KR20230056588A - Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a technique which can optimize an electricity removing process in substrate processing. The present invention relates to a substrate processing method of a substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing method comprising the steps of: carrying out a substrate from a process module for performing a plasma process and an electricity removing process on the substrate, and carrying out the substrate to a load lock unit capable of switching to an air atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere; measuring a charge state of the substrate in the load lock unit; and optimizing the electricity removing process by analyzing a result of measuring the charge state of the substrate.

Description

Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus

The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus.

If a substrate is highly charged, there are cases where devices on the substrate are damaged (electrostatic breakdown) or damaged when the substrate is detached from the stage by electrostatic force. For this reason, a static elimination process for reducing the electric charge of the substrate has conventionally been performed. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of reducing the electrified state of a substrate by performing an antistatic treatment on a substrate that is charged when the substrate is loaded into a substrate processing system.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-107077

The present disclosure provides a technique capable of optimizing the antistatic treatment of a substrate.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a substrate processing method of a substrate processing apparatus is provided, in which a substrate is transported from a process module for performing a plasma treatment and an antistatic treatment on the substrate, and the substrate is placed in a load lock unit capable of switching between an air atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere. A substrate processing method is provided, which includes a conveying step, a step of measuring the electrification state of the substrate at the load-lock unit, and a step of optimizing the static elimination process by analyzing the measurement result of the electrification state of the substrate.

According to one aspect, the antistatic treatment of the substrate can be optimized.

1 is a plan view schematically illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment.
Fig. 2 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a part of a load-lock portion and a transport device.
3 is a graph showing a change in a charging state according to a process of transporting a substrate in a load-lock unit.
4 is a table illustrating a part of a recipe showing an antistatic treatment.
5 is a flowchart of a substrate processing method according to the first embodiment.
6 is a flowchart of a substrate processing method according to a second embodiment.
7 is a flowchart of a substrate processing method according to a fourth embodiment.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this indication is demonstrated with reference to drawings. In each figure, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected to the same component part, and overlapping description may be abbreviate|omitted.

1 is a plan view schematically illustrating a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1 , the substrate processing apparatus 1 is a multi-chamber system having a plurality of (three in this embodiment) process modules 10, 11, and 12 for performing plasma processing on a substrate S. Consists of. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the rectangular vacuum conveyance module 20 is disposed at a central position in plan view. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the process modules 10, 11, and 12 are disposed on each of the three side surfaces of the vacuum transfer module 20, and the load is placed on the other side of the vacuum transfer module 20. The locking part 30 is arranged. The process modules 10, 11, and 12, the vacuum transfer module 20, and the load-lock unit 30 are all chamber containers operable in a reduced-pressure atmosphere (vacuum atmosphere). In addition, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 60 that controls the operation of each unit.

Examples of the substrate S processed by the substrate processing apparatus 1 include substrates for flat panel displays (FPDs) such as liquid crystal displays and organic EL displays. In this case, as a material of the board|substrate S, glass, synthetic resin, etc. are applied. The substrate S may include one having a circuit patterned on its surface, or a support substrate without circuitry. The planar dimensions of the substrate S are not particularly limited, but examples include a rectangular substrate having a long side in the range of about 1800 mm to 3400 mm and a short side in the range of about 1500 mm to 3000 mm, or other dimensions. there is.

Between the vacuum conveyance module 20 and each process module 10, 11, and 12, the opening part 10a, 11a, and 12a through which the board|substrate S can pass is provided, respectively. In addition, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes gate valves 13 , 14 , and 15 that open and close the openings 10a , 11a , and 12a, respectively. Each gate valve 13, 14, 15 airtightly seals between the vacuum conveyance module 20 and each process module 10, 11, 12 in a closed state, and seals each of the vacuum conveyance module 20 and each in an open state. Communication between the process modules 10, 11, and 12 enables transport of the substrate S.

Each of the process modules 10, 11, and 12 is a container capable of maintaining the respective inner spaces 10s, 11s, and 12s (substrate processing chamber: process chamber) in a predetermined reduced-pressure atmosphere (vacuum atmosphere), and the inner space 10s, In 11s and 12s), a plasma process is applied to the substrate S transported. In each of the process modules 10, 11, and 12, a mounting table 16 for placing the substrate S is provided. The mounting table 16 has, for example, an electrostatic chuck (not shown) holding the substrate S by electrostatic force. Each of the process modules 10 , 11 , and 12 performs a plasma process such as an etching process, an ashing process, and a film formation process on the substrate S fixed to the mounting table 16 . In addition, the method of fixing the substrate by the placing table 16 is not particularly limited to the electrostatic chuck, and a mechanical clamp or the like may be applied. Each of the process modules 10 , 11 , and 12 in the substrate processing apparatus 1 may perform the same type of plasma processing, or may perform a different type of plasma processing for each of the process modules 10 , 11 , and 12 .

Further, each of the process modules 10, 11, and 12 performs a static elimination process on the charged substrate S by plasma processing or the like. For example, as an antistatic process, each process module 10, 11, 12 applies a DC voltage of the same magnitude and opposite to the voltage applied to the adsorption electrode (not shown) embedded in the electrostatic chuck to the adsorption electrode. It is possible to employ a method of removing electric charge from the substrate (S) by applying. Alternatively, each of the process modules 10, 11, and 12 may employ a method of removing electric charge from the substrate S by generating plasma for static elimination processing.

The vacuum conveyance module 20 is composed of a container capable of being maintained in a predetermined vacuum atmosphere. The vacuum conveyance module 20 has a conveyance device 21 in the inner space (transfer room) of the container. The conveying device 21 conveys the substrate S between the vacuum conveying module 20 and each process module 10 , 11 , and 12 and between the vacuum conveying module 20 and the load lock unit 30 .

The transport device 21 includes a pedestal 22, a transport arm 23 having a fork 25 supported by the pedestal 22 and capable of holding the lower surface of the substrate S as an end effector, and a transport arm. It includes an operation unit 24 that rotates, moves up and down, and advances and retreats (23). The operation unit 24 is connected to the control unit 60 and operates the transfer arm 23 based on an operation command from the control unit 60 . During the operation of the transfer arm 23, the fork 25 advances into each process module 10, 11, 12 or into the load-lock unit 30 to deliver or receive the substrate S. . In addition, the fork 25 can retreat from each process module 10, 11, 12 or the load-lock unit 30 in a state in which the substrate S is delivered or in a state in which the substrate S is received.

