KR20180019016A - Plating apparatus, plating method, stocker and method of converting attitude of substrate holder - Google Patents

Abstract

A plating apparatus allows a substrate holder to be serviced easily while ensuring easy access to the substrate holder and while a substrate is being processed in the plating apparatus. The plating apparatus includes a plating section for plating a substrate, a substrate holder for holding the substrate, a substrate holder transporter for holding and transporting the substrate holder, a stocker for storing the substrate holder, and a stocker setting section for storing the stocker therein. The stocker includes a moving mechanism for moving the stocker into and out of the stocker setting section.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a plating apparatus, a plating method, a stocker, and a method for converting an attitude of a substrate holder into a substrate holder.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for plating a surface of a workpiece (substrate) such as a semiconductor wafer, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for plating plated films And more particularly to a plating apparatus and a plating method suitable for forming bumps (protruding electrodes) to be electrically connected to electrodes of a package or the like on the surface of a substrate. For three-dimensional packaging such as semiconductor chips, it is necessary to form a plurality of through via plugs on substrates called interposers or spacers. The plating apparatus and the plating method according to the present invention are also used for filling via holes for forming such through via plugs. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dip-type plating apparatus and a dip-type plating method for plating a substrate held by a substrate holder by immersing a substrate in a plating solution of a plating bath.

Devices for plating substrates are generally classified as face-down type plating devices and dip-type plating devices.

The face-down type plating apparatus performs plating of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer while holding the substrate in a horizontal direction by a head whose plating surface faces downward. The substrate is typically housed in a carrier receptacle such as a front opening unified pod (FOUP) while the substrate is held horizontally while its plated surface is facing upward. Therefore, before the substrate is plated by the face-down type plating apparatus, it becomes necessary for the substrate to be inverted in the face-down type plating apparatus.

On the other hand, the dip-type plating apparatus vertically inserts the substrate into the plating liquid in the plating tank to perform plating of the substrate held by the substrate holder. Therefore, when the substrate is to be held in the substrate holder, the substrate holder needs to be held horizontally, and it is necessary to keep the substrate holder vertically when the substrate is to be immersed in the plating solution. As a result, the dip-type plating apparatus also has a mechanism for converting a substrate from a vertical state to a horizontal state, and a mechanism for converting the substrate from a horizontal state to a vertical state.

As shown in FIG. 33, for example, a conventional plating apparatus has an arm 304 rotatably mounted on a transporter 300 by a motor 302. After the arm 304 clamps one end of the substrate holder 306, the motor 302 is actuated to rotate the arm 304 vertically by 90 degrees to move the substrate holder 306 vertically State to a horizontal state. The substrate holder 306 is then placed horizontally on the table 308. 34, another conventional plating apparatus includes a rotating shaft 314 for rotating the substrate holder 312 and a vertically rotatable table 310, which clamps one end of the substrate holder 312, And a fixing station (316) that includes a controller (not shown). The rotating shaft 314 is rotated about its own axis to convert the substrate holder 312 from a vertical state to a horizontal state.

As the size of substrates has recently increased, the size of the mechanisms for rotating the arms or tables for use with such substrates becomes larger, and the substrate holders can be changed from a vertical state to a horizontal state, The time required for conversion into a state tends to be longer. The larger the instruments for rotating the arms or tables, the more space is needed to transform the arms or tables in the plating apparatus. As a result, the size of the plating apparatus itself becomes larger and the manufacturing cost becomes higher.

The conventional plating apparatus also includes a substrate holder opening / closing mechanism, i.e., a fixing robot used to set the substrate on the substrate holder. The substrate holder opening and closing mechanism suffers from the following problems:

There is known a plating apparatus including a substrate holder for holding a substrate in a vertical direction to immerse the substrate in a plating solution. In such a plating apparatus, the substrate holder grips a substrate between a fixed supporting member and a movable supporting member, which can be opened and closed around a hinge, do. The movable support member has a rotation support member which is not detachable. The seal ring of the movable support member may be fixed to the outer circumferential edge of the substrate and predetermined regions of the fixed support member, So that electric power feed contacts of the fixed support member can be brought into contact with the outer peripheral edge of the substrate (Japanese Patent No. 3979847, Japanese Patent No. 3778282, Japanese Patent No. 3940265, and Japanese Patent 4162440).

According to the above-described plating apparatus, when the support member rotates, it induces its own abrasion and also rotates the movable support member to displace the substrate from a positional alignment and to adjust the sealing ability of the seal ring sealing capability. In order to avoid such disadvantages, a pressing rod is applied so as to press the movable supporting member, and the supporting member is rotated while the abrasion on the supporting member is reduced by the pressing rod. However, in order to rotate the support member while reducing wear on the support member, the plating apparatus requires a complex mechanism that is movable in a vertical reciprocating motion along the vertical axis and is also rotatable. The complex mechanism complicates the structure of the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism. The complicated substrate holder opening / closing mechanism takes a large space in the plating apparatus, increases the size of the plating apparatus, and increases the manufacturing cost.

Another problem with the conventional substrate holder opening and closing mechanism is that if the thickness of the substrate holder is different, the pressing rod presses the sealing ring against the substrate holder easily. Specifically, if the substrate holder is thinner than its normal thickness, since the seal ring is not sufficiently compressed, the support member is more likely to be worn during rotation. If the substrate holder is thicker than its normal thickness, the seal ring is excessively compressed and damaged. Thus, a substrate holder that is not adequately fabricated to meet its thickness requirements lowers the sealing ability of the seal ring.

A conventional substrate holder opening and closing mechanism generally adopts a positional displacement detecting measure for detecting when a substrate is displaced from the positional alignment at the time when the substrate is mounted on the substrate holder. According to this positional displacement detection means, a substrate guide is disposed on a fixed support member at a position near the outer circumferential edge of the substrate. A horizontal direction light sensor such as a photosensor or a laser sensor measures the amount of light from a light beam applied horizontally over the substrate in the substrate holder. If the substrate is placed on a substrate guide, the substrate is tilted and blocks the light beam. Therefore, the amount of light detected by the horizontal direction light sensor becomes smaller than when the substrate is appropriately set in the substrate holder without interfering with the substrate guide. In this way, the positional displacements of the substrate in the substrate holder are detected based on the reduction of the detected light amount. When the substrate is displaced from the positional alignment in the substrate holder, the substrate guide holds the substrate thereon and holds the tilted substrate to prevent the substrate from remaining in a horizontal plane while displaced from the positional alignment do.

However, the horizontal directional light sensor can be used in a wide variety of applications, including: water droplets on the substrate; the substrate itself warped; the substrate holder is self-warped; the table on which the substrate holder is placed is self- There is a problem in that, when the substrate holder is tilted by dust or dirty particles applied to the substrate holder, the substrate may be erroneously detected as displaced from the positional alignment in the substrate holder. The horizontal directional light sensor is characterized in that the height of the substrate guide is limited to the size of the substrate holder and is detectable by the sensor due to smear-induced fogging on the surface of the sensor due to use over time The amount of light is reduced with time, and the detection accuracy is also problematic.

In the dip-type plating apparatus, the substrate holder is stored in a stocker since it is before it is operated. When the dip-type plating apparatus starts to operate, the substrate holder is taken out of the stocker, and the substrate to be processed is taken out of its reservoir and held by the substrate holder. The substrate holder holding the substrate is transported by the substrate holder transfer to the other treatment vessels associated with the plating process and to the plating bath when the substrate is thus processed.

It has been found that the substrate holder suffers from a problem such as failure of power feeding and so on. When the conventional dip-type plating apparatus must be shut down, . The substrate holder, which is found to be experiencing feed failure, is returned to the stocker and is interrupted until it is serviced. While the dip-type plating apparatus is operated during the plating process, access to the interior of the dip-type plating apparatus is limited for safety reasons. As a result, if the substrate holder is to be serviced, it is necessary to wait at least until the plating process just before the problem. The throughput of the dip-type plating apparatus per unit time is reduced since the substrate holder that is prevented from being used can not be used in the plating process.

In a conventional dip-type plating apparatus, a stocker for storing a substrate holder is integrated inevitably in the apparatus. If a substrate holder disposed on the stocker needs to be serviced, the substrate holder is manually removed from the stocker or removed from the stocker by a dedicated hoist. Alternatively, the stocker may be provided in a delivery-tank or service area accessible from the outside of the dip-type plating apparatus in a dip-type plating apparatus, and then the substrate holder may be manually removed from the stocker Or removed from the stocker by a dedicated hoist. This is tedious and time-consuming to remove the substrate holder from the dip-type plating apparatus and return the substrate holder to the dip-type plating apparatus. The tedious and time-consuming service process is becoming worse as the size of the substrates to be handled increases, the required manual labor increases and the hoist size used becomes larger.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation. It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide a plating apparatus and a plating method for ensuring easy access to a substrate holder and allowing the substrate holder to be easily serviced while the substrate is being processed in the plating apparatus.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a plating apparatus capable of converting an attitude of a substrate holder for detachably holding a substrate from a horizontal state to a vertical state or from a vertical state to a horizontal state, A plating apparatus and a plating method for converting an attitude of a substrate holder for use in a plating apparatus.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a substrate holder opening / closing apparatus capable of arranging a substrate in a substrate holder without the need of a large complex mechanism and capable of displacing the substrate from positional alignment at the time when the substrate is mounted on the substrate holder And the substrate holder can be made to have a different thickness.

The present invention provides a plating apparatus comprising: a plating unit for plating a substrate; A substrate holder for holding the substrate; A substrate holder transferring unit for holding and transferring the substrate holder; A stocker for storing the substrate holder; And a stocker setting unit for storing the stocker therein. The stocker includes a moving mechanism for moving the stocker into the stocker setting unit or moving the stocker from the stocker setting unit.

With this structure, the substrate holder can be taken out of the stocker without interrupting the processing of the substrate in the plating apparatus. As a result, the throughput of the plating apparatus per unit time is not lowered, and the substrate holder can be easily and quickly serviced.

In a preferred form of the present invention, the moving mechanism includes a caster for moving and separating the stocker from the plating apparatus.

The stocker setting unit may include: a door capable of selectively opening and closing; And a shutter that can be selectively opened and closed to isolate the atmosphere in the stocker setting unit and the atmosphere in the plating apparatus from each other when the door is opened.

The substrate holder transferring part may include a sensor for detecting whether the substrate holder is present in the stocker or the position of the substrate holder in the stocker.

The plating apparatus may include a control section for monitoring and controlling the states of the substrate holder transfer section and the stocker setting section, and an indicating section for indicating movement of the stocker to the control section.

The stocker includes a latch handle for locking the stocker in the stocker setting unit and the stocker setting unit includes a latch receiver for engaging the latch handle You may.

In a preferred form of the present invention, the stocker setting section includes a door switch for limiting the opening of the door and a shutter switch for limiting the opening of the shutter, wherein the door switch and the shutter switch operate together.

The present invention provides a method for removing a substrate holder from a stocker; Holding the substrate with a substrate holder; Transferring the substrate holder holding the substrate to the plating section by the substrate holder transferring step; Plating the substrate on the plating unit; And a step of automatically transferring the substrate holder to the stocker using the substrate holder transferring part. The plating method includes moving the stocker from the plating apparatus using the movement mechanism of the stocker while the plating apparatus automatically performs the steps.

In a preferred form of the present invention, the moving mechanism includes a castor for moving and separating the stocker from the plating apparatus.

In a preferred form of the present invention, the plating method further includes a step of supplying the plating solution from the plating apparatus to the control unit of the plating apparatus before the stocker is moved from the plating apparatus, while the plating apparatus automatically performs the steps And displaying the movement.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the plating method further comprises the steps of closing the shutter to isolate the inside of the plating apparatus from ambient air before the stocker is moved from the plating apparatus, and moving the stocker into the plating apparatus And opening the shutter to allow the substrate holder transfer section to approach the stocker.

The present invention provides a stocker for storing a substrate holder for use in a plating apparatus, comprising: a substrate holder storage area for storing the substrate holder therein; And a moving mechanism. The stocker is moved and separated from the plating apparatus by the moving mechanism.

The stocker may include a drain pan disposed at a bottom portion thereof.

The substrate holder storage area may store an anode holder therein.

The present invention provides an anode holder for storing an anode holder for use in a plating apparatus, comprising: an anode holder storage area for storing the anode holder therein; A drain pan disposed at the bottom thereof; And a moving mechanism. The stocker is moved and separated from the plating apparatus by the moving mechanism.

The present invention relates to a substrate holder for detachably holding a substrate; A table for horizontally arranging the substrate holder thereon; A plating unit having a plating bath for immersing the substrate in a vertical plane of the plating liquid to dispose the substrate held by the substrate holder; And a substrate holder transferring unit for transferring the substrate holder between the table and the plating unit. The substrate holder transferring portion includes a holding portion for holding the substrate holder. The table includes a horizontal moving mechanism capable of moving in a horizontal direction while supporting a lower end portion of the substrate holder. The substrate holder transferring portion is moved in the vertical direction by moving the holding portion together with the lower end portion of the substrate holder supported by the horizontal moving mechanism so that the attitude of the substrate holder in the vertical direction Or a vertical movable arm for converting from a horizontal state to a vertical state.

