CN-121986588-A - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

Abstract

The load-lock module includes a plurality of stage areas disposed around a center position, a rotation support portion having a plurality of fixed support pins for supporting the substrate, the rotation support portion being configured to be rotatable about the center position above the plurality of stage areas, and a driving mechanism configured to be capable of driving the rotation support portion in a rotation direction. In the case of transporting the substrate between the load-lock module and the 1 st transport module or the 2 nd transport module, the 1 st transport robot or the 2 nd transport robot transports the substrate with respect to the fixed support pins.

Inventors

• SAKAUE HIROMITSU
• KONDOH KEISUKE
• Nishimori Keiichi
• Ohta Tomoki

Assignees

• 东京毅力科创株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20241115

Priority Date

20231017

Claims (20)

1. 1. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, wherein, The substrate processing apparatus includes: A processing module having a plurality of mounting tables for processing a substrate mounted on the mounting tables; a1 st transfer module having a1 st transfer robot configured to be capable of collectively transferring a plurality of substrates to the processing module; a2 nd transfer module having a2 nd transfer robot configured to transfer the substrate with respect to the accommodation container capable of accommodating the plurality of substrates, and A load-lock module provided between the 1 st transfer module and the 2 nd transfer module, configured to be able to accommodate a plurality of substrates transferred by the 1 st transfer robot or the 2 nd transfer robot, The load-lock module has: a plurality of table areas arranged around the center position; a rotation support part having a plurality of fixed support pins for supporting the substrate and configured to be rotatable about the center position above the plurality of table areas, and A driving mechanism configured to be capable of driving the rotation support portion in a rotation direction, In the case of transporting a substrate between the load-lock module and the 1 st transport module or the 2 nd transport module, the 1 st transport robot or the 2 nd transport robot transports the substrate with respect to the fixed support pins.
2. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The arrangement of the plurality of substrates mounted on the plurality of mounting tables in the processing module is the same as the arrangement of the plurality of substrates supported by the rotation support portion in the load-lock module, In the arrangement of the plurality of substrates, the distance between adjacent substrates is less than 1/2 of the radius of the substrate.
3. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The processing module has: a chamber accommodating the plurality of stages; A gas supply unit for supplying a process gas into the chamber, and And an exhaust unit that exhausts the interior of the chamber.
4. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The 1 st transfer robot has a1 st pickup capable of holding a substrate and moving in the vertical direction, When the 1 st transfer robot transfers the substrate with respect to the fixed support pin, the 1 st pickup moves in the vertical direction, The 2 nd transfer robot has a2 nd pickup capable of holding a substrate and moving in the vertical direction, The 2 nd pickup moves in the vertical direction when the 2 nd transfer robot transfers the substrate with respect to the fixed support pin.
5. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The rotation support part is configured to be movable in a vertical direction relative to the table region, The driving mechanism is configured to be capable of driving the rotation support portion in the vertical direction.
6. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, A table having a heat treatment mechanism is provided in the table region.
7. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The rotation support part has a plurality of arms capable of supporting the substrate and having a substantially circular arc shape in a plan view, The fixed support pin is disposed at a position that does not interfere with the 1 st transfer robot when the 1 st transfer robot transfers the substrate relative to the fixed support pin, and at a position that does not interfere with the 2 nd transfer robot when the 2 nd transfer robot transfers the substrate relative to the fixed support pin, The fixed support pin is provided inside the arm so as to protrude upward from the upper surface of the arm.
8. 8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The fixed support pin is in point contact with the substrate, and supports the substrate by friction.
9. 9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The load-lock module has a locator that controls the orientation of the notch of the substrate relative to the rotational support.
10. 10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, The positioner controls the orientation of the plurality of substrates such that the notches of the plurality of substrates are located on a center side or an opposite side of the center of the rotation support.
11. 11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, The positioner has: A notch detecting section for detecting a notch of the substrate, and And a support pin provided in the stage area, capable of supporting the substrate, rotatable in a rotation direction, and movable in a vertical direction.
12. 12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, The positioner is provided at a position corresponding to the substrate supported by the rotation support portion and is a position separated from the carry-in/out port of the substrate on the 2 nd transfer module side in the load-lock module.
13. 13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The substrate processing apparatus includes a position measuring unit provided on the load-lock module side of the 2 nd transfer module and configured to measure a position of the substrate in a horizontal direction.
14. 14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The substrate processing apparatus has a structure in which 2 of the load-lock modules are integrally provided.
15. 15. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein, 4 Of the stages are provided in the processing module, The 1 st transfer robot is configured to be capable of transferring 4 substrates at a time, In the load-lock module, the rotation support portion is configured to be capable of supporting 4 substrates.
16. 16. A substrate processing method in which a substrate is processed using a substrate processing apparatus, wherein, The substrate processing apparatus includes: A processing module having a plurality of mounting tables for processing a substrate mounted on the mounting tables; a1 st transfer module having a1 st transfer robot configured to be capable of collectively transferring a plurality of substrates to the processing module; a2 nd transfer module having a2 nd transfer robot configured to transfer the substrate with respect to the accommodation container capable of accommodating the plurality of substrates, and A load-lock module provided between the 1 st transfer module and the 2 nd transfer module, configured to be able to accommodate a plurality of substrates transferred by the 1 st transfer robot or the 2 nd transfer robot, The load-lock module has: a plurality of table areas arranged around the center position; a rotation support part having a plurality of fixed support pins for supporting the substrate and configured to be rotatable about the center position above the plurality of table areas, and A driving mechanism configured to be capable of driving the rotation support portion in a rotation direction, The substrate processing method comprises the following steps: (a) Delivering a substrate from the 2 nd transfer robot to the fixed support pins, and delivering a substrate from the 2 nd transfer module to the load-lock module; (b) Repeating the rotating the rotation support and the step (a), and accommodating a plurality of substrates in the load-lock module; (c) Receiving a plurality of substrates supported by the fixed support pins by the 1 st transfer robot, and collectively feeding the plurality of substrates from the load-lock module; (d) Delivering a plurality of substrates from the 1 st transfer robot to the plurality of tables, simultaneously delivering a plurality of substrates from the 1 st transfer module to the processing module, and (E) A plurality of substrates are processed in the processing module.
