JP4030946B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a substrate processing apparatus for performing predetermined processing on a substrate (hereinafter referred to as “substrate”) such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, and a substrate for an optical disk. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus including a conversion mechanism.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to perform processing on a plurality of substrates, there is a substrate processing apparatus that carries out processing after loading a plurality of substrates accommodated in a transport carrier and then unloading the substrates. In such a substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing is sequentially performed in each processing unit arranged linearly. In these substrate processing apparatuses, the substrates are processed in a state where each of the plurality of substrates is in a vertical posture and further arranged and held in parallel with each other.

  In the conventional carrier, as in the case of processing in the substrate processing apparatus, the plurality of substrates are transported in a state of being arranged in parallel with each other in a vertical posture, so it is particularly necessary to change the posture at the time of carry-in and carry-out. There was no.

  However, due to the recent increase in substrate size, the substrate is often transported in a horizontal posture during transport. This is because if the substrates are transported in a vertical posture, the substrates swing and move in the transport carrier, causing the substrates to contact and collide with each other, resulting in generation of contaminants.

  On the other hand, in the substrate processing apparatus, it is preferable that the substrate processing apparatus is held in a vertical posture for the convenience of processing performed therein. Therefore, it is necessary to convert the postures of the plurality of substrates between the horizontal posture and the vertical posture.

  However, the length in the arrangement direction of the substrate processing apparatus is increased only by arranging the apparatus for performing such posture change on the extension of the plurality of processing units arranged linearly. Therefore, the footprint is increased, and there is a problem that the effective use of the clean room space cannot be achieved.

  Further, in the case of performing the posture change as described above, there is a problem that contaminants attached to the substrate before the substrate processing adhere to the substrate that has been subjected to the substrate processing.

  Accordingly, in view of the above problems, the present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus having a posture conversion mechanism that converts the posture of a substrate between a horizontal posture and a vertical posture, and provides a compact substrate processing device. Let it be 1 issue.

  The present invention is also a substrate processing apparatus having a posture changing mechanism for changing the posture of a substrate between a horizontal posture and a vertical posture, and contaminants attached to the substrate before the substrate processing are processed by the substrate processing. It is a second object to provide a substrate processing apparatus that does not adhere to a given substrate.

To solve the above Symbol challenges, the invention according to claim 1, a substrate processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing on a substrate, is configured as a linear array of a plurality of processing units, a series on the substrate A processing unit row for sequentially performing processing, a substrate standby unit for waiting the substrate in a horizontal posture, a transport unit for transporting the substrate along the processing unit row in a vertical posture, the transport unit, and the substrate A delivery unit that delivers the substrate to and from the standby unit, and the substrate standby unit includes a carrier placement unit that places a carrier that houses a plurality of substrates, and the delivery unit is configured to Posture changing means for changing the posture between a horizontal posture and a vertical posture, a horizontal transfer robot for transferring a plurality of substrates in a horizontal posture between the carrier and the posture changing means, and a plurality of substrates in a vertical posture Is carried between the posture changing means and the conveying means. And a transfer means for said posture changing means is provided with a second plurality of holding grooves for holding the first plurality of retaining grooves and the substrate after the substrate by keeping the substrate before the substrate processing It has a pair of holding mechanism, the first or second plurality of retaining grooves by selectively using and converting the posture of the substrate.

The invention according to claim 2 is a substrate processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on a substrate, and is configured as a linear array of a plurality of processing units, and a processing unit for sequentially performing a series of processes on a substrate A substrate, a substrate standby unit that waits the substrate in a horizontal posture, a transport unit that transports the substrate along the processing unit row in a vertical posture, and the substrate between the transport unit and the substrate standby unit. A transfer unit, and the substrate standby unit includes a carrier mounting unit that mounts a carrier that stores a plurality of substrates, and the transfer unit converts the posture of the substrate, and A horizontal transfer robot for transferring a plurality of substrates in a horizontal posture between the carrier and the posture changing means, and a transfer means for transferring a plurality of substrates in a vertical posture between the posture changing means and the transfer means. And the posture changing means includes the water It is located between the transfer robot and the transfer means, transfers the plurality of substrates between the horizontal transfer robot and the transfer means, and sets the plurality of substrates to a horizontal posture and a vertical posture. A pair of first plurality of holding grooves for holding the substrate before substrate processing and a plurality of second holding grooves for holding the substrate after substrate processing are provided. A holding mechanism is provided, and the posture of the substrate is converted by selectively using the first or second plurality of holding grooves .
A third aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein when the direction of the linear arrangement of the plurality of processing units is a first direction, the carrier and the horizontal transfer are performed. The substrate is transferred to and from the loading robot in a direction substantially parallel to the first direction, between the horizontal transfer robot and the posture changing means, between the posture changing means and the transferring means, The transfer of the series of substrates between the transfer means and the transport means is performed in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the plurality of substrates are transferred between the horizontal transfer robot and the posture changing means. It is characterized by carrying out loading collectively.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects , wherein the horizontal transfer robot transmits a plurality of horizontal postures to the posture changing means. It is characterized by moving in the horizontal direction with respect to the posture changing means when transporting between the two.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, wherein the transfer means moves in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction with respect to the posture changing means. It is possible.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects , wherein the transfer means moves in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction with respect to the posture changing means. It is possible to rotate around a vertical axis.

The invention according to an eighth aspect is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the transfer means is arranged between the posture changing means and the transport means. It is possible to move in the direction.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects of the present invention, wherein the groove interval of the transfer means is determined by the holding mechanism of the posture changing means. It is characterized by being half of the interval between the grooves.

The invention described in 請 Motomeko 10 is a substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the claims 1 to 9, wherein the delivery portion is disposed on the side of the column direction in the processing unit sequence It is characterized by being.

According to the invention described in claims 1 to 10, the pair of holding mechanisms, the second plurality of holding a first plurality of retention grooves and the substrate after the substrate by keeping the substrate before the substrate treatment And holding the substrate before and after the substrate processing since the posture of the substrate can be changed by selectively using the first or second plurality of holding grooves. By switching the grooves, it is possible to prevent contaminants attached to the substrate before the substrate processing from attaching to the substrate that has been subjected to the substrate processing.

