WO2005036617A1

WO2005036617A1 - Work single wafer processing system

Info

Publication number: WO2005036617A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/013131
Authority: WO
Inventors: Seiichi Nakazawa
Original assignee: Fuji Research Institute Corporation; Hayashi, Takehide
Priority date: 2003-10-14
Filing date: 2003-10-14
Publication date: 2005-04-21
Also published as: JP4083748B2; AU2003271187A1; JPWO2005036617A1

Abstract

A work single wafer processing system comprising a station (4) for feeding a single wafer into a BAY or repacking it to an FOUP, an EFEM (6) fixed to a semiconductor production system, a clean tunnel (7) sharing a clean region between the EFEM and the station, a single wafer conveyor (3) conveying a wafer in the clean tunnel, and a control system CS for controlling the single wafer conveyor (3), the station (4), the EFEM (6) and the production systems (50-54), in which alternative BAY processing, high efficiency wafer collection processing, imaginary load port processing and simultaneous wafer collection processing can be controlled in addition to normal processing and a concrete processing procedure is defined.

Description

Work piece sheet processing system

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to, for example, the supply and recovery of wafers to a manufacturing apparatus in a semiconductor light production process, which is usually performed using a cassette of 25 sheets or a FOUP (hermetic closure). In the single-wafer processing system, in which the transfer tunnel of the clean form, ie, the equipment front end module (EFEM), is formed by clean tunnels, the specific processing procedure of the single-wafer processing system is described. It is to clarify.

In this system, the work (workpiece) is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, but includes a display substrate, a magnetic hard disk, and so on. BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 3 155475 1, handling of transfer of a wafer in a pre-processing step of a semiconductor manufacturing plant is

2 5 pieces of cassette 011? The wafers were placed in a (hermetically sealed box) and supplied to and recovered from the manufacturing equipment.

To this end, of the 25 wafers in the FOUP, the first wafer to be processed first had to wait within the FOUP until the remaining 24 wafers were processed. That is, all wafers have to wait until the other wafers in the FOUP are processed, Work-in-progress products such as waiting wafers were generated in all semiconductor manufacturing equipment that spans more than 500 units and more than 500 steps.

The manufacturing equipment also needed a mechanism to load the wafers into the FOUP after taking it out of the FOUP or processing in the equipment.

In addition, to automatically transport and store cassettes and FOUPs, it was necessary to have a large space and an expensive logistics system according to these dimensions and weights.

On the other hand, the wafer size has been increased to improve production efficiency, and increasing the size of cassettes and FOUPs to cope with this increase in diameter is one of the factors that increase the construction cost of a clean room factory that requires high investment. It is

Semiconductor wafers have shifted from 200 mm diameter to 300 mm diameter, and the production equipment corresponding to 300 mm has also been changed from the patch processing method of the 200 mm generation to the single wafer processing method. The goal of the industry is to increase production efficiency through single-fed manufacturing equipment and transportation. Also in the case of display substrates such as liquid crystals, the trend is to increase their size.

Therefore, the applicant has provided a system using PC TZ JP / 0 593 9 to connect the manufacturing equipment as a single workpiece by continuously transporting wafers and other workpieces in a very clean area. We have proposed the realization of single-wafer manufacturing, compensating for the shortcomings of the conventional technology.

In order to build this proposal specifically, it is necessary to have a system that ensures consistency in production management of semiconductor factories etc. with ME S (Manufacturing Execution System). In addition, there is a processing procedure that can not be diverted as it is from the conventional processing procedure that uses one cassette or FOUP as an oral unit, and there is a processing procedure that requires its own development. Therefore, the present invention is intended to clarify the specific processing procedure of the system in realizing single-wafer transfer by using a connection type EFEM in semiconductor manufacturing and the like. Disclosure of the Invention The present invention relates to a single wafer processing system being represented by a semiconductor manufacturing process, and an example of the configuration thereof is disclosed. However, as described above, the present invention is also applicable to a liquid crystal device manufacturing process. The present invention consists of the following five components.

A. The semiconductor wafer 2 is supplied into the bay in units of single wafers from the FOUP or cassette (hereinafter represented by FOUP and represented by 1) transferred by the inter-process transfer means, or the processing is completed. A refill station (hereinafter simply referred to as a station) 4 for refilling a wafer unit 2 to a FOUP 1 and a special EF EM installed in front of a B semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 5 0 to 5 4 (Equipment F ront End M odu 1 e, hereinafter, also simply referred to as EF EM) 6 C, clean tone sensor 7 sharing clean area between these EF EM 6 and station 4 , D Control the operation of each equipment and manufacturing device 50 to 54 that compose the single-wafer compa- rator 3 that continuously transports the wafer 2 in this clean tunnel 7, and the E-f-sheet compa It consists of a control system CS to control.