According to this structure, the substrate holder can be stably rotated without requiring a large rotating mechanism, and the plating apparatus can save space and reduce manufacturing cost. In particular, as the substrate holder transfer portion for transferring the substrate holder to the plated portion is used to rotate the substrate holder, there is no need for another power mechanism for rotating the substrate holder. As a result, the plating apparatus can be manufactured at a greatly reduced cost.

The plating apparatus may include a sensor for detecting whether the substrate holder transfer section holds the substrate holder or a distance to the substrate holder held by the substrate holder transfer section.

In a preferred form of the present invention, the vertical movable arm is arranged so that the distance between the substrate holder transfer part and the substrate holder held by the substrate holder transfer part is smaller than a reference value If the sensor detects a case of departure, the operation is stopped.

The substrate holder may include a round handlebar, which may hold the round handle bar.

The holding portion may have a shape for rotatably supporting the round handle bar.

Preferably, the lower end of the substrate holder to be supported by the horizontal moving mechanism includes a semicircular portion to be in contact with the horizontal moving mechanism.

The horizontal movement mechanism may be biased in a direction for lowering the holding section by a weight suspended from the horizontal movement mechanism.

The substrate holder transferring unit may include a clamper for preventing the substrate holder from swinging while the substrate holder is being transferred.

The present invention provides a method of converting an attitude of a substrate holder for detachably holding a substrate, the method comprising: holding one end of the substrate holder using a holding portion of the substrate holder transfer portion; Moving the substrate holder held by the holding portion above the table; Lowering the holding portion to bring the other end of the substrate holder into contact with a horizontal moving mechanism on the table; And moving the horizontal moving mechanism horizontally to further lower the holding portion to convert the attitude of the substrate holder from a vertical state to a horizontal state.

The method comprising the steps of: detecting by the sensor whether the substrate holder transfer section holds the substrate holder or the distance to the substrate holder held by the substrate holder transfer section; And stopping the operation of the holding unit if the sensor detects that the distance from the substrate holder transferring unit to the substrate holder held by the substrate holder transferring unit does not hold the substrate holder, May be further included.

The method may further include moving the substrate holder transfer unit horizontally to tilt the substrate holder at a predetermined angle after the other end of the substrate contacts the horizontal movement mechanism.

The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a substrate, comprising: disposing a substrate holder on a table; Mounting and holding a substrate using the substrate holder disposed on the table; Holding one end of the substrate holder using a holding portion of the substrate holder transferring portion; Elevating the substrate holder transfer portion and moving the horizontal movement mechanism on the table horizontally to convert the attitude of the substrate holder from a horizontal state to a vertical state; Moving the substrate holder to a position above a plating bath for holding a plating solution using the substrate holder transfer unit; And lowering the substrate holder using the substrate holder transferring unit to immerse the substrate in the plating bath of the plating tank.

The present invention relates to a substrate holder for detachably holding a substrate; A table for horizontally arranging the substrate holder thereon; A plating unit having a plating bath for immersing the substrate in a vertical plane of the plating liquid to dispose the substrate held by the substrate holder; And a substrate holder transfer part for transferring the substrate holder between the table and the plating part. The substrate holder transferring portion includes a holding portion for holding the substrate holder and a substrate holder opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the substrate holder disposed on the table. The substrate holder includes a movable support member having a rotation support member and the fixed support member for gripping the substrate in cooperation with the movable support member that is removably fixed to the fixed support member. Wherein the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism includes at least a part rotatable for fixing the movable support member to the fixed support member and releasing the movable support member from the fixed support member, A first actuator for vertically moving the head portion, and a second actuator for rotating at least a portion of the head portion, wherein the movable support member is removably held by the head portion.

This can simplify the mechanism for opening and closing the substrate holder in order to reduce the size of the plating apparatus, thereby reducing the cost of the plating apparatus.

In a preferred form of the present invention, the head portion includes a rotary plate, and a presser disk having a hanging hook for holding the movable support member to press the movable support member Wherein the support member includes a lobe and the fixed support member includes a clamper, the rotation plate is connected to the shaft, and when the shaft is pushed by the second actuator, And the lobe is rotated to rotate the member to move the movable support member to a position for fixing the movable support member to the fixed support member or for hanging by the hanging hook, And is engaged with the clamper in response to the clamping force.

The head portion may include a substrate position detecting portion for confirming a position of the substrate in the substrate holder.

Thus, the positional displacements of the substrate can be accurately detected at the time when the substrate is placed in the substrate holder, irrespective of deformations such as warpage of the substrate and the substrate holder and water droplets applied thereto.

The presser disk may have a pressing block for pressing the movable support member, and the pressing block includes a pre-compressed spring disposed therein.

According to the present invention, the substrate holder can be taken out of the stocker without interrupting the processing of the substrate in the plating apparatus. As a result, the throughput of the plating apparatus per unit time is not lowered, and the substrate holder can be easily and quickly serviced.

Further, according to the present invention, the substrate holder can be stably rotated without requiring a large rotating mechanism, and the plating apparatus can save space and reduce manufacturing cost. In particular, as the substrate holder transfer portion for transferring the substrate holder to the plated portion is used to rotate the substrate holder, there is no need for another power mechanism for rotating the substrate holder. As a result, the plating apparatus can be manufactured at a greatly reduced cost.

Further, according to the present invention, the mechanism for opening and closing the substrate holder can be simplified in order to reduce the size of the plating apparatus, and the cost of the plating apparatus can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, irrespective of the deformations such as the warpage of the substrate and the substrate holder and the water droplets applied thereto, the positional displacements of the substrate can be accurately detected at the time when the substrate is placed in the substrate holder do.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the frictional resistance applied to the components at the time when the substrate holder is opened and closed, and achieve a stable sealing ability for sealing the substrate holder even when the substrate holder has different thicknesses .

1 is a side view schematically showing a plating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1; FIG.
3 is a schematic view showing the structure of a substrate holder;
4A is a schematic view showing the structure of the substrate holder transfer section, FIG. 4B is a schematic view showing how the substrate holder is held by the substrate holder transfer section shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C is a cross- Section taken;
FIGS. 5A to 5F are schematic views showing a horizontal movement mechanism for moving the table in the horizontal direction and an operation sequence of the arms of the substrate holder transfer section, in order to arrange the substrate holder in the horizontal direction on the table;
Figs. 6A to 6F are detailed views of the horizontal movement mechanism and the substrate holder in the sequence operation shown in Figs. 5A to 5F; Fig.
7A to 7D are diagrams showing an operation sequence of the substrate holder transfer section for placing the substrate holder on the horizontal moving mechanism;
Figures 8A-8C illustrate another horizontal movement mechanism for moving the table horizontally and a further operating sequence of the arms of the substrate holder for placing the substrate holder horizontally on the table;
Figures 9a-9c illustrate another horizontal movement mechanism for moving the table horizontally and a further operating sequence of the arms of the substrate holder for placing the substrate holder horizontally on the table;
10 is a schematic view showing the structure of another substrate holder;
FIG. 11A is a schematic view showing a fixing support member of the substrate holder shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. 11B is a schematic view showing a movable support member of the substrate holder shown in FIG. 10;
12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the fixed support member and the movable support member of the substrate holder shown in Fig. 10;
13 is a schematic view showing a structure of a substrate holder opening and closing mechanism;
Fig. 14A is a plan view showing the structure of the head portion of the substrate holder opening / closing mechanism, Fig. 14B is a front view of the head portion shown in Fig. 14A;
15 is a sectional view of a pressing block on the head part;
16A and 16B illustrate a process of detecting a positional displacement of a substrate using a sensor;
Figure 17 is a plan view of a substrate holder with recesses formed therein at substrate placement locations;
Figures 18A and 18B illustrate processing for detecting the positional displacement of a substrate using a sensor;
19 is a perspective view showing a manner in which a substrate holder opening and closing mechanism operates;
20 is a perspective view showing a manner in which a substrate holder opening and closing mechanism operates;
21 is a perspective view showing a manner in which the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism operates;
22 is a perspective view showing a manner in which a substrate holder opening and closing mechanism operates;
23 is a schematic view showing the structure of a wagon-type stocker;
24 is a perspective view showing the structure of another wagon-type stocker;
25 is a side view schematically showing a stocker setting unit and a wagon-type stocker in the plating apparatus;
26 is a back view schematically showing a stocker setting unit and a wagon-type stocker in the plating apparatus;
27 is a plan view of a guide plate of the vertical roller and the horizontal rollers and the stocker setting unit on the wagon-type stocker;
28 is a front view of the guide rollers of the vertical rollers and the horizontal rollers and the stocker setting section on the wagon-type stocker;
29A is a schematic view showing the relationship between the latch handles on the wagon-type stocker and the latch guides on the door of the stocker setting unit, FIG. 29B is a schematic view showing the relationship between the latch door handle surface and the latch handles 29c is a side view of the door in which the latch guides are mounted thereon;
30 is a block diagram showing connections between a control unit of the plating apparatus, a substrate holder transfer unit, a stocker setting unit, a stocker access indicator, and an accessibility / inaccessibility display;
31A to 31E are perspective views schematically showing a procedure for disposing a wagon-type stocker in the stocker setting section and removing the wagon-type stocker from the stocker setting section;
32 is a flowchart of a procedure for disposing a wagon-type stocker in the stocker setting section and removing the wagon-type stocker from the stocker setting section when the plating apparatus is in operation;
33 is a schematic view showing a mechanism for rotating a substrate holder provided in a conventional plating apparatus; And
34 is a schematic view showing another mechanism for rotating the substrate holder provided in another conventional plating apparatus;

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a plating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the plating apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

1 and 2, the plating apparatus includes a device frame 100, substrate holders 110 for holding substrates 500 (see FIG. 3), and FOUPs for storing substrates 500 A pair of load ports 170 for placing a carrier receptacle thereon, a substrate transfer robot 180, a spin rinse dryer (SRD) 190, a table 120, A plating unit 130, a substrate holder transfer unit 140, a wagon-type stocker 150, and an aligner 195. The wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed in the stocker setting section 160 in the apparatus frame 100. In the above embodiment, the wagon-type stocker 150 is used as a stocker.

The substrate transfer robot 180 removes the substrate 500 from the carrier receptacle disposed on one of the load ports 170 and transfers the substrate 500 to the table 120. The substrate transfer robot 180 also transfers the processed substrate from the table 120 and stores the processed substrate in a carrier receptacle that is disposed on one of the load ports 170. The substrate transfer robot 180 is rotatable to transfer the substrates 500 between the load port 170, the table 120, the spin rinse drier 190, and the aligner 195. The spin finish dryer 190 rotates the plated substrate 500 while rinsing the plated substrate 500 and rotates the plated substrate 500 at a high speed to finally remove the plated substrate 500 And dried.

The aligner 195 aligns the substrate 500 with the predetermined position in the circumferential direction. The aligner 195 detects the position of a notch or recess formed in the substrate 500 and directs the notch to alignment with the indicated angular position, The substrate 500 is turned to the indicated angular position. The aligner 195 also aligns the central position of the substrate 500 with a predetermined position while turning the substrate 500.

The plating apparatus also includes a control section 200 including a transfer shaft 101 for moving the substrate holder transfer section 140 along with the substrate holder opening / closing mechanism 102, and a substrate holder transfer control section.

The substrate holder 110 holds the substrate 500 while sealing the end surface and the reverse surface thereof and exposing the surface to be plated when the substrate 500 is plated. The substrate holder 110 also has electrical contacts for electrically contacting peripheral edges of the surface to be plated of the substrate 500 and for being powered from an external power source. The substrate holder 110 is stored in the wagon-type stocker 150 prior to the plating process. During the plating process, the substrate holder 110 is moved between the table 120 and the plating unit 130 by the substrate holder transfer unit 140. After the plating process, the substrate holder 110 is stored again in the wagon-type stocker 150.

The substrate holder 110 may be disposed on the table 120 in a horizontal direction. The substrate transfer robot 180 places the substrate 500 in the substrate holder 110 arranged in the horizontal direction on the table 120 or takes out the substrate 500 from the substrate holder 110.

The plating apparatus uses two kinds of plating liquids in the plating process. The plating unit 130 includes a pre-washing tank 130a, a pre-treatment tank 130b, a rinsing tank 130c, a first plating tank 130d, a rinsing tank 130e, a second plating tank 130f, A rinsing tank 130g, and a blowing tank 130h, which are successively arranged in the sequence of the plating process. It is preferable that the treatment tanks 130a to 130h are successively arranged in the sequence of the plating process along the direction from X to X 'to remove any extra transport paths. The type of tanks in the plating apparatus, the number of tanks, and the layout of the tanks can be freely selected depending on the purpose for which the substrates are to be processed.

