JP2004311781A - Processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure a high throughput while preventing outer air from being entrained into a carrier when an enclosed carrier is carried into a carrying region, where an atmospheric carrying region is sectioned from a carrying region of high purity atmosphere by a barrier wall, and abutted against the barrier wall and then a wafer is taken out from the carrier to the carrying region and heat treated, for example. <P>SOLUTION: A nitrogen gas supply pipe is provided around the opening in the barrier wall, a light emitting part and a light receiving part constituting a wafer ejection detecting section are provided above and below the center of the opening, and a wafer carrying mechanism disposed in the carrying region is provided with a retractable mapping sensor. After the carrier is abutted against the barrier wall and a cover is opened, atmosphere in the carrier is replaced by nitrogen gas from the nitrogen gas supply pipe under a state where the door is closed. Subsequently, nonejection of the wafer is confirmed and the mapping sensor is advanced into the carrier. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a processing apparatus and a processing method for taking out a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer from a storage container in which a take-out port on a front surface is hermetically closed by a lid and performing a predetermined process.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art As one of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses, there is a heat treatment apparatus that performs heat treatment on a large number of semiconductor wafers (hereinafter, referred to as wafers) in a batch (collectively). This heat treatment apparatus transfers a wafer in a carrier to a wafer boat as a substrate holder, and a loading / unloading area where a carrier, which is a storage container storing a plurality of wafers, is loaded and unloaded by an automatic transfer robot or an operator. And a loading area for carrying in and out of the heat treatment furnace.
[0003]
In such a heat treatment apparatus, the loading area is separated from the loading area on the atmosphere side and the loading area in order to make the loading area an atmosphere having a higher degree of cleanness than the loading area and to prevent the occurrence of a natural oxide film on the wafer. The loading area is preferably set to an inert gas atmosphere filled with an inert gas such as nitrogen (N2) gas. Further, in this case, in order to suppress particle contamination of the wafer, it is more preferable to apply a closed type carrier (also called a closed type carrier) in which a wafer take-out port on the front surface of the carrier body is closed with a lid. Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose apparatuses for heat-treating a wafer in a closed-type carrier.
[0004]
FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing an outline of a heat treatment apparatus described in Patent Document 2. Reference numeral 1 denotes a front panel portion of the housing 10, and a mounting table 11 for loading / unloading a carrier serving as a load port is provided on the front side of the front panel portion 1. First, the carrier 2 is mounted on the mounting table 11 by a not-shown automatic transfer robot or operator (state P1), and then the mounting table 11 is moved to the front panel section 1 side, and a cover (not shown) provided on the front panel section 1 is provided. The lid of the carrier 2 is opened by the opening / closing mechanism. Then, the wafer detection unit 13 including the mapping sensor 12 including the light-emitting unit and the light-receiving unit is raised from the lower side to a position facing the frontage of the carrier 2, and the mapping sensor 12 is tilted to enter the carrier 2. The position and number of wafers in the carrier 2 are detected by scanning in the direction.
[0005]
Next, the lid of the carrier 2 is closed, and the mounting table 11 is further moved to the transfer position (P2 state) of the carrier transport mechanism 14 in the housing 10, and the carrier 2 is transported to the carrier storage shelf 15 by the carrier transport mechanism 14. You. Note that an atmosphere region Q1 in which the carrier 2 is transported and a loading area Q2 for transferring a wafer are partitioned by a partition wall 17, and the loading area Q2 has a cleaner atmosphere than the atmosphere region. Thereafter, the carrier 2 is transported from the carrier storage shelf 15 to a position (wafer transfer position (state P3)) where the carrier 2 comes into contact with the opening of the partition wall 17 via the mounting table 16, and the lid of the carrier 2 is opened by a lid opening / closing mechanism (not shown). Can be opened. Subsequently, the wafer in the carrier 2 is transferred by the wafer transfer mechanism 18 to the wafer boat 19 on the heat treatment section side, and the wafer boat 19 is loaded into the heat treatment furnace 19a to perform heat treatment.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2000-150400: Paragraph 0030 and FIG.
