KR-20260062840-A - SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND MEASURING METHOD

KR20260062840AKR 20260062840 AKR20260062840 AKR 20260062840AKR-20260062840-A

Abstract

[Assignment] Measure the film thickness of a film located on the surface of a substrate using a simple setup. [Solution] A substrate processing device comprises a conveying device, a measuring device, and a control unit. The conveying device has a conveying arm that holds and conveys a substrate. The measuring device measures the film thickness of a film located on the surface of the substrate. The measuring device has a case having an opening through which the substrate held by the conveying arm can pass, and a film thickness measuring device installed in the case to measure the film thickness of the substrate. The control unit controls the conveying device to move the conveying arm so that the substrate holds by the conveying arm and passes through the opening of the case, and measures the film thickness of the film using the film thickness measuring device.

Inventors

노다 야스아키
히사노 가즈야
고가 노리히사
이이호시 와타루
나카야마 고우스케

Assignees

도쿄엘렉트론가부시키가이샤

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251017
Priority Date: 20241029

Claims (18)

In a substrate processing device, A conveying device having a conveying arm that holds and conveys a substrate, and A measuring device for measuring the film thickness of a film located on the surface of the substrate, and control unit Includes, The above measuring device is, A case having an opening through which the substrate maintained in the above-mentioned return arm can pass, and A film thickness measuring device installed in the above case and measuring the film thickness of the substrate. Having, The above control unit is, A substrate processing apparatus that controls the above-mentioned conveying device to move the conveying arm so that the substrate is held by the conveying arm and the substrate passes through the opening of the case, and measures the film thickness of the film using the film thickness measuring instrument.
In paragraph 1, The above film thickness measuring device is, A substrate processing apparatus that is an optical measuring instrument for irradiating light onto the substrate and measuring the film thickness of the film by the reflected light from the substrate.
In paragraph 2, The above optical measuring device is, It has a light incident part that incidents reflected light from the above substrate, and The above light incidence unit is, A substrate processing device installed around the opening of the above case.
In paragraph 1, A cassette placement stand for placing a cassette capable of accommodating the above substrate Includes, The above measuring device is, A substrate processing device that is placed on the above-mentioned cassette placement table.
In paragraph 4, The above case is, A substrate processing device configured to be placed on the above-mentioned cassette placement table.
In paragraph 4, The above cassette holder is, The projection used for positioning the above cassette Having, The above case is, A fitting part that engages with the above-mentioned protrusion on the bottom surface A substrate processing device having
In paragraph 1, The above case is, A substrate processing device having a handle portion on an outer surface facing each other with the above-mentioned opening in between.
In paragraph 2, The above control unit is, A substrate processing apparatus that measures the film thickness of a film at each of a plurality of measurement positions arranged along a straight line passing through the center of the substrate and extending in the direction of passage of the substrate with respect to the opening of the case, using the optical measuring instrument.
In paragraph 8, The above control unit is, Before measuring the film thickness of the film using the optical measuring instrument, the conveying device is controlled to move the conveying arm so that the reference substrate passes through the opening of the case while maintaining the reference substrate on which the film is not located on the surface by the conveying arm. Using the above optical measuring instrument, light is irradiated onto the reference substrate, and the amount of variation in the measurement result by the optical measuring instrument caused by the tilt of the return arm is measured by the reflected light from the plurality of measurement positions of the reference substrate. A substrate processing apparatus that, after measuring the film thickness of the film using the optical measuring instrument, corrects the measurement result by the optical measuring instrument based on the variation amount for each of the plurality of measurement positions.
In paragraph 8, The above measuring device is, A plurality of optical measuring devices spaced apart in a direction intersecting the passing direction of the substrate with respect to the opening of the above case Having, The above control unit is, A substrate processing apparatus that measures the film thickness of a film at each of a plurality of measurement positions arranged along a plurality of straight lines arranged in parallel in the intersecting direction, wherein the straight line extending in the direction of passage of the substrate through the opening of the case on the surface of the substrate is included using a plurality of the above-mentioned optical measuring instruments.
In paragraph 1, The above control unit is, A substrate processing apparatus that measures the film thickness using the film thickness measuring instrument while holding the substrate by the return arm when the substrate is brought into the interior of the case from the opening or when the substrate is taken out of the case from the opening.
In paragraph 1, A film-forming apparatus that performs a film-forming treatment to form the film on the above substrate Includes more, The above control unit is, A substrate processing apparatus that controls the above-mentioned conveying device to convey the substrate after the film formation process to the above-mentioned measuring device, holds the substrate by the above-mentioned conveying arm, and measures the film thickness of the film using the above-mentioned film thickness measuring instrument.
In Paragraph 12, An adjustment device that performs a notch position adjustment process to adjust the notch position on the substrate after the film formation process. Includes more, The above control unit is, A substrate processing apparatus that controls the above-mentioned conveying device to convey the substrate after the film formation process and after the notch position adjustment process to the above-mentioned measuring device, and holds the substrate by the above-mentioned conveying arm, and measures the film thickness of the film using the above-mentioned film thickness measuring instrument.
In Paragraph 12, The above control unit is, A substrate processing device that changes the processing conditions of the film formation process when the film thickness of the film measured by the above film thickness measuring device deviates from the allowable range.
In Paragraph 14, A film removal device that performs a film removal process to remove the film from the above substrate Includes more, The above control unit is, After changing the processing conditions of the above film formation treatment, the above-mentioned conveying device and other conveying devices are controlled to convey the substrate from the measuring device to the film removal device, and By controlling the other conveying device above, the substrate after the film removal process is conveyed from the film removal device to the film forming device, and By controlling the above-mentioned conveying device and the other conveying device, the substrate after the film formation process is conveyed from the film formation device to the measuring device, and while holding the substrate by the conveying arm, the film thickness of the film is measured again using the film thickness measuring device. A substrate processing device that repeats the processing until the film thickness of the above film falls within the above allowable range.
In paragraph 1, An etching processing apparatus that performs an etching process for etching a film located on the surface of the above substrate. Includes more, The above control unit is, A substrate processing apparatus that returns the substrate after the above etching process to the measuring device, holds the substrate by the return arm, and measures the film thickness of the film using the film thickness measuring instrument.
Regarding the measurement method, A conveying device having a conveying arm that holds and conveys a substrate, and A measuring device for measuring the film thickness of a film located on the surface of the above substrate. Includes, The above measuring device is, A case having an opening through which the substrate maintained in the above-mentioned return arm can pass, and A film thickness measuring device installed in the above case and measuring the film thickness of the substrate. A measurement method using a substrate processing device having, A measurement method comprising controlling the above-mentioned conveying device to hold the substrate by the conveying arm and convey it to the above-mentioned measuring device, and while holding the substrate by the above-mentioned conveying arm, measuring the thickness of the film using the above-mentioned film thickness measuring instrument.
In Paragraph 17, The above film thickness measuring device is, A measurement method comprising an optical measuring instrument that irradiates light onto the substrate and measures the film thickness of the film by the reflected light from the substrate.

