JP2005277316A - Supporting method and conveying robot for substrate, and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate supporting technique for supporting a substrate without giving large stress load to the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: Outside bags 54a and inside bags 54b are attached on the upper surfaces of supporting arms 53b supporting the substrate W. Each bag 54a, 54b is made by forming a sheet material, which is relatively easy to deform, into a hollow bag shape capable of swelling/shrinking, and has a plurality of fine jet holes. Air is supplied from an air supply source 57 to each bag 54a, 54b via a pipe 56 and a line 55 to swell the bag 54a, 54b, from which the air jet out through the jet holes bored on the bag 54a, 54b at the same time. When the substrate W is supported at its under surface by the supporting arms 53b, each air bag 54a, 54b, swelled by air pressure to become similar to an air cushion, deforms slightly while jetting the air to form a large pressure-bearing area on which the substrate W is supported in a non-contact manner. The stress load applied to the substrate W is, therefore, reduced substantially. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate support technology for supporting a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”).

  In a substrate processing apparatus that performs photolithography processing or the like on a liquid crystal glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer, a transport robot sequentially transports the substrate to a processing unit that performs various processing. There are various methods in which the transfer robot holds the substrate. As a typical example, a method in which the substrate is supported from the lower surface by a support pin provided on a support arm is known. In particular, a liquid crystal glass substrate having a large planar size is often held and transported by this method (for example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, a method in which the lower surface of the substrate is vacuum-sucked to securely hold the substrate is also used (for example, see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-11992 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-268829

  However, in the system in which the substrate is transported by the support arm provided with the support pins, since the support pins support the substrate from the lower surface by point contact (pin point), a large stress concentration occurs at the contact point. When the object to be conveyed is a glass substrate, cracks may occur due to stress concentration due to point support of the support pins. In the case of a glass substrate, there is a problem that once a crack occurs, it easily propagates and damages the substrate.

  In recent years, the enlargement of the liquid crystal glass substrate has been rapidly progressing, and a seventh generation (1800 mm × 2200 mm) large glass substrate is about to be put into practical use. In such a large glass substrate, in order to reduce stress concentration as much as possible, the substrate is held by a large number of support pins provided on a plurality of support arms, but the support arm is held in contact with the lower surface of the substrate. In the initial stage, only some of the support pins may come into contact with each other due to the bending of the substrate or the slight inclination of the support arm. In this case, at the point where a part of the support pins comes into contact, a large stress concentration occurs and the substrate is easily damaged.

  On the other hand, the method of holding the substrate by vacuum suction has a problem that the suction site is easily contaminated. For this reason, it is difficult to adopt the vacuum suction method particularly when the substrate is transported with the pattern formation surface as the lower surface.

