KR20160017707A - Apparatus for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for treating a substrate. The apparatus for treating a substrate includes: a housing for providing a treatment space therein; a cover which can be attached to the housing to open and close the treatment space; a driving member for elevating the cover; and a measurement member for measuring a mounted state of the cover on one side of the driving member. The driving member includes: an arm supporting the cover; a driving axis supporting the arm; and a driver for moving the driving axis in a vertical direction. The measurement member includes: a measurement block which is provided to surround the driving axis, and is located at different height according to the mounted state of the cover; and a measurement sensor which measures the height of the measurement block. A magnetic member is provided on the cover and the measurement block, separately. Thus, when the cover is installed in the driving member, the position of the measurement block is changed, and the installation of the cover can be sensed.

Description

[0001] Apparatus for treating substrate [0002]

The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing a substrate.

Various processes such as photolithography, etching, deposition, ion implantation, and cleaning are performed to manufacture a semiconductor device. Among these processes, photolithography plays an important role in achieving high integration of semiconductor devices in a process for forming a pattern.

The photolithography process consists largely of a coating process, an exposure process, and a development process, and a baking process is performed before and after the exposure process. The baking process is a process of heat-treating the substrate, in which the substrate placed on the heating plate is heat-treated by the heat supplied from the heater.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view generally showing a device for heat treating a substrate. Referring to FIG. 1, the heat treatment apparatus 2 includes a housing 4, a cover 6, and a heating plate 8. An internal space for heat-treating the substrate W is provided in the housing 4. The cover (6) is detachable to the housing (4) to open and close the inner space. The heating plate 8 supports the substrate W in the inner space of the housing 4 and thermally processes the supported substrate W. [ The cover 6 is attached to and detached from the housing 4 to continuously cut off and open the inner space and heat a large amount of the substrate W. [ The cover 6 is moved up and down by the driving member 10 to open and close the heat treatment space. A measurement sensor (not shown) is located at one side of the driving member 10. A measurement sensor (not shown) measures the height of the driving member 10 to determine the position of the cover 6. [

However, the cover may not be attached to the driving member due to malfunction of the apparatus, or may be driven in a state in which it is placed in an abnormal position. As a result, the heat treatment process of the substrate proceeds in a state where the inner space thereof is open, resulting in a process failure.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1099613

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of preventing the process from proceeding in a state where the cover is abnormally mounted.

The present invention also provides an apparatus for detecting the position of a cover on a driving member.

An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus includes a housing for providing a processing space therein, a cover detachable to the housing to open and close the processing space, a driving member for moving the cover up and down, and a cover for measuring the seating state of the cover at one side of the driving member Wherein the driving member includes an arm for supporting the cover, a driving shaft for supporting the arm, and a driver for moving the driving shaft in a vertical direction, wherein the measuring member is provided to surround the driving shaft, A measurement block positioned at a different height according to a seating state of the cover, and a measurement sensor measuring a height of the measurement block.

The seating state includes an uninstalled state and a mounted state, wherein the uncovered state is a state in which the cover is detached from the arm, and the mounting state is provided in a state in which the cover is mounted on the arm. Wherein the mounting state includes a cut-off state and an open state, wherein the cut-off state is a state in which the cover is mounted on the housing so as to block the processing space from the outside, To be detached from the housing. The driving shaft includes a moving shaft coupled with the arm, and a fixed shaft surrounding the moving shaft. The outer diameter of the fixed shaft may be larger than the inner diameter of the measuring block. The outer diameter of the moving shaft may be smaller than the inner diameter of the measuring block. The measurement block may be positioned below the arm. The measurement member may further include a first magnetic member provided on the cover and a second magnetic member provided on the measurement block, the second magnetic member acting on the first magnetic member. The first magnetic member may be positioned opposite the measurement block in the cover in the mounted state. Wherein the measurement block is located at a first position in the non-mounted state and the measurement block is located at a second position in the mounted state, wherein the measurement sensor comprises a lower sensor for sensing the measurement block located at the first position, And an intermediate sensor for sensing the measurement block positioned at the second position, and the controller for determining the seating state based on the information transmitted from the lower sensor and the upper sensor. A substrate supporting unit disposed in the processing space, the substrate supporting unit supporting the substrate, and a heat treatment member positioned in the substrate supporting unit, the heat treating member heat treating the substrate placed on the substrate supporting unit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, each of the cover and the measuring block is provided with a magnetic member. Therefore, when the cover is mounted on the driving member, the position of the measuring block is changed, and it is possible to detect whether or not the cover is mounted.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the measurement sensor for measuring the seating state of the cover is conventionally provided as a sensor for measuring the driving member. As a result, the seating state of the cover can be measured without a separate additional device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view generally showing a device for heat treating a substrate.
Figure 2 is a top view of the substrate processing facility.
Fig. 3 is a view of the equipment of Fig. 2 viewed from the direction AA.
Fig. 4 is a view of the equipment of Fig. 2 viewed from the BB direction. Fig.
Fig. 5 is a view of the equipment of Fig. 2 viewed from the CC direction.
6 is a cross-sectional view showing the heating unit of Fig.
7 is a horizontal sectional view showing a heat treatment member provided inside the heating plate of Fig.
8 is a perspective view showing the cover of Fig.
Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the driving member of Fig. 6; Fig.
10 to 12 are sectional views showing measurement blocks having different heights according to the seating state of the cover of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the following embodiments. This embodiment is provided to more fully describe the present invention to those skilled in the art. Thus, the shape of the elements in the figures has been exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.

