KR101578081B1 - Wafer processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing system, comprising: a process chamber having at least two susceptors in which a substrate is placed; A transfer chamber having an atmospheric transfer robot connected to the process chamber and transferring the substrate from the carrier to the process chamber; A substrate holding unit provided in the process chamber and loaded with the substrate transferred from the atmospheric pressure transfer robot; And a substrate transfer robot provided in the process chamber for loading / unloading the substrate loaded on the substrate holding unit with the susceptor. Thus, the substrate transferring time can be minimized and the work efficiency can be improved.

Substrate processing system, substrate transfer robot

Description

[0001] WATER PROCESSING SYSTEM [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing system, and more particularly, to a substrate processing system capable of improving productivity by reducing a substrate transfer time by loading / unloading a plurality of substrates simultaneously into a chamber body.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display device, and substrate processing systems for manufacturing semiconductor devices have generally employed a cluster system capable of processing a plurality of substrates in one operation.

Generally, a cluster system refers to a multi-chamber type substrate processing system including a carrier robot (or handler) and a plurality of substrate processing modules provided therearound.

The cluster system includes a transfer chamber and a transfer robot provided freely rotatable in the transfer chamber. At each side of the transport chamber, a process chamber for carrying out the processing process of the substrate is mounted. Such a cluster system increases the throughput of a substrate by simultaneously processing a plurality of substrates or allowing various processes to proceed in succession. Another effort to increase substrate throughput is to process a plurality of substrates simultaneously in one process chamber to increase the substrate throughput per hour.

However, even if a plurality of substrates are simultaneously (or continuously) processed by the process chamber, a time loss occurs when the substrates can not be efficiently exchanged between the transfer chamber and the load lock chamber before and after the process.

Therefore, there is a demand for a substrate processing system capable of more efficiently exchanging substrates before and after processing, in addition to simultaneously processing a plurality of substrates in a process chamber for processing a plurality of substrates.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing system capable of minimizing the substrate transfer time before and after the processing of the process chamber by eliminating the configuration of the load lock chamber.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing system capable of shortening a time required for a process by simultaneously loading / unloading a substrate loaded on a carrier into a process chamber.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing system. A substrate processing system of the present invention includes a process chamber having at least two susceptors in which a substrate is placed; A transfer chamber having an atmospheric transfer robot connected to the process chamber and transferring the substrate from the carrier to the process chamber; A substrate holding unit provided in the process chamber and loaded with the substrate transferred from the atmospheric pressure transfer robot; And a substrate transfer robot provided in the process chamber and loading / unloading the substrate loaded on the substrate holding unit with the susceptor.

The substrate holder may further include an isolating wall which is provided in a peripheral region of the substrate holding part so as to be movable up and down to isolate the substrate holding part from the susceptor when the substrate is being processed.

The atmospheric pressure conveying robot includes a lower pedestrian loading / unloading unit for loading / unloading at least one substrate stacked on a lowest layer among the substrates stacked on the carrier to / from the substrate holding unit; And an upper transfer arm provided on one side of the first transfer arm for loading / unloading the remaining substrates except the substrate loaded / unloaded by the first transfer arm among the total substrates loaded on the carrier, to / from the substrate holding unit .

Here, the substrate holding unit may include: a lifting shaft; And a plurality of substrate support holders provided in the number corresponding to the total number of substrates stacked on the carrier, the substrate support holders being vertically coupled to the lift shaft.

In addition, the plurality of substrate support holders move up and down along the lift shaft so that a substrate to be loaded / unloaded is positioned at a transport height of the substrate transfer robot.

The substrate support holder is raised and lowered by the magnetic force along the lift shaft.

The substrate support holder is moved up and down in conjunction with the driving of the atmospheric pressure conveying robot.

Here, the apparatus further includes a common power source for supplying power to the plurality of susceptors.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a plasma processing apparatus comprising: a process chamber having at least two susceptors in which a substrate is placed; A transfer chamber having an atmospheric transfer robot for transferring a substrate from a carrier; A buffering chamber disposed between the process chamber and the transfer chamber; A movable substrate holding unit movably installed in the processing chamber in the buffering chamber for loading a substrate transferred from the atmospheric pressure transfer robot; And a substrate transfer robot provided inside the process chamber for loading / unloading the substrate from the movable substrate holding part moved into the process chamber to / from the susceptor.

