KR20070102949A - Coating and developing apparatus, control method of coating and developing apparatus and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

A coating and developing apparatus, a control method thereof and a recording medium are provided not to change a recipe according to an entrance of a final lot by inhibiting an outrun of a substrate while taking the substrate in an inspection module. A coating and developing apparatus includes a cassette station(21), a process station(S1), an inspection station(40), and a controller. The cassette station includes a plurality of substrates and a delivering unit. The delivering unit delivers the substrates between cassettes(C). The process station includes a plurality of process modules and a first substrate carrier unit. The process modules perform processes for substrate such as applying photoresist and developing the substrate. The first substrate carrier carries the substrate along a circulation route by a predetermined cycle time. The inspection station includes a plurality of inspection modules and a second substrate carrier unit. The inspection modules inspect the processed substrate. The second substrate carrier unit delivers the substrate between the cassette station and the process station. The controller controls the second substrate carrier unit.

Description

COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD OF COATING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS AND RECORDING MEDIUM}

1 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the coating and developing apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an external perspective view showing the coating and developing apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a side view showing the outline of the layout of the coating and developing apparatus.

4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a flow of a substrate of the coating and developing apparatus;

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a simulation of a conveyance schedule showing the movement of the substrate in the inspection station in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a simulation of a conveyance schedule showing movement of a substrate in an inspection station in a comparative example; FIG.

Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram in which movements of a substrate and a preparation signal of an inspection module and a delivery module are correlated in one cycle of the transfer schedule.

Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram in which movements of a substrate and a preparation signal of an inspection module and a delivery module are correlated in one cycle of the transfer schedule.

9 is a plan view illustrating the flow of a substrate in a conventional coating and developing apparatus.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

W: Wafer

C: Cassette

21: cassette station

24: delivery arm

26A, 26B: main arm

40: inspection station

4: carrier arm

TRSa to TRSd: Delivery Module

TRS1 to TRS4: Delivery Module

E1 to E3: inspection module

200: control unit

S1: processing station

[Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-175052 (paragraph 0042, Fig. 4)

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applied to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD substrate (glass substrate for liquid crystal display), for example, a coating treatment, a developing apparatus and a coating method, and a developing method for performing a cleaning treatment of a substrate, a coating treatment of a resist liquid, and a development treatment after exposure. It is about.

A series of processes of applying a resist liquid to a substrate such as a semiconductor device or an LCD substrate, exposing the resist film using a photomask, and developing it to produce a desired resist pattern on the substrate involves application or development of the resist liquid. It is performed using the system which connected the exposure apparatus to the application | coating performed and developing apparatus.

The coating and developing apparatus includes a cassette station equipped with a transfer arm for loading a wafer cassette, transferring semiconductor wafers (hereinafter referred to as wafers) between the wafer cassettes, and processing for applying or developing a resist to the wafer. The station and the interface stations connected to the exposure apparatus are arranged in a row.

Then, for the substrate on which the resist pattern is formed, predetermined inspection, for example, inspection of the line width of the resist pattern, the polymerization state of the resist pattern and the base pattern, development defects, and the like is performed, and only the substrate determined to pass is transferred to the next step. Such inspection is often performed by an independent inspection apparatus provided separately from the coating and developing apparatus, but it is more convenient to adopt an inline system in which the inspection apparatus is provided in the coating and developing apparatus.

Therefore, Document 1 describes a configuration in which an inspection station having a plurality of inspection devices and a transfer arm is interposed between the cassette station and the processing station. The system described herein conveys a substrate from the cassette station to the processing station via the inspection station, returns the substrate after processing to the cassette of the cassette station, and then returns the substrate to the inspection station for inspection. .

Fig. 9 shows an example of the configuration when such a system is actually constructed. 9 is a schematic view of a coating and developing apparatus in plan view, with reference numeral 11 a cassette station, 12 an inspection station, 13 a processing station, and 14 an interface station connected to an exposure apparatus. In addition, C is a wafer cassette, 15 is a delivery arm in the cassette station 11, 16 is a conveyance arm in an inspection station. TRSa, TRSb, TRSc and TRSd are delivery modules, E1, E2 and E3 are inspection modules, which are deployed flat for convenience, but for example, the delivery module has a four-stage configuration and the inspection module has a three-stage configuration.

In the application | coating and developing apparatus of FIG. 9, the wafer in the cassette C is conveyed by the path of the transfer arm 15 → TRSa → conveyance arm 16 → the processing station 13. Then, the wafer is processed by the processing station 13 in various modules for resist coating, and is discharged from the interface station 14 to the exposure apparatus, and returned to the processing module 13 again. Various necessary processing is performed by the module. Thereafter, the wafer is returned to the transfer arm 16 → TRSb → transfer arm 15 → cassette C. FIG.

