U.S. patent application number 12/013670 was filed with the patent office on 2008-07-17 for substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method.
Invention is credited to Koji Hashimoto.
Application Number | 20080170931 12/013670 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39617921 |
Filed Date | 2008-07-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080170931 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hashimoto; Koji |
July 17, 2008 |
SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD
Abstract
A substrate reverse moving device is composed of a reversing
mechanism and a moving mechanism. A rotating mechanism incorporates
a motor or the like, and is capable of rotating a first movable
member and a second movable member to which first and second
supporting members that support a substrate therebetween are fixed,
respectively, around a horizontal axis through, for example, 180
degrees via a link mechanism. Moreover, a pair of transport rails
is fixed on a base in parallel to V direction. A pair of sliding
blocks is slidably attached to the pair of transport rails. A
floorboard of the reversing mechanism is attached to the sliding
blocks. A direct acting mechanism moves a driver in a direction
parallel to the transport rails, so that the reversing mechanism
moves back and forth in the V direction along the transport
rails.
Inventors: |
Hashimoto; Koji; (Kyoto-shi,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OSTROLENK FABER GERB & SOFFEN
1180 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK
NY
100368403
US
|
Family ID: |
39617921 |
Appl. No.: |
12/013670 |
Filed: |
January 14, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
414/225.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 21/68707 20130101;
H01L 21/67742 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
414/225.01 |
International
Class: |
B65H 9/12 20060101
B65H009/12; B65H 7/00 20060101 B65H007/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 15, 2007 |
JP |
2007-006135 |
Claims
1. A substrate processing apparatus that subjects a substrate
having one surface and the other surface to processing, comprising:
a processing region for processing the substrate; a carrying in and
out region for carrying the substrate into and out of said
processing region; and a transfer portion for transferring the
substrate between said processing region and said carrying in and
out region, wherein said carrying in and out region includes a
container platform where a storing container that stores the
substrate is placed, and a first transport device that transports
the substrate between the storing container that is placed on said
container platform and said transfer portion, said processing
region includes a processing unit that performs the processing on
the substrate, and a second transport device that transports the
substrate between said transfer portion and said processing unit,
and said transfer portion includes a reversing mechanism that
reverses the one surface and the other surface of the substrate,
and a moving mechanism that moves said reversing mechanism so that
the substrate can be transferred between said first transport
device and said reversing mechanism and transferred between said
second transport device and said reversing mechanism.
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
said moving mechanism linearly moves said reversing mechanism back
and forth in a horizontal direction between a position where the
substrate can be transferred between said first transport device
and said reversing mechanism and a position where the substrate can
be transferred between said second transport device and said
reversing mechanism.
3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
said first transport device includes a first supporter that
supports the substrate and is provided so as to advance and
withdraw, said first supporter advances and withdraws in a first
advance/withdraw direction with respect to said reversing mechanism
when transferring and receiving the substrate to and from said
reversing mechanism, said second transport device includes a second
supporter that supports the substrate and is provided so as to
advance and withdraw, said second supporter advances and withdraws
in a second advance/withdraw direction with respect to said
reversing mechanism when transferring and receiving the substrate
to and from said reversing mechanism, and said moving mechanism
rotates said reversing mechanism around a substantially vertical
axis so that said reversing mechanism faces a first transfer
direction toward said first advance/withdraw direction or a second
transfer direction toward said second advance/withdraw
direction.
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
said reversing mechanism is arranged so that a rotation angle
between said first transfer direction and said second transfer
direction is 180 degrees.
5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
said reversing mechanism is arranged so that a rotation angle
between said first transfer direction and said second transfer
direction is smaller than 180 degrees.
6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
said first transport device is provided so as to move in parallel
to a first axis direction, stores and takes the substrate in and
out of the storing container that is placed on said container
platform in a state where said first transport device faces a
second direction perpendicular to said first axis direction, and
transfers and receives the substrate to and from said reversing
mechanism in a state where said first transport device faces a
third axis direction at an angle of smaller than 180 degrees to
said second axis direction.
7. A substrate processing method for subjecting a substrate to
processing by a substrate processing apparatus including a carrying
in and out region that includes a container platform and a first
transport device, a processing region that includes a processing
unit and a second transport device and a transfer portion for
transferring the substrate between said processing region and said
carrying in and out region, comprising the steps of: taking the
substrate before processing out of a storing container that is
placed on said container platform and transferring the taken out
substrate before the processing to said transfer portion by said
first transport device; moving said reversing mechanism so that the
substrate before the processing can be transferred from said
reversing mechanism to said second transport device while reversing
one surface and the other surface of the substrate before the
processing by a reversing mechanism in said transfer portion;
transporting the substrate before the processing from said transfer
portion to said processing unit by said second transport device;
processing the substrate before the processing in said processing
unit; transporting the substrate having been processed in said
processing unit from said processing unit to said transfer portion
by said second transport device; moving said reversing mechanism so
that the substrate after the processing can be transferred from
said transfer portion to said first transport device while
reversing the other surface and the one surface of the substrate
after the processing by said reversing mechanism in said transfer
portion; and receiving the substrate after the processing from said
transfer portion and storing the received substrate after the
processing in said storing container by said first transport
device.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a substrate processing
apparatus and a substrate processing method for performing
predetermined processing on a substrate.
[0003] 2. Description of the Background Art
[0004] Substrate processing apparatuses have been conventionally
used to perform various types of processing on substrates such as
semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for photomasks, glass
substrates for liquid crystal displays, glass substrates for
optical disks or the like.
[0005] For example, the substrate processing apparatus including a
substrate reversing mechanism that reverses a top surface and a
back surface of the substrate is described in JP 2005-85885 A. In
such a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate transport robot
that transports the substrate is arranged in substantially the
center of a rectangular processing region. A plurality of (four,
for example) substrate processing units are arranged so as to
surround the substrate transport robot in the processing region. In
addition, the substrate reversing mechanism is arranged in a
position where the substrate transport robot can access in the
processing region.
[0006] An indexer unit including a plurality of cassettes that
store the substrate is provided on one end of the processing
region. An indexer robot that takes the substrate before processing
out of the above-mentioned cassette or stores the substrate after
the processing in the above-mentioned cassette is provided in the
indexer unit.
[0007] In the configuration described above, the indexer robot
receives the substrate after the processing from the substrate
transport robot and stores it in the cassette while taking out the
substrate before the processing out of any of the cassettes and
transferring it to the substrate transport robot.
[0008] The substrate transport robot receives the substrate before
the processing from the indexer robot, and subsequently transfers
the received substrate to the substrate reversing mechanism. The
substrate reversing mechanism reverses the substrate received from
the substrate transport robot so that the top surface thereof is
directed downward. The substrate transport robot receives the
substrate reversed by the substrate reversing mechanism and carries
the substrate into any of the substrate processing units.
[0009] Next, when the processing of the substrate is finished in
any of the above-mentioned substrate processing units, the
substrate transport robot carries the substrate out of the
substrate processing unit and again transfers it to the substrate
reversing mechanism. The substrate reversing mechanism reverses the
substrate having been subjected to the processing in the substrate
processing unit so that the top surface thereof is directed
upward.
[0010] Then, the substrate transport robot receives the substrate
reversed by the substrate reversing mechanism and transfers it to
the indexer robot. The substrate, received from the substrate
transport robot, after the processing is stored in the cassette by
the indexer robot.