The facilities of this embodiment can be used to perform a photolithography process on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a flat panel display panel. In particular, the apparatus of this embodiment can be used to perform a coating process and a developing process on a substrate, which is connected to an exposure apparatus. Hereinafter, a case where a wafer is used as a substrate will be described as an example.

FIGS. 2 through 12 are schematic views of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view of the substrate processing apparatus viewed from above, FIG. 3 is a view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 viewed from the AA direction, FIG. 4 is a view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 viewed from the BB direction, In the CC direction.

2 to 5, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a load port 100, an index module 200, a first buffer module 300, a coating and developing module 400, a second buffer module 500 An exposure pre- and post-processing module 600, and an interface module 700. The load port 100, the index module 200, the first buffer module 300, the application and development module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre-exposure processing module 600, and the interface module 700, Are sequentially arranged in one direction in a single direction.

Hereinafter, the load port 100, the index module 200, the first buffer module 300, the coating and developing module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre-exposure processing module 600, 700 are referred to as a first direction 12 and a direction perpendicular to the first direction 12 as viewed from above is referred to as a second direction 14 and a direction in which the first direction 12 and the second And a direction perpendicular to the direction 14 is referred to as a third direction 16.

The substrate W is moved in a state accommodated in the cassette 20. At this time, the cassette 20 has a structure that can be sealed from the outside. For example, as the cassette 20, a front open unified pod (FOUP) having a door at the front can be used.

Hereinafter, the load port 100, the index module 200, the first buffer module 300, the application and development module 400, the second buffer module 500, the pre-exposure processing module 600, 700 will be described in detail.

The load port 100 has a mounting table 120 on which the cassette 20 accommodating the substrates W is placed. A plurality of mounts 120 are provided, and the mounts 200 are arranged in a line along the second direction 14. [ In Fig. 1, four placement tables 120 are provided.

The index module 200 transfers the substrate W between the cassette 20 placed on the table 120 of the load port 100 and the first buffer module 300. The index module 200 has a frame 210, an index robot 220, and a guide rail 230. The frame 210 is provided generally in the shape of an inner rectangular parallelepiped and is disposed between the load port 100 and the first buffer module 300. The frame 210 of the index module 200 may be provided at a lower height than the frame 310 of the first buffer module 300 described later. The index robot 220 and the guide rail 230 are disposed within the frame 210. The index robot 220 is moved in the first direction 12, the second direction 14 and the third direction 16 so that the hand 221 that directly handles the substrate W can be moved and rotated in the first direction 12, the second direction 14, . The index robot 220 has a hand 221, an arm 222, a support 223, and a pedestal 224. The hand 221 is fixed to the arm 222. The arm 222 is provided with a stretchable structure and a rotatable structure. The support base 223 is disposed along the third direction 16 in the longitudinal direction. The arm 222 is coupled to the support 223 to be movable along the support 223. The support 223 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 224. The guide rails 230 are provided so that their longitudinal direction is arranged along the second direction 14. The pedestal 224 is coupled to the guide rail 230 so as to be linearly movable along the guide rail 230. Further, although not shown, the frame 210 is further provided with a door opener for opening and closing the door of the cassette 20.

The first buffer module 300 has a frame 310, a first buffer 320, a second buffer 330, a cooling chamber 350, and a first buffer robot 360. The frame 310 is provided in the shape of an inner rectangular parallelepiped and is disposed between the index module 200 and the application and development module 400. The first buffer 320, the second buffer 330, the cooling chamber 350, and the first buffer robot 360 are located within the frame 310. The cooling chamber 350, the second buffer 330, and the first buffer 320 are sequentially disposed in the third direction 16 from below. The second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 350 are located at a height corresponding to the coating module 401 of the coating and developing module 400 described later and the coating and developing module 400 at a height corresponding to the developing module 402. [ The first buffer robot 360 is spaced apart from the second buffer 330, the cooling chamber 350 and the first buffer 320 by a predetermined distance in the second direction 14.

The first buffer 320 and the second buffer 330 temporarily store a plurality of substrates W, respectively. The second buffer 330 has a housing 331 and a plurality of supports 332. The supports 332 are disposed within the housing 331 and are provided spaced apart from each other in the third direction 16. One substrate W is placed on each support 332. The housing 331 is constructed so that the index robot 220, the first buffer robot 360 and the developing robot 482 of the developing module 402 described later mount the substrate W on the support 332 in the housing 331 (Not shown) in the direction in which the index robot 220 is provided, in the direction in which the first buffer robot 360 is provided, and in the direction in which the developing robot 482 is provided, so that the developing robot 482 can carry it in or out. The first buffer 320 has a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer 330. The housing 321 of the first buffer 320 has an opening in a direction in which the first buffer robot 360 is provided and in a direction in which the application unit robot 432 located in the application module 401 described later is provided. The number of supports 322 provided in the first buffer 320 and the number of supports 332 provided in the second buffer 330 may be the same or different. According to one example, the number of supports 332 provided in the second buffer 330 may be greater than the number of supports 322 provided in the first buffer 320.

