KR20150117602A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to reduce a standby state of a substrate during the time from insertion of the substrate into a CMP apparatus to completion of a washing process on the substrate. The CMP apparatus includes: a polishing unit (3) of a wafer; a cleaning unit (4) of the wafer; and a load/unload unit (2) which transfers the substrate to the polishing unit (3) and receives the substrate from the cleaning unit (4); and a control unit (5) which controls a returning unit of the wafer and the timing for inserting the wafer to the CMP apparatus. The control unit (5) prepares a time table in which each of the wafers, inserted to the CMP apparatus, is matched with process completion times or predicted process completion times in the polishing unit, the cleaning unit, and the returning unit, and controls the timing of inserting the wafers to the CMP apparatus based on the time table in order to prevent occurrence of a standby state during the time from the insertion of the substrate into the CMP apparatus to the completion of the washing process on the substrate.

Description

[0001] SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS [0002]

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a substrate processing apparatus has been used to perform various processes on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. An example of the substrate processing apparatus is a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) apparatus for polishing the substrate.

The CMP apparatus includes a polishing unit for performing a polishing process of a substrate, a cleaning unit for performing a cleaning process and a drying process of the substrate, a cleaning unit for transferring the substrate to the polishing unit, A load / unload unit, and the like. The CMP apparatus also includes a polishing unit, a cleaning unit, and a transfer unit for transferring the substrate in the load / unload unit. The CMP apparatus sequentially performs various processes of polishing, cleaning, and drying while conveying the substrate by the conveyance unit.

However, in the case where a plurality of substrates are continuously transported in the CMP apparatus, the waiting state of the substrate may occur due to the waiting time of the preceding substrate or the space atmosphere of the processing unit shared with the substrate transported on different routes. For example, when a standby state of the substrate occurs during the period from the start of the polishing process to the end of the cleaning process, there is a possibility that the state of the substrate becomes unstable due to aging (corrosion) or disturbance (dust). Particularly, in the case where copper (Cu) is contained in the object to be polished of the substrate, the influence of corrosion becomes large if the waiting time from the end of polishing to the start of cleaning is long.

In this respect, in the prior art, it has been proposed to reduce the standby time of the substrate from the polishing unit to the cleaning unit by predicting the cleaning start time in the cleaning unit.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 5023146

However, in the related art, it is considered to reduce the standby state of the substrate during the period from the time when the substrate is introduced into the CMP apparatus to the end of the cleaning process in the substrate processing apparatus having a high degree of freedom in the cleaning process and the transfer route in the cleaning unit It is not.

That is, in the prior art, it is assumed that the substrate processing apparatus is configured such that the substrate on which the polishing process is performed by the polishing unit is sequentially cleaned by a plurality of cleaning units of the cleaning unit and then dried and returned to the load / unload unit It is. Therefore, in the prior art, for example, in the case where the conveying route of the substrate in the cleaning unit is complicated by having a plurality of cleaning units capable of performing the cleaning treatment in parallel in the cleaning unit, There is a possibility that a state may occur. If a standby state of the substrate once occurs in the cleaning unit, a standby state may also occur in a subsequent substrate to be passed through the place where the substrate is located.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to reduce the standby state of the substrate during the period from the time when the substrate is put into the CMP apparatus to the end of the cleaning process in the substrate processing apparatus having a high degree of freedom in the cleaning process and the transfer route in the cleaning unit do.

One aspect of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, which has been made in view of the above problems, is a polishing apparatus comprising a polishing unit including at least one polishing section for polishing a substrate, at least one cleaning section for cleaning the substrate polished by the polishing section, And a transfer unit including a cleaning unit including a cleaner, a load / unload unit for transferring the substrate to the polishing unit and receiving the substrate from the cleaning unit, and a transfer unit including at least one transfer unit for transferring the substrate, The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a control unit for controlling the timing of feeding the substrate to the substrate processing apparatus, wherein the control unit causes a standby state to occur until the substrate is brought into the substrate processing apparatus, The polishing section, the cleaning section, and the cleaning section for each of a plurality of substrates, Creating a time table associating a processing end time or processing time ends at the transfer section, and based on the time schedule, characterized by controlling the input timing for the apparatus of said plurality of substrates.