In particular, according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the posture of converting the posture of the substrate between the horizontal posture and the vertical posture on the side of the processing unit row configured as a linear arrangement of a plurality of processing units. A delivery unit having conversion means is arranged. Therefore, the substrate processing apparatus can be made compact, and the space in the clean room can be used effectively.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<A. First Embodiment>
<Outline of device>
1, 2, and 3 are views showing a substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, and an outline of the apparatus will be described with reference to these drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a partial configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the internal configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 as seen from the direction of the arrow AP (see FIG. 2).

  As shown in these drawings, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a carrier mounting unit 100, a horizontal transfer robot 200, a posture changing mechanism 300, a pusher 400, a transport mechanism 500, and a substrate processing unit 600.

  A carrier C that stores a plurality of substrates W is mounted on the carrier mounting unit 100, and the substrate W stored in the carrier C is carried into and out of the substrate processing apparatus 1. At this time, the plurality of substrates W are held in a horizontal position in the carrier C.

  The horizontal transfer robot 200 is an articulated transfer robot, and includes a lift shaft 220 communicating with the inside of the base 210, a first arm 230 having one end connected to the upper end of the lift shaft 220 above the base 210, Each arm 230 includes a second arm 240 having one end connected to the other end of the arm 230, and a substrate support hand 250 connected to the other end of the second arm 240. It is driven like this.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the elevating shaft 220 is movable up and down in the vertical direction (Z direction), and the first arm 230 is substantially in a horizontal plane around the rotation axis A <b> 1 at the connecting portion with the elevating shaft 220. It can be rotated (turned) at any angle. Similarly, the second arm 240 is around the rotation axis A2 at the connection portion with the first arm 230, and the substrate support hand 250 is substantially in the horizontal plane around the rotation axis A3 at the connection portion with the second arm 240. Each can be rotated (turned) at an arbitrary angle. By such a mechanism, the horizontal transfer robot 200 is movable in a three-dimensional space within a predetermined range while holding the substrate W by the substrate support hand 250, and is placed on the carrier platform 100. The substrate W is transported between the carrier C and the posture changing mechanism 300.

  The posture changing mechanism 300 includes a support base 305, a base 310, a rotating base 320, a pair of first holding mechanisms 330 and a pair of second holding mechanisms 340 for holding a substrate, a first alignment device 350, and a second alignment device. 360. The turntable 320 can rotate about the axis A30 in the direction indicated by the arrow AR30 (see FIG. 3), and takes a posture P1 indicated by a solid line and a posture P2 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It is possible. Further, the first holding mechanism 330 and the second holding mechanism 340 rotate in conjunction with the turntable 320. Therefore, by rotating the turntable 320, the posture conversion mechanism 300 converts the postures of the plurality of substrates W held by the first holding mechanism 330 and the second holding mechanism 340 between a horizontal posture and a vertical posture. be able to.

  The pusher 400 includes a base 410, a Y direction movable part 420, a Z direction movable part 430, and a holder 440. The Y-direction movable unit 420 is driven by a motor, a ball screw, a rail, or the like (not shown) provided on the base 410 and linearly moves in a predetermined range in the horizontal direction (Y direction) with respect to the base 410 as indicated by an arrow AR42. The Z direction movable portion 430 is driven by a motor, a ball screw, and a rail (not shown) provided in the Y direction movable portion 420, and is in a predetermined range in the vertical direction (Z direction) with respect to the Y direction movable portion 420 as indicated by an arrow AR40. Make a linear motion. Moreover, the holder 440 is provided on the upper part of the Z direction movable part 430, can hold a substrate having a vertical attitude, and can take the attitudes P3 and P4 by the vertical movement of the Z direction movable part 430. By using such a mechanism, the pusher 400 can transport a plurality of substrates W having a vertical posture between the posture changing mechanism 300 and the transport mechanism 500. Further, the pusher 400 can transfer a plurality of substrates W having a vertical posture to and from the posture changing mechanism 300 and the transport mechanism 500 by moving up and down.

  The transport mechanism 500 includes a transport robot 510 that can move horizontally and move up and down. Further, the transport mechanism 500 includes a pair of clamping mechanisms 520 for clamping a plurality of substrates W having a vertical posture. Each of the clamping mechanisms 520 has support parts 522 and 524, and each of the support parts 522 and 524 has a plurality of grooves GV for supporting a plurality of substrates. The pinching mechanism 520 can support the substrate W or release the support of the substrate W by rotating in the direction of the arrow AR in FIG. The transport mechanism 500 having such a configuration exchanges substrates with the pusher 400. In addition, the substrate can be exchanged with each of the lifter 550 and the lifter 560 provided in the processing unit. The transport mechanism 500 transports or transfers the substrate before the cleaning process, during the cleaning process, and after the cleaning process from one place to another.

  The substrate processing unit 600 includes a transport mechanism water washing processing unit 610 having cleaning tanks 612a and 612b for cleaning the pair of clamping mechanisms 520, a chemical processing unit 620 and 640 having a chemical tank CB for storing chemicals, and pure water. The water-washing processing units 630 and 650 having the water-washing tank WB for storing the water and the drying processing unit 660 are provided. Although the transport mechanism rinsing processing unit 610 does not strictly process the substrate, it is handled as one of the substrate processing units 600 for performing processing associated with the substrate processing for convenience.

  The plurality of processing units are linearly arranged in the X direction, and the above-described transport mechanism 500 is provided on the side of the linear array. The transport mechanism 500 can move in a linear arrangement direction, and transports a substrate between the processing units as described above.

  Further, a lifter 550 is disposed on the rear side of the chemical solution processing unit 620 and the water washing processing unit 630. The lifter 550 can move up and down (Z direction) and traverse (X direction), so that the substrate received from the transport mechanism 500 is immersed in the chemical bath CB of the chemical treatment section 620, or the water washing tank WB of the washing section 630. Or soak in. Similarly, a lifter 560 is disposed on the rear side of the chemical solution processing unit 640 and the water washing processing unit 650. The lifter 560 can move up and down (Z direction) and traverse (X direction), so that the substrate received from the transport mechanism 500 is immersed in the chemical bath CB of the chemical treatment section 640, or the washing tank WB of the water treatment section 650. Or soak in. With such a mechanism, chemical treatment and water washing treatment can be performed in these treatment units.

