KR20210080776A - Film-forming system and substrate conveying system - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a film forming system comprises: a film forming chamber for forming a film on a substrate; and a conveying chamber disposed adjacent to the film forming chamber, wherein a conveying robot for giving and taking to and from with the film forming chamber while holding the substrate is installed in the conveying chamber. The conveying chamber includes a substrate cooling unit for cooling the substrate.

Description

Film formation system and substrate transfer system {FILM-FORMING SYSTEM AND SUBSTRATE CONVEYING SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a film formation system and a substrate transport system.

In the manufacture of an organic EL display device (organic EL display), when an organic light emitting element (organic EL element; OLED) constituting an organic EL display device is formed, the deposition material evaporated from the deposition source of the film forming device is used as a pixel pattern. By depositing on the substrate through the formed mask, an organic material layer or a metal layer is formed.

In the film forming apparatus, a cooling mechanism for suppressing the temperature rise of the substrate is provided together with the substrate stage in order to suppress the deterioration or deterioration of the deposited organic material when the organic material layer or the metal layer is formed. For example, the cooling mechanism is provided on the substrate stage in the form of a cooling plate provided with a cooling passage through which the refrigerant flows.

In the film forming apparatus, in order to further increase the film forming accuracy, the relative position of the substrate and the mask is measured before the film forming process, and if the relative position is out of alignment, the position is adjusted (aligned) by moving the substrate and/or the mask relatively. . The alignment between the substrate and the mask is performed in two stages: rough alignment and fine alignment. In rough alignment, the approximate position adjustment between a board|substrate and a mask is performed. In fine alignment, the relative position of a board|substrate and a mask is adjusted with high precision.

In general, a plurality of deposition chambers are installed in one deposition cluster. Since both rough alignment and fine alignment are performed in each deposition chamber, the alignment process takes a considerable amount of time, resulting in an increase in tact time. there was.

Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-192898) proposes a technique for performing an alignment process in an alignment chamber of a relay device before loading a substrate from the relay device to the film forming cluster in an electronic device manufacturing apparatus. have.

However, in the conventional electronic device manufacturing apparatus, since the substrate is cooled after being placed on the substrate stage in the film formation chamber, it takes a long time for cooling, which is a factor of increasing the tact time. In addition, in order to shorten the cooling time, the cooling mechanism must be enlarged, but there is a limit to the enlargement of the cooling mechanism due to the limited space of the deposition chamber.

Moreover, in the said patent document 1, since the board|substrate is conveyed to the film-forming chamber via a conveyance chamber even after alignment in the alignment chamber, the positional shift of a board|substrate may generate|occur|produce at the time of conveyance in this conveyance chamber.

The present invention is to provide a film formation system and a substrate transfer system, which can reduce the time required for alignment as well as the cooling time of the substrate in the deposition chamber, thereby suppressing the increase in the tact time, and saving the space in the deposition chamber. The purpose.

A film forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a film forming chamber for forming a film on a substrate, and a transfer chamber arranged adjacent to the film forming chamber and provided with a transfer robot for communicating with the film forming chamber while holding the substrate. and, the transfer chamber includes a substrate cooling unit for cooling the substrate.

A substrate transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention is a substrate transport system in which a substrate is transported in the order of a first relay device, a transport device, a film forming device, and a second relay device, wherein the transport device includes: a container; a substrate cooling unit for cooling the substrate, and a transport robot disposed in the container to hold and transport the substrate, wherein the substrate transport system comprises: the transport device and the transport robot; and a transfer control unit for controlling, wherein the transfer control unit controls the transfer robot to transfer the substrate loaded into the container from the first relay device to the substrate cooling unit and then to the film forming apparatus. do.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a tact time can be shortened and productivity can be improved. In addition, it is possible to save space in the deposition room.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic diagram of a part of the manufacturing apparatus of an electronic device.
2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a film forming apparatus.
3 is a schematic diagram of a substrate transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4A is a plan view and a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an example of a cooling plate provided in a substrate cooling unit of the substrate transfer system of FIG. 3 .
4B is a plan view and a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating another example of a cooling plate provided in a substrate cooling unit of the substrate transfer system of FIG. 3 .
5A is a schematic diagram of a substrate transport system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5B is a schematic diagram of a substrate transport system according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6A is a diagram schematically showing a transfer path of a substrate in the substrate transfer system of FIG. 3 .
FIG. 6B is a diagram schematically showing a transfer path of a substrate in the substrate transfer system of FIG. 5A .
FIG. 6C is a diagram schematically showing a substrate transport path in the substrate transport system of FIG. 5B .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments and examples are merely illustrative of preferred configurations of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these configurations. In addition, in the following description, the hardware configuration and software configuration of the device, processing flow, manufacturing conditions, size, material, shape, etc. are intended to limit the scope of the present invention to these unless specifically stated otherwise. no.