In one aspect of the substrate processing apparatus, the control unit may control the time required for the processing in at least one of the polishing unit and the cleaning unit, and the time required for the substrate to be transferred from the polishing unit to the cleaning unit It is possible to create the timetable based on the past performance of the time required for the operation.

In addition, in one aspect of the substrate processing apparatus, when the timetable regarding the substrate to be newly charged into the substrate processing apparatus is created, the control unit controls the polishing unit, the cleaning unit, And the virtual arrival time is calculated based on the virtual arrival time and the processing end time at the polishing section, the cleaning section, and the return section of the substrate inserted before the substrate processing apparatus, And when there is a virtual arrival time that is earlier than the processing end time or the processing end scheduled time in the same or a contending processing unit, a difference between the fast virtual arrival time and the processing end time or the processing end scheduled time To the virtual arrival time of the polishing section, the cleaning section, and the carry section, thereby obtaining the actual arrival time , And can create the timetable based on the actual arrival time.

In the substrate processing apparatus, when the plurality of fast virtual arrival times are present, the controller determines that the difference between the fast virtual arrival time and the processing end time or the processing end scheduled time is the largest virtual To the virtual arrival time of the polishing section, the cleaning section, and the carry section by adding the difference between the arrival time of the actual arrival time and the actual arrival time The timetable can be created based on the time.

In the substrate processing apparatus, when there is no virtual arrival time that is earlier than the process end time or the process ending time in the same or a competing processing unit, the control unit determines, based on the virtual arrival time So that the timetable can be created.

According to the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus having a high degree of freedom of the cleaning process and the transfer route in the cleaning unit, the standby state of the substrate during the period from the time when the cleaning process is completed to the end of the cleaning process can be reduced.

1 is a plan view showing the entire configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing an example of a wafer transfer route from the time the wafer is charged into the CMP apparatus to the end of the cleaning process.
Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a wafer transfer route from the time the wafer is charged into the CMP apparatus to the end of the cleaning process. Fig.
4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CMP apparatus of the present embodiment.
5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of creating a timetable.
6 is a diagram showing an example of a timetable.
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a time schedule graph.

Hereinafter, a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, a CMP apparatus is described as an example of the substrate processing apparatus, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The substrate processing apparatus including the load / unload unit 2, the polishing unit 3, and the cleaning unit 4 will be described below, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

First, the configuration of the CMP apparatus will be described, and then the reduction of the standby state of the substrate will be described.

<Substrate Processing Apparatus>

1 is a plan view showing the entire configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, this CMP apparatus is provided with a housing 1 having a substantially rectangular shape. The interior of the housing 1 is partitioned into a load / unload unit 2, a polishing unit 3 and a cleaning unit 4 by partition walls 1a and 1b. The load / unload unit 2, the polishing unit 3, and the cleaning unit 4 are independently assembled and independently evacuated. Further, the cleaning unit 4 has a control section 5 for controlling the substrate processing operation. The control unit 5 controls the entire operation of the CMP apparatus, but in this embodiment, in particular, controls the injection timing of the substrate with respect to the polishing unit 3. [ Details on this point will be described later.

<Load / Unload Unit>

The load / unload unit 2 has two or more (four in this embodiment) front rod portions 20 in which wafer cassettes for stocking a plurality of wafers (substrates) are disposed. These front rod portions 20 are arranged adjacent to the housing 1 and are arranged along the width direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) of the substrate processing apparatus. The front rod section 20 can be loaded with a carrier for storing wafers, such as an open cassette, SMIF (Standard Manufacturing Interface) pad, or FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod). Here, SMIF and FOUP are hermetically sealed containers capable of maintaining an environment independent of the external space by accommodating wafer cassettes therein and covering them with barrier ribs.

