TWI845640B - Alignment device, substrate processing device, alignment method and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Topic] Adjusting the configuration position of two rectangular substrates arranged side by side. [Solution] Limiting the position of the edge that "forms the first corner and the second corner set for two adjacent rectangular substrates arranged side by side", and pushing the pushing part from the direction opposite to each edge to align the rectangular substrate. In addition, the structure is such that a moving mechanism can be set in the limiting part to change the distance between the two edges extending from the first corner and the second corner in the direction intersecting the parallel direction of the two rectangular substrates and the angle formed by these edges. Therefore, the configuration position of each rectangular substrate can be adjusted.

Description

Alignment device, substrate processing device, alignment method and substrate processing method

The present disclosure relates to techniques for aligning substrates.

In the manufacturing process of flat panel displays (FPD), the glass substrates are aligned and positioned in advance so that they can be moved to the correct position when they are moved into the substrate processing chamber for substrate processing. Patent document 1 focuses on the position deviation that occurs when the glass substrates transported to each processing chamber are aligned in a substrate processing device in which the processing chambers for multiple substrates are connected to a transfer chamber for transporting the glass substrates. In addition, the following technology is described: the configuration position of the glass substrate is adjusted for each processing chamber that becomes the transfer end point of the glass substrate, and the glass substrate is placed in the correct position. [Prior technical document] [Patent document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-324366

[Problems to be solved by the present invention]

This disclosure is made in view of such a situation, and provides the following technology: adjusting the configuration position of two rectangular substrates arranged side by side. [Means for solving the problem]

The alignment device disclosed in the present invention is an alignment device for adjusting the configuration position of a rectangular substrate, and is characterized in that it comprises: A mounting table, which is provided with a first substrate configuration area and a second substrate configuration area for configuring two rectangular substrates adjacent to each other and side by side; A first limiting portion and a second limiting portion, which respectively limit the configuration position of the two sides forming the first corner when one corner selected from the four corners of the rectangular substrate configured in the first substrate configuration area is set as the first corner; A first pressing portion, which presses the rectangular substrate from the direction opposite to the two sides forming the first corner toward the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion; A third limiting portion, which presses the rectangular substrate from the direction opposite to the two sides forming the first corner toward the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion; The control part and the fourth limiting part respectively limit the configuration positions of the two sides forming the second corner when one corner selected from the four corners of the rectangular substrate configured in the second substrate configuration area is set as the second corner; the second pressing part presses the rectangular substrate from the direction opposite to the two sides forming the second corner toward the third limiting part and the fourth limiting part; and the moving mechanism moves the first limiting part to the fourth limiting part respectively to change the interval between the two sides extending from the first corner and the second corner in the direction intersecting the parallel direction of the two rectangular substrates and the angle formed by these sides. [Effect of the invention]

According to the present disclosure, the configuration positions of two rectangular substrates arranged side by side can be adjusted.

A substrate processing device, i.e., a vacuum processing device, to which an embodiment of the alignment device disclosed in the present invention is applied is described. As shown in FIG1 , the vacuum processing device is composed of an atmosphere transfer module, i.e., an atmosphere transfer chamber 11, a load lock module, i.e., a load lock chamber 12, and a vacuum transfer module, i.e., a vacuum transfer chamber 13, which are connected in this order. In the following description, the direction connected to the vacuum transfer chamber 13 is referred to as the front side, and the direction connected to the atmosphere transfer chamber 11 is referred to as the rear side, and when viewing the front side from the rear side, the left and right sides are referred to as the left-hand side and the right-hand side, respectively.

Loading ports 14 are provided on the left and right sides of the atmospheric transfer chamber 11. The loading ports 14 are transfer containers C for loading rectangular substrates, i.e., glass substrates G. In the transfer container C, a plurality of glass substrates G can be arranged in multiple layers with spaces between them. The vacuum transfer chamber 13 is, for example, configured as a rectangular shape in a plan view, and vacuum processing modules 9 are connected to three sides of the side surfaces except the rear side surface as substrate processing modules. Substrate transfer mechanisms, i.e., transfer arms 15 and 16 for transferring glass substrates G are provided in the atmospheric transfer chamber 11 and the vacuum transfer chamber 13, respectively.

The transport arm 15 provided in the atmospheric transport chamber 11 is provided with: a base 15b; and a substrate holding part 15a, which holds two glass substrates G at the front end side and the base end side. The base 15b is, for example, configured to be freely rotatable around a vertical axis, and the substrate holding part 15a is configured to be freely movable with respect to the base 15b. The transport arm 16 provided in the vacuum transport chamber 13 is, for example, provided with a substrate holding part 16a at an adjustable angle at the front end of an arm part 16b composed of an articulated arm that can rotate around a vertical axis and extend and retract, and the substrate holding part 16a holds two glass substrates G at the front end side and the base end side. The transport arm 16 is configured to be movable toward a position for receiving and delivering the glass substrates G by driving the substrate holding part 16a and the arm part 16b.

As the vacuum processing module 9, for example, a plasma processing device is provided. The vacuum processing module 9 has a mounting table 91 in a vacuum container 90, and the mounting table 91 is provided with, for example, two glass substrates G placed side by side. In the mounting table 91, for example, an electrode is embedded, and the electrode is used to generate plasma between the electrode and a nozzle provided in the vacuum container 90 (the nozzle and the electrode are not shown).

In the substrate processing apparatus having the above-described general structure, when the transfer container C is placed on the loading port 14, two glass substrates G are stored side by side on each layer of the transfer container C. At this time, the glass substrates G on each layer are arranged with their long sides facing in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the substrate holding portion 15a enters the transfer container C. The transfer arm 15 provided in the atmospheric transfer chamber 11 receives the two adjacent and side-by-side glass substrates G at its front end side and base end side. Furthermore, the two glass substrates G are received and delivered side by side in the front-back direction to the later-described placement table 20 in the loading lock chamber 12.