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2002-164406: paragraphs 0029 and 0030, FIGS. 2 and 8
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described apparatus, since the lid of the carrier 2 is opened at the front panel section 10 and the partition wall 17, two lid opening / closing mechanisms must be prepared, and the lid is opened at two places. This hindered throughput improvement. Further, if the lid of the carrier 2 is opened on the load port (mounting table 11) side, particles may be caught in the carrier 2 from the outside air, and a down flow using a filter is formed in the transport area Q1 of the carrier 2. However, it was difficult to prevent particles from being mixed. Furthermore, since the closed type carrier 2 has a lid, there should be no risk of the wafer jumping out when the lid is opened. However, since the wafer is stored with the wafer pressed against the inner surface of the lid, the lid is closed. When the cartridge is opened, the peripheral edge of the wafer may adhere to the resin on the inner surface of the lid and may be pulled out. If so, when the mapping sensor 12 enters the carrier 2, it collides with the wafer and damages the wafer. Concerns about letting them go were not wiped out.
[0008]
The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to prevent outside air from being trapped in a storage container when taking out a substrate stored in a closed storage container and performing a predetermined process. Another object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus and a processing method capable of improving throughput.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the processing apparatus of the present invention, a transfer area in which a plurality of substrates are stored and a storage container in which a front outlet is hermetically closed by a lid is loaded, and a transfer area maintained in an atmosphere different from the loading area. A loading area, a partition that partitions the loading area and the transfer area, and a door that opens and closes an opening formed in the partition, the storage container being brought into contact with the opening from the loading area side. In the processing apparatus, the door and the lid are opened, and the substrate in the storage container is transferred to the substrate holder provided on the transfer area side by the substrate transfer mechanism on the transfer area side, and the substrate is processed.
After opening the lid of the storage container that is in contact with the opening, a protrusion detection unit that detects whether the substrate is protruding from the storage container,
After detecting that there is no protrusion by the pop-out detection unit, a board detection unit that enters the storage container and detects the presence or absence of a substrate at each substrate holding position in the storage container is provided. I do. It is preferable that the substrate detection unit is, for example, an optical sensor provided in a substrate transfer mechanism so as to be able to move forward and backward.
[0010]
According to the present invention, it is not necessary to open the lid of the storage container in the air atmosphere, so that it is possible to prevent the air from getting into the storage container and obtain a high throughput. Further, since the jumping-out of the substrate from the storage container is detected before the substrate detection unit enters the storage container, it is possible to prevent troubles such as collision between the substrate detection unit and the substrate. Further, the atmospheres on the carry-in area side and the transfer area side are, for example, an air atmosphere and a clean gas atmosphere, respectively, and a gas for opening the storage container lid with the door closed and replacing the inside of the storage container with the clean gas. A configuration including a replacement unit can be adopted. In this case, since the position of the substrate in the storage container may be shifted by the supply of the clean gas, it is very effective to detect the protrusion of the substrate from the storage container.
[0011]
According to the processing method of the present invention, a storage container in which a plurality of substrates are stored and a front opening is hermetically closed by a lid is carried into a carry-in area, and the transfer vessel is maintained in a different atmosphere from the carry-in area. Contacting the opening of the partition partitioning between the mounting area,
Next, a step of opening the lid of the storage container with the door that opens and closes the opening closed,
After that, a step of replacing the inside of the storage container with clean gas,
After this step, a step of detecting whether or not the substrate is popping out of the storage container while opening the door,
After detecting that the substrate has not jumped out, entering the substrate detection unit into the storage container, and detecting the presence or absence of the substrate at each substrate holding position in the storage container,
Subsequently, a step of taking out the substrate in the storage container by the substrate transfer means, transferring the substrate to the substrate holder disposed on the transfer area side, and processing the substrate is provided. In this case, the step of detecting the presence / absence of the substrate is, for example, a step of moving the substrate transfer unit up and down in this state by advancing a substrate detection unit provided in the substrate transfer unit to enter the storage container. .