Then, one bay is formed by A to D, and the EF EM in a linked form in which the EF EM group is linked is in contact with the outside of the EF EM in a linked form via the above-mentioned station 4. The wafer 2 is transported and transferred as a single wafer in the EFEM in the connected form, and the wafer 2 is transported and transferred in FOUP units outside the EFEM in the connected form. Wafer 4 in FOUP 1 is stacked or packed into FOUP 1 by robot 4 0 at station 4, which is the contact point between the wafer unit and the FOUP unit. However, a package for temporarily storing the empty FOUP The Far Station 4 1 is incorporated, and the Snow Station 4 1 is connected to the small batch carrier 8. The EFEM 6 is a wafer transfer robot 60, a code, an alphanumeric reading device 61, an automatic operation buffer cassette 62, a manual operation FOUP 6 3 and a FOUP opener 6 4 And the clean tunnel 7 is connected to the clean area. (Fig. 1 oblique line) '

The robot 60 in the EFEM 6 is provided with a holding unit 60 a that holds only the outer peripheral edge of the wafer 2, and is a single-wafer compensator 3, a manufacturing apparatus 50-54, and a notch cassette 62 And make a transition between FOUP 6 3 5.

Before the wafer 2 is put on the manufacturing equipment 50-54 4, that is, when the pot 60 in the EF EM 6 fetches the wafer 2 from the single-wafer compensator 3, the wafer number is read and the wafer is appropriate. It is most desirable to report to the control system CS and direct the wafer 2 to the position of the equipment stage 65 as determined by the manufacturing equipment 50-54.

In order to satisfy this specification, the robot hand 60 b holds the outer edge of the Ueno 2 and the wafer 2 is transferred during the transfer operation of the robot hand 60 b. It has a mechanism to rotate, detect and stop V notch and Oriental flat, and take out a predetermined position and read the alphanumeric and bar code of wafer 2. The clean tunnel 7 only needs to be able to form the minimum space necessary to transport the single wafer 2 by means of the single wafer compa- rator 3. The interior of the clean tunnel 7 is maintained in an extremely clean state, for example, under a nitrogen atmosphere, and is almost completely isolated from the atmosphere outside the tunnel, that is, the atmosphere of the worker area. The sheet-fed compensator 3 has a loop shape and is continuously driven by a compa- belt 30. The block 3 2 on the LM guide rail 3 1 has a wafer 3 placed thereon at a fixed interval. 3 is attached. Since the develop 30 occurs after a certain period of time, the take-up mechanism 3 4 and the adjustment rail replacement point 3 5 for stretching the receive 30 on a part of the LM guide rail 3 1 (See Fig. 3 (a) (b)). In addition, when the cover 30 is extended, it is replaced with the adjustment LM guide added with the extended dimension, and the finger 33 of the single-wafer conveyor 3 has a minimum contact with the wafer 2 The holding portion 3 3 a for fixing is attached to hold only the outer peripheral edge of the wafer 2.

The sheet fan 3 is an exhaust fan for making the inside of the sheet conditioner 3 negative pressure so that dust generated by the drive does not affect the degree of clean in the clean tunnel 7. It is a cleaner equipped with 3 and 7 attached, connected to exhaust duct 3 8 and exhausting air through a gas filter. The control system cs advances and manages the wafer 2 for each grouping parameter (type / process, lot No etc.) or cooperates with the bay controller CS 2 based on the instruction from the core business system. Management of the status of each source (each connected device, FOUP, operator, etc.) and history management, as well as the single-wafer management controller CS 1 that performs recipe setting management at the single-wafer level, The controller CS 1 is connected, and at the lower level, the above-mentioned single-wafer computer 3, the above-mentioned equipment of the station 4 or the EF EM 6, and the various processing units CS 0-CS 4 of the various processing units 50 are connected. At the same time, it controls the proper loading of wafer 2 and the recovery of wafer 2 to the above-mentioned stage 4 to control wafer 2 to flow smoothly in the bay, as well as the control roller CS 2, and Baikonto A scheduler, which is connected to the la CS 2 and determines the processing order of the processing units 50 to 54, and the processing order of the processing units 50 to 54, and the stasis Station controller CS3 that performs status management, history management, material transfer instruction for station loading and unloading, evacuation processing for sheet controller 3 and status management of sheet-fed material controller 3, history management, devices 50 to 5 4-Equipment 5 0-5 4 or Equipment 5 0-4 4-Station 4 Sheet material conveyance controller CS 4 that instructs material conveyance and status management of EF EM 6, history management, EF On-line control using the EF EM controller CS 5 that instructs the material transfer of EM loading and unloading, status management and history management of each processing unit 50 to 54, HSMS SEMI E 37, GEM SEMI E 30 Equipment controller CS 6 . In general, the process of manufacturing a semiconductor wafer involves wiring, an insulating film, etc. on the wafer. Forming a resist layer, applying a resist, exposing and developing the resist pattern to form a resist pattern on the wafer, etching an unnecessary portion on the wafer, implanting ions into the wafer, resist The process can be divided into the process of removing the grit, the cleaning process between the processes, and the inspection process, but the above-mentioned workpiece single wafer processing system can be applied to any process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the relationship between the EF EM in the connection form and the peripheral equipment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the EF EM in the connection form, and FIG. Fig. 4, (b) Longitudinal section of sheet-fed conveyor, Fig. 4 is a plan view of EF EM, Fig. 5 is a sectional view of EF EM.

