JP3666636B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate transfer member and a method for processing a substrate, which can significantly reduce the volume of a carry-in/carry-out chamber, to improve the production unit time by reduction of suction time and can omit complex air-conditioning adjustments. SOLUTION: A transfer mechanism for transferring a substrate 2 from a carry-in/carry-out chamber 5 to a robot chamber 4 is provided on a side of the chamber 4, the substrate 2 is provided between the chambers 5 and 4, so as to sequentially lowered to a prescribed position through a take-out port 31 which is openable by a gate valve 32 and be taken out one by one by the transfer mechanism from a nearly fixed horizontal position and be sent to the robot chamber 4.

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is applied to a manufacturing process of an electronic component manufactured by performing various processing steps such as thin film formation and pattern formation on a substrate (wafer) such as a semiconductor device, a liquid crystal display device, and an image sensor. In particular, the present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate transport body, and a method of manufacturing an electronic component suitable for processing in a clean room using a large substrate having a diameter of several hundred mm or a few hundred mm square. Is.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, electronic components such as a semiconductor device, a liquid crystal display device, and an image sensor are manufactured by performing various processing steps such as thin film formation and pattern formation on a substrate (wafer). In such a manufacturing process of various electronic components, in order to manufacture components in a batch efficiently, many products are manufactured simultaneously on the same substrate, or a large display device is manufactured. In addition, a large substrate is used.
[0003]
In the electronic component manufacturing process as described above, a thin film forming process by a CVD method or a sputtering method, an impurity concentration region forming process by a thermal diffusion method, a pattern forming process of various thin films, etc. Usually, it has many processing steps, and many processing devices are used in these various steps. When manufacturing many products on the same substrate at the same time, the number of products can be increased further. When manufacturing large display devices, etc. Processing devices have been developed and put into practical use year by year or on a daily basis so that even larger substrate sizes can be produced.
[0004]
In addition, tens of thousands of fine patterns on the order of μm are formed in these electronic components, and further higher definition is being pursued in the same manner as the enlargement of the previous substrate. For this reason, when foreign matter and gas which cannot be visually observed are floating during the pattern formation process, these foreign matter and gas cause defects in chemical reaction during pattern formation. Therefore, in conventional manufacturing facilities, the entire process consisting of processing equipment, inspection equipment, transport equipment, etc. is usually placed in a clean room having a cleanliness of class 1 or 10, for example, and various air conditioning management is performed. By doing so, foreign matters and gases in the process are eliminated.
[0005]
However, the construction cost of clean room facilities increases extremely as the cleanliness increases. Also, especially when starting up a new large factory that handles large substrates, troubles related to clean room facilities tend to occur frequently, and it is difficult to manage and maintain cleanliness at key points. Running costs also increase. Furthermore, since the management of dust-proof measures such as dust-proof clothing is increased for the workers in the process, the work environment of the workers themselves is also deteriorated.
[0006]
As measures for improving these problems, for example, there are processing apparatuses described in JP-A-6-196545, JP-A-7-161797, JP-A-7-297257, and the like. In each of these publications, a pot (or a pod or a cassette housing container) including a cassette containing a large number of substrates and a detachable cover portion is used to carry a clean substrate between various processing apparatuses. Thereby, the high cleanliness space of the whole line can be reduced, and the equipment cost can be improved.
[0007]
Here, the structure of the processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-161797 will be described.
[0008]
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the processing apparatus includes a process tube 101, a load lock chamber 102, a loading / unloading chamber 103, a cassette container port 104, and a holder housing chamber 105. The process tube 101 is a processing chamber that performs a predetermined process on the wafer W that is an object to be processed. The load lock chamber 102 is a chamber for inserting / removing a wafer boat 106 as a holding body containing a large number (for example, 100) of wafers W with respect to the process tube 101, and a transfer mechanism 107 therefor. It has. The loading / unloading chamber 103 is a chamber for loading / unloading the wafer W into / from the load lock chamber 102, and a cassette container port 104 is formed therein. The holder housing chamber 105 is a chamber for housing a wafer boat 106 disposed between the load lock chamber 102 and the carry-in / out chamber 103.
[0009]
The carry-in / out chamber 103 is placed in an air atmosphere by a clean gas introduced through a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter 108. The cassette housing container port 104 is disposed in the loading / unloading chamber 103. The cassette housing container port 104 has a wafer carrier (cassette) for storing a plurality of (for example, 25) wafers W. A cassette container 109 in which C is stored is installed.
[0010]
Here, as shown in FIG. 14, the cassette housing container 109 is of a size that can accommodate one cassette C, and a container body 110 having an opening at the bottom, and a container that closes the opening so as to be hermetically sealed. The bottom part 111 is comprised. The cassette container 109 is filled with high-purity clean air or inert gas that is positive with respect to atmospheric pressure, or is evacuated, with the cassette C housed therein. . For example, a commercially available SMIF-POD (trademark) is used as the cassette housing container 109.
[0011]
On the other hand, the cassette container port 104 is formed such that the side wall of the carry-in / out chamber 103 is recessed into the interior thereof, and the port mounting table 112 on which the container body 110 is actually mounted includes: A cassette insertion hole 113 which is larger than the inner diameter of the flange portion 110A of the container body 110 and smaller than the outer diameter is formed. The insertion hole 113 is provided with a container bottom mounting table 114 that is detachable downwardly from the port mounting table 112 by forming a peripheral edge portion in a downwardly inclined manner so as to be tapered.
[0012]
Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the container bottom portion mounting table 114 protrudes greatly from the ball screw portion 115 to the tip of the vertical moving arm 116 that is movable in the vertical direction (vertical direction) by the ball screw portion 115. It is attached. The ball screw portion 115 is disposed substantially on the side of the container bottom mounting table 114, and only the container bottom 111 and the cassette C placed on the upper surface are submerged, leaving the container main body 110 upward. It is taken into the carry-in / out chamber 103.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 15, the ball screw portion 115 is provided with a horizontal movement arm 117 composed of an articulated arm which is positioned below the container bottom mounting table 114 and can be bent in the horizontal direction. An arm auxiliary member 117A that can be swung in a loosely fitted state so as to be always in a horizontal state is provided at the tip, and a claw portion 118 that can be opened and closed is provided at both ends. By opening and closing the claw portion 118 with the horizontal movement arm 117 bent, the sinked side wall of the cassette C can be gripped. As shown in FIG. 12, a shutter mechanism 119 is provided at the entrance of the cassette container port 104 to open / close this portion to communicate / block with the work area.
[0014]
Further, a carrier transfer 120 is installed in the carry-in / out chamber 103 at a position immediately behind the cassette housing container port 104 so as to be lifted and lowered via an elevator 121. A transfer stage 122 is installed on the rear side of the carrier transfer 120, and a carrier stock stage 123 is installed above the transfer stage 122. The carrier stock stage 123 is formed of a plurality of shelves that can store the wafer carriers C transferred from the cassette container port 104 by the carrier transfer 120 in the horizontal direction, for example, in two rows and four stages.
[0015]
Further, a wafer transfer 124 is installed on the side of the holding body accommodating chamber 105 of the carry-in / out chamber 103 so as to be movable up and down by a transfer elevator 125. The wafer transfer 124 lifts and lowers the wafer W in the wafer carrier C on the transfer stage 122 one by one, and stores and holds it in the wafer boat 106 accommodated in the holder accommodating chamber 105, or vice versa. In addition, the wafer boat 106 is configured to return the wafer W into the wafer carrier C on the transfer stage 122.
[0016]
Further, an internal HEPA filter 126 is provided in parallel with the carrier stock stage 123, and clean air having high cleanliness introduced from above is bent sequentially in the horizontal direction and the downward direction so that the port HEPA filter 127 is provided. Is passed through the cassette accommodating container port 104, circulated into the room, and exhausted in a one-through manner.