In this case, the order to be processed is determined for the wafer in the cassette C. For example, in the case of a wafer for storing 13 sheets, numbers 1 to 13 are allocated. Then, it is conveyed to the processing station 13 in order from No. 1, and the predetermined module is moved in order. The conveyance arm (main arm) in the processing station 13 performs cycle conveyance which periodically moves between a series of preset modules sequentially, thereby moving the wafer in order. In addition, the main arm performs an operation of exchanging wafers in the module by two arms. If the conveyance path of the main arm is called a circulation path, the cycle time at which the conveyance arm circulates the circulation path is determined in advance, and the operation to return next and the wafer having a larger number (the wafer taken out from the cassette C later) are The operation of overtaking and conveying the small number of wafers (the wafers taken out from the cassette C first) is not performed. This operation is prohibited because the conveying program becomes very complicated and not realistic.

On the other hand, in the wafer returned to the cassette C, the total number or selected wafers are sent out to the transfer module TRSc by the transfer arm 15, and transferred to the inspection module by the transfer arm 16. In the wafer, for example, the inspection module E1 is inspected, the inspection module E2 is inspected only, the inspection module E3 is inspected, and the inspection module E2 is followed by the inspection module. And (E3). Also in the conveyance of the wafer in the inspection station 12, the method similar to the cycle conveyance in the processing station 13 was employ | adopted, and it was performed in synchronization with the said cycle conveyance.

By the way, the wafer of the transfer module TRSa needs to be placed in the transfer module (not shown) which the main arm in the processing station 13 receives until the said main arm receives. Otherwise, the main arm proceeds first without receiving, and the conveyance of the wafer is delayed by one cycle.

Therefore, in the conveyance arm 16 in the inspection station 12, the conveyance of the wafer between the transfer modules TRSa and TRSb and the processing station 12 needs to be prioritized. Then, in the transfer arm 16, when carrying out the cycle conveyance, the transfer module TRSc and the inspection modules E1, E2, E3, and TRSd after the transfer of the wafer to the transfer module TRSa or TRSb are finished. In this order, since the test is finished at the same time, for example by the inspection modules E1 and E2, one of the wafers is waited for one cycle by the inspection modules E1 and E2.

In doing so, the throughput of the inspection flow is lowered. Therefore, the present inventor is considering operating the transfer arm 16 asynchronously with respect to the main arm. In this case, the transfer arm 16 preferentially processes the station when the ready signal is output from the transfer module TRSa or when the wafer at the end of the process is placed in the transfer module of the processing station 13 and the ready signal is output from here. It is considered that it is advantageous to be able to concentrate on the delivery to the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 when the dispensing conveyance or the blow-in conveyance from the processing station is carried out.

But even then, the following problems arise. Now, 150 sheets of treatment are required per hour in the coating and developing apparatus. On the other hand, one conveyance operation of the transfer arm 15 takes 8 seconds, for example, and one conveyance operation of the conveying arm 16 takes 5 seconds. In order to process 150 sheets per hour, the cycle time in the above-mentioned cycle conveyance must not exceed 3600 seconds / 150 sheets = 24 seconds. As a result, only three conveying operations can be performed between one cycle with respect to the delivery arm 15 (8 seconds x 3 = 24 seconds), and only four conveying operations can be performed between one cycle with respect to the conveying arm 16. It cannot be performed (5 seconds x 4 = 20 seconds).

As already described herein, the transfer of the wafer to the transfer modules TRSa and TRSb must be made first, so that the transfer operation that the transfer arm 15 can perform to the transfer modules TRSc and TRSd during one cycle It is one time and the conveyance operation which the conveyance arm 16 can perform with respect to the inspection module E1, E2, E3 in one cycle becomes two times. The inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 perform different inspections, and each inspection time is different. When the inspection time of the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 is, for example, 30 seconds, 100 seconds, and 140 seconds, respectively, for example, the eleventh wafer is placed in the inspection module E1, and the inspection module E2 is 10 times. If the 9th wafer contains the 9th wafer in the inspection module E3, if the 9th wafer is not finished at the time when the 11th wafer is inspected, the 11th wafer is checked. It cannot be taken out from E1).

The reason for this is that even when the wafer is allowed to pass in the inspection station, for example, the first wafer of the next lot enters the inspection module E3, and then the last wafer of the previous lot enters. In doing so, there arises a problem that the recipe of the inspection module E3 must be changed, and consequently the conveyance remains.

However, if a situation in which the wafer cannot be taken out from the inspection module after the inspection of the wafer is created, the embodiment is shown as a comparative example, but the inspection process takes a long time.

This invention is made | formed under such a situation, The objective is to provide the technique which can reduce the time which a board | substrate stays unnecessarily by an inspection module, and can improve the throughput of application | coating and developing apparatus by this.