The first buffer robot 360 transfers the substrate W between the first buffer 320 and the second buffer 330. The first buffer robot 360 has a hand 361, an arm 362, and a support base 363. The hand 361 is fixed to the arm 362. The arm 362 is provided in a stretchable configuration so that the hand 361 is movable along the second direction 14. The arm 362 is coupled to the support 363 so as to be linearly movable along the support 363 in the third direction 16. The support base 363 has a length extending from a position corresponding to the second buffer 330 to a position corresponding to the first buffer 320. The support member 363 may be provided longer in the upward or downward direction. The first buffer robot 360 may be provided so that the hand 361 is simply driven in two directions along the second direction 14 and the third direction 16.

The cooling chamber 350 cools the substrate W, respectively. The cooling chamber 350 has a housing 351 and a cooling plate 352. The cooling plate 352 has an upper surface on which the substrate W is placed and a cooling means 353 for cooling the substrate W. [ As the cooling means 353, various methods such as cooling with cooling water and cooling using a thermoelectric element can be used. In addition, the cooling chamber 350 may be provided with a lift pin assembly (not shown) for positioning the substrate W on the cooling plate 352. The housing 351 is provided with an index robot 220 so that the developing robot 482 provided in the index robot 220 and a developing module 402 to be described later can carry the substrate W into or out of the cooling plate 352 (Not shown) in the direction provided and the direction in which the developing robot 482 is provided. Further, the cooling chamber 350 may be provided with doors (not shown) for opening and closing the above-described opening.

The application and development module 400 performs a process of applying a photoresist on the substrate W before the exposure process and a process of developing the substrate W after the exposure process. The application and development module 400 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape. The coating and developing module 400 has a coating module 401 and a developing module 402. The application module 401 and the development module 402 are arranged so as to be partitioned into layers with respect to each other. According to one example, the application module 401 is located on top of the development module 402.

The application module 401 includes a process of applying a photosensitive liquid such as a photoresist to the substrate W and a heat treatment process such as heating and cooling for the substrate W before and after the resist application process. The application module 401 has a resist application chamber 410, a bake chamber 420, and a transfer chamber 430. The resist application chamber 410, the bake chamber 420, and the transfer chamber 430 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. [ The resist application chamber 410 and the bake chamber 420 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 430 interposed therebetween. A plurality of resist coating chambers 410 are provided, and a plurality of resist coating chambers 410 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the figure, six resist coating chambers 410 are provided. A plurality of bake chambers 420 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the drawing, six bake chambers 420 are provided. Alternatively, however, the bake chamber 420 may be provided in a greater number.

The transfer chamber 430 is positioned in parallel with the first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 430, a dispenser robot 432 and a guide rail 433 are positioned. The transfer chamber 430 has a generally rectangular shape. The applicator robot 432 is connected to the bake chambers 420, the resist application chambers 400, the first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300, and the first buffer module 500 of the second buffer module 500 And transfers the substrate W between the cooling chambers 520. The guide rails 433 are arranged so that their longitudinal directions are parallel to the first direction 12. The guide rails 433 guide the applying robot 432 to move linearly in the first direction 12. The applicator robot 432 has a hand 434, an arm 435, a support 436, and a pedestal 437. The hand 434 is fixed to the arm 435. The arm 435 is provided in a stretchable configuration so that the hand 434 is movable in the horizontal direction. The support 436 is provided so that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the third direction 16. The arm 435 is coupled to the support 436 so as to be linearly movable in the third direction 16 along the support 436. The support 436 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 437 and the pedestal 437 is coupled to the guide rail 433 so as to be movable along the guide rail 433.

The resist coating chambers 410 all have the same structure. However, the types of the photoresist used in each of the resist coating chambers 410 may be different from each other. As an example, a chemical amplification resist may be used as the photoresist. The resist coating chamber 410 applies a photoresist on the substrate W. [ The resist coating chamber 410 has a housing 411, a support plate 412, and a nozzle 413. The housing 411 has a cup shape with an open top. The support plate 412 is located in the housing 411 and supports the substrate W. [ The support plate 412 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 413 supplies the photoresist onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 412. The nozzle 413 has a circular tube shape and can supply photoresist to the center of the substrate W. [ Alternatively, the nozzle 413 may have a length corresponding to the diameter of the substrate W, and the discharge port of the nozzle 413 may be provided as a slit. In addition, the resist coating chamber 410 may further be provided with a nozzle 414 for supplying a cleaning liquid such as deionized water to clean the surface of the substrate W to which the photoresist is applied.

The bake chamber 420 heat-treats the substrate W. For example, the bake chambers 420 may be formed by a prebake process for heating the substrate W to a predetermined temperature to remove organic substances and moisture on the surface of the substrate W, A soft bake process is performed after coating the substrate W on the substrate W, and a cooling process for cooling the substrate W after each heating process is performed.

The bake chamber 420 includes a cooling plate 422 and a heating unit 421. The cooling plate 422 cools the substrate W heated by the heating unit 421. The cooling plate 422 is provided in the form of a circular plate. Inside the cooling plate 422, cooling means such as cooling water or a thermoelectric element are provided. For example, the cooling plate 422 can cool the heated substrate W to room temperature.

The heating unit 421 heat-processes the substrate W. The heating unit 421 is provided to the substrate processing apparatus 800 for heating the substrate W. [ 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the heating unit of Fig. 6, the substrate processing apparatus 800 includes a housing 810, a heating plate 820, a heat treatment member 830, a cover 840, a driving member 860, a measuring member 880, (890).