In addition, the load / unload unit 2 is provided with an ITM (In-line Thickness Monitor) 24 as a measuring section for measuring the film thickness or the like on the wafer surface. The load / unload unit 2 is provided with a transport robot (loader, transport mechanism) 22 that can move along the arrangement of the front load section 20. [ The carrying robot 22 is capable of accessing the wafer cassette mounted on the front load section 20. [ Each of the carrier robots 22 has two hands on the upper and lower sides. The upper hand is used to return the processed wafer to the wafer cassette. The lower hand is used when the wafer before processing is taken out from the wafer cassette. Further, the hand on the lower side of the carrying robot 22 is configured to be able to reverse the wafer by rotating around its axis.

The inside of the load / unload unit 2 is higher than any of the outside of the CMP apparatus, the polishing unit 3 and the cleaning unit 4, since the load / unload unit 2 is an area which needs to maintain the cleanest state It is always maintained by pressure. The polishing unit 3 is the most dirty area because it uses slurry as an abrasive liquid. Therefore, a negative pressure is formed inside the polishing unit 3, and the pressure thereof is kept lower than the internal pressure of the cleaning unit 4. [ The load / unload unit 2 is provided with a filter fan unit (not shown) having a clean air filter such as a HEPA filter, an ULPA filter, or a chemical filter. Particulate or toxic vapor, toxic gas Clean air is always being sprayed.

<Polishing unit>

The polishing unit 3 is a region where polishing (planarization) of the wafer is performed. The polishing unit 3 is provided with a first polishing section 3A, a second polishing section 3B, a third polishing section 3C and a fourth polishing section 3D. The first polishing section 3A, the second polishing section 3B, the third polishing section 3C and the fourth polishing section 3D are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the substrate processing apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 have.

The first polishing section 3A is provided with a polishing table to which a polishing pad is attached. The first polishing section 3A has a top ring for holding the wafer and polishing the wafer while pressing the wafer against the polishing pad on the polishing table. The first polishing section 3A is provided with a polishing liquid supply nozzle for supplying a polishing liquid or a dressing liquid (e.g., pure water) to the polishing pad. The first polishing section 3A is provided with a dresser for dressing the polishing surface of the polishing pad. The first polishing section 3A is provided with an atomizer for spraying a mixed fluid or liquid (for example, pure water) of a liquid (for example, pure water) and a gas The second polishing section 3B, the third polishing section 3C and the fourth polishing section 3D also have the same configuration as the first polishing section 3A.

<Transfer unit>

Next, a transport mechanism (transport unit) for transporting the wafers will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the first linear transporter 6 is disposed adjacent to the first polishing portion 3A and the second polishing portion 3B. The first linear transporter 6 has four transport positions along the direction in which the polishing units 3A and 3B are arranged (the first transport position LTP1 and the second transport position LTP2), a third transfer position LTP3, and a fourth transfer position LTP4).

In addition, the second linear transporter 7 is disposed adjacent to the third polishing section 3C and the fourth polishing section 3D. The second linear transporter 7 has three transport positions along the direction in which the polishing units 3C and 3D are arranged (a fifth transport position LTP5, a sixth transport position LTP6 , And a seventh transfer position LTP7).

The wafer is transported to the polishing units 3A and 3B by the first linear transporter 6. The top ring of the first polishing section 3A moves between the polishing position and the second carrying position LTP2 by the swinging motion of the top ring head. Therefore, the wafer is transferred to the top ring at the second transport position LTP2. Similarly, the top ring of the second polishing section 3B moves between the polishing position and the third carrying position LTP3. The transfer of the wafer to the top ring is performed at the third transfer position LTP3. The top ring of the third polishing section 3C moves between the polishing position and the sixth carrying position LTP6. The transfer of the wafer to the top ring is performed in the sixth transport position LTP6. The top ring of the fourth polishing section 3D moves between the polishing position and the seventh transfer position LTP7. The transfer of the wafer to the top ring is performed at the seventh transfer position LTP7.