1 and 2, the substrate 500 held by the substrate holder 110 is processed by treating fluids in the treatment tanks 130a to 130h of the plating unit 130 . Particularly, the substrate 500 held by the substrate holder 110 is immersed in the plating liquid in the plating tank 130f in the vertical direction, and is plated in the plating liquid, while the plating liquid is introduced into the plating tank 130f from the bottom. And flows over the plating tank 130f. In this embodiment, the plating tank 130f is divided into a plurality of regions, and one substrate 500 held by one substrate holder 110 is provided in each of the regions in a direction perpendicular to the plating liquid To be plated. Each zone of the plating bath 130f includes an insertion slot for inserting the substrate holder 110 therethrough, a power unit for supplying power to the substrate holder 110, an anode, a paddle stirrer a paddle stirrer, and a shield plate. The anode is mounted on the anode holder and has an exposed surface in which the substrate 500 is oriented concentrically therewith.

The substrate holder transfer unit 140 is connected to the transfer shaft (not shown) between the table 120, the plating unit 130, and the wagon-type stocker 150 by an unillustrated transfer mechanism such as a linear motor, 101). The substrate holder transfer unit 140 transfers the substrate holder 110 while holding the substrate holder 110 in a vertical direction.

The wagon-type stocker 150 may store a plurality of substrate holders 110 each extending in a vertical plane. 1, the wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed adjacent to the back surface of the plating apparatus. However, the wagon-type stocker 150 may be disposed at other locations, such as between the table 120 and the plating section 130.

Hereinafter, the operation sequence of the plating apparatus will be briefly described by way of example. The operation sequence includes the following series of steps (a) to (h).

(a) The substrate holder transfer unit 140 moves to a position above the wagon-type stocker 150, and holds and takes out the substrate holder 110 stored in the wagon-type stocker 150.

(b) Then, the substrate holder transferring unit 140 moves to a position above the table 120 while holding the substrate holder 110, and moves the substrate holder 110 in a horizontal direction on the table 120, .

(c) The substrate 500 is set in the substrate holder 110.

(d) The substrate holder transfer unit 140 holds the substrate holder 110 in the vertical direction and moves to the pre-washing tank 130a of the plating unit 130. [ Then, the substrate holder transfer unit 140 may be configured such that the substrate 500 held by the substrate holder 110 is processed in the processing baths 130a to 130h and is simultaneously processed in the X to X ' 130 through the treatment tanks 130a to 130h.

(e) After the processing of the substrate 500 is completed in the plating unit 130, the substrate holder transfer unit 140 moves to the table 120 while holding the substrate holder 110 in the vertical direction , And the substrate holder 110 is horizontally disposed on the table 120.

(f) The substrate 500 is removed from the substrate holder 110.

(g) If the substrates 500 are to be subjected to a continuous process, a next unprocessed substrate 500 is set in the substrate holder 110, and repeats the sequence from step (d) to step (f).

(h) When the entire plating process is completed, the substrate holder transfer unit 140 vertically holds the substrate holder 110 from which the substrate 500 has been removed, and moves to the wagon-type stocker 150 , The substrate holder 110 is stored vertically in the wagon-type stocker 150.

After the substrate 500 is set in the substrate holder 110 in the operation sequence, the substrate holder transfer unit 140 transfers the substrate holder 110 holding the substrate 500 to the plating unit 130 to the pre-washing tank 130a. However, after the substrate 500 is set in the substrate holder 110, the substrate holder transfer unit 140 may transfer the substrate holder 110 to the wagon-type stocker 150, - The substrate holder 110 may be temporarily placed on the type stocker 150.

Hereinafter, the structural details of the substrate holder 110 will be described. 3 is a schematic view showing a structure of the substrate holder 110. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate holder 110 has a handle bar 111 on one end thereof. The handle bar 111 is held by the substrate holder transfer unit 140. The handle bar 111 is in the form of a round bar rotatable about its own axis to convert the attitude of the substrate holder 110 from a vertical state to a horizontal state and from a horizontal state to a vertical state have.

The handle bar 111 is preferably made of stainless steel which is corrosion resistant for self-protection against the plating liquid which may be applied thereto. When the handle bar 111 made of stainless steel is still susceptible to corrosion due to contact with the plating solution, the surface of the handle bar 111 is coated with a layer of TiC (titanium carbide) or a plating layer of chromium It is preferable to be coated. The handle bar 111 may be made of titanium having high corrosion resistance. In this case, since the level of the surface frictional resistance is generally high, the substrate holder must be finished for a smooth rotary sliding contact with the lifter 142 of the transfer unit 140, which will be described later.

The substrate holder 110 has a pair of hangers 112 that are respectively opposite to the upper ends thereof. Each hanger 112 has a rectangular parallelepiped or cube shape. The hanger 112 is disposed on each of hanger receivers and is connected to the substrate holder 110 at a time when the substrate holder 110 is disposed in the processing tanks 130a to 130h of the plating unit 130. [ 110 as a supporting portion for hanging. One of the hanger (112) has feed contacts (114). If the plating tanks 130d and 130f are electroplating tanks, the power supply contacts 114 on the hanger 112 are electrically connected to an electric power source on a corresponding hanger receiver for supplying current from an external power source to the surface to be plated of the substrate 500. [ And is held in contact with the contacts. The feeding contacts 114 are positioned away from contact with the plating liquid of the plating bath at the time when the substrate holder 110 is hooked from the hanger 112 disposed on the hanger receivers. The hanger 112 is supported on the hanger receivers 152 described below of the wagon-type stocker 150 when the substrate holder 110 is stored in the wagon-type stocker 150.

Each rectangular parallelepiped or cube-shaped hanger 112 is configured to move in the direction indicated by the arrow A shown in FIG. 3 against the forces applied to the substrate holder transfer portion 140 such that, when the substrate holder 110 is moved, And is designed to prevent the holder 110 from swinging. When the substrate holder 110 is in a vertical state with its lower end 113 facing downward, the upper surfaces of the hanger 112 are laid horizontally.

The lower end portion 113 of the substrate holder 110 has a semi-circular cross-sectional shape (see FIGS. 6A to 6F) for smooth sliding sliding contact with the horizontal movement mechanism 121 of the table 120 described below.

4A is a schematic view showing the structure of the substrate holder transfer section 140. As shown in FIG. 4B is a schematic view showing how the substrate holder 110 is held by the substrate holder transfer unit 140 shown in FIG. 4A. 4C is a cross-sectional view taken along line Y-Y 'in FIG. 4B.

The substrate holder transfer section 140 includes a lifting and lowering mechanism, not shown, incorporated into a vertical support column 145. The lift mechanism operates in a vertical direction to raise and lower the substrate holder 110. The elevating mechanism includes a horizontal arm 141 for hanging the substrate holder 110. The arm 141 is provided with a lifter 142 as a holding part for hanging and holding the substrate holder 110 by supporting the handle bar 111 from below. In order to support the handle bar 111 from below, the lifter or the holding part 142 includes a pair of semicircular fingers 142a for engaging the handle bar 111. [ The semicircular fingers 142a have an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the handle bar 111. [ The lifter 142 has a space between the semicircular fingers 142a and also for detecting whether or not the handlebar 111 is present in the space, And a sensor 144 as a substrate holder detecting portion for detecting the distance. If the sensor or substrate holder detection unit 144 detects an abnormal state or does not detect the handle bar 111 or the substrate holder 110 or if the distance to the handle bar 111 is less than the reference value The sensor 144 detects that the substrate holder 110 is displaced from the position with respect to the arm 141 and the sensor 144 detects that the substrate holder 110 is displaced from the position with respect to the arm 141, Abnormal condition is displayed on the elevator relief fisher. The sensor 144 may also detect another anomalous condition where the fingers 142a of the lifter 142 do not adequately support the handle bar 111 because the fingers 142a The substrate holder 110 is displaced in position when it is desired to support the handle bar 111 from the substrate holder 110.

The fingers 142a may be formed of a synthetic resin layer such as PTFE or the like so as to reduce the friction coefficient of the handle bar 111 in order to smoothly turn the handle bar 111 against the fingers 142a, It is desirable to incorporate an aluminum layer coated with PEEK or treated with TUFRAM on those surfaces that are retained by the PEEK.

The substrate holder transfer part 140 includes a pair of clamper 143 for preventing the substrate holder 110 from swinging. When the substrate holder transfer unit 140 moves in the horizontal direction, the clamper 143 applies a downward force to the upper horizontal surfaces of the hanger 112 of the substrate holder 110, Thereby preventing the substrate holder 110 from swinging in a direction in which the substrate holder 110 moves. In order to more effectively prevent the substrate holder 110 from swinging, the hooks 112 may be designed in a shape for fitting with the clamper 143.

In this embodiment, the clamper 143 is used to apply a downward force to the upper horizontal surfaces of the hanger 112 of the substrate holder 110 and to prevent the substrate holder 110 from swinging And a C-shaped opening downward to support opposite vertical surfaces of the hanger (112). If the force applied to the upper horizontal surfaces of the hanger 112 in the vertical direction from the clamper 143 can be set to a level larger than the force that tends to swing the substrate holder 110, Do not need to support the opposing vertical surfaces of the hanger (112). In general, however, since the upper horizontal surfaces of the hanger 112 are not large in area, the clamper 143 preferably supports opposite vertical surfaces of the hanger 112.

When the substrate holder 110 is to be changed from a vertical state to a horizontal state, the clamper 143 is moved upward to release the substrate holder 110. The clamper 143 is moved in the vertical direction by respective actuators 146 such as an air cylinder, an electric actuator and the like mounted on the arm 141. In this embodiment two actuators 146 are used to move the clamper 143 supporting the hanger 112 on opposite ends of the substrate holder 110. However, only one actuator 146 may be aligned with the center of the substrate holder 110 and mounted on the arm 141, and an attachment not shown may be mounted on the movable member 130 of the actuator 146 Or may be connected to the two clamper 146. [

The table 120 is used to place the substrate holder 110 thereon horizontally by changing from a vertical state to a horizontal state. The table 120 includes a horizontal movement mechanism 121 (see Figs. 5A to 5F) for supporting the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110. Fig. The horizontal movement mechanism 121 is connected to the substrate holder transfer section 140 along an unshown guide such as a linear motion (LM) guide for guiding the lower end portion 113 of the substrate holder 110, for example, In the direction along the feed shaft (101).

An external force applied by the weight 123 via the wire 122 in the above embodiment is applied to the horizontal movement mechanism 121 so that the horizontal movement mechanism 121 always moves to the initial position, The lower end portion 113 of the substrate holder 110 tends to return to a position where the horizontal movement mechanism 121 is in contact with the lower portion of the substrate holder 110 when the lower portion 140 of the substrate holder 110 is lowered toward the table 120. The weight 123 may be replaced with a helical spring. The horizontal movement mechanism 121 is preferably of a shape and material suitable for making sliding contact with the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110.

5A to 5F, an operation sequence for changing the attitude of the substrate holder 110 from a vertical state to a horizontal state and arranging the substrate holder 110 on the table 120 in a horizontal direction will be described below. Will be described with reference to Figs. 6A to 6F and Figs. 7A to 7D.

5A to 5F illustrate a horizontal movement mechanism 121 for horizontally moving the table 120 to horizontally arrange the substrate holder 110 on the table 120, And an operation sequence of the arm 141 of the elevating mechanism of the elevator 140 is shown in FIG. FIGS. 6A to 6F are views showing the substrate holder 110 and the horizontal movement mechanism 121 in detail in the sequence operation shown in FIGS. 5A to 5F. FIGS. 7A to 7D are diagrams showing an operation sequence of the substrate holder transfer section 140 for placing the substrate holder 110 on the horizontal movement mechanism 121. FIG.

According to the clamper 143 clamping the substrate holder 110 against the swinging movement and the lifter 142 of the arm 141 hanging the substrate holder 110, And moves to an upper position of the table 120. [ The positional relationship between the substrate holder 110 and the horizontal movement mechanism 121 at this point of time is shown in Figs. 7A and 7B. The table 120 includes a horizontal moving mechanism 121 that supports the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 and is movable in the horizontal direction. When the substrate holder transfer unit 140 moves to a position above the table 120, the arm 141 holding the substrate holder 110 in the vertical direction starts to descend. 5A shows a state in which the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 is lowered to a position slightly higher than the horizontal movement mechanism 121. The positional relationship between the substrate holder 110 and the horizontal movement mechanism 121 at this point is shown in Figs. 6A and 7B.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7C, the clamper 143 releases the substrate holder 110. The arm 141 is then lowered until the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 touches the horizontal movement mechanism 121, as shown in FIGS. 5B, 6B and 7D.

5A and 5B, when the substrate holder 110 is moved downward, the arm 141 is positioned such that the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 is slightly higher than the horizontal movement mechanism 121 It is desirable that the clamper 143 is lowered at high speed while holding the substrate holder 110 against the swing movement. The arm 141 is lowered at a low speed until the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 touches the horizontal movement mechanism 121 and the arm 141 is lowered from the clamper 143 to the substrate holder 110, . In this way, the substrate holder 110 is stably lowered within a short time.