Description

Substrate Processing Apparatus and Measuring Method The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a measurement method. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for measuring the thickness of a film located on the surface of a substrate by using a conveying device to convey a substrate to a cassette chamber, fixing the substrate to a fixing device installed in the cassette chamber, and then moving a film thickness measuring device above the substrate. FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a measuring device according to an embodiment viewed from the front. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a measuring device according to an embodiment viewed from the side. Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view along the VV line of Figure 3. Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement location for film thickness. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the variation in measurement results of an optical measuring instrument caused by the tilt of the return arm. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a measuring device according to an embodiment viewed from the bottom side. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a case of a measuring device placed on a cassette holder. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the sequence of measurement processing performed by a substrate processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of the sequence of measurement processing performed by a substrate processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another example of the sequence of measurement processing performed by a substrate processing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a measuring device according to a modified example 1 of an embodiment, viewed from the front. Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement location for film thickness. FIG. 15 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate processing system according to Variant Example 2 of the embodiment. FIG. 16 is a front view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate processing system according to Variant Example 2 of the embodiment. Hereinafter, forms for implementing the bonding apparatus, substrate processing apparatus, and measurement method according to the present disclosure (hereinafter referred to as "Embodiments") will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Furthermore, the present disclosure is not limited by these embodiments. Additionally, each embodiment may be appropriately combined within a range that does not contradict the processing content. Furthermore, in each of the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are used for identical parts, and redundant descriptions are omitted. In addition, in the embodiments described below, expressions such as "constant," "orthogonal," "perpendicular," or "parallel" may be used, but these expressions are not strictly required to be "constant," "orthogonal," "perpendicular," or "parallel." That is, each of the above expressions is intended to allow for errors and tolerances, such as manufacturing precision and installation precision. In addition, in each drawing referenced below, for ease of understanding, mutually orthogonal X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions are defined, and an orthogonal coordinate system is shown with the Z-axis direction as the vertical upward direction. Also, the direction of rotation with the vertical axis as the center of rotation is sometimes referred to as the θ direction. (Embodiment) Substrate Processing System First, the configuration of a substrate processing system (1) (an example of a substrate processing device) according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of the substrate processing system (1) according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view schematically showing the configuration of the substrate processing system (1) according to the embodiment. In the present embodiment, the case where the substrate processing system (1) is a photolithography processing system that performs a resist film formation process and a development process on a wafer (W) will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system (1) has a cassette station (2) in which a cassette (C) containing multiple wafers (W) (an example of a substrate) is loaded and unloaded, and a processing station (3) equipped with multiple various processing devices for performing a predetermined processing on the wafers (W). The substrate processing system (1) has a configuration in which an interface station (4) that transfers the wafers (W) between the cassette station (2), th