[0011] As described above, the substrate, stored in the cassette,
before the processing is reversed by the substrate reversing
mechanism and subjected to the processing (processing on the back
surface of the substrate) in the substrate processing unit, and
subsequently reversed again by the substrate reversing mechanism
and stored in the cassette as the substrate after the
processing.
[0012] In the above-described conventional substrate processing
apparatus, a shuttle transporting mechanism that mediates the
substrate transferred and received between the indexer robot and
the substrate transport robot is provided in some cases. This
allows the indexer robot and the substrate transport robot to
efficiently perform the respective transport operations without
being constrained by movement of each other.
[0013] If the foregoing shuttle transporting mechanism and
substrate reversing mechanism are provided in the substrate
processing apparatus, however, the number of transporting processes
by the substrate transport robot is increased. Specifically, the
substrate transport robot is required to perform four transporting
processes for the single substrate, that is, a transporting process
from the shuttle transport mechanism to the substrate reversing
mechanism, a transporting process from the substrate reversing
mechanism to the substrate processing unit, a transporting process
from the substrate processing unit to the substrate reversing
mechanism and a transporting process from the substrate reversing
mechanism to the shuttle transporting mechanism.
[0014] As described above, the number of the transporting processes
by the substrate transport robot among the shuttle transporting
mechanism, the substrate reversing mechanism and the plurality of
substrate processing units is increased. This reduces the
throughput of the substrate processing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method
capable of improving the throughput of substrate processing.
[0016] (1) According to an aspect of the present invention, a
substrate processing apparatus that subjects a substrate having one
surface and the other surface to processing includes a processing
region for processing the substrate, a carrying in and out region
for carrying the substrate into and out of the processing region
and a transfer portion for transferring the substrate between the
processing region and the carrying in and out region, wherein the
carrying in and out region includes a container platform where a
storing container that stores the substrate is placed and a first
transport device that transports the substrate between the storing
container that is placed on the container platform and the transfer
portion, the processing region includes a processing unit that
performs the processing on the substrate and a second transport
device that transports the substrate between the transfer portion
and the processing unit, and the transfer portion includes a
reversing mechanism that reverses the one surface and the other
surface of the substrate and a moving mechanism that moves the
reversing mechanism so that the substrate can be transferred
between the first transport device and the reversing mechanism and
transferred between the second transport device and the reversing
mechanism.
[0017] In the substrate processing apparatus, the reversing
mechanism is moved by the moving mechanism in the transfer portion
so that the substrate can be transferred between the first
transport device and the reversing mechanism. Then, the substrate
is transported by the first transport device between the storing
container that is placed on the container platform in the carrying
in and out region and the transfer portion.
[0018] The reversing mechanism is moved by the moving mechanism so
that the substrate can be transferred between the second transport
device and the reversing mechanism while the one surface and the
other surface of the substrate are reversed by the reversing
mechanism in the above-mentioned transfer portion. The substrate is
subsequently transported by the second transport device between the
transfer portion and the processing unit in the processing
region.
[0019] As described above, the transfer portion has both the
function of a transporting mechanism that mediates the substrate
transferred between the first transport device and the second
transport device and the function of a reversing mechanism that
reverses the substrate. Accordingly, the second transport device
performs two transporting processes for the single substrate, that
is, a transporting process from the transfer portion to the
processing unit and a transporting process from the processing unit
to the transfer portion. Thus, the number of the transporting
processes by the second transport device is reduced, so that the
throughput of the substrate processing is improved.
[0020] In addition, the transfer portion including the reversing
mechanism and the moving mechanism is provided between the first
transport device and the second transport device, so that the
configuration of the existing substrate processing apparatus (a
configuration of a so-called platform) is not required to be
changed. This can suppress an increase in production cost of the
substrate processing apparatus.
[0021] (2) The moving mechanism may linearly move the reversing
mechanism back and forth in a horizontal direction between a
position where the substrate can be transferred between the first
transport device and the reversing mechanism and a position where
the substrate can be transferred between the second transport
device and the reversing mechanism.
[0022] In this case, the substrate is reversed and transported
between the first transport device and the second transport device
when the reversing mechanism linearly moves between the position
where the substrate can be transferred to and from the first
transport device and the position where the substrate can be
transferred to and from the second transport device, so that the
number of the transporting processes by the second transport device
is reduced. This improves the throughput of the substrate
processing.
[0023] (3) The first transport device may include a first supporter
that supports the substrate and is provided so as to advance and
withdraw, the first supporter may advance and withdraw in a first
advance/withdraw direction with respect to the reversing mechanism
when transferring and receiving the substrate to and from the
reversing mechanism, the second transport device may include a
second supporter that supports the substrate and is provided so as
to advance and withdraw, the second supporter may advance and
withdraw in a second advance/withdraw direction with respect to the
reversing mechanism when transferring and receiving the substrate
to and from the reversing mechanism, the moving mechanism may
rotate said reversing mechanism around a substantially vertical
axis so that the reversing mechanism faces a first transfer
direction toward the first advance/withdraw direction or a second
transfer direction toward the second advance/withdraw
direction.
[0024] In this case, the first supporter of the first transporting
device advances and withdraws in the first advance/withdraw
direction with respect to the reversing mechanism that is rotated
by the moving mechanism, so that the substrate is transferred and
received to and from the reversing mechanism.
[0025] Moreover, the second supporter of the second transport
device advances and withdraws in the second advance/withdraw
direction with respect to the reversing mechanism that is rotated
by the moving mechanism, so that the substrate is transferred and
received to and from the reversing mechanism.
[0026] As described above, the substrate is reversed and
transported between the first transport device and the second
transport device when the reversing mechanism rotates to move
between the first transfer direction toward the first
advance/withdraw direction and the second transfer direction toward
the second advance/withdraw direction, so that the number of the
transporting processes by the second transport device is reduced.
This improves the throughout of the substrate processing.
[0027] (4) The reversing mechanism may be arranged so that a
rotation angle between the first transfer direction and the second
transfer direction is 180 degrees.
[0028] In this case, the reversing mechanism can transport the
substrate between the first transport device and the second
transport device by rotating through 180 degrees when the first
transfer direction and the second transfer direction are parallel
to each other, that is, the first advance/withdraw direction of the
first supporter of the first transport device and the second
advance/withdraw direction of the second supporter of the second
transport device are parallel to each other.
[0029] (5) The reversing mechanism may be arranged so that a
rotation angle between the first transfer direction and the second
transfer direction is smaller than 180 degrees.
[0030] In this case, the reversing mechanism can transport the
substrate between the first transport device and the second
transport device by rotating through an angle of smaller than 180
degrees when the first transfer direction and the second transfer
direction are not parallel to each other, that is, the first
advance/withdraw direction of the first supporter and the second
advance/withdraw direction of the second supporter are not parallel
to each other. Accordingly, the rotation angle of the reversing
mechanism becomes smaller, and a transport time of the substrate
between the first transport device and the second transport device
is shortened. This allows the throughput of the substrate
processing to be further improved.
[0031] (6) The first transport device may be provided so as to move
in parallel to a first axis direction, may store and take the
substrate in and out of the storing container that is placed on the
container platform in a state where the first transport device
faces a second direction perpendicular to the first axis direction,
and may transfer and receive the substrate to and from the
reversing mechanism in a state where the first transport device
faces a third axis direction at an angle of smaller than 180
degrees to the second axis direction.