  In order to solve such a problem of substrate support by the contact method, a technique for holding the substrate in a non-contact manner such as an electrostatic method or a hydrostatic pressure method has been considered. The electrostatic system supports the substrate in a non-contact manner by static electricity, but there is a concern that the static electricity may adversely affect the elements on the substrate, and that the particles are attracted by the static electricity. On the other hand, the hydrostatic pressure method is to lift and support the substrate by blowing out a clean gas. However, particles may be wound up by the gas or a thermal effect may occur only on the part where the airflow hits. In addition, in the initial stage of holding the substrate, the entire substrate cannot be lifted and supported uniformly, and there is a problem that any blowout nozzle and the substrate come into contact with each other and damage the portion.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate support technology that can support a substrate without giving a large stress load to the substrate.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to a first aspect of the present invention, in a substrate support method for supporting a substrate from the lower surface, the substrate is supported from the lower surface via a bulging bag body that ejects gas from a plurality of holes.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate transport robot for holding and transporting a substrate, a support arm that supports the substrate from the lower surface, and an inflatable / shrinkable bag body that is attached to the support arm and has a plurality of holes. And a gas supply means for supplying a gas into the bag body.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate transfer robot according to the second aspect of the present invention, the total area of the plurality of holes is 5% to 30% of the surface area of the bag.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate transfer robot according to the second or third aspect of the present invention, each of the plurality of holes has a hole diameter of 1 μm to 100 μm.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate transfer robot according to any one of the second to fourth aspects of the present invention, when the substrate is supported by the support arm, the bag is located outside the peripheral edge of the substrate. The body hardness is higher than the hardness of the bag body located on the inner side, or the height from the upper surface of the support arm of the bag body located outside the peripheral edge of the substrate is higher than the height of the bag body located on the inner side. doing.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process on a substrate, a processing unit that performs the predetermined process, and a substrate transfer robot according to any one of the second to fifth aspects of the present invention, Is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the substrate is supported from the lower surface via the bulged bag body that ejects gas from the plurality of holes, the bag body such as an air cushion is slightly deformed to increase the pressure receiving area. Thus, the substrate is supported in a non-contact manner, and the substrate can be supported without applying a large stress load to the substrate.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the support arm that supports the substrate from the lower surface, the inflatable bag body that is attached to the support arm and has a plurality of holes, and gas is introduced into the bag body. And a gas supply means for supplying the substrate, so that the substrate can be supported from the lower surface through the bulged bag body that ejects gas from a plurality of holes, and as a result, the bag body such as an air cushion is slightly deformed. The substrate is supported in a non-contact manner with a large pressure receiving area, and the substrate can be supported without applying a large stress load to the substrate.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 3, since the total area of the plurality of holes is 5% or more and 30% or less of the surface area of the bag body, the bag body that swells while the gas is ejected from the plurality of holes is surely provided. Can be realized.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the hole diameter of each of the plurality of holes is set to 1 μm or more and 100 μm or less, it is possible to reliably realize a bag body that swells while ejecting gas from the plurality of holes. it can.

  According to the invention of claim 5, when the substrate is supported by the support arm, the hardness of the bag body located outside the peripheral edge portion of the substrate is made higher than the hardness of the bag body located inside. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the substrate from sliding in the horizontal direction due to the portion of the outer position with high hardness. Alternatively, it is possible to prevent the substrate from sliding in the horizontal direction by making the height of the bag body located on the outer side from the upper surface of the support arm higher than that of the bag body located on the inner side.

  According to the invention of claim 6, the substrate processing apparatus includes the processing unit that performs a predetermined process and the substrate transfer robot according to any of claims 2 to 5. The substrate can be supported and transported without applying a stress load.

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

<1. Overall configuration of substrate processing apparatus>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus is a coater / developer apparatus in which a plurality of processing units are connected to enable consistent processing. The substrate processing apparatus is connected to an exposure machine 50, a titler 60, and an edge exposure machine 70, and resists in a photolithography process. It enables continuous cleaning from pre-coating cleaning to resist coating / exposure / development. The substrate to be processed by the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment is a liquid crystal glass substrate.

  The substrate processing apparatus mainly processes each of the indexer unit 2, the cleaning unit 10, the dehydration bake units 20a and 20b, the resist coating unit 30, the prebake units 40a and 40b, the development unit 80, the post bake units 90a and 90b, and the air cooling unit 99. Unit and transfer robots 4a to 4e. A cleaning unit 10, a post-bake unit 90b, a dehydration bake unit 20a, a resist coating unit 30, a pre-bake unit 40a, and the like are arranged on the going line from the indexer unit 2 to the exposure device 50 shown in the lower side of the drawing in FIG. On the other hand, a prebake unit 40b, a developing unit 80, a dewatering bake unit 20b, a post bake unit 90a, an air cooling unit 99, and the like are arranged on the return line from the exposure device 50 shown in the upper side of the drawing in FIG.

  In the vicinity of the transfer robot 4e, buffer units 8a to 8c are provided that serve as delivery places or temporary save places when the substrate is delivered to the exposure device 50. This substrate processing apparatus is of a unicassette type, takes out the liquid crystal glass substrate from the cassette 3 placed on the indexer unit 2 and sends it to each processing unit, and stores the substrate after each processing step in the same cassette 3. The removal from the cassette 3 and the storage in the cassette 3 are performed by an indexer robot 2a that includes a pivotable arm that holds the substrate and is movable along the row of the cassette 3.

