TW201344830A - Robot for transferring substrate, multi-chamber substrate processing apparatus using the same, and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a substrate transfer robot for efficiently transferring a substrate, a multi-chamber substrate processing apparatus using the substrate transfer robot, and a method for controlling the apparatus. The substrate transfer robot includes a substrate holder, a plurality of robot arms permitting a three-dimensional movement of the substrate holder, and a loading chuck provided on any one of the plurality of robot arms, the loading chuck sucking or holding the substrate from a position above the substrate.

Description

Substrate transfer mechanism, substrate processing device and control method thereof

The present invention relates to a substrate transfer mechanism, a multi-chamber substrate processing apparatus using a substrate transfer mechanism, and a control method of a multi-chamber substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate transfer mechanism can transfer a substrate efficiently.

In a semiconductor process, a thin film deposition process is used to deposit a desired material on a substrate, and can be divided into a physical vapor deposition (PVD) method and a chemical vapor deposition (chemical vapor deposition). CVD) method. Among them, the chemical vapor deposition method provides a reaction gas to the reaction chamber, and in the case of using high heat or plasma, the reaction gas is chemically reacted, so that a film can be deposited on the substrate. In addition, in a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method, an organometallic compound is used as a precursor and is transported to a reaction chamber as a carrier gas so that An organometallic compound film is grown on the surface of a heated substrate.

In conventional substrate processing apparatus that performs a deposition or etching process, typically only a single substrate is loaded into a reaction chamber for substrate processing. Recently, however, a semi-batch type substrate processing apparatus has been developed in which a plurality of carrier disk containers are disposed on one of the reaction chambers, and a plurality of substrate systems are simultaneously loaded to individual carriers. The tray is processed for processing. In addition, a multi-chamber substrate processing apparatus has been developed which has a plurality of reaction chambers for performing multiple processes simultaneously.

However, the above conventional technique has a problem in that a half batch of substrate processing apparatus requires manual loading of a plurality of substrates into individual carrier tray containers. For example, in the process of loading or unloading a substrate, it is necessary to use tweezers, and the pliers can damage the substrate. In addition, the manual approach also makes it difficult to accurately align the substrate to the corresponding carrier tray container. In addition, loading or unloading the substrate is also more time consuming.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate transfer mechanism capable of automatically taking a substrate from a cassette, loading the substrate into a substrate aligner, and aligning the aligned substrate from the substrate aligner. Enter into a carrier.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that loads and unloads a substrate using the substrate transfer mechanism described above, and processes the loaded substrate.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling a substrate processing apparatus to process a substrate.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate transfer mechanism comprising a substrate support member, a plurality of robot arms, and a loading and fixing unit. The robotic arm drives the substrate support to perform a three-dimensional movement. The loading and fixing unit is disposed on any of the robot arms and sucks or supports the substrate from above the substrate.

In one embodiment, the mechanical arms include: a robot arm having the substrate support; and another robot arm coupled to the robot arm having the substrate support member, and the loading and fixing unit is disposed on the other The bottom of one of the robot arms.

In one embodiment, the loading fixture unit is a non-contact suction grip unit. In addition, a camera is disposed on one side of the loading fixed unit.

To achieve the above object, the present invention also provides a substrate processing apparatus comprising a cassette, a substrate aligner, a reaction chamber, and a substrate transfer mechanism. A plurality of substrates are stacked in a cassette. The substrate aligner aligns the substrates in accordance with a predetermined direction. The reaction chamber contains a carrier tray having a plurality of carrier tray containers. The substrate transfer mechanism transfers the substrates between the cassette, the substrate aligner and the carrier trays, and includes a substrate holder, a loading and fixing unit, and a plurality of robot arms. The substrate support transfers the substrates from the cassette to the substrate aligner. Loading the fixed unit holds or supports the substrate from above the substrate aligned by the substrate aligner and transfers the substrate to a corresponding carrier tray container. The robotic arm drive substrate support member and the loading and fixing unit perform a three-dimensional movement.

