JPH1041229A - Substrate treatment equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a substrate treatment equipment which can restrain generation of dust as little as possible when a substrate is carried in a cassette and carried out from it, and improve quality of substrate treatment. SOLUTION: A plurality of cassettes C storing substrates W on multistage are statically mounted on a cassette mounting stand 3. Substrate taking-out mechanism 4 which moves along cassette mounting stand 3 is elevated, thereby taking out a substrate W from the cassette C. The substrate W is subjected to centering, and then delivered to a substrate transfer mechanism 9. A second transfer route wherein the substrate transfer mechanism 9 moves in both directions stretches in the rectangular direction from the center of a first transfer route wherein the substrate taking-out mechanism 4 runs. The substrate transfer mechanism 9 moves on the second transfer route and carried the substrates W to each substrate treatment part. When the substrate W is carried in the cassette C and carried out from it, the cassette C does not move so that generation of dust due to vibration of the cassette C is restrained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for removing a substrate from a cassette in which substrates such as semiconductor wafers are stored in multiple stages, and transporting the substrate to a substrate processing section such as a spinner section for coating a photoresist or a heat treatment section. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs required processing on a substrate in each substrate processing unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as a substrate take-out mechanism provided in this type of photoresist processing apparatus, there is the following one. For example, the cassette storing the substrates is intermittently moved up and down at the same pitch as the pitch of the substrate storage grooves in the cassette, and the presence or absence of the substrate in each groove in the cassette is detected by an optical sensor fixedly installed at a predetermined position. Go. A substrate support arm for taking substrates in and out of the cassette is configured to only move back and forth with respect to the cassette. When removing substrates from the cassette, raise and lower the cassette,
The groove where the presence of the substrate is detected is set at the height of the approach path of the substrate support arm. Subsequently, the substrate support arm enters the cassette and takes out the substrate from the cassette.

[0003]

However, the prior art having such a structure has the following problems. That is, according to the conventional apparatus, when the cassette is moved up and down, the cassette vibrates, so that the dust adhering in the cassette separates and adheres to the substrate, or the inner wall of the substrate accommodating groove and the substrate end are separated. There is an inconvenience that dust is generated due to friction. Therefore, according to the conventional photoresist processing apparatus, there is a problem that the substrate is easily contaminated by the influence of dust caused by vibration of the cassette.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and when removing the base 1 from a cassette, a substrate processing apparatus capable of minimizing generation of dust and improving the quality of substrate processing. It is intended to provide.

[0005]