The housing 810 is located at one side of the cooling plate 422. The housing 810 provides a processing space 812 for heating the substrate W therein. The housing 810 is provided so as to have a tubular shape with an open top. The heating plate 820 is located in the processing space 812 of the housing 810. The heating plate 820 is provided in a circular plate shape. The upper surface of the heating plate 820 is provided with a supporting region where the substrate W is placed. On the upper surface of the heating plate 820, a plurality of pin holes 822 are formed. Each pinhole 822 is spaced apart along the circumferential direction of the heating plate 820. The pin holes 822 are spaced at equal intervals from each other. Each pin hole 822 is provided with a lift pin (not shown). The lift pins (not shown) are provided to move up and down. For example, pin holes 822 may be provided in three.

The heat treatment member 830 heats the substrate W placed on the heating plate 820 to a preset temperature. 7 is a horizontal sectional view showing a heat treatment member provided inside the heating plate of Fig. Referring to FIG. 7, the heat treatment member 830 includes a plurality of heaters 830. Each heater 830 is located inside the heating plate 820. Each heater 830 is located on the same plane. Each heater 830 heats different areas of the heating plate 820. The areas of the heating plate 820 corresponding to the respective heaters 830 are provided to the heating zones. For example, the heating zones may be fifteen. For example, the heater 830 may be a thermoelectric element or a hot wire.

The cover 840 opens and closes the processing space 812 of the housing 810. 8 is a perspective view showing the cover of Fig. 8, the cover 840 includes a body 842 and a support 844. The body 842 is detachably provided to the housing 810. The body 842 may be mounted to the housing 810 to block the processing space 812 from the outside. The body 842 is provided to have a circular plate shape. An exhaust hole 843 is formed in the body 842. The exhaust hole 843 is formed so as to correspond to the central axis of the body 842. The atmosphere in the processing space 812 and the particles generated in the processing space 812 are exhausted to the outside through the exhaust hole 843.

The support 844 supports the body 842 such that the body 842 is mounted to the drive member 860. The support 844 has a first support 844a, a second support 844b, and a connection 844c. The first support portion 844a supports one side edge region of the body 842. The first support portion 844a extends long from one side edge region of the body 842. [ The second support portion 844b supports the other side edge region of the body 842. [ The second support portion 844b extends elongated from the other side edge region of the body 842. The second support portion 844b is provided so as to have a longitudinal direction parallel to the first support portion 844a. The second support portion 844b is positioned to face the first support portion 844a. The second support portion 844b is located at the same height as the first support portion 844a. The connection portion 844c connects the end of the first support portion 844a and the end of the second support portion 844b to each other. The connecting portion 844c has a longitudinal direction perpendicular to each of the first supporting portion 844a and the second supporting portion 844b. Accordingly, the first supporting portion 844a, the second supporting portion 844b, and the connecting portion 844c, which are combined with each other when viewed from above, are provided to have a "C" shape.

The driving member 860 moves the cover 840 up and down. Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the driving member of Fig. 6; Fig. 9, the driving member 860 moves the cover 840 to the blocking position and the open position. The blocking position is a position at which the cover 840 is mounted to the housing 810 so that the processing space 812 of the housing 810 is blocked from the outside. The open position is a position at which the cover 840 is detached from the housing 810 so that the processing space 812 of the housing 810 communicates with the outside. According to one example, the cover 840 located in the open position may be positioned higher than the cover 840 located in the shut-off position. The drive member 860 includes an arm 862, a drive shaft 870, and a driver 876. The arm 862 moves the support 844 of the cover 840 in the vertical direction. A support 844 is provided on the arm 862 so as to be detachable. The arm 862 has a first arm portion 862a, a second arm portion 862b, and a connecting arm portion 862c. The first arm portion 862a is provided to have a bar shape. The first arm portion 862a is provided in parallel with the first support portion 844a in the longitudinal direction thereof. The first support portion 844a can be seated on the first arm portion 862a. The second arm portion 862b is provided so as to have a bar shape. The second arm portion 862b is provided so as to have a longitudinal direction parallel to the first arm portion 862a. And the second arm portion 862b is positioned to face the first arm portion 862a. The second arm portion 862b is located at the same height as the first arm portion 862a. And the second support portion 844b can be seated on the second arm portion 862b. The connecting arm portion 862c connects the first arm portion 862a and the second arm portion 862b to each other. The connection arm portion 862c has a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the first arm portion 862a and the second arm portion 862b. Therefore, the first arm portion 862a, the second arm portion 862b, and the connecting arm portion 862c, which are combined with each other when viewed from above, are provided to have a "C" shape.

The drive shaft 870 supports the arm 862. The drive shaft 870 is vertically movable by a driver 876. [ As the drive shaft 870 moves in the vertical direction, the arm 862 and the cover 840 mounted thereon are movable together in the vertical direction. The driving shaft 870 includes a moving shaft 872 and a fixed shaft 874. The moving shaft 872 is provided such that its longitudinal direction is directed up and down. The moving shaft 872 is fixedly coupled to the bottom surface of the connecting arm portion 862c. Alternatively, the moving shaft 872 may be fixedly coupled to the first arm portion 862a or the second arm portion 862b. The movable shaft 872 is movable in the vertical direction by the driver 876. As the moving shaft 872 is moved, the cover 840 is movable to the open position and the blocking position. The fixed shaft 874 is fixed in its position. The fixed shaft 874 is provided in the form of a hollow cylinder surrounding the moving shaft 872. The fixed shaft 874 is positioned so that the central axis coincides with the movable shaft 872. [ The inner diameter of the fixed shaft 874 is provided larger than the outer diameter of the movable shaft 872. [ The upper end of the fixed shaft 874 is provided lower than the upper end of the movable shaft 872.

