JP2014060338A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that with increase in a height of a heat treatment apparatus due to increase in a diameter of a substrate, the size and the length of a substrate cassette transfer device are increased; and the substrate cassette transfer device becomes ultra-heavy due to the increased length thereby to make it extremely difficult to assemble and cause restriction of increase in operating speed.SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus comprises: a processing chamber for processing a substrate; a housing chamber in which a plurality of housing shelves for housing a container for storing the substrate are formed; a delivery part for carrying in the container in the housing chamber; a first carrier machine arranged at a lower part inside the housing chamber, for carrying the container to the delivery part or to the housing shelf; a second carrier machine arranged at an upper part inside the housing chamber, for receiving the container from the first carrier machine and carrying the container to the housing shelf; first carrying means provided in the first carrier machine for scooping the container from a lower part and holding the container; and second carrying means provided in the second carrier machine for grasping the container from an upper part.

Description

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly to a FOUP (Front Open Unified Pod) loader (substrate cassette transport apparatus) in a substrate processing apparatus having a large substrate diameter.

In a batch type vertical substrate processing apparatus in which a large number of substrates (wafers) are heat-treated at once, a plurality of wafers are usually transferred into the apparatus in a state of being stored in a cassette and processed once (hereinafter referred to as “process processing”). Dozens to hundreds of wafers are processed simultaneously in one batch).

  In such a batch type vertical substrate processing apparatus, a storage shelf (hereinafter referred to as a cassette shelf) is installed so that a cassette storing a plurality of wafers can be sufficiently stocked in the apparatus.

A cassette opener for opening and closing the cassette door is installed between the storage chamber in which the cassette shelf is installed and the wafer transfer chamber.
In the vertical substrate processing apparatus, the cassette loader transports a cassette carried from the outside to a load port to a cassette shelf or a cassette opener.

For example, the number of wafers processed per batch as a vertical substrate processing apparatus for 450 mm wafers (hereinafter referred to as 450 mm apparatus) is the same as that for a vertical substrate processing apparatus for 300 mm wafers (hereinafter referred to as 300 mm apparatus). The same. Therefore, the number of 450 mm wafer cassettes required is the same as in the 300 mm apparatus.
However, as the wafer diameter increases from 300 mm to 450 mm, the size of the cassette also increases. Specifically, the loading pitch between wafers in the cassette is increased from 10 mm to 12 mm for 450 mm wafers compared to 300 mm wafers. When storing 25 wafers in one cassette, the height of the cassette is 50 mm or more higher than that of a 300 mm wafer. In addition, the weight of the cassette loaded with the wafer is three times or more than that of the 300 mm wafer.
For this reason, the height of the 450 mm apparatus is higher than that of the 300 mm apparatus, and the cassette loader is required to access the cassette mounting position arranged from the upper side to the lower side of the vertical substrate processing apparatus. Accordingly, the cassette loader becomes larger and longer than that of the 300 mm apparatus.
By the way, when the vertical substrate processing apparatus is transported by an aircraft or the like, there is a restriction on the height. Due to the increase in the size of the apparatus accompanying the increase in the diameter of the wafer, the cassette loader that is larger and longer than the conventional apparatus must be disassembled and transported in a state of being removed from the apparatus. The disassembled cassette loader needs to be assembled and adjusted again after loading the device. Moreover, when the cassette loader itself becomes large and long, the cassette loader becomes very heavy and assembly becomes very difficult. Further, since the length of the ball screw shaft is also long, there is a problem that the speed of operation is restricted, and problems such as noise increase are likely to occur, resulting in a high-risk device.

A conventional cassette loader (substrate cassette transport mechanism) is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.

JP 2000-31935 A

The present invention enables the cassette loader to access each cassette mounting position even in a substrate processing apparatus that has been increased in size by handling a wafer having an increased diameter, and stored below the height limit during transportation. It is to provide a substrate processing apparatus provided with a substrate cassette transfer device capable of performing the above.

