the process module 130 and transfers the tray 2 to the empty buffer S as shown in FIG. 2). At this time, the retracted position of the tray 2 corresponds to the installation position of the cover supporting part 210.

The buffer module 200 is moved upward while the tray 2 supported by the second transfer robot Rl is relatively moved downwardly by the second transfer robot Rl, . At this time, since the cover member 3 is supported by the cover supporting portion 210, only the tray 2 is moved downward.

The buffer module 200 stops its movement and the second transfer robot R 2 is retracted and the first transfer robot R 1 is moved to the tray 2 As shown in FIG. 3C, to enter the buffer unit S and pull out the tray 2. In this case, as shown in FIG.

 It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the technical idea and the technical spirit of the invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing a vacuum processing system according to the present invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views showing the construction and operation of the buffer module of the vacuum processing system of Fig.

4 is a plan view showing another example of the buffer module of the vacuum processing system of FIG.

5 is a conceptual diagram showing a modification of the vacuum processing system according to the present invention.

Description of Reference Numerals to Main Parts of the Drawings *****

100: vacuum processing device 110: loading / unloading module

130: Process module

200: buffer module

Claims (22)

A loading / unloading module in which a plurality of substrates are loaded into or unloaded from a tray; At least one processing module installed at one side of the loading / unloading module and having a closed processing space for carrying a process by transferring a tray loaded with a plurality of substrates; Wherein the tray has one or more buffers in which a tray is temporarily stored, and the tray is transferred from the loading / unloading module to the buffer unit, and is covered with a cover member having a plurality of slits formed on the tray before transferring the tray to the process module, A buffer module for removing a cover member from the tray before transferring the tray with the cover member from the process module to the loading / unloading module; And a transfer unit for transferring the tray between the loading / unloading module and the buffer module and the transfer of the tray between the process module and the buffer module. The method according to claim 1, The buffer module A module body; A tray support provided on the module body to support the tray; And a buffer part for temporarily storing the tray together with the tray supporting part. The tray is supported by the cover member when the tray is moved upward, supports the cover member when the tray is moved downward, And a cover supporting portion provided on the module body with an interval spaced above the tray supporting portion so as to remove the member. The method of claim 2, Wherein the buffer unit has two or more buffers. The method of claim 3, Wherein the buffer units are vertically disposed. The method of claim 4, Wherein the buffer module is configured to vertically move the buffer units disposed up and down. The method of claim 4, Wherein the transfer unit is configured to move the tray up and down by the buffer units disposed up and down. The method of claim 2, Wherein the buffer units are horizontally disposed. The method of claim 7, Wherein the buffer units are configured to horizontally move the horizontally disposed buffer units. The method of claim 7, Wherein the transfer unit is configured to move the tray to the horizontally disposed buffer units. The method of claim 2, Wherein the tray supporting part protrudes more than the cover supporting part. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, Wherein the buffer module and the at least one process module are disposed along a guide rail installed at one side of the loading / unloading module, Wherein the transfer unit includes a transfer robot that moves along the guide rail to transfer a tray between the loading / unloading module and the buffer module and a tray between the process module and the buffer module. . The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, Wherein the buffer module is installed at one side of the loading / unloading module, the at least one processing module is disposed along a guide rail installed at one side of the buffer module, Wherein the transfer unit comprises: a first transfer robot for transferring a tray between the loading / unloading module and the buffer module; And a second transfer robot moving along the guide rail to transfer a tray between the buffer module and the process module. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, Wherein the process module etches or deposits the surface of the substrate in a vacuum state. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, Wherein the loading / unloading module and the buffer module are at atmospheric pressure. A buffer module used in a vacuum processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 10. A substrate loading step of loading a plurality of substrates into a tray; A first tray loading step for transferring the loaded tray to a buffer for temporarily storing substrates; A cover covering step of covering the tray stored in the buffer unit with a cover member having a plurality of slits in the first tray loading step; And a second tray loading step of transferring a tray having a cover having a plurality of slits formed therein from the buffer unit to the process module in the cover covering step. 18. The method of claim 16, A first tray loading step of storing a tray in which a cover member is clipped from the process module in a buffer unit; A cover removing step of removing the cover member from the tray stored in the buffer unit in the first tray loading step; A second tray loading step of taking out the tray from which the cover member has been removed from the buffer unit in the cover removing step; And unloading the substrates from the tray after the second trailing loading step. 18. The method of claim 17, The vacuum processing system includes two or more buffer units, Performing the second loading step in another buffer unit after the first tray loading step in one buffer unit, And the first tray loading step is performed in one buffer unit in the other buffer unit after the second tray loading step. 18. The method of claim 17, Wherein the first tray loading step and the second tray loading step are performed by a first transfer robot and the second tray loading step and the first tray loading step are performed by a second transfer robot. And the tray transferring method of the vacuum processing system. 18. The method of claim 17, Wherein the first tray loading step, the second tray loading step, the second tray loading step, and the first tray loading step are performed by one transfer robot. The method according to claim 19 or 20, Wherein the transfer robot moves the tray up and down and stores or draws the tray in the buffer unit. The method according to claim 19 or 20, Wherein the buffer unit is moved up and down when the tray is stored or withdrawn from the buffer unit by the transfer robot.
KR1020080047005A 2008-05-21 2008-05-21 System for vacuum processing, buffer module therefor, and method for transferring tray therefor KR101428522B1 (en)

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CN2009801186700A CN102037551B (en) 2008-05-21 2009-05-21 Vacuum processing system, buffer module used therein and tray transferring method of the vacuum processing system
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