In the first transport position LTP1, a lifter 11 for receiving wafers from the transport robot 22 is disposed. The wafer is transferred from the transport robot 22 to the first linear transporter 6 through the lifter 11. [ A shutter (not shown) is provided between the lifter 11 and the transport robot 22 and is provided on the partition wall 1a. When the wafer is transported, the shutter is opened and the lifter 11 is lifted from the transport robot 22, So that the wafer is transferred. A swing transporter (STP) 12 is disposed between the first linear transporter 6, the second linear transporter 7, and the cleaning unit 4. The swing transporter 12 has a hand which can move between the fourth transport position TP4 and the fifth transport position TP5. The transfer of the wafer from the first linear transporter 6 to the second linear transporter 7 is performed by the swing transporter 12. The wafer is transported to the third polishing section 3C and / or the fourth polishing section 3D by the second linear transporter 7. Further, the wafer polished by the polishing unit 3 is conveyed to the cleaning unit 4 via the swing transporter 12. The transfer unit is provided with a temporary placement table (WS1) 180 of the wafer.

<Cleaning Unit>

The cleaning unit 4 includes a first cleaning chamber 190, a first transport chamber 191, a second cleaning chamber 192, a second transport chamber 193, a third cleaning chamber 194, Respectively. In the first cleaning chamber 190, two cleaning units CL1A and CL1B and a temporary placement table WS2 of a wafer are disposed. In the second cleaning chamber 192, two cleaning units CL2A and CL2B and a temporary placement table WS3 of a wafer are disposed. In the third cleaning chamber 194, two cleaning portions CL3A and CL3B for cleaning the substrate are disposed. The cleaning units (CL3A, CL3B) are isolated from each other. The cleaning units CL1A, CL1B, CL2A, CL2B, CL3A, and CL3B are cleaners that clean the wafer using a cleaning liquid.

The transporting robots RB1U and RB1L are disposed in the first transport chamber 191 and the transport robot RB2 is disposed in the second transport chamber 193. [ The transporting robots RB1U and RB1L operate to transport wafers between the temporary placement table 180, the cleaning sections CL1A and CL1B, the temporary placement table WS2 and the cleaning sections CL2A and CL2B. The transport robot RB2 operates to transport the wafer between the cleaning units CL2A and CL2B, the temporary placement table WS3 and the cleaning units CL3A and CL3B. Since the carrying robot RB2 carries only the cleaned wafer, it has only one hand. The transport robot 22 extracts wafers from the cleaning units CL3A and CL3B and returns the wafers to the wafer cassettes.

&Lt; Reduction of standby state of substrate &

Next, the reduction of the standby state of the substrate from the start of the polishing process to the end of the cleaning process will be described.

First, the cause of the standby state of the substrate will be described. Figs. 2 and 3 are views showing an example of a wafer transfer route from the time the wafer is charged into the CMP apparatus to the end of the cleaning process. Fig. In Figs. 2 and 3, the description of the transfer unit for transferring wafers between the respective processing sections is simplified.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in this embodiment, there are two systems of polishing and cleaning, respectively. For this reason, the degree of freedom of the wafer transfer route is increased. Also, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, it is also possible to make a recipe to perform the cleaning treatment without performing the polishing treatment. Further, as shown in Fig. 3, after the cleaning process is completed in the cleaning section CL2A, a complicated transfer route of wafers can be performed, such as once being returned to another cleaning section CL2B of another system.

As described above, in the case where the cleaning unit 4 has a plurality of cleaning units capable of performing a cleaning treatment in parallel, the conveying route of the wafer in the cleaning unit is complicated. As a result, a standby state of the wafer may occur in the cleaning unit. Once the waiting state of the wafer in the cleaning unit once occurs, there is a possibility that a standby state also occurs in the subsequent wafer to be passed through the place where the wafer is located.

In contrast, in the present embodiment, the control unit 5 prepares a timetable so that the waiting state does not occur until the cleaning process is completed after the wafer is put in the CMP apparatus. The timetable is a table that associates the processing end time or the processing end scheduled time in the polishing section, cleaning section, and carry section with respect to each of a plurality of wafers inputted into the CMP apparatus. The control unit 5 controls the timing of putting the plurality of wafers into the CMP apparatus based on the timetable.

This point will be described in detail together with the overall operation of the CMP apparatus. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CMP apparatus of the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 4, the control unit 5 first predicts the transfer route related to all the wafers to be charged into the CMP apparatus based on the recipe (step S101).

