KR20140104912A - Substrate transfer device, substrate processing apparatus, and substrate accommodation method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is to properly accommodate a substrate in a cassette. According to an embodiment, a substrate transfer device comprises a substrate transfer unit, a detection unit, and a control device. The substrate transfer unit transfers substrates between cassettes which are capable of accommodating multiple substrates. The detection unit detects substrates accommodated in cassettes. The control device controls the substrate transfer unit. Also, the control device comprises a transfer control unit, a determination unit, and a correction unit. The transfer control unit controls the substrate transfer unit to accommodate substrates at a predetermined target accommodation position. The determination unit determines an actual accommodation position of substrates based on a detected result of the detection unit after the substrates accommodated in the cassettes are detected by the detection unit. The correction unit corrects the predetermined target accommodation position of substrates to be accommodated based on the difference between an actual accommodation position and a target accommodation position of accommodated substrates.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate transfer apparatus, a substrate processing apparatus,

The disclosed embodiments relate to a substrate transfer apparatus, a substrate processing apparatus, and a substrate receiving method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a substrate processing apparatus for sequentially taking out a substrate from a cassette containing a plurality of substrates and performing a process is known.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of specifying the respective accommodating positions of a substrate accommodated in a cassette using a detection unit such as a transmission type sensor, and taking out the substrate from the same cassette and returning the taken substrate to the same cassette Is performed on the substrate.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-145244

However, when the substrate taken out from the cassette is returned to the cassette other than the original cassette, it is difficult to grasp the position of the substrate taken in the other cassette using the above-described conventional technique. Therefore, in such a case, the substrate is accommodated in accordance with the target accommodation position previously stored.

However, for example, if the cassette is not correctly installed on the mount table or is slightly inclined, the previously stored target accommodating position deviates from the actual accommodating position, so that the cassette can be appropriately accommodated There is a risk of not being able to.

An aspect of the embodiment is to provide a substrate transfer apparatus, a substrate processing apparatus, and a substrate receiving method capable of appropriately accommodating a substrate with respect to a cassette.

A substrate transfer apparatus according to an aspect of the embodiment includes a substrate transfer section, a detection section, and a control device. The substrate transfer section transfers substrates between a cassette accommodating a plurality of substrates. The detecting unit detects the substrate accommodated in the cassette. The control device controls the substrate conveying section. Further, the control apparatus includes a transport control section, a determination section, and a correction section. The conveyance control section controls the substrate conveyance section to receive the substrate with respect to the predetermined target accommodation position. After the detection section detects the substrate accommodated in the cassette, the determination section determines the actual accommodation position of the substrate based on the detection result of the detection section. The correcting unit corrects the predetermined target accommodation position as the accommodation position of the other substrate based on the difference between the actual accommodation position of the substrate and the target accommodation position.

According to one aspect of the embodiment, the substrate can be properly accommodated with respect to the cassette.

1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cassette and a substrate detection unit. FIG.
2B is a view showing a schematic configuration of a cassette and a substrate detection unit.
3A is a schematic perspective view of a first holding portion (holding portion) provided in the substrate transfer device.
Fig. 3B is a schematic perspective view of a second holding portion provided in the substrate transfer device. Fig.
4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the control device.
5A is an explanatory diagram of a determination process by the determination section.
FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram of a determination process by the determination section.
6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the substrate accommodating process executed by the substrate processing apparatus.
Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the substrate accommodating process according to the second embodiment.
Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a case where the difference between the target accommodation position of the wafer and the actual accommodation position is predicted.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the substrate transfer apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus, and the substrate receiving method disclosed by the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Further, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)

First, a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

In the following description, X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis orthogonal to each other are defined, and the Z-axis normal direction is a vertical upward direction. In the following description, the X-axis direction side is defined as the front side of the substrate processing apparatus and the X-axis positive side side is defined as the rear side of the substrate processing apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 100 includes an input / output station 1, a transfer station 2, and a processing station 3. The transfer station 1, the transfer station 2 and the processing station 3 are arranged in the order from the front to the rear of the substrate processing apparatus 100, ).

The loading / unloading station 1 is a place where a plurality of cassettes are placed. For example, four cassettes C1 to C4 are arranged side by side in a state in which they are in close contact with the front wall of the carrying station 2 and placed thereon. Each of the cassettes C1 to C4 is a storage container capable of accommodating a plurality of wafers W in a horizontal posture in multiple stages.

The transfer station 2 is disposed behind the loading / unloading station 1 and has a substrate transfer section 21 and a substrate transfer table 22 inside. In the substrate transfer table 22, a buffer cassette (not shown) in which a plurality of wafers W are temporarily accommodated is placed.

