JP2003174074A - Substrate suction pad, substrate transport device, substrate processing system, and substrate transport method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To prevent displacement or drop of a substrate during transfer,
Provided are a substrate suction pad, a substrate transfer device, a substrate processing system, and a substrate transfer method that can transfer a substrate while securely holding the substrate. SOLUTION: A transfer arm 9 which can be moved back and forth provided in a substrate transfer device 4 is provided with a substrate suction pad 10 for sucking and holding a glass substrate G at a total of four positions of a pair of arm members 9a and 9b. The substrate suction pad 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a suction pad body 12 provided with a suction port 11 for suctioning the glass substrate G under reduced pressure, and a film-like shape provided with a plurality of circular holes 13 provided so as to cover the surface. It has a member 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate transfer device used to transfer a glass substrate or the like used in a liquid crystal device between an exposure device and a developing device, a substrate processing system including these devices, and The present invention relates to a substrate transfer method and a substrate suction pad used in such a substrate transfer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Substrate manufacturing processes for substrates, particularly glass substrates, are roughly divided into an array process for patterning and forming a metal film on the glass substrate, a cell process for crimping and sealing a liquid crystal member, and a TCP mounting and , A module process for assembling, assembling a backlight, and the like.

Among the manufacturing processes described above, the array process for patterning includes a cleaning process, a resist coating process, a pre-baking process, a developing process, a post-baking process, an etching process, and a peeling process, and between these processes. A substrate transfer device for transferring the glass substrate is required.

A substrate transfer device used for such transfer takes, for example, a glass substrate that has been subjected to a cleaning process from the cleaning device, transfers it to a device that performs a resist coating process in a resist coating process, and transfers the glass substrate to the resist coating. It is used for transportation when delivering to the processing equipment.

Generally, in such a substrate transfer apparatus, a glass substrate is held on a substrate transfer arm, and a plurality of suction pads provided on the substrate transfer arm are usually used as the holding means. It is designed to be used.

[0006] Such a suction pad has a suction port on its surface, which is connected to, for example, a decompression pump.
The glass substrate is sucked and held by depressurizing the suction port.

[0007]

However, due to the recent tendency of the glass substrate to become thinner, the glass substrate is deformed during transportation, and the surface of the suction pad and the glass substrate are no longer parallel to each other, so that the suction port of the suction pad and the glass substrate are not parallel to each other. However, there is a problem in that the glass substrate cannot be held firmly and the glass substrate cannot be held sufficiently. Then, in such a case, there is a problem that the glass substrate is displaced during the transportation, or is dropped from the arm in some cases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and prevents the substrate from being displaced or dropped during transportation,
An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate suction pad, a substrate transfer device, a substrate processing system, and a substrate transfer method capable of reliably holding and transferring a substrate.

[0009]

In order to solve such a problem, a substrate suction pad according to a main aspect of the present invention is a suction pad body having a suction port on a surface for sucking a substrate under reduced pressure, and the suction pad body. It is provided so as to block the surface of the mouth,
It is characterized by comprising a film-shaped member having a plurality of holes formed therein, and a support member for swingably supporting the suction pad body.

According to the present invention, since the suction pad main body is swingably supported and the suction port of the suction pad main body is provided with the film-like member having a plurality of holes formed therein, the substrate is transported during transportation. Even if it deforms, the suction pad follows the deformation and tilts, the parallel relationship between the substrate and the suction pad is maintained, the substrate and the suction pad come into close contact, and the substrate is sufficiently sucked and held by the suction pad. Moreover, even if the substrate and the suction pad do not completely adhere to each other, since the film-like member is provided in the suction port, it is possible to minimize leakage of decompression from the suction port. Is sufficiently absorbed and held by the suction pad. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being displaced or dropped during the transportation, and to transport the substrate while surely holding it.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the film-shaped member is flexible.

As a result, even when the substrate is largely bent, the film-shaped member follows the bending of the substrate, and the substrate is sufficiently sucked and held by the suction pad.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the film member is formed of the same material as the suction pad body.

Thus, according to one embodiment of the present invention, which can be manufactured at a lower cost, the shape of each hole formed in the film-like member is circular or hexagonal. To do.

As a result, the holes can be provided with high area efficiency, and the loss due to the reduced pressure can be further reduced.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the diameter of each hole formed in the film-shaped member is 1 mm to 10 mm.