  The present invention provides a processing chamber for processing a substrate, a storage chamber provided with a plurality of storage shelves for storing a substrate for storing a substrate, a delivery unit for carrying the container into the storage chamber, and a lower portion in the storage chamber. A first transporter that transports to a delivery unit or a storage shelf; and a second transporter that is installed in an upper portion of the storage chamber, receives a container from the first transporter, and transports the container to the storage shelf; The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus having first transport means for scooping up and holding a container from the lower part and second transport means provided in the second transporter for gripping the container from the upper part.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, even with a substrate processing apparatus that has been increased in size to accommodate 450 mm wafers, the cassette loader can access each cassette mounting location, and the height is less than or equal to the height limit during transportation. It can be stored, and the assembly / adjustment process after loading can be omitted.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic sectional side view of this substrate processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of the controller of the substrate processing apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a schematic operation | movement figure of the board | substrate cassette conveying apparatus with which this invention is applied. It is a schematic operation | movement figure of the board | substrate cassette conveying apparatus with which this invention is applied. It is a schematic operation | movement figure of the board | substrate cassette conveying apparatus with which this invention is applied. It is a schematic operation | movement figure of the board | substrate cassette conveying apparatus with which this invention is applied. It is a schematic operation | movement figure of the board | substrate cassette conveying apparatus with which this invention is applied. It is a schematic operation | movement figure of the board | substrate cassette conveying apparatus with which this invention is applied. It is a schematic operation | movement figure of the board | substrate cassette conveying apparatus with which this invention is applied.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In an embodiment to which the present invention is applied, as an example, the substrate processing apparatus is configured as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that implements a processing apparatus in a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device (IC). In the following description, a case where a vertical apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a processing apparatus) that performs oxidation, diffusion processing, CVD processing, or the like is applied to the substrate as the substrate processing apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. 2 is a side perspective view of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a substrate cassette (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a pod) 110 is used as a wafer carrier that accommodates a plurality of wafers (substrates) 200 made of silicon or the like and is used as a container. The substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a housing 111 that is used as a substrate processing apparatus main body.

A front maintenance port 103 as an opening provided for maintenance is opened at the front front portion of the front wall 111a of the casing 111, and front maintenance doors 104 and 104 for opening and closing the front maintenance port 103 are respectively built. It is attached.
A substrate cassette loading / unloading port 112 is opened on the front wall 111a of the housing 111 so as to communicate with the inside and outside of the housing 111, and the substrate cassette loading / unloading port 112 is opened and closed by a front shutter 113. .
A load port 114 used as a loading / unloading unit is installed on the front front side of the substrate cassette loading / unloading port 112, and the loading port 114 is configured to place and align the substrate cassette 110. The substrate cassette 110 is loaded onto the load port 114 by an in-process transfer device (not shown), and is also unloaded from the load port 114.

  A storage chamber 101, which is a space in which substrate cassette shelves (to be described later) and the like are installed, is configured at the front portion in the front-rear direction in the casing 111. In addition, a substrate cassette shelf (accommodating shelf) 105 is installed at an upper portion of the housing 111 at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction. The substrate cassette shelf 105 includes a support unit 116 that is vertically arranged, and a plurality of stage mounting units 117 that are independently movable in the vertical direction at each of the upper, middle, and lower stages with respect to the support unit 116. The substrate cassette shelf 105 is configured to hold a plurality of substrate cassettes 110 placed on a plurality of stages of placement units 117. That is, the substrate cassette shelf 105 accommodates a plurality of substrate cassettes 110 in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction by arranging, for example, two substrate cassettes 110 in the same direction on a straight line.

  Between the load port 114 and the substrate cassette shelf 105 in the housing 111, a substrate cassette transfer device (storage container transfer mechanism) 118 is installed. The substrate cassette carrying device 118 is a substrate cassette carrying unit serving as a carrying unit that carries the substrate cassette 110 and the substrate cassette 110 in the horizontal direction by placing the substrate cassette 110 on the axis that can be vertically moved while holding the substrate cassette 110. 118b, and the substrate cassette transfer device 118 is connected between the load port 114, the substrate cassette shelf 105, and the substrate cassette opener 121 by the continuous operation of the substrate cassette elevator 118a and the substrate cassette transfer unit 118b. 110 is transported.