The substrate transfer section 21 transfers the wafer W between the cassettes C1 to C4 placed on the loading / unloading station 1 and the buffer cassettes placed on the substrate transfer table 22. Specifically, the substrate transfer section 21 takes out the wafers W from the cassettes C1 to C4 and stores them in the buffer cassettes, and the process of taking out the wafers W from the buffer cassettes and transferring the wafers W to the cassettes C1 to C4 And executes the processing for accepting.

The substrate transfer section 2 is provided with a substrate detection section 23 for detecting wafers W accommodated in the cassettes C1 to C4 respectively corresponding to the cassettes C1 to C4.

Here, the schematic configuration of the cassettes C1 to C4 and the substrate detector 23 will be described with reference to Figs. 2A and 2B. Figs. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams showing the configurations of the cassettes C1 to C4 and the substrate detector 23, respectively. 2A shows a substrate detection section 23 provided corresponding to the cassette C1 as an example.

As shown in Fig. 2A, the cassette C1 is a box having an opening on the side (X-axis positive direction side) opposite to the conveying station 2. As shown in Fig. The left and right dimensions of the cassette C1 are slightly longer than the dimensions of the wafer W. The depth is also longer than the dimension of the wafer W, and the dimension is such that the wafer W does not protrude from the opening.

The inside of the cassette C1 has a support portion (not shown) for supporting the edge portion of the wafer W positioned on the opposite side to the opening portion and a pair of support portions 12 and 12 for supporting the left and right edge portions of the wafer W ). By being supported by these supporting portions, the wafer W is held in the cassette C1 in a horizontal posture.

The cassettes C2 to C4 also have the same configuration as the cassette C1. Here, a cassette for accommodating twelve wafers W is illustrated, but the number of wafers W that can accommodate the cassettes C1 to C4 is not limited to twelve.

2A and 2B, the substrate detecting section 23 includes a light emitter 231 for emitting light, a light receiver 232 for receiving light irradiated by the light emitter 231, a light emitter 231, And a moving unit (not shown) for moving the photodetector 232 along the vertical direction. The light emitter 231 and the light receiver 232 are horizontally arranged on both right and left sides of the opening of the cassette C1 so as to face each other.

The substrate detector 23 moves the light emitter 231 and the light receiver 232 along the vertical direction by using a moving unit not shown in the state that the light is emitted from the light emitter 231. [ When the wafer W is not present between the light emitter 231 and the light receiver 232, the light emitted from the light emitter 231 is received by the light receiver 232. On the other hand, when the wafer W exists between the light emitter 231 and the light receiver 232, the light irradiated from the light emitter 231 is not blocked by the wafer W and therefore does not reach the light receiver 232 Do not. Thereby, the substrate detecting section 23 can detect the wafer W accommodated in the cassette C1.

The control device 6 described later determines an actual accommodation position of the wafer W based on the detection signal S output from the substrate detection section 23. [ This will be described later.

Although the substrate detecting section 23 has an optical sensor of a transmission type here, the substrate detecting section 23 is not limited to the transmission type optical sensor but may also have a reflection type optical sensor.

The substrate transfer section 21 provided in the transfer station 2 has two substrate holding sections that can be independently operated. Here, the configuration of each substrate holding portion included in the substrate transfer section 21 will be described with reference to Figs. 3A and 3B. 3A is a schematic perspective view of a first holding portion provided in the substrate transfer portion 21 and FIG. 3B is a schematic perspective view of a second holding portion provided in the substrate transfer portion 21. FIG.

3A, the first holding portion 211 of the substrate carrying portion 21 is provided with one fork 211a. By using this fork 211a, one wafer W) in a horizontal posture. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 3B, the second holding portion 212 of the substrate carrying portion 21 is provided with a plurality of (for example, four) forks 212a to 212d, (Four in this example) wafers W are held in a horizontal posture and in multiple stages in the vertical direction by using the upper and lower substrates 212a to 212d. The second holding portion 212 is disposed above the first holding portion 211.

The first holding portion 211 and the second holding portion 212 are provided, for example, at the distal end portions of different arms and can operate independently. The spacing in the vertical direction of each of the forks 211a and 212a to 212d is approximately the same as the interval in the vertical direction between the pair of supports 12 and 12 (see Fig. 2A) of the cassettes C1 to C4, The first holding part 211 and the second holding part 212 are used to hold a plurality of wafers W at most in this case between the cassettes C1 to C4 and the buffer cassettes Can be transmitted simultaneously.

1, a dummy wafer storage unit 24 is additionally provided in the transfer station 2. [ In the dummy wafer storage section 24, the dummy wafer Wd is stored. Unlike the wafer W, the dummy wafer Wd is a wafer, not a product wafer. The details of the substrate storage process using the dummy wafer Wd will be described in the third embodiment. Also, in the first embodiment, the dummy wafer storage section 24 is not necessarily installed.