On the other hand, the transfer arm 16 on the side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 receives two glass substrates G in parallel at the front end and the base end thereof, and delivers them to each vacuum processing module 9. Specifically, the following process is performed: after the transfer arm 16 is rotated to the vacuum processing module 9 to be transferred, the arm portion 16b is extended toward the mounting table 91. Therefore, in each vacuum processing module 9, when viewed from the side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13, two glass substrates G are received and delivered in parallel at the front and rear sides.

In such a vacuum processing module 9, the transfer arm 16 is taught to memorize the transfer end point of each glass substrate G, thereby performing a process of transferring to a more accurate position on each mounting table 91. In addition, as a prerequisite for correctly performing the teaching result, in the vacuum processing device, for example, alignment is performed, and the alignment is performed to align the arrangement positions of each glass substrate G in the load lock chamber 12.

However, when the glass substrate G is transported to each vacuum processing module 9 by the transport arm 16, it is difficult to adjust the relative position of each vacuum processing module 9 to be the same, and a slight position deviation will occur. Moreover, in recent years, the device has been enlarged along with the enlargement of the glass substrate G. Therefore, sometimes the accumulated value of the error caused by the accumulation of the setting tolerance of the parts constituting the device, the error caused by thermal expansion, the error when assembling the device, etc. becomes large, and becomes a size that cannot be ignored relative to the transport accuracy. In addition, since the teaching adjusts the loading position of the glass substrate G by adjusting the angle θ of the vertical axis of the transport arm 16 and the extension distance r of the arm 16b, there are limitations on the adjustment of the individual configuration positions of the two glass substrates G. As a result, there is also a concern that each glass substrate G may not be sufficiently placed at a correct position on the placement table 91 .

Therefore, in the vacuum processing apparatus disclosed in the present invention, the arrangement positions of the two glass substrates G can be adjusted individually when the alignment is performed in the load lock chamber 12. Fig. 2 shows an example of the structure of the load lock chamber 12. The load lock chamber 12 is configured to have a vacuum container 200 connected to the atmospheric transfer chamber 11 and the vacuum transfer chamber 13 via the loading and unloading ports 22 and 23, and the internal atmosphere can be switched between the atmospheric atmosphere and the vacuum atmosphere when the loading and unloading ports 22 and 23 are closed by a gate valve (not shown).

A stage 20 is provided in the vacuum container 200. The stage 20 is provided with substrate placement areas 21a and 21b for placing two glass substrates G adjacent to each other and side by side in the front-back direction. The glass substrates G are placed in the substrate placement areas 21a and 21b with their long sides facing the direction intersecting the front-back direction of the substrate processing device. In the following description, the substrate placement area on the front side is referred to as the first substrate placement area 21a, and the substrate placement area on the rear side is referred to as the second substrate placement area 21b.

Furthermore, the stage 20 is provided with: limiting parts 3 and 7 for limiting the configuration position of the glass substrate G; and a pressing part 8 for pressing the glass substrate G toward the limiting parts 3 and 7. In the example shown in FIG. 2 , the corner on the rear right side (toward the lower right of the first substrate configuration area 21a in FIG. 2 ) of the four corners of the glass substrate G placed in the first substrate configuration area 21a is selected as the first corner c1 limited by the limiting parts 3 and 7. Moreover, the limiting parts 3 and 7 are provided in a manner to limit the two sides (the first side s1 and the second side s2) forming the first corner c1. Furthermore, the corner on the front right side (toward the upper right of the second substrate configuration area 21b in FIG. 2 ) of the four corners of the glass substrate G placed in the second substrate configuration area 21b is selected as the second corner c2. Furthermore, the limiting parts 3 and 7 are provided in such a manner as to limit the arrangement positions of the two sides (the third side s3 and the fourth side s4) forming the second corner c2. Here, the limiting part 3 is configured as a central limiting part 3 for simultaneously limiting the arrangement of the first side s1 and the third side s3 in the gap between the two glass substrates G as shown in FIG. 2. In this example, one central limiting part 3 is provided near the left and right ends of the aforementioned gap. On the other hand, the side limiting parts 7 (7a, 7b) that respectively limit the second side s2 and the fourth side s4 are provided independently of each other.

Furthermore, when focusing on the first substrate arrangement region 21a, the long side pressing portion 8a and the short side pressing portion 8b are provided as the pressing portion 8 on the stage 20 so as to press the glass substrate G on the front side from the direction opposite to the two sides s1 and s2 forming the first corner c1 toward the central limiting portion 3 and the side limiting portion 7a. On the other hand, when focusing on the second substrate arrangement region 21b, the long side pressing portion 8c and the short side pressing portion 8d are provided as the pressing portion 8 on the stage 20 so as to press the glass substrate G on the front side from the direction opposite to the two sides s3 and s4 forming the second corner c2 toward the central limiting portion 3 and the side limiting portion 7b.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the central limiting portion 3 is described. FIG. 3 shows the central limiting portion 3 arranged on the right side when viewed from the back. The X axis in FIG. 3 indicates the direction from the left side to the right side of the vacuum conveying device (left-right direction), and the Y axis indicates the direction from the rear side to the front side of the vacuum conveying device (front-back direction). The central limiting portion 3 arranged on the left side is arranged, for example, to be 180° rotationally symmetrical with the central limiting portion 3 on the right side about the center position when viewing the mounting table 20 from above.

The central limiting part 3 has a base 30 in the shape of a trapezoidal plate that is elongated in the front-rear direction. The base 30 is configured to be movable along a guide rail (not shown) that extends in the front-rear direction. The left and right sides of the base 30 are longer on the left side than on the right side, and a wedge-shaped sharp corner is formed on the rear side of the base 30. In addition, a groove 33 is formed at the rear end of the upper surface of the base 30 along the side extending in the inclined direction formed by the aforementioned sharp corner.