  The cleaning unit 10 is a continuous single wafer processing unit, and includes a carry-in unit 12, a cleaning unit 13, a droplet removing unit 14, and a carry-out unit 15. In addition, a UV ozone cleaning chamber 11 is provided above the carry-in unit 12. That is, the UV ozone cleaning chamber 11 is stacked on the cleaning unit 10. The substrate is transferred from the UV ozone cleaning chamber 11 to the carry-in section 12 by the indexer robot 2a. From the carry-in unit 12 to the carry-out unit 15, processing such as cleaning and droplet removal is performed while the substrate is conveyed by a conveyor. In the cleaning unit 13, cleaning is performed with a brush, ultrasonic wave, high-pressure spray, or the like using pure water or a chemical solution. In addition, the roller conveyor with few dust generation properties corresponding to the inside of a clean room is employ | adopted.

  The dewatering bake units 20a and 20b are units in which stationary processing chambers, conveyor chambers (conveying chambers), and passage chambers are stacked in multiple stages. The dehydration bake unit 20a is a unit in which the chambers are stacked in multiple stages from the bottom in the order of the cooling chamber, the carry-in conveyor chamber, the carry-out conveyor chamber, the cooling chamber, and the adhesion reinforcement chamber. The dewatering bake unit 20b is arranged on a return line on the opposite side of the dewatering bake unit 20a with the transfer robot 4b in between. Is a unit that is stacked. A plurality of placement units are provided in the buffer chamber so that a plurality of substrates can be stored. A conveyor is provided in each of the carry-in conveyor chamber, the carry-out conveyor chamber, and the passage chamber. The height level of the carry-in conveyor chamber 21 of the dewatering bake unit 20 a is the same as the height level of the carry-out portion 15 of the cleaning unit 10.

  The resist coating unit 30 is a single-wafer processing unit, and includes a carry-in unit 31, a spin coater unit 32, a leveling processing unit 33, an edge rinse unit 34, and a carry-out unit 35. The height level of the carry-in part 31 is the same as the height level of the carry-out conveyor chamber of the dewatering bake unit 20a. From the carry-in unit 31 to the carry-out unit 35, the substrate is transported by the sliders 5a to 5d that sequentially feed the substrate to the adjacent processing unit.

  The pre-bake units 40a and 40b are obtained by stacking a stationary processing chamber and a transfer chamber in multiple stages. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the pre-bake units 40a and 40b. The pre-baking unit 40a has a plurality of chambers in the order of a cooling chamber (CP) 43a, an empty chamber, a carry-in conveyor chamber (IN C / V) 41, a cooling chamber (CP) 43b, and a heating chamber (HP) 42a from the bottom. It is a stacked unit. The pre-baking unit 40b is disposed on the return line opposite to the pre-baking unit 40a with the transfer robot 4c interposed therebetween. From the bottom, the cooling chamber (CP) 43c, the passage chamber (THROUGH C / V) 44, the empty room, This is a unit in which two heating chambers (HP) 42b and 42c are stacked in order. A conveyor is provided in each of the carry-in conveyor chamber 41 and the passage chamber 44. The height level of the carry-in conveyor chamber 41 of the pre-bake unit 40 a is the same as the height level of the carry-out portion 35 of the resist coating unit 30.

  The developing unit 80 is a continuous single-wafer processing unit, and includes a carry-in unit 81, a developing unit 82, a water washing unit 83, a drying unit 84, and a carry-out unit 85. From the carry-in part 81 to the carry-out part 85, the substrate is conveyed in the horizontal direction by a conveyor. The height level of the carry-in part 81 is the same as the height level of the passage chamber 44 of the pre-bake unit 40b.