The measurement member 880 measures the seating state of the cover 840. Here, the seating state includes an uninstalled state and a mounted state. The unfolded condition is such that the cover 840 is not mounted on the arm 862 or the cover 840 is not positioned in the correct position on the arm 862 and the mounting condition is such that the cover 840 is in the correct position, (862). The mounting state includes a blocking state and an open state. Here, the blocking state is defined as the state in which the cover 840 is located in the blocking position, and the opening state is defined as the state in which the cover 840 is positioned in the open position. Therefore, the measuring member 880 measures the seating state of the cover 840 in an uninstalled state, a blocked state, and an opened state.

10 to 12 are sectional views showing measurement blocks having different heights according to the seating state of the cover of FIG. 10 and 12, the measurement member 880 includes a measurement block 882, magnetic members 884 and 885, and a measurement sensor 886. The position of the measurement block 882 is changed according to the seating state of the cover 840. The height of the measurement block 882 is changed according to the seating state. The measurement block 882 is provided in the form of an annular ring surrounding the movement axis 872. The inner diameter of the measurement block 882 is larger than the outer diameter of the moving shaft 872 and smaller than the outer diameter of the fixed shaft 874. [ Thus, the measuring block 882 is wrapped around the moving shaft 872 and is provided to rest on the top of the fixed shaft 874. [

The magnetic members 884 and 885 form a magnetic force between the cover 840 and the measurement block 882 such that the position of the measurement block 882 is different depending on the seating state of the cover 840. [ The magnetic elements 884,885 include a first magnet 885 and a second magnet 884. A first magnet 885 is provided in the cover 840 and a second magnet 884 is provided in the measurement block 882. The first magnet 885 and the second magnet 884 may be provided so that attraction forces act on each other. The first magnet 885 is provided in a support 844 of the cover 840. The first magnet 885 is positioned opposite the drive shaft 870 with the cover 840 mounted on the arm 862. The measurement block 882 placed on the fixed shaft 874 is changed in position by the first magnet 885. [ According to one example, the measurement block 882 can be moved by the second magnet 884 to the second position h2 and the third position h3 at the first position h1 placed on the fixed axis 874 have. The measurement block 882 may be moved from the blocked state of the cover 840 to the second position h2 and from the open position to the third position h3. The third position h3 may be higher than the second position h2 and the second position h2 may be provided higher than the first position h1.

The measurement sensor 886 senses the position of the measurement block 882 at one side of the drive member 860. The measurement sensor 886 senses the measurement block 882 located in the first position h1, the second position h2 and the third position h3, respectively. For example, the measurement sensor 886 may be provided as a level sensor. The measurement sensor 886 includes a lower sensor 886a, an intermediate sensor 886b, and an upper sensor 886c. The lower sensor 886a, the intermediate sensor 886b, and the upper sensor 886c are sequentially positioned along the downward direction. The lower sensor 886a, the intermediate sensor 886b, and the upper sensor 886c are spaced apart from each other. The lower sensor 886a senses the measurement block 882 at the first position h1 at a height corresponding to the first position h1 and detects the unfolded state of the cover 840. [ The intermediate sensor 886b senses the measurement block 882 at the second position h2 at a height corresponding to the second position h2 and senses the blocking state of the cover 840. [ The upper sensor 886c senses the measurement block 882 at the third position h3 at a height corresponding to the third position h3 and senses the open state of the cover 840. [

The controller 890 determines the seating state of the cover 840 based on the information transmitted from the measuring member 880. The controller 890 generates an alarm when it is determined that the seating state of the cover 840 is in a bad state. According to one example, when the lower sensor 886a senses the cover 840 after the cover 840 is mounted on the arm 862, the controller 890 generates an alarm. When the lower sensor 886a or the upper sensor 886c senses the cover 840 while the processing of the substrate W is being performed, the controller 890 generates an alarm. The process is also completed and the cover 840 is moved from the cutoff position to the open position in order to carry the substrate W out of the process space 812 and carry it. At this time, when the lower sensor 886a and the intermediate sensor 886b sense the cover 840, the controller 890 generates an alarm.

2 to 5, the developing module 402 includes a developing process for supplying a developing solution to obtain a pattern on the substrate W to remove a part of the photoresist, and a developing process for removing a portion of the photoresist on the substrate W And a heat treatment process such as heating and cooling performed on the substrate. The development module 402 has a development chamber 460, a bake chamber 470, and a transfer chamber 480. The development chamber 460, the bake chamber 470, and the transfer chamber 480 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. The development chamber 460 and the bake chamber 470 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 480 therebetween. A plurality of developing chambers 460 are provided, and a plurality of developing chambers 460 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the drawing, six development chambers 460 are provided. A plurality of bake chambers 470 are provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. In the drawing, six bake chambers 470 are provided. Alternatively, however, the bake chamber 470 can be provided in greater numbers.