[0032] In this case, the first transport device transfers and
receives the substrate to and from the reversing mechanism in the
state where the first transport device faces the third axis
direction at an angle of smaller than 180 degrees to the second
axis direction, so that the rotation angle of the first transport
device becomes smaller. Thus, the transport time of the substrate
between the storing container and the transfer portion is
shortened. This allows the throughput of the substrate processing
to be further improved.
[0033] (7) According to another aspect of the present invention, a
substrate processing method for subjecting a substrate to
processing by a substrate processing apparatus including a carrying
in and out region that includes a container platform and a first
transport device, a processing region that includes a processing
unit and a second transport device and a transfer portion for
transferring the substrate between the processing region and the
carrying in and out region includes the steps of taking the
substrate before processing out of a storing container that is
placed on the container platform and transferring the taken out
substrate before the processing to the transfer portion by the
first transport device, moving the reversing mechanism so that the
substrate before the processing can be transferred from the
reversing mechanism to the second transport device while reversing
one surface and the other surface of the substrate before the
processing by a reversing mechanism in the transfer portion,
transporting the substrate before the processing from the transfer
portion to the processing unit by the second transport device,
processing the substrate before the processing in the processing
unit, transporting the substrate having been processed in the
processing unit from the processing unit to the transfer portion by
the second transport device, moving the reversing mechanism so that
the substrate after the processing can be transferred from the
transfer portion to the first transport device while reversing the
other surface and the one surface of the substrate after the
processing by the reversing mechanism in the transfer portion and
receiving the substrate after the processing from the transfer
portion and storing the received substrate after the processing in
the storing container by the first transport device.
[0034] A series of the processes in the substrate processing method
is shown below. First, the first transport device takes the
substrate before the processing out of the storing container placed
on the container platform, and transfers the taken out substrate
before the processing to the transfer portion. Next, the reversing
mechanism is moved so that the substrate before the processing can
be transferred from the reversing mechanism to the second transport
device while the one surface and the other surface of the substrate
before the processing are reversed by the reversing mechanism in
the transfer portion.
[0035] After the substrate before the processing is transported
from the transfer portion to the processing unit by the second
transport device, the substrate before the processing is processed
in the processing unit. Next, the substrate having been processed
in the processing unit is transported from the processing unit to
the transfer portion by the second transport device.
[0036] Then, the reversing mechanism is moved so that the substrate
after the processing can be transferred from the transfer portion
to the first transport device while the other surface and the one
surface of the substrate after the processing are reversed by the
reversing mechanism in the transfer portion. The first transport
device subsequently receives the substrate after the processing
from the transfer portion, and stores the received substrate after
the processing in the storing container.
[0037] As described above, the transfer portion has both the
function of the transporting mechanism that mediates the substrate
transferred between the first transport device and the second
transport device and the function of the reversing mechanism that
reverses the substrate. Thus, the second transport device performs
the two transporting processes for the single substrate, that is,
the transporting process from the transfer portion to the
processing unit and the transporting process from the processing
unit to the transfer portion. This reduces the number of the
transporting processes by the second transport device, so that the
throughput of the substrate processing is improved.
[0038] In addition, the transfer portion having both the function
of the transporting mechanism and the function of the reversing
mechanism is provided between the first transport device and the
second transport device, so that the configuration of the existing
substrate processing apparatus (the configuration of the so-called
platform) is not required to be changed. This can suppress the
increase in the production cost of the substrate processing
apparatus.
[0039] According to the configuration of the present invention, the
number of the transporting processes by the second transport device
is reduced, so that the throughput of the substrate processing is
improved.
[0040] Other features, elements, characteristics, and advantages of
the present invention will become more apparent from the following
description of preferred embodiments of the present invention with
reference to the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0041] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus
according to a first embodiment;
[0042] FIG. 2 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus
of FIG. 1;
[0043] FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a
processing unit;
[0044] FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate
reverse moving device;
[0045] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a
main part of the substrate reverse moving device;
[0046] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a
part of the substrate reverse moving device;
[0047] FIG. 7 is a plan view showing configurations of an indexer
robot and a substrate transport robot in the substrate processing
apparatus of FIG. 1;
[0048] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing transporting processes of a
substrate;
[0049] FIG. 9 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus
according to a second embodiment;
[0050] FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate
reverse moving device of FIG. 9;
[0051] FIG. 11 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus
according to a third embodiment; and
[0052] FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement of a
substrate reverse moving device in the third embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0053] A substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing
method according to one embodiment of the present invention will
now be described with reference to drawings.
[0054] In the following description, a substrate refers to a
semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal
display, a glass substrate for a PDP (plasma display panel), a
glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk
and the like.
[0055] In addition, examples of a chemical liquid include BHF
(buffered hydrofluoric acid), DHF (diluted hydrofluoric acid),
hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid,
phosphoric acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid, oxygenated water, an
aqueous solution of ammonia and the like or a mixture solution
thereof.
[0056] Hereinafter, processing by using these chemical liquids is
referred to as chemical liquid processing. Normally, rinsing
processing of the substrate by using a rinse liquid is performed
after the chemical liquid processing is finished. Examples of the
rinse liquid include pure water, carbonated water, ozone water,
magnetic water, regenerated water (hydrogen water) and ion water,
as well as organic solvent such as IPA (isopropyl alcohol) or the
like.
(1) First Embodiment
(1-1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus
[0057] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus
according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the
substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1. Note that a horizontal
direction that is perpendicular to a vertical direction is defined
as a U direction and a V direction, and the vertical direction that
is perpendicular to the horizontal direction is defined as a T
direction in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. This also applies to diagrams
described later.
[0058] As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 100
includes processing regions A, B, and a transport region C
therebetween.
[0059] A controller 4, fluid boxes 2a, 2b and processing units MP1,
MP3 and processing units MP2, MP4 are arranged in the processing
region A.
[0060] As shown in FIG. 2, the processing units MP2, MP4 are
provided above the processing units MP1, MP3, respectively.
[0061] Each of the fluid boxes 2a, 2b of FIG. 1 stores
fluid-related equipment such as pipes, joints, valves, flowmeters,
regulators, pumps, temperature controllers, chemical liquid storage
tanks or the like involved in supply and drain the chemical liquid
and pure water to/from the processing units MP1, MP2 and the
processing units MP3, MP4.
[0062] In the processing units MP1, MP3, the chemical liquid
processing using the above-mentioned chemical liquid is performed.
Also in the processing units MP2, MP4, the chemical liquid
processing using the above-mentioned chemical liquid is performed.
Note that the rinsing processing using pure water or the like is
performed after the chemical liquid processing.
[0063] In the processing region B, fluid boxes 2c, 2d, processing
units MP5, MP7 and processing units MP6, MP8 are arranged. The
processing units MP6, MP8 are provided above the processing units
MP5, MP7, respectively.
[0064] Each of the fluid boxes 2c, 2d of FIG. 1 stores
fluid-related equipment such as pipes, joints, valves, flow meters,
regulators, pumps, temperature controllers, chemical liquid storage
tanks or the like involved in supply and drain the chemical liquid
and pure water to/from the processing units MP5, MP6 and the
processing units MP7, MP8.
[0065] In the processing unit Mp5, MP7, MP6, MP8, chemical liquid
processing similar to that in the above-described processing units
MP1, MP3, MP2, MP4 is performed.
[0066] Hereinafter, in the case of indicating an arbitrary one of
the processing units MP1, MP3, MP5, MP7 and the processing units
MP2, MP4, MP6, MP8, it is referred to as the processing unit.