If this hole is smaller than 1 mm, the loss becomes too large during decompression and the substrate cannot be sufficiently sucked and held. On the other hand, if this hole is larger than 10 mm, the substrate and the suction pad are completely separated. This is because, when the substrate is not in close contact with the substrate, the leakage of the reduced pressure becomes too large and the substrate cannot be sufficiently sucked and held on the suction pad.

A substrate transfer apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is
A transport arm for holding and transporting the substrate, and a substrate suction pad having the above-mentioned configuration provided on the surface of the transport arm are provided.

According to the present invention, since the substrate suction pad having the above-described structure is provided on the surface of the transfer arm, even if the substrate is deformed during transfer, the suction pad is inclined to follow the deformation and the substrate and the suction pad are separated. The parallel relationship is maintained, the substrate and the suction pad are in close contact with each other, and the substrate is sufficiently suction-held by the suction pad. Moreover, even if the substrate and the suction pad are not completely in close contact with each other, it is possible to minimize leakage of the reduced pressure from the suction port, so that the substrate is sufficiently suction-held by the suction pad. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being displaced or dropped during the transportation, and to transport the substrate while surely holding it.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a decompression pump is connected to the suction port of the suction pad body so as to enable pressure adjustment.

This allows the suction pad to always hold and convey the substrate with an appropriate suction force.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the adjusted pressure is -0.04 to -0.10 MPa.

This is because if the pressure is lower than -0.04 MPa, the substrate cannot be held securely, and if the pressure is higher than -0.10 MPa, adsorption marks are generated on the substrate.

A substrate transfer system according to still another aspect of the present invention includes a substrate processing section for performing a predetermined process on a substrate,
At least the substrate transfer device having the above-mentioned configuration for transferring the substrate to and from the substrate processing unit is provided.

In the present invention, since the substrate transfer device having the substrate suction pad having the above-mentioned structure is provided on the surface of the transfer arm, even if the substrate is deformed during the transfer, the suction pad follows the deformation. The parallel relationship between the substrate and the suction pad is maintained by tilting, the substrate and the suction pad are in close contact with each other, and the substrate is sufficiently suction-held by the suction pad. Moreover, even if the substrate and the suction pad are not completely in close contact with each other, it is possible to minimize leakage of the reduced pressure from the suction port, so that the substrate is sufficiently suction-held by the suction pad. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being displaced or dropped during the transportation, and to transport the substrate while surely holding it. Then, the substrate can be transferred to the substrate processing apparatus while maintaining its position accurately, which enables accurate processing.

A substrate transfer method according to still another aspect of the present invention comprises a step of holding a substrate on a transfer arm of the substrate transfer device having the above structure, and a substrate transfer device in which the substrate is held on the transfer arm. The method further comprises a step of transporting the substrate to / from a substrate processing unit that performs a predetermined process on the substrate, and a step of delivering the substrate between the transport arm and the substrate processing unit. It is a thing.

In the present invention, since the substrate transfer device having the substrate suction pad having the above-mentioned structure provided on the surface of the transfer arm is used during the transfer process, even if the substrate is deformed during transfer, the suction pad is deformed. The substrate and the suction pad are kept parallel to each other by inclining to adhere to the substrate, the substrate and the suction pad are in close contact with each other, and the substrate is sufficiently sucked and held by the suction pad.
Moreover, even if the substrate and the suction pad are not completely in close contact with each other, it is possible to minimize leakage of the reduced pressure from the suction port, so that the substrate is sufficiently suction-held by the suction pad. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being displaced or dropped during the carrying process, and to carry the substrate while securely holding it. Then, the substrate can be transferred to the substrate processing apparatus while maintaining its position accurately, which enables accurate processing in the substrate processing step.

[0028]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the structure of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. This system 1 is for exposing a glass substrate used in a liquid crystal device, but the present invention can of course be applied to a processing system for performing another process.

In this system 1, a substrate loading / unloading section 2 for loading and unloading a glass substrate G into the system 1 and a glass substrate G on which a resist has been applied and which has been prebaked. An exposure processing apparatus 3 for performing the exposure processing and a substrate transfer apparatus 4 for transferring the substrates between the substrate loading / unloading section 2 and the exposure processing section 3 are the main components.