Fig. 6 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a roller-type sheet-fed fabric complier and a sheet-fed robot.

Fig. 7 is a detailed plan view of the sheet-fed compa and robot, and Fig. 8 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the sheet-fed conveyor and robot.

Fig. 9 is a side view of the handle rotation mechanism and reader of the rod pot, Fig. 10 is a plan view of the wafer rotation mechanism type I, Fig. 11 is a sectional view of the wafer rotation mechanism type I, Fig. 12 The figure is a plan view of the wafer rotation mechanism type Π, and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the wafer rotation mechanism type Π.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a multistage compensator and a multistage single wafer robot for transporting and transferring a plurality of wafers.

Fig. 15 is a flow chart, and Fig. 16 is inventory value calculation.

FIG. 17 is a system configuration diagram, and FIGS. 18 and 22 are control flow diagrams. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In order to describe the present invention in detail, this will be described according to the attached drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the single-wafer processing system according to the present invention is capable of transferring a wafer 2 as a work from a FOUP 1 transferred by a small batch transfer machine 8 as an inter-process transfer means. A station 4 for supplying a single wafer to the single wafer compa 3 in leaf units or recovering a single wafer 2 in a single wafer to the FOUP 1 and an EF EM provided in front of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 50 to 54 6 and a clean tunnel 7 sharing the clean area of the EF EM 6 and the station 4 in common, and the above-described single-wafer competition 3 in which the wafer 2 is continuously transported in the clean tunnel 7. It is connected. About the Station 4 The Station 4 is a station serving as an interface between the outside of the Bay and the inside of the Bay, and the robot 40, the nose fairing 4 1 and the FOUP opener 4 2 And have.

A downward laminar flow is formed from the top of the station 4 downward to maintain cleanliness.

Buffer station 41 is used when the timing of single wafer transfer of wafer 2 in FOUP 1 transferred by small patch transfer machine 8 does not match the processing time of manufacturing apparatus 50-54. Once, it is a storage for FOUP 1. Control system CS instructs FOUP 1 to be transferred from buffer station 4 to load station 4 3 when it becomes convenient for manufacturing equipment 5 0-5 4 It is transported to the EF EM 6 by the leaf compensator 3.

According to EF EM 6 The EF EM 6 usually belongs to the class 1 super clean area and class 1 0 0 0 degree area of the clean degree class, and it is a class 1 class. In the area (shaded area in Fig. 1), as shown in Fig.2 and Fig.4, the transfer robot 60, the knocker cassette 62 and the manufacturing equipment storage 65 have approximately class 1 as shown in Fig.4 and Fig.5. The area of 0 0 0 is equipped with FOUP 6 3 and FOUP 4 6.

The buffer / power set 62 is used to temporarily place wafers 2 loaded on a single wafer processing robot 3 by means of a robot 60. The wafer 2 is directly attached to a manufacturing apparatus stage 65. It is not used when delivering. The FOUP 6 3 is used by the operator to manually transport the FOUP in case of trouble in the transport system and for special emergency handling in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and should be used during normal automatic operation. There is no. The normal EF EMs are all processed in FOUP units, and the EF EM 6 of the present invention differs from the normal EF EMs in that it corresponds to both the knocker cassette 62 and the FOUP 6 3. About clean tunnel 7 Clean tunnel 7 is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. It is provided along the single-wafer conveyor 3 and so as to cover the upper side thereof.

A HEPA filter 72 is mounted on the top of the clean tunnel 7 as shown in FIG. 2 so as to supply clean air into the tunnel 7. .