In one embodiment, the number of reaction chambers is at least two, and the substrate transfer mechanism performs a substrate loading operation and a substrate unloading operation for the reaction chambers.

In one embodiment, the mechanical arms include: a robot arm having the substrate support; and another robot arm coupled to the robot arm having a substrate support member, and the loading and fixing unit is disposed on the other mechanical mechanism The bottom of one of the arms. The loading fixture unit can be a non-contact suction clamping sheet yuan.

To achieve the above object, the present invention also provides a control method for controlling a substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus comprising a cassette, a substrate aligner, at least two reaction chambers, and a substrate transfer mechanism, the plurality of substrate stacks The substrate aligner is arranged in a predetermined direction according to a predetermined direction, each reaction chamber has a carrier disk, the carrier disk has a plurality of carrier disk containers, and the substrate transfer mechanism is disposed in the cassette and the substrate aligner. Each substrate is transferred between the carrier tray containers. The control method comprises: transferring each substrate from the cassette to the substrate aligner using one of the substrate transfer mechanisms; loading the fixed unit from the substrate aligned by the substrate aligner using one of the substrate transfer mechanisms Suctioning or supporting the substrate; moving the loading and fixing unit over a corresponding carrier tray container and loading the substrate into the carrier tray container; and repeating the above steps for the reaction chambers using a substrate transfer mechanism .

In one embodiment, the controlling method further comprises: unloading the substrate from the carrier tray container using a loading and fixing unit after performing a process in a corresponding reaction chamber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a substrate transfer mechanism, a substrate processing apparatus, and a control method thereof according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same elements will be described with the same reference numerals.

1 is a schematic view of a substrate transfer mechanism of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The substrate transfer mechanism 1 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a base 10, a plurality of robot arms 12, 14, 16, 18, a substrate support member 20, and a loading and fixing unit 30. The robot arms 12, 14, 16, 18 are disposed on the base 10. The substrate support member 20 is disposed on a distal robot arm of one of the mechanical arms (here, the robot arm 18 is taken as an example).

The robot arms 12, 14, 16, 18 form an articulated mechanical device. As shown in FIG. 1, the robot arms 12, 14, 16, 18 include a first robot arm 12, a second robot arm 14, a third robot arm 16, and a fourth robot arm 18. The first robot arm 12 is disposed on the top of one of the bases 10, the second robot arm 14 is coupled to the first robot arm 12, the third robot arm 16 is coupled to the second robot arm 14, and the fourth robot arm 18 is coupled to Third robot arm 16. It should be noted that the mechanical arm of the present invention may have other variations in number and structure, which are merely illustrative. Preferably, the robotic arms are constructed and allow the substrate support member 20 and the loading and fixing unit 30 to perform three-dimensional movement.

To drive the robot arms 12, 14, 16, 18, a first drive motor 22, a second drive motor 24, a third drive motor 26, and a fourth drive motor 28 are respectively disposed on the mechanical arms 12, 14 , 16, 18 connections. Wherein, the first driving motor 22 rotatably drives the first robot arm 12, the second driving motor 24 rotatably drives the second robot arm 14, and the third driving motor 26 rotatably drives the third robot arm 16, The fourth drive motor 28 rotatably drives the fourth robot arm 18. Further, a vertical moving unit 23 may be disposed in the base 10 and drive the first robot arm 12 to move in the vertical direction.

The drive motors 22, 24, 26, 28 for rotatably driving the robot arms 12, 14, 16, 18 are merely illustrative, and the present invention may have other aspects for driving the structure of the robot arm. Further, the vertical moving unit 23 may use a driving unit such as a rack, a pinion gear element, a ball screw, a linear motor, or the like.

The substrate holder 20 is disposed at one end of the fourth robot arm 18. In an embodiment, the substrate holder 20 can support, for example, one of the bottoms of a substrate. Further, in another embodiment, a vacuum can be used for the substrate holder 20 to prevent the substrate from falling.