The substrate loading / unloading section 2 is provided with a cassette mounting table 5, and the cassette mounting table 5 has a glass substrate G.
A cassette 6 for accommodating a plurality of sheets in parallel in the vertical direction
Is mounted in a state of being positioned at a predetermined position. In the cassette mounting table 5, the cassette 6 is moved up and down by an elevator mechanism (not shown). It should be noted that, for example, an operator may carry the cassette 6 in and out of the cassette mounting table 5,
For example, a robot (not shown) may carry the cassette 6 in and out.

The exposure processing device 3 performs an exposure process on the glass substrate G transferred from the substrate transfer device 4, and returns the glass substrate G after the exposure process to the substrate transfer device 4. The glass substrate G is transferred from the substrate transfer apparatus 4 to the exposure processing apparatus 3 by the loader arm 7a, and the glass substrate G is transferred from the exposure processing apparatus 3 to the substrate transfer apparatus 4 by the unloader arm 7b. ing. The loader arm 7a and the unloader arm 7b are adapted to load and unload the glass substrate G as if they interfere with each other, whereby the glass substrate G is transferred from the substrate transfer device 4 to the exposure processing device 3 and exposed. The glass substrate G can be transferred from the processing apparatus 3 to the substrate transfer apparatus 4 at the same time.

The substrate transfer device 4 is movable between the substrate loading / unloading part 2 and the exposure processing part 3 along the transfer path 19 by a drive device (not shown).

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the structure of the substrate transfer device 4, and FIG. 4 is a front view thereof.

The substrate transfer device 4 includes a base 8 rotatable by a rotary drive mechanism (not shown), and a transfer arm 9 movable on the base 8 by an advance / retreat mechanism (not shown). Have. Around the transport arm 9, a positioning mechanism (not shown) that positions the glass substrate G by sandwiching the glass substrate G from both sides with, for example, a pair of roller members is provided.

Substrate suction pads 10 for sucking and holding the glass substrates G at a total of four positions, for example, two positions on each of the pair of arm members 9a and 9b in the transfer arm 9.
Is provided.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the structure of the substrate suction pad 10, and FIG. 6 is a plan view thereof.

Each of the substrate suction pads 10 has a suction pad body 12 having a suction port 11 on the surface for sucking the glass substrate G under reduced pressure.

The suction port 11 of the suction pad body 12 is provided with a film-like member 14 which is provided so as to close the surface thereof and has a plurality of circular holes 13 formed therein, for example.

Here, it is more preferable that the film-shaped member 14 is made of a resin such as PTFE and has flexibility. This is because even if the glass substrate G is largely bent during transportation, the film-shaped member 14 follows the bending of the glass substrate G and the glass substrate G is sufficiently sucked and held by the suction pad. It is more preferable that the film-shaped member 14 is made of the same material as the suction pad body 12. For example, the whole may be made of PTFE. This is because the manufacturing can be performed at a lower cost. Further, by forming the holes 13 in a circular shape, the holes 13 can be provided with high area efficiency, and the loss due to the reduced pressure can be further reduced. The diameter of each hole 13 is more preferably 1 mm to 10 mm. If the hole 13 is smaller than 1 mm, the loss becomes too large during decompression and the glass substrate G cannot be sufficiently adsorbed and held, while the hole 13 is less than 1 mm.
This is because if it is larger than 0 mm, if the glass substrate G and the suction pad 12 are not completely in close contact with each other, the leakage due to the depressurization becomes too large and the glass substrate G cannot be sufficiently sucked and held on the suction pad 12.

The suction pad body 12 is attached to a predetermined position of the arm member 9a via a support member 15 which supports the suction pad body 12 so as to be swingable. The support member 15 may be made of an elastic member such as a rubber member. By supporting the suction pad body 12 by the support member 15 in such a manner that the suction pad body 12 can swing, even if the glass substrate G is deformed during transportation, the suction pad 10 is inclined to follow the deformation and the glass substrate G and the suction pad 10 are inclined. Is maintained in parallel with each other, the glass substrate G and the suction pad 10 are in close contact with each other, and the glass substrate G is sufficiently suction-held by the suction pad 10.

The suction port 11 has a pressure adjusting valve 16
It is connected to the decompression pump 17 via the so that the decompression is performed. In addition, the control unit 18
The pressure at the time of suction is controlled to a desired pressure by controlling the pressure adjusting valve 16 and the pressure reducing pump 17. In that case, the above-described control may be performed with a preset value. For example, a pressure detection mechanism may be provided in the suction port 11 to perform the above-described control so that a desired pressure is obtained according to the detected pressure. Do not mind. By such control, the suction pad 1
With 0, the glass substrate G can be always held and conveyed with an appropriate suction force.