Further, the side of the clean tunnel 7 is partitioned by a predetermined member, for example, a synthetic resin sheet, etc., except for the area connected to the above-mentioned station 4 and EF EM 6. There is.

In addition, the lower part of the clean tunnel 7 is sectioned by the single-wafer conveyor body 3 6.

The EFEM 6 and the station 4 are connected to the clean tunnel 7 to form a clean degree class 1 area, and this cleanness class including the equipment stage 65 is In the area 1 all wafers 2 are carried individually, and except in the case of an emergency operation, wafer 2 is refilled into FOUP 1 only via station 4 Ru.

That is, from the fact that F 2 O 2 U P wafer 2 and single wafer processing are one place of station 4, a form of connected E F E M where E F EM 6 is connected is configured. About the single-wafer compensator 3 _ As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the single-wafer compensator 3 is a continuous traveling type driven by an endless loop-shaped competitor 30.

This sheet-fed computer 3 is not limited to this continuous running type. Any configuration may be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the drive roller 30a, the pallet 30b driven by the drive roller 30a, and the pallet 30b in the inside of the conveyor body 36 having a substantially mouth-shaped cross section It may be equipped with a lift type stopper 30 c that stops pallet 30 b at a predetermined position.

The pallets 30 b are fixed at fixed intervals to the hangers 33 on which the wafers 2 are loaded, and the base end of the fan 33 is formed on the upper surface of the conveyor body 3 6. It can move along the gap 3 6 a.

Attached to the above-mentioned finger 33 is a holding portion 33 a for minimizing contact with the wafer 2, and holds only the outer peripheral edge of the wafer 2. Install an exhaust fan 3 7 on the underside of the main body 3 6 so that the pressure inside the single sheet competitor 3 can be negative, so that the pressure on the clean tunnel 7 does not affect the degree of clean in the tunnel 7. It is connected to duct 38, and clean measures to discharge air through the air filter are taken. Operation Example An operation example of the work-piece processing system configured as described above will be described. At station 4, Ueno 2 in FOUP 1 transported by small-batch transport machine 8 is fed to sheet-fed carrier 3 by robot 40. Wafer 2, which is stored in sheet-fed copier 3, is not supplied directly to manufacturing apparatus stage 6 5 by robot 60 in EFEM 6 in a predetermined manufacturing apparatus 50-54. Ffakase' DOO 6 2 _c manufacturing device 5 0 which is temporarily placed - 5 4 wafer 2 processing is finished in the robot 6 0, is placed on the sheet Konpeya 3 next device 5 0 - is transported to 5 4 Ru. Based on FIGS. 7 and 8, the operational relationship in which the wafer 2 transported by the single-wafer carrier 3 is supplied to and recovered from the manufacturing apparatus 50-54 will be described.

The sheet-fed compensator 3 is a continuously traveling type compensator driven in the direction of A.

The robot hand 60 b is moved when the wafer 2 placed on the four holding parts 33 a of the sheeter 3 3 in the sheet-fed machine 3 is placed in front of a predetermined manufacturing device 50-54. Go in the direction of A. While synchronized with the traveling speed of the sheet-fed compara- tor 3, go under the finger 3 3 and move in the direction B of the robot node 6 b and the direction 3 of the finger 3 3 The wafer 2 is placed on the four holding parts 60 a on the robot node 60 b by raising the robot main body 60 in the direction of C at an equal speed.

On the other hand, when placing the wafer 2 on the compara- tor, if the empty finger 33 comes to the predetermined position of the manufacturing apparatus, the robot node 60 b on which the wafer 2 is placed on the holding unit 60 a is A of When the robot hand 60b moves downward in the direction D while moving in the direction B along with the finger 33 on the finger 33 moving in the direction, the movement of A and B is equalized. Transfer by means of Positioning of V-notch or Oriental flat on wafer 2 and reading of percode and alphanumeric characters imprinted on wafer 2 is a rotary wafer positioning-only device conventionally installed near a robot (Liner 1) The robot hand can be equipped with a rotation mechanism to eliminate the transfer and shorten the operation time. In this case, the robot mounted on the robot 60 can be used either when picking up the wafer 2 from the single wafer processing 3 or when placing it on the single wafer processing 3 after the processing of the manufacturing apparatus 5 0-5 4 is completed. Ha-Annpa reader 6 1 (FIG. 7) can read alphanumeric characters and barcodes imprinted on wafer 2.

When positioning and reading wafer 2, use the rotation mechanism built in robot node 60 b.