2 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a part of the load-lock portion 30 and the transport device 21. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the fork 25 includes a plurality of support picks 26 and a plurality of contactors 27 that are directly contacted with the substrate S by running on the upper surface of each support pick 26 . have Each contact 27 is made of a material that is softer than the support pick 26, has frictional force, and has conductivity. As the contact 27, for example, a ring-shaped member made of conductive rubber can be used. Further, the contact 27 may be a protruding member. The conveyance device 21 is connected to ground potential, and when conveying the substrate S, the substrate S is charged via each contact 27, the support pick 26, and the conveyance arm 23. It is possible to move the charge in the If the contactor 27 is in a state in which deterioration does not occur and conductivity is sufficiently maintained, the charge remaining on the substrate S, which could not be discharged in the static elimination process inside each process module 10, 11, 12, will also be removed from the substrate. During the conveyance of (S), it is possible to supplementally neutralize the charge up to a sufficiently low charge amount.

Returning to FIG. 1 , the substrate processing apparatus 1 has an opening 30a through which the substrate S passes between the vacuum transfer module 20 and the load-lock unit 30, and the opening 30a is opened and closed. A gate valve 31 is provided. The gate valve 31 airtightly seals between the vacuum transfer module 20 and the load-lock portion 30 in a closed state, and communicates between the vacuum transfer module 20 and the load-lock portion 30 in an open state, so that the substrate ( S) makes it possible to convey. In addition, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an opening 30b and a gate valve 32 between the load-lock portion 30 and the outside of the load-lock portion 30 . The gate valve 32 maintains the airtightness of the load-lock portion 30 in a closed state, and enables transport of the substrate S by communicating between the load-lock portion 30 and the outside in the open state.

A load module 50 provided separately from the substrate processing apparatus 1 is connected to the outside of the load-lock unit 30 in order to carry in and unload the substrate S between the load-lock unit 30 and the load-lock unit 30 . The load module 50 performs standby, transport, etc. of the substrate S in an air atmosphere. The load module 50 is not particularly limited, and includes, for example, a carrier accommodating a plurality of substrates S, an empty carrier (both not shown), and a transport mechanism capable of loading and unloading the substrate S from each carrier ( 51) can be applied. Alternatively, the load module 50 may be a mechanism (not shown) for receiving the substrate S from another processing device installed around the substrate processing device 1 and sending the substrate S to the other processing device. good night.

The load-lock unit 30 (load-lock module) of the substrate processing apparatus 1 transfers the substrate S between the load module 50 in an atmospheric atmosphere and the vacuum transfer module 20 in a vacuum atmosphere. For this reason, the load-lock portion 30 is constituted by a container capable of being maintained in a predetermined vacuum atmosphere. This load-lock portion 30 is formed with a small volume in order to repeatedly switch between an air atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere.

1 and 2, the container of the load-lock portion 30 includes a plurality of side wall portions 33 provided in the direction of arrow A, and openings 30a and 30b provided in the direction of arrow B. ), a bottom portion 34 to which each side wall portion 33 connects, and a ceiling portion 35 supported by each side wall portion 33, and is connected to a ground potential. The pair of openings 30a and 30b facing each other in the direction of the arrow B has a gate valve 31 in the opening 30a and a gate valve 32 in the opening 30b. there is.

At the bottom portion 34 of the load lock portion 30, a substrate support portion 36 for supporting the substrate S in the space portion 30s (load lock chamber) of the load lock portion 30 is provided. The upper surface of the substrate support portion 36 is formed as an uneven surface in which buffers 37 (support portions) and concave grooves 38 are provided alternately along the direction of an arrow A. The plurality of concave grooves 38 are straight so that each support pick 26 of the transport device 21 (fork 25) can enter.

Further, on the upper surface of the plurality of buffers 37, when the fork 25 descends, a plurality of support pins 39 (supporters) that contact the substrate S to support the substrate S are provided. The support pin 39 is formed of a conductive material. As a result, the load-lock unit 30 transfers the charge remaining on the substrate S to the outside of the load-lock unit 30 through the support pin 39, the substrate support unit 36, and the bottom portion 34. can be moved

In addition, the load lock unit 30 includes a charge measurement unit 40 on the ceiling portion 35 that measures the charge state of the substrate S. In this embodiment, the "state of charge" of the substrate S is measured as a voltage (surface potential) of electrostatic power generated in the substrate S. In addition, the "state of charge" measured by the charge measurement unit 40 is not limited to the surface potential, and for example, the amount of charge on the substrate S, potential difference, electric field, and other physical stress (piezoelectric, etc.) may be measured. .

The charge measuring unit 40 is provided on the side of the vacuum conveyance module 20 (position near the gate valve 31) from an intermediate position in the direction of the arrow B. In FIG. 2 , one charge measurement unit 40 is shown, but the load-lock unit 30 may have a configuration including a plurality of charge measurement units 40 . For example, the substrate processing apparatus 1 arranges a plurality of charge measuring units 40 along the direction of the arrow A shown in FIG. 1 to transfer the substrate S along the direction of the arrow B. According to this, the distribution of the charge state of the entire surface can be obtained.

The charge measurement unit 40 employs a sensor capable of measuring the charge state of the substrate S in a state in which the space portion 30s is placed in a vacuum atmosphere. This is because the charged state of the substrate S changes in a state where the space portion 30s is made into an air atmosphere. The charge measuring unit 40 obtains the surface potential by measuring the induced charge induced on the sensor by the electric field formed by the charged object when the sensor is brought close to the charged object using the electrostatic induction phenomenon. For example, the charge measurement unit 40 includes a measurement body 41 having an amplification circuit fixed to the ceiling portion 35, and the measurement body 41 is drained through a wire 42 to the inside of the load-lock portion 30. It has a probe 43 disposed thereon. The measurement body 41 is communicatively connected to the control unit 60, and transmits measurement results (charged state information) to the control unit 60. The probe 43 is arranged in the ceiling portion 35 and below the ceiling portion 35, and approaches the substrate S to be conveyed. As a result, the charge measuring unit 40 has high detection accuracy of the surface potential of the substrate S.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a change in the charging state according to the conveyance process of the substrate S in the load-lock unit 30 . In this graph, the abscissa axis is time, and the ordinate axis is the measured surface potential with respect to the substrate S. As shown in FIG. 3 , the charge measurement unit 40 transports the substrate S from the vacuum transfer module 20 to the load lock unit 30 and supports the substrate S by the substrate support unit 36 . Throughout the process, it is possible to measure the surface potential of the substrate S.