  The control of each process and the control of each drive mechanism are performed by the controller CL.

<Example of substrate processing>
Next, an example of a processing procedure performed by the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described.

  A plurality of substrates W to be processed in the substrate processing apparatus 1 are loaded into and placed on the carrier placement unit 100 in a state of being horizontally stored in the carrier C. The horizontal transfer robot 200 simultaneously takes out a plurality of substrates stored in the carrier and transfers them to the posture changing mechanism 300 in the posture P1 (see FIG. 3). Next, the posture conversion mechanism 300 rotates the turntable 320 about the horizontal axis A30 by 90 degrees to become a posture P2 (see FIG. 3), and converts the plurality of substrates W received in the horizontal posture into a vertical posture.

  The pusher 400 that has been waiting at the position P3 (see FIG. 3) rises in the direction of the position P4, and receives the substrate in the vertical posture at the time of the ascent. Further, the pusher 400 moves the Y direction in the positive direction and causes a part of the Z direction movable portion 430 to enter the gap portion 614 between the cleaning tanks 612a and 612b, thereby transferring the plurality of substrates to the transport mechanism water washing process. It conveys above the part 610. The transport mechanism 500 uses the clamping mechanism 520 to receive and hold a plurality of substrates having a vertical posture from the pusher 400.

  Further, the description will be continued on the assumption that a predetermined process is performed on the substrate in the order of the chemical processing unit 620, the water processing unit 630, the chemical processing unit 640, the water processing unit 650, and the drying processing unit 660.

  The transfer robot 510 moves the X direction in the positive direction, transfers a plurality of substrates above the chemical solution processing unit 620, and transfers the plurality of substrates to the lifter 550. The lifter 550 that has received the substrate descends and immerses the substrate in the chemical bath CB. Then, a predetermined chemical process is performed on the substrate.

  On the other hand, after the transfer is completed, the transfer robot 510 moves to the transfer mechanism water washing processing unit 610 in the negative X direction. Further, the transport robot 510 descends (moves in the negative direction of the Z direction) to immerse and clean the pair of clamping mechanisms 520 in the cleaning tanks 612a and 612b, respectively. This is because the clamping mechanism 520 is preferably cleaned because it may be contaminated by the chemical atmosphere above the chemical treatment section 620.

  In addition, after a predetermined chemical processing is performed on the substrate in the chemical processing unit 620, the lifter 550 is lifted and further moved to the water washing processing unit 630 in the negative X direction. In order to perform a rinsing process with pure water in the rinsing unit 630, the lifter 550 descends and immerses the substrate in the rinsing tank WB.

  The transfer robot 510 moves to the water washing processing unit 630 after finishing the washing process of the holding mechanism 520 described above. This is because the substrate is received from the lifter 550 so that the chemical processing unit 640 performs the next processing on the substrate. After receiving the substrate from the lifter 550, the transfer robot 510 moves the X direction in the negative direction to the position of the chemical processing unit 640. Then, the substrate is delivered to the lifter 560 that stands by at the position of the chemical processing unit 640. The lifter 560 that has received the substrate descends and immerses the substrate in the chemical bath CB of the chemical processing unit 640 to perform a predetermined chemical processing.

  Then, in the same manner as described above, a predetermined process for the substrate in the chemical solution processing unit 640 and the water washing processing unit 650 and a cleaning process for the clamping mechanism 520 in the transport mechanism water washing processing unit 610 are performed.

  The transfer robot 510 receives the substrate from the lifter 560 in the water washing processing unit 650, moves to the drying processing unit 660, and performs a drying process. After the drying process is completed, the transport mechanism 500 transports the substrate to above the transport mechanism washing unit 610.

  As described above, the processing in the substrate processing unit 600 is performed.

  The plurality of substrates W that have been subjected to a predetermined series of processing in the substrate processing unit 600 are transferred from the transport mechanism 500 to the pusher 400 above the transport mechanism water washing processing unit 610 and then transferred to the posture changing mechanism 300. Is done. The posture conversion mechanism 300 converts the posture of the substrate from a vertical posture to a horizontal posture. Further, the horizontal transfer robot 200 stores a plurality of substrates held in a horizontal posture inside the carrier C mounted on the carrier mounting unit 100. Then, the plurality of substrates are carried out of the substrate processing apparatus 1 together with the carrier C.

<Attitude change mechanism>
Next, a detailed description will be given regarding the structure of the posture conversion mechanism 300 and the posture conversion using the posture conversion mechanism 300.

  First, the structure of the posture changing mechanism 300 will be described in detail.

  4 and 5 are diagrams showing the structure of the posture changing mechanism 300. FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view in a plane parallel to the YZ plane, and FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view in a plane parallel to the XZ plane.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the posture changing mechanism 300 includes a support base 305 (see FIG. 2), a base 310, a rotating base 320, a pair of first holding mechanisms 330 for holding a substrate, and a pair of first holding mechanisms. 2 holding mechanism 340, first alignment device 350, and second alignment device 360.

  A motor M30 is fixed to the base 310, and the rotation shaft of the motor M30 is connected to the turntable 320 by a link mechanism 315. Therefore, the turntable 320 can be rotated about the axis A30 in the direction indicated by the arrow AR30 by the rotational drive of the motor M30.

  Here, a virtual reference plane F (see FIG. 4) is introduced for the following explanation. The virtual reference plane F is a plane that includes the axis A30 and rotates with the rotation of the rotary table 320, and is an XY plane when the rotary table 320 is in the posture P1 (see FIG. 3). It is assumed that the plane is parallel to. Therefore, when the turntable 320 has the posture P2 (see FIG. 3) due to the rotation of the turntable 320, the virtual reference plane F is perpendicular to the XY plane.

