JP3512539B2 - Control method of substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for controlling a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal display substrate while sequentially carrying the substrates to a plurality of processing units according to a preset carrying path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a substrate processing apparatus, a substrate is transferred to each processing unit by a transfer robot according to a processing recipe that defines the order (transfer path) of transferring the substrate to each processing unit and the processing conditions in each processing unit. ,
Processing is executed in each processing unit. By the way, during processing of the substrate, one of the plurality of processing units
One may generate an alarm to notify the abnormality.
Conventionally, when such an alarm occurs, the transfer of the board,
The processing in each processing unit was stopped at that time.

[0003]

However, if the processing of the substrate is stopped midway, the substrate being processed may be adversely affected in the process. For example, if the progress of the process of heating the substrate is stopped, the heat treatment is performed for a longer time than planned, resulting in so-called overbaking (excessive heat treatment).

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and even when an alarm is issued from the processing unit, it is possible to prevent adverse effects on the substrate being processed in the process. The purpose is to provide a control method.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problem and Its Action / Effect To solve at least a part of the above-mentioned problem, in the first invention, a plurality of processing units are provided for a plurality of substrates to be processed in accordance with a preset transport path. A method for controlling a substrate processing apparatus for sequentially carrying out processing, wherein a warning is issued from an alarm generation unit in the transfer path in response to the occurrence of an alarm notifying an abnormality of any one of the plurality of processing units. while continuing the transport and processing to complete the conveyance path for the substrate positioned on the downstream side, the substrate located upstream from said alarm generating unit comprises a skip mode to stop the transport, said alarm Occurrence
Another processing unit equivalent to a knit is installed in the transfer path.
If it is arranged in parallel with the alarm generation unit,
In the skip mode, the same as the alarm generation unit
For substrates existing in other processing units such as
Processing and transportation are continued until the delivery route is completed .

In this way, since the processing can be completed for the substrates located on the downstream side of the alarm generating unit, it is possible to prevent at least the adverse effects on the processing of these substrates.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus control method for processing a substrate to be processed while sequentially transferring it to a plurality of processing units according to a preset transfer path. At least one unit is selected in advance as a skip mode target unit, and a downstream side of the skip mode target unit in the transport path is generated in response to an alarm that notifies an abnormality of any one of the plurality of processing units. A skip mode is provided for continuing the processing and carrying until the completion of the carrying path for the substrate located in the above position and stopping the carrying for the substrate located upstream of the skip mode target unit.

In this way, since the processing can be completed for the substrates located on the downstream side of the skip mode target unit, it is possible to prevent at least the adverse effects on the processing of these substrates.

In the first or second aspect of the invention, further, in response to the occurrence of the alarm, processing and transportation are performed on all the substrates under processing located on the transportation path until the transportation path is completed. Equipped with a process completion mode that stops the operation after continuing, the skip mode and the previous mode depending on the process recipe.
One of the processing completion modes is selected in advance,
It is preferable to execute the selected mode when the alarm is issued .

With this configuration, the skip mode or the processing completion mode can be set to be selectively executed according to the processing recipe , so that the efficiency of the substrate processing apparatus can be improved.

Further, the skip mode target unit is preferably a chemical liquid coating unit for coating the substrate with the chemical liquid.

[0012] It is possible to prevent at least the adverse effect on the process on the substrate coated with the chemical liquid in the chemical liquid coating unit.

[0013]

Other Embodiments of the Invention The present invention also includes the following other embodiments. The first aspect is a control apparatus of a substrate processing apparatus sequentially processes while conveying a plurality of processing units according to a preset conveyance path a plurality of substrates to be processed, any of the plurality of processing units Alarm detection means for detecting the generation of an alarm notifying the abnormality of the processing unit, and, in response to the alarm, complete the transfer path for the substrate located downstream of the alarm generation unit in the transfer path. The alarm generation unit is further provided with: skip mode execution means for executing the skip mode for continuing the processing and transportation up to the alarm generation unit and stopping the transportation for the substrate located upstream of the alarm generation unit.
The other processing unit equivalent to
If arranged in parallel with the raw unit, the
Up mode, other than the same as the alarm generation unit
For the substrate existing in the processing unit of
The processing and the conveyance are continued until the above is completed .