[0067] In the present embodiment, chemical liquid supply mechanisms
that supply hydrofluoric acid, ammonia water, oxygenated water and
hydrochloric acid as the chemical liquids to the processing units
are provided in the fluid boxes 2a-2d, respectively.
[0068] A substrate transport robot CR is provided in the transport
region C. An indexer ID for carrying in and out the substrate is
arranged on one end of the processing regions A, B.
[0069] The indexer ID includes a plurality of carrier platforms 1a
and an indexer robot IR. Carriers 1 that store the substrates W are
placed on the carrier platforms 1a, respectively. In the present
embodiment, FOUPs (Front Opening Unified Pods) that store the
substrates W in an enclosed state are used as the carriers 1,
however, other carriers including SMIF (Standard Mechanical Inter
Face) pods or OCs (Open Cassettes) may also be used as the carriers
1. The indexer robot IR is so constructed that it can move in the U
direction in the indexer ID.
[0070] Here, a transfer portion 3 is provided in a position of the
transport region C between the indexer ID and the substrate
transport robot CR in the present embodiment. The transfer portion
3 includes a substrate reverse moving device 7 that reverses a top
surface and a back surface of the substrate W. Here, the top
surface of the substrate W refers to a surface on which a variety
of patterns such as a circuit pattern or the like are to be formed.
This substrate reverse moving device 7 can linearly move back and
forth on a pair of transport rails 3a in the V direction in the
transfer portion 3.
[0071] In such a configuration, the indexer robot IR takes the
substrate W before processing out of the carrier 1 and transfers
the substrate W to the substrate reverse moving device 7.
Conversely, the indexer robot IR receives the substrate W after the
processing from the substrate reverse moving device 7 and returns
the substrate W to the carrier 1.
[0072] In addition, the substrate reverse moving device 7 reverses
the substrate W received from the indexer robot IR while moving the
reversed substrate W to the vicinity of the substrate transport
robot CR along the above-mentioned V direction. Detail will be
described later.
[0073] Further, the substrate transport robot CR transports the
substrate W received from the substrate reverse moving device 7 to
a specified processing unit, or transports the substrate W received
from the processing unit to another processing unit, or transfers
the substrate W received from the processing unit to the substrate
reverse moving device 7
[0074] The controller 4 is composed of a computer or the like
including a CPU (central processing unit), and controls an
operation of each of the processing units MP1-MP8 in the processing
regions A, B, operations of the substrate reverse moving device 7
and the substrate transport robot CR in the transport region C and
an operation of the indexer robot IR in the indexer ID.
[0075] Note that the substrate processing apparatus 100 is provided
in a clean room or the like with downflow formed therein. In
addition, downflow is formed in each of the processing units
MP1-MP8 and the transport region C.
(1-2) Configuration of Processing Unit
[0076] Next, configurations of the processing units MP1-MP8 are
described with reference to a drawing. Note that the configuration
of the processing unit MP1 is described as a typical example in the
following since the processing units MP1-MP8 have the same
configuration.
[0077] In the processing unit MP1, processing for cleaning the
substrate, processing for etching a film on the substrate,
processing for removing polymer residues (resist residues, for
example) on the substrate and the like are performed. In the
following, the processing for cleaning the substrate is described
as an example.
[0078] FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the
processing unit MP1. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing unit MP1
includes a housing 101, a spin chuck 21 that is provided in the
housing 101 and rotates around a vertical axis passing through
substantially the center of the substrate W while holding the
substrate W almost horizontally and a fan filter unit FFU that is
provided so as to close an opening at an upper end of the housing
101. The fan filter unit FFU forms downflow within the housing 101.
Note that the fan filter unit FFU is composed of a fan and a
filter.
[0079] The spin chuck 21 is fixed to an upper end of a rotating
shaft 25 that is rotated by a chuck rotation-driving mechanism 36.
The substrate W is rotated while being horizontally held by the
spin chuck 21 when the cleaning processing using the chemical
liquid is performed.
[0080] A first motor 60 is provided outside the spin chuck 21. A
first rotating shaft 61 is connected to the first motor 60. A first
arm 62 is coupled to the first rotating shaft 61 so as to extend in
the horizontal direction, and a processing liquid nozzle 50 is
provided at the tip of the first arm 62. The processing liquid
nozzle 50 supplies the chemical liquid for cleaning the substrate W
onto the substrate W.
[0081] A second motor 60a is provided outside the spin chuck 21. A
second rotating shaft 61a is connected to the second motor 60a, and
a second arm 62a is coupled to the second rotating shaft 61a. A
pure water nozzle 50a is provided at the tip of the second arm 62a.
The pure water nozzle 50a supplies pure water onto the substrate W
in the rinsing processing after the cleaning processing. When the
cleaning processing is performed by using the processing liquid
nozzle 50, the pure water nozzle 50a is retracted to a
predetermined position.
[0082] The rotating shaft 25 of the spin chuck 21 is composed of a
hollow shaft. A processing liquid supply pipe 26 is inserted
through the rotating shaft 25. The chemical liquid such as pure
water, a cleaning liquid or the like is supplied to the processing
liquid supply pipe 26. The processing liquid supply pipe 26 extends
to a position in vicinity to a lower surface of the substrate W
held by the spin chuck 21. A lower surface nozzle 27 for
discharging the chemical liquid toward the center of the lower
surface of the substrate W is provided at the tip of the processing
liquid supply pipe 26.
[0083] The spin chuck 21 is stored in a processing cup 23. A
cylindrical partition wall 33 is provided inside the processing cup
23. A drain space 31 for draining the chemical liquid used for the
cleaning processing of the substrate W is formed so as to surround
the spin chuck 21. Furthermore, a liquid recovery space 32 for
recovering the chemical liquid used for the cleaning processing of
the substrate W is formed between the processing cup 23 and the
partition wall 33 so as to surround the drain space 31.
[0084] A drain pipe 34 for leading the chemical liquid into a drain
processing device (not shown) is connected to the drain space 31. A
recovery pipe 35 for leading the chemical liquid into a recovery
and reuse device (not shown) is connected to the liquid recovery
space 32.
[0085] A guard 24 for preventing the chemical liquid from the
substrate W from being scattered outward is provided above the
processing cup 23. This guard 24 is shaped to be
rotationally-symmetric with respect to the rotating shaft 25. A
drain guide groove 41 with a V-shaped cross section is annularly
formed in an inner surface of an upper end of the guard 24
[0086] A liquid recovery guide 42 having an inclined surface that
inclines down outwardly is formed in an inner surface of a lower
end of the guard 24. A partition wall-housing groove 43 for
receiving the partition wall 33 inside the processing cup 23 is
formed in the vicinity of an upper end of the liquid recovery guide
42. A guard lifting mechanism (not shown) composed of a ball-screw
mechanism or the like is connected to the above-described guard
24.
[0087] The guard lifting mechanism moves the guard 24 upward and
downward between a recovery position in which the liquid recovery
guide 42 faces an outer circumference of the substrate W held on
the spin chuck 21 and a drain position in which the drain guide
groove 41 faces the outer circumference of the substrate W held on
the spin chuck 21.
[0088] When the guard 24 is in the recovery position (the position
of the guard 24 shown in FIG. 3), the chemical liquid scattered
outward from the substrate W is led into the liquid recovery space
32 by the liquid recovery guide 42, and is then recovered through
the recovery pipe 35. On the other hand, when the guard 24 is in
the drain position, the chemical liquid scattered outward from the
substrate W is led into the drain space 31 by the drain guide
groove 41, and is then drained through the drain pipe 34.