The loading and fixing unit 30 is disposed below the third robot arm 16 and may be a non-contact chuck unit or an electrostatic clamping unit using Bernoulli's principle. The substrate is loaded or supported at the bottom of one of the loading units 30. In addition, a camera 32 can be disposed under the third robot arm 16 and can determine the position of one of the substrates by the acquired image or know that one of the carrier trays carries one of the positions of the susceptor pocket. The loading and fixing unit 30 and the camera 32 can be fixed to the bottom of one of the third robot arms 16 via a coupling element 29 . If necessary, an element for actuating and controlling the loading of the fixed unit 30 and the camera 32 can be mounted in the coupling element 29.

2 is a schematic diagram of a substrate transfer mechanism, a substrate receiving cassette, and a substrate aligner in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The plurality of substrates 36 are disposed in the cassette 34 and are stacked one on another at the same pitch.

The substrate aligner 38 is used to align the substrates 36 in a direction. One A flattened area or a dimple is formed on the substrate 36, and the substrate aligner 38 is aligned with the substrate 36 such that the flattened area or the indentation of the substrate faces a predetermined direction. When the substrate 36 is loaded into the carrier tray of the carrier, the substrate 36 is controlled to be loaded in an alignment direction. In an embodiment, the substrate 36 can be loaded into the carrier tray container and the flat regions or indentations of the substrate 36 face the radially outer side centered on the carrier disk.

After the substrate 36 is aligned by the substrate aligner 38 and transferred to the carrier tray and is held and supported by the loading and fixing unit 30, the substrate 36 is seated within the carrier tray container.

3 is a schematic view of a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a front view of a substrate processing apparatus.

The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate transfer mechanism 1 and at least two reaction chambers 40, 50. 3 and 4 show that the substrate processing apparatus has a first reaction chamber 40 and a second reaction chamber 50.

A first carrier tray 42 is disposed in the first reaction chamber 40 and has a plurality of first carrier trays 44 located within the first carrier tray 42. A second carrier 52 is disposed in the second reaction chamber 50 and has a plurality of second carrier trays 54 located within the second carrier 52. Additionally, although not shown, each of the reaction chambers 40, 50 can be covered by a chamber cover that can open or close the reaction chambers 40, 50.

The substrate transfer mechanism 1 may be disposed between the reaction chambers 40, 50 or at an intermediate position of one of the substrate processing devices to load the substrate into each of the reaction chambers 40, 50 and from each of the reaction chambers 40, 50 unloads the substrate 36. The substrate processing apparatus also includes a cassette 34 and a substrate aligner 38, the cassette 34 can store the substrate 36, and the substrate aligner 38 can be aligned with the substrate 36. The cassette 34 and the substrate aligner 38 can be shared by the reaction chambers 40, 50.

5 is a schematic view of a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the substrate is taken out from the cassette; FIG. 6 is a substrate processing of the substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; A schematic diagram of a device in which a substrate is loaded into a substrate aligner; FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate transfer mechanism in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the aligned substrates are aligned from the substrate The device is uninstalled.

Referring to FIG. 5, the substrate holder 20 disposed on the fourth robot arm 18 moves toward the cassette 34, and a plurality of substrates 36 are stacked in the cassette 34. After the substrate holder 20 is placed under a corresponding substrate 36, the substrate holder 20 is moved upward so that the substrate 36 is placed on the substrate holder 20.

Referring to FIG. 6, the substrate support 20 of the supported substrate 36 is moved to a position above the substrate aligner 38 and then moved downward so that the substrate 36 is loaded into the substrate aligner 38. Thereafter, the substrate holder 20 is separated.

Referring to FIG. 7, after the substrate aligner 38 is aligned with the substrate 36, the loading and fixing unit 30 is moved downward from the position above the substrate aligner 38 toward the substrate 36. Next, the substrate 36 is sucked and supported by the bottom of the loading unit 30. In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the fourth robot arm 18 having the substrate holder 20 is folded to assist in loading the fixed unit 30. move.