A protrusion 35 extending in the up-down direction is inserted into the groove 33. The protrusion 35 is connected to the bottom of the front end of a beam-shaped member 34a extending from the right to the left and bent toward the front. The base end side of the beam-shaped member 34a is connected to the first retractable mechanism 34 fixed to the mounting table 20, for example, and the beam-shaped member 34a is extended and retracted by the first retractable mechanism 34, thereby the protrusion 35 is configured to be movable in the groove 33.

Moreover, a beam-shaped member 31a extending in the left-right direction is provided on the upper side of the base body 30, similarly to the base end side of the beam-shaped member 34a, and a protrusion 32 protruding upward is provided at the left-hand end of the beam-shaped member 31a. The base end side of the beam-shaped member 31a is configured to be connected to the second telescopic mechanism 31 fixed to the mounting table 20, for example, and the protrusion 32 moves in the left-right direction (X-axis direction) by the second telescopic mechanism 31 being extended and retracted.

Above the beam-shaped member 31a, a plate-shaped member 40 in a roughly rectangular plate shape extending in the front-rear direction is provided. The plate-shaped member 40 is configured to be movable along a guide rail (not shown) extending in the left-right direction (X-axis direction) provided on the upper surface of the base 30. Near the right side of the plate-shaped member 40, a long hole 42 is formed that passes through the plate-shaped member 40 and extends in the front-rear direction (Y-axis direction), and the aforementioned protrusion 32 is inserted into the long hole 42 from the lower side of the plate-shaped member 40. Furthermore, near the left side of the plate-shaped member 40, a cylindrical moving body 41 is provided in a manner protruding upward.

Two blocks 51 and 52 are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction above the plate-shaped member 40. Each block 51 and 52 is supported to be movable along a guide rail (not shown) extending in the front-rear direction provided on the upper surface of the base 30. Each block 51 and 52 is formed into a roughly rectangular shape and arranged so that the long side of each block 51 and 52 faces the left-right direction. The left end of the rear side of the block 51 on the front side is a protrusion 53 protruding toward the rear side, and a cylindrical pin 55 is provided on the protrusion 53 so as to extend upward. Furthermore, a notch having a concave shape corresponding to the shape of the protruding portion 53 of the front side block 51 is formed at the left end of the front side block 52 of the rear side.

The right hand side of the recessed portion of the rear block 52 is a protrusion 54 protruding toward the front side, and a cylindrical pin 56 is provided on the protrusion 54 in an upwardly extending manner. Furthermore, a notch having a recessed shape corresponding to the shape of the protrusion 54 of the rear block 52 is formed in the front block 51.

Furthermore, a push-out portion 57 is formed in the gap between the right side portion of the rear side of the front side block 51 and the right side portion of the front side of the rear side block 52 when viewed from the upper side, and the push-out portion 57 is a gap that gradually widens in a cone shape from the left hand side toward the right hand side. Furthermore, the right hand side of the push-out portion 57 is a parallel portion 58 in which the width of the gap between the surface of the front side block 51 and the surface of the rear side block 52 is fixed.

A support portion 61 is formed on the upper surface of the base 30 at a position facing the front side of the left side of the block 51 on the front side. A guide shaft 59 is provided on the side surface of the support portion 61 to protrude toward the block 51.

A support portion 62 is formed on the rear side opposite to the left side of the rear block 52 and is provided vertically on the upper surface of the base 30. A guide shaft 60 is provided on the side surface of the support portion 62 so as to protrude toward the block 52.

Furthermore, a spring member 63 is provided between the front support portion 61 and the front block 51, and a spring member 64 is provided between the rear support portion 62 and the rear block 52. The front block 51 is pushed to the rear side and the rear block 52 is pushed to the front side by the spring members 63 and 64. The guide shafts 59 and 60 are inserted into the spring members 63 and 64, respectively, and guide the movement of the blocks 51 and 52 described below.

The moving body 41 is disposed between the blocks 51 and 52 having the above-mentioned structure so as to be located in the gap constituting the parallel portion 58. The blocks 51 and 52, which are biased by the spring members 63 and 64, are restrained and stationary by contacting the moving body 41. At this time, the diameter of the moving body 41, the width of the gap of the parallel portion 58, the protruding length of each protruding portion 53 and 54, etc. are set so that the pins 55 and 56 on the blocks 51 and 52 restrained by the moving body 41 are in a state of being arranged side by side in the left-right direction (X-axis direction).

The operation of the central limiting portion 3 having the above structure is described. In FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, the central limiting portion 3 shown in FIG. 4 is simplified. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the central limiting portion 3 receives the glass substrate G, the protrusion 35 of the beam-shaped member 34a is in a standby state in the longitudinal center of the groove 33.

Furthermore, the moving body 41 is located in the parallel portion 58 between the blocks 51 and 52. Therefore, as described above, the pins 55 and 56 on the blocks 51 and 52 are arranged in parallel in the X-axis direction. The central limiting portion 3 is on standby in this state, and the two glass substrates G shown by the dotted lines in the figure are placed with the pins 55 and 56 interposed therebetween.

If the glass substrate G is placed, as shown in FIG5 , the second retractable mechanism 31 moves the moving body 41 to the left hand side and enters the push-pull section 57. As mentioned above, the width of the gap of the push-pull section 57 is narrower than that of the parallel section 58, and the gap gradually narrows toward the left hand side. Therefore, as the moving body 41 moves to the left hand side, a force is applied to expand the blocks 51 and 52. Due to this action, the two blocks 51 and 52 move in the front-back direction against the push force of the spring members 63 and 64. In response to the movement of the blocks 51 and 52, each pin 55 and 56 also moves in the front-back direction and the distance between the two pins 55 and 56 increases.