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a vertical heat treatment apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overview of a vertical heat treatment apparatus, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are a vertical sectional side view and a schematic plan view showing the inside of the vertical heat treatment apparatus, respectively. Reference numeral 3 in the figure denotes a housing constituting an exterior body of the apparatus. Inside the housing 3, a closed-type carrier 2 which is a storage container for storing a wafer serving as a substrate is carried in and out of the apparatus. A loading / unloading area S1 for transferring a wafer in the carrier 2 and a loading area S2 for transferring the wafer into a heat treatment furnace described later are formed. For convenience, in FIG. 1, regions S1 and S2 are denoted by reference numerals outside the housing 3. The loading / unloading area S1 and the loading area S2 are separated by a partition 4, and the loading / unloading area S1 is set to an air atmosphere, and the loading area S2 is set to an inert gas atmosphere such as a nitrogen (N2) gas atmosphere or a clean and dry gas (particle and Air with a low organic component and a dew point of −60 ° C. or lower).
[0013]
The carry-in / carry-out area S1 includes a first area 5 which is a load port located on the near side as viewed from the front side of the apparatus, and a second area 6 located on the back side. In the first area, first mounting tables 51 and 52 disposed on the left and right for mounting the two carriers 2 respectively are provided. The closed type carrier 2 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 5 described later. The carrier 2 accommodates a plurality of, for example, 13 or 25 wafers W having a diameter of 300 mm, which are substrates, arranged in a shelf shape. The outlet 20 on the front is closed by a lid 21. The cover 21 has a latch mechanism (not shown) for holding the cover 21 at the take-out port 20 of the carrier 2, and can be removed from the take-out port 20 by releasing the latch mechanism by a cover opening / closing mechanism described later. . A keyhole 21a is inserted into the keyhole 21a and a key on the lid opening / closing mechanism side is inserted and rotated to release the latch mechanism.
[0014]
On the mounting surfaces of the first mounting tables 51 and 52, pins 53 (see FIG. 1), which are positioning portions for positioning the carrier 2 by fitting into concave portions provided on the bottom of the carrier 2, are provided at, for example, three places. Is provided. On the front side of the housing 3, a U-shaped panel portion 54 as viewed from above is provided so as to surround the space above the first mounting tables 51 and 52, and is surrounded by the panel portion 54. The lifted area forms an elevating area for transferring the carrier 2 between the automatic transfer robot moving along the ceiling (not shown) in the clean room and the first mounting tables 51 and 52.
[0015]
In the second area 6 in the carry-in / carry-out area S1, the second mounting tables 61 and 62, which are the mounting units, are arranged so as to be arranged in a line in front of and behind the first mounting tables 51 and 52, respectively. . Pins 63 (see FIG. 1) as positioning portions for positioning the carrier 2 are provided at three places on the mounting surfaces of the second mounting tables 61 and 62, similarly to the first mounting tables 51 and 52. As shown in FIG. 4, the mounting tables 61 and 62 are moved back and forth by a driving unit 63a such as an air cylinder between a position where the carrier 2 is placed by a carrier transport mechanism described below and a position where the carrier 2 comes into contact with the partition wall 4. Is configured to be movable.
[0016]
On the other hand, on the upper side of the second area 6, a carrier storage section 64 for storing the carrier 2 is provided, and in this example, the carrier storage section 64 is constituted by a two-stage, two-row shelf. In the second area 6, a carrier transport mechanism 65 having an articulated arm that transports the carrier 2 between the first mounting tables 51 and 52, the second mounting tables 61 and 62, and the carrier storage unit 64 is provided. Is provided.