In detail, the transfer process of the substrate S includes a carrying step of carrying in the substrate S by the fork 25, a lowering step of lowering the fork 25, and a buffer 37 from the fork 25. It has a transfer step of transferring the substrate (S) to the fork 25 and a support step of supporting the substrate (S) with the buffer (37). In this conveyance process of the substrate S, the inside of the load lock portion 30 is depressurized to a vacuum atmosphere equivalent to that of the respective process modules 10, 11, and 12 and the vacuum conveyance module 20. The charge measurement unit 40 measures the fluctuating charge state of the substrate S at each step (carrying-in step, lowering step, transfer step, support step) of the conveying process.

In particular, the electrification state of the substrate S measured in the supporting step of supporting the substrate S by the substrate support section 36 is that the substrate S after processing in the substrate processing apparatus 1 is in each step. It appears as the final electrified state as a result of going through static elimination. That is, when the next process is performed on the substrate S, this electrification state is accompanied. However, since there is a possibility that the charging state may not be stable at the beginning of the support step, the control unit 60 may use the measurement result after a predetermined time elapses after the start of the support step. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 , the surface potential (state of charge of the substrate S) measured by the charge measuring unit 40 repeats minute amplitudes over time. For this reason, it is preferable that the control unit 60 calculates an average value (moving average, etc.) or a median value of the amplitude of the measured waveform in the charged state, and sets it as the value in the charged state.

In addition, the control unit 60 measures the distribution of the electrification state along the transport direction of the substrate S by continuously performing measurement by the charge measuring unit 40 during transport of the substrate S in the carrying step. Recognizable. From this, the control unit 60 uses the measurement result of the charge measurement unit 40 (the state of charge of the substrate S) in each step of the conveyance process, thereby determining the Depending on the state of the static elimination process, the state of static elimination by the contactor 27 during conveyance of the substrate S, and the state of static elimination by the support pin 39 when the substrate S is supported by the substrate support section 36 The result of the static elimination can be appropriately recognized, and it becomes possible to achieve optimization of the static elimination process.

Further, the load-lock unit 30 has a configuration separately provided with a space for carrying the unprocessed substrate S from the load module 50 and a space for carrying the processed substrate S from the vacuum transfer module 20. (For example, a configuration having a space portion of two upper and lower stages) may be used. In this case, the charge measurement unit 40 may be appropriately provided in the wall portion surrounding each space portion.

Returning to FIG. 1 , the control unit 60 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 has a controller body 61 and a user interface 65 connected to the controller body 61 . Controller main body 61 can apply a control computer which has one or more processors 62, memory 63, an input/output interface not shown, and an electronic circuit. The processor 62 is a combination of one or a plurality of CPUs, ASICs, FPGAs, circuits including a plurality of discrete semiconductors, and the like. The memory 63 includes volatile memory and non-volatile memory (eg, compact disk, DVD, hard disk, flash memory, etc.), and contains recipes for programs for operating the substrate processing apparatus 1 and process conditions for plasma processing. (R) (see also Fig. 4) is memorized.

The user interface 65 includes a keyboard through which a user inputs commands and the like to manage the substrate processing apparatus 1, a display that visualizes and displays the operation status of the substrate processing apparatus 1, or the amount of display and input. A touch panel or the like having a function can be applied.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above, and its operation (substrate processing method) will be described below.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes the charge measurement unit 40 in the load lock unit 30, so that each process module ( 10, 11, 12) aims to optimize the static elimination process. Incidentally, below, a case in which processing is performed in the process module 10 as a representative of each of the process modules 10, 11, and 12 will be described, but it goes without saying that the same processing can be performed in the other process modules 11 and 12 as well. .

Specifically, the control unit 60 aims to optimize the static elimination process by executing the processing contents of (a) to (d) below.

(a) Based on the electrification state of the substrate S after being loaded from the process module 10 to the load-lock unit 30, the duration of the static elimination process (hereinafter, also referred to as a static electricity elimination period) is reset.

(b) Based on the charged state of the substrate S in the transport process of the substrate S inside the load-lock portion 30, the contactor 27 of the transport device 21 or the load-lock portion 30 Deterioration of the support pin 39 is estimated, and when the deterioration is estimated, the static elimination period is lengthened.

(c) Based on the electrification state of the substrate S in the conveyance process of the substrate S inside the load-lock unit 30, the distribution of the electrification state of the substrate S is recognized.

(d) The state of charge of the unprocessed substrate S carried into the load-lock unit 30 from the load module 50, and the processed substrate S carried into the load-lock unit 30 from the process module after processing in the process module The static elimination period is reset based on the electrification state of .

Hereinafter, the processing contents of (a) to (d) of the substrate processing method are divided into first to fourth embodiments and described. In addition, the substrate processing apparatus 1 may have a configuration for performing any one of the processing contents of (a) to (d), or a configuration for performing a plurality or all of the processing contents of (a) to (d) in combination. It is also good.

[First Embodiment]

The processing content of (a) is to shorten the static elimination period for performing the static electricity elimination process in the process module 10 according to the state of charge of the substrate S after the plasma process and the static electricity elimination process in the process module 10, or is to lengthen For example, a case where the charging polarity of the substrate S processed by the process module 10 is positive (the surface potential is a positive value) will be described below.

When the substrate S is positively charged, the substrate processing apparatus 1 lowers the surface potential to the negative side by an antistatic treatment. And, when the electrification state of the board|substrate S subjected to the antistatic treatment is smaller than the target electrification state, it can be said that the elimination period is long. Therefore, the controller 60 shortens the period of static elimination of the substrate S to be processed next. Conversely, when the electrification state of the substrate S subjected to the elimination treatment is greater than the target electrification state, it can be said that the elimination period is short. Therefore, the control part 60 lengthens the static elimination period of the board|substrate S to be processed next. For simplification, the final charging state of the substrate S on the substrate support portion 36 has been described assuming that the contactor 27 and the support pin 39 do not deteriorate in conductivity, but will be described later. As such, even if the contact 27 and the support pin 39 are deteriorated, the same processing is performed as a result.

4 is a table exemplifying a part of a recipe R showing a static elimination process. For simplicity, processing steps other than antistatic treatment are omitted. For this reason, blanks are non-synonymous and no numerical value is described. As shown in FIG. 4 , in the recipe R describing the process conditions of the substrate S, the target surface potential (state of charge) and the initial static elimination period in the static elimination process of the process module 10 are described. has been The control unit 60, in the case where the first substrate S transported from the load module 50 is first subjected to the static elimination process in the process module 10, sets the target electrification state and static electricity elimination period according to the recipe R. do the processing Further, the target electrification state and the initial static elimination period may be set by the user through the user interface 65 .