<First holding mechanism>
The turntable 320 has a pair of first holding mechanisms 330 for holding the substrate. The first holding mechanism 330 has three degrees of freedom, and can perform a linear motion in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the virtual reference plane F and a rotational motion about an axis perpendicular to the virtual reference plane F. Below, the mechanism which implement | achieves each of these exercise | movement is demonstrated.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of these drive mechanisms. First, a drive mechanism that achieves a linear motion in a direction perpendicular to the virtual reference plane F will be described with reference to FIG. A fixed base 322 is fixed on the upper side of the rotating base 320 (see FIG. 4), and a linear bush 322a is provided on a part of the fixed base 322. The elevating base 324 has a portion penetrating the linear bush 322a and moves relative to the fixed base 322 in the direction of the arrow AR31, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the virtual reference plane F.

  The relative movement between the fixed base 322 and the lifting base 324 is performed by converting the linear movement in the horizontal direction of the cylinder M31 into the linear movement in the lifting direction. Reference is now made to FIG. The cylinder M31 is fixed to the fixed base 322, and the horizontal linear motion of the movable portion of the cylinder M31 is transmitted as the linear motion in the direction indicated by the arrow AR31a (see FIG. 4) of the traversing slider portion 323. The traversing slider portion 323 has a tapered portion 323a on the upper surface thereof.

  On the other hand, the elevating base 324 has a roller 324a. The roller 324a is attached to the lifting base 324 via the bearing portion 324b so as to be rotatable around the axis A31. The roller 324a is disposed on the upper surface of the traversing slider portion 323, and can roll on the tapered portion 323a.

  The traversing slider portion 323 moves linearly (arrow AR31a) by running on a rail portion 322b provided on the upper side of the fixed base 322, and the roller 324a rolls on the tapered portion 323a in accordance with the linear motion. Thus, the roller 324a moves up and down according to the inclination of the tapered portion 323a. In accordance with the up-and-down movement of the roller 324a, the up-and-down base 324 performs a linear movement in the direction (vertical direction) indicated by the arrow AR31. The elevating base 324 is biased in a direction approaching the fixed base 322 by a biasing means S (see FIG. 5) such as a spring. This is to prevent the roller 324a from moving away from the traversing slider portion 323 regardless of the posture of the turntable 320. Therefore, even when the turntable 320 takes a posture other than the posture P1 (see FIG. 3), the elevating base 324 performs a relative motion according to the inclination of the tapered portion 323a of the traversing slider portion 323.

  Next, the linear motion that the first holding mechanism 330 performs in the horizontal direction with respect to the virtual reference plane F will be described. This horizontal linear motion is realized by relative movement between the elevating base 324 and the traversing base 326.

  On the elevating base 324, a linear rail 324c is provided. The transverse base 326 has a guide 326a, and the guide 326a can slide on the rail 324c in the direction indicated by the arrow AR32. The elevating base 324 is provided with a traverse driving cylinder M32. The linear motion of the cylinder M32 is transmitted to the linear motion of the traversing base 326 in the direction indicated by the arrow AR32. In this way, the traversing base 326 is driven linearly in the direction indicated by the arrow AR32 with respect to the lifting base 324.

  The traversing base 326 includes a motor M33. The rotating shaft of the motor M33 is connected to the first holding mechanism 330. Therefore, the first holding mechanism 330 can perform a rotational movement as indicated by an arrow AR33 by the rotational drive of the motor M33. In this way, the first holding mechanism 330 can perform a rotational motion around an axis perpendicular to the virtual reference plane F.

  Each of the pair of first holding mechanisms 330 has a plurality of holding grooves 332 for holding a plurality of substrates on the surface thereof. The plurality of holding grooves 332 are arranged in the Z direction. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the plurality of holding grooves 332 in a state where the substrate W is placed in a horizontal posture. As described above, the pair of first holding mechanisms 330 can hold a plurality of substrates having a horizontal posture by the pair of holding grooves 332. These holding grooves 332 are preferably made of a fluororesin, particularly Teflon (trademark).

  Further, the plurality of holding grooves 332 have an arrangement of a plurality of holding grooves 332 a on one side of the first holding mechanism 330 and an arrangement of a plurality of holding grooves 332 b on the opposite surface. Since the first holding mechanism 330 can be rotated by the rotation mechanism described above, the holding grooves 332a and 332b that hold the substrate can be switched. For example, the substrate before substrate processing in the substrate processing unit 600 can be held by the pair of holding grooves 332a, and the substrate after substrate processing can be held by the pair of holding grooves 332b. By switching the holding groove for holding the substrate before and after the substrate processing in this way, contaminants attached to the substrate before the substrate processing do not adhere to the substrate that has been subjected to the substrate processing.

<Second holding mechanism>
The turntable 320 also has a pair of second holding mechanisms 340 for holding the substrate. The second holding mechanism 340 is rotationally driven by the motor M34.

  Each of the pair of second holding mechanisms 340 has a plurality of holding grooves 342 for holding a plurality of substrates on the surface thereof. The plurality of holding grooves 342 are arranged in the Z direction. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the plurality of holding grooves 342 in a state where the substrate W is placed in a vertical posture. Each of the holding grooves 342 has a V shape. The pair of second holding mechanisms 340 can hold a plurality of substrates having a vertical posture by the holding grooves 342 having such a shape. These holding grooves 342 are preferably made of fluororesin, particularly Teflon (trademark).

  Similarly to the first holding mechanism 330, the second holding mechanism 340 has an array of a plurality of holding grooves on one surface of the second holding mechanism 340 and an array of a plurality of holding grooves on the opposite surface. . Since the second holding mechanism 340 can be rotated by the motor M34, the holding groove for holding the substrate can be switched. For example, the substrate before substrate processing in the substrate processing unit 600 can be held by a pair of holding grooves on one side, and the substrate after substrate processing can be held by a pair of holding grooves on the opposite side. As described above, by switching the holding groove for holding the substrate before and after the substrate processing, the contaminants attached to the substrate before the substrate processing do not adhere to the substrate that has been subjected to the substrate processing.

<First and second alignment devices>
Further, the turntable 320 includes a first alignment device 350 and a second alignment device 360. These are respectively driven transversely in the X-axis direction by a cylinder M35 and a cylinder M36.