The present invention can be applied to an apparatus for forming a film by depositing various materials on the surface of a substrate, and can be preferably applied to an apparatus for forming a thin film (material layer) of a desired pattern by vacuum deposition. As the material of the substrate, any material such as glass, a film made of a polymer material, or a metal can be selected. For example, the substrate may be a substrate in which a film such as polyimide is laminated on a glass substrate. Moreover, arbitrary materials, such as an organic material and a metallic material (metal, metal oxide, etc.), can be selected also as a vapor deposition material. In addition to the vacuum deposition apparatus described in the following description, the present invention can also be applied to a film forming apparatus including a sputtering apparatus or a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus. The technique of this invention is specifically applicable to manufacturing apparatuses, such as an organic electronic device (For example, organic electroluminescent element, a thin film solar cell), an optical member. Among them, an organic EL device manufacturing apparatus for forming an organic EL device by evaporating a vapor deposition material and depositing it on a substrate through a mask is one of preferred application examples of the present invention.

<Electronic device manufacturing apparatus>

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a top view which shows typically the structure of a part of the manufacturing apparatus of an electronic device.

The manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 is used for manufacture of the display panel of an organic electroluminescent display apparatus, for example. For example, in the case of a display panel for VR HMD, after forming a film for forming an organic EL element on a silicon wafer of a predetermined size, the silicon wafer is cut out along the region (scribe region) between the element formation regions. Manufactured from a plurality of small-sized panels. In the case of display panels for smartphones, the 4.5th generation substrate (approximately 700 mm × approximately 900 mm), the 6th generation full size (approximately 1500 mm × approximately 1850 mm) or half-cut size (approximately 1500 mm × approximately 925 mm) ) is formed on the substrate for forming an organic EL element, and then the substrate is cut out to produce a plurality of small-sized panels.

An electronic device manufacturing apparatus generally includes a plurality of cluster apparatuses 1 and a relay device connecting between the cluster apparatuses 1 .

A cluster apparatus 1 as a film forming system includes a plurality of film forming apparatuses 11 or a film forming chamber for performing processing (eg, film forming) on a substrate W, and a plurality of mask stock apparatuses for accommodating the masks M before and after use. (12) and a transfer chamber (13) or a transfer device arranged at the center thereof. The transfer chamber 13 is connected to each of a plurality of film forming apparatuses 11 and a mask stock apparatus 12 as shown in FIG. 1 .

In the transfer chamber 13 , a transfer robot 14 that transfers a substrate or a mask is disposed. The transport robot 14 transports the substrate W from the pass chamber 15 of the relay device arranged on the upstream side to the film forming device 11 . In addition, the transfer robot 14 transfers the mask M between the film forming apparatus 11 and the mask stock apparatus 12 . The transfer robot 14 may be, for example, a robot having a structure in which a robot hand holding the substrate W or the mask M is mounted on an articulated arm.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, before the substrate W carried in from the pass chamber 15 is carried into the film forming apparatus 11 , a cooling mechanism (not shown) installed in the transfer chamber 13 is used. The substrate W is cooled. In addition, before carrying in the substrate W cooled by the cooling mechanism into the film forming apparatus 11, you may further perform an alignment process (for example, rough alignment) with respect to the board|substrate W. The cooling process and alignment process for the substrate W performed in the transfer chamber 13 and the detailed configuration of the apparatus (substrate cooling unit and alignment unit) therefor will be described later.

In the film-forming apparatus 11 (it is also called a vapor deposition apparatus), the vapor deposition material accommodated in the vapor deposition source is heated by a heater, and evaporates, and is vapor-deposited on the board|substrate W through the mask M. The transfer of the substrate W/mask M with the transfer robot 14, adjustment (alignment) of the relative position of the substrate W and the mask M, and of the substrate W on the mask M A series of film-forming processes such as fixing and film-forming (evaporation) are performed by the film-forming apparatus 11 .

In the mask stock apparatus 12 , a new mask and a used mask to be used in the film forming process in the film forming apparatus 11 are divided and stored in two cassettes. The transfer robot 14 transfers the used mask from the film forming apparatus 11 to the cassette of the mask stock apparatus 12 , and transfers a new mask stored in another cassette of the mask stock apparatus 12 to the film forming apparatus 11 . return to

The cluster device 1 has a path chamber 15 for transferring the substrate W from the upstream side in the flow direction of the substrate W to the cluster device 1 , and the cluster device 1 has a film forming process completed. A buffer chamber 16 for transferring the substrate W to another cluster device on the downstream side is connected. Depending on the embodiment, instead of the buffer chamber 16 , a pass chamber for transferring the substrate W to the downstream cluster apparatus may be directly connected to the cluster apparatus 1 . The transfer robot 14 in the transfer chamber 13 receives the substrate W from the pass chamber 15 on the upstream side, and receives one of the film forming apparatuses 11 in the cluster apparatus 1 (eg, the film forming apparatus 11a). ) is returned to In addition, the transfer robot 14 receives the substrate W on which the film forming process in the cluster apparatus 1 has been completed from one of the plurality of film forming apparatuses 11 (eg, the film forming apparatus 11b), and is connected to the downstream side. It is conveyed to the buffer chamber 16 or the pass chamber.