A second aspect is a control device of a substrate processing apparatus for sequentially processing a substrate to be processed while sequentially transferring it to a plurality of processing units according to a preset transfer path, and from among the plurality of processing units. Selecting means for selecting at least one as a skip mode target unit in advance; and alarm detecting means for detecting the occurrence of an alarm notifying an abnormality of any one of the plurality of processing units,
In response to the alarm, for the substrate located on the downstream side of the skip mode target unit in the transport path, the processing and the transport are continued until the transport path is completed, and the upstream side of the skip mode target unit. skip mode to stop conveying the substrate located in the
Skip mode executing means for executing a command.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. This semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is a spinner having a plurality of processing units for performing a series of processes (coating process, developing process, heating process, cooling process in this embodiment) on a semiconductor wafer W. First processing unit group A arranged on the front surface
Is composed of a spin coater SC that performs a coating process and a spin developer SD that performs a developing process.

A second processing unit group B is provided at a position on the rear side facing the first processing unit group A. The second processing unit group B includes hot plates HP1 to HP3 and a cool plate CP that perform various heat treatments.
1 to CP3 are provided.

Further, the apparatus is provided with a transfer area C extending along the first processing unit group A at a position sandwiched between the first processing unit group A and the second processing unit group B. There is. In this transfer area C, the transfer robot 10 is movably arranged. The transfer robot 10 includes a moving body 12 having a support member 11 (only one arm is visible in the figure) having two arms for supporting the semiconductor wafer W, respectively. The upper and lower two arms constituting the support member 11 are driven by an arm drive mechanism (not shown), and the semiconductor wafer is exchanged in each processing unit. That is, one arm receives the processed semiconductor wafer from the processing unit, and the other arm places the semiconductor wafer transferred from the other processing unit on the processing unit.
Although not shown, a three-dimensional drive mechanism is connected to the moving body 12 of the transfer robot 10. This drive mechanism moves the moving body 12 to the front of each processing unit to enable delivery of the semiconductor wafer W.

An indexer IND for carrying out the semiconductor wafer W from the cassette 20 and carrying in the semiconductor wafer W into the cassette 20 is provided at the end of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus. The transfer robot 40 provided in the indexer IND takes out the semiconductor wafer W from the cassette 20 and sends it out to the transfer robot 10, or conversely receives the semiconductor wafer W which has been subjected to a series of processing from the transfer robot 10, and receives the semiconductor wafer W from the cassette 20. Perform the work to return to. Note that FIG.
Although not shown in the figure, an interface unit for transferring the semiconductor wafer W to / from another processing apparatus (for example, an exposure apparatus such as a stepper) is provided at the opposite end (right side in the drawing) of the indexer IND. It is provided. The transfer of the semiconductor wafer W between the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus of the embodiment and another processing apparatus is performed by the mobile robot (not shown) provided in the interface unit and the transfer robot 10.
This is done by cooperating with and.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus of FIG. In FIG. 2, the controller 50 is
Arithmetic unit (CPU) and main memory (RAM and RO
M), which is an arithmetic processing unit to which a display 51 and a keyboard 52 are connected. Controller 5
0 is a transfer robot 10 or a transfer robot 40 (robot of the indexer IND) according to a preset processing recipe, and each processing unit SC, SD, HP1 to H
Controls the operation of P3, CP1 to CP3. The controller 50 further has a function as an alarm detection unit that detects the generation of an alarm and a skip mode execution unit that executes a skip mode described later.