Then, as shown in FIG. 2 , the control unit 60 transports the substrate S subjected to the static elimination process from the process module 10 to the load-lock unit 30 and measures the charge measurement unit 40 of the load-lock unit 30. The electrification state of the substrate S is measured, and the static elimination period is changed based on the measurement result. In the processing content of (a), it is preferable that the control unit 60 uses the measurement result of the charge measurement unit 40 in the supporting step in which the substrate S is supported by the substrate support unit 36 (FIG. 3). reference). This makes it possible to handle the measurement result of the final electrified state of the substrate S.

For example, in the recipe R, when the target electrification state is 100 V and the elimination period is 40 seconds, while the electrification state of the substrate S after the elimination treatment (measurement result) is 80 V, it is assumed that the elimination period is long. can do. For this reason, the controller 60 shortens the static elimination period.

To shorten the static elimination period, the difference between the measured electrification state of the substrate S and the target electrification state (anti-tank) may be calculated, and the shortened period may be set according to the anti-tank. As an example, the controller 60 resets the static elimination period so as to shorten it by 1 second for every 1 V increase in the anti-tank. That is, in the above example, based on the fact that the anti-tank is 20 V, the controller 60 shortens the 40-second static electricity elimination period by 20 seconds. Alternatively, the reduction of the static elimination period may employ a method of shortening the period determined in advance each time the substrate S is treated once.

Conversely, when the target electrification state is 100 V and the elimination period is 20 seconds, while the electrification state (measurement result) of the substrate S after the elimination treatment is 110 V, the elimination period can be said to be short. For this reason, the controller 60 lengthens the static elimination period. As for the extension of the static elimination period, the difference between the measured electrification state of the substrate S and the target electrification state (anti-tank) may be calculated, and the extended period may be set according to the anti-tank. Alternatively, even in the extension of the static elimination period, a method of extending the period by a predetermined period each time the treatment of the substrate S is performed may be employed.

Further, when the anti-tank is within a predetermined range (eg, several V), the controller 60 may not reset the static elimination period. Accordingly, the control unit 60 can suppress the change of the static elimination period for each process performed by the process module 10, and can avoid fluctuations due to the influence of measurement errors or the like by the charge measuring unit 40. there is.

Conversely, when the charging polarity of the substrate S processed by the process module 10 is negative (the surface potential is negative), the substrate processing apparatus 1 lowers the surface potential to the positive side by an antistatic treatment. In the case where the electrification state of the substrate S subjected to the elimination treatment is greater than the target electrification state (close to zero), the elimination period can be said to be long. Therefore, the controller 60 shortens the period of static elimination of the substrate S to be processed next. Conversely, when the charge state of the substrate S subjected to the charge elimination treatment is smaller than the target charge state (on the negative side), the charge elimination period can be said to be short. Therefore, the control part 60 lengthens the static elimination period of the board|substrate S to be processed next.

5 is a flowchart of a substrate processing method (according to the processing content of (a)) according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5 , when the processing of the substrate S by the substrate processing apparatus 1 is started, the control unit 60 processes the substrate S among the process modules 10, 11, and 12. Module 10 is selected (step S1). After that, the control unit 60 sets process conditions based on the recipe R for the plasma processing and static elimination processing by the selected process module 10 (step S2). In this way, a target charging state and an initial static elimination period, which are conditions for the static elimination process, are set.

Then, the control unit 60 carries in the substrate S from the load module 50 to the load-lock unit 30 (step S3), and further controls the transfer device 21 to carry the substrate S of the load-lock unit 30 ( S) is returned to the selected process module 10 (step S4). After conveyance of the substrate S, the control part 60 performs a plasma process and a static elimination process with respect to the board|substrate S (step S5). At this time, the controller 60 executes the static electricity elimination process according to the set target charging state and static electricity elimination period. For example, when the static elimination process is performed first in the process module 10, the static electricity elimination process is performed for the static electricity elimination period of the recipe R.

After processing the substrate S, the control unit 60 carries the processed substrate S out of the process module 10 and conveys the substrate S to the load-lock unit 30 (step S6). Then, the control unit 60 measures the electrification state of the substrate S supported by the substrate support unit 36 by the charge measuring unit 40 of the load-lock unit 30 (step S7). In this way, the control unit 60 receives the measurement result from the charge measurement unit 40 .

After that, the control unit 60 analyzes the measurement result of the charged state to optimize the static elimination process (step S8). That is, in the analysis of the measurement result, the control unit 60 compares the electrification state of the substrate S subjected to the static elimination process in the first set antistatic period with the target electrification state. As a result of this comparison, if the absolute value of the electrification state of the substrate S is greater than the absolute value of the target electrification state, the time for the next charge elimination process is lengthened so that the absolute value of the electrification state of the substrate S is the target. If it is smaller than the absolute value of the charged state, the time for the next charge removal process is shortened. Further, as described above, in optimizing the static elimination process, the controller 60 calculates the charging state of the substrate S subjected to the static elimination process in the previously set static elimination period and the anti-tank of the target electrification state, and based on the anti-tank, The static elimination period may be reset.

After measuring the charged state of the substrate S, the control unit 60 carries the substrate S of the load-lock unit 30 out from the load-lock unit 30 to the load module 50 (step S9). In this way, the substrate processing apparatus 1 can newly transfer the unprocessed substrate S to the process module 10 that has previously been processed. After that, the process module 10 determines whether or not to end the process of the substrate S (step S10), and if the process of the substrate S is continued (step S10: NO), the process proceeds to step S3. Go back and repeat the same processing flow below.

As described above, in step S8, the control unit 60 resets the static elimination period when the next substrate S is subjected to the static elimination process. For this reason, in step S5, the control unit 60 performs the static electricity elimination process according to the reset static electricity elimination period. As a result, when the static elimination period is excessive, the time as a whole process can be shortened by reducing the static electricity elimination period, and particles generated by the static elimination process can be suppressed. Conversely, when the static elimination period is insufficient, the static electricity elimination period is extended to lower the charged state, thereby reducing damage to the device formed on the substrate S.

On the other hand, when ending the process of the board|substrate S (step S10: YES), the control part 60 proceeds to step S11 and performs an ending process. In this ending process, it is preferable that the control unit 60 stores the information of the static elimination process optimized in step S8. Thereby, at the time of restarting the process of the board|substrate S, the control part 60 can perform the static elimination process from the beginning using the memorized information (optimized information) of the static elimination process.