[0017]
In the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-196545, the processing apparatus 128 includes a carry-in / out chamber 129 as shown in FIGS. In the above apparatus, a container 134 is used in which a wafer cassette 131 for storing a plurality of wafers 130 is placed on a box door 132 and stored in a box (box top or pod) 133. Here, unlike JP-A-7-161797, only the wafer cassette 131 containing the wafer 130 and the box door 132 on which it is placed are brought into the carry-in / out chamber 129.
[0018]
However, in the case of the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-196545, as in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-161797, the apparatus is disposed in the loading / unloading chamber 129 at the side of the raising / lowering portion of the wafer cassette 131. Conveying mechanisms such as an elevating mechanism 135, a pre-processing stage 136 on which the wafer cassette 131 carried into the processing chamber is placed, and a manipulator arm 137 for transporting the wafer cassette 131 to the pre-processing stage 136 are arranged.
[0019]
Further, in the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-297257, a plurality of cassettes C stored in a cassette storage container are stored in a container storage stage, and the cassette C is loaded into a holding body storage chamber. It is taken out from the cassette container. That is, unlike the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-161797, in which the cassette C is taken out from the cassette container in the loading / unloading chamber and stored on the carrier stock stage, the space requiring high cleanliness can be reduced accordingly. .
[0020]
As for the support of the substrate in the cassette, for example, when the substrate is used in a liquid crystal display device, if the entire surface is supported, problems such as generation of scratches and dust generation on the substrate occur. In many cases, the shape on the two sides receives about a few tens of millimeters at the end.
[0021]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the manufacturing process of various electronic components such as semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display devices, the manufacturing substrate has been increased in size, and the number of processes and processing devices is large, so a large factory facility. Is becoming necessary. In such facilities, in order to reduce construction, maintenance, maintenance costs, etc., to facilitate the transportation of trucks from equipment manufacturers to factories, and to improve workability such as manufacturing and process management, each process and transfer It is necessary to reduce the size of the mounting device or incidental equipment.
[0022]
However, in the conventional apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-161797 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-297257, it is carried out as a spare chamber for delivering a substrate under a cleanliness degree stable with respect to a load lock chamber or the like. An entrance room is provided, and the space of the carry-in / out room is extremely large such as several tens of times or more the outer peripheral volume of the cassette container (20 times or more in the in-plane direction of the drawing and 2 to 3 times or more in the depth direction of the drawing). Necessary. This is caused by the following problems (1) to (5).
(1) A plurality of cassettes and cassette storage containers are stored in the carry-in / out chamber.
{Circle around (2)} A transfer mechanism for raising and lowering the cassette and the cassette housing container is housed in the carry-in / out chamber.
(3) A lifting mechanism for the cassette or the cassette housing container is formed on the side of the cassette or the cassette housing container in the loading / unloading chamber. When such an operation / sliding part is provided in the carry-in / out chamber, there arises a problem that the quality and yield of the product are easily lowered due to dust generation. In particular, in a liquid crystal display device, a large substrate of several hundred mm square or more is often used. In this case, since the weight including a cassette and the like increases, if a sliding portion is provided with a cantilever structure as shown in FIG. In order to withstand a large moment, the vertical moving arm 116, the horizontal moving arm 117, the ball screw 115 and their bearings have a problem that their size is increased by one time or the life is shortened. Further, if the bearing is in the carry-in / out chamber, the maintenance work time increases, and the operating rate of the apparatus may decrease.
(4) For example, as in the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-161797, in order to stabilize the cleanliness in the carry-in / out chamber, a plurality of (three in the above publication) HEPAs are arranged and their flow rate and A complicated air conditioning adjustment is necessary to adjust the position. Thereby, the arrangement space of HEPA is also required in the carry-in / out chamber.
(5) In particular, a liquid crystal display device uses a large substrate of several hundred mm square or more, and its thickness is as thin as 0.5 to 1.1 mm. Warpage of about several tens of mm occurs. For this reason, in order to prevent interference and cracking at the time of delivery of the substrate, it is necessary to increase the interval between the substrates. However, since the cassette and the cassette housing container become larger and the weight increases, the items (1) to (3) Increase the issues in the section synergistically.
[0023]
As described above, when the volume of the carry-in / out chamber increases, the vacuuming time of the carry-in / out chamber increases and production tact drops, or this is performed using a plurality of HEPAs as disclosed in JP-A-7-161797. There arises a problem that complicated air conditioning adjustment is required. Therefore, in order to reduce the evacuation time so as not to drop the production tact, and to stabilize the cleanliness while eliminating the need for complicated air conditioning adjustment as described above, it is also necessary to deliver the substrate to the load lock chamber etc. It is necessary to make the volume of the spare room, that is, the carry-in / out room as small as possible.
[0024]
In the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-196545, the problem of item (1) is reduced, but the problems of items (2) to (5) are also present. As described above, a space about 10 times that of the cassette is required in the in-plane direction of FIG.
[0025]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to greatly reduce the volume of the loading / unloading chamber, improve the production tact by reducing the evacuation time, and omit complicated air conditioning adjustment. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate transport body, and a substrate processing method.
[0026]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention has a transport body that can be transported while holding a cassette containing a plurality of substrates in a clean atmosphere. In the substrate processing apparatus for transferring the substrate in the transported body taken into the processing chamber directly or through a separate chamber to the processing chamber and performing predetermined processing on the substrate in the processing chamber, the loading / unloading chamber and the processing A chamber or a separate chamber is provided between the adjacent chamber adjacent to the carry-in / out chamber, and an entrance / exit for transfer at the time of taking out or taking in the substrate is provided, and the entrance / exit can be opened / closed by an opening / closing means. The carry-in / out chamber has a gas introduction / exhaust hand that allows the indoor atmosphere to be changed by exhausting a room or introducing a gas into the room while the entrance is closed by the opening / closing means. And an elevating mechanism that raises and lowers a cassette that accommodates the substrate from the carried carrier, and the adjacent chamber is provided with a transfer mechanism that transfers the substrate from the carry-in / out chamber to the adjacent chamber. It is characterized by having.
[0027]
Alternatively, in order to solve the above problems, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention provides a transport body that can be transported while holding a cassette containing a plurality of substrates in a clean atmosphere, through a loading / unloading chamber. In the substrate processing apparatus for transferring the substrate in the transfer body taken into the apparatus to the processing chamber directly or via a separate chamber and performing a predetermined process on the substrate in the processing chamber, the loading / unloading chamber; Between the processing chamber or another chamber and an adjacent chamber adjacent to the carry-in / out chamber, an entrance / exit for transfer when taking out or taking in the substrate is provided, and the entrance / exit can be opened and closed by an opening / closing means. In the carry-in / out chamber, the gas inlet is configured so that the indoor atmosphere can be changed by exhausting the room or introducing the gas into the room with the opening / closing means closed by the opening / closing means. / Exhaust means and an elevating mechanism for raising and lowering a cassette that accommodates the substrate from the carried carrier, and an extruding type for transferring the substrate from the carry-in / out chamber to the adjacent chamber in the carry-in / out chamber. The drive mechanism of the transfer mechanism is hermetically cut off from the carry-in / out chamber space and arranged outside the carry-in / out chamber.
[0028]
According to the above configuration, there is no configuration for storing a plurality of cassettes and transport bodies in the carry-in / out chamber, and the transfer of the substrate from the carry-in / out chamber to the adjacent chamber is also performed by the transfer mechanism arranged on the adjacent chamber side. Alternatively, it is performed by an extrusion-type transfer mechanism in which the drive unit is arranged outside the carry-in / out chamber. In the above-described extrusion type transfer mechanism, when the substrate is transferred, it is merely reciprocated within the arrangement space of the substrate to be transferred, and it is not particularly necessary to provide the drive space in the carry-in / out. Further, in order to hermetically block the drive unit of the above-described push-type transfer mechanism from the carry-in / out indoor space, it is preferable to use, for example, a bellows seal.