When the lower end portion 113 of the substrate holder 110 touches the horizontal movement mechanism 121, the substrate holder 110 is in a bottom dead center of its rotation cycle and can be rotated smoothly none. 5C, when the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 touches the horizontal movement mechanism 121, the arm 141 is slightly lowered toward the plating unit 130 And is slightly shifted in the horizontal direction. Thus, as shown in Fig. 6C, the substrate holder 110 is now tilted and begins to rotate smoothly.

The arm 141 is lowered after the substrate holder 110 is tilted at a predetermined angle, preferably about 15 degrees, so that the lower end portion 113 of the substrate holder 110, The horizontal movement mechanism 121 is pushed under the weight of the substrate holder 110. [ When the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 is lowered, the arm 141 may be slightly moved toward the substrate transfer robot 180. The lowering of the arm 141 is carried out in such a manner that the substrate holder 110 whose lower end portion 113 is supported by the horizontal moving mechanism 121 is moved from a vertical state to a horizontal state as shown in Figures 5D and 5E Rotate and tilt. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6E, when the arm 141 is lowered from the position shown in FIG. 6D, the substrate holder 110 is tilted in a horizontal state while being supported at the point A.

When the arm 141 is further lowered, the substrate holder 110 is placed in the horizontal direction as shown in FIGS. 5F and 6F, and the downward movement of the substrate holder transfer part 140 and the horizontal movement (121) is completed. The weight of the horizontal substrate holder 110 is entirely held by the table 120. After the arm 141 is further lowered, it is withdrawn toward the plating unit 130 and then raised.

As described above, the substrate holder 110 can be converted from a vertical attitude to a horizontal attitude without the need for a large rotating mechanism with a large torque for the rotating substrate holder 110. According to the present invention, the distance that the substrate holder transfer unit 140 initially moves to tilt the substrate holder 110, the speed at which the arm 141 is lowered, the horizontal movement mechanism 121 to its initial position A sliding resistance between the finger 142a of the lifter 142 and the handle bar 111 and a sliding resistance between the horizontal moving mechanism 121 and the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 It is important to optimally design the shapes of the resistors.

According to the present invention, the attitude of the substrate holder 110 is changed along with the horizontal movement of the horizontal movement mechanism 121. 8A to 8C, the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 may be held in contact with the left end of the table 120, and the arm (not shown) 141 may be moved in an arcuate shape to make the substrate holder 110 a horizontal attitude. 1, when the substrate transfer robot 180 transfers the substrate 500 to the substrate holder 110 or receives the substrate 500 from the substrate holder 110, Since the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism 102 capable of releasing the substrate 500 by the substrate holder 110 is disposed above the table 120, the substrate holder transferring mechanism 140 and the substrate holder opening / (102) tend to interfere with each other.

9A to 9C, the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 may be held in contact with the right end of the table 120, and the arm (not shown) 141 may tilt the substrate holder 110 toward the plating unit 130 until the substrate holder 110 is placed in the horizontal direction and finally the arm 141 may be tilted toward the substrate holder 110 ) Onto the table (120). However, since the substrate holder transfer part 140 protrudes from the table 120 to the plating part 130 at a large distance as shown in FIG. 9B, the processing operation in the plating part 130 There is also the possibility of interference.

According to the process of changing the attribute of the substrate holder 110 according to the present invention, when the substrate holder transfer unit 140 converts the attribute of the substrate holder 110, unlike the other attitude conversion methods, (140) does not interfere with the processing operations in the substrate holder opening / closing mechanism (102) and the plating section (130). As a result, it is not necessary to take into consideration distances between the substrate holder transferring section 140 and the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism 102 and the plating section 130. The process of changing the attitude of the substrate holder 110 according to the present invention is very effective in configuring the plating apparatus because space is saved.

The horizontal movement mechanism 121 may include a mechanism for moving in the horizontal direction spontaneously, not under the weight of the substrate holder 110. However, such a mechanism requires its own power source and must operate in cooperation with the arm 141 for converting the attitude of the substrate holder 110, resulting in complicated control processing. Accordingly, the horizontal movement mechanism 121 is made slidable, and a helical spring for returning the horizontal movement mechanism 121 to its initial position, or a helical spring for returning the horizontal movement mechanism 121 to the horizontal position under the external force applied from the weight 123, It is preferable to control the mechanism so as to move the moving mechanism 121.

The fingers 142a of the handle bar 111 and the lifter 142 and the fingers 142a of the lifter 142 and the lower ends of the substrate holder 110 are moved in the vertical direction, (113) and the horizontal moving mechanism (121) slide relative to each other. The opposite ends of the handle bar 111 may be supported by the bearings and the rollers may be mounted on the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 if they are not desired to slide with respect to each other. However, since the substrate holder 110 is immersed in the plating liquid, the bearings and the roller are disposed in the vicinity of the surface of the plating liquid or in the plating liquid. It may not be desirable for the bearings and the roller to be affected by the plating solution. The rollers may be mounted on the fingers 142a of the horizontal movement mechanism 121 or the lifter 142 to prevent the sliding movement of the components so that the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 or Thereby making the handle bar 111 rotatable.

The processed substrate 500 is removed from the substrate holder 110 disposed on the table 120 or after the next substrate 500 to be processed is held by the substrate holder 110, (110) converts the attitude from a horizontal state to a vertical state. In this attitude conversion, the fingers 142a of the lifter 142 go under the handle bar 111 and engage with the handle bar 111, and the lifter 142 is lifted up by the lifting of the arm 141 The substrate holder 110 is attached to the substrate holder 110. [ The horizontal movement mechanism 121 is not disengaged from the lower end 113 of the substrate holder 110 but returns to its initial position where the substrate holder 110 becomes a vertical attitude. The arm 141 is further raised. While the arm 141 is lifted, the clamper 143 operates as described above to prevent the substrate holder 110 from swinging.

In this embodiment, power only raises and lowers the arm 141 to move the horizontal movement mechanism 140 horizontally and convert the attitude of the substrate holder 110 between vertical and horizontal attitudes Only. The mechanisms of the substrate holder transfer part 140 for producing horizontal and vertical movements move the substrate holder 110 to the processing tanks and immerse the substrate 500 in the processing solutions of the processing tanks Is required. Therefore, dedicated power is not necessary to change the attitude of the substrate holder 110. [

The present invention is applicable to a wide range of apparatus for holding a substrate with a substrate holder, transferring the substrate holder, and placing the substrate. In the above embodiment, the principles of the present invention are applied to a plating apparatus by way of example. However, the principles of the present invention are also applicable to an etching apparatus, electroless plating apparatus, and the like. The principles of the present invention are applicable not only to a type of processing apparatus that completely immerses a substrate holder in a treatment tank but also to a type of treatment apparatus comprising a treatment vessel closed horizontally by a substrate held by a substrate holder and having an opening formed in its vertical side wall It is also applicable to a processing apparatus. In the above embodiment, the plating apparatus includes a single substrate holder transfer portion commonly used for modifying the atitude of the substrate holder and transferring the substrate holder to the processing tanks including the plating tanks. However, the principles of the present invention are applicable to a plating apparatus that includes a plurality of substrate holder transfer sections, for example, to change an attitude of a substrate holder and another to transfer the substrate holder to the plating section 130.

According to the present invention, as described above, since the substrate holder can be stably rotated without the need for a large rotating mechanism, the plating apparatus can be manufactured at a reduced cost and at a reduced cost. In particular, as the substrate holder transfer part used to transfer the substrate holder to the plating tanks is used to rotate the substrate holder, a separate power mechanism for rotating the substrate holder is not needed, Cost can be manufactured.

Hereinafter, the operation sequence of the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism 102 will be described. The substrate holder opening and closing mechanism 102 removes the substrate 500 from the substrate holder 110 disposed in the horizontal direction on the table 120 and mounts the substrate 500 on the substrate holder 110 The movable support member 11 is installed and removed from the substrate holder 110, which will be described later.

10 is a plan view showing the structure of the substrate holder 110 on which the movable support member 11 is mounted on the fixed support member 15 in which the lobes 13 are held in engagement with the respective clamper 16 . 11A is a plan view showing the fixing support member 15 of the substrate holder 110. Fig. Fig. 11B is a plan view showing the movable support member 11 of the substrate holder 110. Fig. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the movable support member 11 and the fixed support member 15 of the substrate holder 110. Fig.

10 to 12, the substrate holder 110 includes a fixed support member 15 to be disposed on the table 120 and a movable support member 11 as a lead. The movable support member 11 and the fixed support member 15 grip the substrate 500 therebetween. The movable support member 11 is in the form of a substantially circular ring and includes a support member 12 and a plurality of lobes projecting from the outside of the support member 12 integrally with the support member 12, (13). The movable support member 11 can be fixed to the fixed support member 15 and can be removed from the movable support member 11. [ 10, the movable support member 11 is fixed to the upper surface of the fixed support member 15. As shown in Fig. The fixed support member 15 has a plurality of clamper 16 corresponding in position to each of the lobes 13. The clamper (16) has an inverted L shape and its tip end is curved inward. When the lobes 13 are fitted to the inward bent ends of the clamper 16, the clamper 16 fixes the movable support member 11 to the fixed support member 15. The lobes 13 and the clamper 16 preferably have tapered surfaces to allow them to fit smoothly together.

The support member 12 is held rotatably with respect to the movable support member 11 and not separated by a dislodgment prevention member 12b and is supported on a substantially horizontal surface of the movable support member 11 And is rotatable together with the lobes (13) about a center (R). The support member 12 is, for example, in the form of a substantially circular ring. The support member 12 is disposed on the circumferential surface of the support member 12 and has a protruding portion 12a protruding toward the head portion 1100 of a substrate holder opening and closing mechanism described later. The support member 12 is prevented from being removed from the movable support member 11 by the removal preventing member 12b.

The movable support member 11 and the stationary support member 15 grip the substrate 500 therebetween and the support member 12 is rotated so that the lobes 13 are rotated together with the clamper 16 When fitted, they are fixed together. In order to mount and remove the substrate 500, the support member 12 is rotated so that the lobes 13 are out of engagement with the clamper 16. The substrate 500 is disposed on the substrate disposition region 14 of the fixed support member 15.

The movable support member 11 includes a first seal ring 18a and a second seal ring 182 for sealing portions of the substrate 500 that do not need to be plated, such as their edge and reverse face, 18b. The first seal ring 18a is held in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 500 and the second seal ring 18b is held in contact with the surface of the fixed support member 15. [ The substrate holder 110 is used in an electroplating apparatus. The substrate holder 110 contacts the edge region of the substrate 500 to be sealed by the first seal ring 18a and the electrical contact 20 for supplying electric power to the substrate 500 I have. The electrical contact 20 is electrically connected to an external power source while the movable support member 11 and the fixed support member 15 grip the substrate 500 therebetween. The first seal ring 18a and the second seal ring 18b are held by the seal ring holder 19. For the sake of clarity, the first seal ring 18a and the second seal ring 18b may collectively be referred to as a seal ring 18.

In order to remove the substrate 500 from the substrate holder 110, the movable support member 11 is moved away from the fixed support member 13. At this time, the first seal ring 18a and the substrate 500 may be fixed together, and the substrate 500 may be fixed to the movable support member 11 or may be raised together therewith. In order to prevent the substrate 500 from being fixed to the movable support member 11, when the substrate 500 is moved away from the first seal ring 18a, It is preferable to have peel springs for biasing the substrate 500 toward the fixed support member 15 and stripping the substrate 500 from the first seal ring 18a. The relief springs are disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4162440. [

However, even if the movable support member 11 includes the spring members, the substrate 500 may be formed of a material having the same properties as the material and thickness of the resist layer applied to the substrate 500, It is possible to displace positionally from the substrate disposition region 14 because the seal ring 18a and the substrate 500 are fixed to each other when the movable support member 11 is removed. Particularly, a part of the edge of the substrate 500 may be fixed to the first seal ring 18a, and the substrate 500 may be raised obliquely and then moved to a misaligned position on the fixed support member 15 misaligned position.

This problem can be solved by the fact that the sensors 1140 of the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism 102 continue to operate the plating apparatus on the displaced substrate 500 when detecting the positional misalignment of the substrate 500 .

13 is a schematic view showing the structure of the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism 102. As shown in Fig. 13, the substrate holder opening / closing mechanism 102 includes a head portion 1100, a first actuator 1200, and a second actuator 1300. [

The head portion 1100 positioned above the table 120 can hold the movable support member 11 of the substrate holder 110 disposed on the table 120. [ The head 1100 can rotate the support member 12 of the movable support member 11 so as to rotate the lobes 13 so that the movable support member 11 is moved to the fixed support member 15, Or releases the movable support member 11 from the fixed support member 15 and holds the movable support member 11. [

The first actuator 1200 is connected to the head portion 1100 by a connecting boss 1170 of the head portion 1100. In operation, the first actuator 1200 moves the head portion 1100 in a vertical direction. In the above embodiment, the first actuator 1200 includes a shaft 1220 and an actuator unit 1210 having one end connected to the head part 1100. The first actuator 1200 moves the head portion 1100 in the vertical direction as the shaft 1220 is extended and contracted.