Subsequently, the control unit 5 predicts the operation time of all the wafers put into the CMP apparatus (step S102). Specifically, the control unit 5 predicts the operation time of each wafer based on the predicted time set in the recipe or the past actual value. The prediction of the operation time is used when a timetable is created. That is, the control section 5 determines whether or not the time required for the processing in at least one of the polishing section and the cleaning section and the time required for the transporting process from the polishing unit 3 to the cleaning unit 4 Create timetable based on performance.

Subsequently, the control unit 5 calculates an arrival time for each of the processing units (polishing unit, carrying unit, and cleaning unit) of each wafer based on the operation time of each wafer predicted at step S102 (step S103) . Subsequently, the control unit 5 calculates the waiting time at each processing unit of each wafer (step S104).

This point will be described with reference to the drawings. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a process of creating a timetable. Fig. 5 shows a process of creating a timetable for the wafers 1 to 3 that has already been created with the timetable and that is newly inserted into the CMP apparatus.

As shown in Fig. 5, in the timetable 210, processing ends in the polishing unit (Poli.A), the cleaning units (CL1A, CL2A) and the transfer units (LTP3, WS1, RB1L, RB1U) The time or the scheduled end time is associated with each other. On the other hand, when creating a time schedule on the wafer 4 to be newly inserted into the CMP apparatus, the control unit 5 calculates a virtual arrival time for the polishing unit, the cleaning unit, and the carry unit of the wafer 4 to be newly inserted. The virtual arrival timetable 220 corresponds to the estimated arrival time of the polishing section Poli.A of the wafer 4, the cleaning sections CL1A and CL2A and the transport sections LTP3, WS1, RB1L and RB1U.

The control unit 5 determines whether or not the virtual arrival time (virtual arrival timetable 220) and the processing end time at the polishing unit, the cleaning unit, and the transfer unit of the wafer inserted before the CMP apparatus, (210). In this example, for example, the control unit 5 sets the scheduled finish time (0:04:35) in the RB1U of the wafer 3 and the expected arrival time (0:04: 10). As a result, the expected arrival time at WS1 is 25 seconds. In other words, when the wafer 4 is put into the CMP apparatus in accordance with the virtual arrival time schedule 220, the wafer 4 waits for 25 seconds at WS1. The competing processing unit is a processing unit in which the operation of the other processing unit RB1U (the wafer is received from the WS1) is required in order for one processing unit WS1 to operate (transfer for conveying the wafer), such as WS1 and RB1U It is the processing part of the relationship that becomes necessary.

As shown in Fig. 4, the control unit 5 determines whether there is a waiting time (step S105). If there is a waiting time (step S105, Yes), the control unit 5 searches the processing unit having the longest waiting time (step S106).

For example, in the example of FIG. 5, a waiting time of 25 seconds occurs between the RB1U of the wafer 3 and the WS1 of the wafer 4, as described above. In addition, the control unit 5 compares the scheduled processing time (0:04:30) in the CL1A of the wafer 3 with the arrival time (0:04:15) in the CL1A of the wafer 4. As a result, the expected arrival time at CL1A is 15 seconds, which causes a waiting time of 15 seconds.

In this case, the control section 5 recognizes that the longest waiting time is 25 seconds and that the processing section having the longest waiting time is WS1 of the wafer 4. [ In other words, when there are a plurality of fast virtual arrival times (for example, 15 seconds and 25 seconds), the control unit 5 determines whether or not the time difference between the fast virtual arrival time and the processing end time An actual arrival time is created by adding the difference (25 seconds) between the arrival time and the processing end time or the processing completion scheduled time to the virtual arrival time for the polishing section, the cleaning section, and the carry section.