[0029]
Therefore, in the carry-in / out chamber, in order to take out the cassette from the transport body, it is sufficient if there is a space for one stroke corresponding to the height of the cassette, and the apparatus can be remarkably reduced to about twice the volume. The adjacent chamber refers to the processing chamber corresponding to the adjacent chamber when the substrate is directly transferred from the loading / unloading chamber to the processing chamber, and the substrate is separated from the loading / unloading chamber (for example, a transfer (robot) chamber, a load lock). In the case of being transferred to the processing chamber via a chamber or the like, the separate chamber corresponds to the adjacent chamber.
[0030]
In this way, by reducing the size of the carry-in / out chamber, large substrates are used in the clean gas-sealed container transport manufacturing process for various electronic components such as semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display devices, and the number of processes and processes are used. Even when the number of apparatuses is large, each processing apparatus can be remarkably reduced in size (less than a fraction of the conventional one), and the factory facilities can be minimized. As a result, factory construction, maintenance and maintenance costs can be reduced. Further, the downsizing of the processing apparatus facilitates transport by a truck or the like when transporting the apparatus itself from the manufacturer of the processing apparatus to the processing factory, thereby improving workability such as manufacturing and process management.
[0031]
In the carry-in / out chamber into which the carrier is taken, the chamber is replaced with clean gas or evacuated by the gas introduction / exhaust means. At this time, the opening / closing means between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber is closed, and the carry-in / out chamber is sealed. Then, after the carry-in / out chamber is replaced with gas or evacuated, the opening / closing means is opened, and the substrate in the cassette is transferred from the carry-in / out chamber to the adjacent chamber by the transfer mechanism.
[0032]
Here, in the configuration in which the carry-in / out chamber is miniaturized as described above, the evacuation time of the carry-in / out chamber is reduced, so that the manufacturing tact can be suppressed and 3 as in JP-A-7-161797. Cleanliness can be stabilized without complicated air conditioning adjustment such as adjusting the HEPA of the stand, and the quality and yield of the product can be improved.
[0033]
Further, when the substrate is transferred between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber, the processing apparatus sequentially transfers the cassette in the transport body by the lifting mechanism to a predetermined position where the substrate to be taken out faces the entrance / exit. It is characterized in that the substrate is transferred one by one between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber by the above-mentioned transfer mechanism from a substantially constant horizontal position at the entrance / exit.
[0034]
Conventionally, when a substrate is transferred between a carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber, that is, when a substrate is extracted from a cassette containing a plurality of substrates, a transfer mechanism is set in accordance with the position of the substrate stacked vertically in the cassette. However, according to the above configuration, the cassette itself is sequentially moved to the predetermined position by the lifting mechanism, and the substrates are transferred one by one from the substantially fixed horizontal position by the transport mechanism.
[0035]
Thereby, in the said transfer mechanism, the raising / lowering function like the past becomes unnecessary, and this transfer mechanism can be simplified. The simplification of the transfer mechanism leads to downsizing of an adjacent chamber or the like that accommodates the transfer mechanism, and thus downsizing of the processing apparatus.
[0036]
Further, in the method of transferring substrates one by one from a substantially constant horizontal position, the entrance / exit between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber only needs to be large enough to carry out at least one substrate. Therefore, the configuration of the opening / closing means for opening and closing the opening / closing means can be simplified. As a result, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus, shorten the opening / closing time of the entrance / exit, and extend the life of the seal portion.
[0037]
Further, in the processing apparatus, the gas introduction / exhaust means evacuates the carry-in / out chamber after the carrier is carried into the carry-in / out chamber, and the transfer means moves between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber. The substrate delivery is performed in a vacuum atmosphere.
[0038]
In many processing apparatuses such as film formation, the transfer of the substrate between the adjacent chamber and the processing chamber is performed in a vacuum atmosphere, and as described above, the inside / outside chamber is moved by the gas introduction / exhaust means. If the substrate is delivered under a vacuum atmosphere by evacuating and transferring the substrate between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber, the adjacent chamber may be always maintained in a vacuum state. Thereby, in the said adjacent chamber, introduction of gas etc. become unnecessary and maintenance of atmosphere becomes easy. In addition, since the time for evacuating the adjacent chamber is reduced, manufacturing tact can be suppressed.
[0039]
Further, in the processing apparatus, the gas introduction / exhaust means is configured to carry out the loading / unloading step after the carrier is carried into the carrying-in / out chamber and before the cassette for storing the substrate is taken out from the carrier. The chamber is replaced with clean gas, and the carry-in / out chamber is evacuated at a stage after the cassette for storing the substrate is taken out of the carrier.
[0040]
When taking out the cassette from the carrier in the carry-in / out chamber, the cleanliness in the carry-in / out chamber needs to be high. For this purpose, a method such as replacing the carry-in / out chamber with clean gas or evacuating is conceivable, but since the clean gas is sealed in the carrier, the carrier is carried into the carry-in / out chamber. When the loading / unloading chamber is evacuated in a stage, a pressure difference is generated between the inside and outside of the carrier. Accordingly, in this case, it is necessary for the transport body to have a strength sufficient to withstand this pressure difference, which leads to an increase in weight and cost of the transport body. In addition, if vacuuming is performed directly, a burden may be applied to the vacuum filter, and the cleaning time may increase.
[0041]
On the other hand, according to the above configuration, the carry-in / out chamber is in a clean gas atmosphere before the cassette is taken out from the transport body, and the carry-in / out chamber is inside the stage after the cassette is taken out from the transport body. Since vacuuming is performed, there is no pressure difference between the inside and outside of the carrier as described above. Therefore, it is not necessary for the transport body to have an unnecessarily strong strength, which leads to weight reduction and cost reduction of the transport body. Moreover, the cleaning time can be shortened.
[0042]
Further, in the processing apparatus, an elevating part (for example, an elevating shaft) of the elevating mechanism is provided at a position almost directly below the center of gravity of the substrate or the cassette, and the driving unit and the guide receiving part of the elevating mechanism are It is provided outside the carry-in / out chamber, and the elevating part in the carry-in / out chamber is hermetically shut off from the carry-in / out chamber space by a bellows.
[0043]
As described above, the drive unit of the lifting mechanism is arranged outside the loading / unloading chamber, and the lifting unit is disposed near the center of gravity of the cassette, so that maintenance work is facilitated and the design of the screw part, the shaft part, etc. Since the strength can also be reduced, the lifting mechanism can be downsized. In addition, since the lifting part in the carry-in / out chamber is hermetically cut off from the carry-in / out room space with a bellows, it is possible to eliminate a decrease in product quality and yield due to dust generation in the sliding part.
[0044]
Furthermore, since there is no lifting mechanism at the side of the substrate transport body, the transport path of the transport body can be reduced, and the mechanism of the transfer device can be simplified. For this reason, the design flexibility of the loading / unloading chamber is high. For example, an internal pressure gauge for confirmation or an extrusion-type substrate loading mechanism (transfer mechanism) can be easily attached to the side portion of the substrate transport body, Can be attached, and visual check of substrate abnormalities can be made easily.
[0045]
The substrate carrier of the present invention seals a cassette carrying a plurality of substrates in a sealed space formed by a container body and a bottom plate together with a highly clean dry gas, and performs various processing steps on the substrate. In the substrate transport body that transports between the processing apparatuses during the manufacturing process of the electronic component manufactured by the implementation, the cassette is placed on the basis of one substrate to place and support each mounted substrate. A substrate supporting portion formed so as to protrude from four to six locations in the substrate surface, and a pin portion made of a resin that contacts the substrate and supports the substrate is provided near the tip of the substrate supporting portion. It is characterized by being formed.