The configuration of the present invention is as follows. That is, the invention according to claim 1 moves a cassette mounting portion on which a plurality of cassettes accommodating substrates in multiple stages are statically mounted and a first transport path along the cassette mounting portion, A substrate take-out mechanism for raising and lowering the height at which the cassette stores substrates in multiple stages, a positioning mechanism for performing center alignment of the substrate taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism, and a right angle from the center of the first transport path. A substrate transport mechanism for transporting the substrate in a bidirectional manner while being mounted on the substrate support arm, along a second transport path extending in the direction of the arrow, and a plurality of substrate processing units disposed along the second transport path. A substrate taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism is positioned by the positioning mechanism, and transported along the first transport path by the substrate take-out mechanism. Passing the substrate transfer mechanism, characterized by conveying to the plurality of substrate processing section of the substrate by the substrate transfer mechanism.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of cassettes for accommodating substrates in multiple stages are mounted on a cassette mounting portion stationary and a first transport path is moved along the cassette mounting portion. , A cassette take-out mechanism that raises and lowers the height of the cassette in which the substrates are stored in multiple stages, and a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element that are opposed to each other at an angle that is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction across the cassette, and can be moved up and down together An optical sensor elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the optical sensor; an alignment mechanism for aligning the center of the substrate extracted from the cassette by the substrate extracting mechanism; and a right angle from the center of the first transport path. A substrate transport mechanism for transporting the substrate in a bidirectional manner while being mounted on the substrate support arm, along a second transport path extending in the direction of the arrow, and a plurality of substrate processing units disposed along the second transport path. With a part, front A substrate taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism which has been moved up and down to a height corresponding to a substrate in the cassette detected by the optical sensor is positioned by the positioning mechanism, and the first transport path is made by the substrate take-out mechanism. , And transferred to the substrate transfer mechanism, and the substrate is transferred to the plurality of substrate processing units by the substrate transfer mechanism.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for coating a substrate with a photoresist and heat-treating the substrate, wherein a plurality of cassettes accommodating the substrates are mounted in a stationary manner. A substrate take-out mechanism that moves along a first transport path along the cassette mounting portion and raises and lowers the height at which the cassette stores substrates in multiple stages, and a center position of the substrate taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism A positioning mechanism for performing alignment, and a substrate transport that bidirectionally transports a substrate mounted on a substrate support arm along a second transport path extending in a direction perpendicular to the center of the first transport path. A mechanism, and a process unit including a plurality of substrate processing units disposed along the second transport path and having a spinner unit and a heat treatment unit. The ejected substrate is aligned by the alignment mechanism, transported along the first transport path by the substrate unloading mechanism, transferred to the substrate transport mechanism, and the substrate is processed by the substrate transport mechanism. The unit is transported to a spinner unit and a heat treatment unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for coating a substrate with a photoresist and heat-treating the substrate, wherein a plurality of cassettes accommodating the substrates in a plurality of stages are mounted stationary. And a substrate take-out mechanism that moves along the first transport path along the cassette mounting portion and raises and lowers the height at which the cassette stores substrates in multiple stages vertically, and horizontally sets the light projecting element and the light receiving element with the cassette interposed therebetween. An optical sensor mounted so as to be able to ascend and descend integrally, and an optical sensor elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the optical sensor, and center alignment of the substrate taken out of the cassette by the substrate taking out mechanism. And a substrate for bi-directionally transporting a substrate mounted on a substrate support arm along a second transport path extending in a direction perpendicular to the center of the first transport path. And a process unit including a plurality of substrate processing units disposed along the second transport path and having a spinner unit and a heat treatment unit, and a height corresponding to the substrate in the cassette detected by the optical sensor. The substrate taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism which has been moved up and down is positioned by the positioning mechanism, and is carried along the first carrying path by the substrate take-out mechanism, and delivered to the substrate carry mechanism. The substrate is transported to the spinner unit and the heat treatment unit of the process unit by the substrate transport mechanism.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the first
The substrate is transferred from the substrate take-out mechanism to the substrate transfer mechanism by setting the center of the transfer path as the substrate transfer position.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the process unit connects the plurality of substrate processing units with the substrate transfer mechanism interposed therebetween. It is characterized by being arranged in two rows along the second transport path.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the substrate unloading mechanism includes a substrate suction arm that moves back and forth toward the cassette. I do.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the substrate is a semiconductor wafer, and the alignment mechanism has substantially the same outer diameter as the substrate. A plurality of protrusions arranged to have a curvature are brought into contact with and separated from the periphery of the substrate to perform center alignment of the substrate.

[0013]

The operation of the first aspect of the invention is as follows. The substrate unloading mechanism is configured to move the first substrate along the cassette mounting portion.
After moving along the transport path, it comes to a position facing a predetermined cassette. Subsequently, the substrate unloading mechanism moves up and down,
The substrate is taken out of the cassette. An alignment mechanism aligns the center of the taken-out substrate. The substrate unloading mechanism moves along the first transport path and delivers the aligned substrate to the substrate transport mechanism. The substrate transport mechanism transports the substrate along a second transport path extending in a direction perpendicular to the center of the first transport path with the substrate placed on the substrate support arm, and along the second transport path. The substrate is delivered to each disposed substrate processing unit. Since the cassette does not move when removing the substrate from the cassette, the generation of dust due to the vibration of the cassette is suppressed.