Between the buffer chamber 16 and the pass chamber 15, a turning chamber 17 for changing the direction of the substrate may be provided. In the turning chamber 17 , a transfer robot 18 for receiving the substrate W from the buffer chamber 16 and rotating the substrate W by 180 degrees to transfer it to the path chamber 15 is installed. Through this, the orientation of the substrate W is the same in the upstream cluster device and the downstream cluster device, thereby facilitating substrate processing.

The pass chamber 15, the buffer chamber 16, and the vortex chamber 17 are so-called relay devices connecting the cluster devices. The relay devices installed on the upstream and/or downstream side of the cluster device include the pass chamber and the buffer chamber. , including at least one of the turning rooms.

The film forming apparatus 11 , the mask stock apparatus 12 , the transfer chamber 13 , the buffer chamber 16 , the swirl chamber 17 and the like are maintained in a high vacuum state during the manufacturing process of the organic light emitting device. The pass chamber 15 is normally maintained in a low vacuum state, but may be maintained in a high vacuum state if necessary.

In the present embodiment, the configuration of the electronic device manufacturing apparatus has been described with reference to FIG. 1 , but the present invention is not limited thereto, and other types of apparatuses or chambers may be provided, and arrangements between these apparatuses or chambers may vary. have. For example, in the present invention, after aligning and bonding the substrate W and the mask M not in the film forming apparatus 11 but in a separate apparatus or chamber, they are mounted on a carrier and transported through the film forming apparatus arranged in a line. It can also be applied to an in-line-type manufacturing apparatus that performs a film forming process while making the film.

The electronic device manufacturing apparatus includes a control unit (not shown). The control unit controls the transfer of the substrate W in the relay devices 15 , 16 , the transfer of the substrate between the relay devices 15 , 16 and the transfer chamber 13 , and the like. The control unit also controls the cooling and alignment of the substrate W in the transfer chamber 13 as well as the transfer of the substrate W between the transfer chamber 13 and the film forming apparatus 11 in the film forming cluster. , which will be described in detail later.

Hereinafter, the specific structure of the film-forming apparatus 11 is demonstrated.

<Film forming device>

2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the film forming apparatus 11 . In the following description, directions perpendicular to each other on a plane (XY plane) parallel to the film formation surface of the substrate W are defined as the X direction (first direction) and Y direction (second direction), and the film formation of the substrate An XYZ Cartesian coordinate system in which the vertical direction perpendicular to the surface is the Z direction (third direction) is used. In addition, the rotation angle (rotation direction) around the Z axis is expressed as θ.

The film forming apparatus 11 includes a vacuum container 21 maintained in a vacuum atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen gas, a substrate support unit 22 installed in the vacuum container 21 , and a mask support unit 23 , , an electrostatic chuck 24 , and an evaporation source 25 .

The substrate holding unit 22 is a means for receiving and holding the substrate W transferred by the transfer robot 14 installed in the transfer chamber 13 , and is also called a substrate holder.

The mask holding unit 23 is a means for receiving and holding the mask M transported by the transport robot 14 installed in the transport chamber 13 , and is also called a mask holder.

The mask M has an opening pattern corresponding to the thin film pattern to be formed on the substrate W, and is supported by the mask support unit 23 . As a material of the mask M, a metal may be sufficient, or a material through which light, such as silicon and glass, permeate|transmits may be sufficient.

An electrostatic chuck 24 serving as a substrate adsorption means for adsorbing and fixing the substrate W is installed above the substrate support unit 22 . The electrostatic chuck 24 may be an electrostatic chuck of a Coulomb force type in which a relatively high-resistance dielectric is interposed between the electrode and the adsorption surface and adsorption is performed by the Coulomb force between the electrode and the adsorbed body, or between the electrode and the adsorption surface. An electrostatic chuck of a Johnson-Rahbek force type in which a dielectric with relatively low resistance is interposed and adsorption is performed by Johnson-Rabeck force generated between the adsorption surface of the dielectric and an adsorbed body. type electrostatic chuck.

When the adsorbed body is a conductor or a semiconductor (silicon wafer), it is preferable to use a Coulomb force type electrostatic chuck or a Johnson-Rabeck force type electrostatic chuck, and when the adsorbent is an insulator such as glass, a gradient force type electrostatic chuck It is preferable to use a chuck.

The electrostatic chuck 24 may be formed as a single plate, or may be formed to have a plurality of sub-plates capable of independently controlling the adsorption force. In addition, even when a single plate is formed, a plurality of electrode parts may be included therein so that the adsorption force can be independently controlled for each electrode part within one plate.

As the substrate adsorption means, in addition to the electrostatic chuck by electrostatic attraction, an adhesive pad by adhesive force may be used.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a cooling plate for suppressing the temperature rise of the substrate W in the electrostatic chuck 24 . As described above, the substrate W is cooled by the cooling mechanism (substrate cooling unit) installed in the transfer chamber 13 while waiting in the transfer chamber 13 before being loaded into the film forming apparatus 11 , It is not necessary to cool the board|substrate W while the film-forming process advances in the film-forming apparatus 11. As shown in FIG. According to this, the configuration of the film forming apparatus 11 is simplified, and the space in the film forming apparatus 11 can be saved.