A cassette station having a plurality of substrates stored therein, the cassette station having a transfer means for transferring the substrates between the cassettes;

A plurality of processing modules which perform application of a resist to a substrate taken out of the cassette, development of the substrate after the resist is applied and exposed to the substrate, or a process before and after the process, and the substrates are sequentially carried out along the circulation path to these processing modules. At the same time, a processing station having a first substrate conveying means, the cycle time of circulating the circulation path is predetermined;

2nd board | substrate conveyance means which performs a test | inspection about the board | substrate which completed processing, and delivers a board | substrate with respect to the some inspection module from which the time required for inspection differs, and the board | substrate transfer between the said cassette station and a processing station, and an inspection module An inspection station having:

A control unit for controlling the second substrate transfer means;

The said control part with respect to a 2nd board | substrate conveyance means,

a) prioritizing the transfer of the substrate between the cassette station and the processing station and the receipt of the substrate from the processing station,

b) carrying out the inspection module from a substrate having a small processing order assigned to the substrate,

c) a function of controlling the carrying out of the inspection module from the inspection module, regardless of the order of the processes assigned to the substrate.

As a specific aspect of the present invention, there is provided one transfer module and the other transfer module provided for transfer of a substrate between the transfer means in the cassette station and the second substrate transfer means,

The control unit transfers the substrate which has been processed by the processing station to the cassette, takes out the substrate from the cassette, transfers the substrate to one of the transfer modules, and transfers the finished substrate to the cassette from the other transfer module. Controlling the delivery means in the station.

In a specific aspect, the control unit controls the transfer means to take out the substrate finished by the processing station from the cassette and transfer it to the one transfer module or from the cassette conveyed for inspection from the outside of the application or developing apparatus. And a form of controlling the delivery means in the cassette station to take out the substrate and transfer it to the one delivery module.

The transfer means in the cassette station is capable of transferring the substrate once to either of the one or the other transfer module, for example, within the cycle time.

Further, when the transfer destination when the substrate is transferred from the cassette station to the processing station is a processing module, for example, a cooling module, the control unit transfers the substrate from the cassette station to the processing station; It is preferable to control a 2nd board | substrate conveyance means so that the board | substrate may be delivered to an inspection module in the remaining time which subtracted the conveyance time which receives and conveys the board | substrate from the said cycle time. In this case, if T0 is the time point at which the cycle time has elapsed from the time when the substrate from the cassette station is loaded into the processing module, even if the second conveying means is capable of delivering to the inspection module, the cassette station is transferred by performing the transfer. The transfer is suspended if it is determined that the time point at which the next substrate from is brought into the processing module has passed T0.

Another invention provides a cassette station having a cassette storing a plurality of substrates, the cassette station including transfer means for transferring substrates between cassettes;

A plurality of processing modules for applying, developing, or processing the resist before and after the substrate taken out from the cassette, and a cycle time for circulating the circulation paths while conveying the substrates sequentially in accordance with the circulation paths for these processing modules are predetermined. A processing station equipped with a first substrate conveying means,

The processing station performs inspection on the substrates that have been processed, and transfers the substrates to a plurality of inspection modules having different time required for inspection, and to transfer and inspect the substrates between the cassette station and the processing station. It is a method of controlling the application | coating and developing apparatus provided with the inspection station provided with a 2nd board | substrate conveying means,

When the preparation signal for informing the preparation for conveyance of the substrate from the cassette station to the processing station is output, or when the preparation signal for informing the preparation for conveyance of the substrate from the processing station to the conveying destination is output, the second substrate conveying means generates a substrate. The process of giving priority to conveyance,

A process of carrying out an inspection module from a substrate having a small processing order assigned to the substrate;

Irrespective of the order of the process assigned to the board | substrate, the process of carrying out the board | substrate for which inspection is complete | finished is characterized by including the process.

The storage medium according to another invention is characterized in that a computer program for implementing the method of the present invention is stored.

First, the outline of an example about application | coating and the developing apparatus of this invention is demonstrated, referring a top view of FIG. 1 and a perspective view of FIG. In Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, reference numeral 21 denotes a cassette station for carrying in and out of a cassette C in which, for example, a 12-inch wafer W, which is 13 substrates, is hermetically sealed. The wafer (W) from the cassette (C) through the stacking portion (22) for loading the cassette (C), the opening and closing portion (23) provided on the wall surface in front of the stacking portion (22), and the opening and closing portion (23). ) Is provided with a delivery arm 24 which is a delivery means for taking out. The transfer arm 24 is configured to be able to move up and down, move back and forth, and to rotate around a vertical axis so that the arm can move up and down, and is controlled based on a command from the controller 200 to be described later.

An inspection station 40 and a processing station S1 which are surrounded by a housing are respectively connected to the inside of the cassette station 21 in this order.

The inspection station 40 is a wafer between four transfer modules TRSa to TRSd, inspection modules E1 to E3, these modules TRSa to TRSd, E1 to E3, and transfer modules TRS1 and TRS4 described later. The conveyance arm 4 which comprises the 2nd board | substrate conveyance means which performs the delivery of is provided. The transfer modules TRSa to TRSd are stacked up and down as shown in Fig. 3, and are also stacked up and down for the inspection modules E1 to E3. The inspection station 40 will be described later in more detail, and the processing station S1 will be described first.