The operation of the invention described in claim 2 is as follows. First, the optical sensor elevating mechanism raises and lowers the optical sensor, and the optical sensor detects a substrate in the cassette. After the substrate unloading mechanism moves along the first transport path and reaches a position facing the cassette, the substrate unloading mechanism moves up and down to a height corresponding to the detected substrate,
The substrate is taken out of the cassette. The taken-out substrate is center-aligned by the alignment mechanism, and the substrate transport mechanism transports the substrate along the first transport path and transfers the substrate to the substrate transport mechanism. The substrate transport mechanism transports the substrate along the second transport path and transfers the substrate to each substrate processing unit. Since the cassette does not move at the time of detecting the substrate in the cassette and removing the substrate from the cassette, the generation of dust due to the vibration of the cassette is further suppressed.

The operation of the third aspect of the present invention is the first aspect of the present invention.
This is the same as the operation of the invention described in (1). In particular, in the present invention,
It is taken out of the cassette by the board taking out mechanism,
The substrate transfer mechanism transfers and transfers the aligned substrate to a spinner unit and a heat treatment unit arranged along the second transfer path.

The operation of the invention described in claim 4 is the same as that of claim 2
This is the same as the operation of the invention described in (1). In particular, in the present invention,
It is taken out of the cassette by the board taking out mechanism,
The substrate transfer mechanism transfers and transfers the aligned substrate to a spinner unit and a heat treatment unit arranged along the second transfer path.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the substrate taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism and aligned is transferred to the center position of the first transfer path by the substrate take-out mechanism. To transfer it to the substrate transport mechanism.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the substrate transport mechanism transports the substrate to the plurality of substrate processing units divided and arranged in two rows along the second transport path.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, after the substrate removing mechanism moves up and down to a position facing the substrate to be removed from the cassette, the substrate suction arm advances toward the cassette to suction the substrate, Subsequently, the substrate is taken out of the cassette by retreating.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the center of the substrate is aligned by a plurality of protrusions coming into contact with and separating from the periphery of the substrate taken out of the cassette.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus as an embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is an apparatus for coating a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or the like with a photoresist or the like and heat-treating the substrate.
1 and a substrate loading / unloading unit 1 for loading and unloading a substrate W into the cassette C, and a process unit 2 for performing required processing on the substrate W taken out of the cassette C.

As shown in the plan views of FIGS. 4 and 5,
A plurality of cassettes C for accommodating the substrates W in multiple stages are installed on the cassette mounting table 3 of the substrate loading / unloading unit 1, and a main portion of the substrate detection device is provided inside the cassette mounting table 3. Have been. Substrate loading / unloading unit 1
Is provided with a substrate unloading mechanism 4 that moves horizontally along the cassette installation table 3.

The substrate unloading mechanism 4 has a substrate suction arm 5 which can be moved up and down and moved back and forth (vertically in FIG. 5). The substrate suction arm 5 can be used to take out the substrate W stored in the groove in each cassette C. Alternatively, the processed substrates W are stored in the cassette C.

The substrate take-out mechanism 4 has a movable up and down 3 supporting the substrate W taken out by the substrate suction arm 5.
Of support pins ₆₁ through 65 _3, and the support pins ₆₁ through 65
Positioning plates 7 ₁ , 7 _2, etc., for centering the substrate W supported by ₃ are provided. Positioning plate 7
There are a plurality of protrusions 8 arranged on the _first and the _second 72 so as to have substantially the same curvature as the outer diameter of the substrate W.
_The horizontal reciprocation of the _first and the _second 72 causes the protrusions 8 to come into contact with and separate from the periphery of the substrate W, thereby performing the center position adjustment of the substrate W.

The cassette C is moved by the substrate take-out mechanism 4.
The substrate W taken out of the substrate and aligned is moved by the substrate take-out mechanism 4 to a substrate delivery position (P in FIG. 4).
Is transferred to the substrate transfer mechanism 9 provided in the process unit 2.