The second actuator 1300 includes an actuator unit 1310 that is uniaxially movable and a shaft hook 1330 that is fixed to a movable plate 1320 of the actuator unit 1310 . The two rollers 1340 are rotatably mounted on the shaft hook 1330 in positions spaced therebetween by roller shafts 1350 for causing the shaft 1130, which will be described later, Lt; / RTI > When the second actuator 1300 is operated, the shaft hook 1330 reciprocally moves in the horizontal direction to push the shaft 1130, which extends from the head portion 1100, Thereby rotating the rotary plate 1150 of the rotary shaft 1100. The second actuator 1300 may include a ball screw.

Figs. 14A and 14B show structural details of the head portion 1100. Fig. 14A and 14B, the head portion 1100 includes a presser disc 1110 and a rotating plate 1150 mounted on the presser disc 1110. [ The presser disk 1110 includes a hanging hook 1111, a rotating plate guide 1112, a guide roller 1113, and a pressing block 1114. The sensors 1140 are firmly supported on the pressurizing disk 1110 at spaced intervals along their outer circumferential edges.

The rotating plate 1150 has fastening hooks 1151 and is connected to one end of the shaft 1130. The rotary plate 1150 is in the form of a substantially circular ring gripped by the rotary plate guides 1112 on the presser disk 1110. The rotating plate 1150 is rotatably engaged with the guide rollers 1113 and is rotatable about its central axis in a substantially horizontal plane.

The shaft 1130 comprises, for example, a bar. When the second actuator 1300 operates to move the shaft hook 1330 in the horizontal direction, the shaft 1130 is also moved in the horizontal direction to rotate the rotation plate 1150. Specifically, the rotation of the rotation plate 1150 can be controlled by controlling the operation of the second actuator 1300. A sensor 1131 is mounted on the presser disc 1110 to detect the position of the shaft 1130.

When the rotating plate 1150 rotates about its central axis, it rotates the support member 12 and the lobes 13. In this embodiment, two fastening hooks 1151 extend downwardly from the rotating plate 1150 at two respective circumferential positions. When the rotary plate 1150 is rotated by the second actuator 1300, one of the fastening hooks 1151 pushes the protruding portion 12a of the support member 12 to push the support member 12 .

The press block 1114 is mounted on the bottom surface of the presser disc 1110. When the first actuator 1120 lowers the head portion 1100, the pressing blocks 1114 push the movable support member 11 downward at points P shown in FIG. 12, for example, (11). When the movable support member 11 is pressed downward in this way, the seal rings 18 are deformed by a distance that the movable support member 11 is pressed downward. As the movable support member 11 is lowered, a gap is created between the lobes 13 and the clamper 16. Accordingly, the force applied to rotate the support member 12, that is, the driving power generated by the second actuator 1300 may be relatively small, so that the clamper 16 and the lobe 13 Thereby minimizing wear on the surface.

The distance that the pressing blocks 1114 press down the movable support member 11 is determined by the position where the head portion 1100 is lowered. When the substrate holder 110 has different thicknesses, the distance at which the seal rings 18 are deformed or compressed differs. Specifically, if the substrate holder 110 is thinner than its normal thickness, since the seal rings 18 are not sufficiently compressed, the support member 12 is more likely to wear during rotation. If the substrate holder 110 is thicker than its normal thickness, the seal rings 18 may be excessively compressed and damaged, and the sealing ability may be adversely affected.

This problem can be solved by using a plunger with a resilient member 30, such as a spring, housed therein as each of the pressing blocks 1114, as shown in Fig. have. The plunger also protrudes from the plunger and houses a pin (31) held against the elastic member (30). Since the elastic member 30 having a predetermined elastic force is pre-compressed to a predetermined scale and is housed in the plunger, the elastic member 30 typically biases the pin 31 to move the substrate holder 110 To protrude from the plunger. The pressing blocks 1114 thus configured can reduce the difference in distance in which the seal rings 18 are compressed due to the individual dimensional characteristics of the substrate holder 110. As a result, the difference in thickness of the substrate holder 110 is tolerated to stably reduce frictional resistance formed between the components at the time when the substrate holder 110 is opened and closed, 18).

The presser disc 1110 has a plurality of hanging hooks 1111 on the outer edge thereof. When the lobes 13 of the movable support member 11 are rotated and positioned directly above the hangers 1111 of the hanging hooks 1111, the head 1100 is raised. The lobes 13 of the movable support member 11 are now hooked by the hanging hooks 1111 to raise the movable support member 11 together with the head portion 1100. [ At this time, a clearance is generated between the movable support member 11 and the fixed support member 15 so that the substrate 500 is placed on the fixed support member 15, To be removed from the member (15).

The support member 12 of the movable support member 11 is rotated to fix the movable support member 11 to the fixed support member 15 and the movable support member 11 is moved And elevated and lowered by actuators, each of which operates in a single stroke through the head portion 1100. As a result, there is no need for a reciprocating and rotatable complex mechanism required for a conventional plating apparatus, the size of the plating apparatus is relatively small, its structure is simple, and it can be manufactured at a low cost. The conventional substrate holder including the movable support member 11 and the fixed support member 15 coupled to each other by the hinge requires a mechanism for lifting the movable support member 11 to be positioned below the table. The substrate holder 110 according to the present invention does not require a dedicated actuator for opening and closing the substrate holder 110. [

The sensors 1140 are positional detectors for positionally detecting the substrate 500 on the substrate holder 110 disposed on the table 120. The sensors 1140 are disposed on the outer circumference of the presser disc 110, Lt; / RTI > Hereinafter, the process of detecting the position of the substrate 500 will be described with reference to FIGS. 16A and 16B.

16A and 16B, each of the sensors 1140 of the substrate holder opening / closing mechanism 102 is located above the substrate holder 110. As shown in FIG. The sensor 1140 may be, for example, a laser sensor, but is not limited thereto. The plurality of sensors 1140 of the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism 102 can accurately detect the misalignment of the substrate 500. [ The fixed support member 15 of the substrate holder 110 has a recess 17 formed in the outer peripheral edge thereof aligned with the position at which the sensor 1140 applies the laser beam. For example, the substrate holder opening / closing mechanism 102 includes three sensors 1140, and the fixed holding member 15 is disposed at an outer peripheral edge of the substrate placing region 14, as shown in FIG. 17 And has three recesses (17). Each of the recesses 17 has a sloped bottom surface that is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the laser beam from the sensor 1140 and allows the plating liquid to flow from the recess 17, It is preferable that a constant distance be maintained between the inclined bottom surface of the sensor 17 and the sensor 1140.

The sensor 1140 measures the distance to the object and determines whether the measured distance is within a predetermined range. For example, the sensor 1140, which is located at a predetermined height, is spaced from the inclined bottom surface of the recess 17 by a distance A, If the distance A is detected as the distance to the bottom surface, the sensor 1140 does not measure the distance to the substrate 500 on the fixed support member 15 but measures the distance to the inclined bottom surface . Therefore, it is revealed that the substrate 500 is not located between the sensor 1140 and the inclined bottom surface, i.e., the recess 17.

On the other hand, if the sensor 1140 detects a distance W ₁ shorter than the distance A, as shown in FIG. 16B, the sensor 1140 measures the distance to the substrate 500, 500 are undergoing positional misalignment.

If the precise distances to the inclined bottom surfaces of the plurality of recesses 17 are measured by the corresponding sensors 1140 then the substrate 500 can be moved in any of the directions of the recesses 17 It does not have positional misalignment. Therefore, the positional misalignment of the substrate 500 can be detected more accurately.

The threshold value D for determining the positional misalignment of the substrate 500 is set to a proper value by adjusting the gradient R and the distance A of the sensor 1140 from a direction perpendicular to the substrate 500 . The threshold value D is preferably in the range of 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm.

If the substrate 500 is found not to be located between the sensors 1140 and the recesses 17, the substrate 500 may not be on the stationary support member 15. For example, the substrate 500 may be fixed to the movable support member 11, and may be lifted together with the movable support member 11. 18A and 18B, the sensor 1140 may be lifted as the head portion 1100 is lifted up, and the sensor 1140 may be lifted up by the recess 17 The distance from the position higher than the height previously measured in advance to the inclined lower surface of the recess 17 may be measured again.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 18A, when the sensor 1140 is elevated from a height previously measured in advance to a distance from the inclined lower surface of the recess 17 to the inclined lower surface of the recess 17, The sensor 1140 is spaced apart from the substrate 500 by a distance W ₂ . It is determined that the sensor 1140 measures an accurate distance to the substrate 500 if the sensor 1140 measures the distance W ₂ to the substrate 500, Is located on the support member 15.

On the other hand, if the sensor 1140 measures a distance B shorter than the distance W ₂ , as shown in FIG. 18B, the sensor 1140 can measure the distance to the inclined bottom surface of the recess 17 And it is found that the substrate 500 is not present on the fixed support member 15. [

The operation sequence of the substrate holder opening / closing mechanism 102 for disposing the substrate 500 in the substrate holder 110 and removing the substrate 500 from the substrate holder 110 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 22 I will explain.

19 is a perspective view showing a substrate holder 110 horizontally disposed on the table 120 by the substrate holder transfer unit 140. FIG. In this state, the head portion 1100 connected to the first actuator 1200 by the connecting boss 1170 is spaced upward from the substrate holder 110. The shaft 1130 extends from the head portion 1100 to a position above the second actuator 1300. The substrate holder 110 does not hold the substrate 500 and the movable support member 11 is held by the lobes 13 slightly engaging with the clamper 16, (Not shown).

The head 1100 is lowered by the first actuator 1200 so that the shaft 1130 is positioned between the two rollers 1340.

20, the second actuator 1300 is operated to release the movable support member 11 from the fixed support member 15, that is, to release the movable support member 11 from the clamper 16, 13). 20, the shaft hook 1330 is displaced in the direction indicated by the arrow X 'by the second actuator 1300 to rotate the rotation plate 1150 counterclockwise. Therefore, one of the fastening hooks 1151 pushes the projection 12a of the support member 12 to move the lobes 13 to the hanging hooks 1111, as described above.

The second actuator 1300 is moved to its initial position to return the shaft hook 1330 from the position shown in FIG. 20 to its intermediate position in the directions indicated by arrows X, X '. Then, the first actuator 1200 is actuated to raise the head portion 1100, so that the movable support member 11 is raised. The substrate transfer robot 180 then places the substrate 500 on the substrate placement area 14 of the fixed support member 15 as shown in FIG.

Then, the first actuator 1200 is operated to lower the head portion 1100 from the position shown in Fig. When the pressing blocks 1114 on the lower surface of the presser disk 1110 press the movable support member 11, the pressing blocks 1114 push the respective elastic members 30 inwardly They can reduce the difference in distance in which the seal rings 18 are compressed due to different thicknesses of the substrate holder 110. [

When the first actuator 1200 descends the head part 1100 and the second actuator 1300 moves the shaft hook 1330 in the direction indicated by the arrow X from the position shown in FIG. The shaft hook 1330 pushes the shaft 1130 in the direction indicated by the arrow X to rotate the rotating plate 1150 in the clockwise direction as shown in FIG. The fastening hooks 1151 push the protruding portion 12a of the support member 12 which is also rotated clockwise. The lobes 13 are now fitted with the clamper 16. The movable support member 11 is now fixed to the fixed support member 15 and grips the substrate 500 therebetween.

22 shows the lobes 13 and clamper 16 held by the substrate 500 while being gripped between the movable support member 11 and the fixed support member 15. [ If the movable support member 11 is to be temporarily fixed to the fixed support member 15 without the substrate 500 being gripped therebetween, the shaft hook 1330 may be moved from the position shown in Fig. 22 It may be stopped at a slightly advanced position.

22, after the lobes 13 and the clamper 16 are held in engagement with each other, the second actuator 1300 is moved to its initial position to move the shaft hook 1330 to its intermediate position And returns to the directions indicated by arrows X and X '. The substrate holder 110 holding the substrate 500 is then transferred by the substrate holder transfer unit 140 to the plating unit 130 where the substrate 500 is properly processed.

After the substrate 500 is processed, a substrate holder 110 holding the processed substrate 500 is disposed on the table 120, and the substrate 500 is held by the substrate holder opening / closing mechanism 102 And is removed from the substrate holder 110 by the substrate transfer robot 180. The process of separating the movable support member 11 from the stationary support member 15 to remove the substrate 500 from the substrate holder 110 may be performed in a manner substantially similar to that described above by using the first actuator 1200 ) And the second actuator (1300).

Figure 21 also shows the movable support member 11 lifted by the head portion 1100 after the substrate holder 110 holding the processed substrate 500 is placed on the table 120 . The substrate 500 is fixed to the first seal ring 18a and then raised and then falls into a misaligned position on the fixed support member 15 or the substrate 500 is moved to the movable support member 11 This difficulty, if left unchanged, is caused by the sensors 1140, as described above, when they measure distances to the substrate 500 and the fixed support member 15, (1100).

