KR20140119283A - Substrate horizontal rotation module, and substrate transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing system, and more particularly, to a substrate horizontal rotation module and a substrate transfer method for transferring a substrate between modules. The substrate horizontal rotation module for a substrate processing system includes a first transferring module and a second transferring module which are connected in line. The substrate horizontal rotation module comprises the following: a chamber which is installed between the first transferring module and the second transferring module, and includes a first gate and a second gate that communicate with the first transferring module and the second transferring module respectively; a substrate supporting unit which is installed in the chamber in order to support a substrate inserted through the first gate; and a rotating unit which rotates the substrate supporting unit in a horizontal direction so that the rear end of the substrate faces the second transferring module from when the substrate is inserted through the first gate.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate horizontal rotation module and a substrate transfer method,

The present invention relates to a substrate processing system, and more particularly, to a substrate rotation module and a substrate transfer method for transferring substrates between modules.

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a substrate processing system for manufacturing a semiconductor device, an organic light emitting diode, or a display device includes a semiconductor substrate, an LCD panel substrate, an OLED substrate, a solar cell substrate, .

The substrate processing system generally comprises at least one process module for performing a substrate process and a transport module for introducing a substrate into the process module or withdrawing the substrate, and a plurality of process modules are connected to one transport module, Type, in which a load lock module, a process module, and an unload lock module are sequentially connected.

Meanwhile, the substrate processing system is a system in which a substrate is transferred along a process line rather than a single process, a plurality of processes are sequentially performed, a substrate is enlarged, some lines are changed due to introduction into new technology, It is done ..

Also, as the number of process modules coupled to the transport module increases and the size of the substrate increases, the size of the substrate processing system increases, thereby limiting the placement of the modules of the substrate processing system. Particularly, there is a problem that it is difficult to properly arrange the modules of the substrate processing system when there is an obstacle such as a column of a building or equipment required for another process in a space where the substrate processing system should be installed.

In order to solve such a problem, it is considered to connect the modules of the substrate processing system at various angles avoiding obstacles without connecting them linearly or perpendicularly. However, in such a case, there is a problem in that it is difficult to appropriately feed the substrate into a subsequent process because the horizontal rotation angle, the horizontal position, or the vertical position of the substrate is changed while the substrate passes through a plurality of transport modules connected at various angles .

Further, in the substrate processing system having a plurality of transport modules, the front end and the rear end of the substrate may be reversed with respect to the transport direction of the substrate while passing through each transport module. When the front end and the rear end of the substrate are reversed, , There is a problem that erroneous substrate processing can be performed.

Particularly when the subsequent process changes the front end and the rear end of the substrate in accordance with the partial change of the substrate system having the direction toward the front end and the rear end of the substrate, it is necessary to change the substrate processing module for the subsequent process, There is a problem that an additional cost is required when limiting or changing the system.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing system having a plurality of transport modules, The present invention provides a substrate horizontal rotation module and a substrate transfer method capable of solving the problem that front and rear ends are changed.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate horizontal rotation module of a substrate processing system in which a first transport module and a second transport module are connected in-line, A chamber provided between the module and the second transport module and having a first gate and a second gate communicating with the first transport module and the second transport module, respectively; A substrate supporting unit installed in the chamber and supporting a substrate introduced through the first gate; And a rotating unit for rotating the substrate supporting unit in a horizontal direction so that the rear end of the substrate is directed to the second transport module on the basis of when the substrate is introduced through the first gate.

And an elevating unit for elevating and lowering the substrate supporting unit.

The substrate supporting unit includes: a supporting member; A plurality of substrate support bars mounted on the support member to support the substrate at a plurality of support points; And a substrate support pad provided at an upper end of each of the substrate support bars and contacting the lower surface of the substrate to support the substrate.

Wherein the substrate support pad comprises: a plurality of first support pads for supporting one of a transverse side and a longitudinal side of the rectangular substrate; And one or more second support pads that simultaneously support the sides and longitudinal sides of the corner portion of the substrate.

The second support pad includes: a first support portion supporting a side portion at a corner portion of the substrate; A second support portion for supporting a longitudinal side at a corner portion of the substrate; And a connection part for integrally connecting the first support part and the second support part.

The connection portion may be formed to be spaced apart from the bottom surface of the substrate when the substrate is supported by the first support portion and the second support portion.

Preferably, the substrate support pad is formed with a step portion to restrict movement of the substrate in the horizontal direction.