[0089] The foregoing configuration causes the chemical liquid to be
drained and recovered. When the substrate W is carried onto the
spin chuck 21, the guard lifting mechanism retracts the guard 24
further downwardly from the drain position, and moves the guard 24
so that an upper end 24a of the guard 24 is at a position lower
than the height at which the spin chuck 21 holds the substrate
W.
[0090] Above the spin chuck 21, a disk-shaped shielding plate 22
having an opening at its center is provided. A supporting shaft 29
is provided so as to extend vertically downward from the vicinity
of an end of an arm 28, and the shielding plate 22 is attached to a
lower end of the supporting shaft 29 so as to face an upper surface
of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 21.
[0091] A nitrogen gas supply passage 30 that communicates with the
opening of the shielding plate 22 is inserted through the
supporting shaft 29. Nitrogen gas (N.sub.2) is supplied to the
nitrogen gas supply passage 30. The nitrogen gas supply passage 30
supplies the nitrogen gas to the substrate W at the time of drying
processing after the rinsing processing with pure water. In
addition, a pure water supply pipe 39 that communicates with the
opening of the shielding plate 22 is inserted through the nitrogen
gas supply passage 30. Pure water or the like is supplied to the
pure water supply pipe 39.
[0092] A shielding plate lifting mechanism 37 and a shielding plate
rotation mechanism 38 are connected to the arm 28. The shielding
plate lifting mechanism 37 moves the shielding plate 22 upward and
downward between a position in vicinity to the upper surface of the
substrate W held on the spin chuck 21 and a position spaced
upwardly apart from the spin chuck 21. The shielding plate rotation
mechanism 38 rotates the shielding plate 22.
(1-3) Configuration and Operation of the Substrate Reverse Moving
Device
[0093] Next, a configuration of the substrate reverse moving device
7 is described with reference to drawings.
[0094] FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the substrate
reverse moving device 7 of FIG. 1. FIG. 4(a) is a side view of the
substrate reverse moving device 7, and FIG. 4(b) is a top view of
the substrate reverse moving device 7. Moreover, FIG. 5 is a
perspective view showing the appearance of a main part of the
substrate reverse moving device 7, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view
showing the appearance of a part of the substrate reverse moving
device 7.
[0095] As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate reverse moving device 7 is
composed of a reversing mechanism 70 and a moving mechanism 30.
[0096] The reversing mechanism 70 includes a first supporting
member 71, a second supporting member 72, a plurality of substrate
supporting pins 73a, 73b, a first movable member 74, a second
movable member 75, a fixing plate 76, a link mechanism 77, a
rotating mechanism 78 and a floorboard 79.
[0097] As shown in FIG. 5, the first supporting member 71 is
composed of six bar-shaped members that extend radially. An end
portion of each of the six bar-shaped members is provided with a
substrate supporting pin 73a.
[0098] Similarly, as shown in FIG. 6, the second supporting member
72 is composed of six bar-shaped members that extend radially. An
end portion of each of the six bar-shaped members is provided with
a substrate supporting pin 73b.
[0099] While the first and second supporting members 71, 72 are
each composed of the six bar-shaped members in the present
embodiment, the first and second supporting members 71, 72 may be
each composed of any number of bar-shaped members or other members
having any other shape, including, for example, a disk or polygonal
shape with a periphery corresponding to the plurality of supporting
pins 73a, 73b.
[0100] The first movable member 74 of FIG. 5 is U-shaped. The first
supporting member 71 is fixed to one end of the first movable
member 74. The other end of the first movable member 74 is
connected to the link mechanism 77. Similarly, the second movable
member 75 of FIG. 6 is U-shaped. The second supporting member 72 is
fixed to one end of the second movable member 75. The other end of
the second movable member 75 is connected to the link mechanism 77.
The link mechanism 77 is attached to the rotating shaft of the
rotating mechanism 78. The link mechanism 77 and the rotating
mechanism 78 are attached to the fixing plate 76.
[0101] The link mechanism 77 of FIG. 5 incorporates an air cylinder
or the like. The link mechanism 77 can selectively shift the first
movable member 74 and the second movable member 75 between a state
where they are spaced apart from each other and a state where they
are close to each other. The rotating mechanism 78 incorporates a
motor or the like. The rotating mechanism 78 can rotate the first
movable member 74 and the second movable member 75 through, for
example, 180 degrees around the horizontal axis via the link
mechanism 77.
[0102] As shown in FIG. 4, the moving mechanism 30 includes a base
31, a pair of transport rails 3a, a direct acting mechanism 3b, a
driver 3c, a link member 3d and a pair of sliding blocks 3e. Note
that a part of the members such as the link member 3d and the like
are omitted in FIG. 4(b) for simplification.
[0103] The pair of transport rails 3a is fixed on the base 31 in
parallel to the V direction. The pair of sliding blocks 3e is
slidably attached to the pair of transport rails 3a. The floorboard
79 of the reversing mechanism 70 is attached to the sliding blocks
3e.
[0104] The direct acting mechanism 3b is composed of for example, a
ball screw mechanism and an electric cylinder that incorporates a
motor applying a driving force to the ball screw mechanism. The
driver 3c is provided in the direct acting mechanism 3b. The driver
3c is linked to the floorboard 79 by the link member 3d.
[0105] In such a configuration, the direct acting mechanism 3b
moves the driver 3c in the horizontal direction to the transport
rails 3a, so that the reversing mechanism 70 is moved back and
forth along the transport rails 3a in the V direction.
[0106] Here, the operation of the substrate reverse moving device 7
is described with reference to drawings.
[0107] First, the substrate W is carried into the substrate reverse
moving device 7 by the indexer robot IR (FIG. 1). In this case, the
reversing mechanism 70 is moved to be positioned at an end of the
pair of transport rails 3a on the indexer robot IR side
(hereinafter referred to as a first transfer position). The
substrate W is transferred onto the plurality of substrate
supporting pins 73b of the second supporting member 72 by the
indexer robot IR in the state where the first movable member 74 and
the second movable member 75 are vertically spaced apart from each
other.
[0108] Then, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the link mechanism 77 operates
to shift the first movable member 74 and the second movable member
75 to the state where they are vertically close to each other.
Accordingly, the both sides of the substrate W are supported by the
plurality of substrate supporting pins 73a, 73b, respectively.
[0109] Next, the rotating mechanism 78 operates to rotate the first
movable member 74 and the second movable member 75 through 180
degrees around an axis in the U direction while the reversing
mechanism 70 moves to the substrate transport robot CR (FIG. 1)
side on the pair of transport rails 3a along the V direction as
shown in FIG. 4(b). Thus, the substrate W is rotated through 180
degrees together with the first movable member 74 and the second
movable member 75 while being held by the plurality of substrate
supporting pins 73a, 73b provided on the first supporting member 71
and the second supporting member 72.
[0110] In this way, the substrate W is moved to the vicinity of the
substrate transport robot CR while being reversed by the reversing
mechanism 70. Here, the reversing mechanism 70 is moved to be
positioned at an end of the pair of transport rails 3a on the
substrate transport robot CR side (hereinafter referred to as a
second transfer position).
[0111] The link mechanism 77 subsequently operates to shift the
first movable member 74 and the second movable member 75 to the
state where they are vertically spaced apart from each other. In
this state, the substrate W is carried out of the substrate reverse
moving device 7 by the substrate transport robot CR.