The processing station S1 delivers the wafer W between three shelf modules 25 (25A, 25B, and 25C) in which the modules of the heating / cooling system are multistage in order from the front, and the liquid processing module described later. The main arms 26 (26A, 26B) which are two 1st board | substrate conveying means for carrying out are arrange | positioned alternately. The main arms 26 (26A, 26B) are each provided with two arms, and the arms 27 are configured to be rotatable around the vertical axis while being movable left, right, front and rear so that they can move up and down, and will be described later. It is controlled based on the command from the control unit 200.

The shelf modules 25 (25A, 25B, 25C) and the main arms 26 (26A, 26B) are arranged in a line in front and rear as viewed from the cassette station 21 side, and are not shown in the connecting portion G, respectively. Since the opening for wafer conveyance is formed, the wafer W can move freely from the shelf module 25A at one end side to the shelf module 25C at the other end side in this processing station S1. In addition, the main arm 26 (26A, 26B) has one surface portion on the side of the shelf module 25 (25A, 25B, 25C) arranged in the front-rear direction as viewed from the cassette station 21, for example, the liquid treatment on the right side. It is placed in the space enclosed by the partition wall comprised from the one surface part by the side of an apparatus, and the back part which comprises one surface of the left side.

The liquid processing module 28 (28A, 28B) which multiplexed liquid processing apparatuses, such as an application | coating apparatus and a developing apparatus, is provided in the position to which board | substrate transfer is performed by the main arm 26 (26A, 26B). . This liquid processing module 28 (28A, 28B) is a structure in which the processing container 29 in which the coating apparatus 4A etc. are accommodated is laminated | stacked in multiple stages, for example, as shown in FIG. It is.

For the shelf module 25 (25A, 25B, 25C), for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the transfer modules TRS1 to TRS4 forming the transfer unit for transferring the wafer and the application of the resist liquid are shown. Heating modules (LHP1, LHP2), which form a heating device for carrying out the heat treatment of the wafer after or after application of the developer, or cooling modules, which form a cooling device for performing the cooling process of the wafer before or after application of the resist liquid or before development. In addition to (CPL1, CPL2, CPL3), a heating module (PEB) or the like which performs a heating apparatus for performing a heat treatment of the wafer following the exposure treatment is assigned to, for example, 10 stages above and below. Here, the TRS1 and TRS4 are used to transfer wafers between the cassette station 21 and the processing station S1, and the TRS2 and TRS3 between two main arms 26 (26A and 26B), respectively. do.

In this example, the heating modules LHP1 and LHP2, the cooling modules CPL1, CPL2 and CPL3 and the heating module PEB correspond to processing modules.

The exposure apparatus S4 is connected to the inside of the shelf module 25C in the processing station S1 through the first interface portion S2 and the second interface portion S3. The first interface portion S2 is configured to be liftable and rotatable about a vertical axis, and to transfer wafers to CPL2 or PEB of the shelf module 25C of the processing station S1 as described later. 31) and an inner buffer cassette for accommodating the wafer carried out from the peripheral exposure apparatus and the exposure apparatus S4 once, and an outer buffer cassette for accommodating the wafer carried out from the exposure apparatus S4 once. The shelf module 32A, the wafer transfer module, and the high precision temperature control module are provided in the multi-stage shelf module 32B.

The transfer arm 33 is provided in the second interface portion S3, whereby the transfer module, the high precision temperature control module of the first interface portion S2, and the inner stage and the outer stage of the exposure apparatus S4 are provided. The wafer is to be transferred.

Here, the movement of the main arms 26 (26A, 26B) inside the processing station S1 will be described. The two main arms 26 (26A, 26B) are, for example, TRS1 as shown in FIG. → CPL1 → Coating device (COT) → TRS2 → LHP1 → CPL2 conveys wafer from cassette station 21 toward first interface portion S2, then PEB → CPL3 → Developing device (DEV) → LHP2 → It moves so that a wafer may be conveyed from the 1st interface part S2 toward the cassette station 21 by the path | route TRS3 -TRS4. In addition, the wafer is transferred between the processing station S1 and the first interface unit S2 via the CPL2 and the PEB.

At this time, in the present embodiment, as the paths of the main arms 26 (26A, 26B) are shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4, the main arms 26A are, for example, TRS1 → CPL1 → COT → TRS2 → TRS3 → TRS4. → The wafer is cycled and conveyed in the circulation path of TRS1, and the main arm 26B conveys the wafer in the path of TRS2 → LHP1 → CPL2 → PEB → CPL3 → DEV → LHP2 → TRS3 → TRS2. For this reason, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, an example of the layout of the shelf modules 25A to 25C is a shelf module 25A, TRS2, TRS3 is a shelf module 25B, CPL2 or PEB is a shelf. The module 25C, CPL1 is placed on the shelf module 25A or the shelf modules 25B, LHP1, LHP2 on the shelf module 25B or the shelf module 25C, respectively. In addition, the main arms 26 (26A, 26B) each have two arm bodies, take out the wafer W loaded in the processing module to be delivered, and then hold the next wafer ( W) for the module. The main arms 26 (26A, 26B) change the wafers W placed in each module one by one in accordance with a previously prepared transfer schedule (the order of the modules for transferring the wafers W). At this time, the wafer W with the small processing order assigned in the conveyance path is not overtaken by the wafer W with the large order. For example, when the wafer W is conveyed in the order of a heating module to a cooling module, the wafer W having a larger order does not enter the heating module before the wafer W having a smaller order.