[0046]
When supporting a substrate at two points, the maximum deflection of the substrate is proportional to the cube of the distance between the supports and inversely proportional to the cube of the thickness of the substrate in a two-dimensional ideal solution. The amount of warpage increases. For this reason, the substrate support part protrudes in the in-plane direction of the substrate and the distance between the support points is reduced to reduce the warpage of the substrate, which occurs due to interference caused by abnormal vibration or a slight misalignment during the delivery of the substrate. It is possible to reduce defects such as substrate cracking and cracking. In addition, since the warpage of the substrate is reduced, the interval between the substrates in the cassette can be reduced, and the substrate carrier can be downsized. Furthermore, the reduction in weight and size of the substrate transport body also leads to a reduction in the size of the carry-in / out chamber in the processing apparatus.
[0047]
Further, in the substrate support in the cassette, the line support near the two edges and the wide surface (for example, almost the entire surface) support are not preferable because the contact portion with the substrate increases, and the probability of foreign matter adhesion or damage increases. In addition, providing a support portion having a wide range increases the weight of the entire cassette and makes it difficult to receive the substrate. Therefore, the substrate support portion is preferably a convex protrusion having about 4 to 6 points. . In particular, in a large rectangular substrate such as a liquid crystal, about 6 protrusions are preferable in order to achieve a good balance between warpage reduction and cassette weight reduction (in a two-dimensional ideal solution, warping is about 1 / It can be reduced to about 8.)
[0048]
In addition, the substrate support portion is preferably made of aluminum that can ensure rigidity, is relatively lightweight, and can be easily cleaned regularly, and the contact portion with the substrate is also a member that does not damage the substrate. Resins such as Teflon, which are less worn and worn and have high chemical resistance to acidic cleaning materials, are preferred.
[0049]
Further, the carrier is characterized in that the substrate support portion has a mountain shape having a smooth curved outer edge within the substrate surface.
[0050]
In order to ensure weight reduction and rigidity of the substrate support portion, it is preferable to have a cross-sectional shape in which the stress is uniform in the substrate support portion of the cantilever support structure, but this minimizes the substrate interval, and In order to realize a plate material having a uniform thickness so as to facilitate processing and assembly such as a plate material, it is preferable that the substrate support portion has a chevron shape. Further, it is preferable that the substrate support portion has a smooth curved outer edge in order to eliminate corners and the like and prevent damage and dust generation when contacting the substrate.
[0051]
The method of manufacturing an electronic component according to the present invention uses the above-described substrate transport body to transport between the above-described substrate processing apparatuses while holding a cassette containing a plurality of substrates in a highly clean atmosphere. An electronic component is manufactured by performing a processing step on the substrate by the above processing devices.
[0052]
Accordingly, the carry-in / out chamber in the processing apparatus can be reduced in size as in the case of the substrate transport body and the substrate processing apparatus described above.
[0053]
The electronic component manufacturing method is characterized in that when the cassette containing the substrate is held in the substrate transport body, the internal pressure of the substrate transport body is positive.
[0054]
The inside of the transport body may basically be a vacuum pressure as long as it is a clean gas. However, if the internal pressure of the transport body is smaller than the surrounding pressure (atmospheric pressure), the O-ring or the like may be damaged Therefore, when the airtightness inside and outside the transport body is broken, there is a possibility that outside unclean air may enter, so it is preferable to set the internal pressure of the transport body of the substrate to a positive pressure. Further, for a series of workability and time reduction such as release of the atmospheric pressure and opening of the bottom plate at the time of taking out the substrate, it is preferable to make the pressure slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure.
[0055]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11 as follows.
[0056]
A schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is shown in FIGS. The processing apparatus 1 performs single or continuous processing on a substrate as an object to be processed. The processing content includes thin film formation such as sputtering and CVD, inspection, resist coating, exposure, and patterning. Any of pattern formation, heating, drying, washing, ion implantation and the like may be used.
[0057]
As shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus 1 includes a processing chamber 3 that performs a predetermined process on a substrate 2 that is an object to be processed, and a transfer mechanism 7 that inserts and removes the substrate 2 from the processing chamber 3 (see FIG. 1). 2) and a loading / unloading chamber 5 for loading / unloading a plurality of substrates 2 accommodated in the cassette 8 with respect to the robot chamber 4. Adjacent room.
[0058]
Further, the processing chamber 3, the robot chamber 4, and the carry-in / out chamber 5 do not have to be provided one by one for one processing apparatus 1. For example, as shown in FIG. The configuration may be such that the robot room 4 is shared with the entrance room 5. In addition, a temperature raising chamber 6 for raising the temperature of the substrate 2 in advance may be provided before the substrate 2 is processed in the processing chamber 3. The processing chamber 3, the robot chamber 4, the loading / unloading chamber 5, and the temperature raising chamber 6 can be individually evacuated. Further, the processing chamber 3 and the carry-in / out chamber 5 are connected to each other, and the substrate may be directly transferred from the carry-in / out chamber 5 to the processing chamber 3. In this case, the processing chamber 3 is loaded into the carry-in / out chamber 5. Adjacent room.
[0059]
In the carry-in / out chamber 5, a cassette housing container 10 is carried in as a substrate carrier for housing the cassette 8. As shown in FIG. 3, the cassette housing container 10 includes a cassette 8 housed therein, a bottom plate 11, and a pod lid (container body) 12. The cassette 8 placed on the bottom plate 11 is placed by the pod lid 12. It is a covering structure. An O-ring 13 is provided between the bottom plate 11 and the pod lid 12 in order to seal the internal space of the cassette housing container 10. The cassette housing container 10 is filled with an inert gas having a high degree of cleanliness at a slightly higher pressure than atmospheric pressure. The cassette 8, the bottom plate 11, and the pod lid 12 are made of, for example, aluminum in order to reduce the weight of the cassette housing container 10.
[0060]
The inside of the cassette housing container 10 may basically be a vacuum pressure as long as it is a clean gas, but when the internal pressure of the cassette housing container 10 is smaller than the surrounding pressure (atmospheric pressure), O When the airtightness inside and outside the cassette housing container 10 is broken due to damage or the life of the ring 13 or the like, there is a possibility that unclean air outside may enter. For this reason, it is preferable that the internal pressure of the cassette container 10 is a positive pressure. Further, in order to reduce a series of workability and time, such as opening the atmospheric pressure when the substrate 2 is taken out and opening the bottom plate 11, it is preferable that the internal pressure of the cassette housing container 10 is slightly positive from the atmospheric pressure.
[0061]
As shown in FIG. 4, the cassette 8 is provided with a substrate support portion 14 having a thickness of about 3 mm and a smooth mountain shape, for example, made of aluminum, for receiving the substrate 2 to be accommodated. . The substrate support portion 14 is provided so as to protrude in the in-plane direction of the substrate 2 supported thereby (6 locations in the figure), and is in contact with the substrate 2 in the vicinity of the tip of the protrusion. The pin (pin part) 15 to be supported is formed of, for example, Teflon resin. For example, when the size of the substrate 2 is 1.1 mm in thickness, 550 mm in width, and 650 mm in length, as shown in FIG. By receiving the position with the pin 15 and further pressing the end of the substrate 2 with the roller 16, the warpage of the substrate 2 can be suppressed to about 10 mm or less. Thus, in the cassette 8, the vertical interval between the substrates 2 is set to about 30 mm, and 20 substrates 2 are accommodated in the cassette 8 with this gap.
[0062]
That is, when two-point support of the substrate 2 is performed, in the two-dimensional ideal solution, the maximum deflection of the substrate is proportional to the cube of the distance between the supports and inversely proportional to the cube of the thickness of the substrate, so that the substrate 2 is large or thin. The amount of warpage increases extremely. For this reason, the warp of the substrate 2 is reduced by projecting the substrate support portion 14 in the in-plane direction of the substrate and reducing the distance between the support points, and interference due to abnormal vibration or a slight misalignment during the delivery of the substrate 2 or the like. Defects such as substrate cracks and cracks that occur in the process can be reduced. Further, since the warpage of the substrate 2 is reduced, the interval between the substrates in the cassette 8 can be reduced, and the cassette container 10 can be downsized. Furthermore, the lighter and smaller size of the cassette container 10 has the advantage that it leads to a smaller size of the carry-in / out chamber 5 in the processing apparatus 1.