Here, the movable substrate holding unit may include: an elevating shaft provided in the buffering chamber; A moving substrate support holder which is provided on the lifting shaft so as to be able to move up and down and on which a plurality of substrates are stacked; And a holder guiding shaft provided perpendicularly to the elevating shaft and guiding a number of moving substrate support holders corresponding to the number of susceptors to the inside of the process chamber when loading / unloading the substrate.

Here, the movable substrate support holder is moved up and down by the magnetic force on the elevation shaft and the holder guide shaft.

As described above, the substrate processing system according to the present invention can minimize the transferring process since the substrate of the carrier is directly transferred to the process chamber by the transfer chamber without the configuration of the separate load lock chamber. As a result, the substrate transfer time can be saved and the process efficiency can be increased.

In addition, since the substrates are simultaneously loaded / unloaded by a plurality of susceptors, the processing time can be minimized.

For a better understanding of the present invention, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified into various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in detail below. The present embodiments are provided to enable those skilled in the art to more fully understand the present invention. Therefore, the shapes and the like of the elements in the drawings can be exaggeratedly expressed to emphasize a clearer description. It should be noted that in the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and constructions which may be unnecessarily obscured by the gist of the present invention are omitted.

The basic intention of the present invention is to increase the productivity by providing a more efficient substrate exchange method in a substrate processing system having a plurality of substrate processing capabilities. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing system capable of processing a larger number of substrates simultaneously based on an efficient substrate exchange method. The substrate W to be processed in the present substrate processing system is typically a wafer substrate for manufacturing a semiconductor circuit or a glass substrate for manufacturing a liquid crystal display. In addition to the illustrated configuration of the present substrate processing system, multiple processing systems may be required to perform all of the processes required for the complete fabrication of an integrated circuit or chip. However, for the sake of clarity of the present invention, a conventional configuration or a configuration that can be understood by a person skilled in the art is omitted.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a substrate transfer state of the substrate processing system 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a view showing a state in which a substrate processing process of the substrate processing system 10 shown in Fig. And FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the substrate transfer process of the substrate processing system 10 of FIG.

A substrate processing system 10 according to the present invention includes an index 100 on which a carrier 120 is mounted and a substrate 100 between the index 100 and the process chamber 300 to process the substrate of the carrier 120 A transfer chamber 200 having an atmospheric transfer robot 210 for transferring the wafer W to the chamber 300 and a process chamber 300 for processing the substrate transferred from the transfer chamber 200.

Index 100 is also referred to as a facility front end module (EFEM) and may sometimes be defined to include a load lock chamber. The index 100 includes a loading table (also referred to as a loading port) provided in the front portion and a carrier (also referred to as a storage container or a cassette) 120 in which a plurality of wafers W are stored at predetermined intervals, Is loaded. The carrier 120 is a closed type storage container having a detachable lid not shown on its front face. Typically, 25 substrates can be stacked on the carrier 120.

The transfer chamber 200 transfers the substrate loaded on the carrier 120 to the process chamber 300. In addition, the transfer chamber 200 preheats the substrate when preheating is required before transferring the substrate to the process chamber 300, and cools the substrate when it is necessary to cool the processed substrate in the process chamber 300. The transfer chamber 200 includes an atmospheric transfer robot 210 for transferring a substrate from the carrier 120 to the process chamber 300, a preheating chamber 250 for preheating the substrate, and a cooling chamber 260 for cooling the substrate .

4 to 6 are schematic views showing the configuration of the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 of the present invention. The atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 conveys the substrate at atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 rotates between the carrier 120 and the process chamber 300 and takes charge of the substrate transfer. The atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 loads / unloads the entire substrate loaded on the carrier 120 into the substrate holding part 330 of the process chamber 300 at the same time. The atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 includes an upper transfer arm 213b for transferring the substrate of the upper region loaded on the carrier 120 and a lower transfer arm 213a for transferring the remaining substrate not transferred by the upper transfer arm 213b ). The lower transfer arm 213a determines the number of substrates transferred according to the total number of substrates loaded on the carrier 120 and the number of the susceptors 310 in the process chamber 300. [ The lower transfer arm 213a transfers an extra substrate transfer which is not simultaneously processed according to the number of the susceptors 310 provided in the process chamber 300. [ For example, in the case where 25 substrates are loaded on the carrier 120 and six susceptors 310 are provided, the last one substrate excluding the six substrates processed simultaneously in the process chamber 300 is transferred to the lower transfer arm 213a.