Subsequently, as shown in Fig. 4, the control unit 5 creates an actual arrival time table 230 by accumulating the longest waiting time in the virtual arrival timetable 220 (step S107). That is, as shown in Fig. 5, the control unit 5 adds the longest waiting time (25 seconds) to each processing unit of the virtual arrival time table 220. [ For example, the arrival time of LTP3 of the wafer 4 is 0:04:00 in the virtual arrival time table 220, but 0:04:25 in the actual arrival time table 230. [ The arrival time of the wafer 4 with respect to WS1 is 0:04:10 in the virtual arrival time table 220 but 0:04:35 in the actual arrival time table 230. [

In this way, when there is a virtual arrival time that is earlier than the process end time or the process end time in the same or a competing processing unit, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the virtual arrival time, the process end time, To the virtual arrival time of the polishing section, the cleaning section, and the carry section, thereby creating an actual arrival time.

4, the control unit 5 creates a time schedule based on the actual arrival time (actual arrival time table 230) created in step S107 (step S108). That is, the actual arrival time table 230 corresponds to the arrival time of each processing section of the wafer 4. Therefore, the control unit 5 prepares a time schedule in which the processing end time or the processing end scheduled time in each processing unit is associated by adding the processing time in each processing unit to the actual arrival time table 230. [

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S105 that there is no waiting time (step S105, No), the control unit 5 does not create the actual arrival time table 230 and, based on the virtual arrival time table 220, (Step S108). That is, the control unit 5 creates a time schedule based on the virtual arrival time when there is no virtual arrival time that is earlier than the process end time or the scheduled end time in the same or a competing processing unit.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the time schedule 240. Fig. As shown in FIG. 6, the timetable 240 indicates the start time (Start) of a series of processes, the position (Pos) of the current wafer, the process end time at each process unit, This is the table corresponding to the scheduled end time. The timetable 240 is a table for preventing the waiting state from occurring after the wafer is put into the CMP apparatus and the cleaning process is completed. The timetable 240 is created by executing a series of operations shown in Fig. The control unit 5 controls the timing of turning on the CMP apparatuses of a plurality of wafers based on the timetable 240.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, with respect to all the wafers to be supplied to the CMP apparatus, the transportation time for all the processing units on the transportation path is calculated and a time schedule is created. Thus, the control unit 5 of the present embodiment is configured so as not to cause the wait for use of the shared processing unit between the wafers, and to perform the shortest processing without waiting until all of the processes from the start of polishing to the end of cleaning, And route. Therefore, the waiting time in the CMP apparatus of the wafer is reduced. As a result, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the state of the wafer from becoming unstable due to aging (such as corrosion) or disturbance (dust, etc.). Particularly, in the case where copper (Cu) is contained in the object to be polished of the wafer, although the influence of corrosion increases when the waiting time from the end of polishing to the start of cleaning is large, the waiting time is reduced to prevent corrosion of copper .

Further, in the CMP apparatus (control unit 5) of the present embodiment, when a processing unit that can not process wafers due to maintenance of, for example, a part of the processing unit of the CMP apparatus has occurred, a route bypassing the processing unit Can be created.

Further, the CMP apparatus of the present embodiment can appropriately update the timeline 240 once created. For example, the control unit 5 calculates the time difference between the actual arrival time of the wafer and the predicted arrival time for each processing unit, and calculates the time table 240 about the subsequent wafer (wafer with delay influence) Can be updated. Also, the control unit 5 can feed back the delay information to the wafer that has been put into the CMP apparatus. When the time difference between the actual arrival time and the expected arrival time of the wafer is smaller than a threshold value (for example, 0.5 seconds or the like), the control unit 5 can regard the time difference as an error, You can also avoid doing it.

When the CMP apparatus (control unit 5) of the present embodiment temporarily stops the transfer of the wafer due to the failure of the CMP apparatus or the transfer stop function, the time table 240 is rewritten at the time of the transfer restart The control conveyance can be continued. When rewriting the timetable 240, the control unit 5 performs the process from the downstream side of the wafer transfer route. When the wafer inserted into the CMP apparatus is removed from the CMP apparatus due to an abnormality of the wafer or the like, the control unit 5 deletes the wafer from the timetable 240 and excludes it from the control target, Can be rewritten.