[0063]
Further, in the substrate support in the cassette 8, the line support in the vicinity of the two edges and the wide surface (for example, almost the entire surface) support increase the contact portion with the substrate 2 and increase the probability of foreign matter adhesion or damage. The overall weight of the cassette 8 increases, and it becomes difficult to receive the substrate 2 or the like. Therefore, it is preferable that the substrate support portion 14 is a convex protrusion having about 4 to 6 points. In particular, in the case of a large rectangular substrate such as a liquid crystal, the number of substrate support portions 14 is preferably about six in order to achieve both a reduction in warpage and a reduction in weight of the cassette in a balanced manner. It can be reduced to about 1/8.)
[0064]
Further, the substrate support portion 14 is preferably made of aluminum that can ensure rigidity, is relatively lightweight, and can be easily cleaned regularly, and the pin 15 serving as a contact portion with the substrate 2 damages the substrate 2. In addition, a resin such as Teflon, which is less worn and applied to the abutting pin 15 itself and has high chemical resistance against an acidic cleaning material or the like, is preferable.
[0065]
The reason why the substrate support portion 14 is formed in a chevron shape is as follows. That is, in order to ensure the weight reduction and rigidity of the substrate support portion 14, it is preferable to have a cross-sectional shape in which the stress is uniform in the substrate support portion 14 of the cantilever support structure. In addition, in order to realize a plate material having a uniform thickness so that processing and assembly such as a plate material can be easily performed, it is preferable that the substrate support portion 14 has a chevron shape. Moreover, in the said board | substrate support part 14, in order to eliminate a corner | angular part etc. and to prevent the damage and dust generation at the time of the contact with the board | substrate 2, it is preferable to set it as a smooth curve outer edge.
[0066]
As shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus 1 has an elevating mechanism 17 for elevating and lowering a cassette 8 storing a plurality of substrates 2 in a cassette receiving container 10 carried into a carry-in / out chamber 5. An elevating part (shaft) 18 of the elevating mechanism 17 is provided almost directly below the center of gravity of the substrate 2 or the cassette 8, and a guide part (sliding part) 19 of the elevating mechanism 17 and a driving part (not shown) are the carry-in / out chamber. 5 is provided outside. In the carry-in / out chamber 5, the elevating part 18 is surrounded by a bellows 20 and is isolated from the carry-in / out chamber 5.
[0067]
Thus, the volume of the loading / unloading chamber 5 can be increased by arranging the guide portion 19 and the driving unit of the lifting mechanism 17 outside the loading / unloading chamber 5 as compared with the conventional configuration in which the entire lifting mechanism is disposed in the loading / unloading chamber 5. It can be greatly reduced. More specifically, the carry-in / out chamber 5 can be downsized so that it is about twice the outer peripheral volume of the cassette 8 and at most about three times or less. Further, the elevating part 18 in the carry-in / out chamber 5 is hermetically cut off from the space in the carry-in / out room 5 by the bellows 20, so that the product quality and the yield can be eliminated due to dust generation of the guide part 19.
[0068]
In the lifting mechanism 17, the lifting portion 18 of the lifting mechanism 17 is provided almost directly below the substrate 2 or the cassette 8. This is because the cassette 8 is lifted and lowered by the lifting mechanism 17 having a simple configuration. It is. That is, when the lifting mechanism is disposed on the side of the cassette 8 and the cassette 8 is held by the cantilever structure, it is necessary to increase the size of the shaft, the bearing and the like so as to withstand a large moment due to the weight of the cassette 8. However, if the elevating part is disposed below the center of gravity of the cassette 8, the moment does not act on the shaft, so that the elevating mechanism can be miniaturized.
[0069]
Further, since the lifting mechanism 17 does not exist at the side of the cassette container 10, the carry-in route of the cassette container 10 can be reduced, and the mechanism of the transfer device can be simplified. For this reason, the degree of freedom of design of the carry-in / out chamber 5 is also high. For example, an internal pressure gauge for confirmation, a viewing window of the substrate 2 and an extrusion-type substrate carry-in mechanism can be easily attached to the side portion of the cassette container 10, Visual confirmation is also possible.
[0070]
The push-out type substrate carrying-in mechanism is not a robot arm type transfer mechanism 7 as shown in FIG. 2, but a transfer mechanism 40 as shown in FIG. The transfer mechanism 40 is constituted by a piston cylinder 41 as a driving source and an arm 42 that is driven to reciprocate by the piston cylinder 41. The substrate 2 in the cassette 8 is pushed by the arm 42 toward the robot chamber 4 side. Transport. For this reason, the transfer mechanism 40 is not the robot chamber 4 side, but an adjacent chamber on the side of the carry-in / out chamber 5 (the robot arm does not use the robot arm type transfer mechanism 7 as shown in FIG. However, the transfer mechanism 40 is only reciprocated in the arrangement space in the cassette 8 of the substrate 2 to be transferred, and the drive space in the loading / unloading chamber 5 is disposed. There is no need to provide. Therefore, even if the transfer mechanism 40 is disposed on the carry-in / out chamber 5 side, the space in the carry-in / out chamber 5 is not increased. The piston cylinder 41 as a drive source of the transfer mechanism 40 is disposed outside the carry-in / out chamber 5 and is sealed off from the space in the carry-in / out chamber 5 by a bellows 43. As a result, an increase in the space of the carry-in / out chamber 5 can be prevented, and a decrease in product quality and yield due to dust generation at the sliding portion of the piston can be eliminated. Further, in the configuration using the transfer mechanism 40, it is preferable to provide the substrate support roller 44 in the substrate transfer path between the carry-in / out chamber 5 and the robot chamber 4.
[0071]
However, in this invention, it is not limited to the structure which arrange | positions the said raising / lowering part under the gravity center of the cassette 8, As shown in FIG. 7, the raising / lowering mechanism 21 arrange | positioned at the side of the cassette 8 is used. Also good. In this case, since the size of the lifting mechanism 21 cannot be avoided if a simple cantilever structure is used, it is preferable to provide a guide lot 23 under the stage 22 that holds the cassette 8.
[0072]
Next, in the processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a method for delivering the substrate 2 from the loading / unloading chamber 5 to the robot chamber 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 (a) to 8 (c).
[0073]
First, as shown in FIG. 8A, the loading door 24 of the loading / unloading chamber 5 of the processing apparatus 1 is opened in order to load the cassette container 10. Then, the cassette housing container 10 containing the cassette 8 on which the plurality of substrates 2 are mounted is placed on the stage 25 formed on the upper surface of the lifting mechanism 17. At this time, the cassette accommodating container 10 accommodates the cassette 8 in a space formed by the pod lid 12 and the bottom plate 11 in a sealed state with dry air having a high cleanliness. The inside of the carry-in / out chamber 5 is an air atmosphere.
[0074]
Next, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the carry-in door 24 is closed, and a clean N slightly positive pressure from the gas introduction / exhaust pipe 26 at the lower part of the carry-in / out chamber 5. ₂ An inert gas such as is filled below the cassette housing container 10 to replace the atmosphere in the carry-in / out chamber 5. Thereafter, by driving the lifting mechanism 17 and lowering the stage 25, the bottom plate 11 and the cassette 8 of the cassette container 10 placed on the stage 25 are slightly lowered. At this time, the bottom 27 of the pod lid 12 of the cassette container 10 is in contact with the side wall protrusion 28 in the carry-in / out chamber 5 via an O-ring 29 (see FIG. 1). As a result, the abutting portion acts as a vacuum seal, so that the outside and the inside of the pod lid 12 are blocked, and the atmosphere at the top and sides of the pod lid 12 does not enter the cassette housing container 10. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the time for evacuation and the like by reducing foreign matters from entering the inner surface and the lower surface of the pod lid 12 from the upper surface of the pod lid 12 exposed to the low clean air. In the processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 2, the cassette 8 is taken out from the cassette housing container 10 in the same procedure as described above after the cassette 8 is loaded into the loading / unloading chamber 5 together with the cassette housing container 10. In the same figure, illustration of the cassette housing container 10 is omitted.