And an aligning unit installed in the chamber for aligning the horizontal position of the substrate mounted on the substrate supporting unit.

The alignment unit may be located at a position corresponding to four corner portions of the substrate, respectively, so as to press the four corner portions of the substrate.

Wherein the chamber has a horizontal coupling direction in which the chamber is coupled with at least one of the first transport module and the second transport module is a linear transport path of the substrate by at least one of the first transport module and the second transport module, Wherein when the substrate support unit has a rectangular horizontal shape and the substrate is introduced into the chamber, the substrate support unit is arranged such that the horizontal center line is parallel to the linear transport path of the substrate by the transport robot .

The present invention is also a substrate transferring method of a substrate processing system in which a first transfer module, a substrate horizontal rotation module and a second transfer module are connected in-line, wherein a substrate is transferred by the first transfer robot of the first transfer chamber A substrate receiving step of introducing the substrate into the chamber of the module, wherein the substrate is placed on the substrate supporting unit; A horizontal rotating step of horizontally rotating the substrate such that the rear end of the substrate is in the second transport chamber with respect to the substrate transport direction by the first transport robot; A substrate carrying step of carrying a substrate placed on the substrate holding unit by the second carrying robot of the second carrying chamber to the second carrying chamber after the horizontally rotating step is carried out.

And aligning the horizontal position of the substrate mounted on the substrate supporting unit before or after the horizontal rotation step.

Wherein the chamber has a horizontal coupling direction in which the chamber is coupled with at least one of the first transport module and the second transport module is a linear transport path of the substrate by at least one of the first transport module and the second transport module, The substrate holding step may be performed in a state where the substrate supporting unit has a rectangular horizontal shape and the horizontal center line of the substrate supporting unit is positioned in parallel with the linear transport path of the substrate .

The substrate transferring method of the substrate horizontal rotation module and the substrate processing system according to the present invention is a method of transferring a substrate by horizontally rotating a substrate whose front end and rear end are changed while passing through each transport module in a substrate processing system having a plurality of transport modules, There is an advantage that the problem of the change of the front end and the rear end can be solved.

The present invention also provides a method for transferring a substrate in a horizontal rotation module and a substrate processing system according to the present invention is a method for transferring substrates horizontally and horizontally to a substrate having a rotation angle, a horizontal position and / Horizontal position, and / or vertical position that facilitates processing of the substrate in a subsequent process through alignment, vertical movement, and the like.

Further, in the substrate horizontal rotation module according to the present invention, even when the modules are connected at various angles while avoiding obstacles without connecting linearly or perpendicularly, that is, when the inter-chamber coupling is broken, that is, There is an advantage that the angle of rotation, the horizontal position and / or the vertical position with respect to the substrate can be adjusted when the joining direction of the chamber with respect to the linear conveying path of the substrate and the joining direction of the conveying module becomes inclined,

1 is a schematic view showing a substrate processing system provided with a substrate horizontal rotation module according to the present invention.
Figs. 2A to 2C are conceptual diagrams showing a transfer process of a substrate in a transfer module of the substrate processing system of Fig.
Figures 3A-3C are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of the substrate horizontal rotation module of Figure 1;
Fig. 4 is a plan view schematically showing the substrate supporting unit of the substrate horizontal rotation module of Fig. 3a, the substrate supported on the substrate supporting unit, and the alignment unit.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the first support pad of the substrate support pad of the substrate support unit of Figure 4;
6 is a sectional view in the CC direction of FIG.
Figs. 7 and 8 are schematic diagrams schematically showing the operating states of the alignment unit of Fig. 4, respectively.
FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a part of an example in which the transport module and the substrate horizontal rotation module are inclinedly combined in the substrate processing system of FIG. 1;

Hereinafter, a substrate horizontal rotation module and a substrate transfer method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The substrate processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention is a substrate processing system connected to a processing line 1 in which a substrate S is transferred in one direction to perform substrate processing, as shown in Figs. 1 to 2C, A plurality of transport modules (110, 120, 130, 140, 150) sequentially arranged including a first transport module (110) connected to the process line (1); One or more process modules (310, 320, 330, 340) connected to at least a portion of the plurality of transport modules to perform substrate processing; And a plurality of buffer modules 210, 220, 230, 240 and 250 connecting the plurality of transport modules 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150 to each other.