[0112] Meanwhile, when the substrate W is carried into the
substrate reverse moving device 7 by the substrate transport robot
CR, the substrate W is moved to the vicinity of the indexer robot
IR while being reversed by the reversing mechanism 70 by operations
reverse to the above-mentioned operations. In the state, the
substrate W is carried out of the substrate reverse moving device 7
by the indexer robot IR.
(1-4) Configurations of the Indexer Robot and the Substrate
Transport Robot
[0113] FIG. 7 is a plan view showing configurations of the indexer
robot IR and the substrate transport robot CR in the substrate
processing apparatus 100 of FIG. 1. FIG. 7(a) shows the
configuration of a multi-joint arm of the indexer robot IR, and
FIG. 7(b) shows the configuration of a multi-joint arm of the
substrate transport robot CR. Note that as for the .theta. in FIG.
7(a) and FIG. 7(b), a clockwise direction on the paper is defined
as a +.theta. direction and an anticlockwise direction on the paper
is defined as a -.theta. direction.
[0114] As shown in FIG. 7(a), the indexer robot IR includes a pair
of transport arms am4, cm4 for holding the substrate W,
advance/withdrawing members am1, am2, am3 and cm1, cm2, cm3 for
allowing the pair of transport arms am4, cm4 to advance and
withdraw with respect to a main body IRH of the indexer robot
independently from each other, a rotating mechanism (not shown) for
rotating the main body IRH of the indexer robot in the .+-..theta.
direction around and a U direction movement mechanism (not shown)
for moving the main body IRH of the indexer robot in the U
direction.
[0115] The advance/withdrawing members am1, am2, am3 and cm1, cm2,
cm3 are of a multi-joint arm type and allow the pair of transport
arms am4, cm4 to advance and withdraw in the horizontal direction
while maintaining their postures. One transport arm am4 is designed
to advance and withdraw at an upper level than the other transport
arm cm4, and these transport arms am4, cm4 vertically overlap with
each other in an initial state where both the pair of transport
arms am4, cm4 are retracted above the main body IRH of the indexer
robot.
[0116] The main body IRH of the indexer robot drives the
advance/withdrawing members am1, am2, am3 and cm1, cm2, cm3 in
accordance with an instruction from the controller 4 (FIG. 1). The
advance/withdrawing members am1, am2, am3 and cm1, cm2, cm3 have
driving devices that are composed of motors, wires, pulleys and the
like for moving the pair of transport arms am4, cm4 back and forth.
The foregoing members allow the driving force to be directly
applied to each of the pair of transport arms am4, cm4, so that the
pair of transport arms am4, cm4 can advance and withdraw in the
horizontal direction.
[0117] This allows the transport arms am4, cm4 of the indexer robot
IR to move in the T direction, rotate in the .+-..theta. direction,
and extend/contract while supporting the substrate W.
[0118] Further, a plurality of substrate supporters PS are attached
to an upper surface of each of the transport arms am4, cm4. In the
present embodiment, four substrate supporters PS are attached at
substantially equal spacings along the periphery of the substrate W
that is placed on the upper surface of each of the transport arms
am4, cm4. The substrate W is supported by these four substrate
supporters PS. Note that the number of the substrate supporters PS
is not limited to four, and the substrate supporters may be used in
any number with which the substrate W can be stably supported.
[0119] When the reversing mechanism 70 of the substrate reverse
moving device 7 is in the first transfer position, the indexer
robot IR advances either one of the transport arms am4, cm4 toward
the substrate reverse moving device 7 in the V direction in the
position facing the substrate reverse moving device 7, so that the
substrate W can be transferred and received to and from the
reversing mechanism 70.
[0120] Next, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the substrate transport robot
CR includes a pair of transport arms bm4, dm4 for holding the
substrate W, advance/withdrawing members bm1, bm2, bm3 and dm1,
dm2, dm3 for allowing the pair of transport arms bm4, dm4 to
advance and withdraw with respect to a main body CRH of the
substrate transport robot independently from each other, a rotating
mechanism (not shown) for rotating the main body CRH of the
substrate transport robot in the .+-..theta. direction around the
vertical axis and a lifting mechanism (not shown) for lifting the
main body CRH of the substrate transport robot in the T
direction.
[0121] The advance/withdrawing members bm1, bm2, bm3 and dm1, dm2,
dm3 are of the multi-joint arm type and allow the pair of transport
arms bm4, dm4 to advance and withdraw in the horizontal direction
while maintaining their postures. One transport arm bm4 is designed
to advance and withdraw at an upper level than the other transport
arm dm4, and these transport arms bm4, dm4 vertically overlap with
each other in an initial state where both the pair of transport
arms bm4, dm4 are retracted above the main body CRH of the
substrate transport robot.
[0122] The main body CRH of the substrate transport robot drives
the advance/withdrawing members bm1, bm2, bm3 and dm1, dm2, dm3 in
accordance with an instruction from the controller 4 (FIG. 1). The
advance/withdrawing members bm1, bm2, bm3 and dm1, dm2, dm3 have
driving devices that are composed of motors, wires, pulleys and the
like for moving the pair of transport arms bm4, dm4 back and forth.
The foregoing mechanisms allow the driving force to be directly
applied to each of the pair of transport arms bm4, dm4, so that the
pair of transport arms bm4, dm4 can advance and withdraw in the
horizontal direction.
[0123] This allows the transport arms bm4, dm4 to move in the T
direction, rotate in the .+-..theta. direction, and extend/contract
while supporting the substrate W.
[0124] Further, a plurality of substrate supporters PS are attached
to an upper surface of each of the transport arms bm4, dm4 of the
substrate transport robot CR. In the present embodiment, four
substrate supporters PS are attached at substantially equal
spacings along the periphery of the substrate W that is placed on
the upper surface of each of the transport arms bm4, dm4. The
substrate W is supported by the four substrate supporters PS. Note
that the number of the substrate supporters PS is not limited to
four, and the substrate supporters may be used in any number with
which the substrate W can be stably supported.
[0125] When the reversing mechanism 70 of the substrate reverse
moving device 7 is in the second transfer position, the substrate
transport robot CR advances either one of the transport arms bm4,
dm4 toward the substrate reverse moving device 7 in the V
direction, so that the substrate W can be transferred and received
to and from the reversing mechanism 70.
[0126] Note that in the present embodiment, description has been
made of a case where both the indexer robot IR and substrate
transport robot CR are of a double-arm type having the respective
pairs of transport arms am4, cm4 and bm4, dm4, however, either or
both of the indexer robot IR and the substrate transport robot CR
may be of a single-arm type with only one transport arm.
(1-5) Example of Substrate Transporting Process
[0127] While an example of the transporting processes of the
substrate W is subsequently described, the transporting processes
of the substrate W are not limited to the following
description.
[0128] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the transporting processes of
the substrate W. First, the reversing mechanism 70 of the substrate
reverse moving device 7 moves to the first transfer position on the
indexer robot IR side as shown in FIG. 8. The indexer robot IR
takes the substrate W out of the carrier 1 and transfers the
substrate W to the substrate reverse moving device 7 (step S1).
[0129] Next, the reversing mechanism 70 of the substrate reverse
moving device 7 moves to the second transfer position on the
substrate transport robot CR side along the V direction while
reversing the substrate W received from the indexer robot IR (step
S2).
[0130] Then, the substrate transport robot CR receives the
substrate W from the substrate reverse moving device 7 (step S3).
The substrate transport robot CR subsequently carries the substrate
W into any of the processing units MP1-MP8 (step S4).