[0075]
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8C, the upper and lower regions of the loading / unloading chamber 5 by the gas introduction / exhaust pipe 26 and the gas exhaust pipe 30 as the gas introduction / exhaust means, that is, the outer and inner areas of the pod lid 12. Are evacuated and exhausted simultaneously. At this time, if the seal between the bottom 27 of the pod lid 12 and the side wall protruding portion 28 in the carry-in / out chamber 5 is perfect, it is sufficient to evacuate only the inner region, but the inner region and the outer region are simultaneously removed. By evacuating, the stage 25 is exposed to the atmosphere during the process due to the exhaustion of the seal and the like, and the intrusion of ash dust into the internal area of the carry-in / out chamber 5 is reduced. Then, after opening a gate valve (opening / closing means) 32 for opening and closing a substrate transfer port 31 which is a substrate take-out port between the carry-in / out chamber 5 and the robot chamber 4, the transfer mechanism 7 disposed on the robot chamber 4 side is used. The substrate 2 accommodated in the cassette 8 is transferred to the robot chamber 4 one by one by a certain robot. Each time a single substrate 2 is transferred, the elevating mechanism 17 lowers the cassette 8 sequentially so that the next-stage substrate 2 comes to the side of the substrate transfer port 27. The substrate 2 that has been processed is returned to the cassette 8.
[0076]
The delivery of the substrate 2 between the carry-in / out chamber 5 and the robot chamber 4 includes an operation of extracting each substrate 2 from the cassette 8 containing a plurality of substrates 2. At this time, conventionally, it has been necessary to raise and lower the transfer mechanism in accordance with the position of the substrate stacked vertically in the cassette. On the other hand, in the processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the cassette 8 itself is sequentially lowered to a predetermined position (that is, a position where the substrate 2 to be taken out opposes the take-out port 31) by the elevating mechanism 17, and the substantially constant horizontal Since the substrate 2 is transferred one by one from the position by the transfer mechanism 7, the transfer mechanism 7 does not require a conventional lifting function, and the transfer mechanism 7 can be simplified. The simplification of the transfer mechanism 7 leads to a reduction in the size of the robot chamber 4 that accommodates the transfer mechanism 7 and, in turn, a reduction in the size of the processing apparatus 1.
[0077]
Further, as described above, in the method of transferring the substrates 2 one by one from a substantially constant horizontal position, the substrate transfer port 31 between the carry-in / out chamber 5 and the robot chamber 4 can carry out at least one substrate 2. Since the substrate transfer port 31 can be made small as long as it has a size, the configuration of the gate valve 32 can be simplified.
[0078]
In the process shown in FIG. 8B, the reason why the atmosphere in the carry-in / out chamber 5 is replaced with an inert gas is as follows. That is, when the cassette 8 is taken out from the cassette storage container 10 in the carry-in / out chamber 5, the inside of the carry-in / out chamber 5 is replaced with a clean gas or a vacuum in order to increase the cleanliness in the carry-in / out chamber 5. It is necessary to pull. However, since the inside of the cassette housing container 10 is filled with an inert gas having a high cleanliness in a positive pressure state as described above, at the stage when the cassette housing container 10 is carried into the carry-in / out chamber 5. When the carry-in / out chamber 5 is evacuated, a pressure difference is generated inside and outside the cassette housing container 10. Therefore, in this case, the cassette housing container 10 needs to have a strength that can withstand this pressure difference, which leads to an increase in weight and cost of the cassette housing container 10.
[0079]
On the other hand, if only the inside of the carry-in / out chamber 5 is replaced with a clean inert gas at the stage before the cassette 8 is taken out from the cassette container 10, the inside and outside of the cassette container 10 as described above can be used. The pressure difference does not occur and the above problem can be avoided. In addition, there is a merit that the time required for maintenance can be reduced by reducing the burden on the vacuum filter and extending the service life.
[0080]
Further, in the process shown in FIG. 8C, the reason for evacuating the inside of the carry-in / out chamber 5 after the cassette 8 is taken out from the cassette container 10 is as follows. That is, by evacuating the inside of the loading / unloading chamber 5 as described above, the transfer of the substrate 2 between the loading / unloading chamber 5 and the robot chamber 4 is performed in a vacuum atmosphere. Further, since the transfer of the substrate 2 between the robot chamber 4 and the processing chamber 3 is normally performed in a vacuum atmosphere, the transfer of the substrate 2 between the loading / unloading chamber 5 and the robot chamber 4 is also performed in a vacuum atmosphere. By doing so, the robot chamber 4 is always maintained in a vacuum state.
[0081]
In this case, in the robot chamber 4, it is not necessary to introduce gas or the like, and only the gas exhaust means need be provided. Therefore, the configuration for maintaining the atmosphere of the robot chamber 4 can be simplified. Further, in the robot chamber 4, evacuation time or the like for shifting from the gas introduction state to the vacuum state becomes unnecessary, so that the manufacturing tact can be suppressed.
[0082]
As shown in FIG. 9, the transfer mechanism 7 is formed with a hand 34 for placing and transporting the substrate 2 at the tip of the robot arm 33. The hand 34 is substantially U-shaped, and when the substrate 2 is transported, the substrate 2 is placed on the two arm portions and transported. At this time, the arm portion of the hand 34 is remarkably reduced in warpage due to supporting the inside of the substrate 2 than in the case where the cassette 2 supports the substrate 2 at the peripheral edge. That is, as shown in FIG. 10A, the support of the peripheral portion of the substrate 2 in the cassette 8 is such that the two fulcrums support near the ends, so that the bending moment due to its own weight is concentrated between the fulcrums and the amount of bending of the substrate 2 (Warpage) increases. On the other hand, when the substrate 2 is supported by the hand 34 of the transfer mechanism 7, as shown in FIG. 10B, since the fulcrum is located from the center of the substrate 2, the bending moment generated between the fulcrums, Since the bending moment generated outside the fulcrum is opposite to each other and the warpage of the substrate 2 is canceled out, the warpage hardly occurs. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, it is possible to further reduce the warpage of the substrate 2 by providing a suction pad 35 on the surface of the substrate 34 of the hand 34 of the transfer mechanism 7 and sucking the substrate 2. That is, in this case, as shown in FIG. 10C, the substrate 2 is attracted to the substrate mounting surface, so that the contact surface of the substrate 2 with the substrate mounting surface is kept horizontal. The warpage of the is further reduced.
[0083]
Furthermore, when the substrate 2 is accommodated in the cassette 8, as described in FIG. 4, the end of the substrate 2 is pressed by the roller 16, so that the roller 16 becomes an obstacle when the substrate 2 is inserted and removed. It can be. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, by providing the step portion 36 in the hand 34 of the transfer mechanism 7, more stable conveyance is possible. That is, if the substrate 2 is simply placed on the hand 34 of the transfer mechanism 7, if there is an obstacle in the transport direction of the substrate 2, slippage may occur between the hand 34 and the substrate 2, and transport may become unstable. However, if the substrate 2 is caught on the stepped portion 36 of the hand 34 and conveyed, the above-described slip does not occur. Further, the same effect can be obtained even when the substrate 2 is conveyed while being attracted to the hand 34 by the suction pad 35 as shown in FIG. 8, but the resistance of the roller 16 is reduced particularly when the substrate 2 is inserted into the cassette 8. Therefore, the transfer by the stepped portion 36 is less likely to slip and can be stably transferred. Furthermore, since the warping state of the substrate 2 is different between the transfer of the substrate 2 by the hand 34 and the accommodation of the substrate 2 in the cassette 8, the substrate 2 is accommodated in the cassette 8 in the shape of the substrate 2 being transferred. It is preferable to provide a guide for correcting the shape.