<Attitude conversion operation-Conversion operation from horizontal posture to vertical posture>
The posture changing mechanism 300 has the above structure. The posture changing mechanism 300 having such a structure can convert the postures of the plurality of substrates W held by the first holding mechanism 330 and the second holding mechanism 340 between a horizontal posture and a vertical posture. Below, this attitude | position conversion operation | movement is demonstrated.

  First, an operation for converting a horizontal posture into a vertical posture will be described.

  FIGS. 8 to 17 are schematic side views of the posture changing mechanism 300 for explaining the operation of the posture changing mechanism 300 for converting the plurality of substrates W from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture. 18 to 20 are plan views showing states corresponding to FIGS. 8 to 10, respectively.

  First, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 18, the horizontal transfer robot 200 moves the plurality of substrates W taken out simultaneously from the carrier C to the posture changing mechanism 300 from the −Y direction of the posture changing mechanism 300. Further, the horizontal transfer robot 200 (see FIG. 2) moves these substrates in the direction indicated by the arrow AF1. At this time, the plurality of substrates W pass through the gaps between the plurality of holding grooves 332 of the first holding mechanism 330 and move to a predetermined position with respect to the position in the Z direction. Therefore, the substrate W and the first holding mechanism 330 are not in contact with each other.

  Then, the horizontal transfer robot 200 lowers the plurality of substrates W in the direction of the arrow AF2 and places the substrates W on the plurality of holding grooves 332 of the first holding mechanism 330. Accordingly, each of the plurality of substrates W is held by the corresponding pair of holding grooves 332 of the pair of first holding mechanisms 330. Through the above operation, the plurality of substrates W have the states shown in FIGS. However, in this state, the plurality of substrates W are not yet in contact with the second holding mechanism 340. The horizontal transfer robot 200 evacuates to a position where it does not interfere with the subsequent posture change operation after placing the plurality of substrates W.

  Next, the first holding mechanism 330 itself moves in the direction indicated by the arrow AF3 with respect to the turntable 320. Accordingly, the plurality of substrates W held by the first holding mechanism 330 also move horizontally in the direction indicated by the arrow AF3. The plurality of substrates W move to a position where they contact the second holding mechanism 340 (see FIG. 20), and each of the plurality of substrates W is placed in each of the V-shaped holding grooves 342 of the second holding mechanism 340. Contact. 10 and 20 are diagrams showing the state after movement. FIG. 21 shows a state where the substrate W is in contact with the holding groove 342. Accordingly, the plurality of substrates W are held by the holding grooves 322 of the first holding mechanism 330 and the holding grooves 342 of the second holding mechanism 340.

  Then, the turntable 320 rotates 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow AF4. Accordingly, the plurality of substrates W held by the first holding mechanism 330 and the second holding mechanism 340 are rotated by 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow AF4 to be in the state shown in FIG. In this state, the plurality of substrates W are mainly held by the pair of second holding mechanisms 340. In addition, since the substrate W is supported by the second holding mechanism 340 from the start of rotation, the substrate W does not move relative to the first holding mechanism 330 even during rotation. Therefore, particles caused by rubbing between the substrate W and the first holding mechanism 330 are not generated.

  Further, the first holding mechanism 330 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow AF5. The movement distance is less than the distance D (see FIG. 22) of the substrate arrangement, and the first holding mechanism 330 after the movement is not in contact with the plurality of substrates W. FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the holding groove 332 of the first holding mechanism 330 and the substrate W. In FIG. 22, the holding groove 332 of the first holding mechanism 330 after the movement is indicated by a solid line, which indicates that it is not in contact with the substrate W. In the drawing, the position of the holding groove 342 of the first holding mechanism 330 before the movement is indicated by a broken line. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a state after the first holding mechanism 330 has moved in the direction of the arrow AF5. In FIG. 12, the plurality of substrates W are held by the holding grooves 342 of the second holding mechanism 340 (see FIG. 7) and are not in contact with the first holding mechanism 330.

  Here, the pusher 400 ascends between the pair of first holding mechanism 330 and second holding mechanism 340 in the direction of arrow AF6. FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating this ascending operation on a plane parallel to the YZ plane. The pusher 400 moves up in the direction of the arrow AF6, holds the substrate W by the holder 440, and pushes up the substrate W. Thereby, the contact between the substrate W and the second holding mechanism 340 is released, and the substrate W is held by the holder 440. The pusher 400 further moves up between the pair of second holding mechanisms 340 and between the pair of first holding mechanisms 330, and enters the state of FIG. Thus, the substrate W held by the second holding mechanism 340 is delivered to the pusher 400. When the pusher 400 is raised, the plurality of substrates W and the first holding mechanism 330 are not in contact with each other, so that particles due to contact or rubbing are not generated.

  After the plurality of substrates W are transferred to the pusher 400, the turntable 320 of the posture changing mechanism 300 rotates 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow AF7, and the state shown in FIG. 14 is obtained. Thereafter, the first holding mechanism 330 moves in the directions of the arrows AF8 and AF9, and enters the state shown in FIG. On the other hand, pusher 400 descends from the position shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 to the position shown in FIG. 15 in the direction of arrow AF10 (see FIG. 14). In this way, the plurality of substrates W are converted from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture by the posture changing mechanism 300 and delivered to the pusher 400. The state in FIG. 15 of the posture conversion mechanism 300 is almost the same as the state in FIG.

  As described above, the arrangement of the plurality of substrates W can be held in a vertical posture. However, another arrangement of a plurality of substrates W is inserted between the arrangements of the plurality of substrates W to double the same volume. The number of substrates W can be accommodated. This operation will be further described below.

  A plurality of substrates W (hereinafter referred to as “second substrate group”) different from the plurality of substrates W whose posture has been changed (hereinafter referred to as “first substrate group”) are moved by the horizontal transfer robot 200 by an attitude changing mechanism. The operation similar to the operation shown in FIGS. 8 to 11 is repeated. Thus, the posture of the second substrate group is converted to the state shown in FIG. FIG. 16 corresponds to FIG. 12 in the above description.