The upper transfer arm 213b and the lower transfer arm 213a are rotatable about the rotary shafts 211a and 211b and end effectors 215a and 215b on which the substrate is mounted are provided in the end regions. The upper transfer arm 213b and the lower transfer arm 213a are rotated according to the driving source of the driving source 212 to transfer the substrate from the carrier 120 to the substrate holding unit 330. [ 5, when the 25 substrates are loaded on the carrier 120, the upper transfer arm 213b has 24 end effectors 215b, and the lower transfer arm 213a has 1 End effectors 215a. The number of end effectors 215a and 215b of the upper transfer arm 213b and the lower transfer arm 213a varies depending on the number of substrates mounted on the carrier 120. [

The atmospheric conveying robot 210 may include a pitch conversion unit (not shown) for adjusting pitch intervals of the end effectors 215a and 215b of the upper transfer arm 213b and the lower transfer arm 213a. The plurality of end effectors 215a and 215b can change the vertical interval (pitch) based on the end effector positioned at the farthest end or the end effector positioned at the center by a pitch conversion unit (not shown). Even when the storage pitch of the substrate in the carrier 120 is different from the substrate mounting pitch of the substrate holder 335 of the substrate holder 330, Can be moved simultaneously.

The atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 has end effectors 215a and 215b in the form of a long thin plate for supporting and conveying the substrate as shown in Fig. The end effectors 215a and 215b are provided at the end regions of the upper transfer arm 213b and the lower transfer arm 213a so as to be horizontally rotated and moved forward and backward. Each of the end effectors 215a and 215b may be formed of aluminum, ceramic, or the like. The end effectors 215a and 215b are inserted into the bent shape of the substrate support holder 335 to prevent interference between the substrate support holder 335 and the substrate loading / unloading. The atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 is configured such that the end effectors 215a and 215b are inserted into the substrate support holder 335 to load the substrate into the substrate support holder 335 or unload the substrate loaded in the substrate support holder 335 do. At this time, the upper transfer arm 213b and the lower transfer arm 213a transfer the substrate from the carrier 120 to the substrate holder 335 at the same time. The end effectors 215a and 215b are provided with an air supply port 216 for fixing the substrate mounted on the upper surface. By the pressure of the air supplied from the air supply port 216, the substrate can be adsorbed on the surfaces of the end effectors 215a and 215b and can be stably transported.

The preheating chamber 250 is provided at one side of the transfer chamber 200 and is preheated before the substrate is transferred to the process chamber 300. Cooling chamber 260 cools the processed substrate in process chamber 300. The construction of the preheating chamber 250 and the cooling chamber 260 is the same as that of the conventional structure, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The process chamber 300 receives the substrate from the transfer chamber 200 and processes the substrate. The process chamber 300 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes six susceptors 310 arranged in a radial pattern and a plurality of susceptors 310 provided in the process chamber 300 and being transported from the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210, A substrate transfer robot 340 for loading and unloading the substrate W loaded on the substrate holding part 330 with the respective susceptors 310 and a substrate holding part 330 for holding the substrate W, And a blocking wall 350 that blocks the susceptor 310.

The process chamber 300 may be configured to perform various substrate processing operations. For example, it may be an ashing chamber for removing the photoresist, and may be a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) chamber configured to deposit an insulating film, and may have apertures or openings in the insulating film to form interconnect structures The etch chamber may be configured to etch the substrate. Or a PVD chamber configured to deposit a barrier film, and may be a PVD chamber configured to deposit a metal film.

Meanwhile, the process chamber 300 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes six radially disposed susceptors 310, but this is merely an example, and the number of the susceptors 310 depends on the type of process and the process speed And can be variously arranged.

The process chamber 300 according to the present invention has a substrate holding portion 330 in which a substrate transferred from the transfer chamber 200 is waiting inside the process chamber 300. The substrate holding unit 330 simultaneously receives substrates received from the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 and carries the substrates stacked on the carrier 120. The substrate holding robot 330 loads and holds substrates corresponding to the number of the susceptors 310, Unload.