The substrate transport mechanism 9 transports the substrate W while the substrate W is mounted on the U-shaped substrate support arm 10, and spinner units 11 ₁ , 11 provided in the process unit 2.
₂ and, going sequentially setting the substrate W to the thermal processing unit 12 ₁ to 12 _3. The substrate W processed in the process unit 2 is
At the substrate transfer position P, after being transferred from the substrate transfer mechanism 9 to the substrate removal mechanism 4, the substrate is returned to the cassette C by the substrate removal mechanism 4.

An example of the substrate detecting device provided in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of the substrate detection device, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 02-02 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 03-03 of FIG.

Each of the cassettes C mounted on the cassette mounting table 3 is provided with a U-shaped bracket 21 which can be moved up and down, and a substrate W stored in the cassette C is provided at the tip of the bracket 21. An optical sensor 24 including a light projecting element 22 and a light receiving element 23 for detecting the light is mounted. The light projecting element 22 and the light receiving element 23 are attached at an angle (for example, 2 to 3 degrees) at which the optical axis is slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal direction, so that the irradiation light from the light projecting element 22 is applied to the substrate W. Even if the substrate W is not narrowed down to the thickness or less, a light-shielding / light-transmitting state can be obtained depending on the presence or absence of the substrate W.

As shown in FIG. 2, below the cassette mounting table 3, an optical sensor
There is an optical sensor raising / lowering mechanism 25 for raising / lowering the 24. The optical sensor elevating mechanism 25 includes a rodless cylinder 26 and a guide rod 27 which are supported side by side on the support plate 20 in the vertical direction, and a movable member 28 slidably fitted therein is attached to the cassette mounting table 3.
Is connected to the bracket 21 via a vertical member 29 penetrating through. When air is supplied from the upper and lower ends of the rodless cylinder 26 to move a magnet (not shown) in the rodless cylinder 26 up and down, the movable member 28 moves up and down, thereby causing the optical sensor attached to the bracket 21 to move. 24 moves up and down along the cassette C.
The optical sensor elevating mechanism 25 is not limited to the rodless cylinder 26 described above, but may be configured by a normal air cylinder, a screw feed mechanism using a motor, or the like.

A comb-shaped pitch member 30 is vertically connected to the movable member 28. The pitch member 30 is formed with the same number of slits 31 as detection sites at the same pitch as the storage grooves of the cassette C. In order to detect each slit 31 of the pitch member 30, a timing detection sensor 32 such as a photo interrupter is attached to the support plate 20. The pitch member 30 and the timing detection sensor 32 described above correspond to timing generation means and also to height detection means.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a control system of the above-described substrate detecting apparatus. The optical sensor 24 for detecting the substrate, the timing detection sensor 32, and the optical sensor elevating mechanism 25 are connected to the CPU 34 via the input / output interface 33.
It is connected to the. The CPU 34 corresponds to a memory control unit, and includes the optical sensor 24 and the timing detection sensor 32.
The presence / absence information of the substrate is written into the memory 35 as a storage means based on the detection signal from the CPU.

The operation of the present embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Step S1: Prior to the detection of the substrate in the cassette C, C
The PU 34 sets the count value N of the internal counter to an initial value.
Here, the count value N is set to “0”.

Step S2: A command for raising the optical sensor 24 is issued to the optical sensor lifting mechanism 25. Here, the optical sensor 24
Is set at the lower end of the cassette C. When a command to raise the optical sensor 24 is issued, the rodless cylinder 26 of the optical sensor lifting mechanism 25 is driven, and the bracket 21 to which the optical sensor 24 is attached is continuously driven from the lower end to the upper end of the cassette C. At the same time, the pitch member 30 rises accordingly.

Step S3: After issuing a command to raise the optical sensor 24, the CPU 34 monitors whether or not the timing detection sensor 32 has entered the light transmitting state, that is, whether or not the slit 31 of the pitch member 30 has been detected.