[0131] Next, the substrate W is subjected to the processing by any
of the processing units described above (step S5). The substrate
transport robot CR subsequently carries the substrate W after the
processing out of any of the processing units described above (step
S6). Then, the substrate transport robot CR transfers the substrate
W to the substrate reverse moving device 7 (step S7).
[0132] The substrate reverse moving device 7 subsequently moves to
the first transfer position on the indexer robot IR side along the
above-described V direction while reversing the substrate W
received from the substrate transport robot CR (step S8). Then, the
indexer robot IR receives the substrate W from the substrate
reverse moving device 7 (step S9). After this, the indexer robot IR
stores the substrate W in a predetermined carrier 1.
(1-6) Effects of the First Embodiment
[0133] According to the substrate processing apparatus 100 of the
present embodiment, the substrate reverse moving device 7 in the
transfer portion 3 has both the function of a shuttle transporting
mechanism that mediates the substrate W transferred between the
indexer robot IR and the substrate transport robot CR and the
function of a substrate reversing mechanism that reverses the
substrate W. That is, the moving mechanism 30 of the substrate
reverse moving device 7 moves the reversing mechanism 70 back and
forth in a straight line between the first transfer position and
the second transfer position, so that the substrate W is
transferred between the indexer robot IR and the substrate
transport robot CR and is reversed.
[0134] Thus, the substrate transport robot CR performs the two
transporting processes for the single substrate W, that is, a
transporting process from the substrate reverse moving device 7 to
the processing unit and a transporting process from the processing
unit to the substrate reverse moving device 7.
[0135] As described above, the number of the transporting processes
by the substrate transport robot CR is reduced, so that the
throughput of the processing of the substrate W is improved.
[0136] In addition, the transfer portion 3 including the substrate
reverse moving device 7 is provided in the position of the
transport region C between the indexer robot IR and the substrate
transport robot CR, so that the configuration of the existing
substrate processing apparatus (a configuration of a so-called
platform) is not required to be changed. This can suppress an
increase in production cost of the substrate processing apparatus
100.
(2) Second Embodiment
(2-1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus
[0137] FIG. 9 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus
according to a second embodiment.
[0138] As shown in FIG. 9, a configuration of the substrate
processing apparatus 100a according to the second embodiment is
different from the configuration of the substrate processing
apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment in that the
transfer portion 3 includes a substrate reverse moving device 7a
instead of the substrate reverse moving device 7. The difference is
described in the following with reference to drawings.
(2-2) Configuration and Operation of the Substrate Reverse Moving
Device
[0139] FIG. 10 is a schematic structural view of the substrate
reverse moving device 7a of FIG. 9. FIG. 10(a) is a side view of
the substrate reverse moving device 7a, and FIG. 10(b) is a top
view of the substrate reverse moving device 7a.
[0140] As shown in FIG. 10(a), the configuration of the substrate
reverse moving device 7a is different from the configuration of the
above-described substrate reverse moving device 7 (FIG. 4) in that
a moving mechanism 30a is provided instead of the moving mechanism
30. The moving mechanism 30a includes a base 31, a rotating shaft
3g and a motor 3f.
[0141] The motor 3f is fixed on the base 31. A shaft of the motor
3f is connected to a lower surface of the floorboard 79 by the
rotating shaft 3g. Such a configuration allows the reversing
mechanism 70 to rotate in the .+-..theta. direction (around the
axis in the T direction) as shown in FIG. 10(b).
[0142] The substrate W can be transferred to and from a transfer
side S on the opposite side of the rotating mechanism 78 in the
reversing mechanism 70 of this substrate reverse moving device
7a.
[0143] In the present embodiment, the substrate reverse moving
device 7a is arranged on a line connecting a position of the
indexer robot IR in transferring and receiving the substrate W and
a position of the substrate transport robot CR in transferring and
receiving the substrate W.
[0144] Next, the operation of the substrate reverse moving device
7a of the present embodiment is described.
[0145] First, the indexer robot IR moves to a position that faces
the substrate reverse moving device 7a. In addition, the reversing
mechanism 70 is rotated by the moving mechanism 30a, so that the
transfer side S faces the indexer robot IR.
[0146] In this state, one transport arm of the indexer robot IR
advances in an advance/withdraw direction V1 parallel to the V
direction, so that the substrate W is carried into the substrate
reverse moving device 7a.
[0147] Then, the rotating mechanism 78 operates to rotate the first
movable member 74 and the second movable member 75 of the reversing
mechanism 70 through 180 degrees around the horizontal axis while
the reversing mechanism 70 rotates through 180 degrees around the
rotating shaft 3g in the .theta. direction. Thus, the transfer side
S of the reversing mechanism 70 faces the substrate transport robot
CR while the substrate W is reversed.
[0148] In this state, one transport arm of the substrate transport
robot CR advances in an advance/withdraw direction V2 parallel to
the V direction, so that the substrate W is carried out of the
substrate reverse moving device 7a.
[0149] Meanwhile, when the substrate W is carried into the
substrate reverse moving device 7a by the substrate transport robot
CR, the reversing mechanism 70 rotates to allow the transfer side S
to face the indexer robot IR while reversing the substrate W by
operations reverse to the above-described operations. In the state,
the substrate W is carried out of the substrate reverse moving
device 7a by the indexer robot IR.
(2-3) Effects of the Second Embodiment
[0150] According to the substrate processing apparatus 100a of the
present embodiment, the substrate reverse moving device 7a has both
the function of the shuttle transporting mechanism that mediates
the substrate W transferred between the indexer robot IR and the
substrate transport robot CR and the function of the substrate
reversing mechanism that reverses the substrate W. That is, the
moving mechanism 30a of the substrate reverse moving device 7a
rotates the reversing mechanism 70 through 180 degrees so that the
reversing mechanism 70 faces the first transfer direction toward
the advance/withdraw direction V1 or a second transfer direction
toward the advance/withdraw direction V2, thereby allowing the
substrate W to be transferred between the indexer robot IR and the
substrate transport robot CR and to be reversed.
[0151] Thus, the substrate transport robot CR performs the two
transporting processes for the single substrate W, that is, a
transporting process from the substrate reverse moving device 7a to
the processing unit and a transporting process from the processing
unit to the substrate reverse moving device 7a.
[0152] As described above, the number of the transporting processes
by the substrate transport robot CR is reduced, so that the
throughput of the processing of the substrate W is improved.
[0153] In addition, the transfer portion 3 including the substrate
reverse moving device 7a is provided in the position of the
transport region C between the indexer robot IR and the substrate
transport robot CR, so that the configuration of the existing
substrate processing apparatus (the configuration of the so-called
platform) is not required to be changed. This can suppress the
increase in the production cost of the substrate processing
apparatus 100a.
(3) Third Embodiment
(3-1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus
[0154] FIG. 11 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus
according to a third embodiment.
[0155] As shown in FIG. 11, a configuration of the substrate
processing apparatus 100b according to the third embodiment is
different from the configuration of the substrate processing
apparatus 100a according to the second embodiment in that the fluid
boxes 2a, 2c and the processing units MP1, MP2, MP5, MP6 are not
provided, and the substrate reverse moving device 7a of the
transfer portion 3 is provided in a different arrangement.
Accordingly, the substrate processing apparatus 100b according to
the present embodiment is composed of the four processing units
MP3, MP4, MP7, MP8. The arrangement of the substrate reverse moving
device 7a is described with reference to drawings.