The substrate holding part 330 is vertically movable in the process chamber 300 so that the substrate to be transferred to the substrate transfer robot 340 is positioned at the transfer position of the substrate transfer robot 340. The substrate holder 330 includes a lift shaft 333 and a plurality of substrate holder holders 335 coupled to the lift shaft 333 to hold the substrate thereon. And an elevating shaft receiving holder 331 mounted on the elevating shaft 333 for supporting the substrate supporting holder 335 so as to be able to move up and down with respect to the elevating shaft 333.

The elevating shaft receiving holder 331 is elevably mounted on the elevating shaft 333 so that the substrate supporting holder 335 is positioned at a height for loading / unloading the substrate by the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 and the substrate conveying robot 340 . That is, when a plurality of substrates are transferred from the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210, the elevation shaft receiving holder 331 is provided with a plurality of substrate support holders 335 corresponding to the end effectors 215a and 215b of the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 Adjust the height so that it is in position. When the substrate is taken over from the atmospheric conveying robot 210, the height of the substrate holder 335 is adjusted such that the substrate holder 335 positioned at the uppermost position is positioned at a position corresponding to the transfer robot end effector 341 of the substrate transfer robot 340. In addition, when the processed substrate is transferred to the substrate holder 335, the height of the substrate is adjusted so that the substrate loaded on the substrate is transferred to the substrate transfer robot 340.

7, when the 25 substrates are transferred to the six susceptors, the elevation shaft receiving holder 331 holds the six highest substrate support holders 335 in the transfer robot 340 of the substrate transfer robot 340, And adjusts the height along the lifting shaft 333 so as to be in a position corresponding to the end effector 345. [ When the substrate is transferred to the substrate transfer robot 340, the elevation shaft holder 331 is maintained at a constant height and is transferred to the transfer robot end effector 345 in which the processed substrate is empty. 8 and 9, when the substrate having undergone the process processing is transferred to the substrate holder 335, the elevation shaft holder 331 moves the six substrates, So as to be located at a position corresponding to the transfer robot end effector 345. In this way, the elevation shaft receiving holder 331 adjusts the height of the substrate support holder 335 so that a total of 25 substrates are transferred to the substrate transfer robot 340.

The elevating shaft receiving holder 331 is configured to hold the substrate from the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 to the substrate supporting holder 335 and to the substrate supporting robot 335 when the substrate is transferred from the substrate supporting holder 335 to the substrate conveying robot 340 So that the substrate can be smoothly transported.

Here, the lifting shaft receiving holder 331 can be lifted or lowered on the lifting shaft 333 by means of mechanical means, means of hydraulic pressure, means of magnetic force, or the like. Among them, the elevating shaft receiving holder 331 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is embodied such that it lifts up on the elevating shaft 333 by the magnetic force. This is because fine dust or particles generated by lifting and lowering movement when the lifting and lowering is implemented by means of mechanical means and hydraulic pressure may affect the processing of the substrate.

10, the elevation shaft 333 is interlocked with the rotary shaft 211a of the lower transfer arm 213a of the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 to be elevated and lowered, and the elevation shaft 333 and the elevation shaft 333 And the magnets 331a and 333a that generate attraction force in the receiving holder 331 may be provided. That is, when the rotary shaft 211a of the lower transfer arm 213a is moved up and down by the driving unit 370, the elevating shaft 333 moves up and down in conjunction therewith. At this time, since the magnets 333a coupled to the lifting shaft 333 move up and down together, the magnets 331a of the lifting shaft receiving holder 331 also move together by attraction. In this case, since the magnets 331a and 333a are provided in the lifting shaft 333 and the lifting shaft receiving holder 331, it is preferable that the magnets 331a and 333a do not generate contaminants such as particles at the time of lifting the lifting shaft receiving holder 331. The elevating shaft 333 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is connected to a separate driving source (not shown) or connected to a driving source Can be implemented to be interlocked.