Step S4: When the slit 31 is detected,
By adding "1" to the count value N (initial value "0" at start-up), the address A of the memory 35 for writing the board presence / absence information is designated. The address A _i specified when N = i corresponds to the substrate storage groove at the i-th stage from the bottom of the cassette C.

[0037] Step S5, S6: Then, captures the detection signals from the light sensor 24, the address A ₁ region of memory 35 corresponding to the current count value N (= 1), obtained from the detection signal of the optical sensor 24 The information on the presence / absence of the given substrate is written. Here, if there is a substrate, “1” is set, and if there is no substrate,
“0” is written.

[0038] Step S7: Next, the count value N is, determines whether it is the numerical value N ₀ defined in accordance with the number of the cassette C. If the count value N has become N ₀ , it means that the presence or absence of the substrate has been confirmed for all the grooves in the cassette C, and the processing is terminated. If the count N is not N _0, the process proceeds to step S8.

Step S8: Here, it is confirmed whether the slit 31 detected in step S3 has passed. That is, if the timing detection sensor 32 is in the light-shielded state, it means that it has passed the slit 31 detected in step S3, so the flow returns to step S3 to monitor whether the next slit 31 is detected. And the same processing is repeated. As described above, for all the grooves in the cassette C, the information indicating the presence or absence of the substrate is written in the predetermined address area of the memory 35.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 4, while the substrate W is being taken out from a certain cassette C, the other substrate C is subjected to the above-described substrate detection processing, whereby each cassette C Information on the presence or absence of the substrate is collected in advance. When the substrate in the next cassette C is to be taken out by the substrate take-out mechanism 4, the substrate presence / absence information of the cassette C stored in the memory 35 is sequentially read out, and the groove in the cassette C in which the substrate W is placed is read. Then, the substrate W is taken out by continuously moving the substrate suction arm 5 up and down to the position of the groove.

As described above, if the optical sensor 24 is continuously raised and lowered in advance, the presence / absence information of the substrate of the cassette C is collected, and the substrate suction arm 5 is driven based on the collected information. Compared to the conventional method of checking the presence or absence of a substrate for each groove in the cassette C while intermittently feeding the sensor and taking out the substrate, the time required for taking out the substrate is shortened. The processing speed can be improved.

The present invention can be modified as follows. (1) In the embodiment, an apparatus for applying a photoresist to a semiconductor wafer has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, and is used for processing various substrates contained in a cassette, such as a substrate for a liquid crystal display. be able to.

(2) In the embodiment, the pitch member 30 is moved as the optical sensor 24 moves up and down, and the slit 31 of the pitch member 30 is detected by the timing detection sensor 32 fixed and installed.
In this case, the pitch member 30 may be fixedly installed and the timing detection sensor 32 may be moved.

(3) The timing generating means is not limited to the pitch member 30 in which the slit 31 is formed as in the embodiment. For example, a protrusion corresponding to the groove of the cassette C may be formed on the pitch member. The protrusion may be detected by a proximity switch or the like.

(4) Further, when the cassette C is transferred to another apparatus, the presence / absence information of the substrate written in the memory 35 of the embodiment apparatus is transferred to the next apparatus with the transfer of the cassette C. You may make it transmit and use.

(5) The present invention is characterized in that the presence or absence of a substrate in the cassette is detected without moving the cassette containing the substrate up and down, and the substrate is loaded / unloaded to / from the cassette based on the detection. Therefore, the mechanism for detecting the presence / absence of a substrate in the cassette is not limited to that of the embodiment. For example, the presence or absence of a substrate in the cassette may be detected without moving the cassette by intermittently feeding the substrate detection optical sensor up and down along the cassette using a pulse motor.

[0047]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention has the following effects. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate is taken out of the cassette while the cassette is stationary and transported to a plurality of substrate processing units. There is no problem of adhesion, and the quality of substrate processing can be improved.

