KR-102961599-B1 - Substrate processing device

KR102961599B1KR 102961599 B1KR102961599 B1KR 102961599B1KR-102961599-B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus (10) comprises at least one first processing module (21a, 21b) for processing a substrate W using a liquid, at least one second processing module (31) for processing the substrate W after processing in the first processing module (21a, 21b), a conveying robot (22) disposed in a conveying area (28) for conveying the substrate W from the first processing module (21a, 21b) to the second processing module (31), a pair of troughs (53, 54) disposed above the bottom (51) of the conveying area (28) and connected to a drain line (58), and at least one inclined plate (56) spanning the pair of troughs (53, 54). The upper surface of the inclined plate (56) extends at an angle with respect to the horizontal direction from one side of the pair of troughs (53, 54) to the other.

Inventors

야자와 아키히로
오하시 히로타카
미야사와 야스유키

Assignees

가부시키가이샤 에바라 세이사꾸쇼

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20221011
Priority Date: 20211110

Claims (7)

At least one first processing module that processes a substrate using a liquid, and At least one second processing module for processing the substrate after it has been processed in the first processing module, and A conveying robot positioned in a conveying area that conveys the above substrate from the first processing module to the second processing module, and A pair of gutters positioned above the bottom of the above-mentioned return area and connected to a drain line, and It is equipped with at least one inclined plate spanning the above pair of troughs, A substrate processing device in which the upper surface of the above inclined plate extends horizontally at an angle from one side of the above pair of grooves to the other.
In paragraph 1, A substrate processing device in which at least the lower end of the partition separating the first processing module from the return area is located above one side of the pair of troughs.
In paragraph 1 or 2, A substrate processing device in which at least the lower end of the partition separating the second processing module from the return area is located above the other side of the pair of troughs.
In paragraph 1 or 2, A substrate processing device further comprising a sensor for detecting whether the inclined plate is accurately positioned relative to the pair of grooves.
In paragraph 4, The above inclined plate has a dog installed on its bottom surface, The above sensor is a substrate processing device that is a non-contact detection sensor or a contact detection sensor that detects the above dog.
In paragraph 1 or 2, The above at least one inclined plate is a plurality of inclined plates arranged along the longitudinal direction of the substrate processing device, and A substrate processing apparatus in which the plurality of inclined plates are arranged continuously in the longitudinal direction by overlapping the front and rear ends of adjacent inclined plates in the longitudinal direction of the substrate processing apparatus.
In paragraph 1 or 2, The above substrate processing device is provided on the wall and further comprises a door for accessing the return area, and The above return area is a substrate processing device that extends in a straight line along the longitudinal direction of the substrate processing device from the door.

Description

Substrate processing device The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a wafer. A polishing device is known as one of the substrate processing devices for processing substrates such as wafers. The polishing device generally comprises a polishing module for polishing a substrate, a cleaning module for cleaning the substrate after polishing, and a drying module for drying the substrate after cleaning. The polishing device also has a conveyor robot for transferring substrates between each module (see, for example, Patent Document 1). When a substrate is processed in the polishing module, the substrate is soaked in liquid (e.g., polishing liquid and pure water). Consequently, when a transfer robot returns the substrate after polishing from the polishing module to the cleaning module, the liquid attached to the substrate falls from the transfer area where the transfer robot is positioned. Meanwhile, a floor is provided in the conveying area for a worker who performs adjustment and maintenance on equipment placed inside the polishing device including the aforementioned conveying robot. The worker moves along the floor to access the equipment to be adjusted and maintained. This floor is provided on the base of the polishing device, and typically, utilities such as wires, signal lines, and piping are arranged between the floor and the base. Therefore, to prevent liquid falling from the substrate from contaminating or causing malfunctions in the utilities, a water collection pan made of multiple plates is provided above the floor. FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating the overall configuration of a substrate processing device according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the lower part of a substrate processing device along line AA of FIG. 1. FIG. 3a is a top view of a liquid-blocking structure according to one embodiment. Figure 3b is a cross-sectional view along line BB of Figure 3a. FIG. 4a is a side view schematically illustrating an example of a sensor that detects whether an inclined plate is accurately positioned for a pair of troughs. FIG. 4b is a front view schematically illustrating the sensor shown in FIG. 4a. FIG. 4c is a schematic diagram illustrating the state in which the sensor shown in FIG. 4b is operating normally. FIG. 5a is a schematic diagram illustrating the state of bringing a trolley into the return area to retrieve the second return robot from the substrate processing device. FIG. 5b is a schematic diagram illustrating the state of removing the second transfer robot from the substrate processing device using the trolley shown in FIG. 5a. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Additionally, in the following description, identical or corresponding components are assigned the same reference numeral, and redundant descriptions are omitted. FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating the overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment. The arrow in FIG. 1 indicates the transport direction of a wafer W, which is an example of a substrate. As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing device (10) is provided with a housing of approximately rectangular shape, and the interior of the housing is divided into a polishing unit (20), a cleaning unit (30), and a load/unload unit (40) by partitions (14, 15, 16). These polishing unit (20), cleaning unit (30), and load/unload unit (40) are each assembled independently and discharged independently. In addition, the substrate processing device (10) is provided with a control unit (11) that controls the operation of the polishing unit (20), cleaning unit (30), and load/unload unit (40). As shown in FIG. 1, the load/unload unit (40) has a plurality of front load sections (41) arranged adjacent to each other on the front of the load/unload unit (40) and a first transport robot (42) movable along the arrangement direction of the front load sections (41). A wafer cassette stocking multiple wafers W is loaded in the front load section (41). Specifically, for example, an open cassette, a SMIF (Standard Manufacturing Interface) pod, or a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) may be mounted in the front load section (41). Here, the SMIF and FOUP are sealed containers that can store wafer cassettes inside and maintain an environment independent from the external space by covering them with a partition. The first transfer robot (42) can access the wafer cassettes mounted on each front load section (41) by moving along the arrangement direction of the front load section (41). The first transfer robot (42) has two upper and lower hands (not shown), and is configured so that the upper hand is used when returning wafer W to the wafer cassette, for example, and the lower hand is used when transferring wafer W before polishing, thereby allowing the upper and lower hands to be used separately. The p