The plurality of transfer modules 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150 and the plurality of buffer modules 210, 220, 230, 240 and 250 transfer substrates S from the process line 1, And is arranged in line with a closed curve to return the substrate S which has been subjected to the substrate processing to the processing line 1 after performing the processing.

For example, the plurality of transport modules 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 and the plurality of buffer modules 210, 220, 230, 240, 250 may be arranged in a triangular shape as a whole.

2A to 2C, the conveying modules 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150 include a conveying chamber 101 forming a closed inner space, A conveying robot 102 for taking out the substrate S from the module or delivering the substrate S into another module is installed inside.

The transport chamber 101 can be configured as long as two or more gates (not shown) capable of passing through the substrate can be formed together with the formation of a closed internal space in which the transport robot 102 is installed .

The transfer robot 102 is provided in the transfer chamber 101 to transfer the substrate S to another module by pulling out the substrate S from another module or transferring the substrate S to other modules, It is possible.

2A to 2C, the transfer robot 102 includes a substrate mounting portion 102a on which a substrate is mounted, a linear moving portion 102b for linearly moving the substrate mounting portion 102a, And a rotary movement portion 102c for rotating the substrate seating portion 102a by rotating the linear movement portion 102b.

2A to 2C, the transfer modules 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150 having the above-described configuration take out the substrates S in the module to which the transfer robot 102 is coupled Thereby transferring the substrate S into another module.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2C, the substrate S transferred by the transport modules 110, 120, 130, 140, and 150 is changed into a rear end (the front end in FIG. .

The plurality of transport modules 110, 120, 130, 140, and 150 may be variously arranged according to the number of process modules, the number of substrate processes, and the arrangement among the modules. For example, The first to fifth transport modules 110, 120, 130, 140, and 150, which are sequentially disposed, as shown in FIG.

At least one of the plurality of transport modules 110, 120, 130, 140, and 150 may be coupled to one or more process modules 310, 320, 330, and 340.

For example, when the plurality of transport modules 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150 include the first to fifth transport modules 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150, 120, 130, 140, and 150 may be coupled to one or more process modules 310, 320, 330, and 340.

More specifically, in the second transport module 120, two process modules 310 and 320 for forming electrodes on the OLED substrate by evaporation may be combined. Here, the mask module 410 may be further coupled to the second transport module 120 to temporarily store the mask to be used in the substrate processing or to carry it out to the outside for maintenance of the mask.

One process module 330 may be installed in the third transfer module 130 and one process module 340 may be installed in the fourth transfer module 140 for performing the post-process after the electrode formation.

The process modules 310, 320, 330, and 340 may have various configurations depending on the types of substrate processing.

For example, if the substrate processing is to perform a deposition process by evaporation of an evaporation source, the process module 310 may include a process chamber in which a gate through which the substrate can pass and forms a closed process space, And an evaporation source in which the evaporation material evaporates.

In addition, the process module may have various configurations including a process chamber for forming a closed process space according to the type of substrate process such as heating, cooling, sputtering, CVD, PVD, and the like, and a gas injection unit for injecting gas into the process space .

On the other hand, similar to FIG. 9 which will be described later, in order to avoid interference with peripheral facilities such as a column in at least part of coupling with the transfer module, the horizontal transfer direction of the transfer module, And can be coupled to the transport module in an inclined angle (?) With the linear transport path.

Meanwhile, it is preferable that the first transport module 110 after the third transport module 130 is disposed so as to be spaced apart from the bar process line where the additional module coupled to the process line side can be installed.

To this end, the substrate processing system is installed between the process line 1 and the first transport module 110, as shown in FIG. 1, to exchange substrates with the process line 1, 110 may be replaced by a substrate exchange module 420.

The substrate exchange module 420 may have various configurations as a configuration for exchanging substrates with the process line 1 and exchanging substrates with the first transfer module 110. For example, A cassette part (not shown) to be stacked on the cassette part, and a vertical moving part for moving the cassette part up and down.

The substrate exchange module 420 may include a housing forming a closed inner space in which a cassette or the like is installed to maintain a vacuum state when the substrate S is transported under a vacuum.

Meanwhile, the substrate exchange module 420 may further include a substrate aligning unit (not shown) for aligning the horizontal position of the substrate stacked on the cassette for more stable substrate transfer.

The substrate alignment unit may perform horizontal alignment of the substrate for stable substrate transfer by pressing the edge portion and moving the substrate horizontally as a structure for aligning the horizontal state of the substrate.