  Next, the pusher 400 moves upward in the direction indicated by the arrow AF16, and each of the substrates W of the first substrate group held by the holder 440 is transferred to the substrate of the second substrate group held by the second holding mechanism 340. Insert between W. Therefore, it is preferable that the holder 440 of the pusher 400 has grooves G (see FIG. 24) arranged at intervals of D / 2. FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the groove G of the holder 440. Here, the interval D represents the interval between the substrates in the first substrate group. Such a rise of the pusher 400 prevents the first substrate group and the second substrate group from interfering with each other, and D / 2 in the Y direction with respect to the groove G1 holding the substrate of the first substrate group in the groove G. In order to hold the second substrate group by the groove G2 that is displaced, the position of the pusher 400 in the Y direction is preferably displaced in advance by D / 2.

  In order to generate this shift, as shown in FIG. 15, for example, the pusher 400 can move by a distance of D / 2 in the direction of the arrow AF10B. In this case, all the main surfaces of the first substrate group and the second substrate group are aligned in the same direction with respect to the surface on which the device is formed on the substrate W (hereinafter referred to as “main surface”). Alternatively, it can be rotated 180 degrees around the axis AC in the direction of the arrow AF10C. In this case, the main surfaces of the substrates of the first substrate group and the second substrate group are opposite to each other. Which of these operations is selected can be changed according to the contents of the subsequent substrate processing. Note that these operations can be performed simultaneously with the descending operation in the direction indicated by the arrow AF10 in FIG.

  By the above operation, the groove G2 for holding the substrate of the second substrate group can be positioned at the position where the groove G1 holding the substrate of the first substrate group was present. Thus, the holder 440 in which the substrates of the first substrate group are arranged at a position shifted by D / 2 in the Y direction can be raised in the direction indicated by the arrow AF16 in FIG. Therefore, the substrates of the second substrate group held by the second holding mechanism 340 of the posture changing mechanism 300 are held at the position of the groove G2 of the holder 440 and transferred to the pusher 400 when the pusher 400 is raised. Each of the substrates W of the first substrate group held by the holder 440 is inserted between the substrates W of the second substrate group, and contact occurs between the first substrate group and the second substrate group. Absent.

  The pusher 400 that has continued to rise further holds the substrates of the first substrate group and the second substrate group in the groove G, as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the posture changing mechanism 300 returns to the state shown in FIG. 8 when the turntable 320 rotates 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow AF17.

  As described above, the substrate W can be accommodated in the pusher 400 at double density.

<Posture conversion operation-Conversion operation from vertical posture to horizontal posture>
In the above, the operation of converting the horizontal posture into the vertical posture (hereinafter also referred to as “forward conversion operation”) among the posture conversion operations of the posture conversion mechanism 300 has been described.

  In the following, an operation for converting a vertical posture into a horizontal posture (hereinafter also referred to as “inverse conversion operation”) will be described. As for this reverse conversion operation, basically, the reverse operation of the conversion operation from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture may be performed. Therefore, the operations described above with reference to FIGS. 8 to 17 are sequentially reversed. By such an operation, each of the first substrate group and the second substrate group held by the pusher 400 can be converted from the vertical posture to the horizontal posture by the posture changing mechanism 300.

  In this reverse conversion operation, in addition to the reverse operation of the forward conversion operation, an operation for aligning the substrates using the first alignment device 350 and the second alignment device 360 can be added. 25 and 26 are schematic side views of the posture changing mechanism 300, and FIGS. 27 and 28 are plan views showing states corresponding to FIGS. 25 and 26, respectively. The operations of the first alignment device 350 and the second alignment device 360 for aligning the substrates when converting the plurality of substrates W received from the pusher 400 from the vertical posture to the horizontal posture will be described with reference to these drawings. .

  The plurality of substrates held vertically by the pusher 400 are transferred to the posture changing mechanism 300 and held in a horizontal posture by the rotation of the turntable 320. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing such a state. This state corresponds to FIG. 10 in the description of the forward conversion operation. Therefore, the state of FIG. 9 is shifted by the reverse operation of the forward conversion operation. FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a state corresponding to FIG. 9, and illustrates a state in which the first holding mechanism 330 has moved in the direction indicated by the arrow AF23 (see FIG. 25) opposite to the arrow AF3 (see FIG. 9). ing.

  Along with this operation, the substrate placed on the first holding mechanism 330 also moves in the direction of the arrow AF23. However, some of the substrates held in the holding groove 342 of the second holding mechanism 340 in the vertical posture may be fitted into the holding groove 342 and difficult to come off. In such a case, the first aligning device 350 can be used to align the plurality of substrates with the first holding mechanism 330 at a predetermined position.

  First alignment device 350 moves first alignment device 350 in the direction of arrow AF23B in the state of FIGS. As a result, the first alignment device 350 comes into contact with the end portions of the plurality of substrates W held by the second holding mechanism 340, and a force in a direction to separate the plurality of substrates W from the second holding mechanism 340 is applied. Accordingly, the plurality of substrates W are pushed out in the direction of the arrow AF23B, and the plurality of substrates W are aligned by the first alignment device 350. Then, by moving the first holding mechanism 330 in the direction of the arrow AF23, the plurality of substrates W thus aligned can be moved in accordance with the operation of the first holding mechanism 330.

  Prior to this movement of the first holding mechanism 330, the second alignment device 360 can be moved to a predetermined position in the direction of the arrow AF23C as shown in FIG. The plurality of substrates W moving in the direction of the arrow AF23 can be aligned by the second alignment device 360 existing at such a position.

  As described above, by using the first alignment device 350 and the second alignment device 360, a plurality of substrates can be aligned at predetermined positions. As for other operations, the reverse conversion operation can be performed by performing the reverse operation to the forward conversion operation, and the substrate in the vertical posture can be converted into the horizontal posture.

<About the position of the delivery mechanism>
The substrate processing apparatus 1 has a delivery mechanism such as the attitude changing mechanism 300, the horizontal transfer robot 200, and the pusher 400 as described above, and processes the substrate by changing the attitude between the horizontal attitude and the vertical attitude. be able to.

  By the way, the length of the substrate processing apparatus in the arrangement direction becomes large simply by providing a conventional apparatus for performing posture change on the extension of the plurality of processing units arranged linearly. This leads to an increase in footprint, and the effective use of the clean room space cannot be achieved.