According to the present invention, the arrangement of the plurality of cassettes placed on the cassette mounting section and the arrangement of the plurality of substrate processing sections arranged along the second transport path are at right angles. Since the plurality of cassettes and the plurality of substrate processing units are arranged in a row in a row, the substrate processing apparatus can be made more compact.

Further, according to the present invention, since the second transport path extends at a right angle from the center of the first transport path, the substrates taken out from the cassettes arranged along the first transport path are taken out of the substrate. There is no large deviation between cassettes in the time required for the mechanism to transfer it to the substrate transport mechanism. On the other hand, if the second transport section extends at a right angle from one end of the first transport path, the substrate removal mechanism sends the substrate removed from the cassette at the other end of the first transport path to the substrate transport mechanism. The time required for the transfer is longer than that of the cassette near one end of the first transport unit. Such a variation in the time required for the delivery of the substrate adversely affects the smooth transport of the substrate. According to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the variation in the time required for transferring such a substrate.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the substrate in the cassette is detected while the cassette is stationary,
In addition to the effects of the first aspect of the present invention, the generation of dust associated with substrate detection can be suppressed, and the quality of substrate processing can be further improved.

According to the invention described in claim 3, according to claim 1
The same effect as the invention described in (1) can be obtained. In particular, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the quality of each of the coating process of the photoresist on the substrate and the heat treatment of the substrate.

According to the invention described in claim 4, according to claim 2
The same effect as the invention described in (1) can be obtained. In particular, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the quality of each of the coating process of the photoresist on the substrate and the heat treatment of the substrate.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the center of the first transport path is at the substrate transfer position, in addition to the effects of the first to fourth aspects, the time required for the substrate transfer is obtained. Can be further reduced.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of substrate processing units are divided and arranged in two rows along the second transport path. in addition,
Each substrate processing unit can be efficiently arranged, and the substrate processing apparatus can be configured more compactly.

According to the invention of claim 7, according to claim 1,
In addition to the effects of the inventions of (4) to (4), the substrate in the cassette can be easily removed by the substrate suction arm provided in the substrate removal mechanism.

According to the invention described in claim 8, according to claim 1
In addition to the effects of the fourth to fourth aspects, a plurality of protrusions come into contact with and separate from the periphery of the substrate taken out of the cassette, so that the center position of the substrate can be accurately adjusted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing a substrate detecting device in a cassette in an apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 02-02 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along arrow 03-03 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing an example of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a plan view of a substrate loading / unloading unit of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a control system of the embodiment device.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart.

[Explanation of symbols]

C ... cassette W ... substrate 1 ... substrate loading and unloading unit 2 ... process unit 3 ... cassette table 4 ... substrate takeout mechanism 5 ... substrate suction arm (substrate support arms) 9 ... substrate transport mechanism 11 _1, 11 ₂ ... spinner portion 12 _{1 to} 12 ₃ … Heat treatment unit 24… Optical sensor 22… Light emitting element 23… Light receiving element 25… Optical sensor elevating mechanism 30… Pitch member (timing generating means) 32… Timing detection sensor (timing generating means) 34… CPU ( Memory control means) 35 ... Memory (storage means)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takeo Okamoto 322 Hashizushi Furukawa-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Address Dainichi Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Claims (8)