  A sub-housing 119 is constructed across the rear end of the lower portion of the housing 111 at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction. A pair of wafer loading / unloading ports 120 for loading / unloading the wafers 200 into / from the sub-casing 119 are arranged on the front wall 119a of the sub-casing 119 so as to be vertically arranged in two stages. A pair of substrate cassette openers 121 and 121 are installed at the lower wafer loading / unloading ports 120 and 120, respectively. The substrate cassette (FOUP or pod) opener 121 includes mounting bases 122 and 122 for mounting the substrate cassette 110 and cap attaching / detaching mechanisms 123 and 123 for attaching and detaching the cap of the substrate cassette 110 used as a sealing member. The substrate cassette opener 121 is configured to open and close the wafer loading / unloading port of the substrate cassette 110 by attaching / detaching the cap of the substrate cassette 110 mounted on the mounting table 122 by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 123.

  The sub-housing 119 constitutes a transfer chamber 124 that is fluidly isolated from the installation space of the substrate cassette transfer device 118 and the substrate cassette shelf 105. A wafer transfer mechanism 125 is installed in a front region of the transfer chamber 124. The wafer transfer mechanism 125 is configured to be capable of rotating or linearly moving the wafer 200 in a horizontal direction and a wafer transfer device 125a. It is comprised with the wafer transfer apparatus elevator 125b for raising / lowering. As schematically shown in FIG. 1, the wafer transfer device elevator 125 b is installed between the right end of the pressure-resistant casing 111 and the right end of the front area of the transfer chamber 124 of the sub casing 119. By the continuous operation of the wafer transfer device elevator 125b and the wafer transfer device 125a, the tweezer (substrate holder) 125c of the wafer transfer device 125a is used as a placement portion for the wafer 200 with respect to the boat (substrate holder) 217. The wafer 200 is loaded (charged) and unloaded (discharged).

  In the rear region of the transfer chamber 124, a standby unit 126 that houses and waits for the boat 217 is configured. A processing furnace 202 used as a processing chamber is provided above the standby unit 126. The lower end portion of the processing furnace 202 is configured to be opened and closed by a furnace port shutter 147.

As schematically shown in FIG. 1, a boat elevator 115 for raising and lowering the boat 217 is installed between the right end portion of the pressure-resistant housing 111 and the right end portion of the standby portion 126 of the sub housing 119. Yes. A seal cap 219 serving as a lid is horizontally installed on an arm 128 serving as a connecting tool connected to a lifting platform of the boat elevator 115, and the seal cap 219 supports the boat 217 vertically, and a lower end of the processing furnace 202. It is comprised so that a part can be obstruct | occluded.
The boat 217 includes a plurality of holding members, and is configured to hold a plurality of (for example, about 50 to 125) wafers 200 horizontally in a state where the centers are aligned in the vertical direction. Has been.

As schematically shown in FIG. 1, the left end of the transfer chamber 124 opposite to the wafer transfer device elevator 125b side and the boat elevator 115 side is a cleaned atmosphere or an inert gas. A clean unit 134 composed of a supply fan and a dust-proof filter is installed so as to supply clean air 133. Between the wafer transfer device 125a and the clean unit 134, although not shown, the circumferential direction of the wafer A notch aligning device is installed as a substrate aligning device for aligning the positions.
The clean air 133 blown out from the clean unit 134 is circulated to the notch aligner / wafer transfer device 125 a and the boat 217 in the standby unit 126, and then sucked in through a duct (not shown) and exhausted outside the housing 111. Or is circulated to the primary side (supply side) that is the suction side of the clean unit 134 and is again blown out into the transfer chamber 124 by the clean unit 134.

Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described.
In the following description, the operation of each part constituting the substrate processing apparatus 100 is controlled by the controller 240.
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the controller 240. The controller 240 controls the substrate cassette transfer device 118, the substrate cassette shelf 105, the wafer transfer mechanism 125, the cassette elevator, the cassette transport unit, and the like via the input / output device 241.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the substrate cassette 110 is supplied to the load port 114, the substrate cassette loading / unloading port 112 is opened by the front shutter 113, and the pod 110 above the load port 114 is connected to the substrate. The cassette carrying device 118 carries the substrate into the housing 111 from the substrate cassette carry-in / out port 112.
The loaded substrate cassette 110 is automatically transported and delivered by the substrate cassette transport device 118 to the designated mounting portion 117 of the substrate cassette shelf 105, temporarily stored, and then transferred from the substrate cassette shelf 105 to the one side. After being transferred to the substrate cassette opener 121 and delivered and temporarily stored, the substrate cassette is transferred from the substrate cassette shelf 105 to one substrate cassette opener 121 and transferred to the mounting table 122 or directly. It is transported to the opener 121 and transferred to the mounting table 122. At this time, the wafer loading / unloading port 120 of the substrate cassette opener 121 is closed by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 123, and the transfer chamber 124 is filled with clean air 133. For example, the transfer chamber 124 is filled with nitrogen gas as clean air 133, so that the oxygen concentration is set to 20 ppm or less, which is much lower than the oxygen concentration inside the casing 111 (atmosphere).

The substrate cassette 110 mounted on the mounting table 122 has its opening-side end face pressed against the opening edge of the wafer loading / unloading port 120 in the front wall 119a of the sub-housing 119, and the cap is removed by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 123. The wafer loading / unloading opening is opened.
When the substrate cassette 110 is opened by the substrate cassette opener 121, the wafer 200 is picked up from the substrate cassette 110 through the wafer loading / unloading port by the tweezer 125c of the wafer transfer device 125a and loaded into the standby unit 126 at the rear of the transfer chamber 124. And loaded into the boat 217 (charging). The wafer transfer device 125 a that delivered the wafer 200 to the boat 217 returns to the substrate cassette 110 and loads the next wafer 200 into the boat 217.

  During the loading operation of the wafer into the boat 217 by the wafer transfer mechanism 125 in the one (upper or lower) substrate cassette opener 121, the other (lower or upper) substrate cassette opener 121 is separated from the substrate cassette shelf 105 by another. The substrate cassette 110 is transferred and transferred by the substrate cassette transfer devices 118a and 118b, and the opening operation of the substrate cassette 110 by the substrate cassette opener 121 is simultaneously performed.

  When a predetermined number of wafers 200 are loaded into the boat 217, the lower end portion of the processing furnace 202 closed by the furnace port shutter 147 is opened by the furnace port shutter 147. Subsequently, the boat 217 holding the wafers 200 is loaded into the processing furnace 202 when the seal cap 219 is lifted by the boat elevator 115.

After loading, arbitrary processing is performed on the wafer 200 in the processing furnace 202.
After the processing, the wafer 200 and the substrate cassette 110 are discharged out of the casing in the reverse procedure described above.

  Next, in FIG. 4 to FIG. 8, the substrate cassette transfer apparatus in the first embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 4 shows a substrate cassette transfer device 118b. The substrate cassette transfer device 118b is provided with a motor 153 and a vertical slide shaft 152 for moving the scalar arm 155 in the vertical direction. Further, the substrate cassette transfer device 118b is provided with a motor 151 and a front / rear slide shaft 150 for moving the scalar arm 155 connected to the upper / lower slide shaft 152 in the front / rear direction. The front / rear slide shaft 150 includes a scalar arm 155. It is connected. With these configurations, the substrate cassette transport device 118b can access the substrate cassette on the load port 114 and transport the substrate cassette to the substrate cassette opener 121. A ball screw can be used as an example of the vertical slide shaft 152 and the front / rear slide shaft 150.