Here, the pressure adjusted in this way is −
0.04 to -0.10 MPa is preferable-
Around 0.08 MPa is more preferable. This pressure is -0.
This is because if it is less than 04 MPa, the glass substrate G cannot be reliably held, and if this pressure is greater than -0.10 MPa, adsorption marks or the like are generated on the glass substrate G.

Next, the operation of the substrate processing system thus configured will be described.

First, the cassette 6 set on the cassette mounting table 5 is moved up and down, and the glass substrate G in the cassette 6 is driven.
When the glass substrate G to be exposed is brought to a predetermined position, the elevating drive is stopped.

Next, the transfer arm 9 of the substrate transfer device 4 advances to access the cassette 6 to place the glass substrate G to be processed on the transfer arm 9 from the cassette 6.

More specifically, for example, the transfer arm 9 enters below the glass substrate G to be processed so as not to come into contact with the glass substrate G, and then the cassette 6 is slightly lowered to place the glass substrate G on the transfer arm 9. Then, the transfer arm 9 is retracted with the glass substrate G placed thereon, and the transfer arm 9 is pulled out together with the glass substrate G from the cassette 6.

Then, with the glass substrate G placed on the transfer arm 9, the controller 18 controls the pressure adjusting valve 16
Also, the decompression pump 17 is controlled to set the suction pressure to a desired value. As a result, the glass substrate G is in a state of being suction-held on the four substrate suction pads 10.

Next, the transfer arm 9 is rotated by 90 ° by a rotation drive mechanism (not shown), and is brought into a state of facing the exposure processing apparatus 3. In this state, the substrate transfer device 4 holding the glass substrate G by suction on the transfer arm 9 is moved to a position facing the exposure processing device 3 and stopped.

Next, the control unit 18 controls the pressure adjusting valve 16 and the pressure reducing pump 17 to stop the suction, and the glass substrate G is positioned by the positioning mechanism (not shown).

Next, the loader arm 7a conveys the glass substrate G from the substrate conveying device 4 to the exposure processing device 3, and
The glass substrate G that has been subjected to the exposure processing by the unloader arm 7b is transferred from the exposure processing apparatus 3 to the substrate transfer apparatus 4.

With the glass substrate G placed on the transfer arm 9, the controller 18 controls the pressure adjusting valve 16 and the pressure reducing pump 17 to set the suction pressure to a desired value. As a result, the glass substrate G that has undergone the exposure process is in a state of being suction-held on the four substrate suction pads 10. In this state, the substrate transfer device 4 holding the glass substrate G by suction on the transfer arm 9 is moved to a position facing the cassette mounting table 5 and stopped.

Next, the transfer arm 9 is rotated by 90 ° by a rotation drive mechanism (not shown), and the cassette mounting table 5 is moved.
It will be in a state of facing.

Next, the transfer arm 9 of the substrate transfer device 4 advances to access the cassette 6 and carry in the glass substrate G after the exposure processing into the cassette 6.

A series of processing is completed as described above. For example, such a series of processing is performed on all the glass substrates G mounted on the cassette 6.

As described above, in the substrate processing system of this embodiment, the suction pad body 12 is swingably supported by the support member 15, and the suction port 1 of the suction pad body 12 is also supported.
Since the film-shaped member 14 having the plurality of holes 13 formed therein is provided in the substrate 1, as shown in FIG. 7, even if the glass substrate G is deformed during transportation (FIG. 7A), the substrate suction pad is formed. The glass substrate G is tilted in accordance with the deformation (FIG. 10B).
The parallel relationship between the substrate suction pad 10 and the substrate suction pad 10 is maintained ((c) in the figure), the glass substrate G and the substrate suction pad 10 adhere to each other, and the glass substrate G is sufficiently sucked and held by the substrate suction pad 10. Moreover, even if the glass substrate G and the suction pad 10 are not completely adhered to each other, the film-like member 14 is provided in the suction port 11 so that the leakage of the reduced pressure from the suction port 11 is minimized. Therefore, the glass substrate G is sufficiently sucked and held by the substrate suction pad 10. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the glass substrate G from being displaced or dropped during the transportation, and to transport the glass substrate G while securely holding it.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment.