A software program (application program) for realizing various functions by the controller 50 is transferred from a portable storage medium (portable storage medium) such as a floppy disk or a CD-ROM to the controller 5.
0 main memory or external storage device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an example of a semiconductor wafer transfer path in the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus. In this example, the semiconductor wafer is transferred from the indexer IND to the hot plate HP1, the cool plate CP1, the spin coater SC, the hot plate HP2, and the cool plate CP2 in this order, and processed by each processing unit.
Finally, it is returned into the cassette 20 of the indexer IND.
In FIG. 3, reference numerals n to (n-6) written in the blocks showing the respective processing units indicate the numbers of the semiconductor wafers processed by the respective processing units. That is, in the state of FIG. 3, the (n− 5 ) th wafer is the cool plate CP.
The wafer is cooled by 2 and the (n- 4 ) th wafer is heated by the hot plate HP2. Similarly, the subsequent wafers are also processed in their respective processing units. The n-th wafer described at the position of the indexer IND has been taken out from the cassette 20 by the transfer robot 40, and is in a state of waiting on a pin (not shown) to be transferred to the transfer robot 10.

Paths P1 to P between the processing units
6 corresponds to the operation of being carried by the carrying robot 10. In this embodiment, the path P on the left end of FIG.
The wafer existing between 1 and the path P6 at the right end is referred to as "wafer being processed". Therefore, each processing unit HP
The wafer processed in 1, CP1, SC, HP2, CP2 is the “wafer being processed”. On the other hand, the wafer waiting on the pin of the indexer IND (the wafer described in the block indicating the indexer IND) is not the “wafer being processed”.

The transport route shown in FIG. 3 is registered in the processing recipe preset by the user. The processing recipe is data that defines a transport path and processing conditions in each processing unit. The controller 50 uses the transfer robot 10 and the transfer robot 40 according to this processing recipe.
And each processing unit. That is, when the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is operating normally, the wafers are sequentially processed according to the transfer path shown in FIG.

By the way, each processing unit generates an alarm and notifies the controller 50 when any abnormality is detected. The alarm is, for example, a shortage of the amount of the chemical liquid in the spin coater SC, a temperature abnormality in the hot plates HP1 and HP2, or the like. The controller 50 notifies the user of this alarm and executes control according to the alarm generation.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the control operation of the controller 50 when an alarm is issued. In step S1, the controller 50 monitors whether an alarm has been issued. When the alarm is issued, the controller 50 stops the delivery of a new wafer from the indexer IND in step S2. In step S3, the wafer waiting on the pins of the indexer IND is stored in the cassette 20. The operation of step S3 can be omitted.

In step S4, the controller 50 determines whether or not the skip mode is set. The user can previously specify from the keyboard 52 whether or not to execute the skip mode. If the skip mode is set, the skip mode control is executed in step S5. On the other hand, if the skip mode is not set, the indexer delivery stop processing control is executed in step S6.

The indexer feeding stop processing is an operation of continuing the processing and conveyance of all the wafers being processed when the alarm is issued and returning them to the indexer IND. That is, when the indexer feed-out stop process is executed when the alarm is issued in the state of FIG. 3, the process and transfer are continued for the five (n-5) th to (n-1) th wafers, and the indexer is continued. Transported to IND. In the indexer delivery stop processing, the processing and the transportation are continued until the wafer being processed does not exist in the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, so that there is an advantage that the wafer is not left in the middle of the processing. In addition, in order to perform such indexer feed-out stop processing, it is necessary to issue an alarm with sufficient margin so that the processing of all wafers existing in each processing unit can be completed to the end when the alarm is issued. The "alarm" in this specification does not mean that it is necessary to immediately stop the alarm generation unit, but indicates that an abnormality has occurred that can process at least a predetermined number (for example, 5) of wafers. Is.
The indexer delivery stop processing mode corresponds to the processing completion mode in the present invention.