Alternatively, as shown in the figure, the organic material deposited on the substrate W is provided by providing the cooling plate 30 for suppressing the temperature rise of the substrate W on the opposite side to the adsorption surface of the electrostatic chuck 24 . It is good also as a structure which suppresses the alteration and deterioration of the. In this case, since the substrate W is primarily cooled in the transfer chamber 13, even if the size of the cooling plate 30 is small, during the film forming process, deterioration or deterioration of the organic material can be prevented. The temperature of the substrate W may be kept low.

The deposition source 25 is a crucible (not shown) in which the deposition material to be formed on the substrate is accommodated, a heater (not shown) for heating the crucible, and the deposition material scatters to the substrate until the evaporation rate from the deposition source becomes constant. and a shutter (not shown) that blocks the screen. The deposition source 25 may have various configurations according to uses, such as a point deposition source or a linear deposition source.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the film forming apparatus 11 includes a film thickness monitor (not shown) and a film thickness calculation unit (not shown) for measuring the film thickness deposited on the substrate.

A substrate support unit actuator 26 , a mask support unit actuator 27 , an electrostatic chuck actuator 28 , a positioning mechanism 29 , and the like are provided on the upper outer side (atmospheric side) of the vacuum vessel 21 . These actuators and the positioning mechanism are constituted by, for example, a motor and a ball screw, or a motor and a linear guide. The substrate supporting unit actuator 26 is a driving means for lifting (moving in the Z direction) the substrate supporting unit 22 . The mask support unit actuator 27 is a driving means for raising/lowering the mask support unit 23 (moving in the Z direction). The electrostatic chuck actuator 28 is a driving means for lifting (moving in the Z direction) the electrostatic chuck 24 .

The positioning mechanism 29 is a means for adjusting the relative position of the substrate W and the mask M, and is an alignment stage mechanism. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 , the positioning mechanism 29 moves the electrostatic chuck 24 or the electrostatic chuck actuator 28 as a whole with respect to the substrate support unit 22 and the mask support unit 23 in XYθ. It moves and/or rotates in a direction (at least one of the X direction, the Y direction, and the rotation direction). In the present embodiment, alignment is performed to adjust the relative positions of the substrate W and the mask M by positioning the electrostatic chuck 24 in the XYθ direction while the substrate W is adsorbed. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and for example, the positioning mechanism 29 is not the electrostatic chuck 24 or the electrostatic chuck actuator 28 , but the substrate support unit 22 or the substrate support unit actuator 26 . ) and the mask support unit 23 or the mask support unit actuator 27 may have a configuration capable of relatively moving in the XYθ direction with respect to the electrostatic chuck 24 .

On the outer upper surface of the vacuum container 21, in addition to the driving mechanism and the positioning mechanism described above, the alignment mark formed on the substrate W and the mask M through the transparent window installed on the upper surface of the vacuum container 21. A camera 31 for alignment is installed. The camera 31 for alignment is provided in the position corresponding to the alignment mark formed in the board|substrate W and the mask M. For example, in the circular board|substrate W, you may provide the camera 31 for alignment in at least two or all four corners of a diagonal among four corners of a rectangle.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, the film-forming apparatus 11 may further include the light source for illumination which illuminates an alignment mark while image|photographing an alignment mark with the camera 31 for alignment. This is for obtaining a clearer image by illuminating the alignment mark with a light source because the inside of the vacuum container 21 to be sealed is dark in the course of the film forming process. To this end, the light source is preferably coaxial illumination, but is not limited thereto. The light source may be provided on the outer upper side of the vacuum container 21 to illuminate the alignment mark from above, or may be provided inside the vacuum container 21 to illuminate the alignment mark from below.

The film forming apparatus 11 is provided with a control part. The control part has functions, such as conveyance and alignment of the board|substrate S/mask M, control of the vapor deposition source 25, and control of film formation. The control unit may be implemented independently for each film forming apparatus 11 , integrated into one for the plurality of film forming apparatuses 11 , or may be implemented as a functional unit of the control unit of the electronic device manufacturing apparatus.

The control unit is configurable by a computer having, for example, a processor, memory, storage, I/O, and the like. In this case, the function of the control unit is realized by the processor executing the program stored in the memory or storage. As the computer, a general-purpose personal computer may be used, and an embedded computer or a programmable logic controller (PLC) may be used. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the control unit may be configured by circuits such as ASICs or FPGAs.

<Substrate transfer system>

3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a substrate transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate transfer system includes a path chamber (a first relay device, 15 ) to a transport device 13 , a transport device 13 to a film forming device 11 , and from the film forming device 11 to a buffer chamber (second relay device). , 16) to sequentially transport the substrate W. As described above with reference to FIG. 1 , the buffer chamber 16 may be a pass chamber or another relay device, depending on the implementation form of the electronic device manufacturing apparatus.

In the substrate transfer system of the present embodiment, while the substrate W carried in the transfer apparatus 13 is waiting before being transferred to the film forming apparatus 11 where the film forming process is performed, the substrate (W) in the transfer apparatus 13 is The conveyance of the substrate W in the conveying apparatus 13 is controlled so that W) can be cooled in advance. In addition, in the substrate transfer system of the present embodiment, before the substrate W carried in the transfer apparatus 13 is transferred to the film forming apparatus 11 , the substrate W is pre-aligned in the transfer apparatus 13 . Thus, the transfer of the substrate W in the transfer apparatus 13 may be controlled.