Meanwhile, in the substrate processing system having the above-described structure, since the buffer modules 210, 220, 230, 240, 250 and the buffer modules 210, 220, 230, 240, Can be added to existing process lines to add new processes to existing process lines without changing lines or to perform modified processes.

The buffer modules 210, 220, 230, 240, and 250 may be configured to connect the transport modules between the transport modules 110, 120, 130, 140, and 150, A buffer chamber in which a gate communicating with the conveying module to be connected is formed, and a substrate mounting portion provided in the buffer chamber and on which the substrate is mounted.

The plurality of buffer modules 210, 220, 230, 240 and 250 have a number corresponding to the number of the conveyance modules. For example, the first to fifth conveyance modules 110, 120, 130, A first buffer module 210 connecting the first transport module 110 and the second transport module 120 and a second buffer module 210 connecting the second transport module 120 and the third transport module 130 A third buffer module 230 connecting the third transport module 130 and the fourth transport module 140 and a third buffer module 230 connecting the fourth transport module 140 and the fifth transport module 140. [ And a fifth buffer module 250 connecting the fifth transport module 150 and the first transport module 110 to each other.

The first to fifth buffer modules 210, 220, 230, 240 and 250 may perform pressure conversion, substrate inversion, horizontal rotation of the substrate, heating or cooling according to the process modules connected to the transport module and the transport module, And a temperature control such as that shown in FIG.

On the other hand, depending on the kind of the substrate processing, it is necessary to perform the substrate processing in a state where the substrate processing surface faces downward in some substrate processing. For this purpose, the first to fifth buffer modules 210, 220, 230, Some of them include a first inverting module for inverting the substrate-processed surface so as to face downward, a substrate which is arranged so as to follow the first inverting module and inverted so that the substrate-processed surface faces downward by the inverting module, And a second inverting module for inverting the second inverting module.

The first reversing module and the second reversing module may include a reversing chamber configured to face the substrate processing surface upward or downward and to form a closed inner space, a substrate processing unit provided in the reversing chamber, And an inverting section for directing the surface upward or downward.

The inverting unit may be configured in various ways as a configuration provided in the reversing chamber so as to face the substrate processing surface upward or downward in a state of picking up the substrate.

The first inverting module and the second inverting module need to be positioned before and after the process modules 310 and 320 for which the substrate processing surface needs to be inverted. For example, 1 buffer module 210 and the second inverting module may be the third buffer module 230. [

When a part of the buffer module is the first inverting module and the second inverting module, the third transport robot installed in the third transporting module 130 moves the substrate from the second inverting module to the substrate The substrate S can be transferred to the process module via the second inversion module and transferred to the fourth transfer module 140 after the substrate process.

In particular, when the number of substrate processes for the re-inverted substrate S is large and the coupling of the process modules to the fourth transfer module 140 is limited, a part of the substrate transfer is reversely transferred as described above, Can be performed.

On the other hand, depending on the type of the substrate processing, the substrate processing may be performed under vacuum, or the substrate processing may be performed under low vacuum or atmospheric pressure.

Accordingly, in the substrate processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention, one or more transport modules sequentially disposed from the first transport module 110 are maintained at a first pressure, and the remaining transport modules are maintained at a second pressure The buffer module, which is maintained at the pressure, connects the conveyance module in which the first pressure is maintained and the conveyance module in which the second pressure is maintained, pressure conversion can be performed between the first pressure and the second pressure.

Specifically, the substrate processing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be configured such that a first pressure, for example, a vacuum pressure (for example, vacuum pressure) is applied to any one of the first conveyance module 110 and the second to third conveyance modules 120, And the remaining conveying modules 140 and 150 are maintained at a second pressure different from the first pressure, for example, at atmospheric pressure, and the conveying module holding the first pressure and the conveying module holding the second pressure are connected The buffer module 220, 250 may be pressure-switched between a first pressure and a second pressure.

In this case, it is preferable to use a chamber in which the internal space is minimized in order to minimize the pressure conversion time during pressure conversion.

The substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of transport modules for transporting the substrate S by the transport robot of each transport module are moved through the buffer module. The front end and the rear end of the substrate S are changed with reference to the conveying direction of the substrate S while passing through each conveying module.

In the case where the front end and the rear end of the substrate S are changed in accordance with the partial change of the substrate system having the directionality to the front end and the rear end of the substrate S, the substrate processing module for the subsequent process There is a problem that a restriction is imposed on the change of the substrate processing system and an additional cost is required when the change is made.