The processing station 3 is disposed at the rear of the conveying station 2. A plurality of (six in this case, six) substrate processing units 5 are arranged on the left and right sides of the substrate transfer unit 31 in the front-rear direction Respectively. In the processing station 3, the substrate transfer section 31 transfers the wafers W one by one between the substrate transfer table 22 of each transfer station 2 and each substrate processing section 5, The processing section 5 performs a substrate process such as a cleaning process on the wafer W one by one.

The substrate transfer section 21 of the transfer station 2 takes out the wafer W from the cassettes C1 to C4 placed on the transfer station 1, The wafer W thus taken out is accommodated in a buffer cassette (not shown) of the substrate transfer table 22. The wafers W accommodated in the buffer cassette are taken out by the substrate transfer section 31 of the processing station 3 and are carried into one of the substrate processing sections 5.

The wafer W transferred into the substrate processing section 5 is transferred from the substrate processing section 5 by the substrate transfer section 31 after being subjected to the substrate processing by the substrate processing section 5, 22). ≪ / RTI > The processed wafers W accommodated in the buffer cassettes are returned to the cassettes C1 to C4 by the substrate transfer section 21. [

The substrate processing apparatus 100 also includes a control device 6. The control device 6 is an apparatus for controlling the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 100 described above.

Here, the configuration of the control device 6 will be described with reference to Fig. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the control device 6. As shown in Fig. 4 shows only components necessary for explaining the characteristics of the control device 6, and description of common components is omitted.

As shown in Fig. 4, the control device 6 includes a control section 61 and a storage section 62. Fig. The control section 61 performs processing for taking out the wafers W from the cassettes C1 to C4 and accommodating them in the buffer cassettes based on the information stored in the storage section 62 and processing for taking out the wafers W from the buffer cassettes And causes the substrate carrying section 21 to carry out processing for accommodating the cassettes C1 to C4.

The substrate transfer apparatus disclosed by the present application includes a control device 6, a substrate transfer section 21, and a substrate detection section 23 shown in Fig.

Next, a specific operation of the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described. In the substrate processing apparatus 100, first, the substrate transfer section 21 takes out the wafer W from the cassettes C 1 to C 4 under the control of the control device 6 and transfers the wafer W to the buffer cassette of the substrate transfer platform 22 And performs the processing for accepting.

Specifically, first, the substrate detection section 23 detects the positions of the wafers W accommodated in the cassettes C1 to C4. Subsequently, the control unit 61 determines the target extraction position based on the position detected by the substrate detection unit 23, and controls the first holding unit 211 or the second holding unit 211 of the substrate transfer unit 21, The holding unit 212 is moved to take out the wafer W from the cassettes C1 to C4.

As a specific method for taking out the wafer W from the cassettes C1 to C4, for example, a method of taking out the substrate described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-168715 can be employed.

Subsequently, the substrate transfer section 31 takes out the wafer W accommodated in the buffer cassette from the buffer cassette and transfers the wafer W to the substrate processing section 5. When the processing of the wafer W by the substrate processing section 5 is finished, the substrate transfer section 31 takes out the processed wafer W from the substrate processing section 5 and stores it in the buffer cassette.

Then, the substrate carrying section 21 takes out the processed wafers W accommodated in the buffer cassettes from the buffer cassettes and accommodates them in the cassettes C1 to C4.

Here, when the processed wafers W are accommodated in the original cassettes C1 to C4, the control unit 61 controls the substrate detection unit 23, which is obtained when the wafers W are taken out from the cassettes C1 to C4 The processed wafers W are accommodated in the original positions of the original cassettes C1 to C4 using the detection results (target extraction positions).

On the other hand, when the processed wafers W are accommodated in the other cassettes C1 to C4, processing different from the above case is performed. Here, the case where the wafer W taken out from the cassette C1 is accommodated in the cassette C3 will be described in detail, for example, when the processed wafers W are accommodated in the other cassettes C1 to C4. It is assumed that the cassette C3 in which the processed wafers W are accommodated is empty.

4, the control unit 61 of the control device 6 includes a transport control unit 611, a determination unit 612, and a correction unit 613. [ Target position information 621 and judgment information 622 are stored in the storage section 62 of the control device 6. [

The transfer control unit 611 controls the substrate transfer unit 21 to transfer the wafer W between the cassettes C1 to C4 and the buffer cassettes of the substrate transfer platform 22. [ When the first wafer W (hereinafter, referred to as a "first wafer") is accommodated in the empty cassette C3, the transport control unit 611 reads the target position information stored in the storage unit 62 621 to control the substrate transfer section 21 to accommodate the first wafer at a predetermined target accommodation position as the accommodation position of the first wafer.