As described above, the substrate processing method according to the first embodiment measures the electrification state of the substrate S after processing in the process module 10 by the load-lock unit 30 to optimize the static elimination process. For this reason, the substrate processing method makes it possible to adjust the processing period of the process module 10 to an appropriate length while setting the electrification state of the substrate S to a desired electrification state. In addition, the substrate processing apparatus 1 does not need to install the charge measuring unit 40 in each process module 10, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Second Embodiment]

The process in (b) utilizes a change in the electrification state of the substrate S in the conveyance process of the substrate S inside the load-lock unit 30 to make use of a conductive member in contact with the substrate S. Deterioration of (the contactor 27 of the conveyance device 21 and the support pin 39 of the substrate support part 36) is estimated. Further, in the second embodiment, the case where the charging polarity of the substrate S processed by the process module 10 is positive (the surface potential is positive) is described, but even when the charging polarity is negative, the positive case and Similarly, it goes without saying that deterioration of the conductive member can be suppressed.

As shown in FIG. 3 , it was found that the charging state of the substrate S also changed inside the load-lock unit 30 during conveyance of the substrate S. This is because the charge measurement unit 40 uses electrostatic induction, so when the distance between the object and the sensor changes, the charge induced in the sensor changes and the measurement result changes. Therefore, the change in the electrification state due to the descent of the transport arm 23 becomes an apparent one. Therefore, in the comparison of charging states between carrying-in stages and comparison of charging states between supporting stages with other conveying processes, deterioration (with respect to conductivity) of contactors 27 and support pins 39, respectively, Deterioration (for conductivity) of is judged.

Here, in the support step, in a state where each support pin 39 having conductivity of the substrate support portion 36 supports the substrate S, electrons charged to the substrate S are transferred to each support pin 39. is discharged to ground potential through Therefore, the electrification state of the substrate S is lowered according to the implementation of the supporting step. In the case where the support pins 39 are degraded due to long-term use or the like, the decrease in the state of charge of the substrate S becomes weak (or does not change) in the support step.

From this, the controller 60 can estimate the deterioration of the support pins 39 based on the charged state of the substrate S in the support step. For example, the control unit 60 calculates the electrification state of the substrate S when the static elimination process was performed under the same process conditions (target electrification state, static elimination period, etc.) You may listen) and the current charging state of the substrate S are compared. Then, when the decrease in the electrification state of the substrate S becomes smaller than a predetermined level, it is determined that the support pin 39 is deteriorated. Alternatively, the control unit 60 calculates a rate of decrease over time of the electrified state when the substrate S is supported in the supporting step, and the calculated rate of decrease is less than a predetermined decrease rate threshold (not shown). In this case, deterioration of the support pin 39 may be determined.

Then, when the deterioration of the support pin 39 is determined, the control unit 60 resets the static elimination period in each of the process modules 10, 11, and 12 to be long as optimization of the static electricity elimination process. For example, the control unit 60 lengthens the static elimination period by a preset period based on the determination of deterioration of the support pin 39 . Further, the controller 60 may be configured to calculate the degree of deterioration of the support pin 39 and set the static elimination period longer as the degree of deterioration increases.

Further, in the carrying step, even in a state where each contact 27 having conductivity of the transport device 21 (fork 25) supports the substrate S, the electric charge charged to the substrate S is transferred to each contact is discharged to ground potential via (27). Therefore, the state of charge of the substrate S decreases during the carrying-in step. When the contact 27 deteriorates due to long-term use or the like, the decrease in the electrification state of the substrate S becomes weak (or does not change) in the carrying-in step. However, the electric potential detected by the charge measurement unit 40 in the carrying-in step includes the charge charged on the substrate support section 36 in addition to the state of charge on the substrate S.

For this reason, the controller 60 estimates the deterioration of the contactor 27 by using both the charged state of the substrate S in the carrying step and the charged state of the substrate S in the supporting step. For example, the control unit 60 subtracts the electrification state of the substrate S in the current holding step from the electrification state of the substrate S in the current carrying step, thereby determining the electrification of the substrate support unit 36. Excluding the influence Then, the current subtraction result is compared with the subtraction result when the static elimination process was performed in the past under the same process conditions (target electrification state, static elimination period, etc.), and when the subtraction result becomes smaller than a predetermined value, the contact ( 27) is determined to be deteriorated.

When determining the deterioration of the contact 27, the controller 60 resets the duration of the static elimination process in each of the process modules 10, 11, and 12 to be longer, similarly to the support pin 39. For example, the control unit 60 lengthens the static elimination period by a preset period based on the determination of the deterioration of the contactor 27 . The extension amount of the static elimination period when the contactor 27 deteriorates and the extension amount of the static electricity elimination period when the support pin 39 deteriorates may be the same or different. Further, the controller 60 may be configured to calculate the degree of deterioration of the contactor 27 and set the static elimination period longer as the degree of deterioration increases.

6 is a flowchart of a substrate processing method (according to the processing content of (b)) according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6 , the control unit 60 performs the same processing as in steps S1 to S6 of the substrate processing method according to the processing content of (a) above until steps S21 to S26. Further, the control unit 60 continuously measures the electrification state of the substrate S by the charge measurement unit 40 in the transport process of transporting the substrate S inside the load-lock unit 30 (step S27). The control unit 60 receives the measurement result of the electrification state of the substrate S and stores it in the memory 63 .

After that, the controller 60 analyzes the measurement result of the charged state to optimize the static elimination process (step S28). That is, in the analysis of the measurement result, the control unit 60, as described above, from the charged state of the substrate S in the carrying step and the supporting step to the index indicating the state of the contactor 27 and the support pin 39 ) is extracted.

Further, the controller 60 determines each of the deterioration of the contact 27 and the deterioration of the support pin 39 based on the extracted indexes (step S29). When it is determined that the contactor 27 or the support pin 39 has not deteriorated (step S29: NO), the control unit 60 does not perform the correction of the static elimination period due to the deterioration (step S30). For this reason, the control unit 60 maintains the current static elimination period when not resetting the static electricity elimination period by another determination.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the contactor 27 or the support pin 39 is degraded (step S29: YES), the control unit 60 performs correction to prolong the time of the next static electricity elimination process (step S31).