Accordingly, the substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include at least one of the first to fifth buffer modules 210, 220, 230, 240, and 250, For example, the fourth transfer module 140, on the basis of when the substrate S is introduced into the buffer chamber from the transfer module, for example, the third buffer module 130, The substrate horizontal rotation module 500 may be configured to horizontally rotate the substrate S so that the substrate S is directed toward the substrate rotation center.

The substrate horizontal rotation module 500 connects two transfer modules, that is, a fourth transfer module 140 and a fifth transfer module 150, and connects the fourth transfer module 140 to the fifth transfer module 150 The substrate S is rotated in the horizontal direction in transferring the substrate S to the substrate S, and various configurations are possible.

With the above arrangement, the substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention corrects the change of the front end and the rear end of the substrate while passing through the plurality of transport modules by using the substrate horizontal rotation module 500, It is possible to prevent the front end and the rear end from being changed and affecting the subsequent process.

Hereinafter, the substrate horizontal rotation module 500 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The substrate horizontal rotation module 500 according to the present invention is provided in the substrate processing system and is configured to detect the position of the substrate S in the front side of the substrate S when the substrate S is introduced into the substrate processing system, And the substrate S is rotated so that the front end of the substrate S when discharged from the processing system is the same.

For example, when the substrate S passes through an odd number of transport modules 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150, the front end of the substrate S when the substrate S is first put into the substrate processing system The substrate S is rotated in the horizontal direction once more by the substrate horizontal rotation module 500 before the substrate S is discharged from the substrate processing system to the processing line 1, May be the same so that the front end of the substrate S when the substrate S is discharged from the substrate processing system is the same.

The substrate horizontal rotation module 500 according to the present invention includes two conveyance modules as shown in Figs. 3 to 6 (hereinafter, referred to as " second conveyance module ") in place of the first conveyance module and the second conveyance module A first gate 22 which is provided between the fourth conveying module 140 and the fifth conveying module 150 and which is provided between the fourth conveying module and the fifth conveying module corresponding to the embodiment and drawings, A substrate support unit 30 for supporting a substrate S provided in the chamber 20 and introduced through the first gate 22 and a second gate 21 formed in the chamber 20, The substrate support unit 30 may be rotated so that the rear end of the substrate S is horizontally turned toward the fifth conveying module 150 and then taken out through the second gate 21, (Not shown).

The chamber 20 serves to maintain the pressure corresponding to the pressure in the fourth conveyance module 140 and the fifth conveyance module 150.

The first gate 22 and the second gate 21 are formed in the chamber 20 to allow the substrates S to be loaded and unloaded in various configurations.

The substrate supporting unit 30 can be configured in various ways as long as it supports the substrate S that is installed in the chamber 20 and introduced through the first gate 22.

For example, the substrate support unit 30 includes a support member 37, a plurality of substrate support bars 31 for supporting the substrate S at a plurality of support points, And a substrate support pad 32 provided at the upper end of the substrate S and contacting the lower surface of the substrate S to support the substrate S.

The supporting member 37 may have various structures such as a plate structure for mounting the plurality of substrate supporting bars 31.

The plurality of substrate supporting bars 31 can be variously configured as a structure for supporting the substrate S together with the substrate supporting pads 32 at a plurality of supporting points. For example, So that a space for inserting the fork 90 can be ensured.

The substrate supporting pad 32 is provided at the upper end of the substrate supporting bar 31 and is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate S to support the substrate S, and various configurations are possible.

The substrate supporting pad 32 is preferably made of, for example, a material capable of smoothly supporting the substrate S, more preferably an engineering plastic such as polyether ketone (PEK) Do.

In addition, the substrate support pad 32 may include a plurality of first support pads 34 supporting one of a side and a longitudinal side of the rectangular substrate S; And one or more second support pads 33 that simultaneously support the sides and longitudinal sides of the substrate S at the corner portion thereof.

The first support pad 34 may be formed with a stepped portion 341 to limit the movement of the substrate S in the horizontal direction.

The second support pad 33 is formed so as to be able to support both sides and longitudinal sides of the substrate S at the corner portion of the substrate S. For example, the second support pad 33 may include a first support portion 331 for supporting a side surface of a corner of the substrate S, a second support portion 331 for supporting a side edge of the substrate S, And may include a support portion 332 and a connection portion 333 that integrally connects the first support portion 331 and the second support portion 332. [

The first support portion 331 and the second support portion 332 may be formed with stepped portions 341, 331a, and 332a, respectively, to limit excessive movement of the substrate S in the horizontal direction.

