KR20090126583A - Substrate transferring method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for transferring substrate is provided to improve the productivity by injecting the substrate into a plurality of processing chambers according to the order that is adjacent to the receiving part. CONSTITUTION: Substrates accepted in the receiving part are provided to a plurality of the processing chambers(601-608) respectively. The plurality of processing chambers is performed the processing of the substrate. The substrate is provided according to the order that is to adjacent the receiving part. The plurality of processing chambers is arranged in the double layer. The substrates are provided to the plurality of processing chambers from the lower layer to the upper layer in order.

Description

Substrate Transfer Method {SUBSTRATE TRANSFERRING METHOD}

The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor substrate, and more particularly to a method for transferring the substrate in the process of processing the semiconductor substrate.

In general, in the substrate manufacturing process, the deposition, etching, coating of photoresist, development, and removal of asher are repeated several times in order to perform fine patterning. Patterning) is made, and as the process progresses, foreign substances are left in the substrate that are not completely removed by etching or ashing. A process for removing such foreign matters is a cleaning process using deionized water or chemical.

Substrate cleaning devices are classified into a batch processor and a single processor. The batch washing apparatus includes a chemical bath, a rinse bath, a dry bath, and the like, which can process 25 sheets or 50 sheets at a time. The batch cleaning device soaks the substrates in each bath for a period of time to remove debris. Such a batch cleaning device has the advantage that the upper and lower portions of the substrate can be cleaned at the same time and at the same time handle a large capacity. However, as the diameter of the substrate increases, the size of the tank increases, and thus the size of the apparatus and the amount of chemical liquid used increase, and at the same time, foreign matters separated from adjacent substrates are reattached to the substrate that is being cleaned in the chemical chamber.

Recently, due to the increase in the diameter of the substrate, sheet type cleaning devices are frequently used. The single sheet cleaning apparatus fixes the substrate with a substrate chuck in a small chamber capable of processing a single substrate, and then rotates the substrate by a motor and nozzles at the top of the substrate. The chemical liquid or pure water is provided to the substrate through. Chemical liquid or pure water is spread over the substrate by the rotational force of the substrate, thereby removing foreign substances adhering to the substrate. This single sheet type washing apparatus has an advantage that the size of the apparatus is smaller than that of the batch washing apparatus and has a homogeneous washing effect.

In general, the single-sheet cleaning device is composed of a structure including a loading / unloading unit, an index robot, a buffer unit, a process chamber, and a main transfer robot from one side. The index robot transfers the substrate between the buffer unit and the loading / unloading unit, and the substrate transfer robot transfers the substrate between the buffer unit and the process chamber.

The buffer unit is provided with a plurality of slots for accommodating a plurality of substrates, and waits for the substrate before cleaning to be put into the process chamber, or waits for the cleaned substrate to be transferred to the loading / unloading unit. The index robot pulls out the substrate from the FOUP seated on the loading / unloading unit and loads the substrate in the buffer unit, and removes the cleaned substrate from the buffer unit and loads the substrate in the pool.

The main transfer robot takes out the substrate before cleaning from the buffer unit, provides it to the process chamber, and loads the substrate on which the cleaning has been completed. When the substrate before cleaning is provided to the buffer unit, the main transfer robot provides the IDs in the order of identification number (ID) added to each process chamber. This increases the moving distance of the main transfer robot, decreases work efficiency, and increases the time required for transferring the substrate.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transfer method capable of transferring the substrate efficiently.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate transfer method, wherein the substrates are provided in a plurality of process chambers in which the substrates are processed in the air in the storage unit, and the substrates are transported in a sequence adjacent to the storage unit. Provide a substrate.

In this case, the plurality of process chambers are disposed in a plurality of layers, and when the substrate is provided to the plurality of process chambers, the plurality of process chambers are provided in the order of the lower layer to the upper layer.

According to the present invention described above, when the substrate is put into a plurality of process chambers, by putting in the order adjacent to the housing portion, it is possible to shorten the time required for transporting the substrate and improve the productivity.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the following, the wafer is described as an example of the substrate, but the technical spirit and scope of the present invention are not limited thereto.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an arrangement relationship of the process chambers shown in FIG. 1.

1 and 2, the substrate processing system 1000 of the present invention includes a loading / unloading unit 110, an index robot 200, a buffer unit 300, and a main transfer robot. Robot) 500, a plurality of process chambers 601,..., 608, and a controller 700.

The loading / unloading unit 110 includes a plurality of load ports 110a, 110b, 110c and 110d. In this embodiment, the loading / unloading unit 110 has four load ports 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d, but the number of load ports 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d is the substrate. It may increase or decrease depending on the process efficiency and the foot print conditions of the processing system 1000.

Front open unified pods (FOUPs) 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d in which wafers are accommodated are mounted in the load ports 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d. Each of the pools 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d is provided with a plurality of slots for accommodating the wafers in a state in which the wafers are arranged horizontally with respect to the ground. In the pools 120a, 120b, 120c, and 120d, wafers that are introduced into the process chamber 600 and processed are received or wafers that are injected into the process chamber 600 to be processed.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, a wafer processed by the substrate processing system 1000 is called a processed wafer, and a wafer not yet processed is called a raw wafer.

The index robot 200 is installed between the loading / unloading unit 110 and the buffer unit 300. The index robot 200 includes a plurality of index arms 210 on which wafers are respectively seated. The plurality of index arms 210 may be individually driven, and the raw wafers are picked up from any one of the plurality of load ports 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d and loaded into the buffer unit 300.