In addition, transfer of wafer 2 has a small area in contact with wafer 2 and is a method in which chipping of wafer 2 is the least, and the holding portion 3 3 a of single wafer compensator 3 3 and the holding portion of robot node 6 0 a Through Ueno, 2 is done by holding the outer rim. Further, as shown in FIG. 6 described above, the method of stopping the speaker 33 of the competitor may be used in front of the apparatus stage 65, as shown in FIG. 6 described above.

That is, the fanger 33 is attached to the pallet 30 b and travels with the drive wheel 30 a. When pallet 30 b reaches a predetermined position, pallet 30 b is stopped by the rise of lift type stopper 3 0 c. As soon as the robot stops, the robot hand 6 0 b gets under the door 2 and lifts it to scoop the wafer 2. When the lift type stand 3 0 c descends, it is removed. The toe 30 b travels again by the action of the drive roller 3 0 a. When Ueno and 2 are placed on the finger 3 3, the movement of the notch 3 0 b is the same, and the movement of the robot 6 0 is similar to the explanation of FIGS. 7 and 8.

The same method can be achieved by stopping the pallet with an actuator with an accommodation function and using a stopper type stopper. In front of the manufacturing equipment 50, 51, 52, 53 and 54, read the wafer 2's par code and alphanumeric characters, and when contacting the control system, rotate the wafer 2 on the robot hand 60 b. Install the mechanism to

FIG. 9 shows the rotation mechanism of the robot 60, the wafer pick-up reader 61 and the robot hand 60 b.

The pot 60 is a type of rotating the rotating hand 60 c of the tip of the hand 60 b while holding the wafer 2.

Figures 1 0 and 1 1 show the wafer rotation types on the robot node 60 b, and although there are two types, they have the same function.

In Fig.10 and Fig.1 1 type I is moving robot robot 6 0 b in synchronization with the speed of finger 3 3 of traveling single wafer compa 3 and robot robot 6 0 b At the same time, the outer peripheral edge of wafer 2 is received by the inclined surface of rotating drive roller 60 d and free roller (60 e, 60 f), and rotating drive roller 60 d is moved in the direction of E while rotating. , Wafer 2 is sandwiched between the vertical part of the free roller (60e, 60f) and the vertical part of the rotary drive roller 60d.

The types in Fig.12 and Fig.13 Π is the outer peripheral edge of wafer 2 by four free rollers (60 g to 60 j), and the rotational drive roller 60 d Move the wafer in the direction of E and sandwich the wafer 2. In both types, when the roller 1 (60 d, 60 e to 60 j) is rotated and pinched, the wafer 2 is rotated while climbing the inclined portion of the roller. Friction can be prevented. In addition, the transfer dimensional error between the compander 3 3 and robot roller (60 d, 60 e to 60 j) is within 1 and 3 mm, and the rotational drive roller (40 d) The stroke in the E direction is also small, and the positioning time of the V notch etc. of wafer 2 and the reading time of alphanumeric characters are within 3 seconds. Since the wafer positioning and reading using the conventional positioning-only linerr requires 2 seconds or more, the processing time reduction effect is extremely large.

In addition, because it is a chuck mechanism that sandwiches Ueno, 2 between the vertical part of the free roller (60 e to 60 j) and the vertical part of the rotary drive roller (60 d), the moving single-wa A gap of wafer 2 + α will be formed between the rollers 60 d required to pick up the wafer 2 from the finger 3 of 3.

In addition, the chuck mechanism enables high-speed rotation of the wafer 2.

In addition, this chucking mechanism enables wafer 2 to be positioned even if the robot hand is moving.

Fig. 14 shows the specifications for cases in which the transfer frequency is high and it is sufficient to simply transfer the wafer, and when it is not possible to transfer the wafer 2 by one unit, the finger 3 3 and robot arm 6 0 Multiple b can be transported. Wafer 2 is placed on the 2nd and 3rd stages of wafer 2 simultaneously on carrier finger 33 with multistage holding parts in the vertical direction and transferred, and also when transferring, robot hand 60 b is vertically multistaged To transfer This increases the transport capacity. Double-stage transfer and transfer can be achieved by setting the multistage compensator 33 and the multistage robot node 60 b on which the wafer 2 is loaded to two stages, and three-stage system improves the capacity by three times. In the connected form, the EFEMs connect 10 or more semiconductor or liquid crystal manufacturing apparatuses, so the sheet-fed comparator 3 needs to have a carrying capacity of 500 to 100 sheets per hour. However, the sheet-fed compara- tor 3 of the present invention is capable of transporting 120 2 sheets per hour at a finger pitch of 500 mm and a compara- s speed of 10 m / min, and the capacity is further improved. You can also