As described above, since the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism 102 is composed of a simple combination of components, its size is relatively small and its price is low. Since the substrate holder opening and closing mechanism 102 of the embodiment includes the sensors 1140 on the head portion 1100 movable in the vertical direction to detect the positional misalignments of the substrate 500, Regardless of whether the substrate 500 and the substrate holder 110 are deformed or not and whether water droplets are applied to the substrate 500, 0.0 > misalignments. ≪ / RTI > In addition, since the pressing blocks 1114 for pressing the substrate holder 1100 include the respective elastic members 30 therein, they can prevent the seal rings 18 from contacting the individual dimensions of the substrate holder 110 It is possible to reduce the difference in the distance to be compressed due to the characteristics of the substrate 500, thereby stabilizing the sealing ability of the seal ring 18 with respect to the substrate 500.

In this embodiment, the second actuator 1300 is disposed on the side of the table 120. Since the second actuator 1300 rotates the rotation plate 1150 with respect to the presser disk 1110, the second actuator 1300 rotates the rotation plate 1150 It may be mounted on the presser disc 1110. [ In this embodiment, the pressure blocks 1114, including the respective elastic members 30, reduce the difference in distance that the seal rings 18 are compressed due to different thicknesses of the substrate holder 110. However, the first actuator 1200 for moving the head unit 1100 in the vertical direction may include a servomotor having torque monitoring capability, and the servo motor may include a servo motor Descent, thereby making the force for compressing the seal rings 18 constant. In this way, the distance that the seal rings 18 are compressed may be constant regardless of the different thicknesses of the substrate holder 110.

The wagon-type stocker 150 (see Figs. 1 and 2) of the above embodiment is a stocker for storing the substrate holders 110, each extending in a vertical plane. The wagon-type stocker 150 can store therein as many substrate holders 110 as there are at least the number of compartments in the plating vessel 130f of the plating section 130. [ The wagon-type stocker 150 is configured to store an additional group of substrate holders 110 for use as backups to the substrate holders 110 that are found to be defective due to feed failure desirable.

The wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed in the stocker setting unit 160. As shown in FIG. 1, the stocker setting unit 160 is disposed adjacent to the back surface of the plating apparatus having the load ports 170 on the front surface of the plating apparatus. The stocker setting unit 160 and the wagon-type stocker 150 may be disposed at other positions, for example, between the table 120 and the plating unit 130. However, the table 120, the plating unit 130, and the stocker setting unit 160 must be continuously arranged as shown in FIG. 1 in order for higher efficiency, This is because it is suitable for high throughput per unit time. Specifically, when the plating apparatus is in continuous operation, after the substrate holder 110 has transferred the processed substrate 500 from the plating unit 130, the substrate holder 110 is moved to the next substrate 500 to be processed ). Therefore, if the substrate holder 110 does not experience difficulties such as feeding failure, the corresponding compartment in the wagon-type stocker 150 is left empty, and the transport time for the substrate holder 110 A loss may pass over the bin wagon-type stocker 150. In other words, when the plating apparatus is in continuous operation, the substrate holder 110 is not transported to the right beyond the point indicated by X shown in Fig.

If the wagon-type stocker 150 and thus the stocker setting unit 160 are disposed between the table 120 and the plating unit 130, the side wall of the plating apparatus facing the viewer of FIG. 1 is provided with an opening And the wagon-type stocker 150 must be taken into the stocker setting unit 160 and from the stocker setting unit 160 through the opening. However, the plating apparatus is spaced apart from the adjacent apparatus by a distance of about 1 m so that the operator takes the wagon-type stocker 150 into the stocker setting unit 160 and from the stocker setting unit 160, Providing a limited space for working on the type stocker 150. It is difficult to manufacture wagon-type stockers which are movable in such limited space and can store a plurality of substrate holders. According to the above-described embodiment, the stocker setting unit 160 is disposed adjacent to the back surface of the plating apparatus, because a relatively large space allows free access to the stocker setting unit 160 Because it is available behind the back of the plating apparatus.

Next, the structural details of the wagon-type stocker 150 will be described below. When the plating apparatus is shut down, that is, when the substrates 500 are not processed, the wagon-type stocker 150 stores all the substrate holders 110 therein. When the plating apparatus is in operation, that is, when the substrates 500 are processed, the substrate holders 110 or the unused substrate holders 110 suffer from a difficulty such as feeding failure stored in the wagon- The necessary substrate holders 110 are taken out of the wagon-type stockers 110 and the wagon-type stocker 150.

23 is a schematic view showing the structure of the wagon-type stocker 150. Fig. 23, the wagon-type stocker 150 includes a plurality of casters 151 as a mechanism for moving the wagon-type stocker 150, a plurality of casters 151, A plurality of hanger receivers 152 for supporting the hanger 112 of the hanger receiver 110 and a substrate holder swing preventing member 152 for preventing the substrate holders 110 hanged by the hanger receiver 152 from swinging, (153). The wagon-type stocker 150 further includes a pair of stocker locks 159 such as a latch or the like for locking the wagon-type stocker 150 to the stocker setting unit 160, a frame 155, A vertical roller 156, a horizontal roller 157, a drain pan 158, and a handle 154. Details of these components will be described later. The wagon-type stocker 150 has a substrate holder storage area formed in the frame 155 as a space for storing a plurality of substrate holders 110 therein.

Since the wagon-type stocker 150 includes caster 151 as a moving mechanism, the wagon-type stocker 150 is moved into the stocker setting unit 160 and from the stocker setting unit 160, And may be moved into and out of the plating apparatus. In the above embodiment, the casters 151 are used as the moving mechanism. However, the wagon-type stocker 150 may have another moving mechanism in place of the casters 151. [ For example, rails may be provided for slidably guiding the wagon-type stocker 150 into the stocker setting section 160 and from the stocker setting section 160. The wagon-type stocker 150 can be pulled from the stocker setting unit 160 in the plating apparatus and the substrate holders 110 can be pulled out of the plating apparatus into the wagon-type stocker 150, -Type stocker 150 and the substrate holders 110 are pulled out manually or from the wagon-type stocker 150 by a hoist in the plating apparatus, since they can be taken out of the wagon-type stocker 150, The burden on the operator is further reduced.

Since the wagon-type stocker 150 is movable by the casters 151, the wagon-type stocker 150 can be completely separated from the plating apparatus. After the wagon-type stocker 150 is completely separated from the plating apparatus, the wagon-type stocker 150 moves to a servicing area in the plating plant where the substrate holders 110 can be serviced . The relatively heavy substrate holders 110 may be pulled from the wagon-type stocker 150 by a fixed-hoist in the service area. If the wagon-type stocker 150 can not be detached from the plating apparatus, the moving hoist needs to be pulled by the plating apparatus, so that service processing for the wagon-type stocker 150 is tedious and time-consuming. However, the detachable wagon-type stocker 150 according to the above embodiment can be easily serviced.

Fig. 24 is a perspective view showing the structure of another wagon-type stocker 150. Fig. As shown in FIG. 24, the frame 155 of the wagon-type stocker 150 has a recess 155a formed in its side wall. The substrate holder 110 hanged from the hanger receiver 152 can be easily removed from the wagon-type stocker 150 through the recess 155a and the substrate holder 110 can be removed from the wagon-type stocker 150 150 and can be easily hooked from the hanger receiver 152 through the recess 155a. The recess 155a allows the substrate holders 110 to be inserted therethrough into the wagon-type stocker 150 and into the wagon-type stocker 150 without having to raise the substrate holders 110 from the wagon- So that it can be easily taken from the stocker 150.

25 is a schematic side view of the wagon-type stocker 150 and the stocker setting section 160 in the plating apparatus. 26 is a schematic rear view of the wagon-type stocker 150 and the stocker setting unit 160 in the plating apparatus.

It is preferable that the stocker setting unit 160 is disposed at a position adjacent to the back surface of the plating apparatus in a direction in which the transfer shaft 101 of the substrate holder transfer unit 140 extends, Since the substrate holder 110 does not pass over the empty wagon-type stocker 150 and the tact time is reduced, there is no transportation time loss at all. The stocker setting unit 160 may be disposed between the blower 130h and the table 120 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, rather than adjacent to the back surface of the plating apparatus. However, when the wagon-type stocker 150 is pulled from the stocker setting unit 160 between the table 120 and the blower tank 130h, the wagon- Lt; / RTI > Since the space on the side of the plating apparatus is limited by the adjacent apparatus and does not provide free access to the wagon-type stocker 150, the stocker setting unit 160 is disposed adjacent to the back surface of the plating apparatus .

25 and 26, the stocker setting unit 160 sets the stocker setting unit 160 to the stocker setting unit 160 and to the wagon-type stocker 150 to be taken out of the stocker setting unit 160 A door 161 disposed at an opening formed in the back surface of the plating apparatus and a function as an opening and closing apparatus for minimizing any gap in which ambient air flows into the plating apparatus when the door 161 is opened And a shutter 162. In this embodiment, the door 161 includes a lock mechanism that is operated together with the shutter 162. The locking mechanism locks the door 161 in a closed position when the shutter 162 is opened.

The locking mechanism of the embodiment includes a shutter switch 165a for locking the shutter 162 and a door switch 165b for locking the door 161. [ The shutter switch 165a and the door switch 165b are disposed in the stocker setting unit 160. [ Each of the shutter switch 165a and the door switch 165b is preferably an actuator-coupling switch. When the shutter 162 or the actuator mounted on the door 161 is inserted into the shutter switch 165a or the door switch 165b, the shutter switch 165a or the door switch 165b, (162) or the door (161) is closed, and locks the actuator to prevent the removal. When the unlock signal is supplied to the shutter switch 165a or the door switch 165b, the shutter switch 165a or the door switch 165b unlocks the actuator. The shutter 162 can not be opened when the shutter switch 165a is locking the actuator and the door 162 can not be opened when the door switch 165b is locking the actuator. The shutter switch 165a or the door switch 165b are operated together so that the door switch 165b can not be unlocked unless the shutter switch 165a is locked, The shutter switch 165a can not be unlocked. Either one of the shutter switch 165a and the door switch 165b is opened and the other is essentially closed so that the periphery of the plating section 130 and the substrate holder transfer section 140 Thereby minimizing the inflow of air.

The shutter switch 165a and the door switch 165b may each include a solenoid-operated safety switch. The rear panel of the plating apparatus may be used as an integrated door of the wagon-type stocker 150 instead of the door 161 of the stocker setting unit 160. [ The shutter 162 comprises a pivoted shutter which is angularly movable between a position opened by the shutter rotating mechanism 162a and a closed position for space saving. The stocker setting unit 160 detects the shutter 162 by the shutter switch 165a when the shutter 162 is opened or closed.

In the above embodiment, the stoker locks or latches 159 each include a latch handle 159a for firmly fixing the wagon-type stocker 150 to the stocker setting portion 160. [ When the wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed in the stocker setting unit 160, the stoker lock or the latches 159 can not move the wagon-type stocker 150 to the stocker setting unit 160 . A resilient block 167 made of rubber or the like is mounted on one end of the wagon-type stocker 150 so that when the wagon-type stocker 150 moves into the stocker setting section 160, The backside of the stocker setting unit 160, which serves as a leading end or the wagon-type stocker 150 is in contact with, enters the stocker setting unit 160. The elastic block 167 serves to reduce a shock when the back surfaces of the wagon-type stocker 150 and the stocker setting unit 160 contact each other. If the wagon-type stocker 150 is to be introduced into the stocker setting unit 160, the operator can move the wagon-type stocker 150 to the stocker setting unit 160 , And then fixes the wagon-type stocker 150 in place in the stocker setting unit 160 using the stocker lock or the latches 159. [

In the above-described embodiment, the stocker setting unit 160 sets the stocker-type stocker 150 at a time point when the wagon-type stocker 150 is taken into the stocker setting unit 160 and from the stocker setting unit 160, And a horizontal guide plate 163 disposed therein for adjusting the position and height of the guide plate 150. 27 is a plan view of the vertical roller 156 and the horizontal rollers 157 on the wagon-type stocker 150 and the guide plate 163 disposed on the stocker setting section 160. As shown in FIG. 28 is a side view of the vertical roller 156 and the horizontal rollers 157 on the wagon-type stocker 150 and the guide plate 163 disposed on the stocker setting section 160. Fig.

27 and 28, the wagon-type stocker 150 includes the vertical rollers 156 in addition to the casters 150, and the stocker setting unit 160 includes the guide plates 163). When the wagon-type stocker 150 is pushed into the stocker setting unit 160, the vertical rollers 156 ride on the guide plate 163. At this time, the casters 151 are lifted from the floor.