Subsequently, the flow of the substrate when the substrate is processed by the processing station S1 will be described. First, when the cassette C in which the wafer W is housed from the outside is brought into the cassette station 21, the cover of the cassette C is removed together with the opening and closing portion 23, and the wafer W is transferred by the transfer arm 24. ) Is taken out. Then, the wafer W is transferred from the transfer arm 24 to the transfer module TRSa, and as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the transfer module 4 is transferred from here by the transfer arm 4 of the inspection station 40. TRS1). The main arm 26A then receives the wafer W from here, followed by the path TRS1 → CPL1 → COT → TRS2 → LHP1 → CPL2 as already described by the main arms 26 (26A, 26B). The wafer to which the resist liquid is applied via CPL2 is transferred to the first interface portion S2.

In the 1st interface part S2, it is conveyed by the transfer arm 31 in order of an inner buffer cassette → peripheral exposure apparatus → a high precision temperature control module, and is conveyed by the 2nd interface part via the transfer module of the shelf module 32B. It conveys to S3, the wafer of the 2nd interface part S3 is conveyed to the exposure apparatus S4 by the conveying means 33 through the inner stage of exposure apparatus S4, and exposure is performed.

After exposure, the wafer is conveyed through the second interface S3-&gt; first interface portion S2 to the processing station S1 through the PEB of the processing station S1, and as described above, PEB-&gt; CPL3-&gt; DEV-&gt; LHP2. It is conveyed by the path | route of TRS3 -TRS4, A predetermined developing process is performed by the developing apparatus in this way, and a predetermined resist pattern is formed.

At this time, the main arm 26A transfers the nth wafer Wn of the lot to CPL1 of the next process through TRS1, and then cycles back to TRS1 by one cycle from COT to TRS2 to TRS3 to TRS4 to TRS1. The next (n + 1) th wafer Wn + 1 is transferred to CPL1 via TRS1. In addition, the main arm 26B conveys the wafer of TRS2 to LHP1 of the next step, then cycles 1 cycle from CPL2 → PEB → CPL3 → DEV → LHP2 → TRS3 → TRS2 and returns to TRS2 again. Return to LHP1 via TRS2. Although it described also in the item of the background art, when it is going to process 150 wafers W per hour with this apparatus, this 1 cycle time is set to 24 second.

Next, the inspection station 40 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The transfer module TRSa is taken out from the cassette C, and is for loading the wafer W discharged from the processing station S1 from now on, and the transfer module TRSb returns from the processing station S1. It is for loading the completed wafer W. In addition, in this example, the transfer module TRSc receives the processed wafer W from the cassette C in which the processed wafer W returned from the processing station S1 enters, and receives the inspection module ( It is a loading stand for waiting to be discharged | emitted to E1, E2, E3, and the transfer module TRSd is a loading stand for carrying in the wafer W examined by the inspection module E1, E2, E3. The transfer modules TRSc and TRSd and the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 are stacked, respectively, but are arranged in a plane in FIG. 4 for convenience.

The conveying arm 4 is,

a) Controlled to prioritize the transfer of the wafer W between the cassette station 21 and the processing station S1.

Therefore, in the case where the cycle time described above is 24 seconds, if one conveyance operation of the conveying arm 4 is 5 seconds, the conveyance module TRSa to the TRS1 and the conveyance module TRS4 to the TRSb must be prioritized. Transfer between (TRSc, TRSd) and inspection module E1, E2, E3 can only be performed twice per calculation (at 1 cycle time). However, the transfer between the transfer modules TRSc and TRSd and the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 may actually be performed two or more times in each cycle. For example, the wafer W on the transfer module TRS1 is now taken out by the main arm 26A, and subsequently the subsequent wafer W is transferred from the transfer module TRSa to the TRS1 by the transfer arm 4. do. After the cycle time has elapsed, the main arm 26A takes out the subsequent wafer W from the transfer module TRS1, but brings the subsequent wafer W further into the empty transfer module TRS1. The timing may be at a time point when the next cycle time elapses, that is, until the main arm 26A is taken out to the delivery module TRS1. For this reason, the conveyance between TRSd and inspection module E1, E2, E3 may be performed 3 times in a fixed cycle. As an example, the case where the transfer of the board | substrate to the inspection module is started just before one cycle time is complete | finished, and also the conveyance of the board | substrate from the transfer module TRSa to TRS1 is possible immediately after that.

In addition, when the transfer module TRS1 also serves as a processing module, since the stay time of the wafer W in the processing module is determined, such conveyance is not allowed, and the conveyance is necessarily twice in one cycle. Becomes This point is mentioned later.