In addition, Ueno 2 that has been sent to Station 4 from EF EM 6 can set the timing for packing Wafer 2 into FOUP 1 at Station 4 at any small batch. For example, when a predetermined time has passed and the number of sheets reached, the lid of FOUP 1 is automatically closed and the small patch conveyor 9 automatically sends it to EFEM of another connection form or the like. Even if there is no wafer processing waiting time in single-sheet transfer within the EFEM in the connection mode, if the batch transfer is performed between the EFEMs in the connection mode, the effect of single-wafer transfer will be reduced, so small patches will be made Set the required time and the number of sheets, and carry out small increments. As a result, if a single-sheet compa- lier transports between the EF EMs in the connection form, at a speed of 1 O m to 15 m per minute, in the case of a 15 O m-long factory, 20 minutes to 30 minutes per round Although it takes a minute, the small batch conveyor 8 can deliver a speed of 150 m per minute, so it takes only 2 minutes for one round, and the effect of single wafer conveyance within the EFEM in the connected form is not reduced. Les. The overall flow is as shown in Figure 15. About control system Next, a configuration example of the control system will be described based on FIG. The control system CS groups the wafer 2 into group parameters (type / process, lot, etc.) in cooperation with the bay controller CS 2 based on the instructions from the core business system such as ERP (Entprise R source P 1 anning). A sheet processing controller that performs progress management for each No, etc., manages status of resources (each connected device, FOUP, operator, etc.), manages history, and manages recipe settings at the wafer level. CS 1 and

The above-mentioned single-wafer processing controller CS 1 is connected to the upper level, and the lower-level single-sheet processing controller 3, the station 4 and the EF EM 6 devices and the on-line control controllers 50 to 54 are connected to the lower level. With the crawlers CS3 to CS6 connected, the wafer 2 flows smoothly through the bay by controlling the proper injection of the wafer 2 and the collection of wafer 2 to the station 4. And the Bay Controller CS 2 to control

It is connected to this Bayer controller C S 2 and determines the order of loading the wafer 2 into the single wafer processing 3 and the order of processing in each processing unit

A station controller C S 3 that performs status management of the above-mentioned station 4, history management, material transfer instruction for station loading and unloading, evacuation processing, etc.

Status management of sheet-fed copier 3, history management, device 5 0-5 4-device 5 0-5 4 or device 50 0-5 4-station 3. With the Trolla CS 4,

With the EF EM controller and CS 5 that perform status management of the EF EM 6, history management, and material transport instructions for loading and unloading of the EF EM, It has equipment controller CS6 that performs status control and history management of equipment 50 to 54, on-line control by HSMSSEMIE 37 and GEM SEMIE 30.

In the above CS:! To CS6, a CPU (central processing unit), a ROM (read only memory), an RAM (read / write memory), and an interface between each controller, for example, are used as serial interfaces, respectively. A clock pulse generation circuit for generating a reference clock pulse, a frequency divider, and the like are provided, and each CPU executes various processing in accordance with programs stored in the ROM. In the control system CS configured in this way, for example, when it is applied to the bay of the patterning step in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor, for example, the transfer between the bay of the other processes is generally controlled. A transport system controller CS 8 is connected to the system CS, and an inter-process transport machine, a station, a sheet-fed transport machine, an EF EM, etc. are connected via the transport system controller CS 8. Control system with control system CS: Normal processing

Next, an example of control by the control system CS will be described.

First, an example of control of each controller when the inside of B a y is normally processed will be described based on FIG.

When the bay controller CS 2 receives the arrival signal of the FOUP station from the station controller CS 3 (step 1), it updates the FOUP status and requests wafer information acquisition for a single wafer. Send to controller CS 1 (step 2).

Next, the bay controller CS 2 adds and updates the wafer information etc. received from the single wafer management controller CS 1 (step 3), and if the scheduling execution conditions are met, the scheduling process is executed to the scheduler server 7. Send a request and receive the result (Step 4, Step 5).

Next, when receiving the scheduling result, the bay controller CS 2 executes the closing instruction (step 6), and the station controller CS 3 moves the FOUP in which the corresponding wafer exists to the closing stage, and the wafer is transported by the single wafer conveyor. It is transferred to 3.

When the wafer transferred to the single wafer conveyor 3 is transferred to a predetermined E F EM 6 and loaded onto the processing system mini-loader, the Bayer C S 2 assigns a virtual load port.

Processing start received from equipment controller CS 6 (Step 7) Bay controller CS 2 updates the wafer status and equipment status, and requests processing start transaction request to single wafer management controller CS 1 Send (Step 8).