The target position information 621 stored in the storage unit 62 is information indicating a target accommodating position of the wafer W in each slot of the cassettes C1 to C4. The target accommodation position is a predetermined position for receiving the wafer W.

The operations when the wafers W are taken out from the cassettes C1 to C4 are also carried out by controlling the substrate conveying section 21 by the conveying control section 611. [

The judging unit 612 judges the actual accommodating position of the wafer W accommodated in the cassette C3 based on the detection result of the substrate detecting unit 23. Here, the determination processing performed by the determination unit 612 will be described with reference to Figs. 5A and 5B. Figs. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of the determination processing by the determination unit 612. Fig.

5A and 5B, the judging unit 612 judges whether the time when the substrate detecting unit 23 continuously detects the wafer W (see t1 and t2 in Fig. 5B) and the substrate detecting unit 23 The thickness of the wafer W in the vertical direction is determined. The judgment section 612 judges the center position of the thickness (see P1 and P2 in Fig. 5B) as the actual receiving position of the wafer W. [ The judging unit 612 can also judge whether or not the posture of the wafer W is normal based on the detected thickness of the wafer W. [

The judging unit 612 stores judgment information 622 in the storage unit 62 including information on the actual accommodation position of the determined wafer W and the thickness of the wafer W. [ Further, the position at which the wafer W is determined as the actual receiving position is not limited to the center position of the thickness.

The correcting unit 613 compares the actual accommodation position of the first wafer determined by the determination unit 612 and the target accommodation position of the wafer with respect to each slot of the cassette C3 indicated by the target position information 621 In the vertical direction. The correcting unit 613 corrects the target accommodation position as the accommodation position of the next wafer W (hereinafter referred to as the " second wafer ") with respect to the cassette C3, And outputs the calculated position to the transport control unit 611. The transport control unit 611 determines the position of the target transport position.

Then, the transport control section 611 controls the substrate transport section 21 to receive the second wafer at the corrected target storage position. Thus, even if the positions of the respective slots of the cassette C3 are entirely deviated in the vertical direction, the second wafer can be properly accommodated in the cassette C3 without interfering with the first wafer.

The first wafer is accommodated in the cassette C3 in accordance with the target position information 621 stored in advance. At this time, since the cassette C3 is empty, There is no fear of interfering with.

Subsequently, a specific processing procedure of the substrate accommodating process when the wafer W accommodated in the buffer cassette is accommodated in the cassette C3 after being taken out of the cassette C1 and processed by the substrate processing section 5 6 will be described. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the substrate accommodating process executed by the substrate processing apparatus 100. Fig. FIG. 6 also shows a processing procedure from the empty state to the full state of the cassette C3.

6, in the substrate processing apparatus 100, the transfer control section 611 of the control section 61 controls the substrate transfer section 21 to transfer the wafer W held by the buffer cassette (not shown) The first wafer is held by the first holding unit 211 (step S101). Then, the transport control unit 611 causes the first wafer held by the first holding unit 211 to be accommodated in the lowermost slot of the cassette C3 (step S102).

Thus, by placing the first wafer at the lowermost end of the cassette C3, the first wafer can be housed in the cassette C3 more safely.

That is, for example, when the cassette C3 is inclined, the error between the target accommodation position and the actual accommodation position of each slot increases as the slot on the upper side. Therefore, by setting the lowermost end where the error between the target accommodating position and the actual accommodating position is the smallest to be accommodated in the first wafer accommodated in accordance with the previously stored target position information 621, It is possible to reduce the possibility of contact with the support portion 12 of the support member.

Further, the receiving position of the first wafer is not limited to the lowermost end of the cassette C3, but may be the uppermost end of the cassette C3 or other end.

Subsequently, the substrate detecting section 23 detects the first wafer accommodated in the cassette C3. Subsequently, in the substrate processing apparatus 100, the judging section 612 of the control device 6 judges the actual receiving position of the first wafer accommodated in the cassette C3 based on the detection result of the substrate detecting section 23, The thickness of the first wafer is determined (step S103). The judging unit 612 stores the judgment information 622 including the actual receiving position of the first wafer and the thickness of the first wafer in the storage unit 62. [

Subsequently, the transport control unit 611 determines whether the thickness of the first wafer is normal (step S104). More specifically, the transport control unit 611 determines that the thickness of the first wafer is normal if the thickness of the first wafer indicated by the determination information 622 is within the threshold, and determines that the thickness is abnormal if the thickness exceeds the threshold.