The transfer chamber 480 is positioned in parallel with the second buffer 330 of the first buffer module 300 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 480, the developing robot 482 and the guide rail 483 are positioned. The delivery chamber 480 has a generally rectangular shape. The development robot 482 is connected to the bake chambers 470 and the development chambers 460 and the second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300 and the second buffer module 500, And the second cooling chamber 540 of the second cooling chamber 540. The guide rail 483 is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the first direction 12. The guide rail 483 guides the developing robot 482 to linearly move in the first direction 12. The developing sub-robot 482 has a hand 484, an arm 485, a supporting stand 486, and a pedestal 487. The hand 484 is fixed to the arm 485. The arm 485 is provided in a stretchable configuration to allow the hand 484 to move in a horizontal direction. The support 486 is provided so that its longitudinal direction is disposed along the third direction 16. The arm 485 is coupled to the support 486 such that it is linearly movable along the support 486 in the third direction 16. The support table 486 is fixedly coupled to the pedestal 487. The pedestal 487 is coupled to the guide rail 483 so as to be movable along the guide rail 483.

The development chambers 460 all have the same structure. However, the types of developers used in the respective developing chambers 460 may be different from each other. The development chamber 460 removes a region of the photoresist on the substrate W where light is irradiated. At this time, the area of the protective film irradiated with the light is also removed. Depending on the type of selectively used photoresist, only the areas of the photoresist and protective film that are not irradiated with light can be removed.

The development chamber 460 has a housing 461, a support plate 462, and a nozzle 463. The housing 461 has a cup shape with an open top. The support plate 462 is located in the housing 461 and supports the substrate W. [ The support plate 462 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 463 supplies the developer onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 462. The nozzle 463 has a circular tube shape and can supply developer to the center of the substrate W. [ Alternatively, the nozzle 463 may have a length corresponding to the diameter of the substrate W, and the discharge port of the nozzle 463 may be provided with a slit. Further, the developing chamber 460 may further be provided with a nozzle 464 for supplying a cleaning liquid such as deionized water to clean the surface of the substrate W to which the developer is supplied.

The bake chamber 470 of the developing module 402 heat-treats the substrate W. [ For example, the bake chambers 470 may include a post-bake process for heating the substrate W before the development process is performed, a hard bake process for heating the substrate W after the development process is performed, And a cooling step for cooling the substrate W is performed. The bake chamber 470 has a cooling plate 471 or a heating plate 472. The cooling plate 471 is provided with a cooling means 473 such as a cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Or the heating plate 472 is provided with a heating means 474 such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The cooling plate 471 and the heating plate 472 may be provided in one bake chamber 470, respectively. Optionally, some of the bake chambers 470 may have only a cooling plate 471, while the other may have only a heating plate 472. [ Since the bake chamber 470 of the developing module 402 has the same configuration as the bake chamber of the application module 401, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The second buffer module 500 is provided as a path through which the substrate W is transferred between the coating and developing module 400 and the pre- and post-exposure processing module 600. The second buffer module 500 performs a predetermined process on the substrate W such as a cooling process or an edge exposure process. The second buffer module 500 includes a frame 510, a buffer 520, a first cooling chamber 530, a second cooling chamber 540, an edge exposure chamber 550, and a second buffer robot 560 I have. The frame 510 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, the second cooling chamber 540, the edge exposure chamber 550, and the second buffer robot 560 are located within the frame 510. The buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, and the edge exposure chamber 550 are disposed at a height corresponding to the application module 401. The second cooling chamber 540 is disposed at a height corresponding to the development module 402. The buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, and the second cooling chamber 540 are sequentially arranged in a row along the third direction 16. The buffer 520 is disposed along the first direction 12 with the transfer chamber 430 of the application module 401. [ The edge exposure chamber 550 is spaced a certain distance in the second direction 14 from the buffer 520 or the first cooling chamber 530.

The second buffer robot 560 carries the substrate W between the buffer 520, the first cooling chamber 530, and the edge exposure chamber 550. A second buffer robot 560 is positioned between the edge exposure chamber 550 and the buffer 520. The second buffer robot 560 may be provided in a structure similar to that of the first buffer robot 360. The first cooling chamber 530 and the edge exposure chamber 550 perform a subsequent process on the substrates W that have been processed in the application module 401. The first cooling chamber 530 cools the substrate W processed in the application module 401. The first cooling chamber 530 has a structure similar to the cooling chamber 350 of the first buffer module 300. The edge exposure chamber 550 exposes its edge to the substrates W that have undergone the cooling process in the first cooling chamber 530. [ The buffer 520 temporarily stores the substrate W before the substrates W processed in the edge exposure chamber 550 are transported to a preprocessing module 601 described later. The second cooling chamber 540 cools the substrates W before the processed substrates W are transferred to the developing module 402 in the post-processing module 602 described later. The second buffer module 500 may further have a buffer added to the height corresponding to the development module 402. In this case, the substrates W processed in the post-processing module 602 may be temporarily stored in the added buffer and then conveyed to the developing module 402.

The pre- and post-exposure processing module 600 may process a process of applying a protective film for protecting the photoresist film applied to the substrate W during liquid immersion exposure, when the exposure apparatus 900 performs the liquid immersion exposure process. In addition, the pre- and post-exposure processing module 600 may perform a process of cleaning the substrate W after exposure. In addition, when the coating process is performed using the chemically amplified resist, the pre- and post-exposure processing module 600 can process the post-exposure bake process.