When receiving the processing end notification from the device controller CS 6 (Step 9), the bay controller CS 2 updates the wafer and device status, and sends a dispatch start request to the scheduler dispatcher CS 7 and receives the result Perform (Step 10, Step 1 1), and send a processing completion transaction request to the single-wafer management controller CS 1 (Step 1 2).

When receiving the mini-buffer wafer loading notification, the Bayer controller CS 2 executes the wafer status update and recovery check, and then executes the transfer instruction (step 1 3). Thereafter, the wafer on which the next-step processing exists is transferred to the next-step processing device, and the flow of wafer loading and unloading is repeated.

After the final process has been completed, the wafer is collected at the station and transferred to the next bay (steps 1 to 16). Alternative B a y processing

Next, each controller processing procedure and communication procedure between the controllers are explained based on Fig. 19 when an abnormality occurs in the processor in Bay and processing must be continued in the alternative Bay. Do. When the wafer processing is completed in the apparatus, the bay controller C S 2 receives the process end notification from the apparatus controller C S 6 (step 1 0 1). The Bayer controller CS 2 updates the wafer and equipment status, sends a dispatch activation request to the scheduler / dispatcher CS 7 (step 1 0 2) and receives the result (step 1 0 3), Send a processing end transaction request (steps 1 0 4) to the single-wafer management controller CS 1.

When the next device stops for the wafer waiting for transfer (discharge) to the next device after the processing is completed (Step 1 0 5), the bay controller CS 2 updates the device status, and the single-wafer management controller Send a device state change request to CS 1 (step 1 0 6).

In addition, the bay controller CS2 checks whether the corresponding wafer can be processed by another device in its own bay. If there is a device that can be processed, determine the next device according to the next device decision logic. If there are no other devices that can be processed in the own bay, execute collection instructions to the station (steps 10 7 to 10 9). In this case, the stopped device Prepare a separate FOUP.

After receiving the collection completion notice (step 1 1 0), the beacon controller C S 2 updates the wafer status and sends a collection completion notice to the single wafer management controller 1 (step 1 1 1). Also, execute the transfer instruction to the alternate Bay (step 1 1 2).

For example, when the manufacturing apparatuses 5 0-5 4 in the above-mentioned Bay are arranged in a flow-shop type, even if one manufacturing apparatus breaks down, they can be transported to another Bay for further processing. Can avoid getting stuck.

In this case, the other B a y may be a system similar to the present invention, or may be a system that processes in units of F O U U P. Efficient collection of wafers

Next, the controller processing procedure and the communication procedure between the controllers are shown in Fig. 20 (A) when the delay of the wafer to be collected is automatically recognized and the next bay transfer of the recovery incomplete FOUP is instructed. It explains based on (B). In the case where the arrival of the to-be-collected wafer is delayed in the FOUP being collected, the collected wafer is automatically transferred to the next B a V automatically. That is, as shown in FIG. 20 (A), when the apparatus is on-line, automatic stop of the apparatus is automatically recognized and conveyance is started, and the bay controller CS 2 instructs the wafer collection (step 20 1) After that, when the device with recovered wafers stops, Bay Controller CS 2 receives a device shutdown report from Device Controller CS 6 (Step 202). The Bay Controller CS 2 then updates the device status and Report the equipment stop (Step 2 0 3) to the management controller CS 1, send a partial collection completion report of the wafers to be collected (Step 2 0 4), and execute the next Bay transfer instruction (Step 2 0 5) Do. In addition, when the collection interval is timer-monitored and the transfer is started when the timeout occurs, as shown in Fig. 20 (B), the Bayer controller CS 2 instructs the wafer collection (step 2 0 6) After that, monitor the collection interval by timer. When a time interval occurs in the recovery interval, a partial recovery completion report of the wafer to be recovered is sent to the single wafer management controller c S 1 (step 2 0 7), and the transfer instruction to the next Bay is executed ( Do step 2 0 8).

By the above processing, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of unnecessary waiting time of the wafer at the stage 4. Implement virtual load port and virtual FOUP

Next, based on Fig. 21 we explain each controller processing procedure and communication procedure between controllers when virtual load port and virtual FOUP are installed.

This process adapts the processing of each leaf to the processing procedure of FOUP, which is the current standard. After receiving the wafer transfer instruction from the bay controller CS 2 (step 3 0 1), the EF EM controller CS 5 executes assignment of virtual load port and virtual FOUP to the equipment controller CS 6 ( Step 3 0 2). Virtual load port, equipment controller with virtual FOUP assigned CS 6 is also related to operation without actual FOUP. However, it is possible to send event reports related to Carrier Management System (CMS) to the banner controller CS2.