[0017]
As shown in detail in FIG. 4, when the carrier 2 mounted on the second mounting table 61 (62) comes into contact with the partition wall 4, the inside of the carrier 2 and the loading area S2 communicate with each other. The opening 41 is formed, and the edge of the opening 41 on the side of the loading / unloading area S1 is in contact with the carrier 2 (specifically, the edge of the outlet 20 of the carrier 2 is in contact). A seal member 42 is provided. The seal member 42 forms a part of the partition wall 4 in this specification. On the loading area S2 side of the partition wall 4, a door 43 for opening and closing the opening 41 is provided, and a lid opening / closing mechanism 44 for opening and closing the lid 21 of the carrier 2 with the door 43 closed. After the lid 21 of the carrier 2 is opened, the door 43 is moved upward or downward, for example, by a door opening / closing mechanism (not shown) together with the lid opening / closing mechanism 44 and the lid 21 so as not to obstruct the transfer of the wafer W. It is configured to evacuate.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 4, the inner peripheral surface surrounding the opening 41 of the partition wall 4 is depressed at the top and side to form a groove 47, and a nitrogen gas is provided in the groove 47 located on the side. A gas supply pipe 45 serving as a supply means is provided vertically. The gas supply pipe 45 is provided with a large number of gas supply holes up and down so as to supply nitrogen gas into the carrier 2 with the lid 21 opened and to replace the inside with the air therein. Further, as shown in the figure, at the lower end of the opening 41, an exhaust passage 46 provided with a horizontally long porous body 46a as viewed from the front is provided so that exhaust with less deviation can be performed. The air is exhausted by exhaust means (not shown) through the air passage 46a. In this example, gas supply means is constituted by the gas supply pipe 45 and the exhaust path 46.
[0019]
Further, in the upper groove 47 of the opening 41 of the partition 4, a light emitting section 71 is provided so that the optical axis L <b> 1 (see FIG. 5) faces downward in the vertical direction, and at the lower side of the opening 41. A light receiving section 72 is provided so as to be located on the optical axis L1 of the light emitting section 71. The light emitting section 71 and the light receiving section 72 constitute a protrusion detecting section for detecting a state in which the wafer W is protruding from the inside of the carrier 2, and the optical axis L 1 is, for example, a central portion in the width direction of the carrier 2. It is set so as to be located immediately in front of the outlet 20. Note that, on the side of the loading / unloading area S1 in the partition wall 4, two pressing members 48 that rotate around a horizontal axis in order to press the upper surfaces of the carriers 2 mounted on the second mounting tables 61 and 62, respectively, are provided on the left and right. They are provided side by side.
[0020]
Here, FIG. 4 shows a control unit 200, and the control unit 200 has a program for controlling a series of operations of the heat treatment apparatus. Specifically, this program monitors a detection signal from the light receiving section 72, generates an alarm when a protrusion of the wafer W is detected, and outputs a control signal for stopping the operation of the heat treatment apparatus. Steps for controlling a sequence such as an opening / closing operation of the lid 43 and the lid 44 and a nitrogen gas supply operation of the nitrogen gas supply pipe 45 are provided.
[0021]
Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3, the loading area S2 will be described. The loading area S2 is provided with a vertical heat treatment furnace 81 having a lower end opened as a furnace port, and a lower side of the vertical heat treatment furnace 81. A wafer boat 82, which is a holder for holding a large number of wafers W in a shelf shape, is placed on a cap 84. The cap 84 is supported on an elevating mechanism 85, and the wafer boat 82 is carried into or out of the heat treatment furnace 81 by the elevating mechanism 85. Further, a wafer transfer mechanism 9 is provided between the wafer boat 82 and the opening 41 of the partition wall 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer transfer mechanism 9 moves along a guide mechanism 91 extending left and right and is provided so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis, and to be able to advance and retreat on the transfer base 92. The arm support mechanism 90 is provided with a plurality of, for example, five, retractable arms 93 provided in a shelf shape on the arm support mechanism 90. The wafer boat 82 and the second mounting tables 61 and 62 are provided. It has a role of transferring the wafer W to and from the upper carrier 2.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 5, a mapping sensor, which is a substrate detection unit, is provided on the transfer base 92 at a position slightly higher than the upper surface of the transfer base 92 and at a position slightly outside both side edges of the transfer base 92. 94 are provided. The mapping sensor 94 includes a light emitting section 95 and a light receiving section 96 which are optical sensors. The light emitting section 95 and the light receiving section 96 are formed in a U-shape so as to straddle the lower side of the transport base 92 in the width direction. Both ends are provided at both end portions of a holding member 97 having an L-shaped bent frontward. The holding member 97 is configured to be able to advance and retreat by an air cylinder 98 as a driving unit, and its stroke enters the carrier 2 when the mapping sensor 94 is advanced, and the optical axis of the mapping sensor 94 is The position is set so as to cross the placement area.