  The post bake units 90a and 90b are units in which stationary processing chambers, transfer chambers, and passage chambers are stacked in multiple stages. The post-bake unit 90a is a unit in which a plurality of chambers are stacked in the order of a cooling chamber, a carry-in conveyor chamber, a carry-out conveyor chamber, and two heating chambers from the bottom. The post-bake unit 90b is arranged on the outgoing line opposite to the post-bake unit 90a across the transfer robot 4a. From the bottom, the post-bake unit 90b is arranged in multiple stages in the order of cooling chamber, passage chamber, buffer chamber, empty chamber, and heating chamber. It is a unit with chambers stacked. A plurality of placement units are provided in the buffer chamber so that a plurality of substrates can be stored. A conveyor is provided in each of the carry-in conveyor chamber, the carry-out conveyor chamber, and the passage chamber. The height level of the carry-in conveyor chamber of the post-bake unit 90a is the same as the height level of the passage chamber of the dewatering bake unit 20b, the carry-out portion 85 of the developing unit 80, and the passage chamber 44 of the pre-bake unit 40b. Further, the height level of the carry-out conveyor chamber of the post bake unit 90a is the same as the height level of the air cooling unit 99.

  The transfer robots 4a to 4e are so-called cluster type robots that can turn but do not have a mechanism that moves in the horizontal direction. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the transfer robot 4c. The transfer robot 4c includes a trunk portion 51 that can turn and move up and down, a segment portion 52 that extends from the trunk portion 51 and performs a bending and stretching operation, and a holding portion 53 that is attached to the tip of the segment portion 52 and holds a substrate. ing. The holding portion 53 faces the pre-baking unit 40a or the pre-baking unit 40b by turning the body portion 51 as indicated by an arrow AR31 in FIG. Further, as the body portion 51 is raised and lowered, the holding portion 53 is raised and lowered to the height position of each chamber stacked in multiple stages as indicated by an arrow AR21 in FIG. Further, when the segment portion 52 performs a bending / extending operation, the holding portion 53 moves back and forth in the horizontal direction as indicated by an arrow AR32 in FIG. By such each operation, the transfer robot 4c turns and moves up and down to each chamber stacked in multiple stages on the pre-bake units 40a and 40b, and moves the holding portion 53 forward and backward and the body portion 51. By moving up and down, the substrate W is replaced or delivered to move the substrate. The transfer robot 4c includes two holding portions 53 that are vertically separated from each other by a predetermined interval, and each of them is moved forward and backward independently from each other by separate segment portions 52 provided on a common body portion 51. An arm type configuration is adopted (see FIG. 2). The other transfer robots 4a, 4b, 4d, and 4e have the same configuration as the transfer robot 4c and perform the same operation.

  The sliders 5 a to 5 d slide the position of the substrate W by a predetermined distance with respect to one direction by a rectangular motion, and are provided between the respective parts of the resist coating unit 30. For example, the slider 5a disposed between the carry-in unit 31 and the spin coater unit 32 spreads both arms, scoops up the substrate W from the carry-in unit 31, moves horizontally to the spin coater unit 32, and lowers the substrate W. When the sliders 5a to 5d are repeated, the substrates W are sequentially transported from the carry-in unit 31 to the carry-out unit 35.

<2. Configuration of holding unit of transfer robot>
Next, the configuration of the holding unit of the transfer robots 4a to 4e will be described in more detail. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the holding unit 53 of the transfer robot 4c. The other transfer robots 4a, 4b, 4d, and 4e are also provided with similar holding units. As shown in the figure, the holding portion 53 of the present embodiment is configured by arranging four support arms 53b in parallel with each other on a base portion 53a. Each support arm 53b is a bar-shaped member having a rectangular cross section. Note that the number of support arms 53b is not limited to four, and may be set according to the size of the substrate W to be transported. Further, the length of each support arm 53b may be set to a value corresponding to the size of the substrate W.

  A plurality of bag bodies 54 are attached to the upper surface of each support arm 53b. In the example of the present embodiment, five bag bodies 54 are attached to each support arm 53b at substantially equal intervals, and the entire holding portion 53 is provided with 20 bag bodies 54. Two types of bag bodies 54 are provided. When the substrate W is supported by the holding portion 53, the outer bag body 54 a positioned at the peripheral edge of the substrate W and the inner bag body 54 b positioned inside the substrate W are provided. And are provided. In this specification, when the outer bag body 54a and the inner bag body 54b are not particularly distinguished from each other, they are collectively referred to as a bag body 54.