As a result, when viewed from the glass substrate G arranged to sandwich the two pins 55 and 56, the limiting position of each glass substrate G (the interval between each glass substrate G) performed by the pins 55 and 56 changes. At this time, as the movable body 41 located in the push-pull part 57 is moved to the left hand side, the gap between the blocks 51 and 52 is also expanded, so the interval between the pins 55 and 56 becomes larger. At this time, as the movable body 41 located in the push-pull part 57 is moved to the right hand side, the gap between the blocks 51 and 52 is narrowed, so the interval between the pins 55 and 56 is narrowed. In this way, the distance between the pins 55 and 56 can be adjusted by the position of the moving body 41, and the limiting position of each glass substrate G (the distance between each glass substrate G) can be adjusted.

As shown in FIG6 , the central restricting portion 3 extends and retracts the first retractable mechanism 34, thereby causing the protrusion 35 to move in the left-right direction in the groove 33. On the other hand, since the groove 33 is formed to be obliquely transverse to the moving direction of the protrusion 35, a force is applied such that the protrusion 35 moving in the left-right direction pushes back the inner wall of the groove 33 to move the base 30 in the front-back direction. As a result, by extending and retracting the first retractable mechanism 34, the two blocks 51 and 52 can move in the front-back direction together with the base 30, and the positions restricting the two glass substrates G are moved in the front-back direction by the pins 55 and 56. In addition, although the second telescopic mechanism 31, the beam-shaped member 31a and the protrusion 32 cannot move in the front-back direction (Y-axis direction), the protrusion 32 is moved along the long hole 42 formed in the plate-shaped member 40, so as not to interfere with the front-back movement of the base 30.

Returning to FIG. 2 , the central limiting portion 3 having the above-mentioned structure is disposed at the left and right positions of the mounting table 20 in such a manner that the pins 55 and 56 are disposed in the gap between the first substrate arrangement area 21a and the second substrate arrangement area 21b. The central limiting portion on the right hand side is given a symbol 3a, and the central limiting portion on the left hand side is given a symbol 3b for explanation. In this example, the central limiting portion 3b on the left hand side is disposed so that the central limiting portion 3a on the right hand side is approximately 180° rotationally symmetrical around the vertical axis with the central portion of the mounting table 20 as the center. That is, in the central limiting portion 3b on the left hand side, the pin 55 of the two pins 55 and 56 limits the glass substrate G placed on the rear side of the second substrate configuration area 21b, and the pin 56 limits the glass substrate G placed on the front side of the first substrate configuration area 21a.

Next, the side limiting portion 7 is described. The side limiting portion 7 is, for example, configured in a rod shape, and is configured to limit the configuration position of the right-hand side (the second side s2 and the fourth side s4) of the glass substrate G with its front end. In this example, the side limiting portions 7a and 7b are configured to limit the position near the front of the second side s2 and the position near the rear of the fourth side s4, respectively. Each of the side limiting portions 7a and 7b is configured to be freely movable in the left-right direction, and is configured to stand by at a position away from the first substrate configuration area 21a and the second substrate configuration area 21b when the glass substrate G is carried in and out.

In the present embodiment, the two sides, i.e., the first side s1 and the third side s3, viewed from the first corner c1 and the second corner c2 in the direction intersecting the parallel direction (front-rear direction) of the glass substrate G are restricted by the common central restricting parts 3a and 3b (specifically, the pins 55 and 56). Furthermore, the two sides, i.e., the second side s2 and the fourth side s4, extending front-rear from the first corner c1 and the second corner c2 are restricted by the side restricting parts 7 (7a and 7b), respectively.

In this case, the two central limiting portions 3a and 3b that limit the glass substrate G disposed in the first substrate arrangement area 21a using the pins 55 and 56 correspond to the first limiting portion, and the side limiting portion 7a corresponds to the second limiting portion. In addition, the two central limiting portions 3a and 3b that limit the glass substrate G disposed in the second substrate arrangement area 21b using the pins 56 and 55 also correspond to the third limiting portion, and the side limiting portion 7b corresponds to the fourth limiting portion.

Next, the pressing part 8 is configured to press one side of the glass substrate G from the side by the front end, and a spring member is provided, for example, to provide a clearance at the pressing position. In this embodiment, two long-side pressing parts 8a are provided on the left and right in front of the first substrate arrangement area 21a, and the glass substrate G placed on the first substrate arrangement area 21a is pressed by the long-side pressing parts 8a, thereby the glass substrate G can be pressed to the pins 56 and 55 of the central limiting parts 3a and 3b. In addition, on the left hand side of the first substrate arrangement area 21a, a short-side pressing part 8b is provided in a manner that the glass substrate G can be pressed toward the side limiting part 7a. The long side pressing portion 8a and the short side pressing portion 8b correspond to the first side opposing pressing portion and the second side opposing pressing portion, respectively. In addition, the long side pressing portion 8a and the short side pressing portion 8b correspond to the first pressing portion.

On the other hand, two long side pressing parts 8c are provided on the left and right of the rear of the second substrate arrangement area 21b, and the glass substrate G placed on the second substrate arrangement area 21b is pressed by the long side pressing parts 8c, thereby the glass substrate G can be pressed to the pins 55 and 56 of the central limiting parts 3a and 3b. In addition, on the left hand side of the second substrate arrangement area 21b, a short side pressing part 8d is provided so as to press the glass substrate G toward the side limiting part 7b. The long side pressing part 8c and the short side pressing part 8d are respectively equivalent to the third side opposing pressing part and the fourth side opposing pressing part. In addition, the long side pressing portion 8c and the short side pressing portion 8d correspond to the second pressing portion.