11, the substrate support holder 335 is provided in such a manner that the substrate support holder 335 is bent inwardly from the lift shaft receiving holder 331 at both ends. At this time, the end effectors 215a and 215b of the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 are accommodated inside the bending of the substrate support holder 335. 12, an effector receiving groove 335b through which the transfer robot end effector 341 of the substrate transfer robot 340 can be input and extracted is provided in the lower region of the substrate support holder 335. As shown in FIG. The effector accommodating groove 335b is provided in the lower region of the substrate support holder 335 so that the transfer robot end effector 341 of the substrate transfer robot 340 is accommodated in and removed from the substrate and held on the substrate support holder 335 Or take over the substrate with the substrate support holder 335. [

The substrate transfer robot 340 is installed inside the process chamber 300 to load / unload substrates loaded on the substrate holding unit 330 with the plurality of susceptors 310. The substrate transfer robot 340 includes a plurality of transfer robot arms 343 that are rotated along the transfer robot driving shaft 345 and load / unload the substrates to / from the susceptor 310. The transfer robot arm 343 is provided corresponding to the number of the susceptors provided in the process chamber 300. The substrate transfer robot 340 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided such that each transfer robot arm 343 simultaneously performs loading and unloading of the substrate. However, in some cases, the substrate transfer robot 340 may be configured to have a loading transfer robot arm 343 for loading and a transfer robot arm 343 for unloading separately.

Here, the transfer robot arm 343 includes a first transfer robot arm 343a that rotates in the clockwise direction and a second transfer robot arm 343b that rotates in the counterclockwise direction in accordance with the arrangement direction of the susceptor 310 .

A transfer robot end effector 341 on which a substrate is mounted is provided in an end region of each transfer robot arm 343. The transfer robot end effector 341 has a shape that does not cause interference with the shape of the end effectors 215a and 215b of the atmospheric conveying robot 210 and the shape of the substrate support holder 335 as shown in Fig. Respectively. The transfer robot end effector 341 is provided in such a shape that interference does not occur with the lift pins 311 on the susceptor 310 when the substrate is rotated in the process chamber 300 for loading and unloading the substrate desirable.

The transfer robot end effector 341 is accommodated in the effector receiving groove 335b of the substrate support holder 335 for transferring the substrate to load / unload the substrate from the substrate support holder 335, 310). ≪ / RTI >

The transfer robot arm 343 is located in the substrate holding part 330 and takes over the substrate corresponding to the number of the susceptors 310 before proceeding with the process. The transfer robot arm 343 rotates corresponding to the position of each susceptor 310 and seats the substrate on the lift pins 311 of the susceptor 310. The transfer robot arm 343 loaded with the susceptor 310 rotates toward the substrate holding part 330 and waits until the process is completed.

Here, the height difference between the height of the susceptor 310 and the transfer robot end effector 341 can be compensated by the lift pin 311. [ 13, the elevation heights h1, h2, and h3 of the lift pins 311 are differently provided to the susceptor 310 having the same height so that the substrate can be smoothly transferred from the transfer robot end effector 341 .

The susceptor 310 is supplied with bias power by the susceptor power supply source 313. Here, the plurality of susceptors 310 may have separate power sources or may be powered by the common susceptor power source 313 as shown in FIG.

A plasma generator 320 for generating a plasma for substrate processing is provided at a position opposite to the susceptor 310. A power supply source 325 is coupled to the plasma generator 320. The power supply source 325 may be provided to each of the plasma generators 320, or as shown in the figure, one power supply source 325 may commonly supply power to the plurality of plasma generators 320. In this case, the phase difference controller 321 may be provided to supply the power supplied from the power source 325 to the respective plasma generators 320 in different phases.

The isolation wall 350 ascends and descends within the process chamber 300 to isolate the substrate holding part 330 and the substrate transfer robot 340 from the susceptor 310. 1 and 3, the isolation wall 350 moves to the bottom or upper side of the process chamber 300 when the substrate processing robot 300 is not advanced to the process chamber 300, 300). On the other hand, when the substrate is loaded on the susceptor and the substrate transfer robot 340 moves toward the substrate holding part 330, the susceptor is moved up into the process chamber 300 as shown in FIG. 310 and the substrate holding part 330 and the substrate transfer robot 340 from each other. This makes it possible to maintain the stability in the processing of the substrate. At this time, the transfer arm 343 of the substrate transfer robot 340 is located inside the isolation wall.

A substrate inlet / outlet 270 is provided between the transfer chamber 200 and the process chamber 300 for introducing and exiting the substrate. The substrate entrance 270 is opened and closed by a slit valve or the like.

The substrate processing process of the substrate processing system 10 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention described above will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG.