[0084]
In the above description, the configuration in which one cassette container 10 is carried in the carry-in / out chamber 5 has been described. However, the n cassette-containing containers 10 are placed horizontally in the carry-in / out chamber 5 and the like. Per volume of the substrate 2 so that the volume is (2n + α) times the volume per cassette storage container 10 (minimum of 2n, α depends on the number of gate valves and transfer space). Substrate uptake time such as evacuation may be reduced.
[0085]
【The invention's effect】
In the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, as described above, an inlet / outlet is provided between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber for transferring when the substrate is taken out or taken in, and the inlet / outlet is opened and closed by an opening / closing means. And a gas introduction / exhaust means capable of changing the indoor atmosphere by exhausting a room gas or introducing a gas into the room with the opening / closing means closed by the opening / closing means, And a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers a cassette that accommodates the substrate from the transported body, and the adjacent chamber includes a transfer mechanism that transports the substrate from the loading / unloading chamber to the adjacent chamber. It is a configuration.
[0086]
Alternatively, in the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, as described above, an entrance / exit is provided between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber for transferring when the substrate is taken out or taken in, and the entrance / exit is open / close means. The gas introduction / exhaust means that can be opened and closed by the gas inlet / outlet chamber and the indoor atmosphere can be changed by introducing gas into the room or by introducing the gas into the room in a state where the inlet / outlet is closed by the opening / closing means. And an elevating mechanism that raises and lowers a cassette that accommodates a substrate from the carried carrier, and the carry-in / out chamber has an extrusion-type transfer mechanism that transfers the substrate from the carry-in / out chamber to an adjacent chamber. And the drive unit of the transfer mechanism is hermetically cut off from the carry-in / out chamber space and arranged outside the carry-in / out chamber.
[0087]
Therefore, in the carry-in / out chamber, the transfer of the substrate from the carry-in / out chamber to the adjacent chamber is performed by a transfer mechanism arranged on the adjacent chamber side or an extrusion-type transfer mechanism in which the drive unit is arranged outside the carry-in / out chamber. In the loading / unloading chamber, it is sufficient to have a space for one stroke corresponding to the height of the cassette in order to take out the cassette from the transport body, and the apparatus can be remarkably reduced to about twice the volume of the cassette. it can. In this way, by reducing the size of the carry-in / out chamber, each processing apparatus can be remarkably reduced in size (less than a fraction of the conventional one), and factory facilities can be minimized. As a result, the construction, maintenance and maintenance costs of the factory can be suppressed, and workability such as manufacturing and process management can be improved.
[0088]
Further, in the configuration in which the carry-in / out chamber is downsized as described above, the vacuuming time of the carry-in / out chamber is reduced, so that the manufacturing tact can be suppressed and the cleanliness can be stabilized without complicated air conditioning adjustment. It is possible to improve the quality and yield of the product.
[0089]
Further, when the substrate is transferred between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber, the processing apparatus sequentially transfers the cassette in the transport body by the lifting mechanism to a predetermined position where the substrate to be taken out faces the entrance / exit. In this configuration, the substrates are moved one by one from the substantially fixed horizontal position at the entrance / exit to the adjacent chambers by the transfer mechanism.
[0090]
As a result, the transfer mechanism does not require a lifting / lowering function for lifting / lowering the transfer mechanism in accordance with the position of the substrate stacked in the vertical direction in a conventional cassette, and the transfer mechanism can be simplified. it can. Due to the simplification of the transfer mechanism, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the size of the adjacent chamber that accommodates the transfer mechanism, and hence the size of the processing apparatus.
[0091]
Further, in such a method of transferring substrates one by one from a substantially constant horizontal position, the take-out port between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber can be made small, so that the configuration of the opening / closing means for opening and closing the substrate can be simplified. Also has the effect of.
[0092]
Further, in the processing apparatus, the gas introduction / exhaust means evacuates the carry-in / out chamber after the carrier is carried into the carry-in / out chamber, and the transfer means moves between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber. The substrate is transferred in a vacuum atmosphere.
[0093]
Usually, since the substrate transfer between the adjacent chamber and the processing chamber is performed in a vacuum atmosphere, the substrate transfer between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber is also performed in a vacuum atmosphere. The adjacent chambers may be always maintained in a vacuum state. Thereby, in the adjacent chamber, it is easy to maintain the atmosphere, and the time for evacuation of the adjacent chamber is reduced, so that the manufacturing tact can be suppressed.
[0094]
Further, in the processing apparatus, the gas introduction / exhaust means is configured to carry out the loading / unloading step after the carrier is carried into the carrying-in / out chamber and before the cassette for storing the substrate is taken out from the carrier. The chamber is replaced with clean gas, and the inside of the carry-in / out chamber is evacuated at a stage after the cassette for storing the substrate is taken out from the carrier.
[0095]
In the stage before the cassette is taken out from the carrier, the carry-in / out chamber is a clean gas atmosphere, and in the stage after the cassette is taken out from the carrier, the carry-in / out chamber is evacuated. There is no pressure difference inside and outside the body. Therefore, it is not necessary to give the transport body strength more than necessary, and the transport body can be reduced in weight and cost.
[0096]
Further, in the above processing apparatus, the elevating unit (for example, the elevating shaft) of the elevating mechanism is provided at a position almost directly below the center of gravity of the substrate or the cassette, and the driving unit and the guide receiving unit of the elevating mechanism are Provided outside the carry-in / out chamber, the elevating part in the carry-in / out chamber is configured to be hermetically sealed from the carry-in / out chamber space by a bellows.
[0097]
As described above, by arranging the drive unit of the lifting mechanism outside the loading / unloading chamber and placing the lifting unit near the center of gravity of the cassette, maintenance work is facilitated, the lifting mechanism can be downsized, and By sealing and closing the elevating part in the entrance room from the carry-in / out interior space with a bellows, there is an effect that it is possible to eliminate a decrease in product quality and yield due to dust generation of the sliding part and the like.
[0098]
In the substrate transport body of the present invention, the cassette is formed so that four to six portions protrude from the substrate surface with respect to each substrate to mount and support each substrate to be mounted. A substrate support portion is provided, and a pin portion made of a resin that contacts the substrate and supports the substrate is formed in the vicinity of the tip of the substrate support portion.
[0099]
As described above, by projecting the substrate support portion in the in-plane direction of the substrate and reducing the distance between the support points, the warpage of the substrate is reduced, the substrate interval in the cassette is also reduced, and the substrate transport body can be reduced in size. There is an effect. Furthermore, the reduction in weight and size of the substrate transport body also leads to a reduction in the size of the carry-in / out chamber in the processing apparatus.
[0100]
Moreover, the said board | substrate support part can make the curvature reduction and weight reduction of a cassette balance in balance by making it the convex protrusion part of about 4-6 points | pieces (a protrusion part has especially preferable about six places).
[0101]
In addition, when a resin such as Teflon is used for the contact portion with the substrate, there is an advantage that the member to be contacted is less worn or worn without damaging the substrate and has high chemical resistance against acidic cleaning materials. It is done.
[0102]
Further, the transport body has a configuration in which the substrate support portion has a chevron shape having a smooth curved outer edge in the substrate surface.
[0103]
A substrate support part with a cantilever support structure using a plate material having a uniform thickness so as to facilitate the processing and assembly of the board material, etc., in order to minimize the board interval and to ensure the weight and rigidity of the substrate support part. It is possible to obtain a cross-sectional shape with uniform stress. In addition, by providing a smooth curved outer edge in the substrate support portion, corner portions and the like can be eliminated, and damage and dust generation during contact with the substrate can be prevented.