[Claims] A cassette mounting section for stationaryly mounting a plurality of cassettes for accommodating substrates in multiple stages; and a first transport path along the cassette mounting section, wherein the cassette moves the substrates up and down in multiple stages. A substrate take-out mechanism that raises and lowers the height of the substrate to be stored in the cassette; a positioning mechanism that centers the substrates taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism; and a direction perpendicular to the center of the first transport path. Second
A substrate transport mechanism that bidirectionally transports a substrate mounted on a substrate support arm along a transport path; and a plurality of substrate processing units disposed along the second transport path; The substrate taken out of the cassette is positioned by the positioning mechanism, and transported along the first transport path by the substrate removal mechanism, transferred to the substrate transport mechanism, and the substrate is transported by the substrate transport mechanism. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate is transported to the plurality of substrate processing units. 2. A cassette mounting section for stationaryly mounting a plurality of cassettes for accommodating substrates in multiple stages, and moving along a first transport path along the cassette mounting section, wherein the cassette vertically moves substrates in multiple stages. A substrate take-out mechanism that raises and lowers the storage height of the substrate, an optical sensor in which the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element are arranged to face each other at an angle inclined with respect to the horizontal direction across the cassette, and are integrally mounted so as to be vertically movable; An optical sensor elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the optical sensor; an alignment mechanism for aligning the center of the substrate taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism; and a second member extending in a direction perpendicular to the center of the first transport path. 2
Along the transport path, a substrate transport mechanism that transports the substrate in a bi-directional manner while being mounted on the substrate support arm, and a plurality of substrate processing units disposed along the second transport path, wherein the optical sensor The substrate taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism which has been moved up and down to the height corresponding to the substrate in the detected cassette is positioned by the positioning mechanism, and is moved along the first transport path by the substrate take-out mechanism. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate is transferred to the substrate transfer mechanism, and the substrate is transferred to the plurality of substrate processing units by the substrate transfer mechanism. 3. A substrate processing apparatus for coating a substrate with a photoresist and heat-treating the substrate, comprising: a cassette mounting portion for stationaryly mounting a plurality of cassettes accommodating substrates in multiple stages; A substrate take-out mechanism that moves along a first transport path along the cassette and raises and lowers a height at which the cassette stores substrates in multiple stages, and a positioning mechanism that centers the substrates taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism. A second extending from a central portion of the first transport path in a direction perpendicular to the first transport path;
A substrate transport mechanism that bidirectionally transports the substrate mounted on the substrate support arm along the transport path; and a plurality of substrate processing units that are disposed along the second transport path and that include a spinner unit and a heat treatment unit. A substrate unit taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism, while the substrate taking-out mechanism aligns the substrate by the positioning mechanism, and carries the substrate along the first carrying path by the substrate take-out mechanism. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate is transferred to a mechanism, and the substrate is transported to a spinner section and a heat treatment section of the process unit by the substrate transport mechanism. 4. A substrate processing apparatus for coating a substrate with a photoresist and heat-treating the substrate, comprising: a cassette mounting portion for stationaryly mounting a plurality of cassettes accommodating substrates in multiple stages; A substrate taking-out mechanism that moves up and down the height of the cassette in which the substrates are stored in multiple stages by moving the first transport path along the axis; An optical sensor mounted so as to be capable of ascending and descending integrally, an optical sensor elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the optical sensor, and a positioning mechanism for aligning the center of the substrate taken out from the cassette by the substrate taking out mechanism, A second extending in a direction perpendicular to the center of the first transport path;
A substrate transport mechanism that bidirectionally transports the substrate mounted on the substrate support arm along the transport path; and a plurality of substrate processing units that are disposed along the second transport path and that include a spinner unit and a heat treatment unit. A process unit comprising a unit, while aligning the substrate taken out of the cassette by the substrate take-out mechanism raised and lowered to a height corresponding to the substrate in the cassette detected by the optical sensor by the positioning mechanism, Substrate processing, wherein the substrate is transported along the first transport path by the substrate unloading mechanism and transferred to the substrate transport mechanism, and the substrate is transported to the spinner unit and the heat treatment unit of the process unit by the substrate transport mechanism. apparatus. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a substrate is transferred from the substrate take-out mechanism to the substrate transfer mechanism with a center of the first transfer path being a substrate transfer position. A substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit moves the plurality of substrate processing units along the second transport path with the substrate transport mechanism interposed therebetween. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is divided into two rows and arranged. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate unloading mechanism includes a substrate suction arm that moves back and forth toward a cassette. 8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is a semiconductor wafer, and said positioning mechanism is arranged to have substantially the same curvature as an outer diameter of said substrate. A plurality of protrusions contacting and separating from the periphery of the substrate to perform center alignment of the substrate.