  On the other hand, the substrate processing apparatus 1 has a horizontal transfer robot 200, a posture changing mechanism 300, a pusher 400 and other delivery mechanisms on the side in the column direction of the substrate processing unit having a plurality of processing units arranged linearly. Has been placed. Therefore, an increase in length in the linear array direction (X direction) can be suppressed. In addition, since the side portion where the delivery mechanism is arranged is a space that has not been effectively used in the past, the increase in the length in the direction perpendicular to the linear arrangement direction due to the side arrangement is also suppressed. Can do. Therefore, an increase in footprint can be suppressed, and effective use of the clean room space can be achieved.

<B. Second Embodiment>
FIG. 29 is a plan view showing the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1B of the second embodiment. Similar to the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 1B includes delivery mechanisms such as the carrier mounting unit 100, the horizontal transfer robot 200, the posture changing mechanism 300, the pusher 400, and the transport mechanism 500. The substrate processing apparatus 1B further includes another delivery mechanism having a carrier placement unit 100B, a horizontal transfer robot 200B, a posture changing mechanism 300B, a pusher 400B, and a transport mechanism 500B.

  Further, the substrate processing apparatus 1B includes a substrate processing unit 600B. The substrate processing unit 600B includes a transport mechanism rinsing unit 610, a chemical solution processing unit 620B and 640B having a chemical solution tank CB for storing a chemical solution, a rinsing process unit 630B and 650B having a rinsing tank WB for storing pure water, and drying. And a processing unit 660B.

  The plurality of processing units are linearly arranged, and the transport mechanism 500 and the transport mechanism 500B described above are provided on the side of the linear array, and the substrate is transported between the processing units. Do. The transport mechanism 500 can move between the transport mechanism water washing processing unit 610 and the chemical solution processing unit 640B, and the transport mechanism 500B can move between the water washing processing unit 650B and the drying processing unit 660B.

  Further, a lifter 550B and a lifter 560B are arranged. The structure and operation thereof are the same as those of the lifter 550 and the lifter 560 in the substrate processing apparatus 1.

  In the substrate processing apparatus 1, loading and unloading of a plurality of substrates to be processed are both performed by the carrier mounting unit 100. However, in this substrate processing apparatus 1B, carrying-in and carrying-out are performed in different carrier mounting parts 100 and 100B, respectively. That is, the plurality of substrates accommodated in the carrier C loaded in the carrier platform 100 are subjected to a predetermined process, and then are accommodated in the carrier C placed on the carrier platform 100B and carried out. . Therefore, the flow of processing is limited to one direction.

  Since the transport mechanism 500 transports the substrate between the chemical solution processing units 620B and 640B, it is preferable to provide a transport mechanism water washing processing unit 610 for cleaning the holding mechanism contaminated by the chemical solution atmosphere or the like. On the other hand, the transport mechanism 500B only moves between the water washing processing unit 650B and the drying processing unit 660B, and it is not necessary to provide a transport mechanism water washing processing unit for the transport mechanism 500B. In such a case, the transport mechanism 500B can also deliver a plurality of substrates to and from the delivery mechanism above the processing unit other than the transport mechanism water washing processing unit. FIG. 29 illustrates a case where the substrate is transferred above the drying processing unit 660B.

  In this case, the pusher 400 </ b> B cannot enter the gap portion of the transport mechanism water washing processing portion like the pusher 400. In such a case, the structure of the pusher 400B must be different from the pusher 400. For example, the structure of the pusher 400B can be as follows.

  FIG. 30 shows the structure of the pusher 400B. As shown in FIG. 30, the pusher 400B includes a base 410B, a Z-direction movable portion 430B, a Y-direction expansion / contraction mechanism 420B, and a holder 440B. The Y direction expansion / contraction mechanism 420B includes Y direction movable portions 422B, 424B, 426B, and the like, and can change the Y direction position of the holder 440. With these mechanisms, the pusher 400B can transfer a plurality of substrates W to and from the transport mechanism 500B without entering the gap 614 of the transport mechanism water washing processing unit 610 like the pusher 400.

  Alternatively, the substrate can be transferred between the pusher and the transfer device by devising the shape of the Z direction movable portion 430 of the pusher 400.

<C. Other variations>
In the above embodiment, when the substrate between the pusher 400 and the transport mechanism 500 is transferred above the transport mechanism washing unit 610, each substrate surface is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the arrow AY1, as shown in FIG. Met. FIG. 31 is a plan view for explaining the delivery of the substrate between the pusher 400 and the transport mechanism 500 above the transport mechanism washing unit 610.

  However, when the pusher 400 moves, it is conceivable that the plurality of substrates swing and the substrates come into contact with each other to generate particles. In such a case, it is preferable to operate as follows.

  FIG. 32 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the pusher 400. The pusher 400 changes from the state shown in FIG. 31 to the state shown in FIG. 32 by rotating 90 degrees around the vertical axis in the direction indicated by the arrow AR1. Thus, in a state where the surface of the substrate W and the direction of the arrow AY1 are parallel, the pusher 400 moves in the direction of the arrow AY1. Then, above the transport mechanism rinsing processing unit 610, it rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow AR <b> 1 and delivers a plurality of substrates to the transport mechanism 500.

  In this case, since the surface of the substrate W and the traveling direction of the pusher 400 (the direction of the arrow AY1) are parallel, the substrate W hardly swings in the direction of the arrow AY1 even when the pusher 400 moves. Accordingly, the generation of particles can be prevented since the contact between the arranged substrates hardly occurs.

  Furthermore, with the increase in size of the substrate, the length D2 in the arrangement direction is often smaller than the length D1 in the surface direction of the substrate (see FIG. 32). 33 and 34 are front views corresponding to FIGS. 31 and 32, respectively, in such a case. In FIG. 33, when a plurality of substrates having a diameter D1 are allowed to enter between the pair of sandwiching mechanisms 520 in the Y direction, the spacing between the sandwiching mechanisms 520 needs to be slightly larger. The length that 520 occupies in the X direction is D3. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 34, when an array of a plurality of substrates rotated 90 degrees is inserted between the pair of clamping mechanisms 520, the length occupied by the pair of clamping mechanisms 520 in the X direction is D4. The value is smaller than the length D3.