Moreover, the conveyance arm 4 is

b) carrying-in to the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 from the wafer W having a small processing order assigned to the wafer W;

c) Irrespective of the order of the process assigned to the wafer W, it is controlled to carry out the wafer W which the inspection is complete | finished from inspection module E1, E2, E3. Thus, for example, the wafers W from 1 to 13 are sequentially transferred from the transfer module TRSc to the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3, but at any cycle time, for example, 11 times. If the wafer W is finished, but the nine wafers W are not finished, the wafer W is overtaken the nine wafers W and the eleven wafers W are removed from the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3. Export.

Herein, the inspection module will be described. In this example, the inspection module E1 is a macro inspection module for detecting macro defects on the wafer W, and the inspection module E2 is used to determine the thickness of the film formed on the wafer W. The film thickness and line width inspection module which measures the line width of a pattern, and the inspection module E3 is a polymerization inspection module which detects the shift | offset | difference of superposition | polymerization of exposure, ie, the position shift | offset | difference of the pattern currently formed and the base pattern. In this case, the time taken for the inspection of the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 is, for example, 30 seconds, 100 seconds, and 140 seconds, respectively. Since the inspection time in the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 is different in this way, the inspection of the wafer (W) with the larger order of imports from the next (the faster) the wafer (W) with the smaller order of imports first It may end sooner than).

In addition, the delivery arm 24 of the cassette station 21,

a) receiving the wafer W before processing from the cassette C and transferring it to the transfer module TRSa,

b) receiving the processed wafer W from the delivery module TRSb and returning to the cassette C,

c) transfer the processed wafer W from the cassette C to the transfer module TRSc,

d) has the role of returning the inspected wafer W to the cassette C from the transfer module TRSd. In addition, since conveyance of a) and b) must be performed at the said cycle time, when a cycle time is 24 second, if one conveyance operation takes 8 seconds, for example, any of c) and d) in one cycle. Only one can do it.

This apparatus is provided with the control part 200 containing a computer, and a series of processes including the conveyance operation of the transfer arm 24 and the conveyance arm 4 are the computer stored in the memory | storage part of this control part 200. Controlled by the program When the wafer W is loaded or disbursed, the ready signal for the module is output to the transfer module, and for the inspection module, when the inspection of the wafer W is finished or dispensed, The ready signal is output. More specifically, for example, a signal output when the wafer W is loaded in TRSa becomes a transfer ready signal when viewed from the transfer arm 4, and a signal output when the wafer W is dispensed from TRSa is output. When viewed from the delivery arm 24, it becomes a delivery ready signal. Therefore, both arms 24 and 4 can determine from which module to which module it is possible now to carry out based on these ready signals, and the conveyance operation | movement is determined based on the determination and previous rule. do.

Next, operation | movement with respect to the test | inspection station 40 in this embodiment is demonstrated. Fig. 5 shows the wafer W placed in each of the transfer modules TRSc and TRSd and the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 for each cycle, and the numbers indicate the order assigned to the wafer in terms of management of processing. . That is, the wafer W in the cassette C returns from the processing station S1 in this order, and is sent out to the inspection station 40 in this order. In other words, the uppermost number array means that the wafers W corresponding to the numbers arranged here are located in the cassette C. FIG. In other words, when this table is viewed vertically, it is a so-called schedule transfer table, and the uppermost number is read as the cycle number.

In the following description, the uppermost number is regarded as the cycle number. In the cycle 1, the wafer W does not contain all the modules TRSc, TRSd, E1, E2, and E3.

In the next cycle 2, the wafer "1" is placed on the TRSc. This is because, as already described, the conveyance operation related to the inspection that the delivery arm 24 can perform in one cycle is one time.

In the cycle 3, the wafer "1" of the TRSc is transferred to the inspection module E1 by the transfer arm 4, and the wafer "2" is then placed on the TRSc by the transfer arm 24.

In the cycle 4, the wafer "2" of the TRSc is transferred to the inspection module E2 by the transfer arm 4, and the wafer "3" is then placed on the TRSc by the transfer arm 24. At this time, since the inspection of the wafer "1" is not finished in the inspection module E1, it remains as it is.

In cycle 5, the transfer arm 4 conveys the wafer "3" from the TRSc to the inspection module E3, and then conveys the wafer "1" after the inspection is completed by the inspection module E1 to the TRSd. . In addition, the delivery arm 24 delivers the next wafer "4" to the TRSc.

In this manner, when the cycle progresses and the cycle 27 is reached, the previous wafers "9" and "10" are being inspected by the inspection modules E3 and E2, respectively, but the next wafer "11" is transferred to the inspection module E1. The processing in the process is finished. Therefore, in this case, the next wafer "11" is first taken out from the inspection module E1 and transferred to the TRSd without waiting for the inspection completion of the previous wafers "9" and "10". Subsequently, the wafer "12" is transferred from the TRSc to the inspection module E1, and the wafer "13" is placed on the TRSd.