[0023]
Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. First, the carrier 2 descends through the internal space of the panel unit 54 by an automatic transfer robot (not shown) that moves along the ceiling of the clean room, and is mounted on the first mounting table 51 (52). Subsequently, the carrier 2 is transported to the second mounting table 61 (62) by the carrier transport mechanism 65. When the carrier 2 is placed on the second mounting table 61 (62), the bottom of the carrier 2 and the second mounting table 61 (62) are engaged by an engaging mechanism (not shown).
[0024]
The subsequent operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation sequence of this embodiment. First, as shown in FIG. 7, the second mounting table 61 (62) moves toward the partition wall 4, and the rim of the outlet 20 of the carrier 2 is hermetically sealed with the seal member 42 around the opening 41 of the partition wall 4. Contact is made (step SP1). After that, the pressing member 48 is rotated to be in a state of lying down and pressing the carrier 2. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, a key (not shown) of the lid opening / closing mechanism 44 is inserted into the keyhole 21a (see FIG. 5) of the lid 21 of the carrier 2, and the lid 21 is removed from the carrier 2 (step SP2). Subsequently, an inert gas such as a nitrogen gas is blown out horizontally into the carrier 2 from the gas supply pipe 45 at a flow rate of, for example, 50 to 200 l / min. This nitrogen gas flows between the wafers W along the inner wall of the carrier 2, returns to the takeout port 20 side, and is exhausted from the lower exhaust path 46, and thus the space between the carrier 2 and the space between the carrier 2 and the door 43. Is replaced by an inert gas (step SP3).
[0025]
Next, as shown in FIG. 8A, the door 43, the lid opening / closing mechanism 44, and the lid 21 rise, for example, retreat from the opening 41, and the inside of the carrier 2 and the loading area S2 communicate with each other (step SP4). ). Thereafter, it is detected by the light emitting unit 71 and the light receiving unit 72, which are the protrusion detection units of the wafer, whether or not the wafer W has protruded from the carrier 2 (step SP5). That is, if the wafer W does not jump out, the optical axis L1 is not blocked, so that the light from the light emitting unit 71 is received by the light receiving unit 72, and the control unit 200 determines that the wafer W does not jump out. On the other hand, if the wafer W jumps out, the optical axis L1 is blocked by the wafer W and the light from the light emitting unit 71 cannot be received, so the control unit 200 determines that the wafer W has jumped out. Note that the timing of detecting the protrusion of the wafer W may be a state in which the door 43 is closed.
[0026]
If the mapping sensor 94 enters the carrier 2 with the wafer W jumping out, the mapping sensor 94 may collide with the wafer W and damage the wafer W. For this reason, the control unit 200 generates an alarm via an alarm generation unit (not shown) (step SP6) and outputs an operation stop command (step SP7).