In addition, the index robot 200 picks up the processed wafer from the buffer unit 300 and loads the extracted processed wafers into the corresponding pull.

Meanwhile, the buffer unit 300 is located between an area in which the index robot 200 is installed, and an area in which the plurality of process chambers 600 and the main transfer robot 500 are installed. The buffer unit 300 accommodates the raw wafers transferred by the index robot 200 and stores the processed wafers processed in the process chamber 600.

Raw wafers stored in the buffer unit 300 are transferred to the respective process chambers 601,..., 608 by the main transfer robot 500. The main transfer robot 500 is installed in the transfer passage 400, and the transfer passage 400 is connected to the plurality of process chambers. The main transfer robot 500 includes a plurality of transfer arms 510 on which wafers are respectively seated, and the plurality of transfer arms 510 may be individually driven.

The main transfer robot 500 picks up the raw wafer from the buffer unit 300 and then moves along the transfer passage 400 to provide the raw wafer to the process chamber. In addition, the main transfer robot 500 loads the processed wafers processed in the plurality of process chambers 601,..., 608 into the buffer unit 300.

Meanwhile, process chambers 601,..., 608 are disposed on both sides of the transfer passage 400 to process the raw wafer to generate the processed wafer. As a processing process performed in the process chamber 600, there is a cleaning process for cleaning the raw wafer. In this embodiment, the substrate processing system 1000 includes eight process chambers 601, ..., 608, but the number of process chambers 601, ..., 608 is the substrate processing system. It may increase or decrease depending on the process efficiency and footprint conditions of 1000.

In the plurality of process chambers 601,..., 608, two process chambers are disposed to face each other with the transfer passage 400 interposed therebetween, and are arranged in two layers of four. That is, the plurality of process chambers 601,..., 608 face each other with four process chambers 601,..., 608 having two layers with the transfer passage 400 interposed therebetween. Two process chambers are arranged in one layer.

In this embodiment, the plurality of process chambers (601, ..., 608) consists of the first to eighth process chambers (601, ..., 608), the first to fourth process chambers (601, ..., 604) and the fifth to eighth process chambers (605, ..., 608) face each other with the transfer passage 400 in between. The first and second process chambers 601 and 602 and the fifth and sixth process chambers 605 and 606 are disposed in a lower layer, and the third and fourth process chambers 603 and 604 and an upper layer are disposed in an upper layer. Seventh and eighth process chambers 607 and 608 are disposed.

In this case, the first and fifth process chambers 601 and 605 are located closest to the buffer unit 300.

On the other hand, the control unit 700 is connected to the main transfer robot 500 to set the movement path of the main transfer robot 500. That is, when the main transfer robot 500 transfers a wafer between the process chambers 601,..., 608 and the buffer unit 300, the controller 700 may control the plurality of process chambers 601,. ..., 608 controls the main transfer robot 500 to approach the buffer unit 300 in order of proximity.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the priority of the main transfer robot 500 to the plurality of process chambers (601, ..., 608) is as follows. The first rank is the first and fifth process chambers 601 and 605 closest to the buffer unit 300, and the second rank is the second and sixth process chambers 602 and 606. The third rank is the third process chamber 603 located directly above the first process chamber 601 and the seventh process chamber 607 located directly above the fifth process chamber 605, and the fourth rank is The fourth and eighth process chambers 604 and 608.

As such, the access priority of the main transfer robot 500 is higher than that of the process chambers 603, 604, 607, and 608, which are located on the upper floor, of the process chambers 601, 602, 605, and 606 located on the lower floor. Process chambers located on the same floor are set higher in order of proximity to the buffer unit 300.

When the raw raw wafer is provided to each of the process chambers 601,..., 608, the main transfer robot 500 may include the raw wafers under the control of the controller 700. Raw wafers are introduced into the process chamber, moving from the process chamber with the highest access priority to the process chamber at the lower priority.

For example, when a raw wafer is provided to each of the first to eighth process chambers 601,..., 608, the main transfer robot 500 may include the first process chamber 601-> fifth process chamber ( 605)-> second process chamber 602-> sixth process chamber 606-> third process chamber 603-> seventh process chamber 607-> fourth process chamber 604-> first 8 The raw wafers are introduced in the order of the process chambers 608.

As such, the control unit 700 may be arranged in the order adjacent to the buffer unit 300 when the main transfer robot 500 inputs the raw wafer into the first to eighth process chambers 601 to 608. The raw wafer is then controlled to be loaded. Accordingly, since the main transfer robot 500 approaches the process chamber having a relatively short moving distance, the moving distance of the main transfer robot 500 is shortened, the time required for wafer transfer is shortened, and productivity is improved. Can be improved.

Although described with reference to the embodiments above, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be variously modified and changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Could be.

1 is a schematic view of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an arrangement relationship of the process chambers illustrated in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

110: loading / unloading unit 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d: loosening

200: index robot 300: buffer unit

400: transfer passage 500: main transfer robot

601 ~ 608: process chamber

Claims (2)

The substrates accommodated in the receiving unit are respectively provided in a plurality of process chambers in which the substrate is processed, And providing the substrate in a sequence adjacent to the housing. The method of claim 1, The plurality of process chambers are arranged in multiple layers, When the substrate is provided to the plurality of process chambers, the substrate transport method, characterized in that provided in the order from the lower layer to the upper layer.

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