Conventionally, with respect to the substrate W carried into the cluster apparatus (film formation system), after the substrate W is carried in from the transfer apparatus 13 to each of the plurality of film formation apparatuses 11 (four in FIG. 1 ), In each film forming apparatus 11, cooling of the board|substrate W was performed, and the alignment process was also implemented. As a result, with respect to the substrate W carried into the film formation system from the upstream pass chamber 15 , the time required to transport the substrate W to the downstream buffer chamber 16 after completing the film formation process, that is, the tact time increases. there was

However, according to this embodiment, since it is cooled in advance by the conveying apparatus 13, cooling is unnecessary in the film-forming apparatus 11, or since a cooling time can be shortened, the time required for the whole film-forming process can be shortened. In addition, it is possible to downsize or reduce the cooling means of the substrate W provided in the film forming apparatus 11 (eg, the cooling plate 30 provided on the electrostatic chuck 24 ). In addition, by adjusting the position of the substrate W carried into the film forming apparatus 11 in advance in the transfer apparatus 11 , in the film forming apparatus 11 , the rough alignment process is omitted and only the fine alignment process is performed. , high-precision positioning is ensured, and the overall time taken for the alignment process can be greatly shortened.

For this purpose, in the substrate transport system of the present embodiment, the substrate W carried in from the pass chamber 15 (the first relay device) is transported to the film forming apparatus 11 , and the substrate on which the film forming process is completed in the film forming apparatus 11 . It includes a transport device 13 that transports W to the buffer chamber 16 (a second relay device), and a transport control unit 134 that controls transport of the substrate W in the transport device 13 . In addition, the transfer device 13 includes a container 131 , a transfer robot 132 installed in the container 131 , and a substrate cooling unit 133 .

The container 131 is to be maintained in a vacuum state inside, it is preferable to be maintained in a high vacuum state. The vessel 131 is disposed adjacent to each vessel of the pass chamber 15 , the buffer chamber 16 , and the film forming apparatus 11 , and is individually connected thereto. The figure shows an embodiment in which two film forming apparatuses 11 are provided, but this is merely exemplary, and one or two or more may be provided. In addition, although not shown in the figure, the container of a mask stock apparatus may further be connected to the container 131.

The transfer robot 132 receives the substrate W from the pass chamber 15 and transports the substrate W to the buffer chamber 16 , inside and outside the container 131 of the transfer device 13 . It is for conveying the board|substrate W between the conveyance apparatus 13 and the film-forming apparatus 11, and is arrange|positioned in the container 131. The transfer robot 132 may be, for example, a robot having a structure in which a robot hand holding a substrate W or a mask M is mounted on an articulated arm. In this case, the articulated arm of the conveyance robot 132 conveys the board|substrate W while carrying out an expansion-contraction operation in the XY direction and a turning operation with the Z-axis direction as an axis. Depending on the embodiment, the transfer robot 132 may be able to move up and down in the Z-axis direction.

The substrate cooling unit 133 is a mechanism for cooling the substrate W carried in from the pass chamber 15 into the container 131 before conveying it to the film forming apparatus 11 . Typically, in the film forming apparatus 11 , the alignment process and the film forming process take a rather long time to perform, so the substrate W carried from the pass chamber 15 into the transfer apparatus 13 is transferred to a predetermined value in the container 131 . will wait for hours. According to the present embodiment, by installing the substrate cooling unit 133 in the vessel 131, the substrate W can be cooled while waiting in the vessel 131 . As described above, in this embodiment, since cooling is performed using the standby time, it is not necessary to separately add time for cooling the substrate W in the substrate cooling unit 133 as compared with the prior art.

The position where the substrate cooling unit 133 is disposed is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately disposed in an empty space in the container 131 . For example, when the substrate cooling unit 133 is disposed on the transport path of the substrate W from the pass chamber 15 to the film forming apparatus 11 in the container 131 , the film forming apparatus 11 is transferred from the pass chamber 15 to the film forming apparatus 11 . ) can be minimized.

One or more substrate cooling units 133 may be disposed in the container 131 . For example, as shown in the drawing, the substrate cooling unit 133 is preferably arranged in the same number (2 pieces) as the number (2 pieces) of the film forming apparatuses 11 connected to the container 131 . . According to this, the film forming apparatus 11 and the substrate cooling unit 133 correspond one-to-one (that is, the first film forming apparatus 11a corresponds to the first substrate cooling unit 133a, and the second film forming apparatus 11b is Corresponding to the second substrate cooling unit 133b), the cooling time in the substrate cooling unit 133 for each substrate W can be secured as much as possible. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number of the substrate cooling units 133 is smaller than the number of the film forming apparatuses 11 .