First, when the carrier 120 is mounted on the index 100, the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 simultaneously transfers the substrates loaded on the carrier 120 to the substrate holding unit 330. At this time, the isolation wall 350 is lifted up to isolate the substrate holding part 330 from the susceptor 310.

The substrate holder 330 moves up and down the substrate holder 335 along the lifting shaft 333 to move the substrates corresponding to the susceptor 310 to the transfer robot end effector 341 of the substrate transfer robot 340 Transfer. When the isolation wall 350 descends to the bottom of the process chamber 300, the transfer robot end effector 341 moves to each susceptor 310 as shown in FIG. 1 to transfer the substrate onto the lift pins 311 do. The transfer robot end effector 341 that has been transferred to the substrate moves to the substrate holding portion 330 side as shown in FIG. 2, and the isolation wall 350 rises.

At the same time as the isolation wall 350 is lifted, a plasma is generated from the plasma generator 320 and the processing process for the substrate proceeds. When the substrate processing is completed, the transfer robot end effector 341 unloads the substrate of the susceptor 310 and transfers the unloaded substrate to the substrate support holder 335. The substrate holder 330 adjusts the height of the substrate of the substrate holder 335 to be transferred to the transfer robot end effector 341.

When the 25 substrates are unloaded onto the substrate holding part 330, the substrate entrance 270 is opened and the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 210 moves to transfer the substrate to the carrier 120 And this process is repeatedly performed.

As described above, the substrate processing system according to the present invention can minimize the transferring process since the substrate of the carrier is directly transferred to the process chamber by the transfer chamber without the configuration of the separate load lock chamber. As a result, the substrate transfer time can be saved and the process efficiency can be increased.

In addition, since the substrates are simultaneously loaded / unloaded by a plurality of susceptors, the processing time can be minimized.

14 to 17 are schematic views showing the configuration of the substrate processing system 10a according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing system 10a according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a buffering chamber 400 between the process chamber 300 and the transfer chamber 200 as compared to the substrate processing system 10 according to the first embodiment And includes a movable moving substrate holding part 410 which is vertically and back and forth movable in the buffering chamber 400. That is, in the substrate processing system 10a according to the second embodiment, the moving substrate holding part 410 is not provided in the process chamber 300a but is provided in a separate buffering chamber 400. [

The buffering chamber 400 is provided between the transfer chamber 200 in the atmospheric pressure state and the process chamber 300 in the vacuum state, and is capable of changing the atmospheric pressure and the vacuum.

The moving substrate holding part 410 includes a moving strong axis 411 and a moving substrate supporting holder 413 coupled to the moving strong axis 411. A holder guide 420 is provided at one side of the movable substrate holder 410 to guide the movable substrate holder 413 to the process chamber 300a in a direction orthogonal to the movable ferrule 411.

The movable ferromagnetic shaft (411) and the movable substrate support holder (413) incorporate magnets that generate mutual attractive forces. When the movable shaft 411 ascends or descends, the movable substrate support holder 413 also ascends and descends.

The holder guide unit 420 includes a holder guide shaft 421 for guiding the movable substrate holder 413 to the process chamber 300a and a movable guide shaft 422 provided on the holder guide shaft 421, And a guide holder 423 for transferring the support holder 413 to the holder guide shaft 421. [ The holder guide shaft 421 transfers the number of movable substrate support holders 413 corresponding to the number of the susceptors 310 provided in the process chamber 300a to the process chamber 300a. The position of the holder guide unit 420 is fixed and the movable substrate support holder 413 moves up and down together with the movable iron shaft 411 and transfers the substrate to the process chamber 300a. The guide holder 423 includes a movable substrate support holder 413 and an electromagnet for generating attraction. The guide holder 423 generates a magnetic force to separate the movable substrate support holder 413 from the movable ferromagnetic shaft 411 and allow the movable substrate support holder 413 to move along the holder guide axis 421.

The substrate transfer process of the substrate processing system 10a according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 14 to 17. Fig.