The stepped portions 341, 331a, and 332a may be configured to restrict excessive movement of the substrate S in the horizontal direction. The stepped portions 341, 331a, and 332a may have various configurations, So that it can correspond to the bar position error.

When the substrate S is supported by the first support portion 331 and the second support portion 332 to prevent the substrate S from coming into contact with the lower surface of the substrate S, .

For example, the connection portion 333 may be formed to have a height lower than the height of the first support portion 331 and the second support portion 332. The connecting portion 333 is spaced apart from the lower surface of the substrate S, so that the lower surface of the substrate S can be prevented from being damaged.

The second support pad 33 supports the side surface and the longitudinal side of the corner of the substrate S at the same time so that the substrate S can be stably supported at the corner of the substrate S.

The rotation unit 40 rotates the substrate S in the horizontal direction so that the rear end of the substrate S faces the fifth transport module 150 on the basis of the introduction through the first gate 22, A rotary motor, and the like, for rotating the substrate support unit 30, that is, the support member 37, so that the substrate support unit 30 can be taken out through the support shaft 30a.

The substrate horizontal rotation module 500 can lift and lower the substrate S up and down in order to smoothly transfer substrates with the fourth transport module 140 and the fifth transport module 150, And an elevating unit (50) for elevating the elevating unit (50).

The elevating unit 50 is connected to the rotating unit 40 so that the substrate supporting unit 30 can be raised and lowered by moving the rotating unit 40 up and down. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the elevation unit 50 may be connected to the substrate supporting unit 30 independently of the rotation unit 40 to raise and lower the substrate supporting unit 30. As the elevating unit 50, for example, a linear conveying mechanism such as an actuator, a linear motor, or a ball screw device operated by hydraulic or pneumatic pressure may be used.

The substrate horizontal rotation module 500 may further include an alignment unit 60 for aligning the horizontal position of the substrate S mounted on the substrate supporting unit 30 for more stable substrate transfer.

The alignment unit 60 may be installed above the inner space of the chamber 20, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, 7 and 8.

When the alignment unit 60 is installed on the upper side of the inner space of the chamber 20, the process of bringing the substrate S into the chamber 20 or the process of removing the substrate S from the chamber 20 It is possible to prevent the alignment unit 60 from interfering with the movement of the substrate S. However, if the alignment unit 60 can align the substrate S, the alignment position of the alignment unit 60 is not limited thereto.

The alignment unit 60 may be configured to be positioned at a position corresponding to the four corner portions of the substrate S and to press the four corner portions of the substrate S, respectively.

For example, the alignment unit 60 includes a pair of contact members 61, a pair of contact members 61, and a pair of contact members 61. The pair of contact members 61 are in close contact with lateral and longitudinal sides of the corner of the substrate S, And a contact member moving part for moving the substrate S forward and backward relative to the substrate S.

Here, the contact member moving unit includes, for example, a support member 62 on which a pair of contact members 61 are supported, a hinge shaft 65 on which the support member 62 is rotatably supported, A fixing member 66 fixed to the hinge shaft 20 and fixed to the hinge shaft 65 and a connecting shaft 63 installed on the supporting member 62 between the pair of the contact members 61 and the hinge shaft 65 A connecting rod 64 connected to the connecting shaft 63 and a driving unit connected to the connecting rod 64 to linearly move the connecting rod 64. [

The pair of the contact members 61 is a portion which is in close contact with the side of the side and the side of the edge of the substrate S, And more preferably, it is made of an engineering plastic such as polyether ketone (PEK).

The support member 62 may be formed in a plate shape and if the support member 62 can be rotated with respect to the hinge shaft 65 while supporting the pair of the contact members 61, Do not.

The connecting rod 64 is linearly moved by the power generated by the driving unit, and rotates the supporting member 62 about the hinge shaft 65.

As shown in Fig. 8, before the substrate S is aligned, the pair of the contact members 61 are retracted so that the substrate S can be arranged in the space between the four alignment units 60 . When the substrate S is positioned between the four alignment units 60, a pair of the contact members 61 of the four alignment units 60 are advanced toward the substrate S, (S). Accordingly, the substrate S can be aligned by the four corner portions being in close contact with the contact member 61. [

Meanwhile, in the substrate system according to an embodiment of the present invention, when there is an obstacle such as a column of a building or equipment required for another process at a position where a substrate processing system is to be installed, Can be connected at an angle.