[0104]
The method of manufacturing an electronic component according to the present invention uses the above-described substrate transport body to transport between the above-described substrate processing apparatuses while holding a cassette containing a plurality of substrates in a highly clean atmosphere. The electronic component is manufactured by performing the processing steps on the substrate by the above processing apparatuses.
[0105]
This brings about an effect that the carry-in / out chamber in the processing apparatus can be miniaturized in the same manner as the substrate transport body and the substrate processing apparatus described above.
[0106]
In the electronic component manufacturing method, the internal pressure of the substrate transport body is set to a positive pressure when transporting while holding the cassette containing the substrate in the substrate transport body.
[0107]
Thereby, when the airtightness inside and outside of the transport body is broken due to breakage or life of the O-ring or the like, it is possible to prevent the outside clean air from entering. In addition, a series of workability improvements such as release of the atmospheric pressure and release of the bottom plate when the substrate is taken out can be achieved, and the time can be shortened.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2, showing an embodiment of the present invention, is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a processing apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a cassette container used for transporting a substrate between the processing apparatuses.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a shape of a substrate support portion in a cassette in the cassette housing container.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a support state of a substrate by the substrate support portion.
6 shows a schematic configuration of a processing apparatus different from the processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and is a cross-sectional view of a processing apparatus using an extrusion-type transfer mechanism.
7 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of a carry-in / out chamber different from the processing apparatus of FIG.
8 (a) to 8 (c) are explanatory views showing an operation when the cassette is taken out from the cassette storage container in the carry-in / out chamber of the processing apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a substrate placement portion of a transfer mechanism for transferring a substrate between a carry-in / out chamber and a robot chamber in the processing apparatus.
FIGS. 10A to 10C are explanatory views schematically showing a relationship between a fulcrum position for supporting a substrate and a warped state of the substrate.
11 is a cross-sectional view showing a hand shape as a substrate mounting portion in the transfer mechanism shown in FIG.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional processing apparatus.
FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of the processing apparatus.
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a cassette container port of the processing apparatus.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a cassette horizontal movement mechanism of the processing apparatus.
16A and 16B are diagrams showing a schematic configuration of a conventional processing apparatus different from FIG. 12, in which FIG. 16A is a perspective view, and FIG. 16B is a cross-sectional view.
[Explanation of symbols]
1. Processing equipment (substrate processing equipment)
2 Substrate
3 treatment room
4 Robot room
5 carry-in / out room
7 Transfer mechanism
8 cassettes
10 Cassette container (substrate carrier)
11 Bottom plate
12 Pod lid (container body)
14 Substrate support
15 pin (pin part)
17 Lifting mechanism
18 Lifting part
19 Guide section
20 Bellows
26 Gas introduction / exhaust pipe (gas introduction / exhaust means)
30 Gas exhaust pipe (gas introduction / exhaust means)
31 Substrate transfer port (extraction port)
32 Gate valve (opening / closing means)
40 Transfer mechanism (extrusion type transfer mechanism)
41 Piston cylinder (driving mechanism drive)
43 Bellows

Claims (6)

A transport body that can be transported while holding a cassette containing a plurality of substrates in a clean atmosphere is taken into the apparatus through the carry-in / out chamber, and the captured substrate in the transport body is directly or via a separate chamber. In a substrate processing apparatus that transfers to a processing chamber and performs predetermined processing on the substrate in the processing chamber,
Between the carry-in / out chamber and the processing chamber or a separate chamber adjacent to the carry-in / out chamber, an entrance / exit for transferring the substrate when it is taken out or taken in is provided. It can be opened and closed,
In the carry-in / out chamber, the gas introduction / exhaust means that can change the indoor atmosphere by gas exhaust in the room or gas introduction into the room with the opening / closing means closed by the opening / closing means, and the carried-in transport A lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers a cassette that accommodates a substrate from the body and takes in or out,
The adjacent chamber is provided with a transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate from the carry-in / out chamber to the adjacent chamber,
When the substrate is transferred between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber, the cassette in the transport body is sequentially moved to a predetermined position where the substrate to be taken out faces the entrance / exit by the elevating mechanism. The substrate is transferred one by one between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber by the transfer mechanism from a certain horizontal position ,
The carrier is detachable from the container-like lid and the bottom plate, and the inside can be hermetically sealed by the bottom plate on which the cassette is placed. A protruding portion is formed, and the lid portion of the transport body taken in a state in which the internal space is sealed in the carry-in / out chamber is placed on the side wall protruding portion, and the lid portion and the side wall protruding portion are The contact portion becomes a vacuum seal, the first chamber, which is the region above the lid portion in the carry-in / out chamber, and the second chamber, which is the region below the lid portion, are blocked, and the gas introduction / exhaust means is the first. chamber and the substrate processing apparatus is characterized that you have provided a second chamber. A transport body that can be transported while holding a cassette containing a plurality of substrates in a clean atmosphere is taken into the apparatus through the carry-in / out chamber, and the captured substrate in the transport body is directly or via a separate chamber. In a substrate processing apparatus that transfers to a processing chamber and performs predetermined processing on the substrate in the processing chamber,
Between the carry-in / out chamber and the processing chamber or a separate chamber adjacent to the carry-in / out chamber, an entrance / exit for transferring the substrate when it is taken out or taken in is provided. It can be opened and closed,
In the carry-in / out chamber, the gas introduction / exhaust means that can change the indoor atmosphere by gas exhaust in the room or gas introduction into the room with the opening / closing means closed by the opening / closing means, and the carried-in transport An elevating mechanism that raises and lowers a cassette that accommodates a substrate from the body,
An extrusion-type transfer mechanism comprising a piston cylinder and an arm reciprocally driven by the piston cylinder is provided at a position opposite to the adjacent chamber in the carry-in / out chamber, to transfer the substrate from the carry-in / out chamber to the adjacent chamber. A drive unit composed of a piston cylinder of the transfer mechanism is hermetically cut off from the carry-in / out chamber space and disposed outside the carry-in / out chamber,
When the substrate is transferred between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber, the cassette in the transport body is sequentially moved to a predetermined position where the substrate to be taken out faces the entrance / exit by the elevating mechanism. The substrate is transferred one by one between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber by the transfer mechanism from a certain horizontal position ,
The carrier is detachable from the container-like lid and the bottom plate, and the inside can be hermetically sealed by the bottom plate on which the cassette is placed. A protruding portion is formed, and the lid portion of the transport body taken in a state in which the internal space is sealed in the carry-in / out chamber is placed on the side wall protruding portion, and the lid portion and the side wall protruding portion are The contact portion becomes a vacuum seal, the first chamber, which is the region above the lid portion in the carry-in / out chamber, and the second chamber, which is the region below the lid portion , are blocked, and the gas introduction / exhaust means is the first. A substrate processing apparatus provided in the chamber and the second chamber . The gas introduction / exhaust means evacuates the carry-in / out chamber after the carrier is carried into the carry-in / out chamber, and the transfer means transfers the substrate between the carry-in / out chamber and the adjacent chamber in a vacuum atmosphere. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate processing apparatus is used. The gas introduction and exhaust means is
After the carrier is carried into the carry-in / out chamber, and before the cassette that accommodates the substrate is taken out from the carrier, the carry-in / out chamber is replaced with clean gas,
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the inside of the loading / unloading chamber is evacuated at a stage after the cassette for storing the substrate is taken out from the carrier. The elevating part of the elevating mechanism is provided at a position almost directly below the center of gravity of the substrate or the cassette, and the driving part and guide receiving part of the elevating mechanism are provided outside the carry-in / out chamber,
5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the elevating unit in the carry-in / out chamber is hermetically sealed from the carry-in / out chamber space by a bellows. 6.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the carry-in / out chambers are provided adjacent to the adjacent chamber.

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