First, when the substrate is transferred from the transfer chamber 200 to the moving substrate holding part 410, the guide holder 423 moves to the lowest six moving substrate supporting parts 413 of the moving substrate supporting holder 413 coupled to the moving strong axis 411, Thereby generating a magnetic force in the holder 413. Thereby, the movable substrate support holder 413 moves to the process chamber 300a side as shown in FIG. 16 and transfers the substrate to the substrate transfer robot 340. The substrate having undergone the process processing in the susceptor 310 is loaded on the moving substrate support holder 413 moved to the process chamber 300a side and the guide holder 423 is moved on the moving substrate supporting holder 413 to the moving strong axis 411 .

The height of the movable armature 411 is changed so that the subordinate moving substrate support holder 413 is disposed at a position corresponding to the holder guide shaft 421 and the guide holder 423 is moved in the same direction as the moving substrate holder 413, (300a).

As described above, the substrate processing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention is separated from the process chamber because the moving substrate holding unit is located in the buffering chamber. Therefore, although the transfer time of the substrate is longer than that of the substrate processing system of the first embodiment, since the process chamber and the moving substrate holding unit are separated from each other, generation of particles during the process can be originally prevented, and the stability of the process can be secured.

The embodiments of the substrate processing system of the present invention described above are merely illustrative and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and equivalent embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. It will be possible. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims. It is also to be understood that the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of loading a substrate into a process chamber of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process in which a substrate is unloaded into a process chamber of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1;

4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an atmospheric pressure conveying robot of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a configuration of an atmospheric pressure conveying robot of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

6 is a plan view showing a configuration of an atmospheric pressure conveying robot of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a substrate transfer robot of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG.

8 and 9 are perspective views illustrating a process of transferring a substrate transfer robot of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

10 is a schematic view schematically showing a lifting structure of a substrate holding part of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

11 is a plan view showing a configuration of a substrate holding part and a transfer robot end effector of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,

12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cross-sectional configuration of a substrate holder of a substrate holding system of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view schematically showing the entire side construction of a substrate processing system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a substrate transfer process of the substrate processing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention,

15 is a plan view showing the position of the substrate transfer robot in substrate processing of the substrate processing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention,

16 and 17 are perspective views illustrating a process of transferring a substrate of a moving substrate holding unit of a substrate processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

10, 10a: substrate processing system 100: index

120: carrier 200: transfer chamber

210: Atmospheric pressure conveying robot 211:

212: driving source 213:

215: conveying robot end effector 216: air supply port

250: preheating chamber 260: cooling chamber

270: substrate entrance 300, 300a: process chamber

310: susceptor 311: lift pin

320: plasma generating part 330: substrate holding part

331: lifting shaft receiving holder 333: lifting shaft

335: substrate support holder 337: effector moving hole

340: substrate transfer robot 341: transfer robot end effector

343: transfer robot arm 345: transfer robot drive shaft

350: blocking wall 400: buffering chamber

410: moving substrate holding unit 411:

413: Moving board support holder 420:

421: holder guide shaft 423: guide holder

Claims (11)

A process chamber having at least two susceptors in which a substrate is placed; A transfer chamber having an atmospheric transfer robot connected to the process chamber and transferring the substrate from the carrier to the process chamber; A substrate holding unit provided in the process chamber for loading a substrate transferred from the atmospheric pressure transfer robot, And a substrate transfer robot provided in the process chamber for loading / unloading the substrate loaded on the substrate holding unit with the susceptor, The atmospheric pressure conveying robot A lower tray arm for loading / unloading at least one substrate stacked on a lowest layer among the total substrates stacked on the carrier, into / from the substrate holder; And an upper transferring arm installed on one side of the lower transfer arm to load / unload the remaining substrates except for the substrate loaded / unloaded by the lower transfer arm among the total substrates loaded on the carrier, into / from the substrate holder, The substrate holding portion An elevating shaft; And a plurality of substrate support holders provided corresponding to the total number of substrates mounted on the carrier and coupled to the lift shaft so as to be able to move up and down. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising an isolating wall which is provided in the peripheral region of the substrate holding part so as to be able to move up and down so as to isolate the substrate holding part from the susceptor when the substrate is being processed. delete delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the plurality of substrate support holders ascend and descend along the elevation axis such that a substrate to be loaded / unloaded is positioned at a conveyance height of the substrate transfer robot. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the substrate support holder is raised and lowered by a magnetic force along the lift shaft. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the substrate support holder is moved up and down in conjunction with driving of the atmospheric pressure conveying robot. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a common power supply for supplying power to the plurality of susceptors. delete delete delete

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