Further, after measuring the charged state of the substrate S, the control unit 60 carries the substrate S of the load-lock unit 30 out from the load-lock unit 30 to the load module 50 (step S32). As a result, the substrate processing apparatus 1 can newly transfer the unprocessed substrate S to the process module 10 that has been previously processed. After that, the process module 10 determines whether or not to end the processing of the substrate S (step S33), and if the processing of the substrate S is continued (step S33: NO), the processing proceeds to step S23. Go back and repeat the same processing flow below.

When the contactor 27 or the support pin 39 is deteriorated, the controller 60 resets the static elimination period to be longer. For this reason, in step S25, the controller 60 performs the static elimination process according to the extended static electricity elimination period. The substrate processing apparatus 1 maintains a constant state of charge of the substrate S as the entire process by lengthening the static elimination period according to the deterioration of the contactor 27 or the support pin 39, and immediately performs maintenance or parts replacement. Even if not performed, the board|substrate S can be processed with the same quality.

On the other hand, when ending the process of the substrate S (step S33: YES), the control unit 60 proceeds to step S34 and performs an end process. In this end process, it is preferable for the control unit 60 to store information on the optimized static elimination process. Thereby, the control part 60 can perform the static elimination process from the beginning using the optimized information at the time of resuming the process of the board|substrate S.

As described above, in the substrate processing method according to the second embodiment, deterioration of the contact 27 and support pin 39 are estimated. The substrate processing apparatus 1 can promote maintenance of the substrate processing apparatus 1 by notifying the user of this deterioration information through the user interface 65 . In addition, since the substrate processing method lengthens the static elimination period even if maintenance is not performed immediately, the electrified state of the substrate S in the process module 10 is lowered. Therefore, the substrate processing method makes it possible to defer the maintenance of the transfer device 21 or the load-lock unit 30 and perform maintenance or part replacement at the timing of the next periodic maintenance, thereby suppressing downtime of the device. there is.

[Third Embodiment]

The processing content of (c) is to recognize the distribution of the electrified state of the substrate S subjected to the plasma treatment and the static elimination treatment in the process module 10 and monitor the uniformity of the electrified state. Also, in the third embodiment, the case where the charging polarity of the substrate S processed by the process module 10 is positive (the surface potential is positive) is described, but even when the charging polarity is negative, it is the same as in the positive case. Similarly, it goes without saying that the distribution of the electrified state can be monitored.

In this case, the control unit 60 uses the state of charge of the substrate S measured in the carrying-in step of the transport process of the substrate S to determine the transport speed of the substrate S and the position of the charge measurement unit 40. Based on, the distribution of the electrified state along the extension direction of the substrate S is extracted. And, for example, the control unit 60, when the electrification state of the substrate S is within a predetermined tolerance (a range that can be regarded as uniform) along the plane direction of the substrate S, the charge of the substrate S after the treatment It is judged that quality is ensured. Conversely, the control unit 60 determines that, when the electrification state of the substrate S exceeds a predetermined tolerance along the plane direction of the substrate S, there is unevenness in the electrification state of the substrate S after the treatment (quality deteriorates). has been) determined.

In addition, the controller 60 may perform the static elimination process again on the substrate S for which it is determined that the electrification state is non-uniform. At this time, the substrate processing apparatus 1 may transfer the substrate S to the process module 10 again, perform the static elimination process in the process module 10, and wait for the substrate S in the load-lock unit 30 for a long time. A static elimination process may also be employed in which charge is moved through the support pin 39. Alternatively, in the load module 50, the controller 60 may select substrates S whose quality is ensured and substrates S whose quality is reduced.

[Fourth Embodiment]

In the processing of (d), the electrification state of the substrate S carried from the load module 50 to the load-lock unit 30 is measured, and the measurement result (hereinafter referred to as unprocessed electrification state) is used to process the process module. It is to monitor the electrification state of the board|substrate S after processing in (10). That is, there is a case where the substrate S supplied to the substrate processing apparatus 1 is already charged (carried-in charged). If the adjustment of the static elimination period based on the result of the analysis as it is in the case of carrying-in electrification is applied to the next static elimination process, there is a possibility that the static elimination process cannot be performed correctly. Therefore, the substrate processing method according to the fourth embodiment , it is possible to accurately grasp the electrification state of the substrate S after processing in each process module 10, 11, 12, except for the influence of this carry-in electrification. Here, the case where the carry-in charge is positive and positively charged in the plasma treatment, the carry-in charge is positive and the plasma treatment is negative, the carry-in charge is negative and the charge is positive in the plasma treatment, and the carry-in charge is negative. A case of negative charge in the plasma treatment is conceivable.

In detail, the controller 60 calculates a difference obtained by subtracting the unprocessed electrified state from the electrified state of the substrate S after the treatment (hereinafter, referred to as a difference before and after treatment). The control unit 60 compares the pre- and post-process difference with a preliminarily held threshold value. The threshold value is set so that the adjustment of the static elimination period is performed properly in the substrate S in the case of carrying-in electrification. It is preferable that the difference before and after processing and the threshold value are compared as absolute values. Here, the case where the difference before and after the process is smaller than the threshold means that the static elimination process is long, including a situation where the surface potential of the substrate S is positively charged and a situation where the surface potential of the substrate S is negatively charged. can do. Therefore, the controller 60 shortens the period of static elimination of the substrate S to be processed next. Conversely, when the difference before and after the treatment is larger than the threshold value, it can be said that the static elimination process is short, including a situation where the surface potential of the substrate S is positively charged and a situation where the surface potential of the substrate S is negatively charged. can Therefore, the control part 60 lengthens the static elimination period of the board|substrate S to be processed next.

7 is a flowchart of a substrate processing method according to the fourth embodiment (according to processing content of (d)). As shown in FIG. 7 , the control unit 60 performs the same processing as steps S1 to S3 of the substrate processing method according to the processing content of (a) above until steps S41 to S43.

Then, the control unit 60 measures the electrification state (unprocessed electrification state) of the substrate S loaded into the load-lock unit 30 by the charge measuring unit 40 (step S44). Then, the control unit 60 receives the measurement result (unprocessed electrification state) measured by the charge measurement unit 40 and stores it in the memory 63 .

After that, the control unit 60 controls the transfer device 21 to transfer the substrate S of the load-lock unit 30 to the selected process module 10 (step S45). After conveyance of the substrate S, the control part 60 performs a plasma process and a static elimination process with respect to the board|substrate S (step S46). At this time, the controller 60 executes the static electricity elimination process according to the set target charging state and static electricity elimination period.