In addition, the EF EM controller CS 5 performs FOUP related operation instruction communication and the like with the device controller CS 6 (step 3 0 3), and further receives a wafer transfer instruction (step 3 0) Four ).

Collecting wafers to the station's FOUP

Next, the processed wafers are stored in each EF EM 6 wafer cassette 62 until the processing of one group of wafers is completed, and when the final processing of each wafer is completed, all at once. The procedure for processing each controller and the procedure for communication between controllers when the processed wafers are placed on the single-wafer conveyor 3 and collected in the vacant FOUP of the station will be described based on FIG.

E F EM controller C S 5 instructs the robot 60 to transfer the processed wafer to the buffer power set 62 (step 401).

Each EF EM controller CS 5 sends a process end notification to the bay controller CS 2 when all wafers have been processed (step 402), and the bay controller CS 2 Update the wafer and device status, and send a single transaction control request (step 402) to the single wafer management controller CS1.

Next, upon receiving a wafer transfer instruction from the bay controller CS2, the EF EM controller CS5 places the wafers on the single-wafer conveyor 3 simultaneously (step 403). Station CS 3 (Step 04) receives the recovery instruction from Bayer controller CS 2 and executes the recovery instruction.

After that, as with the above processes, the Bay Controller CS2 receiving the collection completion notification updates the wafer status, sends the single wafer management controller 1 the collection completion notification, and sends it to the next Bay. Execute the transport instruction of.

This process facilitates the processing of one group of wafers. Industrial applicability

As mentioned above, although the single wafer processing system is represented to the semiconductor manufacturing process and the example of composition was indicated, it is a system applicable also to other work manufacturing processes, for example, a liquid crystal manufacturing process etc. It can be applied to the sixth generation (150 0 mm x 180 mm) where the size of the substrate has been increased, and further to the seventh generation (1 800 mm x 20 0 O mm) above it. System.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. Supply work piece by sheet to sheet conveyors from F OU P, etc. conveyed by inter-process conveyance means, or collect sheet work pieces from sheet conveyor to FOUP etc. A station, an EF EM installed in front of a manufacturing apparatus, a clean tunnel having a clean area common to these EF EMs and the station, and the above-mentioned that transports a work in the clean tunnel In a single wafer processing system consisting of single wafer processing,

Works with the Bayer controller to perform work progress management for each grouping parameter, to manage resource status and history, and to control the recipe settings at the wafer level. La,

The above-mentioned single-wafer processing controller is connected to the upper layer, controls the proper input of the work and the collection of the work to the above-mentioned station, and controls the work to flow smoothly in the bay. A scheduler connected to the bay controller and determining the order in which the workpieces are to be fed into the sheet-fed complier and the processing order in each processing device;

A station controller connected to the lower level of the bay controller and performing status management of the station, history management, material transfer instruction of the station loading and unloading, evacuation processing, and the like;

A sheet-fed transfer machine controller connected under the image controller and instructing the sheet-fed machine status management, history management, device-machine or machine-station material transfer instruction, and Connected to the lower side of the bay controller, and of the EF EM An EF EM controller that performs status management, history management, and material transport instructions for loading and unloading of EF EM;

A work-piece-by-piece processing system, comprising: an apparatus controller connected to a lower level of the controller and performing status management and history management of the apparatus.

2. When the next device is stopped due to a failure or the like with respect to the wafer waiting to be transferred to the next device after the processing is completed, the above-mentioned wafer controller is said to be other than the one in Bay. both checking whether can be processed by the device, if the processing apparatus capable exists, when determining the Supporting connexion next device in the next unit decision logic can be processed in another device is not in the B a _y is The workpiece single-wafer processing system according to claim 1, wherein a collection instruction to the station is executed.

3. After instructing the wafer recovery, the baince controller monitors the recovery interval by a timer, and when a timeout occurs in the recovery interval, the single wafer management controller reports a partial recovery completion of the wafer to be recovered. The work sheet processing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, together with transmission, a transfer instruction to the next Bay is executed.

4. The work according to claim 1, wherein the EFEM controller that has received the wafer transfer instruction from the vane controller executes virtual load port and virtual FOUP assignment to the device controller. Sheet-fed processing system.

5. — Each EF EM until processing of one group of wafers is complete The controller stores the processed wafers in its buffer set, and when the final processing of each wafer is completed, the processed wafers are simultaneously transferred according to the instruction from the wafer controller. The work sheet processing system according to claim 1, wherein the work is transferred to a conveyor and collected into a vacant FOUP of a station.