That is, when the thickness of the first wafer determined by the determination section 612 is large, in other words, when the detection time of the first wafer by the substrate detection section 23 is long, the first wafer is inclined and accommodated There is a concern. Therefore, in this case, the transport control unit 611 determines that the thickness of the first wafer is abnormal (step S104, No), and stops the subsequent processes (step S105), thereby terminating the substrate accommodating process.

As described above, the transport control unit 611 determines whether the thickness of the first wafer accommodated in the cassette C3 is normal based on the detection time of the first wafer by the substrate detection unit 23, , It is decided to stop the subsequent processing. As a result, it is possible to prevent the first wafer received in the cassette C3 from being damaged in contact with the wafer W after the second wafer in an abnormal posture.

Here, it is determined whether or not the thickness of the first wafer is normal by determining whether the thickness of the first wafer is within the threshold value. However, whether or not the detection time of the first wafer by the substrate detection section 23 is within the threshold value It may be determined whether or not the thickness of the first wafer is normal.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the thickness of the first wafer is normal (Yes at Step S104), the correcting unit 613 corrects the target accommodating position of the first wafer indicated by the target position information 621, 622 of the first wafer and the actual receiving position of the first wafer. Then, the transport control unit 611 determines whether the calculated difference amount is within the threshold (step S106).

If the difference amount exceeds the threshold value (No in step S106), the transport control unit 611 stops the subsequent process (step S105), and ends the substrate accommodating process.

In this manner, when the difference between the actual accommodation position of the first wafer and the target accommodation position exceeds the threshold value, the transport control unit 611 determines that there is an abnormality in the cassette C3 and stops the subsequent processing. As a result, it is possible to prevent the wafers W after the second wafer from being received by the cassette C3 having an error and to prevent these wafers W from being damaged.

On the other hand, when it is judged that the difference between the actual accommodation position of the first wafer and the target accommodation position is within the threshold value (Yes in Step S106), the correcting unit 613 sets a plurality of (for example, (Step S107) by the amount of difference calculated in step S106.

Next, the transfer control unit 611 controls the substrate transfer unit 21 to transfer a plurality of wafers W (second wafers) accommodated in a buffer cassette (not shown) of the substrate transfer table 22 to the first holding unit 211 and the second holding portion 212 (Step S108). The conveyance control unit 611 controls the conveyance of the plurality of wafers W held by the first holding unit 211 and the second holding unit 212 with respect to the target accommodation position of each wafer W corrected in step S107 (Step S109).

As described above, the control unit 61 is configured to accommodate the plurality of second wafers at the respective target accommodating positions after correction, after accommodating the first wafer in the cassette C3. Thus, the time required for the substrate accommodating process can be shortened.

Although a plurality of second wafers are simultaneously held in the cassette C3 by using the first holding unit 211 and the second holding unit 212, the conveying control unit 611 may be configured to hold at least the second wafer It is not necessary to use the second holding portion 212 to hold the plurality of second wafers in the cassette C3 while holding the second wafers.

Subsequently, the control unit 61 determines whether or not the cassette C3 is full (step S110). Whether or not the cassette is full can be determined based on the control information of the substrate conveyance unit 21 sent from the conveyance control unit 611. [ If the cassette C3 is not full (Step S110: No), the control unit 61 repeats the processes of Steps S107 to S110 until the cassette C3 is full The same operation is continued for the wafers W after the three wafers). If it is determined that the cassette C3 is full (step S110: Yes), the control unit 61 ends the substrate accommodating process.

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes the substrate transfer section 21, the substrate detection section 23, and the control device 6. The substrate transfer section 21 transfers substrates between the cassettes C1 to C4 capable of accommodating a plurality of wafers W. The substrate detecting section 23 detects the substrates accommodated in the cassettes C1 to C4. The control device 6 controls the substrate transfer section 21. [

The control unit 6 also includes a transport control unit 611, a determination unit 612, and a correction unit 613. The conveyance control unit 611 controls the substrate conveyance unit 21 to receive the first wafer with respect to the predetermined target accommodation position. The determination section 612 determines the actual accommodation position of the first wafer based on the detection result of the substrate detection section 23 after detecting the first wafer held in the cassette C3 by the substrate detection section 23 . The correcting unit 613 corrects the predetermined target accommodation position as the accommodation position of the second wafer and thereafter based on the difference between the actual accommodation position of the first wafer and the target accommodation position.

Therefore, with the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, the wafer W can be suitably accommodated in the cassette C3.

(Second Embodiment)

However, in the above-described first embodiment, when the difference amount between the actual accommodation position of the first wafer and the target accommodation position is set as the correction amount and this correction amount is applied as the correction amount of the target accommodation position of all the subsequent wafers W As shown in Fig. That is, in the first embodiment described above, the calculation of the difference amount between the actual accommodation position of the wafer W and the target accommodation position is performed only on the first wafer as the first wafer W.