The long side pressing parts 8a and 8c provided on the conveying path of the glass substrate G are configured to wait inside the mounting table 20 (at a position lower than the upper side) when the glass substrate G is carried in and out of the loading lock chamber 12, and to rise above the mounting table 20 after the glass substrate G is carried in. In addition, the short side pressing parts 8b and 8d are configured to be movable in the left-right direction, and to wait at a position away from the first substrate arrangement area 21a and the second substrate arrangement area 21b when the glass substrate G is carried in and out.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the vacuum processing device includes a control unit 100 for controlling the conveyance and alignment of the glass substrate G in the vacuum processing device. The control unit 100 is, for example, composed of a computer having a CPU and a memory unit (not shown). The memory unit records a program, which is a group of steps (commands) for the conveyance schedule of the glass substrate G in the vacuum processing device or the alignment in the loading lock chamber 12. In addition, for each vacuum processing module 9 that conveys the glass substrate G, information on the configuration position of the glass substrate G in the alignment for placing the glass substrate G in the correct position is stored. In addition, information on the conveyance position of the conveying arm 16 obtained in advance by cooperating with the instructions of each vacuum processing module 9 is stored. The program is stored on a storage medium such as a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory card, etc. and installed on a computer from these.

Next, the function of the vacuum transfer device is described. When the transfer container C containing the glass substrates G is placed on the loading port 14, the transfer arm 15 of the atmospheric transfer chamber 11 takes out two glass substrates G. Then, the unillustrated gate of the loading/unloading port 22 of the loading lock chamber 12 is opened, and the transfer arm 15 enters the loading lock chamber 12 to transfer the two glass substrates G held therein to the first substrate arrangement area 21a and the second substrate arrangement area 21b, respectively.

Furthermore, when the glass substrate G is received and delivered to the stage 20, the loading and unloading port 22 is closed by a gate not shown in the figure in the loading lock chamber 12, and the internal atmosphere is switched to a vacuum atmosphere. At this time, the control unit 100 reads the information of the configuration position of the glass substrate G corresponding to "transporting the received glass substrate G to the vacuum processing module 9 of the loading lock chamber 12" from the memory unit. In the loading lock chamber 12, the information of the configuration position of the glass substrate G in the "vacuum processing module 9 to which the received glass substrate G is transported" is received from the control unit 100. In the following example, the situation of "obtaining the information of the configuration position for arranging the glass substrate G in the vacuum processing module 9 connected to the left hand side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13" is explained. Furthermore, in the load lock chamber 12, the glass substrate G is aligned according to the obtained configuration position information.

7 to 9 illustrate the alignment in the load lock chamber 12. In addition, in FIG. 7 to 9, the solid arrows shown together on the limiting parts 3, 7 and the pushing part 8 indicate that they move in order to limit or push the glass substrate G in each step, and the dotted arrows indicate that they stop at the position of limiting the glass substrate G or the pushing position.

First, as shown in FIG. 7 , when two glass substrates G are placed on the first substrate arrangement area 21a and the second substrate arrangement area 21b, the left and right central limiting parts 3a and 3b and the side limiting parts 7a and 7b are aligned, and the limiting positions of the glass substrates G are set. Next, as shown in FIG. 8 , the long side pressing parts 8a and 8c located on the front and rear sides of the glass substrates G are raised to the top of the mounting table 20. Then, the glass substrate G on the front side is pressed toward the central limiting parts 3a and 3b on the rear side, and the glass substrate G on the rear side is pressed toward the central limiting parts 3a and 3b on the front side (equivalent to the first pressing process and the third pressing process). In this way, the positions of the two glass substrates G in the front-back direction are determined. Next, as shown in Fig. 9, the short side pressing parts 8b and 8d are moved toward the glass substrate G, and each glass substrate G is pressed to the side limiting parts 7a and 7b (equivalent to the second pressing step and the fourth pressing step). Thus, the left-right position of each glass substrate G is determined.

Furthermore, in the loading lock chamber 12 of this example, the distance between the pins 55 and 56 in the central limiting portion 3 and the arrangement position of each central limiting portion 3 in the front-rear direction can be adjusted. As a result, the arrangement position of each glass substrate G can be adjusted individually. In other words, by "changing the distance between the two sides (the first side s1 and the third side s3) extending from the first corner c1 and the second corner c2 in the direction intersecting the parallel direction of the two glass substrates G and the angle formed by these sides", the arrangement position of each glass substrate G can be adjusted individually. In this way, the relative arrangement relationship of each layer of the two glass substrates G stored side by side in the conveying container C can be changed to match each vacuum processing module 9 at the conveying end point.

Referring to FIG. 10 to FIG. 13 , the method of adjusting the arrangement position of each glass substrate G individually is described. In the following description of FIG. 10 to FIG. 13 , the interval between the two pins 55 and 56 of the central limiting portion 3 is set to represent the width from the position of the front end of the pin 55 on the front side to the position of the rear end of the pin 56 on the rear side in the Y-axis direction. In addition, the dotted line in the figure represents the position s10 of the rear side edge (first edge s1) of the front side glass substrate G and the position s30 of the front side edge (third edge s3) of the rear side glass substrate G on the reference position described later.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10 , the left and right central limiting parts 3 are arranged such that the interval between the pins 55 and 56 is adjusted to the same distance, for example, the interval is adjusted to 20 mm, and the positions of the two pins in the Y-axis direction are made consistent, thereby arranging two glass substrates G in parallel with each other. Here, the state of FIG. 10 is described as the reference positions s10 and s30. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11 , the interval between the pins 55 and 56 of each central limiting part 3 is set to 20 mm, for example, the central limiting part 3b on the left hand side is moved forward, and the central limiting part 3a on the right hand side is moved backward. Thus, with the center of each glass substrate G as the center, each glass substrate G located at the reference position can be arranged at a position rotated in the clockwise direction when viewed from above.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 12, the interval between the pins 55 and 56 of each central limiting portion 3a and 3b is set to 20 mm, and the central limiting portions 3 of both sides are moved forward by the same distance, for example, so that the glass substrates G can be moved forward and backward from the reference positions s10 and s30 in a state where the glass substrates G are arranged in parallel (FIG. 12 shows the state of moving forward). In addition, as shown in FIG. 13, the interval between the pins 55 and 56 of the central limiting portion 3b on the left hand side is set to 30 mm, and the interval between the pins 55 and 56 of the central limiting portion 3a on the right hand side is set to 20 mm, and the front-back positions of the pins 55 on the rear side of the central limiting portion 3b on the left hand side and the pins 56 on the rear side of the central limiting portion 3a on the right hand side are made consistent. Thereby, only the glass substrate G on the front side can be arranged at a position rotated in the clockwise direction when viewed from above, and the glass substrate G on the rear side can be set in a state parallel to the reference position.