[0027]
On the other hand, if it is determined that the wafer W has not jumped out, the wafer transfer mechanism 9 is opposed to the carrier 2 as shown in FIGS. 8B and 9, and the mapping sensor 94 (the light emitting unit 95 and the light receiving The part 96) is advanced to, for example, be positioned at the same height as or below the lowermost wafer holding area in the carrier 2. Then, the transport base 92 is raised from this state, and the inside of the carrier 2 is scanned by the mapping sensor 94 above the height of the uppermost wafer holding area (step SP8), and then the mapping sensor 94 is retracted. As shown in FIG. 8B, the optical axis L2 of the mapping sensor 94 is set so as to cross the holding area of the wafer W in the left-right direction. The presence / absence of W (in other words, the wafer holding position) and the number of sheets stored are detected.
[0028]
Then, the wafers W in the carrier 2 are sequentially taken out by the wafer transfer mechanism 9 based on the detection result by the mapping sensor 94 and transferred to the wafer boat 82 (step SP9). When the wafer W in the carrier 2 is emptied, the lid 21 of the carrier 2 is closed by the operation reverse to the above, the second mounting table 61 (62) is retracted, the carrier 2 is separated from the partition 4, and the carrier is transported. It is transported to the carrier storage unit 64 by the mechanism 65 and is temporarily stored. On the other hand, when a predetermined number of wafers W are mounted on the wafer boat 82, the wafers W are loaded into the heat treatment furnace 81 and subjected to heat treatment such as CVD, annealing, and oxidation.
[0029]
According to the above-described embodiment, the mapping of the wafer W in the carrier 2 is not performed at the load port (the first region 5), and the carrier is transferred to the loading area S2 in which the atmosphere has a high degree of cleanliness by, for example, an inert gas. Since the mapping is performed in a state where the inside of the carrier 2 is open, the lid 21 of the carrier 2 does not need to be removed in the air atmosphere, and as a result, intrusion of particles, moisture and impurities into the carrier 2 due to entrainment of the air. Can be suppressed. Also, a mechanism for removing the lid 21 of the carrier 2 (corresponding to the lid opening / closing mechanism 44) may be prepared only on the loading area S2 side, so that the number of mechanical parts can be reduced and the lid 21 can be removed only once, which is high. Throughput is obtained.
[0030]
Further, since the atmosphere in the carrier 2 is replaced by a clean gas such as nitrogen gas after the lid 21 of the carrier 2 is opened, the air in the carrier 2 does not enter the loading area S2, and An increase in the oxygen concentration can be prevented, and a decrease in the cleanliness of the atmosphere can be prevented. When the nitrogen gas is supplied into the carrier 2 as described above, especially when the nitrogen gas is supplied at a large flow rate in order to accelerate the replacement of the atmosphere, the wafer W in the carrier 2 jumps out of position due to, for example, fluttering, and as a result, the mapping is performed. Although there is a concern that the sensor 94 may collide with the wafer W, since the projection of the wafer W is detected by the projection detection unit including the light emitting unit 71 and the light receiving unit 72, the trouble that the mapping sensor 94 collides with the wafer W is prevented. it can. Further, since the mapping sensor 94 is provided on the wafer transfer machine 9 so as to be able to move forward and backward, the mechanism is simpler than in a case where the mapping sensor 94 is moved along the partition wall 4 and can enter the carrier 2 freely. .
[0031]
The present invention can be applied not only to the vertical heat treatment apparatus but also to an apparatus for performing a predetermined process on a substrate, such as a single-wafer heat treatment apparatus, an apparatus for applying and developing a resist, and an ion implantation apparatus. Further, the inner surface of the lid 21 of the carrier 2 is usually made of resin, and there is a slight possibility that the wafer W will be pulled out of the carrier 2 when the lid 21 is removed. The present invention is also effective when the substitution is not performed. Further, the loading area S2 is not limited to the inert gas, but may be clean dry air. In this case, after the carrier 2 contacts the partition wall 4, clean dry air is supplied into the carrier 2 to change the atmosphere in the carrier 2. It may be replaced. In addition, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus in which a region for carrying in the carrier 2 and a region for carrying out the carrier 2 are provided at different places.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the presence or absence of the substrate at each holding position in the storage container is detected while the storage container (the carrier in the above example) is connected to the transfer area (the loading area in the above example). In addition, it is not necessary to open the lid of the storage container in the air atmosphere, so that it is possible to prevent air from getting into the storage container and to obtain a high throughput. Further, since the jumping-out of the substrate from the storage container is detected before the substrate detection unit enters the storage container, it is possible to prevent troubles such as collision between the substrate detection unit and the substrate.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overview of a vertical heat treatment apparatus which is an embodiment of a treatment apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view showing a schematic configuration inside the above vertical heat treatment apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a schematic configuration inside the vertical heat treatment apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an opening of a partition used in the above vertical heat treatment apparatus and its periphery.