7 (a) and 7 (b) show the output of the ready signal and the conveyance path in this cycle 27, respectively, and the control operation of the conveyance arm 4 becomes clear. First, when the inspection end signal (preparation signal as a carry-out completion signal) is output from the inspection module E1, the transfer arm 4 conveys the wafer "11" to the TRSd. Then, when a ready signal indicating completion of carrying out is output from TRSc in the middle of this transfer, and a ready signal indicating completion of loading from TRS1 is subsequently output, the transfer from the cassette station 21 to the processing station S1 is preferential. Since the wafer "n" is conveyed from TRSa to TRS1 preferentially, wafer "12" is conveyed from TRSc to the inspection module E1 after that.

On the other hand, the transfer schedule is as shown in Fig. 6 when the wafer is carried out in the order of the number of wafers in addition to the carrying in and out of the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 without carrying over the wafers as in the present invention. For example, paying attention to the cycle 31, the wafer "11" waits in the inspection module E1 until the cycle 39, even though the inspection is finished, and there is a lot of unnecessary time. Therefore, while the number of cycles required until the wafer "22" is returned to the cassette C is 46 cycles in the present invention, it is 61 cycles when no overtaking is performed.

According to the above-described embodiment, the wafers having the smaller processing order than the wafers having the larger processing order assigned to the wafer can be carried out from the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3 first, that is, the inspection modules E1, E2, Since it is possible to overtake wafers for the removal of wafers from E3), it is possible to reduce unnecessary time for the processed wafers to wait in the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3, thereby improving throughput (productivity). You can. Since the overtaking of the wafer is prohibited with respect to the carrying of the wafer into the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3, the first wafer of the next lot enters a certain inspection module, and then the last wafer of the previous lot enters. There is no problem of making a recipe change.

Moreover, in addition to the transfer module which only transfers a board | substrate according to the conveyance path | route of a wafer, the cooling module which cools a board | substrate or the heating module which heats a board | substrate WHEREIN: The module which performs both cooling or heating of a board | substrate, and board | substrate delivery. May be used for the replacement of the wafer from the substrate cassette to the processing station, in which case the processing module also serves as the transfer module TRS1. In this case, although already described in the description regarding the control of the transfer arm 4, since the processing time of the wafer W, that is, the stay time in TRS1, is determined, the wafer W from the cassette station 21 is determined. To the inspection module E1, E2, E3 from the remaining time obtained by subtracting the transfer time for transferring the wafer to the processing station S1 and the transfer time for receiving the wafer W from the processing station S1 from the cycle time. W) needs to be delivered.

That is, even if the wafer W can be exchanged for the inspection modules E1, E2, and E3, the operation of the wafer W from the subsequent transfer module TRSa to the TRS1 is performed by performing the operation before performing the operation. It is necessary to determine whether the end point of the exchange passes the end point of the cycle time. When the end of the cycle time has passed, it is necessary to control the transfer of the wafer W to the inspection modules E1, E2, E3 not to be executed. This is because if the transfer is performed, the stay time (processing time) in the transfer module TRS1 of the next wafer W is shorter than the set time.

8 is an explanatory diagram showing such a state. T0 is the end of the cycle time in a cycle, and when the controller 200 is able to carry out the wafer "11" from the inspection module E1, the time from that time to T0 is the transfer arm 4. It is judged whether it is more than twice the 5 second which is the conveyance operation time of, and if it is more than twice, the wafer W is conveyed from the inspection module E1 to the transfer module TRSd, and this conveyance is suspended if it is not satisfied twice. . For this reason, after the previous wafer is carried out from the transfer module (for example, cooling module) TRS1 by the main arm 26A, subsequent wafer "n" is immediately carried in to TRS1 from the transfer module TRSa. Will be. Thereafter, the transfer arm 4 conveys the wafer "11" from the inspection module E1 to the transfer module TRSd.

In the present invention, the entire number inspection may be performed on the wafers in the cassette C or the selected wafers may be inspected. Also, instead of inspecting the wafer processed by the processing station S1 and returned to the cassette C, it is delivered to the wafer in the cassette transported to the loading section 22 for inspection from the exterior of the coating and developing apparatus. You may test | inspect by the inspection module E1, E2, E3 similarly using the arm 24 and the conveyance arm 4. As shown in FIG.

In the present invention, since a substrate having a smaller processing order than that of a substrate having a larger processing order assigned to the substrate can be carried out earlier from the inspection module, that is, the substrate can be overtaken for the removal of the substrate from the inspection module. In addition, unnecessary time for the processed substrate to wait in the inspection module can be reduced, thereby improving throughput (productivity). In addition, since the overtaking of the board is prohibited with respect to bringing the board into the inspection module, the problem is that a recipe change occurs as the first substrate of the next lot enters a certain inspection module and the last substrate of the previous lot enters. Does not occur.