In this way, by adjusting the interval and position of the pins 55 and 56 in the central limiting portion 3, the arrangement position of each glass substrate G can be adjusted individually. In addition, the left-right position of the side limiting portions 7a and 7b that limit the second side s2 and the fourth side s4 can also be adjusted at the same time, and the angle of the glass substrate G can be adjusted.

By the above method, the glass substrates G are aligned, and the atmosphere in the load lock chamber 12 is set to a vacuum atmosphere, and the loading and unloading port 23 on the side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13 is opened. Then, two glass substrates G are received at a time by the transfer arm 16 and transferred to a predetermined vacuum processing module 9, for example, a vacuum processing module 9 connected to the left side of the vacuum transfer chamber 13.

Since the two glass substrates G are aligned individually in the load lock chamber 12 in coordination with the vacuum processing module 9 at the transfer end, it is possible to compensate for the placement deviation caused by the setting deviation of the vacuum processing module 9 and the like, and to arrange each glass substrate G at a correct position. In this way, by arranging each glass substrate G at a correct position in the vacuum processing module 9, the glass substrates G can be processed normally.

After the glass substrates G are processed by each vacuum processing module 9, two glass substrates G are taken out at the same time by the conveying arm 16 and received in the loading lock chamber 12. In addition, in the loading lock chamber 12, the positions of the glass substrates G are aligned in a manner such as a reference position. That is, each of the limiting parts 3a, 3b, 7a, 7b is moved to a position that matches the two sides (the first side s1 and the third side s3) extending in a direction intersecting the parallel direction of the two glass substrates G to be received in the conveying container C, and alignment is performed again. Thereafter, the atmosphere of the loading lock chamber 12 is switched to an atmospheric atmosphere, and the two glass substrates G placed in the loading lock chamber 12 are taken out by the conveying arm 15 and returned to the conveying container C.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the positions of the edges that "form the first corner c1 and the second corner c2 respectively set for two adjacent glass substrates G arranged side by side" are restricted by the restricting portions 3 and 7. Furthermore, the glass substrates G are aligned by respectively pressing the pressing portions 8 from the directions opposite to the restricted edges. At this time, the central restricting portion 3 arranged between the two glass substrates G is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction, and the spacing of the pins 55 and 56 that adjust the spacing of the glass substrates G is configured to be adjustable. Therefore, the arrangement position of each glass substrate G can be adjusted individually.

Furthermore, by adjusting the distance between the pins 55 and 56 of the central limiting portion 3 and the positions in the front-rear direction respectively, the distance between the two glass substrates G and the configuration angle can be freely adjusted. In addition, the present disclosure sets the first corner c1 and the second corner c2 in such a manner that "the distance between the first side s1 on the rear side of the glass substrate G on the front side and the third side s3 on the front side of the glass substrate G on the rear side adjacent to the first side s1 can be changed". Therefore, the central limiting portion 3 that limits the first side s1 and the third side s3 can be made common, and the number of components can be reduced. Moreover, the pressing portion 8 can be used as long as it can apply force from the direction opposite to the first corner c1 and the second corner c2. Therefore, for example, a pressing portion 8 for pressing each glass substrate G in the direction of a diagonal line extending from the first corner c1 and the second corner c2 of each glass substrate G may be provided one by one.

Furthermore, when aligning each glass substrate G, the long side pressing parts 8a and 8c arranged at the front and rear and the short side pressing parts 8b and 8d arranged at the side may be pressed against the glass substrate G, and the position of each glass substrate G in the front-back direction and the left-right direction may be restricted at the same time. However, by separately executing the timing of pressing the long side pressing parts 8a and 8c from the front-back direction of the glass substrate G and the timing of pressing the short side pressing parts 8b and 8d from the side, the force applied to the glass substrate G can be dispersed at once. Therefore, the accuracy of the alignment of the glass substrate G is improved. The timing of pushing the long side pushing parts 8a and 8c and the timing of pushing the short side pushing parts 8b and 8d may be that the long side pushing parts 8a and 8c are pushed first, and then the short side pushing parts 8b and 8d are pushed. Alternatively, the short side pushing parts 8b and 8d may be pushed first, and then the long side pushing parts 8a and 8c are pushed.

The long side pressing portion 8a and the short side pressing portion 8b of the glass substrate G placed in the first substrate arrangement region 21a and the long side pressing portion 8c and the short side pressing portion 8d of the glass substrate G placed in the second substrate arrangement region 21b may be pressed against the glass substrate G at different timings. In this case, since the force applied to the glass substrate G at one time can be dispersed among the glass substrates G, the alignment accuracy of the glass substrates G can be improved.

Furthermore, in the present disclosure, when the distance between the pins 55 and 56 is changed by the central limiting portion 3, the entry position of the moving body 41 in the pushing portion 57 is adjusted, thereby adjusting the distance between the pins 55 and 56. Therefore, the setting value of the distance between the first side s1 and the third side s3 and the angle formed by these sides can be changed. Therefore, the setting value can be adjusted in response to the deviation of the vacuum processing module 9.

Furthermore, since two central limiting portions 3 are provided, the interval and angle between the first side portion s1 and the third side portion s3 can be changed in a wider range compared to the case of one central limiting portion 3. In addition, when the processed glass substrate G is returned from the loading lock chamber 12 to the conveying container C, the information of the configuration position of the glass substrate G corresponding to the conveying container C storing the glass substrate G can be read from the memory unit and aligned.