  Therefore, when the plurality of substrates W are moved between the pair of holding mechanisms 520 of the transport mechanism 500 after being rotated by 90 degrees as described above, the length of the holding mechanism 520 in the X direction can be reduced. Accordingly, the length of the substrate processing apparatus in the X direction can be reduced accordingly, and there is an advantage that the entire apparatus becomes compact.

1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a partial configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1. 1 is a side view showing an internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of the posture changing mechanism 300. FIG. 4 is another longitudinal sectional view showing the structure of the posture changing mechanism 300. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a holding groove 332 of the first holding mechanism 330. FIG. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing a holding groove 342 of the second holding mechanism 340. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of a posture conversion mechanism 300 corresponding to the state of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of the posture changing mechanism 300 corresponding to the state of FIG. 9. It is a schematic plan view of the attitude | position conversion mechanism 300 corresponding to the state of FIG. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing a holding groove 342 of the second holding mechanism 340. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between a holding groove 332 of a first holding mechanism 330 and a substrate W held in a holding groove 342 of a second holding mechanism 340. FIG. 10 is a view showing the relationship between the substrate W held in the holding groove 342 of the second holding mechanism 340 and the pusher 400. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a part of a holder 440 of the pusher 400. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a posture conversion mechanism 300. FIG. FIG. 26 is a schematic plan view of the posture changing mechanism 300 corresponding to the state of FIG. 25. It is a schematic plan view of the attitude | position conversion mechanism 300 corresponding to the state of FIG. It is a top view which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus 1B which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the structure of the pusher 400B. It is a top view which shows the pusher 400 and the conveyance mechanism water washing process part 610. FIG. It is a top view which shows the pusher 400 and the conveyance mechanism water washing process part 610. FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the clamping mechanism 520 and a board | substrate corresponding to the state of FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the clamping mechanism 520 and a board | substrate corresponding to the state of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1B Substrate Processing Device 100, 100B Carrier Placement Unit 200, 200B Horizontal Transfer Robot 300, 300B Posture Change Mechanism 400, 400B Pusher 500, 500B Transport Mechanism 510 Transport Robot 520 Nipping Mechanism 550, 560 Lifter 600 Substrate Processing Unit 610 Transport mechanism rinsing unit 612a, 612b Cleaning tank 614 Gap 620, 620B Chemical solution processing unit 630, 630B Water washing processing unit 640, 640B Chemical solution processing unit 650, 650B Water washing processing unit 660, 660B Drying processing unit CB Chemical solution tank WB Water washing tank CL Control unit C carrier W substrate S biasing means

Claims (10)

A substrate processing apparatus for performing predetermined processing on a substrate,
It is configured as a linear array of a plurality of processing units, and a processing unit sequence for sequentially performing a series of processing on the substrate,
A board standby part for waiting the board in a horizontal position;
Transport means for transporting the substrate along the processing section row in a vertical posture;
A delivery unit that delivers the substrate between the transport means and the substrate standby unit;
With
The substrate standby unit has a carrier mounting unit for mounting a carrier for storing a plurality of substrates,
The delivery unit includes a posture conversion unit that converts a substrate posture between a horizontal posture and a vertical posture, and a horizontal transfer robot that transports a plurality of substrates in a horizontal posture between the carrier and the posture conversion unit; A transfer means for transferring a plurality of substrates in a vertical posture between the posture changing means and the transfer means ;
The posture changing means may have a pair of holding mechanism and a second plurality of retaining grooves are provided for holding a first plurality of retention grooves and the substrate after the substrate by keeping the substrate before the substrate treatment, A substrate processing apparatus for converting a posture of a substrate by selectively using the first or second plurality of holding grooves . A substrate processing apparatus for performing predetermined processing on a substrate,
It is configured as a linear array of a plurality of processing units, and a processing unit sequence for sequentially performing a series of processing on the substrate,
A board standby part for waiting the board in a horizontal position;
Transport means for transporting the substrate along the processing section row in a vertical posture;
A delivery unit that delivers the substrate between the transport means and the substrate standby unit;
With
The substrate standby unit has a carrier mounting unit for mounting a carrier for storing a plurality of substrates,
The delivery unit includes a posture changing means for changing the posture of a substrate, a horizontal transfer robot for transferring a plurality of substrates in a horizontal posture between the carrier and the posture changing means, and a plurality of substrates in a vertical posture. A transfer means for transferring between the posture changing means and the transfer means;
The posture changing means is located between the horizontal transfer robot and the transfer means, and transfers the plurality of substrates between the horizontal transfer robot and the transfer means, and The first plurality of holding grooves for holding the substrate before the substrate processing and the second plurality of holdings for holding the substrate after the substrate processing are for changing the posture between the horizontal posture and the vertical posture. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a pair of holding mechanisms provided with grooves, wherein the substrate posture is changed by selectively using the first or second plurality of holding grooves. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2,
When the direction of the linear array of the plurality of processing units is a first direction,
Transfer of the substrate between the carrier and the horizontal transfer robot is performed in a direction substantially parallel to the first direction,
A series of substrate transfers between the horizontal transfer robot and the posture changing means, between the posture changing means and the transfer means, and between the transfer means and the transfer means is the first direction. In a second direction substantially orthogonal to
A substrate processing apparatus. A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A substrate processing apparatus for transferring a plurality of substrates between the horizontal transfer robot and the posture changing means in a lump . A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
The substrate transfer apparatus, wherein the horizontal transfer robot moves in a horizontal direction with respect to the posture changing means when transporting a plurality of substrates in a horizontal posture to and from the posture changing means . A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
It said transfer means is a substrate processing apparatus, characterized the movable der Turkey in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction with respect to the posture changing means. A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the transfer means is movable in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction with respect to the posture changing means and is rotatable about a vertical axis . A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The substrate processing apparatus , wherein the transfer means is movable in a horizontal direction between the posture changing means and the transport means . A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The substrate processing apparatus , wherein the interval of the grooves of the transfer means is half of the interval of the holding grooves of the holding mechanism of the posture changing means . A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the delivery unit is disposed laterally in the column direction in the processing unit column.

Images