FIG. 5 shows a substrate cassette transfer device 118a. The substrate cassette transfer device 118a is provided with a motor 158 and a vertical slide shaft 152 for moving the scalar arm 157 in the vertical direction. Further, the substrate cassette transfer device 118a is provided with a motor 151 and a front / rear slide shaft 150 which are connected to the vertical slide shaft 152 and move the scalar arm 157 in the front / rear direction. The front / rear slide shaft 150 and the scalar arm 157 are connected to each other. Yes. With these configurations, the substrate cassette transfer device 118 a can access the cassettes on the cassette shelf 105. A ball screw can be used as an example of the vertical slide shaft 152 and the front / rear slide shaft 150.

6 to 9, an example in which the substrate cassette 110 is transferred from the load port 114 to the uppermost stage of the substrate cassette shelf 105, the substrate cassette transfer device 118 is transferred to the first substrate cassette transfer device 118b and the second substrate cassette transfer. The case where two devices 118a are used will be described as an example.

The substrate cassette transfer device 118 has two types, a first substrate cassette transfer device 118b that can access the transfer region below the substrate processing device and a second substrate cassette transfer device 118a that can access the transfer region above the substrate processing device. It is the structure arranged in the vertical direction. The first substrate cassette transfer device 118b is disposed in the lower part of the substrate processing apparatus 111, and the second substrate cassette transfer apparatus 118a is disposed in the upper part of the substrate processing apparatus 111.
Each of the substrate cassette transfer devices 118a and 118b includes a vertical slide shaft 152, a front and rear slide shaft 150 that moves back and forth, and scalar arms 155 and 157 that access the substrate cassette 110. Here, the load port 114 and the substrate cassette opener 121 are provided on the lower side of the substrate processing apparatus, and the cassette shelf 105 is provided on the upper side of the substrate processing apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, a substrate cassette shelf may be installed in the lower space of the load port 114 on the lower side of the apparatus, or the load port 114 may be installed in a transfer area on the upper side of the apparatus.

The substrate cassette transfer device 118b is used for the load port 114 and the substrate cassette opener 121 arranged on the lower side of the apparatus, and the substrate cassette 110 is used for the substrate cassette shelf 105 arranged on the upper side of the apparatus using the substrate cassette transfer device 118a. Transport.
When the substrate cassette 110 carried in from the load port 114 is transported to the substrate cassette shelf 105, or when transported from the substrate cassette shelf 105 to the substrate cassette opener, etc., in the vicinity of the portion overlapping the substrate cassette transporting devices 118a and 118b in the vertical direction. The delivery of the substrate cassette 110 must be performed. In the substrate cassette transfer device 118b, the hand portion at the tip of the scalar arm 155 is scooped up using a bottom groove (kinematic coupling) on the lower surface of the substrate cassette 110. In the substrate cassette transport device 118a, the hand portion at the tip of the scalar arm 157 grips and lifts the automation flange on the upper surface of the substrate cassette 110. With such a configuration, it is possible to deliver a cassette between the substrate cassette transfer device 118a and the substrate cassette transfer device 118b. That is, since the first and second substrate cassette transfer devices 118a and 118b are configured to grip and scoop up the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate cassette 110, the first and second substrate cassettes as shown in FIG. Direct delivery is possible at a portion A that overlaps the conveying devices 118a and 118b in the vertical direction.
Here, the overlapping portion A may not be provided as long as the substrate cassette transfer devices 118a and 118b are located so that the substrate cassette 110 can be directly transferred between the substrate cassette transfer devices 118a and 118b. For example, the height of the substrate cassette 110 may be separated by 118a and 118b in the first and second substrate cassette transfer devices. Further, the first substrate cassette transport device 118a may scoop up the lower surface of the substrate cassette, and the second substrate cassette transport device 118b may grip the upper surface of the substrate cassette.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which two substrate cassette transfer apparatuses according to the present invention are provided above and below the substrate processing apparatus 100. The first substrate cassette transfer device 118 b is provided in the lower part of the storage chamber 101 of the substrate processing apparatus 100. The first substrate cassette transport device 118b scoops up the kinematic coupling on the lower surface of the substrate cassette 110 on the load port 114 to transport the substrate cassette 110. On the other hand, the second substrate cassette transfer device 118 a is provided in the upper part of the storage chamber 101 of the substrate processing apparatus 100. The second substrate cassette transfer device 118a is located at the upper part in the substrate processing apparatus 100, and is configured to transfer the substrate cassette 110 by gripping an automation flange on the upper surface of the substrate cassette 110. With such a configuration, a plurality of (two in this example) substrate cassettes can be accessed at the same time, so that the time required for transport can be shortened, and the vertical stroke can be effectively utilized.
FIG. 7 shows a state where the cassette 110 is delivered between the first substrate cassette transfer device 118b and the second substrate cassette transfer device 118a. As shown in the figure, the delivery of the cassette 110 is performed in the upper region of the first substrate transfer device 118b and in the lower region of the second substrate cassette transfer device 118a. Since the cassette 110 can be directly transferred between the substrate cassette transfer devices 118a and 118b in this way, the substrate cassette 110 is temporarily transferred between the first and second substrate cassette transfer devices 118b and 118a. There is an effect that it is not necessary to provide a mounting table on which the substrate cassette 110 is mounted.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the cassette 110 delivered to the second substrate cassette transport device 118 a is placed on the uppermost stage of the substrate cassette shelf 105.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which the first substrate cassette transport device 118 b places the substrate cassette 110 on the lower stage of the cassette shelf 105.