  Each bag 54 is formed by forming a sheet-like material that is relatively easily deformed into a hollow inflatable bag. As the material of the bag body 54, for example, an expanded body such as expanded fluororesin or rubber, or a cloth can be used, or a cloth-coated resin or foamed rubber may be used. Each bag 54 is provided with a plurality of fine ejection holes for ejecting fluid. The diameter of each ejection hole is 1 μm or more and 100 μm or less. In each bag 54, the total area of the plurality of ejection holes is set to be 5% to 30% of the surface area of the bag 54, that is, the hole density is set to 5% to 30%.

  FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing the configuration of the support arm 53b. Five bags 54 are attached to the upper surface of the support arm 53b that supports the substrate W from the lower surface. A pipe 55 through which a fluid can pass is formed inside the support arm 53b. The pipeline 55 is formed along the longitudinal direction of the rod-like support arm 53b. Inside the support arm 53b, the pipe line 55 is branched into a plurality of branch paths (in this example, five branch paths), and the tip of each branch path is the upper surface of the support arm 53b and the bag body 54 is attached. Open to position. Therefore, the pipe line 55 is connected in communication with the internal space of each of the five bag bodies 54 attached to the upper surface of the support arm 53b.

  On the other hand, the base end portion of the pipe 55 is connected to an air supply source 57 through a pipe 56. The air supply source 57 only needs to supply clean air, and may be provided in the substrate processing apparatus itself, or may be a utility of a factory where the substrate processing apparatus is installed. An air valve 56a, a flow rate adjustment valve 56b, a filter 56c, and a pump 56d are interposed in the middle of the route of the pipe 56. By opening the air valve 56 a and operating the pump 56 d, the air supplied from the air supply source 57 is supplied to the pipeline 55 through the pipe 56. At this time, particles or the like are removed from the supplied air by the filter 56c, and the air is adjusted to a predetermined flow rate by the flow rate adjusting valve 56b.

  The air supplied to the pipe 55 is distributed to the plurality of branch passages and ejected from the respective front end openings. The front end opening of the branch path is in contact with the internal space of the bag body 54, and the air ejected from the front end opening is sent into the bag body 54. As shown in FIG. 6, when air is supplied into the bag body 54, the bag body 54 swells, and the air is ejected from a plurality of ejection holes 58 formed in the bag body 54. . As a result, the bag body 54 bulged by the air pressure exhibits a function as an air cushion, and a state in which air is ejected from the numerous ejection holes 58 on the surface of the bag body 54 is realized. Note that the air supply amount defined by the flow rate adjusting valve 56b is set to an appropriate value for realizing such a state. That is, if the air supply amount is too small, the bag body 54 does not bulge and the air leaks from the ejection hole 58. If the air supply amount is excessive, the bag body 54 itself may be damaged. The air supply amount defined by the flow rate adjusting valve 56b is an appropriate value in the meantime.

  Further, the hole diameter of the ejection hole 58 is set to 1 μm or more and 100 μm or less, and the hole density is set to 5% to 30%. The bag body 54 bulged by air pressure functions as an air cushion, and the bag body 54 This is for reliably realizing a state in which air is ejected from the surface. If the hole diameter is less than 1 μm or the hole density is less than 5%, a sufficient flow rate of air cannot be ejected from the plurality of ejection holes 58 on the surface of the bag body 54, and the substrate W may be allowed to float as described later. It becomes difficult. Further, when the hole diameter is larger than 100 μm or the hole density is larger than 30%, the air supplied into the bag body 54 leaks out from the bag body 54 as it is, and the bag body 54 is bulged by air pressure so as to air cushion. It becomes difficult to function as.