8 is a schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate transfer mechanism in which a substrate is loaded into a carrier tray of a carrier tray in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The loading fixture unit 30 holds or supports the substrate 36 and moves to a position above the carrier tray 40 and loads the substrate 36 into the carrier tray container 44. The camera 32 captures an image of the carrier tray 44 to which the substrate 36 is to be loaded, thereby precisely controlling the loading position of the substrate 36.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a loading and fixing unit of a substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the loading and fixing unit 30 can use a non-contact suction based on Bernoulli's law. Referring to FIG. 9, the loading and fixing unit 30 is used in combination with a compressed gas supply 60 and a channel forming member 62, wherein the channel forming member 62 is disposed on one suction surface of the loading and fixing unit 30. The compressed gas system supplied via the compressed gas supply 60 flows out along the suction side of the loading fixing unit 30 by the passage forming member 62. In this aspect, the negative pressure system is generated from the suction side of the loading unit 30. Based on such a theory, the substrate 36 can be sucked into the suction side of the loading and fixing unit 30 in a non-contact manner.

Of course, the substrate 36 can also be sucked by a vacuum method or an electrostatic clamping method. Here, the vacuum method applies a vacuum to the loading and fixing unit 30, and the electrostatic clamping method uses an electrostatic force. When the loading and fixing unit 30 uses the non-contact suction method described above, it is possible to prevent the upper surface of one of the substrates 36 from being damaged by the loading and fixing unit 30.

10 is a flow chart of a method of loading and unloading a substrate using a substrate transfer mechanism in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In step S100, the substrate transfer mechanism 1 moves the substrate holder 20 to the cassette 34 to take the substrate 36 out of the cassette 34.

In step S102, the substrate holder 20 is moved toward the substrate aligner 38 and then moved downward to load the substrate 36 to the substrate aligner 38. The substrate aligner 38 rotates and aligns the substrate 36 such that the flat regions or indentations formed on the substrate 36 face a particular direction.

In step S104, after the substrate 36 is aligned, the substrate transfer mechanism 1 is actuated to place the loading and fixing unit 30 above the substrate 36, and then the loading and fixing unit 30 sucks or supports the substrate 36, and the substrate aligner 38 removed.

In step S106, the loading and fixing unit 30 is moved to the carrier tray 42 or 52, and the substrate 36 is loaded to the carrier tray 44 or 54 of the carrier tray 42 or 52. These steps are repeated until a predetermined number of substrates 36 are loaded into the plurality of carrier trays 44 or 54.

In addition, steps S100 to S106 may be performed in each of the reaction chambers 40, 50.

If the substrate 36 has been loaded onto the carrier disk 42 or 52, a predetermined substrate processing process can be performed in the reaction chamber 40 or 50. In step S108, when the substrate processing process is completed, the substrate 36 is unloaded from the carrier tray 44 or 54 by the loading and fixing unit 30.

As described above, the present invention can effectively transfer a substrate from a cassette to a substrate aligner and a carrier tray of one reaction chamber, and unload one place. The finished substrate. In addition, the surface of the substrate can be prevented from being damaged during loading or unloading of the substrate, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of the substrate processing process.

In addition, according to the present invention, a plurality of substrates can be loaded into a plurality of reaction chambers or a plurality of substrates can be unloaded from a plurality of reaction chambers by a single substrate transfer mechanism, thereby improving the management efficiency of the device.

In addition, the present invention can save work time compared to the conventional use of manual methods.

The above is intended to be illustrative only and not limiting. Any equivalent modifications or alterations to the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