However, the substrate accommodating process is not limited to this, and the difference amount may be calculated each time the wafer W is accommodated in the cassette C3. Hereinafter, an example of the substrate accommodating process in this case will be described with reference to FIG. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the substrate accommodating process according to the second embodiment. The steps S201 to S206 in Fig. 7 are the same as the steps S101 to S106 in Fig. 6, and a description thereof will be omitted.

7, if the thickness of the first wafer is determined to be normal in step S206 (Yes in step S206), the control unit 61 causes the cassette C3 to perform a predetermined number of sheets (here, m sheets ) Is completed (step S207).

In this process, if the number of wafers W received in the cassette C3 does not reach the number of m (No in Step S207), the correcting unit 613 corrects the number of wafers W accommodated in the present cassette C3 W) Next, based on the actual accommodation position, the target accommodation position of one wafer W to be accommodated in the cassette C3 is corrected (step S208). The transport control unit 611 controls the substrate transport unit 21 to hold one wafer W accommodated in the buffer cassette by the first holding unit 211 (step S209) W) at the target accommodation position after correction (step S210).

Subsequently, the control unit 61 determines whether or not the cassette C3 is full (step S211). The control unit 61 waits until the number of wafers W accommodated in the cassette C3 reaches m times when the cassette C3 is not full (Step S211: No) S211) is repeated.

In this manner, in the second embodiment, each time the wafer W is accommodated in the cassette C3, the actual accommodation position is calculated and the next target accommodation position is corrected. More specifically, each time the wafer W is accommodated in the cassette C3, the judging unit 612 judges the actual accommodating position of the wafer W, and the correcting unit 613 judges whether or not the wafer W Each time the wafer W is accommodated in the cassette C3, the target accommodating position of the next wafer W is corrected based on the actual accommodating position of the wafer W. [ Thereby, the wafer W can be properly accommodated with respect to the cassette C3.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S207 that the reception of the m-th wafer W is completed (Yes in step S207), the correcting unit 613 corrects the number of wafers W W based on the actual receiving position of the m-th wafer W (step S212).

The conveyance control unit 611 controls the substrate conveyance unit 21 to hold the plurality of wafers W received in the buffer cassette by the first holding unit 211 and the second holding unit 212 (Step S213), and simultaneously accommodates the wafers W in the respective target accommodation positions after correction (step S214).

Subsequently, the control unit 61 determines whether or not the cassette C3 is full (step S215). If the cassette C3 is not full (step S215, No), the control section 61 repeats the processing of steps S212 to S215 until the cassette C3 is full.

When the control unit 61 determines in step S211 that the cassette C3 is full (Yes in step S211), in the case where it is determined in step S215 that the cassette C3 is full (YES in step S215), or if the processing is stopped in step S205, the substrate accommodating process is terminated.

As described above, in the second embodiment, when the number of wafers W received in the cassette C3 reaches a predetermined number, that is, when a predetermined number of wafers W can be received normally without stopping the process , It is determined that the probability of occurrence of an abnormality in the future is low, and the process shifts to a process of collecting and accommodating a plurality of wafers W in the cassette C3. Thereby, the wafer W can be properly accommodated in the cassette C3 in a short time.

(Third Embodiment)

In the first and second embodiments described above, the first wafer received first in the cassettes C1 to C4 is an example of a wafer W that is a product wafer. However, the first wafer may be a dummy wafer Wd (see Fig. 1), not a product wafer. Hereinafter, in the third embodiment, an example in which the dummy wafer Wd is used as the first wafer will be described.

In this case, in the substrate processing apparatus 100, while the wafer W is being processed in the substrate processing section 5, the substrate transfer section 21 transfers the wafer W to the dummy wafer storage section (control section) 24 from the dummy wafer Wd.

Subsequently, the substrate processing apparatus 100 performs the same processing as steps S102 and S103 shown in Fig. 6 or steps S202 and S203 shown in Fig. The substrate transfer section 21 receives the dummy wafer Wd taken out from the dummy wafer storage section 24 in the lowest slot of the empty cassette C3 and the substrate detection section 23 picks up the dummy wafer Wd After the detection, the determination unit 612 determines the actual accommodation position and the thickness of the dummy wafer Wd based on the detection result of the substrate detection unit 23.

When the actual receiving position and thickness of the dummy wafer Wd are determined by the determining section 612, the substrate transfer section 21 takes out the dummy wafer Wd from the cassette C3 and transfers the dummy wafer Wd to the dummy wafer storage section 24). As a result, the cassette C3 becomes empty again.