In the skip mode process in step S5 of FIG. 4, the controller 50 processes and transfers the wafer under processing located on the transfer route after the processing unit that issued the alarm (referred to as "alarm generating unit"). Is continuously returned as it is to the inside of the cassette 20 of the indexer IND, and the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is stopped when all the wafers have returned to the indexer IND. On the other hand, the wafer being processed, which is located on the transfer path before the alarm generating unit, stops the transfer after the processing in each processing unit is completed and waits at the standby position of each processing unit. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation contents of the skip mode when an alarm is issued. As shown in FIG. 5, the spin coater S
When C issues an alarm, the processing of the spin coater SC and the wafers under processing (nth wafer, (n-2) th wafer, and (n-1) th wafer) located on the transfer path thereafter continues as it is. , Return to indexer IND. On the other hand, the in-process wafers ((n + 1) th and (n + 2) th wafers) located on the upstream side of the spin coater SC are made to wait at that position after the processing in the processing unit is completed.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of the wafer when the mode is shifted to the skip mode due to the alarm generation. The leftmost column in FIG. 6 shows the processing cycle. Where 1
The cycle means a period in which each wafer is processed by one processing unit and is transferred to the next processing unit. Further, IND, HP1, CP1 and the like on the upper stage indicate the respective processing units, and n, n- written below them.
Reference numerals such as 1 indicate the order of wafers. Further, the code “x” indicates that there is no wafer.

The processing cycle m of FIG. 6 corresponds to the state of FIG. 3 described above, and the processing cycle (m + 3) corresponds to the state of FIG. Spin coater SC in processing cycle (m + 3)
Generates an alarm, the (n + 3) th wafer existing in the indexer IND is returned to the cassette, and (n + 3)
The 2) th and (n + 1) th wafers stand by in their respective processing units. This is the processing cycle (m +
4) to (m + 6). Further, the wafers existing in the spin coater SC and the subsequent processing units are
In the processing cycles (m + 4) to (m + 6), the processes are sequentially performed and returned to the indexer IND. As a result, in the processing cycle (m + 7), there is no wafer in the transfer path after the spin coater SC, which is the alarm generation unit, and the operation of the entire semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is stopped in this state.
Then, when the alarm is released in the processing cycle (m + 7), the processing is continued from the state suspended in the skip mode as shown in FIG.

The wafer existing in any of the paths P1 to P6 between the processing units when the alarm is issued is delivered to at least the next processing unit. For example, when an alarm is issued by the spin coater SC, the spin coater SC
The wafers existing in the paths P1 to P3 on the more upstream side are passed to the next processing units HP1, CP1 and SC, respectively, and stand by. On the other hand, with respect to the wafers existing on the paths P4 to P6 on the downstream side of the spin coater SC, the processing and the transportation are continuously executed as they are, and the wafers are returned to the indexer IND.

Depending on the substrate processing apparatus and processing recipe, a plurality of processing units that are equivalent to each other may be arranged in parallel on the transfer path. For example, in FIG. 5, a plurality of hot plates are arranged in parallel at the position of the hot plate HP1. In such a case, when one of a plurality of processing units equivalent to each other arranged in parallel generates an alarm, the processing and transfer of the wafer existing in another processing unit equivalent to the alarm generation unit are also performed. It continues until the end.

In the above embodiment, the wafers existing in the transfer path after the alarm generation unit continue until the processing is completed, while the wafers existing in the transfer path before the alarm generation unit are made to stand by at that position. Since this is done, the wafers existing on the path after the alarm generation unit can be processed as usual. As a result, with respect to the wafer existing on the path after the alarm generation unit, the processing can be completed without adversely affecting the process such as overbaking.

In the indexer delivery stop processing mode described above, it is necessary to generate an alarm with sufficient margin to complete the processing of all wafers being processed when the alarm is generated, whereas in the skip mode processing,
It suffices if there is enough margin to complete the processing of the wafer existing in the path after the alarm generation unit. In other words, in the skip mode, the margin for generating an alarm may be small, so that there is an advantage that the efficiency of the entire device can be improved.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the user can set either the skip mode or the indexer feed stop processing mode, so that there are two processing modes depending on the processing recipe and the like. By selecting one, the operating efficiency of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above examples and embodiments, but can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, the following modifications are possible.