After processing the substrate S, the control unit 60 carries the processed substrate S out of the process module 10 and conveys the substrate S to the load-lock unit 30 (step S47). Then, the control unit 60 measures the state of charge of the substrate S after the conveyed process by the charge measuring unit 40 of the load-lock unit 30 (step S48). In this way, the control unit 60 receives the measurement result measured by the charge measurement unit 40 and stores it in the memory 63 .

Then, the controller 60 analyzes the charged state of the substrate S after the treatment and the untreated electrified state, and optimizes the static elimination process (step S49). In the analysis of the measurement result, the control unit 60 subtracts the unprocessed electrification state from the electrification state of the substrate S after the treatment to calculate a difference before and after the treatment. When the absolute value of the difference before and after the process is smaller than a preliminarily held threshold value, the control unit 60 shortens the time for the next static elimination process in optimization, and when the absolute value of the difference before and after the process is greater than the threshold value, , the time of the next static elimination process is lengthened in optimization.

Further, after measuring the charged state of the substrate S, the control unit 60 carries the substrate S of the load-lock unit 30 out from the load-lock unit 30 to the load module 50 (step S50). As a result, the substrate processing apparatus 1 can newly transfer the unprocessed substrate S to the process module 10 that has been previously processed. For this reason, the process module 10 determines whether or not to end the processing of the substrate S (step S51), and if the processing of the substrate S is continued (step S51: NO), the process proceeds to step S43. Go back and repeat the same processing flow below.

As described above, in step S49, the controller 60 resets the static elimination period when the next substrate S is subjected to static electricity elimination processing. For this reason, in step S46, the control unit 60 performs the static electricity elimination process according to the reset static electricity elimination period. As a result, it is possible to reduce the excessive static elimination period, shorten the entire process time, suppress particles generated by the static electricity elimination process, and, when the static electricity elimination period is insufficient, extend the static electricity elimination period to lower the electrification state, thereby reducing the substrate S ) to reduce the damage received by the device formed on it.

On the other hand, when ending the process of the substrate S (step S51: YES), the control unit 60 proceeds to step S52 and performs the end process. In this ending process, it is preferable that the control unit 60 stores information on the static elimination process optimized in step S49. Thereby, at the time of restarting the process of the board|substrate S, the control part 60 can perform the static elimination process from the beginning using the memorized information (optimized information) of the static elimination process.

As described above, in the substrate processing method according to the fourth embodiment, by recognizing the electrified state of the substrate S after treatment taking into account the untreated electrified state, the static elimination processing capability of the process module 10 can be further improved with high precision. It can be monitored, and the static elimination period can be appropriately adjusted. Further, in the substrate processing method, the unprocessed electrified state when the substrate S is loaded from the load module 50 is used to estimate the deterioration of the conductive member (that is, the processing content of (b)). also good Further, the substrate processing method is applied when monitoring the distribution of the electrification state of the substrate S with respect to the unprocessed electrification state when the substrate S is carried in from the load module 50 (that is, the processing content of (c)). may also be used for

In addition, in the substrate processing method, if the unprocessed electrification state when the substrate S is loaded from the load module 50 to the load-lock unit 30 is above a predetermined level in the first place, the transfer to the process module 10 may be stopped. . Alternatively, in the substrate processing method, the static elimination treatment may be performed immediately after conveyance to the process module 10 when the untreated electrification state is above a predetermined level in the first place.

The technical spirit and effects of the present disclosure described in the above embodiments are described below.

A first aspect of the present disclosure is a substrate processing method of a substrate processing apparatus 1, in which a substrate S is transported from a process module 10, 11, or 12 that performs a plasma treatment and an antistatic treatment on the substrate S, , the process of conveying the substrate (S) to the load-lock unit 30 capable of switching between the air atmosphere and the vacuum atmosphere, the process of measuring the electrification state of the substrate (S) in the load-lock unit 30, and the There is a step of optimizing the static elimination process by analyzing the measurement result of the state of electrification.

According to the above, in the substrate processing method, it is possible to stably measure the electrification state of the substrate S in the load-lock unit 30, and the static elimination process of the substrate S can be optimized by using the measurement result. there is. For example, in the substrate processing method, by adjusting the time of the static elimination process according to the electrification state of the substrate S, it is possible to promote shortening of the entire processing time of the substrate S and suppress particles. Further, the optimization of the static elimination process is not limited to the adjustment of the static elimination period, and the power supplied to the static electricity elimination process may be adjusted. For example, when the absolute value of the charged state is large, the amount of electricity supplied is increased to increase the static elimination capacity, while when the absolute value of the charged state is small, the amount of electricity supplied is decreased to lower the static elimination capacity.

In the step of measuring the electrification state of the substrate S, the inside of the load-lock portion 30 is set in a vacuum atmosphere. In this way, the substrate processing method suppresses changes in the electrified state of the substrate S due to the air atmosphere, and can measure the electrified state of the substrate S with high accuracy.

In addition, the load-lock unit 30 has a support portion (buffer 37) for supporting the transported substrate S, and in the step of measuring the electrification state of the substrate S, the charge measurement provided in the load-lock unit 30 The surface potential of the substrate S supported by the support unit is measured by the unit 40 . This makes it possible to easily measure the surface potential of the substrate S, which is the charged state, in the substrate processing method.

In addition, a conveyance device 21 for conveying the substrate S between the process modules 10, 11, and 12 and the load-lock portion 30 is provided, and a contactor contacting the substrate S in the conveyance device 21 27 and the supporter (support pin 39) in contact with the substrate S in the support portion (buffer 37) each have conductivity, and in the process of optimizing the static elimination process, the substrate supported by the support portion ( Deterioration of the conductivity of the contactor 27 and the supporter based on the measurement results of the electrified state of S) and the electrified state of the substrate S transported by the conveying device 21 inside the load-lock section 30 to estimate Thus, the substrate processing method can stably estimate the degradation of the conductivity of the contactor 27 of the conveyance device 21 and the support of the load-lock portion 30 (buffer 37).

Further, when the deterioration of the conductivity of the contactor 27 or the supporter (support pin 39) is estimated, the time of the static elimination process is optimized. Thus, the substrate processing method secures the quality of the substrate S by performing the static elimination treatment for a long time even if the contactor 27 or the support deteriorates in terms of conductivity, thereby delaying the maintenance of the substrate processing apparatus 1. it becomes possible

Further, in the process of optimizing the static elimination process, the electrification state of the substrate S subjected to the static elimination treatment at the previously set static elimination treatment time is compared with the target electrification state, and the time of the next static elimination treatment is adjusted based on the comparison. . This makes it possible for the substrate processing method to appropriately adjust the duration of the static elimination treatment.