Each of the plurality of substrate cooling units 133 is preferably installed so as to be able to move up and down in the turning area of the transfer robot 132 in the container 131 . According to this, even if the transfer robot 132 rotates in the container 131 about the Z-axis direction (that is, the direction perpendicular to the substrate support surface of the substrate cooling unit 133) as an axis, the substrate cooling unit 133 ) descends (in the case of a closed face-up type mechanism to be described later) or rises (in the case of a face-down type mechanism to be described later), thereby avoiding a collision with the transport robot 132 . As a result, even if the plurality of substrate cooling units 133 are installed in the container 131 , the movement of the transfer robot 132 is not restricted thereby.

There is no particular limitation on a method in which the substrate cooling unit 133 cools the substrate W. For example, the substrate cooling unit 133 may be a water cooling mechanism using cooling water or an air cooling mechanism using a gas such as air.

According to one embodiment, the water-cooled substrate cooling unit 133 may be a face-up type mechanism that cools while supporting the bottom surface of the substrate W. For example, the substrate cooling unit 133 may include a predetermined support structure provided on the bottom surface of the container 131 and a cooling plate provided on the upper end of the support structure.

4A and 4B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an example of a cooling plate provided in the face-up type substrate cooling unit 133, respectively. In the cooling plate, as shown in FIG. 4A, the cooling water flowing into the plate-shaped member through the inlet (IN) flows along the cooling water channel formed entirely in the plate-shaped member and discharged to the outlet (OUT). do. Alternatively, the cooling plate may have a structure in which an inlet IN for cooling water is formed on one side of a plate-shaped member having an empty central portion and an outlet port OUT is formed on the other side of the cooling plate, as shown in FIG. 4B . In this case, the inlet IN is formed at a height close to the bottom surface of the plate-shaped member and the outlet OUT so that the cooling water of a relatively low temperature flows into the central part and the coolant of a relatively high temperature flows out from the central part. is preferably formed at a height close to the upper surface of the plate-shaped member.

According to another embodiment, the water-cooled substrate cooling unit 133 may be a face-down type mechanism for cooling while adsorbing and holding the upper surface of the substrate W. For example, the substrate cooling unit 133 includes an electrostatic chuck for adsorbing and holding the substrate W, and a cooling mechanism such as a cooling plate coupled to the electrostatic chuck. Alternatively, other types of substrate adsorption means for adsorbing and holding the upper surface of the substrate W, such as an adhesive pad, may be used instead of the electrostatic chuck.

The transfer control unit 134 controls the transfer operation of the substrate W by the transfer robot 132 . The transfer control unit 134 basically receives the substrate W carried in from the pass chamber 15 of the relay device arranged on the upstream side, transfers the substrate W to the film forming apparatus 11 , and then transfers the substrate W to the film forming apparatus ( In 11), the transfer robot 132 is controlled so that the substrate W, on which the film forming process has been completed, is transferred to the buffer chamber 16 of the relay device arranged on the downstream side. And according to this embodiment, before conveying the board|substrate W to the film-forming apparatus 11, the conveyance control part 134 controls the conveyance robot 132 so that it may convey it to the board|substrate cooling part 133. The specific conveyance path of the board|substrate W by the control of the conveyance control part 134 is demonstrated again later.

The transport control unit 134 may be implemented in a computer processor separately provided in the transport robot 132 to control the operation of the transport robot 132 . Alternatively, the conveyance control unit 134 may be implemented as a functional unit of the control unit for controlling the conveying apparatus 13 or as a functional unit of a control unit of a film forming system including the conveying apparatus 13 or an electronic device manufacturing apparatus. do.

5A and 5B are schematic views each showing the configuration of a substrate transport system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5A and 5B , the substrate transport system of the present embodiment includes transport devices 13a and 13b and a transport control unit 134 , and the transport devices 13a and 13b include a container 131 and a container. It is the same as the substrate transport system of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 in that it includes the transport robot 132 and the substrate cooling unit 133 installed in the 131 . However, the substrate transport system of the present embodiment further includes an alignment unit 135 installed in the container 13 , and thereby alignment is performed on the transport path of the substrate W under the control of the transport control unit 134 . It differs from the substrate transport system of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 in that the portion 135 is included. Hereinafter, only differences from the substrate transport system of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

The alignment unit 135 is for adjusting the position of the substrate W loaded into the container 131 , more precisely, the substrate W cooled by the substrate cooling unit 133 . More specifically, the alignment unit 135 is to adjust the position of the substrate W with respect to a predetermined reference (eg, reference mark) installed at a specific position in the container 131, and the specific implementation form is special. no limits.

For example, the alignment unit 135 includes a substrate stage on which the substrate W is placed in the container 131 , an alignment mechanism for aligning the substrate W, and control for controlling the operation of the alignment mechanism. It may be comprised including means. The alignment mechanism includes positional information acquisition means (eg, an alignment camera) for acquiring information about a position where the substrate W is placed on the substrate stage (information indicating the position of the substrate W with respect to the container 131); , a substrate stage driving mechanism (XYθ actuator) for driving the substrate stage in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the θ direction. The substrate stage is connected by an XYθ actuator and a shaft.