Subsequently, the substrate transfer section 21 takes out the wafer W, which is a product wafer processed by the substrate processing section 5, from the buffer cassette. The substrate carrying section 21 receives the wafer W taken out from the buffer cassette at the actual receiving position of the dummy wafer Wd determined by the judging section 612. [

As described above, in the third embodiment, before the product wafer is received in the cassette C3, the actual receiving position of the dummy wafer Wd is determined by receiving the dummy wafer Wd in the cassette C3, Wd in the cassette C3 is used to accommodate the first product wafer in the cassette C3. Thereby, the risk that the product wafer initially accommodated in the cassette C3 is broken can be reduced.

The subsequent processing is the same as the processing in steps S103 to S110 shown in Fig. 6 or steps S203 to S215 shown in Fig. That is, the actual receiving position and thickness of the wafer W accommodated in the cassette C3 are judged by the judging unit 612, and it is judged whether or not the thickness of the wafer W is normal, And corrects each target accommodation position of the plurality of wafers W and simultaneously accommodates the plurality of wafers W with respect to the target accommodation position after correction.

In the above-described example, the actual receiving position and the like of the dummy wafer Wd are determined, and then the actual receiving position or the like is also determined with respect to the wafer W accommodated in the same place as the dummy wafer Wd. However, it is possible to omit determination processing for the wafers W accommodated in the same place as the dummy wafer Wd, and to determine, based on the actual accommodation position of the dummy wafer Wd, May be performed.

(Fourth Embodiment)

The substrate processing apparatus 100 may estimate the difference between the target accommodation position of the wafer W and the actual accommodation position by using the stored determination information 622. [ This point will be described with reference to FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a case where the difference between the target accommodation position of the wafer W and the actual accommodation position is predicted.

Further, P1 to P4 shown in Fig. 8 represent the target accommodation position, and p1 to p3 represent the actual accommodation positions determined based on the detection result of the board detection section 23.

8, the amounts of difference g1 to g3 between the target receiving positions P1 to P3 and the actual receiving positions p1 to p3 are set to be the same as the cassettes C3 to C5, C3. The correcting unit 613 stores the difference amounts g1 to g3 in the storage unit 62 and calculates the rate of change of the difference amount from the accumulated difference amounts g1 to g3, Using the target accommodation position P4, the difference g4 in the next cycle is predicted. Then, the correcting unit 613 calculates the corrected target accommodation position P4 by using the predicted difference amount g4.

In this way, the difference amount between the target accommodation position and the actual accommodation position may be stored in the storage unit 62, and the difference amount may be predicted based on the accumulated difference amount. Thereby, the accuracy of correcting the target accommodation position can be improved.

The control unit 61 may change the number of wafers W accommodated at the same time based on the accumulation information of the difference amount between the target accommodation position and the actual accommodation position.

That is, as the inclination of the cassette C3 becomes larger, it becomes difficult to simultaneously accommodate a plurality of wafers W with respect to the cassette C3. Therefore, the transport control unit 611 may reduce the number of wafers W accommodated at the same time as the rate of change of the difference amount increases.

For example, the transport control unit 611 predicts actual receiving positions of a plurality of wafers W to be accommodated next time using the rate of change of the difference amount, respectively, The maximum number of wafers W may be calculated and the substrate transfer section 21 may be controlled so as to simultaneously receive the maximum number of wafers W in the cassette C3.

The substrate detecting section 23 is provided on the fork of the first holding section 211 and the substrate detecting section 23 is provided on the side of the transferring station 2. In the above embodiments, And a light emitter and a light receiving unit may be mounted on the tip of the light receiving unit 211a.

In the above-described embodiments, the first wafer is the first wafer W accommodated in the cassette C3. However, the first wafer is not limited to this, (W).

New effects or variations may be readily derived by those skilled in the art. For that reason, the broader aspects of the present invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments described and illustrated herein. Accordingly, various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

W: Wafer
Wd: dummy wafer
C1 to C4: Cassette
1: In / Out station
2: Return station
6: Control device
21:
22:
23:
61:
62:
100: substrate processing apparatus
211: first holding portion
212: second holding section
231: Floodlight
232: Receiver
611:
612:
613:
621: Goal location information
622: judgment information

Claims (13)