The individual plating devices usually have different heights from the floor. If the caster 151 is kept in contact with the floor when the stocker setting unit 160 does not include a guide plate and the wagon-type stocker 150 is pushed into the stocker setting unit 160, The wagon-type stocker 150 may not be properly positioned in a vertical direction with respect to different plating apparatuses. The wagon-type stocker 150 adjusted in the vertical direction with respect to one plating apparatus may not be properly positioned in the vertical direction with respect to another plating apparatus. This disadvantage is avoided by the guide plate 163 located vertically as a reference for providing common heights for the components in different plating apparatuses. Since the wagon-type stocker 150 is supported on the guide plate 163 when it is disposed in the stocker setting unit 160, the wagon-type stocker 150 can be commonly used in different plating apparatuses have. Unless otherwise noted, a plurality of wagon-type stockers 150 may be used in one plating apparatus.

In order to smoothly bring the wagon-type stocker 150 into the stocker setting unit 160, the guide plate 163 has a central vertical guide rail 163a, When the wagon-type stocker 150 is moved into the setting section 160, the horizontal rollers 157 on the wagon-type stocker 150 are kept in rolling contact with the sides of the guide rail 163a . When the horizontal rollers 157 are held in rolling contact with the side surfaces of the guide rails 163a, the horizontal rollers 157 restrict movement of the casters 151 laterally, As shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the guide plate 163 is sloped on its upper surface near its front end to allow the vertical rollers 156 to smoothly ride on the guide plate 163. 163b. The guide rails 163a are provided with a pair of slopes 163c on their opposite sides in the vicinity of the front end thereof so that the horizontal rollers 157 smoothly ride on the guide rails 163a Respectively. The guide rail 163a may have a greater width progressively in the direction away from the slopes 163c to gradually reduce the clearance between the horizontal rollers 157 and the guide rail 163a . The horizontal rollers 157 are thus moved in a smooth rolling contact with the guide rails 163a to thereby adjust the wagon-type stocker 150 to a more accurate position in the stocker setting section 160. [

Ball caster may be mounted on the guide plate 163 instead of the vertical rollers 156 on the wagon-type stocker 150 so that the wagon- The wagon-type stocker 150 may be moved on the ball casters on the guide plate 163 when pushed into the setting part 160. [ The wagon-type stocker 150 may include rollers, and the stocker setting unit 160 may include a guide for locally adjusting the wagon-type stocker 150 in the stocker setting unit 160 You may.

In this embodiment support columns 164 are mounted on the lower surface of the guide plate 163 to withstand the weight of the wagon-type stocker 150. The support columns 164 have a height adjustment function. The height of the entire plating apparatus from the floor is adjusted by adjusters 168 (see FIG. 25) on the lower surface of the plating apparatus. 25, the guide plate 163 has a left end fixed to the plating apparatus, and is adjusted to be placed parallel to the floor by the height adjustment function of the support columns 164.

The stocker setting unit 160 determines whether the wagon-type stocker 150 is in the stocker setting unit 160 and whether the wagon-type stocker 150 is in a proper position in the stocker setting unit 160 An unillustrated stocker detector such as an infrared sensor or a camera for determining whether or not it is fixed. The stocker setting unit 160 may also include an indicator such as a lamp for displaying to the operator whether or not the wagon-type stocker 150 is within the stocker setting unit 160. [

If the stocker detecting unit does not detect that the wagon-type stocker 150 is fixed at the proper position in the stocker setting unit 160 and the door switch 165b does not lock the door 161, An unlocking signal is not transmitted to the shutter switch 165a locking the shutter 162. [ That is, the shutter 162 is kept closed. This can prevent the substrate holders 110 from suffering difficulty in conveyance caused when the wagon-type stocker 150 is installed at the wrong position in the stocker setting unit 160, or can prevent the plating unit 130 And the ambient air introduced into the substrate holder transfer unit 140 can be prevented.

29A-29C, the latch handles 159a are mounted on the sidewalls of the wagon-type stocker 150 facing the door 161. As shown in Figs. The storeer setting unit 160 includes latch receivers 159b for receiving the respective latch handles 159a. The latch handles 159a and the latch receivers 159b together make up a latch or stoker lock 159 for locking the wagon-type stocker 150 to the stocker setting unit 160. [ . The door 161 has latch guides 169 on its surface facing the wagon-type stocker 150 for guiding the respective latch handles 159a.

29A is a schematic view showing the relationship between the latch guides 169 on the door 161 of the stocker setting unit 160 and the latch handles 159a on the wagon-type stocker 150. Fig. 29B is a side view showing the relationship between the surface of the door 161 on which the latch guides 169 are mounted and the latch handles 159a. 29C is an end cross-sectional view of the door 161 on which the latch guides 169 are mounted.

When the latch handles 159a engage with the latch receivers 159b, the wagon-type stocker 150 is locked in position within the stocker setter 160. [ The latch handles 159a are engaged with the latch receivers 159b while the latch handles 159a are being pushed by the latch receivers 159b under the reaction forces from the compressed elastic block 167 .

The latch guides 169 are disposed on the inner surface of the door 161 facing the wagon-type stocker 150 when the wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed in the stocker setting unit 160 . 29c, the latch guides 169 are in the form of ledges protruding from the door 161 and extending in a substantially horizontal direction, and the latch handles 159a As shown in Fig. In order to install the wagon-type stocker 150 on the stocker setting unit 160 and to close the door 161, the latch handles 159a are held substantially horizontal Lt; / RTI > direction.

In order to orient the latch handles 159a in a substantially horizontal direction, the wagon-type stocker 150 needs to be pushed into a predetermined position in the stocker setting unit 160. [ When the wagon-type stocker 150 is in a predetermined position in the stocker setting unit 160, the wagon-type stocker 150 may include the latch handles 159a and the latch receivers 159b And is locked to the stocker setting unit 160 by the latch 159. If the latch handles 159a are not oriented substantially in the horizontal direction, the latch handles 159a and the latch receivers 159b interfere with each other to prevent the door 161 from being closed. Therefore, if the wagon-type stocker 150 is not pushed into a predetermined position in the stocker setting unit 160, the door 161 can not be closed.

In this way, the wagon-type stocker 150 can be installed and locked at a predetermined position in the stocker setting unit 160. The wagon-type stocker 150 is configured to detect an unshown switch and undue movement for detecting when the latch handles 159a engage the latch receivers 159b in an appropriate position, And may include actuators (not shown) for fixing the latch handles 159a.

23, 25, and 26, the drain pan 158 is disposed below or at the bottom of the wagon-type stocker 150. As shown in FIG. 25, in order to take the substrate holder 110 held by the substrate holder transfer unit 140 into and out of the stocker setting unit 160 via the substrate holder 110, And an opening 166 is formed above the first electrode 160. The opening 166 is set smaller than the drain pan 158 in the wagon-type stocker 150. Accordingly, when the shutter 162 is opened and liquid drops fall through the opening 166, the liquid droplets are received by the drain pan 158 in the wagon-type stocker 150, It will not be soiled.

The stocker setting unit 160 may be of a size large enough to place the wagon-type stocker 150 therein. However, when the wogon-type stocker 150 is disposed in the stocker setting unit 160 such that an excessive amount of ambient air is not introduced into the plating unit 130 when the shutter 162 is opened, - It is desirable not to leave a large space between the type stocker (150) and the stocker setting part (160). It is possible to minimize the change in the area of the openings where the ambient air is sucked into the plating apparatus regardless of whether or not the wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed in the stocker setting unit 160, Partitions not shown may be provided around the wagon-type stocker 150 to prevent them from being discharged from the plating apparatus.

According to the plating apparatus of the above embodiment, even when the plating apparatus is in operation, the wagon-type stocker 150 can be removed from the plating apparatus, that is, the plating apparatus can be operated without interrupting the operation of the plating apparatus. And can be pulled from the outside of the outer panel. Accordingly, the wagon-type stocker 150 can be removed from the plating apparatus, and the substrate holders 110 can be serviced without deteriorating the operation efficiency of the plating apparatus. In order to take the wagon-type stocker 150 from the plating apparatus or into the plating apparatus while the plating apparatus is in operation, it is necessary to take account of the operational safety of the plating apparatus and to take account of the access to the wagon- It is desirable to make efforts to minimize air stream disturbances in the plating apparatus. When the plating apparatus is approaching the wagon-type stocker 150 while the plating apparatus is not operated, these requirements for minimizing the operational safety and airflow disturbance of the plating apparatus must be satisfied, and during the operation of the plating apparatus More strictly.

During the substrate holder transfer part 140 placing the substrate holder 110 into the wagon-type stocker 150 or removing the substrate holder 110 from the wagon-type stocker 150, And is preferably controlled to lock the wagon-type stocker 150 against removal from the plating apparatus. Therefore, the plating apparatus includes a substrate holder transfer control unit 210 (see FIG. 30) for grasping and controlling the operation states of the substrate holder transfer unit 140.

30 is a block diagram illustrating connections between the controller 200 of the plating apparatus, the substrate holder transfer unit 140, the stocker setup unit 160, the stocker access indicator 250, and the accessible / . 30, the plating apparatus includes a substrate holder transfer control unit 210, a stocker setting sub control unit 220, an indication controller 230, and a display control unit 240 And a control unit (200).

The substrate holder transfer control unit 210 monitors and controls the substrate holder transfer unit 140 and detects a signal detected from a sensor 144 (see FIGS. 4A to 4C) mounted on the substrate holder transfer unit 140 . The stocker setting sub control unit 220 includes a door switch 165b for locking the door 161, the door 161, the shutter 162 and a shutter 165a for locking the shutter 162 (Not shown).

The display control unit 230 receives an access indication from the stalker access indicator 250. The display control unit 240 controls the display unit 240 based on the information about whether the stocker setting unit 160 is accessible or not, which is received from the stocker setting sub control unit 220 and the substrate holder transfer control unit 210, (260) to indicate that the accessibility / accessibility indicator (160) is accessible or inaccessible.

The stocker approach indicator 250 may be used to start the process of taking the wagon-type stocker 150 from the stocker setting unit 160 and to start the process of taking the wagon- The display control unit 230 displays an end of a process for returning the substrate holder 160 to the stocker setting unit 160 and controls the substrate holder transfer unit 140 to limit access to the stocker setting unit 160. [ And controls the transmission control unit 210. The indicator 250 may be in the form of a dedicated button provided near the back surface of the plating apparatus or a touch-panel button for inputting a processing command. The indicator 250 displays the access to the wagon-type stalker 150 to the display control unit 230, which transmits the display to the substrate holder transfer control unit 210. The substrate holder transfer control unit 210 restricts access to the stocker setting unit 160 by the substrate holder transfer unit 140. [

When the indicator 250 displays an impending approach to the wagon-type stocker 150 on the display control unit 230, the display control unit 230 transmits the display to the stocker setting sub control unit 220 do. The stocker setting sub control unit 220 controls the operation of the stocker setting unit 160 based on the state of the stocker setting unit 160 and the operation state of the substrate holder transfer unit 140 that is detected by the substrate holder transfer control unit 210 ) To be accessible or inaccessible. The accessible / inaccessible display 260 displays the determined accessible or inaccessible to the operator.

The accessible / inaccessible display 260 may comprise a lamp, a GUI screen image, or a buzzer to indicate to an operator or device user that it is accessible or inaccessible. The accessible / inaccessible display 260 may be configured to allow the operator to easily recognize whether the stocker setting unit 160 is accessible and the state of the stocker setting unit 160, 150 may be provided in the stocker setting unit 160. [0050] FIG.

The access to the wagon-type stocker 150 is prohibited while the substrate holder transfer section 140 is operated to store the substrate holder 110 in the wagon-type stocker 150, The controller 220 determines that the wagon-type stocker 150 is inaccessible. When the stocker setting sub control unit 220 determines that the access to the wagon-type stocker 150 is inaccessible, the door 161 is reliably locked against an accidental opening.

The door 161 is locked by a switch 165 consisting of a combination of a shutter switch 165a for locking the shutter 162 and a door switch 165b for locking the door 161. [

In order to cope with a situation in which the door 161 is opened due to a predetermined reason such as a failure of the door switch 165b for locking the door 161 even if the shutter 162 is opened, An interlock mechanism may be used to generate an error signal based on a signal from the open / close sensor and to detect when the door 161 is opened have.

The sensor 144 (see Figs. 4A-4C) mounted on the substrate holder transfer section 140 may also include the number of substrate holders 110 stored in the wagon- As shown in Fig. When the plating apparatus is initialized, the sensor 144 detects the number and positions of the substrate holders 110 stored in the wagon-type stocker 150. Subsequently, according to a command to initiate the plating process, the substrate holder transfer unit 140 removes the substrate holder 110 from the wagon-type stocker 150. The controller 200 of the plating apparatus grasps every time the substrate holder 110 is taken from the wagon-type stocker 150. Accordingly, immediately before the wagon-type stocker 150 is removed from the stocker setting unit 160, it is possible to determine how many substrate holders 110 are stored in the wagon-type stocker 150, The control unit 200 can recognize it. Also, the substrate holders 110 may be detected and checked again immediately before the wagon-type stocker 150 is removed from the stocker setting unit 160.