  7 and 8 are views showing a state in which the substrate W is supported by the swelled bag body 54 that ejects air from the ejection holes 58. FIG. 7 shows substrate support by the inner bag body 54b, and FIG. 8 shows substrate support by the outer bag body 54a. When the substrate W is supported by the holding unit 53, the transfer robot 4c performs each operation of turning, raising and lowering, and advancing and retreating of the holding unit 53, and the peripheral edge of the substrate W in which the outer bag 54a is stored in any one of the chambers. Opposite the part. If the outer bag 54 a faces the peripheral edge of the substrate W, the inner bag 54 b naturally faces the inner portion of the substrate W.

  When the transfer robot 4c raises the holding portion 53 with the outer bag 54a facing the peripheral edge of the substrate W, the inner bag 54b comes close to the lower surface inner region of the substrate W, and the outer bag 54a becomes the substrate. Proximity to the lower peripheral edge region of W. When the holding portion 53 is further raised, the substrate W is supported from the lower surface by the support arm 53b through the bulged bag body 54 that ejects gas from the plurality of ejection holes 58.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the entire bulged inner bag 54 b functioning as an air cushion is deformed so as to be somewhat crushed by the weight of the substrate W. However, since air is ejected from the surface of the inner bag body 54b through a number of ejection holes 58, the inner bag body 54b does not contact the lower surface of the substrate W, and the ejected air causes the substrate W to move. It floats from the inner bag 54b.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the portion of the outer bag body 54a that is in close proximity to the lower peripheral edge region of the substrate W is deformed so as to be crushed by the weight of the substrate W in the same manner as the inner bag body 54b. Similarly to the above, since air is also ejected from the surface of the outer bag body 54a through the numerous ejection holes 58, the outer bag body 54a does not come into contact with the lower surface of the substrate W. The peripheral edge of the substrate W rises from the outer bag 54a. As a result, the entire substrate W is levitated and supported by the plurality of bags 54 from the lower surface in a non-contact manner.

  On the other hand, the portion of the outer bag body 54a located outside the peripheral region of the substrate W is not directly deformed because it does not directly receive the force from the substrate W. The portion that hardly deforms plays a role of regulating the horizontal position of the substrate W. That is, since the substrate W is supported by being floated by the air ejected from the ejection hole 58 of the bag body 54, the substrate W is easily slid in the horizontal direction. For this reason, means for preventing the substrate W from sliding in the horizontal direction is required, and the portion of the outer bag 54a that hardly deforms fulfills its function. Even if the substrate W levitated by the air tries to slide in the horizontal direction, the end portion of the substrate W abuts on a portion that hardly deforms and cannot move horizontally beyond the outer bag 54a.

  In order to make the horizontal position regulating function of the outer bag body 54a more effective, when the substrate W is supported by the support arm 53b, the outer bag body 54a positioned outside the peripheral edge of the substrate W is provided. It is preferable to set the hardness higher than the hardness of the inner bag body 54b located inside. Specifically, for example, the thickness of the outer position of the outer bag body 54a is made thicker than the thickness of the inner position, or if the material of the outer bag body 54a is cloth, the knitting density of the outer position is set to the inner side. Make it higher than the braid density of the position. If it does in this way, the above-mentioned outside position in outside bag body 54a will become harder to change, and it can prevent more certainly sliding in the horizontal direction of substrate W levitated by air. The hardness of the inner bag body 54b may be the same as the hardness of the inner position of the outer bag body 54a.

  Alternatively, when the substrate W is supported by the support arm 53b, the height of the outer bag 54a positioned outside the peripheral edge of the substrate W from the upper surface of the support arm 53b is the height of the inner bag 54b positioned inside. It is preferable to keep it higher. Specifically, for example, the size of the outer bag body 54a is made larger than the size of the inner bag body 54b. Even in this case, it is possible to prevent the substrate W from sliding in the horizontal direction.