The pre-exposure post-processing module 600 has a pre-processing module 601 and a post-processing module 602. The pre-processing module 601 performs a process of processing the substrate W before the exposure process, and the post-process module 602 performs a process of processing the substrate W after the exposure process. The pre-processing module 601 and the post-processing module 602 are arranged so as to be partitioned into layers with respect to each other. According to one example, the preprocessing module 601 is located on top of the post-processing module 602. The preprocessing module 601 is provided at the same height as the application module 401. The post-processing module 602 is provided at the same height as the developing module 402. The pretreatment module 601 has a protective film application chamber 610, a bake chamber 620, and a transfer chamber 630. The protective film application chamber 610, the transfer chamber 630, and the bake chamber 620 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. The protective film application chamber 610 and the bake chamber 620 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 630 therebetween. A plurality of protective film application chambers 610 are provided and are arranged along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of protective film application chambers 610 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. A plurality of bake chambers 620 are provided and are disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of bake chambers 620 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively.

The transfer chamber 630 is positioned in parallel with the first cooling chamber 530 of the second buffer module 500 in the first direction 12. In the transfer chamber 630, a pre-processing robot 632 is located. The transfer chamber 630 has a generally square or rectangular shape. The preprocessing robot 632 is connected between the protective film application chambers 610, the bake chambers 620, the buffer 520 of the second buffer module 500 and the first buffer 720 of the interface module 700, The substrate W is transferred. The preprocessing robot 632 has a hand 633, an arm 634, and a support 635. The hand 633 is fixed to the arm 634. The arm 634 is provided with a retractable structure and a rotatable structure. The arm 634 is coupled to the support 635 so as to be linearly movable along the support 635 in the third direction 16.

The protective film applying chamber 610 applies a protective film for protecting the resist film on the substrate W during liquid immersion exposure. The protective film application chamber 610 has a housing 611, a support plate 612, and a nozzle 613. The housing 611 has a cup shape with its top opened. The support plate 612 is located in the housing 611 and supports the substrate W. [ The support plate 612 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 613 supplies a protective liquid for forming a protective film onto the substrate W placed on the supporting plate 612. The nozzle 613 has a circular tube shape and can supply the protective liquid to the center of the substrate W. [ Alternatively, the nozzle 613 may have a length corresponding to the diameter of the substrate W, and the discharge port of the nozzle 613 may be provided with a slit. In this case, the support plate 612 may be provided in a fixed state. The protective liquid includes a foamable material. The protective liquid may be a photoresist and a material having a low affinity for water. For example, the protective liquid may contain a fluorine-based solvent. The protective film application chamber 610 supplies the protective liquid to the central region of the substrate W while rotating the substrate W placed on the support plate 612.

The bake chamber 620 heat-treats the substrate W coated with the protective film. The bake chamber 620 has a cooling plate 621 or a heating plate 622. The cooling plate 621 is provided with a cooling means 623 such as a cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Or heating plate 622 is provided with a heating means 624, such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The heating plate 622 and the cooling plate 621 may be provided in a single bake chamber 620, respectively. Optionally, some of the bake chambers 620 may have only the heating plate 622, while others may only have the cooling plate 621.

The post-processing module 602 has a cleaning chamber 660, a post-exposure bake chamber 670, and a delivery chamber 680. The cleaning chamber 660, the transfer chamber 680, and the post-exposure bake chamber 670 are sequentially disposed along the second direction 14. Accordingly, the cleaning chamber 660 and the post-exposure baking chamber 670 are positioned apart from each other in the second direction 14 with the transfer chamber 680 therebetween. A plurality of cleaning chambers 660 are provided and may be disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of cleaning chambers 660 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively. A plurality of post-exposure bake chambers 670 are provided and may be disposed along the third direction 16 to form layers. Alternatively, a plurality of post-exposure bake chambers 670 may be provided in the first direction 12 and the third direction 16, respectively.

The transfer chamber 680 is positioned in parallel with the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500 in the first direction 12 as viewed from above. The transfer chamber 680 has a generally square or rectangular shape. A post processing robot 682 is located in the transfer chamber 680. The post-processing robot 682 is connected to the cleaning chambers 660, post-exposure bake chambers 670, the second cooling chamber 540 of the second buffer module 500, and the second And transfers the substrate W between the buffers 730. The postprocessing robot 682 provided in the postprocessing module 602 may be provided with the same structure as the preprocessing robot 632 provided in the preprocessing module 601. [

The cleaning chamber 660 cleans the substrate W after the exposure process. The cleaning chamber 660 has a housing 661, a support plate 662, and a nozzle 663. The housing 661 has a cup shape with an open top. The support plate 662 is located in the housing 661 and supports the substrate W. [ The support plate 662 is rotatably provided. The nozzle 663 supplies the cleaning liquid onto the substrate W placed on the support plate 662. As the cleaning liquid, water such as deionized water may be used. The cleaning chamber 660 supplies the cleaning liquid to the central region of the substrate W while rotating the substrate W placed on the support plate 662. Optionally, while the substrate W is rotating, the nozzle 663 may move linearly or rotationally from the central region of the substrate W to the edge region.