The wagon-type stocker 150 is removed from the plating apparatus, the substrate holders 110 stored therein are serviced, and the wagon-type stocker 150 is returned to the plating apparatus. When the wagon-type stocker 150 is returned to the stocker setting unit 160, the sensor 144 detects the substrate holders 110 in the wagon-type stocker 150. At this time, the sensor 144 detects that the number of substrate holders 110 detected after the wagon-type stocker 150 is returned to the stocker setting unit 160 is larger than the number of the substrate holders 110 detected by the wagon- A warning signal may be issued if it is greater than the number of substrate holders 110 detected before being taken from the setting unit 160. [ The sensor 144 may be used to detect warnings because the increased number of substrate holders 110 means that the wagon-type stocker 150 has no space for the substrate holder 101 used in the plating apparatus to return Signal.

When the wagon-type stocker 150 is removed from the plating apparatus, the substrate holder 110 stored therein is serviced and the serviced substrate holder 110 is returned to the wagon-type stocker 150 , The serviced substrate holder 110 may be stored in the wagon-type stocker 150 at a different location from where it was removed. At this time, when the serviced substrate holder 110 is returned to the wagon-type stocker 150, the substrate holders 110 are detected as described above, The positional information of the substrate holders 110 is updated. Therefore, when the substrate holder transferring portion 140 returns the substrate holder 110 to the wagon-type stocker 150, the substrate holder 110 must be stored at a position already occupied by another substrate holder 110 The sensor 144 detects the substrate holder 110 already occupying the position and generates a signal for stopping the substrate holder transferring part 140 from returning the substrate holder 110. [ The sensor 144 does not necessarily have to be installed in the substrate holder transfer part 140 but may be arranged at any position capable of detecting the number and positions of the substrate holders 110 stored in the wagon- As shown in FIG.

In order to securely take the wagon-type stocker 150 into and out of the stocker setting unit 160, the wagon-type stocker 150 is inserted into the stocker setting unit 160, The substrate holder transferring unit 140 is prevented from moving to a position above the stocker setting unit 160 when taken from the setting unit 160. [ The substrate holder transfer unit 140 is prevented from being moved to a position above the stocker setting unit 160 by a servo motor driver for moving the substrate holder transfer unit 140, for example.

The procedure for disposing the wagon-type stocker 150 in the stocker setting unit 160 or removing the wagon-type stocker 150 from the stocker setting unit 160 will be described with reference to FIGS. 31A to 31E . 31A to 31E schematically show a procedure for disposing the wagon-type stocker 150 into the stocker setting unit 160 or removing the wagon-type stocker 150 from the stocker setting unit 160 They are one perspective.

First, as shown in FIG. 31A, the wagon-type stocker 150 is moved to a position near the door 161 of the stocker setting unit 160. Then, as shown in Fig. 31B, the door 161 is opened. The door 161 may be manually opened or may be automatically opened when detecting the wagon-type stocker 150 that the sensor is approaching. 31 (c), the wagon-type stocker 150 is moved to a predetermined position in the stocker setting unit 160. As shown in FIG. 31D, it is confirmed that the wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed at a predetermined position in the stocker setting unit 160, and then the door 161 is closed. 31E, after confirming that the wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed at a predetermined position in the stocker setting section 160 and that the door 161 is closed, The shutter 162 in the shutter 160 is opened. The stocker setting unit 160 may have a display for indicating that the shutter 162 is opened and the wagon-type stocker 150 is ready for the plating process.

The wagon-type stocker 150 is removed from the stocker setting unit 160 as follows.

First, as shown in Fig. 31D, after confirming that the door 161 is closed, the shutter 162 is closed. Then, as shown in Fig. 31C, the door 161 is opened. The wagon-type stocker 150 now starts to move from the stocker setting unit 160. 31B, the wagon-type stocker 150 is moved from the stocker setting unit 160 until the wagon-type stocker 150 is completely separated from the stocker setting unit 160 . As shown in FIG. 31A, after confirming that the wagon-type stocker 150 is completely separated from the stocker setting unit 160, the door 161 is closed.

The processing for disposing the wagon-type stocker 150 in the stocker setting unit 160 or for removing the wagon-type stocker 150 from the stocker setting unit 160 will be described below with reference to FIG. 32 . Figure 32 is a flow chart of the procedure, in which successive steps are denoted by reference numerals using the prefix "S ".

When the plating apparatus is in normal operation, the wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed in the stocker setting unit 160, the door 161 is closed and locked, and the shutter 162 is opened S101).

If it is necessary to remove the wagon-type stocker 150 from the stocker setter 160 to service the substrate holders 110 in the wagon-type stocker 150, Type storeer 150 from the storeer setting unit 160, the display control unit 230 receives the display from the indicator 250 (step S102) ). When the display control unit 230 receives the display from the indicator 250, the substrate holder transfer control unit 210 checks the state of the substrate holder transfer unit 140. The substrate holder transfer unit 140 may transfer the substrate holder 110 to the substrate holder transfer unit 140 based on the state of the substrate holder transfer unit 140 identified by the substrate holder transfer unit 210. [ On the basis of whether or not the substrate holder 110 is removed from the wagon-type stocker 150 or whether the substrate holder transfer unit 140 is placing the substrate holder 110 in the wagon-type stocker 150, It is determined whether or not the access point 150 is accessible or inaccessible (step S103).

If the stalker setting sub control unit 220 determines that the wagon-type stocker 150 is inaccessible, the display control unit 240 controls the display unit 240 to display the wagon- Enable / disallow display 260 (step S104). At this time, the door 161 remains locked and can not be opened. If the state of the substrate holder transfer unit 140 is changed after a while and the stocker setting sub control unit 220 determines that the wagon-type stocker 150 is accessible, control proceeds to step S105.

When the stoker setting sub-control unit 220 determines that the wagon-type stocker 150 is accessible, the display control unit 240 displays the access / Disabled display 260 (step S105). The shutter 162 is closed and locked by the switch 165a and the door 161 is released by the switch 165b to release the interlock mechanism. The stocker setting sub control unit 220 now allows the door 161 to be opened (step S106).

When the door 161 is opened to allow access to the wagon-type stocker 150, the stocker lock or latches 159 may be manually released. Removal of the wagon-type stocker 150 from the stocker setting unit 160 is detected by the stocker setting sub-control unit 220 through a sensor or the like mounted on the stocker setting unit 160 (step S107) .

After the wagon-type stocker 150 is removed from the stocker setting unit 160, the door 161 is closed and the closing of the door 161 is detected by the stocker setting sub control unit 220 (Step S108). The substrate holders 110 in the wagon-type stocker 150 removed from the stocker setting unit 160 are taken out from the wagon-type stocker 150 and are serviced (step S109). When the service of the substrate holders 110 is completed, the door 161 is opened and the wagon-type stocker 150 returns to the stocker setting unit 160. The opening of the door 161 is detected by the stocker setting sub-control unit 220 (step S110).

The wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed in the stocker setting unit 160, and is then locked by the stocker lock or latches 159. The locking of the wagon-type stocker 150 in the stocker setting unit 160 by the stoker lock or the latches 159 is detected by the stocker setting sub control unit 220 (step S111). After the wagon-type stocker 150 is disposed in the stocker setting unit 160 and locked therein by the stoker lock or latches 159, the door 161 is closed. The closing of the door 161 is detected by the stocker setting sub control unit 220 (step S112).

When the indicator 250 transmits a completion indication of installation of the wagon-type storeer 150, the display controller 230 receives the indication from the indicator 250 (step S113). The stocker setting sub control unit 220 controls the switch 165b to lock the door 161 and controls the switch 165a to release and open the shutter 162 in step S114. After the shutter 162 is closed at step S105, the shutter 162 is kept closed to block ambient air entering up to step S114.

In this embodiment, the wagon-type stocker 150 stores substrate holders 110 therein. If the plating apparatus is an electroplating apparatus for performing electroplating, the wagon-type stocker 150 may store therein anode holders to be used for the plating baths therein, Both of the holders may be stored. When the substrate holders 110 and anode holders are stored in the wagon-type stocker 150, the substrate holder storage area for storing the substrate holders 110 in the wagon- And functions as an anode holder storage region for storing.

The anode holder for holding the anode is disposed in the plating solution of the plating bath. In the plating bath, an anode held by the anode holder and a substrate 500 held by the substrate holder 110 are arranged in a mutually facing relationship with their surfaces placed in parallel with each other. When the plating power source supplies a current between the anode and the substrate 500, the surface to be plated of the substrate 500 exposed from the substrate holder 110 is electroplated. A similar anode holder in the outer profile for the substrate holder 110 shown in FIG. 3 includes a body, a hanger, and a handlebar, for example, an anode on the body. The anode held by the anode holder is electrically connected to power feeder contacts on the hanger in substantially the same manner as shown in Fig.

The anode holder is disposed in the wagon-type stocker 150 as follows: First, the anode holder is pulled upward from the plating bath. The anode holder typically has an anode back to prevent the anode slime from being scattered. Therefore, when the anode holder is pulled upward from the plating bath, the plating liquid is continuously dripped from the anode bag for several minutes. After the plating liquid droplets are dripped at sufficiently spaced intervals, the anode holder is rinsed in a rinse bath. When most of the rinse water is removed from the anode holder, the anode holder is moved back to the wagon-type stocker 150. Since the plating liquid is still dripped from the anode holder even after the anode holder is stored in the wagon-type stocker 150, the drain pan 158 (see FIG. 1) on or below the bottom of the wagon- ) Accommodates and holds the dipped plating solution.

The wagon-type stocker 150, which stores anode holders, provides the same advantages as those of the wagon-type stocker 150 that stores substrate holders 110. Specifically, the wagon-type stocker 150 can be pulled from the plating apparatus and anode holders can be taken from the wedon-type stocker 150 and from the wagon-type stocker 150 outside the plating apparatus There is less burden on the operator than when the anode holders are taken into the wagon-type stocker and manually from the wagon-type stocker or by the hoist in the plating apparatus.

In the above embodiment, the wagon-type stocker 150 is used as a stocker. For example, a stocker configured to move into and out of the stocker setting section along the rails may be used in place of the wagon-type stocker 150.

While certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in detail, it will be apparent that various modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (11)

A table for horizontally arranging a substrate holder for detachably holding the substrate,
A plating processing unit for holding the plating liquid and vertically immersing the substrate detachably held on the substrate holder to perform a plating process;
And a substrate holder transferring portion for transferring the substrate holder between the table and the plating processing portion, the substrate holder transferring portion having a holding portion for holding the substrate holder,
Wherein the table has a horizontal moving mechanism capable of moving in a horizontal direction while supporting a lower end portion of the substrate holder,
The substrate holder transferring part moves the substrate holder in the horizontal direction from the vertical state to the horizontal state by lifting the holding part in a state in which the lower end of the substrate holder is supported by the horizontal moving mechanism, Or an elevating mechanism for converting a horizontal state to a vertical state. The method according to claim 1,
And a substrate holder detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of holding by said substrate holder sending unit of said substrate holder. 3. The method of claim 2,
And an elevator restoring unit for suspending an operation of the elevating mechanism when the substrate holder detecting unit detects that the holding unit is not holding the substrate holder. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the substrate holder has a round bar-shaped handle bar, and the holding part holds the handle bar. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the holding portion is shaped to rotatably support the handle bar. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the lower end of the substrate holder has a semicircular shape as viewed in a direction perpendicular to both the moving direction of the horizontal moving mechanism and the lifting direction of the holding portion. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the horizontal moving mechanism is biased in the direction of the lowering position by the weight suspended from the horizontal moving mechanism. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
Wherein the substrate holder transferring portion has a clamper for preventing a swing of the substrate holder during transfer of the substrate holder. CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A method of converting an attitude of a substrate holder for removably holding a substrate,
Holding one end of the substrate holder by the holding part of the substrate holder transfer part,
Wherein the substrate holder transfer section moves the substrate holder on the table,
And the other end of the substrate holder contacts the horizontal moving mechanism of the table,
Wherein the holding part further descends to move the horizontal moving mechanism in a horizontal direction so that the substrate holder transitions from a vertical state to a horizontal state. 10. The method of claim 9,
The substrate holder transferring portion may be configured such that after the other end portion of the substrate holder contacts the horizontal moving mechanism and before the holding portion further descends to move the horizontal moving mechanism in the horizontal direction, Wherein the holder is moved so as to tilt the holder at a predetermined angle. The substrate holder is placed on the table by a substrate holder transferring unit for holding the substrate holder,
Mounting and holding a substrate on the substrate holder disposed on the table,
Holding one end of the substrate holder by the holding part of the substrate holder transfer part,
A horizontal moving mechanism for moving the horizontal moving mechanism supporting the other end of the substrate holder as the horizontal moving mechanism on the table while lifting the holding part to convert the attitude of the substrate holder from a horizontal state to a vertical state,
The substrate holder moves the substrate holder above the plating processing unit holding the plating liquid,
Wherein the substrate holder is lowered by the substrate holder transferring unit to immerse the substrate holder in the plating liquid.

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