  As in this embodiment, if the substrate W is supported from the lower surface by the support arm 53b through the bulged bag body 54 that jets gas from the plurality of jet holes 58, the bag body 54 such as an air cushion is somewhat deformed. Since the substrate W is supported by a large pressure receiving area, the stress load applied to the substrate W is remarkably reduced as compared with the case where the substrate W is supported by a conventional support pin. That is, the substrate W is supported at a point if it is supported by a conventional support pin, whereas if the substrate W is supported through the bag body 54 bulged at atmospheric pressure as in the present embodiment. Since the substrate W is supported by the surface, the substrate W can be supported without giving a large stress load to the substrate W. For this reason, even if the substrate W is a glass substrate, its breakage can be prevented more reliably. Further, since the stress load applied to the substrate W is small, the transfer robot 4c can transfer the substrate W at high speed along the vertical direction.

  Further, the substrate W is supported by floating from the lower surface by the air blown from the plurality of bag bodies 54 swelled by the supplied air pressure, that is, the substrate body W is supported while the bag body 54 and the substrate W are kept in a non-contact state. Therefore, the bag body 54 is prevented from contaminating the substrate W. Further, the substrate W is levitated and supported via gas, and the stress burden applied to the substrate W becomes lighter.

  Further, in the initial stage of holding the support arm 53b close to the lower surface of the substrate W, a part of the substrate W may come into contact with the bag body 54. Even in such a case, the bag body 54 is in the air. Since it plays a role as a cushion, there is no risk of damaging the substrate W.

  While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above examples. For example, the number of support arms 53b and the number of installed bags 54 can be set arbitrarily according to the size of the substrate W to be transferred. For example, you may make it hold | maintain the board | substrate W with one elongate bag body over the area | region including all the board | substrate lower surfaces of the upper surface of the support arm 53b.

  The fluid supplied to the bag body 54 is not limited to air, and may be nitrogen gas or other gases.

  Further, the apparatus incorporating the transfer robot to which the substrate supporting technology according to the present invention is applied is not limited to the substrate processing apparatus of the above-described embodiment, but can be applied to any apparatus having a processing unit for performing predetermined processing on the substrate W. The transfer robot according to the present invention can be incorporated.

  Furthermore, the substrate W to be supported by the substrate supporting technique according to the present invention is not limited to a liquid crystal glass substrate, and may be a semiconductor wafer.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the prebaking unit of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a top view of the conveyance robot of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view of the holding | maintenance part of a conveyance robot. It is a sectional side view which shows the structure of a support arm. It is a figure which shows the state which air spouts from the bulging bag. It is a figure which shows a mode that a board | substrate is supported by a bag body. It is a figure which shows a mode that a board | substrate is supported by a bag body.

Explanation of symbols

2 Indexer part 10 Cleaning unit 20a, 20b Dehydration bake unit 30 Resist coating unit 40a, 40b Pre-bake unit 53 Holding part 53b Support arm 54a Outer bag body 54b Inner bag body 55 Pipe line 56 Piping 57 Air supply source 58 Blowout hole 80 Development unit 90a, 90b Post bake unit 99 Air cooling unit 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e Transfer robot W Substrate

Claims (6)

A substrate support method for supporting a substrate from the lower surface,
A substrate support method, comprising: supporting a substrate from a lower surface through a bulging bag body that ejects gas from a plurality of holes. A substrate transfer robot for holding and transferring a substrate,
A support arm for supporting the substrate from the bottom surface;
An inflatable bag body that is attached to the support arm and has a plurality of holes;
Gas supply means for supplying gas into the bag body;
A substrate transfer robot comprising: The substrate transfer robot according to claim 2,
The substrate transfer robot, wherein a total area of the plurality of holes is 5% or more and 30% or less of a surface area of the bag body. In the substrate transfer robot according to claim 2 or 3,
Each of the plurality of holes has a hole diameter of 1 μm to 100 μm. The substrate transfer robot according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
When the substrate is supported by the support arm, the hardness of the bag body positioned outside the peripheral edge portion of the substrate is set higher than the hardness of the bag body positioned inside or positioned outside the peripheral edge portion of the substrate. A substrate transfer robot characterized in that the height of the bag body from the upper surface of the support arm is higher than the height of the bag body located inside. A substrate processing apparatus for performing predetermined processing on a substrate,
A processing unit for performing the predetermined process;
A substrate transfer robot according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

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