FIG. 10 shows how the first substrate cassette transfer device 118b and the second substrate cassette transfer device 118a operate independently of each other. By individually operating in this way, the placement time of the substrate cassette in the substrate processing apparatus can be shortened.

<Preferred embodiment of the present invention>
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be additionally described.

(Appendix 1)
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a processing chamber for processing a substrate, a storage chamber for providing a plurality of storage shelves for storing containers for storing substrates, a delivery unit for carrying containers into the storage chamber, and a lower portion in the storage chamber A first transporter that is installed and transports the container to the delivery section or storage shelf, a second transporter that is installed at the top of the storage chamber, receives the container from the first transporter, and transports the container to the storage shelf, and the first transport There is provided a substrate processing apparatus provided with a first transfer means provided in the machine for scooping and holding the container from below and a second transfer means provided in the second transfer machine for gripping the container from above.

(Appendix 2)
The substrate processing apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein a place where the container is received from the first transporter is an upper part of the first transporter and is a lower part of the second transporter.

(Appendix 3)
A substrate processing method for processing using the substrate processing apparatus according to attachment 1 is provided.

(Appendix 4)
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device manufactured using the substrate processing apparatus of Appendix 1 is provided.

(Appendix 5)
According to one aspect of the present invention, the step of scooping up the container from the lower part by the first conveying means provided in the first conveying machine, and the container held in the first conveying means provided in the second conveying machine And a step of gripping from the upper part of the container by the second transport means.

100 ... substrate processing apparatus 101 ... storage chamber 105 ... cassette shelf 110 ... substrate cassette 111 ... casing 118a ... first substrate cassette transfer device 118b ... Second substrate cassette transfer device 150: front / rear slide shaft 151 ... motor 152 ... upper / lower slide shaft 153 ... motor 155 ... scalar arm 157 ... scalar arm 158 ... motor 240 ···controller

Claims (1)

A processing chamber for processing the substrate;
A storage chamber provided with a plurality of storage shelves for storing containers for storing the substrates; and
A delivery section for carrying the container into the storage chamber;
Installed in the lower part of the storage room,
A first transporter for transporting the container to the delivery unit or the storage shelf;
A second transporter installed at the top of the storage chamber, receiving the container from the first transporter and transporting the container to the storage shelf;
A first conveying means provided in the first conveying machine for scooping and holding the container from below;
A second transport means provided on the second transport machine for gripping the container from above;
Substrate processing apparatus having

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