Furthermore, the present disclosure may also include a hexagonal vacuum transfer chamber 130 in a top view, as shown in FIG. 14, and a vacuum processing device connected to a loading lock chamber 12 and five vacuum processing modules 9 may be applied to each side surface of the vacuum transfer chamber 130. In such a vacuum processing device, the vacuum processing module 9 is connected at an inclined position relative to the parallel direction of the loading lock chamber 12 and the vacuum transfer chamber 13. Therefore, compared with the vacuum processing module 9 that is set in the "direction in which the loading lock chamber 12 and the vacuum transfer chamber 13 are parallel or in a direction orthogonal to the parallel direction", it is difficult to adjust the configuration position by only the transfer arm 16.

In this regard, in the vacuum processing apparatus disclosed in the present invention, when alignment is performed in the loading lock chamber 12, the configuration position of the two glass substrates G can be adjusted individually for each vacuum processing module 9. Therefore, even in such a vacuum processing apparatus, the glass substrates G can be correctly transferred to each vacuum processing module 9. In addition, it is also possible to connect the alignment module for aligning the two glass substrates G to the loading lock chamber 12 or the vacuum transfer chamber 13, 130 separately from the loading lock chamber 12, instead of the examples shown in Figures 1 and 14. In addition, the vacuum transfer chamber is not limited to a hexagonal shape in a top view, and can also be a structure that is an arbitrary polygon in a top view.

The present disclosure only requires that the pushing portion 8 is pushed from the direction opposite to the two sides forming the restricted first corner c1, and the pushing portion is pushed from the direction opposite to the two sides forming the restricted second corner c2. Such changes are shown in Figures 15A to 15E. In these figures, the positions corresponding to the sides of the glass substrate G restricted by each restriction portion 3, 7 are indicated by bold lines. For example, as shown in Figures 15B to 15E, the first side s1 and the third side s3 of the two glass substrates G are sometimes separately arranged. In this case, the restriction portions 3a, 3b can also be individually provided in the same manner as the side restriction portions 7a, 7b instead of providing the common central restriction portions 3a, 3b.

As discussed above, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all aspects, and it should be understood that such illustrative embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention. The embodiments described above may be omitted, replaced, or modified in various forms without departing from the scope and gist of the attached patent application.

3(3a, 3b): Central limiting part 7(7a, 7b): Side limiting part 8(8a~8d): Pushing part 20: Loading table 55, 56: Pin c1: 1st corner c2: 2nd corner G: Glass substrate

[Figure 1] A plan view of a vacuum processing device of an embodiment. [Figure 2] A plan view of a loading lock chamber of an embodiment. [Figure 3] A plan view of a central limiting portion of an embodiment. [Figure 4] An explanatory diagram showing the function of the central limiting portion of an embodiment. [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram showing the function of the central limiting portion of an embodiment. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram showing the function of the central limiting portion of an embodiment. [Figure 7] An explanatory diagram showing the function of a loading lock chamber of an embodiment. [Figure 8] An explanatory diagram showing the function of a loading lock chamber of an embodiment. [Figure 9] An explanatory diagram showing the function of a loading lock chamber of an embodiment. [Figure 10] An explanatory diagram showing an example of adjusting the configuration position of a glass substrate. [FIG. 11] An explanatory diagram for explaining an example of adjusting the configuration position of a glass substrate. [FIG. 12] An explanatory diagram for explaining an example of adjusting the configuration position of a glass substrate. [FIG. 13] An explanatory diagram for explaining an example of adjusting the configuration position of a glass substrate. [FIG. 14] A plan view showing another example of a vacuum processing device. [FIG. 15A] A schematic diagram showing another example of an alignment method. [FIG. 15B] A schematic diagram showing another example of an alignment method. [FIG. 15C] A schematic diagram showing another example of an alignment method. [FIG. 15D] A schematic diagram showing another example of an alignment method. [FIG. 15E] A schematic diagram showing another example of an alignment method.

3: Restriction Department

3a: Central restriction on the right side

3b: Central restriction on the left hand side

7: Restriction Department

7a: Side restriction section

7b: Side restriction section

8: Pushing part

8a: Long side push part

8b: Short side push part

8c: Long side push part

8d: Short side push part

12: Loading lock room

20: Loading platform

21a: Substrate configuration area

21b: Substrate configuration area

22: Move in and move out

23: Move in and move out

55: Sales

56: Sales

200: Vacuum container

c1: 1st corner

c2: 2nd corner

s1:1st side

s2: 2nd side

s3: 3rd side

s4: 4th side

Claims (11)