1‧‧‧Substrate transfer mechanism

10‧‧‧Abutment

12, 14, 16, 18‧‧ mechanical arm

20‧‧‧Substrate support

22‧‧‧First drive motor

23‧‧‧Vertical mobile unit

24‧‧‧Second drive motor

26‧‧‧ Third drive motor

28‧‧‧fourth drive motor

29‧‧‧Coupling components

30‧‧‧Loading fixed units

32‧‧‧ camera

34‧‧‧匣 box

36‧‧‧Substrate

38‧‧‧Substrate aligner

40, 50‧‧‧ reaction chamber

42‧‧‧First carrier

44‧‧‧First carrier tray container

52‧‧‧Second carrier

54‧‧‧Second carrier tray container

60‧‧‧Compressed gas supply

62‧‧‧Channel forming elements

1 is a schematic view of a substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a substrate transfer mechanism, a substrate receiving cassette, and a substrate aligner according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; A schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a front view of a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; A schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the substrate is taken out from the cassette; 6 is a schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate transfer mechanism in which a substrate is loaded to a substrate aligner according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; A schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus in which an aligned substrate is unloaded from a substrate aligner; FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the substrate is loaded FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a loading and fixing unit of a substrate transfer mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 10 is a substrate transfer using a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A flow chart of a method of loading and unloading a substrate by a mechanical device.

1‧‧‧Substrate transfer mechanism

10‧‧‧Abutment

12, 14, 16, 18‧‧ mechanical arm

20‧‧‧Substrate support

22‧‧‧First drive motor

23‧‧‧Vertical mobile unit

24‧‧‧Second drive motor

26‧‧‧ Third drive motor

28‧‧‧fourth drive motor

29‧‧‧Coupling components

30‧‧‧Loading fixed units

32‧‧‧ camera

Claims (11)

A substrate transfer mechanism comprising: a substrate support member; a plurality of mechanical arms driving the substrate support member for a three-dimensional movement; and a loading and fixing unit disposed on any one of the mechanical arms and from a substrate The substrate is sucked or supported above. The substrate transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein the robot arm comprises: a robot arm having the substrate support member; and another mechanical arm coupled to the robot arm having the substrate support member, And the loading and fixing unit is disposed at the bottom of one of the other robot arms. The substrate transfer mechanism of claim 1, wherein the loading and fixing unit is a non-contact suction clamping unit. The substrate transfer mechanism according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a camera is disposed on one side of the loading and fixing unit. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a cassette, a plurality of substrates stacked in the cassette; a substrate aligner aligning each of the substrates according to a predetermined direction; and a reaction chamber including a carrier, The carrier tray has a plurality of carrier tray containers; and a substrate transfer mechanism is attached to the cassette, the substrate aligner and Transferring the substrates between the carrier trays, and comprising: a substrate support member for transferring each of the substrates from the cassette to the substrate aligner; a loading and fixing unit is aligned from the substrate The substrate is attracted or supported by the substrate, and the substrate is transferred to a corresponding carrier tray; and a plurality of robot arms are driven to perform a three-dimensional movement with the loading and fixing unit. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the number of the reaction chambers is at least two, and the substrate transfer mechanism performs a substrate loading operation and a substrate unloading operation for the reaction chambers. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the robotic arm comprises: a robot arm having the substrate support member; and another mechanical arm coupled to the robot arm having the substrate support member, and The loading and fixing unit is disposed at the bottom of one of the other robot arms. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the loading and fixing unit is a non-contact suction holding unit. A control method for controlling a substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus comprising a cassette, a substrate aligner, at least two reaction chambers, and a substrate transfer mechanism, wherein the plurality of substrates are stacked in the cassette, the substrate The aligner aligns each of the substrates according to a predetermined direction, each of which The reaction chamber has a carrier tray having a plurality of carrier trays, and the substrate transfer mechanism transfers the substrates between the cassette, the substrate aligner and the carrier trays. The control method comprises: using a substrate support member of the substrate transfer mechanism transferring each of the substrates from the cassette to the substrate aligner; using one of the substrate transfer mechanisms to load the fixed unit from the alignment by the substrate aligner Holding or supporting the substrate above the substrate; moving the loading and fixing unit to a corresponding carrier tray container and loading the substrate into the carrier tray; and using the substrate transfer mechanism as the reaction chamber Repeat the above steps in the room. The control method of claim 9, further comprising: unloading the substrate from the carrier tray using the loading and fixing unit after performing a process in a corresponding reaction chamber. The control method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the loading and fixing unit is a non-contact suction holding unit.