One or more alignment units 135 may be disposed in the container 131 , similarly to the substrate cooling unit 133 . For example, as shown in FIG. 5A , the alignment units 135 may be arranged in a number (one) smaller than the number (two) of the film forming apparatuses 11 connected to the container 131 . In this case, as will be described later, even the substrates W that are cooled by being conveyed to different substrate cooling units 133a and 133b are conveyed to the same alignment unit 135 to perform alignment. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5B , the alignment portions 135a and 135b may be arranged in the same number (two) as the number (two) of the film forming apparatus 11 connected to the container 131 . . According to this, the film forming apparatuses 11a and 11b, the substrate cooling units 133a and 133b, and the alignment units 135a and 135b correspond one-to-one (that is, the first film forming apparatus 11a, the first substrate cooling unit ( 133a) and the first alignment part 135a correspond to each other, and the second film forming apparatus 11b, the second substrate cooling part 133b, and the second alignment part 135b correspond to each other), so that the substrate W Each time, the cooling time in the substrate cooling unit 133 and the alignment time in the alignment unit 135 can be maximized.

It is preferable that the alignment unit 135 is also installed in the container 131 to be able to move up and down, similarly to the substrate cooling unit 133 . According to this, even if the transfer robot 132 rotates in the container 131 about the Z-axis direction (that is, the direction perpendicular to the substrate support surface of the alignment unit 135) as an axis, the alignment unit 135 is By descending and/or ascending, a collision with the transport robot 132 can be avoided. As a result, even if the alignment unit 135 is installed in the container 131 , the movement of the transport robot 132 is not restricted thereby.

And according to this embodiment, before conveying the board|substrate W carried in to the conveyance apparatuses 13a, 13b to the film-forming apparatus 11, the conveyance control part 134 carries out the board|substrate cooling part 133 and the alignment part 135. , to control the transport robot 132 to sequentially transport to (see FIGS. 5A and 5B). The specific conveyance path of the board|substrate W by the control of the conveyance control part 134 is also demonstrated again later.

<Transfer path of the substrate W in the substrate transfer system>

6A to 6C are diagrams schematically showing a transport path of the substrate W in the substrate transport system shown in FIGS. 3, 5A, or 5B, respectively. As described above, the transfer path of the substrate W may be controlled by the transfer control unit 134 controlling the operation of the transfer robot 132 .

Referring to FIG. 6A , the first substrate W1 loaded into the container 131 of the transfer device 13 from the pass chamber 15 is first transferred to the first substrate cooling unit 133a. Then, the substrate W1 is cooled for a predetermined time in the first substrate cooling unit 133a, and then transferred to the first film forming apparatus 11a. In the first film forming apparatus 11a , a film forming process is performed on the substrate W1 , and the substrate W1 on which the film forming process is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16 .

Then, the second substrate W2 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13 from the pass chamber 15 is first transferred to the second substrate cooling unit 133b. At this time, for the first substrate W1 , the cooling process may be performed by the first substrate cooling unit 133a or the film forming process may be performed by the first film forming apparatus 11a . Then, the substrate W2 is cooled for a predetermined time in the second substrate cooling unit 133b and then transferred to the second film forming apparatus 11b. In the second film forming apparatus 11b , a film forming process is performed on the substrate W2 , and the substrate W2 on which the film forming process is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16 .

Next, referring to FIG. 6B , the first substrate W1 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13a from the pass chamber 15 is first transferred to the first substrate cooling unit 133a. Then, the substrate W1 is cooled for a predetermined time in the first substrate cooling unit 133a and then transferred to the alignment unit 135 . After the position of the substrate W1 is adjusted in the alignment section 135 , the substrate W1 is transferred to the first film forming apparatus 11a. In the first film forming apparatus 11a , a film forming process is performed on the substrate W1 , and the substrate W1 on which the film forming process is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16 .

Then, the second substrate W2 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13a from the pass chamber 15 is first transferred to the second substrate cooling unit 133b. At this time, for the first substrate W1 , a cooling process is being performed in the first substrate cooling unit 133a , an alignment process is being performed in the alignment unit 135 , or a film forming process is performed in the first film forming apparatus 11a . This may be performed. Then, the substrate W2 is cooled for a predetermined time in the second substrate cooling unit 133b and then transferred to the alignment unit 135 . At this time, the film-forming process may be performed for the 1st board|substrate W1 by the 1st film-forming apparatus 11a. In addition, when the board|substrate W2 is conveyed to the alignment part 135, the 3rd board|substrate W1 may be additionally carried in from the path chamber 15, and it may be conveyed to the 1st board|substrate cooling part 133a. Subsequently, after the position of the substrate W2 is adjusted in the alignment section 135 , the substrate W2 is transferred to the second film forming apparatus 11b. In the second film forming apparatus 11b , a film forming process is performed on the substrate W2 , and the substrate W2 on which the film forming process is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16 .

Next, referring to FIG. 6C , the first substrate W1 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13b from the pass chamber 15 is first transferred to the first substrate cooling unit 133a. Then, the substrate W1 is cooled for a predetermined time in the first substrate cooling unit 133a and then transferred to the first alignment unit 135a. After the position of the substrate W1 is adjusted in the first alignment portion 135a, the substrate W1 is transferred to the first film forming apparatus 11a. In the first film forming apparatus 11a , a film forming process is performed on the substrate W1 , and the substrate W1 on which the film forming process is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16 .