[0156] As shown in FIG. 11, the substrate reverse moving device 7a
is provided in a position spaced sideward from the line connecting
the position of the indexer robot IR in transferring and receiving
the substrate W and the position of the substrate transport robot
CR in transferring and receiving the substrate W. Accordingly, a
rotation angle, between the advance/withdraw direction of the
transport arm when the indexer robot IR stores and takes the
substrate W in and out of the carrier 1 and the advance/withdraw
direction of the transport arm when the indexer robot IR transfers
and receives the substrate W to and from the substrate reverse
moving device 7a, of the indexer robot IR becomes smaller than 180
degrees.
[0157] FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement of the
substrate reverse moving device 7a in the third embodiment.
[0158] As shown in FIG. 12, the substrate reverse moving device 7a
is arranged in a position where the indexer robot IR can transfer
and receive the substrate W to and from the substrate reverse
moving device 7a when the indexer robot IR is rotated so that the
advance/withdraw direction of the transport arm rotates through,
for example, 120 degrees in the -.theta. direction from the V
direction toward the carrier 1.
[0159] Next, an operation of the substrate reverse moving device 7a
in the present embodiment is described.
[0160] First, the indexer robot IR rotates the advance/withdraw
direction of the transport arm through, for example, 120 degrees
from the V direction toward the carrier 1 to the -.theta. direction
while moving to a central portion of the indexer ID. Moreover, the
reversing mechanism 70 is rotated by the moving mechanism 30a (FIG.
10), so that the transfer side S (FIG. 10) faces the indexer robot
IR.
[0161] In this state, one transport arm of the indexer robot IR
advances in the advance/withdraw direction V1, so that the
substrate W is carried into the substrate reverse moving device
7a.
[0162] Then, the reversing mechanism 70 reverses the substrate W
while rotating through, for example, 120 degrees in the +.theta.
direction. Accordingly, the transfer side S (FIG. 10) of the
reversing mechanism 70 faces the substrate transport robot CR as
indicated by the dotted line. In this state, one transport arm of
the substrate transport robot CR advances in the advance/withdraw
direction V2 at, for example, 120 degrees to the V direction, so
that the substrate W is carried out of the substrate reverse moving
device 7a.
[0163] Meanwhile, when the substrate W is carried into the
substrate reverse moving device 7a by the substrate transport robot
CR, the reversing mechanism 70 rotates through, for example, 120
degrees so that the transfer side S (FIG. 10) faces the indexer
robot IR while the substrate W is reversed by the reversing
mechanism 70 by operations reverse to the above-mentioned
operations. In the state, the substrate W is carried out of the
substrate reverse moving device 7a by the indexer robot IR.
(3-2) Effects of the Third Embodiment
[0164] According to the substrate processing apparatus 100b of the
present embodiment, the substrate reverse moving device 7a has both
the function of the shuttle transporting mechanism that mediates
the substrate W transferred between the indexer robot IR and the
substrate transport robot CR and the function of the substrate
reversing mechanism that reverses the substrate W. That is, the
moving mechanism 30a of the substrate reverse moving device 7a
rotates the reversing mechanism 70 through, for example, 120
degrees so that the reversing mechanism faces the first transfer
direction toward the advance/withdraw direction V1 or the second
transfer direction toward the advance/withdraw direction V2,
thereby allowing the substrate W to be transferred between the
indexer robot IR and the substrate transport robot CR and to be
reversed.
[0165] Thus, the substrate transport robot CR performs the two
transporting processes for the single substrate W, that is, the
transporting process from the substrate reverse moving device 7a to
the processing unit and the transporting process from the
processing unit to the substrate reverse moving device 7a.
[0166] As described above, the number of the transporting processes
by the substrate transport robot CR is reduced, so that the
throughput of the processing of the substrate W is improved.
[0167] In addition, the substrate reverse moving device 7a is
provided in the position spaced sideward from the line connecting
the position of the indexer robot IR in transferring and receiving
the substrate W and the position of the substrate transport robot
CR in transferring and receiving the substrate W. Accordingly, the
indexer robot IR rotates through an angle of smaller than 180
degrees in the -.theta. direction, so that the indexer robot IR can
transport the substrate W between the carrier 1 and the substrate
reverse moving device 7a. In addition, the reversing mechanism 70
of the substrate reverse moving device 7a rotates through an angle
of smaller than 180 degrees in the +.theta. direction, so that the
substrate W is transferred between the indexer robot IR and the
substrate transport robot CR. Accordingly, a transport time of the
substrate W by the indexer robot IR and a transfer time of the
substrate W by the substrate reverse moving device 7a are
shortened. This allows the throughput of the processing of the
substrate W to be further improved.
(4) Other Embodiments
[0168] The reversing mechanism 70 has the configuration where the
reversing mechanism 70 reverses the substrate W while holding the
substrate W such that the substrate W is sandwiched from its both
surface sides in the above-described embodiments, however, the
reversing mechanism 70 may have another configuration. For example,
the reversing mechanism 70 may have the configuration where the
substrate W is reversed in the state where two parts, being
opposite to each other, on the peripheral portion of the substrate
W are held by the reversing mechanism 70.
[0169] While the case where the substrate W is processed by any of
the processing units and the substrate W after the processing is
subsequently transferred to the substrate reverse moving device 7,
7a by the substrate transport robot CR is described as an example
in the above-described embodiments, the present invention is not
limited to this and the substrate W after the above-described
processing may be carried into another processing unit by the
substrate transport robot CR and subsequently subjected to the
processing by the processing unit.
[0170] While the substrate reverse moving device 7a is arranged in
a position anticlockwise from the V direction, centered around the
rotation shaft of the indexer robot IR, in the above-described
third embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this and
the substrate reverse moving device 7a may be arranged in a
position clockwise from the V direction, centered around the
above-described rotation shaft.
[0171] (5) Correspondences between Structural Elements in Claims
and Elements in the Embodiments
[0172] In the following paragraphs, non-limiting examples of
correspondences between various elements recited in the claims
below and those described above with respect to various embodiments
of the present invention are explained.
[0173] In the above-described embodiments, the transport region C
is an example of a carrying in and out region, the carrier 1 is an
example of a storing container, the carrier platform 1a is an
example of a container platform, the indexer robot IR is an example
of a first transport device, the substrate transport robot CR is an
example of a second transport device, the substrate reverse moving
devices 7, 7a are examples of a transfer portion, the reversing
mechanism 70 is an example of a reversing mechanism and the moving
mechanisms 30, 30a are examples of a moving mechanism.
[0174] Moreover, the first transfer position is an example of a
position where the substrate can be transferred between the first
transport device and the reversing device, the second transfer
position is an example of a position where the substrate can be
transferred between the second transport device and the reversing
device, the transport arms am4, cm4 are examples of a first
supporter, and the transport arms bm4, dm4 are examples of a second
supporter in the above-described embodiments.
[0175] Furthermore, the advance/withdraw direction V1 is an example
of a first advance/withdraw direction, the advance/withdraw
direction V2 is an example of a second advance/withdraw direction,
the .+-..theta. direction (around the axis in the T direction) is
an example of a circumferential direction centered around an axis
in a substantially vertical direction, the U direction is an
example of a first axis direction, the V direction is an example of
a second axis direction and the advance/withdraw direction V1 is an
example of a third axis direction in the above-described
embodiments.
[0176] As each of various elements recited in the claims, various
other elements having configurations or functions described in the
claims can be also used.
[0177] While preferred embodiments of the present invention have
been described above, it is to be understood that variations and
modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without
departing the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope
of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by
the following claims.
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