Further, in the step of optimizing the static elimination process, the electrification state of the substrate S subjected to the static elimination process in the previously set static elimination period and the anti-tank of the target electrification state are calculated, and the time of the anti-static process is reset based on the anti-tank. In this way, the substrate processing method can more smoothly adjust the duration of the static elimination treatment.

Further, in the process of measuring the state of charge of the substrate S, the state of charge of the substrate S conveyed inside the load-lock unit 30 is continuously measured, and in the step of optimizing the static elimination process, the state of charge of the substrate is charged. Extract the distribution of states. In this way, the substrate processing method can recognize the distribution of the electrified state of the entire substrate S, and suppress unevenness of the electrified state or the like.

In addition, a process of conveying the substrate S before processing by the process modules 10, 11, and 12 to the load-lock unit 30, and a process of measuring the electrification state of the substrate S before processing in the load-lock unit 30 Further, in the step of optimizing the static elimination treatment, based on the electrification state of the substrate S after the treatment processed in the process modules 10, 11, and 12 and the electrification state of the substrate S before the treatment, the static elimination treatment optimize In this way, the substrate processing method can optimize the static elimination process more accurately.

Further, the process of optimizing the static elimination process calculates the difference between the charged state of the substrate S after the process transported to the load-lock unit 30 and the charged state before the process transported to the load-lock unit, and calculates the difference between the difference and a preset threshold value. are compared, and when the difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the time for the static elimination process is lengthened. In this way, the substrate processing method can suppress the lack of static elimination of the substrate S by lengthening the time of the static elimination process based on the large difference.

Further, when the difference is less than the threshold value, the time for the static elimination process is shortened. In this way, the substrate processing method can further increase the work efficiency of the substrate processing by shortening the time for the static elimination processing based on the small difference.

In addition, a second aspect of the present disclosure is a substrate processing apparatus 1, which is capable of switching between process modules 10, 11, and 12 for performing plasma treatment and static elimination treatment on a substrate S, and an air atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere. The load-lock unit 30 and the vacuum transfer module 20 that transports the substrate S processed by the process modules 10, 11, and 12 from the process modules 10, 11, and 12 to the load-lock unit 30; , It is provided in the load-lock unit 30 and has a charge measurement unit 40 that measures the electrification state of the substrate S and a control unit 60 that processes the measurement result of the charge measurement unit 40, and the control unit 60 ) optimizes the static elimination process by analyzing the measurement result of the electrification state of the substrate S. Thereby, the substrate processing apparatus 1 can optimize the static elimination process in the process of the board|substrate S.

The substrate processing method and the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment disclosed this time are illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. Embodiments can be modified and improved in various forms without departing from the appended claims and their main points. Matters described in the above plurality of embodiments can also take other configurations within a range that is not contradictory, and can be combined within a range that is not contradictory. For example, the type of substrate S processed by the substrate processing method and the substrate processing apparatus 1 is not limited to a substrate for FPD, and various members such as disk-shaped wafers can be used.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present disclosure includes an Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) apparatus, Capacitively Coupled Plasma (CCP), Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), Radial Line Slot Antenna (RLSA), Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma (ECR), Helicon Applicable to any type of device among Wave Plasma (HWP).

Claims (12)

As a substrate processing method of a substrate processing apparatus,
a step of carrying the substrate out of a process module for subjecting the substrate to plasma treatment and static elimination treatment, and conveying the substrate to a load-lock unit capable of switching between an air atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere;
a process of measuring the electrification state of the substrate in the load-lock unit;
and a step of optimizing the static elimination process by analyzing a measurement result of the electrification state of the substrate. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of measuring the state of charge of the substrate, the inside of the load-lock portion is placed in a vacuum atmosphere. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the load lock part has a support part for supporting the conveyed substrate,
In the step of measuring the charged state of the substrate, a surface potential of the substrate supported by the support part is measured by a charge measuring unit provided in the load lock unit. 4. The method of claim 3, comprising a conveying device for conveying the substrate between the process module and the load lock unit;
In the conveying device, a contactor contacting the substrate and a supporter contacting the substrate in the supporter each have conductivity,
In the process of optimizing the static elimination process, based on measurement results of the electrified state of the substrate supported by the support part and the electrified state of the substrate transported by the transport device inside the load-lock unit, the contactor and and estimating the degradation of the conductivity of the supporter. The substrate processing method according to claim 4, wherein the time of the static elimination process is optimized when the deterioration of the conductivity of the contactor or the supporter is estimated. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein in the step of optimizing the static elimination process, a target electrification state is compared with an electrification state of the substrate subjected to the static elimination treatment for a previously set duration of the antistatic treatment, and adjusting the time of the next antistatic treatment based on the comparison. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein in the step of optimizing the static elimination process, a charging state of the substrate subjected to the static elimination process at a previously set time of the static elimination process and an anti-tank in a target electrification state are calculated, and the anti-static is calculated based on the anti-tank. A substrate processing method comprising resetting the processing time. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein in the step of measuring the electrified state of the substrate, the electrified state of the substrate transported inside the load-lock unit is continuously measured,
The substrate processing method of claim 1 , wherein in the step of optimizing the static elimination process, a distribution of an electrification state of the substrate is extracted. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a step of conveying the substrate before processing by the process module to the load-lock unit;
Further comprising a step of measuring the electrification state of the substrate before the processing in the load lock unit;
In the step of optimizing the static elimination process, the static electricity elimination process is optimized based on a state of charge of the substrate after the process processed in the process module and a state of charge of the substrate before the process. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of optimizing the static elimination process calculates a difference between a state of charge of the substrate after the process transported to the load-lock unit and a state of charge of the substrate before the process transported to the load-lock unit. , Compare the difference with a preset threshold,
and when the difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value, a time period of the static elimination process is lengthened. The substrate processing method according to claim 10 , wherein a time period of the static elimination process is shortened when the difference is less than the threshold value. As a substrate processing apparatus,
A process module for performing a plasma treatment and an antistatic treatment on a substrate;
A load lock unit capable of switching between an atmospheric atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere;
a vacuum conveyance module for conveying the substrate processed by the process module from the process module to the load lock unit;
a charge measurement unit provided in the load lock unit and measuring a charge state of the substrate;
a control unit for processing a measurement result of the charge measurement unit;
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the controller optimizes the static elimination process by analyzing a measurement result of the electrification state of the substrate.

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