Further, in the CMP apparatus (control unit 5) of the present embodiment, when the wafer shares the processing section, the next wafer is processed after the preceding wafer so as to be processed. On the other hand, when the control unit 5 can interrupt without changing the timetable 240, the control unit 5 can create a time table 240 for interrupting and can process the subsequent wafers before the preceding wafers.

In addition, the CMP apparatus (control unit 5) of the present embodiment is configured such that, once the timetable 240 is once created, the transport route of the wafer is largely changed by the maintenance of the processing unit or the like, . Therefore, in this case, the control unit 5 can stop the input of new wafers until the wafers in the CMP apparatus are taken out of the CMP apparatus without rewriting the timetable 240. When the control unit 5 requires a long time to create or rewrite the time table 240, the control unit 5 may invalidate the function of creating or rewriting the time table 240. [

In addition, the CMP apparatus (control unit 5) of the present embodiment can visualize the conveying states of a plurality of wafers so that the worker or the like can monitor the conveying states of the plurality of wafers. For example, the control unit 5 can display the timetable 240 shown in Fig. 6 on the output interface (monitor or the like) of the CMP apparatus. In addition, the control unit 5 can graph the timetable 240 and display it on the output interface in real time.

7 is a diagram showing an example of the time table 240 shown in a graph. In Fig. 7, the horizontal axis (t) indicates the elapsed time. As shown in Fig. 7, the control unit 5 can display, by time series, processing units for performing processing on wafers for each of a plurality of wafers. Further, the control unit 5 can assign different colors or shapes to the processing units. Thus, the worker or the like can easily confirm that the same or competing processing unit is not used at the same time. Further, when a waiting state occurs in the wafer for some reason, the control unit 5 can display the remaining time of the waiting state by an indicator or the like.

2: unloading unit
3: Polishing unit
3A to 3D:
4: Cleaning unit
5:
210, 240: timetable
220: Virtual arrival timetable
230: actual arrival timetable
CL1A, CL1B, CL2A, CL2B, CL3A, CL3B:

Claims (5)

A polishing unit including at least one polishing unit for polishing the substrate;
A cleaning unit including at least one cleaning unit for cleaning the substrate polished by the polishing unit;
A load / unload unit for transferring the substrate to the polishing unit and receiving the substrate from the cleaning unit;
And a transfer unit including at least one transfer section for transferring the substrate, the substrate processing apparatus comprising:
And a control unit for controlling an input timing of the substrate with respect to the substrate processing apparatus,
Wherein the control unit controls the polishing unit, the cleaning unit, and the conveyance unit for each of the plurality of substrates to be charged into the substrate processing apparatus so that the standby state does not occur until the cleaning process is completed after the substrate is inserted into the substrate processing apparatus, And the control unit controls the timing of closing the plurality of substrates with respect to the substrate processing apparatus based on the time schedule. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the control unit sets the time schedule based on a past time history of the time required for the treatment in at least one of the polishing unit and the cleaning unit and the time required for the transportation process from the polishing unit to the cleaning unit The substrate processing apparatus comprising: 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the control unit calculates an imaginary arrival time for the polishing unit, the cleaning unit, and the carry unit of the substrate to be newly inserted when creating the time schedule for the substrate to be newly inserted into the substrate processing apparatus, The virtual end time and the ending time of the process in the polishing section, the cleaning section, and the carry section of the substrate inserted before the substrate processing apparatus are compared with each other, And when there is a virtual arrival time that is earlier than the end-of-processing time or the end-of-processing time, a difference between the fast virtual arrival time and the processing end time or the processing end scheduled time is determined by the polishing unit, The actual arrival time is added to the virtual arrival time for the carry section, The substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that to create the time table. The method of claim 3,
Wherein when the plurality of quick virtual arrival times exist, the control unit determines whether or not the virtual arrival time, the processing end time, or the processing end time, The actual arrival time is created by adding the difference from the scheduled time to the virtual arrival time for the polishing section, the cleaning section, and the carry section, and the time table is created based on the actual arrival time . The method of claim 3,
Wherein the control unit creates the time schedule based on the virtual arrival time when there is no virtual arrival time that is earlier than the process end time or the process end time at the same or a competing processing unit Processing device.

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