The post-exposure bake chamber 670 heats the substrate W subjected to the exposure process using deep UV light. The post-exposure baking step heats the substrate W and amplifies the acid generated in the photoresist by exposure to complete the property change of the photoresist. The post-exposure bake chamber 670 has a heating plate 672. The heating plate 672 is provided with a heating means 674 such as a hot wire or a thermoelectric element. The post-exposure bake chamber 670 may further include a cooling plate 671 therein. The cooling plate 671 is provided with a cooling means 673 such as a cooling water or a thermoelectric element. Further, a bake chamber having only the cooling plate 671 may be further provided.

As described above, the pre-processing module 601 and the post-processing module 602 in the pre-exposure processing module 600 are provided to be completely separated from each other. In addition, the transfer chamber 630 of the preprocessing module 601 and the transfer chamber 680 of the post-processing module 602 are provided in the same size and can be provided so as to completely overlap each other when viewed from above. Further, the protective film application chamber 610 and the cleaning chamber 660 may be provided to have the same size as each other and be provided so as to completely overlap with each other when viewed from above. Further, the bake chamber 620 and the post-exposure bake chamber 670 are provided in the same size, and can be provided so as to completely overlap each other when viewed from above.

The interface module 700 transfers the substrate W between the exposure pre- and post-processing module 600 and the exposure apparatus 900. The interface module 700 has a frame 710, a first buffer 720, a second buffer 730, and an interface robot 740. The first buffer 720, the second buffer 730, and the interface robot 740 are located within the frame 710. The first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and are stacked on each other. The first buffer 720 is disposed higher than the second buffer 730. The first buffer 720 is positioned at a height corresponding to the preprocessing module 601 and the second buffer 730 is positioned at a height corresponding to the postprocessing module 602. The first buffer 720 is arranged in a line along the first direction 12 with the transfer chamber 630 of the preprocessing module 601 while the second buffer 730 is arranged in the postprocessing module 602, Are arranged in a line along the first direction 12 with the transfer chamber 630 of the transfer chamber 630. [

The interface robot 740 is spaced apart from the first buffer 720 and the second buffer 730 in the second direction 14. The interface robot 740 carries the substrate W between the first buffer 720, the second buffer 730 and the exposure apparatus 900. The interface robot 740 has a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer robot 560.

The first buffer 720 temporarily stores the substrates W processed in the preprocessing module 601 before they are transferred to the exposure apparatus 900. The second buffer 730 temporarily stores the processed substrates W in the exposure apparatus 900 before they are transferred to the post-processing module 602. The first buffer 720 has a housing 721 and a plurality of supports 722. The supports 722 are disposed within the housing 721 and are provided spaced apart from each other in the third direction 16. One substrate W is placed on each support 722. The housing 721 is movable in the direction in which the interface robot 740 is provided and in the direction in which the interface robot 740 and the preprocessing robot 632 transfer the substrate W to and from the support table 722, 632 are provided with openings (not shown) in the direction in which they are provided. The second buffer 730 has a structure substantially similar to that of the first buffer 720. However, the housing 4531 of the second buffer 730 has an opening (not shown) in the direction in which the interface robot 740 is provided and in a direction in which the postprocessing robot 682 is provided. The interface module may be provided with only the buffers and robots as described above without providing a chamber for performing a predetermined process on the substrate.

810: Housing 840: Cover
860: driving member 862:
870: drive shaft 876:
880: Measuring member 882: Measuring block
886: Measuring sensor

Claims (10)

A housing for providing a processing space therein;
A cover detachable from the housing to open and close the processing space;
A driving member for moving the cover up and down;
And a measuring member for measuring a seating state of the cover at one side of the driving member,
Wherein the driving member comprises:
An arm for supporting the cover;
A drive shaft for supporting the arm;
And a driver for moving the drive shaft in the vertical direction,
Wherein the measuring member comprises:
A measurement block provided to surround the drive shaft and positioned at different heights according to a seating state of the cover;
And a measurement sensor for measuring a height of the measurement block. The method according to claim 1,
The seating state includes an unattached state and a mounted state,
Wherein the uninstalled state is a state in which the cover is detached from the arm,
Wherein the mounting state is provided with the cover mounted on the arm. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the mounting state includes a blocking state and an open state,
Wherein the blocking state is a state in which the cover is mounted to the housing to block the processing space from the outside,
Wherein the open state is provided so that the cover is detached from the housing to communicate with the processing space. The method according to claim 2 or 3,
The drive shaft
A moving shaft coupled with the arm;
And a fixed shaft surrounding the moving shaft,
Wherein an outer diameter of the fixed shaft is larger than an inner diameter of the measurement block. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein an outer diameter of the moving shaft is smaller than an inner diameter of the measuring block. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the measuring block comprises a substrate processing apparatus positioned below the arm, The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the measuring member comprises:
A first magnetic member provided on the cover;
And a second magnetic member provided in the measurement block, the second magnetic member acting on the first magnetic member with an attraction force. 8. The method of claim 7,
And the first magnetic member is located opposite the measurement block in the cover in the mounted state. 9. The method of claim 8,
In the non-mounted state, the measurement block is located in the first position,
Wherein in the mounted state the measuring block is located in a second position,
The measurement sensor includes:
A lower sensor for sensing the measurement block located at the first position;
And an intermediate sensor for sensing the measurement block located in the second position,
And a controller for determining the seating state based on information transmitted from the lower sensor and the upper sensor. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A substrate supporting unit, disposed in the processing space, for supporting the substrate;
Further comprising: a heat treatment member located in the substrate support unit, for heat treating the substrate placed on the substrate support unit.

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