A substrate transfer section for transferring the substrate between a cassette accommodating the substrate and the cassette,
A detector for detecting a substrate accommodated in the cassette;
And a control device for controlling the substrate transfer section,
The control device includes:
A conveyance control section for controlling the substrate conveyance section to receive the substrate with respect to a predetermined target accommodation position,
A judging section for judging an actual accommodating position of the substrate on the basis of the detection result of the detecting section after detecting the substrate accommodated in the cassette by the detecting section,
And a correcting unit correcting a predetermined target accommodating position as a receiving position of another substrate based on a difference between an actual accommodating position of the substrate and the target accommodating position. The method according to claim 1,
The conveyance control section,
Controls the substrate carrying section to receive one substrate for a predetermined target holding position,
Wherein,
And corrects a predetermined target accommodating position as each accommodating position of a plurality of substrates to be accommodated next based on a difference between an actual accommodating position of the one substrate and the target accommodating position, Device. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein:
A first holding section for holding the one substrate,
And a second holding portion for holding a plurality of said substrates,
The conveyance control section,
Wherein said plurality of substrates are held by at least said second holding unit after said one substrate is held by said first holding unit and accommodated in said cassette, and each of said plurality of substrates corrected by said correcting unit And the plurality of substrates are received simultaneously with respect to the target accommodation position. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The judging unit judges,
Each time the substrate is received in the cassette, an actual receiving position of the substrate is determined,
Wherein,
Corrects the target accommodating position of the substrate in succession based on a difference between an actual accommodating position of the substrate and a target accommodating position after correction for the substrate each time the substrate is accommodated in the cassette Substrate transfer device. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The conveyance control section,
And controls the substrate transfer section to accommodate the substrate to be initially accommodated in the cassette with respect to a predetermined target storage position as the lowermost position of the cassette. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The conveyance control section,
After the dummy substrate is taken out from the cassette after the substrate carrying section is controlled to accommodate the dummy substrate with respect to the predetermined target accommodating position and the actual accommodating position of the dummy substrate is determined by the judging section, And controls the substrate transfer section to receive the substrate with respect to an actual receiving position of the substrate. A substrate transfer device for transferring a substrate from the outside,
A substrate processing section for processing the substrate carried by the substrate transfer apparatus,
And a transfer section for transferring the substrate carried by the substrate transfer apparatus to the substrate processing section,
The substrate transport apparatus includes:
A substrate transfer section for transferring the substrate between a cassette accommodating the substrate and the cassette,
A detector for detecting a substrate accommodated in the cassette;
And a control device for controlling the substrate transfer section,
The control device includes:
A conveyance control section for controlling the substrate conveyance section to receive the substrate with respect to a predetermined target accommodation position,
A judging section for judging an actual accommodating position of the substrate on the basis of the detection result of the detecting section after detecting the substrate accommodated in the cassette by the detecting section,
And a correction section that corrects a predetermined target accommodation position as a reception position of another substrate based on a difference between an actual accommodation position of the substrate and the target accommodation position. A first receiving step of controlling a substrate carrying section for carrying the substrate between a cassette capable of accommodating a substrate and a substrate to be held at a predetermined target holding position,
A determining step of determining an actual accommodating position of the substrate based on a detection result of the detecting unit after detecting a substrate accommodated in the cassette by a detecting unit detecting a substrate accommodated in the cassette,
A correction step of correcting a predetermined target accommodation position as a reception position of another substrate based on a difference between an actual accommodation position of the substrate and the target accommodation position,
And a second accommodating step of controlling the substrate transfer section to accommodate the other substrate with respect to the target accommodating position corrected in the correcting step. 9. The method of claim 8,
The first receiving step may include:
The substrate transfer section is controlled to accommodate the one substrate with respect to a predetermined target storage position as the storage position of one substrate,
In the correction step,
And corrects a predetermined target accommodating position as each accommodating position of a plurality of substrates to be accommodated next based on a difference between an actual accommodating position of the one substrate and the target accommodating position, Way. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein:
A first holding section for holding the one substrate,
And a second holding portion for holding a plurality of said substrates,
The first receiving step may include:
The one substrate is held by the first holding portion and accommodated in the cassette,
Wherein the second receiving step includes:
Wherein said plurality of substrates are simultaneously held with respect to respective target accommodating positions of said plurality of substrates corrected in said correcting step while holding said plurality of substrates at least at said second holding section . 11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,
Wherein,
Each time the substrate is received in the cassette, an actual receiving position of the substrate is determined,
In the correction step,
The target accommodating position of the substrate is corrected next based on the difference between the actual accommodating position of the substrate and the target accommodating position after correction for the substrate each time the substrate is accommodated in the cassette Lt; / RTI > 11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,
The first receiving step may include:
And controls the substrate transfer section to receive a substrate to be initially accommodated in the cassette with respect to a predetermined target storage position as a lowermost position of the cassette. 11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,
The first receiving step may include:
The dummy substrate is accommodated in a predetermined target accommodating position by controlling the substrate carrying section, and after the actual accommodating position of the dummy substrate is determined in the determining step, the substrate carrying section is controlled so that the dummy substrate is moved to the cassette And the substrate is received with respect to an actual receiving position of the dummy substrate.

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