17. 17. The substrate processing method according to claim 16, wherein, The substrate processing method comprises the following steps: (f) Receiving a plurality of substrates placed on the plurality of placing tables by the 1 st transfer robot, and collectively feeding the plurality of substrates from the processing module to the 1 st transfer module; (g) Delivering substrates from the 1 st transfer robot to the fixed support pins, collectively feeding a plurality of substrates from the 1 st transfer module to the load-lock module, and (H) And receiving the substrate supported by the fixed support pins by the 2 nd transfer robot, and delivering the substrate from the load-lock module to the 2 nd transfer module.
18. 18. The substrate processing method according to claim 16, wherein, The arrangement of the plurality of substrates mounted on the plurality of mounting tables in the processing module is the same as the arrangement of the plurality of substrates supported by the rotation support portion in the load-lock module, In the arrangement of the plurality of substrates, the distance between adjacent substrates is less than 1/2 of the radius of the substrate.
19. 19. The substrate processing method according to claim 16, wherein, The processing module has: a chamber accommodating the plurality of stages; A gas supply unit for supplying a process gas into the chamber, and An exhaust unit that exhausts the interior of the chamber, In the step (e), the process gas is supplied from the gas supply unit into the chamber, and the gas is exhausted from the gas exhaust unit to process the plurality of substrates placed on the plurality of placing tables.
20. 20. The substrate processing method according to claim 16, wherein, The 1 st transfer robot has a1 st pickup capable of holding a substrate and moving in the vertical direction, The 2 nd transfer robot has a2 nd pickup capable of holding a substrate and moving in the vertical direction, In the step (a), when the 2 nd transfer robot transfers the substrate to the fixed support pin, the 2 nd pickup moves in the vertical direction, In the step (c), the 1 st pickup moves in the vertical direction when the 1 st transfer robot receives the substrate from the fixed support pin.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method. Background Patent document 1 discloses a vacuum processing apparatus including a vacuum transport arm having wafer holding portions for holding wafers on a distal end side and a proximal end side, respectively, and a vacuum processing module for collectively feeding the wafers held by the wafer holding portions and performing vacuum processing on the wafers. Prior art literature Patent literature Patent document 1 Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2018-190939 Disclosure of Invention Problems to be solved by the invention The technology of the present disclosure improves substrate conveyance accuracy in a substrate processing apparatus that conveys and processes a plurality of substrates at once. Solution for solving the problem A substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, the substrate processing apparatus including a processing module including a plurality of stages for processing a substrate placed on the stages, a 1 st transfer module including a 1 st transfer robot configured to transfer a plurality of substrates together with respect to the processing module, a 2 nd transfer module including a 2 nd transfer robot configured to transfer a substrate with respect to a container capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates, and a load-lock module provided between the 1 st transfer module and the 2 nd transfer module and configured to accommodate a plurality of substrates transferred by the 1 st transfer robot or the 2 nd transfer robot, the load-lock module including a plurality of table areas disposed around a center position, a rotation support portion including a plurality of support pins for supporting a substrate and configured to rotate above the plurality of table areas with respect to the center position as a rotation axis, and a driving mechanism configured to rotationally lock the support pins between the 1 st transfer module and the 2 nd transfer robot or the transfer module when the substrate is transferred by the 1 st transfer robot or the load-lock module is fixed with respect to the transfer robot 2. Effects of the invention According to the present disclosure, in a substrate processing apparatus that simultaneously conveys and processes a plurality of substrates, substrate conveyance accuracy can be improved. Drawings Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a wafer processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the air-handling robot. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the vacuum transfer robot. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the process module. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the process module. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of the load-lock module. Fig. 7 is a plan view showing a schematic structure of the load-lock module. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of the load-lock module. Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of the rotary plate. Fig. 10 is an explanatory view showing a case where the atmospheric transfer robot or the vacuum transfer robot enters the load-lock module. Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing main steps of wafer processing. Fig. 12A is an explanatory diagram showing main steps of wafer processing in the wafer processing apparatus. Fig. 12B is an explanatory diagram showing main steps of wafer processing in the wafer processing apparatus. Fig. 12C is an explanatory diagram showing main steps of wafer processing in the wafer processing apparatus. Fig. 12D is an explanatory diagram showing main steps of wafer processing in the wafer processing apparatus. Fig. 12E is an explanatory diagram showing main steps of wafer processing in the wafer processing apparatus. Fig. 12F is an explanatory diagram showing main steps of wafer processing in the wafer processing apparatus. Fig. 12G is an explanatory diagram showing main steps of wafer processing in the wafer processing apparatus. Fig. 12H is an explanatory diagram showing main steps of wafer processing in the wafer processing apparatus. Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a main process of wafer conveyance in the load-lock module. Fig. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a main process of notch orientation control of a wafer in a positioner of a load-lock module. Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a narrow pitch arrangement of 4 wafers. Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a process module according to another embodiment. Fig. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of notch orientation of a wafer. Fig. 18 is an explan