Particularly, the module, for example, the substrate horizontal rotation module 500, as shown in FIG. 9, may be mounted on a substrate S (not shown) in order to avoid interference with peripheral facilities such as a column, The linear transport path L of the substrate S by the fourth transport robot for transporting the first transport module 140 and the horizontal transport direction D engaged with the fourth transport module 140 are inclined 140, respectively.

At this time, the substrate horizontal rotation module 500 rotates the substrate support unit 30 by driving the rotation unit 40 so that the horizontal center line C of the substrate support unit 30 is rotated by the substrate transport mechanism The substrate S can be stably mounted on the substrate supporting unit 30 while being positioned in parallel with the linear transport path L of the substrate S.

The horizontal center line C of the substrate supporting unit 30 is defined as a horizontal center line toward the fourth conveying module 140 when the substrate supporting unit 30 has a rectangular planar shape.

And Fig. 9 is an exaggerated representation in order to show the deviation of the substrate S and the substrate supporting unit 30. [

Hereinafter, the operation of the substrate horizontal rotation module 500 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, as shown in Figs. 1 to 2C and Fig. 9, the front end of the substrate S is moved in the backward direction with respect to the moving direction of the substrate S while passing through the plurality of transport modules 110, 120, 130, And is carried into the chamber 20 by the fourth transport robot (not shown) of the fourth transport module 140.

In this process, the fork 90 for supporting the substrate S of the fourth transport robot of the fourth transport module 140 enters between the plurality of substrate support bars 31 while supporting the substrate S, The substrate S is seated on the upper surface of the substrate supporting pad 32 provided at the upper end of the plurality of substrate supporting bars 31 while the substrate supporting unit 30 is raised by the operation of the elevating unit 50, And the fork 90 for supporting the substrate S of the robot is discharged from the chamber 20.

Then, as the substrate supporting unit 30 is further raised, the substrate S mounted on the upper end of the substrate supporting bars 31 is raised and positioned in the space between the four aligned units 60. [

At this time, each of the contact members 61 of the four alignment units 60 is rotated by the rotation of the support member 62, and is brought into close contact with the corner portion of the substrate S. Thereby, the substrate S can be aligned in a preset state. Then, after the substrate S is aligned, the contact member 61 returns to the retracted state from the substrate S in its original state.

After the substrate S is aligned, the substrate S is lowered while the lifting unit 50 is operated.

The substrate S is rotated by the operation of the rotation unit 40 after the substrate S is lowered or simultaneously with the lowering of the substrate S, That is, toward the second gate 21, as shown in FIG.

At this time, the rotation angle at which the substrate S is rotated is set such that the angle formed by the first gate 22 and the second gate 23 on the horizontal plane, the first gate 22 and the second gate 23 are opposed to each other Occation. 180 °.

In this state, the process of aligning the substrate S so that the rotation angle when the substrate S is taken out from the substrate horizontal rotation module 500 can be accurately set, Can be performed more than once.

Further, after the substrate S is rotated at the preset rotation angle, the vertical position of the substrate S can be set while the substrate holding unit 30 is elevated, It may be a predetermined vertical position so that the processing with respect to the substrate S in the process can be easily performed.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the substrate S having the rotation angle, the horizontal position, or the vertical position changed while passing through the plurality of transport modules 110, 120, 130, Horizontal position or vertical position, which facilitates the processing of the substrate S in the subsequent process by the substrate horizontal rotation module 500. [0064]

Therefore, even when the modules of the substrate processing system are connected at a plurality of angles avoiding obstacles without connecting the modules only linearly or at right angles, the position of the substrate can be adjusted and the process can be appropriately applied to subsequent processes.

Meanwhile, substrate transfer from the substrate horizontal rotation module 500 to the fifth transport module 150 proceeds in a similar manner to that described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Meanwhile, the substrate horizontal rotation module 500 having the above-described structure is configured such that the substrate transport system of the substrate processing system in which the fourth transport module 140, the substrate horizontal rotation module 500, and the fifth transport module 150 are connected in- The substrate S is introduced into the chamber 20 of the substrate horizontal rotation module 500 by the fourth transport robot of the fourth transport chamber 140 so that the substrate S is seated on the substrate support unit 30 A substrate seating step of: A horizontal rotating step of rotating the substrate S in the horizontal direction so that the rear end of the substrate S is directed to the fifth conveying chamber 150 with reference to the introduction direction of the substrate S by the fourth conveying robot 140 ; The substrate carrying step of carrying the substrate S placed on the substrate holding unit 30 by the second carrying robot of the fifth carrying chamber 150 to the fifth carrying chamber 150 after the horizontally rotating step is carried out by the substrate carrying- A substrate transfer method can be implemented.