An alignment device is used to adjust the arrangement position of a rectangular substrate. The alignment device is characterized in that it has: a loading table, which is provided with a first substrate arrangement area and a second substrate arrangement area for arranging two rectangular substrates adjacent to each other and side by side; a first limiting portion and a second limiting portion, when a corner selected from four corners of the rectangular substrate arranged in the first substrate arrangement area is set as the first corner, respectively limiting the arrangement position of two sides forming the first corner; a first pusher The pressing portion pushes the rectangular substrate from the direction opposite to the two sides forming the first corner toward the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion; the third limiting portion and the fourth limiting portion respectively limit the configuration positions of the two sides forming the second corner when one corner selected from the four corners of the rectangular substrate configured in the second substrate configuration area is set as the second corner; the second pressing portion pushes the rectangular substrate from the direction opposite to the two sides forming the second corner toward the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion. Pushing the aforementioned third limiting part and the aforementioned fourth limiting part; and a moving mechanism to move the aforementioned first limiting part to the aforementioned fourth limiting part respectively, so as to change the distance between the two sides extending from the aforementioned first corner and the aforementioned second corner in a direction intersecting the parallel direction of the aforementioned two rectangular substrates and the angle formed by these sides, when the two sides whose distance and the aforementioned angle are changed are called the first side and the third side, so as to become the position where these first sides and the third sides are arranged adjacently In the method of placement, the first corner and the second corner are selected, and when the first limiting part and the third limiting part are used to limit the configuration positions of the first side and the third side, respectively, the first limiting part and the third limiting part are set on a common moving mechanism, which refers to a common moving mechanism that "can change the distance between the first limiting part and the third limiting part when viewed along a direction intersecting the parallel arrangement direction of the two rectangular substrates". As in the alignment device of claim 1, the moving mechanism can change the setting values of the interval and the angle. As in claim 1, the alignment device, wherein a plurality of sets of the first limiting parts and the third limiting parts and the common moving mechanism are provided along the gap between the first side and the third side. An alignment device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when one of the two sides forming the aforementioned first corner is referred to as the first side and the other side is referred to as the second side, and when one of the two sides forming the aforementioned second corner is referred to as the third side and the other side is referred to as the fourth side, the aforementioned first pressing portion comprises: a first side opposing pressing portion for pressing the rectangular substrate from a direction opposite to the aforementioned first side; and a second side opposing pressing portion for pressing the rectangular substrate from a direction opposite to the aforementioned second side, The aforementioned second pressing portion The pressing part comprises: a third side pressing part for pressing the rectangular substrate from a direction opposite to the third side; and a fourth side pressing part for pressing the rectangular substrate from a direction opposite to the fourth side, wherein the timing of the first side pressing part pressing the rectangular substrate toward the first side is different from the timing of the second side pressing part pressing the rectangular substrate toward the second side, and the timing of the third side pressing part pressing the rectangular substrate toward the third side is different from the timing of the fourth side pressing part pressing the rectangular substrate toward the fourth side. A substrate processing device is characterized by comprising: a loading and locking module having an alignment device as described in any one of claim items 1 to 4 and configured to switch between normal pressure atmosphere and vacuum atmosphere freely; a vacuum transport module connected to the loading and locking module and having a substrate transport mechanism, the substrate transport mechanism transports two rectangular substrates whose arrangement positions are adjusted by the alignment device at the same time in a vacuum atmosphere; and a substrate processing module connected to the vacuum transport module, accommodating the two rectangular substrates transported by the substrate transport mechanism, and performing substrate processing in a vacuum atmosphere. A substrate processing device as claimed in claim 5, wherein a plurality of the aforementioned substrate processing modules are connected to the aforementioned vacuum transfer module. The substrate processing device of claim 6, wherein: The substrate processing module is connected to the vacuum transfer module in a direction deviating from the parallel direction of the loading and locking module and the vacuum transfer module and a direction orthogonal to the parallel direction of the modules when the substrate processing device is viewed from above. An alignment method is to adjust the configuration position of a rectangular substrate. The alignment method is characterized in that it includes: a process of arranging the rectangular substrates on a stage, the stage being provided with a first substrate configuration area and a second substrate configuration area for arranging two rectangular substrates adjacent to each other and side by side; when setting a corner selected from four corners of the rectangular substrate arranged in the first substrate configuration area as the first corner, the rectangular substrate is adjusted from a direction opposite to two sides forming the first corner. The process of pushing the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion toward the configuration positions of the two sides forming the aforementioned first corner respectively; and the process of pushing the rectangular substrate from the direction opposite to the two sides forming the aforementioned second corner toward the third limiting portion and the fourth limiting portion for respectively limiting the configuration positions of the two sides forming the aforementioned second corner when setting one corner selected from the four corners of the rectangular substrate configured in the aforementioned second substrate configuration area as the second corner, wherein the aforementioned first limiting portion ~The aforementioned fourth limiting portion is arranged at a position that "changes the distance between two sides extending from the aforementioned first corner and the aforementioned second corner in a direction intersecting the parallel direction of the rectangular substrates and the angle formed by these sides" relative to the initial arrangement state of each rectangular substrate toward the aforementioned first substrate arrangement area and the aforementioned second substrate arrangement area. When the two sides whose distance and angle are changed are referred to as the first side and the third side, the first side and the third side are adjacent to each other. The configuration position is selected by selecting the aforementioned first corner and the aforementioned second corner, and when the aforementioned first limiting part and the aforementioned third limiting part are used to limit the configuration position of the aforementioned first side and the aforementioned third side, respectively, the aforementioned first limiting part and the aforementioned third limiting part are set on a common moving mechanism, and the common moving mechanism refers to a common moving mechanism that "can change the distance between the aforementioned first limiting part and the aforementioned third limiting part when viewed along a direction intersecting the parallel arrangement direction of the aforementioned two rectangular substrates." In the alignment method of claim 8, when the two sides whose spacing interval and angle are changed are referred to as the first side and the third side, the first corner and the second corner are selected in such a manner that the first side and the third side are adjacently arranged. In the alignment method of claim 8 or 9, when one of the two sides forming the first corner is referred to as the first side and the other side is referred to as the second side, and when one of the two sides forming the second corner is referred to as the third side and the other side is referred to as the fourth side, the process of pushing the rectangular substrate from a direction opposite to the two sides forming the first corner includes: a first pushing process of pushing from a direction opposite to the first side Rectangular substrate; and a second pressing process, in a different timing from the first pressing process, pressing the rectangular substrate from a direction opposite to the second side, and the process of pressing the rectangular substrate from a direction opposite to the two sides forming the second corner, includes: a third pressing process, pressing the rectangular substrate from a direction opposite to the third side; and a fourth pressing process, in a different timing from the third pressing process, pressing the rectangular substrate from a direction opposite to the fourth side. A substrate processing method, characterized by comprising: a process of simultaneously transporting two rectangular substrates whose configuration positions are adjusted by an alignment method as in any one of claims 8 to 10 by a common substrate transport mechanism in a vacuum atmosphere; and a process of placing the two rectangular substrates transported by the substrate transport mechanism in a substrate processing module and performing substrate processing in a vacuum atmosphere.

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