Then, the second substrate W2 carried into the container 131 of the transfer device 13b from the pass chamber 15 is first transferred to the second substrate cooling unit 133b. At this time, the cooling process of the first substrate W1 is being performed in the first substrate cooling unit 133a or the alignment process is being performed in the first alignment unit 135a or in the first film forming apparatus 11a. The film-forming process may be performed. Then, the substrate W2 is cooled for a predetermined time in the second substrate cooling unit 133b and then transferred to the second alignment unit 135b. At this time, as for the 1st board|substrate W1, the alignment process may be performed by the 1st alignment part 135a, or the film-forming process may be performed by the 1st film-forming apparatus 11a. In addition, when the substrate W2 is transferred to the second alignment unit 135b , the third substrate W1 is additionally loaded from the pass chamber 15 and transferred to the first substrate cooling unit 133a or cooling is completed. The board|substrate W1 may be conveyed to the 1st alignment part 135a. Subsequently, after the position of the substrate W2 is adjusted in the second alignment unit 135b, the substrate W2 is transferred to the second film forming apparatus 11b. In the second film forming apparatus 11b , a film forming process is performed on the substrate W2 , and the substrate W2 on which the film forming process is completed is carried out to the buffer chamber 16 .

The above embodiment shows an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and may be appropriately modified within the scope of the technical idea.

11, 11a, 11b: film forming chamber or film forming apparatus
13, 13a, 13b: transfer chamber or transfer device
14, 132: transport robot
15: pass room
16: buffer room
131: courage
133, 133a, 133b: substrate cooling unit
134: conveyance control
135, 135a, 135b: alignment part

Claims (16)

A film formation chamber for forming a film on a substrate, and a transfer chamber disposed adjacent to the film formation chamber and provided with a transfer robot for communicating with the film formation chamber while holding the substrate, wherein the transfer chamber is configured to cool the substrate A film forming system comprising a substrate cooling unit for According to claim 1, Further comprising a control unit for controlling the operation of the film formation system, The control unit, before the transfer robot transfers the substrate carried into the transfer chamber to the transfer chamber to transfer to the substrate cooling unit, and controlling to cool the substrate. The film forming system according to claim 2, wherein the transfer chamber further includes an alignment unit for aligning the positions of the substrates. The film forming system of claim 3 , wherein the control unit controls the transfer robot to transfer the substrate cooled by the substrate cooling unit to the alignment unit before transferring the cooled substrate to the film forming chamber to align the substrate. According to claim 4, Each of the substrate cooling unit and the alignment unit is installed so as to be able to move up and down in a turning area that the transfer robot passes when it rotates about a direction perpendicular to the substrate support surface of the substrate cooling unit as an axis. Film formation system, characterized in that. The film forming system of claim 1 , wherein the substrate cooling unit includes a cooling plate supporting a lower surface of the substrate and having a cooling water channel formed therein. The film forming system according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate cooling unit includes a substrate suction unit for adsorbing and holding the upper surface of the substrate, and a cooling mechanism coupled to the substrate suction unit. According to claim 1, N (N is an integer greater than or equal to 2) including the film-forming chamber, The transfer chamber is provided with N substrate cooling units corresponding to each of the N film-forming chambers on a one-to-one basis. film formation system. The film forming system according to claim 8, wherein the transfer chamber includes 1 to N alignment units for aligning the positions of the substrates. A substrate transport system in which a substrate is transported in the order of a first relay device, a transport device, a film forming device, and a second relay device, wherein the transport device includes: a container; and a transfer robot disposed in the container to hold and transfer the substrate, wherein the substrate transfer system includes the transfer device and a transfer control unit for controlling the transfer robot, The transfer control unit comprising: and controlling the transfer robot so as to transfer the substrate carried into the container from the first relay device to the substrate cooling unit and then to the film forming apparatus. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the transfer device is installed in the container and further comprises an alignment unit for adjusting a position of the substrate, wherein the transfer control unit transfers the substrate cooled by the substrate cooling unit to the film forming apparatus. Prior to the following, the substrate transfer system, characterized in that the transfer robot is controlled so as to transfer to the alignment unit. According to claim 11, Each of the substrate cooling unit and the alignment unit are installed so as to be able to move up and down in a turning area that the transfer robot passes when it rotates about a direction orthogonal to the substrate support surface of the substrate cooling unit as an axis. A substrate transport system, characterized in that. The substrate transfer system according to claim 10 , wherein the substrate cooling unit includes a cooling plate supporting a lower surface of the substrate and having a cooling water channel formed therein. The substrate transfer system according to claim 10 , wherein the substrate cooling unit includes a substrate suction unit for adsorbing and holding the upper surface of the substrate, and a cooling mechanism coupled to the substrate suction unit. The apparatus according to claim 10, comprising N (N is an integer greater than or equal to 2) number of the film forming apparatuses, and the transfer apparatus is provided with N substrate cooling units corresponding to each of the N film forming apparatuses on a one-to-one basis substrate transfer system. The substrate transfer system according to claim 15 , wherein the transfer device includes 1 to N alignment units for aligning the positions of the substrates.

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