For example, the hole 13 formed in the film member 14
Is circular, but may be of hexagonal shape as shown in FIG. As a result, the holes 13 can be provided with higher area efficiency, and the loss due to reduced pressure can be further reduced.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing another structure of the substrate suction pad 10. FIG. 9A shows a state where the glass substrate G is not bent, and FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a state where the glass substrate G is bent.

The suction pad 10 is provided with a suction pad body 12, and a suction port 11 for sucking the glass substrate G under reduced pressure is provided on the surface thereof.

The suction port 11 has a film-shaped member 14 which is bent toward the center of the suction port 11 while blocking its surface.
Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 9A, when the glass substrate G is not bent, the film member 14 does not come into contact with the suction port 11 but comes into contact with the glass substrate G. . In other words, even if the contact suction is performed only by the suction port 11,
It is possible to stably convey the glass substrate G without bending. Further, since the film-shaped member 14 does not come into contact with the film-shaped member 14, it is possible to prevent the adsorption mark from remaining due to unnecessary contact with the film-shaped member 14.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the glass substrate G is bent, not only the suction port 11 but also the film-shaped member 14 comes into contact with the glass substrate G. That is, the film-shaped member 14 can contact the bending of the glass substrate G with good followability. As a result, the film-shaped member 14 can surely come into contact with the glass substrate G. That is, the glass substrate G in a bent state can be stably transported.

With this structure, the film-shaped member 14 is
When the glass substrate G is not bent, it does not contact,
The glass substrates G come into contact with each other in a bent state. With such a configuration, the glass substrate G using the suction pad 10 can be stably transported.

In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the system 1 in which the substrate transfer device 4 for transferring the glass substrate G between the substrate loading / unloading part 2 and the exposure device 3 is arranged. However, the present invention can be applied to, for example, a substrate transfer device that transfers a substrate between processing devices in a resist coating / development processing device, a system including these, and a system having other configurations.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the apparatus for carrying the glass substrate G of the liquid crystal device, but naturally the present invention is also applied to the apparatus for carrying other substrates such as semiconductor wafers. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the substrate processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of a substrate transfer device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the configuration of the substrate transfer device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the suction pad of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the structure of the suction pad of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the followability of the suction pad and the glass substrate of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a suction pad according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a suction pad according to another embodiment of the present invention, (a) shows a state where the glass substrate is not bent, and (b) shows a state where the glass substrate is bent. .

[Explanation of symbols]

1 system 2 Board loading / unloading section 3 exposure equipment 4 Substrate transfer device 5 cassette mounting table 6 cassettes 7a loader arm 7b unloader arm 8 bases 9 Transfer arm 10 Adsorption pad 11 Adsorption port 12 Suction pad body 13 holes 14 Membrane member 15 Support member 16 Pressure control valve 17 Decompression pump 18 Control unit 19 Conveyor path G glass substrate

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A suction pad main body having a suction port for sucking a substrate on a surface thereof; a film-like member provided so as to close the surface of the suction port and having a plurality of holes formed therein; A substrate suction pad, comprising: a support member that swingably supports the suction pad body. 2. The substrate suction pad according to claim 1, wherein the film-shaped member has flexibility. 3. The film-shaped member is made of the same material as that of the suction pad body.
Alternatively, the substrate suction pad according to claim 2. 4. The shape of each hole formed in the film-like member is circular or hexagonal.
To the substrate suction pad according to claim 3. 5. The diameter of each hole formed in the film-shaped member is
It is 1 mm-10 mm, The board | substrate adsorption pad of Claim 1 thru | or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. 6. A substrate, comprising: a transfer arm for holding and transferring the substrate; and the substrate suction pad according to claim 1 provided on a surface of the transfer arm. Transport device. 7. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a decompression pump is connected to the suction port of the suction pad body so as to enable pressure adjustment. 8. The adjusted pressure is -0.04 to-.
The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the substrate transfer apparatus has a pressure of 0.10 MPa. 9. A substrate processing unit for performing a predetermined process on a substrate, and the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 6 for transferring the substrate between at least the substrate processing unit. A substrate processing system comprising: 10. A step of holding a substrate on a transfer arm of the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 6, and a step of holding the substrate on the transfer arm by the substrate transfer apparatus holding the substrate on the transfer arm. On the other hand, a substrate transfer method comprising: a step of transferring the substrate to / from a substrate processing section that performs a predetermined process; and a step of transferring the substrate between the transfer arm and the substrate processing section.