Claims (13)

A cassette station having a plurality of substrates stored therein, the cassette station having a transfer means for transferring the substrates between the cassettes; A plurality of processing modules which perform application of a resist to a substrate taken out of the cassette, development of the substrate after the resist is applied and exposed to the substrate, or a process before and after the process, and the substrates are sequentially carried out along the circulation path to these processing modules. At the same time, a processing station having a first substrate conveying means, the cycle time of circulating the circulation path is predetermined; 2nd board | substrate conveyance means which performs a test | inspection about the board | substrate which completed processing, and delivers a board | substrate with respect to the some inspection module from which the time required for inspection differs, and the board | substrate transfer between the said cassette station and a processing station, and an inspection module An inspection station having: A control unit for controlling the second substrate transfer means; The said control part with respect to a 2nd board | substrate conveyance means, a) prioritizing the transfer of the substrate between the cassette station and the processing station and the receipt of the substrate from the processing station, b) carrying out the inspection module from a substrate having a small processing order assigned to the substrate, c) A coating and developing apparatus, characterized in that it has a function of controlling the carrying out of the inspection module from the inspection module regardless of the processing order assigned to the substrate. The transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: one transfer module and the other transfer module provided for transfer of the substrate between the transfer means in the cassette station and the second substrate transfer means; The control unit transfers the substrate which has been processed by the processing station to the cassette, takes out the substrate from the cassette, transfers the substrate to one of the transfer modules, and transfers the finished substrate to the cassette from the other transfer module. A coating and developing apparatus, characterized in that for controlling the delivery means in the station. The coating and developing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the transfer means to take out the substrate, which has been processed by the processing station, from the cassette and transfer it to the one transfer module. The coating and developing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the delivery means in the cassette station to take out the substrate from the cassette carried for inspection from the outside of the coating and developing apparatus and deliver the substrate to the one transfer module. Device. The transfer means in the cassette station according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the transfer means in the cassette station can transfer the substrate to either one of the one or the other transfer modules within the cycle time only once. Application | coating and developing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the substrate from the cassette station is transferred to the processing module of the processing station by the second substrate conveying means, The control unit performs transfer of the substrate to the inspection module in the remaining time obtained by subtracting the transfer time for transferring the substrate from the cassette station to the processing station and the transfer time for receiving and transferring the substrate from the processing station from the cycle time. 2nd board | substrate conveying means is controlled, The coating and developing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A cassette station having a plurality of substrates stored therein, the cassette station having a transfer means for transferring the substrates between the cassettes; A plurality of processing modules for applying, developing, or processing the resist before and after the substrate taken out from the cassette, and a cycle time for circulating the circulation paths while conveying the substrates sequentially in accordance with the circulation paths for these processing modules are predetermined. A processing station equipped with a first substrate conveying means, The processing station performs inspection on the substrates that have been processed, and transfers the substrates to a plurality of inspection modules having different time required for inspection, and to transfer and inspect the substrates between the cassette station and the processing station. It is a method of controlling the application | coating and developing apparatus provided with the inspection station provided with a 2nd board | substrate conveying means, When the preparation signal for informing the preparation for conveyance of the substrate from the cassette station to the processing station is output, or when the preparation signal for informing the preparation for conveyance of the substrate from the processing station to the conveying destination is output, the second substrate conveying means generates a substrate. The process of giving priority to conveyance, A process of carrying out an inspection module from a substrate having a small processing order assigned to the substrate, Regardless of the order of the process assigned to the board | substrate, the process of carrying out the board | substrate which test | inspection is completed is carried out from an inspection module, The control method of the application | coating and developing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 8. A transfer module according to claim 7, wherein one transfer module and the other transfer module are provided for transfer of the substrate between the transfer means in the cassette station and the second substrate transfer means, Transferring the substrate, which has been processed by the processing station, to the cassette by the transfer means; Taking out the substrate from the cassette and transferring the substrate to the transfer module; A method of controlling the coating and developing apparatus, comprising the step of transferring the substrate whose inspection has been completed to the cassette from the other transfer module by the transfer means. The method of controlling the coating and developing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the substrate to be transferred to the one transfer module is a substrate taken out from a cassette conveyed for inspection from the exterior of the coating and developing apparatus. The control method of the coating and developing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the substrate transferred to one of the transfer modules is a substrate processed at a processing station. The transfer means in the cassette station is capable of transferring the substrate to either one of the one or the other transfer modules once within the cycle time. Coating and control method of the developing apparatus. The substrate according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the substrate from the cassette station is transferred by the second substrate conveying means to the processing module of the processing station, The step of transferring the substrate to the inspection module is performed in the remaining time obtained by subtracting the transfer time for transferring the substrate from the cassette station to the processing station and the transfer time for receiving and transferring the substrate from the processing station from the cycle time. The coating and developing method of the control method of a developing apparatus. It is a storage medium which memorize | stores application | coating of the resist to a board | substrate, the application | coating which develops to the board | substrate after the resist is apply | coated and exposed, and the computer program used for a developing apparatus, The computer program is a storage medium for carrying out the method for controlling the coating and developing apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10.

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