FIG. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a wafer transfer mechanism and a carrier.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation sequence of the vertical heat treatment apparatus.
FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional side view and a cross-sectional plan view showing a state in which a carrier is in contact with a partition used in the vertical heat treatment apparatus.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the detection of the protrusion of the wafer from the carrier and the mapping of the wafer in the carrier are performed.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional plan view showing how a wafer in a carrier is mapped.
FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the inside of a conventional vertical heat treatment apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
W semiconductor wafer 2 carrier 20 take-out port 21 lid 3 housing 41 opening 43 door 44 lid opening / closing mechanism 45 gas supply pipe S1 loading / unloading area S2 loading area 5 first areas 51, 52 first mounting table 6 second Areas 61 and 62 Second mounting table 71 Light emitting unit 72 Light receiving unit 200 Control unit 81 Vertical heat treatment furnace 82 Wafer boat 9 Wafer transfer mechanism 92 Transfer substrate 93 Arm 94 Mapping sensor 95 Light emitting unit 96 Light receiving unit

Claims (5)

A carry-in area in which a plurality of substrates are housed, and a storage container in which a front outlet is hermetically closed by a lid is carried in, a transfer area maintained in an atmosphere different from the carry-in area, and the carry-in area And a partition for partitioning the transfer area, and a door for opening and closing an opening formed in the partition, and the storage container is brought into contact with the opening from the loading area side, and the door and the lid are provided. In the processing apparatus in which the substrate in the storage container is opened and transferred to the substrate holding device arranged on the transfer area side by the substrate transfer mechanism on the transfer area side, and the substrate is processed,
After opening the lid of the storage container that is in contact with the opening, a protrusion detection unit that detects whether the substrate is protruding from the storage container,
After detecting that there is no protrusion by the pop-out detection unit, a board detection unit that enters the storage container and detects the presence or absence of a substrate at each substrate holding position in the storage container is provided. Processing equipment. 2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate detection unit is provided on the substrate transfer mechanism so as to be able to advance and retreat. The atmosphere on the loading area side and the transfer area side are an air atmosphere and a clean gas atmosphere, respectively.
3. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising gas replacement means for opening the lid of the storage container with the door closed and replacing the inside of the storage container with clean gas. A plurality of substrates are stored, and a storage container in which a front opening is hermetically closed by a lid is carried into a carry-in area, and a space between the carry-in area and a transfer area maintained in a different atmosphere from the carry-in area is defined. Contacting the opening of the partition wall,
Next, a step of opening the lid of the storage container with the door that opens and closes the opening closed,
After that, a step of replacing the inside of the storage container with clean gas,
After this step, a step of detecting whether or not the substrate is popping out of the storage container while opening the door,
After detecting that the substrate has not been ejected, a step of allowing the substrate detection unit to enter the storage container and detecting the presence or absence of the substrate at each substrate holding position in the storage container,
A step of taking out the substrate in the storage container by the substrate transfer means, transferring the substrate to a substrate holder disposed on the transfer area side, and processing the substrate. The step of detecting the presence / absence of the substrate is a step of moving the substrate transfer unit up and down in this state by advancing a substrate detection unit provided in the substrate transfer unit to enter the storage container. The processing method according to claim 4, wherein

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