And aligning the horizontal position of the substrate S that is seated on the substrate supporting unit 30 before or after the horizontal rotation step.

9, the horizontal direction D of the chamber 20 with respect to the fourth conveying module 140 is parallel to the conveying direction of the substrate S by the fourth conveying robot 140 of the fourth conveying module 140, The substrate seating step is carried out such that the horizontal center line C of the substrate supporting unit 30 is parallel to the transport path L of the substrate S when the substrate L is inclined to the fourth transport module 140 As shown in FIG.

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

20: chamber 30: substrate holding unit
40: rotation unit 50: elevating unit
60: alignment unit 500: substrate horizontal rotation module

Claims (13)

A substrate horizontal rotation module of a substrate processing system in which a first transport module and a second transport module are connected in-line,
A chamber provided between the first transport module and the second transport module and having a first gate and a second gate communicating with the first transport module and the second transport module, respectively;
A substrate supporting unit installed in the chamber and supporting a substrate introduced through the first gate; And
And a rotating unit for rotating the substrate supporting unit in a horizontal direction so that a rear end of the substrate is directed to the second transport module on the basis of when the substrate is introduced through the first gate. The method according to claim 1,
And an elevating unit for elevating and lowering the substrate supporting unit. The method according to claim 1,
The substrate support unit
A support member;
A plurality of substrate support bars mounted on the support member to support the substrate at a plurality of support points;
And a substrate support pad provided at an upper end of each of the substrate support bars and contacting the lower surface of the substrate to support the substrate. The method of claim 3,
The substrate support pad
A plurality of first support pads for supporting one of a side and a side of a rectangular substrate;
And one or more second support pads for simultaneously supporting the transverse side and the longitudinal side in the corner portion of the substrate. The method of claim 4,
The second support pad
A first support portion for supporting a side portion at a corner portion of the substrate;
A second support portion for supporting a longitudinal side at a corner portion of the substrate; And
And a connection part for integrally connecting the first support part and the second support part. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the connection portion is formed to be spaced from the bottom surface of the substrate when the substrate is supported by the first support portion and the second support portion. The method of claim 3,
The substrate support pad
And a step portion is formed to limit the movement of the substrate in the horizontal direction. The method according to claim 1,
And an alignment unit arranged in the chamber for aligning the horizontal position of the substrate mounted on the substrate supporting unit. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the alignment unit is located at a position corresponding to the four corner portions of the substrate and presses the four corner portions of the substrate. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
Wherein the chamber has a horizontal coupling direction in which the chamber is coupled with at least one of the first transport module and the second transport module is a linear transport path of the substrate by at least one of the first transport module and the second transport module, As shown in FIG.
Characterized in that when the substrate support unit has a rectangular horizontal shape and the substrate is introduced into the chamber, the substrate support unit is positioned parallel to the linear transport path of the substrate by the transport robot, module. A substrate transfer method for a substrate processing system in which a first transfer module, a substrate horizontal rotation module and a second transfer module are connected in-line,
A substrate mounting step in which a substrate is introduced into a chamber of the substrate horizontal rotation module by a first transport robot of the first transport chamber and a substrate is mounted on the substrate support unit;
A horizontal rotating step of horizontally rotating the substrate such that the rear end of the substrate is in the second transport chamber with respect to the substrate transport direction by the first transport robot;
And transferring the substrate placed on the substrate holding unit by the second transfer robot of the second transfer chamber to the second transfer chamber after the horizontally rotating step. The method of claim 11,
Further comprising an aligning step of aligning the horizontal position of the substrate, which is seated on the substrate supporting unit before the horizontal rotation step or after the horizontal rotation step. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the chamber has a horizontal coupling direction in which the chamber is coupled with at least one of the first transport module and the second transport module is a linear transport path of the substrate by at least one of the first transport module and the second transport module, As shown in FIG.
Wherein the substrate seating step is performed in a state where the substrate supporting unit has a rectangular horizontal shape and a horizontal center line of the substrate supporting unit is positioned in parallel with a linear transport path of the substrate. Way.

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