(1) In the skip mode of the above embodiment,
It was supposed that the processing for the wafers existing in the path after the alarm generation unit would be continuously completed. Alternatively, when the alarm is issued, it is possible to continuously complete only the processing for the wafer existing on the path subsequent to the specific processing unit (skip mode target unit). For example, the spin coater SC is set as a skip mode target unit, and at the time of alarm generation, regardless of which processing unit is the alarm generation unit, only the processing of wafers existing on the path after the spin coater SC which is the skip mode target unit is processed. It is possible to continue. In particular, when a very effective chemical liquid (for example, polyimide) is used in the spin coater SC, if the wafer processed by the spin coater SC becomes defective, the economical efficiency is significantly reduced. Therefore, according to the above modification, the processing can be completed for the wafer to which the chemical solution has been applied by the spin coater SC when the alarm is issued, which is advantageous in that the chemical solution can be prevented from being wasted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a transfer path of a semiconductor wafer W in the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control operation when an alarm is issued.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing control contents of a skip mode.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of wafers when a skip mode is entered due to an alarm.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Transport robot 11 ... Support member 12 ... Mobile 20 ... cassette 40 ... Transfer robot 50 ... Controller 51 ... Display 52 ... Keyboard CP1-CP3 ... Cool plate HP1 to HP3 ... Hot plate IND ... Indexer SC ... Spin coater (rotary chemical coating device) SD ... Spin developer (rotary chemical developing device 9

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Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of controlling a substrate processing apparatus, wherein a substrate to be processed is processed while being sequentially transferred to a plurality of processing units along a preset transfer path, and at least one of the plurality of processing units is processed. A substrate which is selected in advance as a skip mode target unit and which is located on the downstream side of the skip mode target unit in the transport path in response to the occurrence of an alarm notifying an abnormality of one of the plurality of processing units. In contrast, the method for controlling the substrate processing apparatus further comprises a skip mode in which the processing and the transportation are continued until the transportation path is completed, and the transportation of the substrate positioned upstream of the skip mode target unit is stopped. 2. The method of controlling a substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of completing the transfer route for all the substrates being processed located in the transfer route in response to the generation of the alarm. It has a processing completion mode that stops the operation after continuing the processing and transport until one of the skip mode and the processing completion mode is selected in advance according to the processing recipe, and when the alarm is issued. A method of controlling a substrate processing apparatus, which executes the selected mode. 3. The method for controlling a substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the skip mode target unit is a chemical liquid coating unit for coating a substrate with a chemical liquid. 4. A method of controlling a substrate processing apparatus for sequentially processing a substrate to be processed while sequentially transferring it to a plurality of processing units according to a preset transfer path, wherein any one of the plurality of processing units is processed. In response to the occurrence of an alarm notifying the abnormality of the unit, the processing and the transportation are continued for the substrate located on the downstream side of the alarm generation unit in the transportation path until the transportation path is completed, and the alarm is issued. With respect to the substrate located on the upstream side of the unit, a skip mode in which the transportation is stopped, and in accordance with the generation of the alarm, processing is performed on all the substrates under processing located in the transportation path until the transportation path is completed. Process completion mode that stops the operation after continuing transport
One of the skip mode and the processing completion mode is selected in advance according to a processing recipe, and the selected mode is executed when the alarm is issued. A method for controlling a substrate processing apparatus. 5. A controller for a substrate processing apparatus for sequentially processing a substrate to be processed to a plurality of processing units along a preset transfer path, wherein at least one of the plurality of processing units is provided. Selection means preselected as a skip mode target unit, and in response to the occurrence of an alarm notifying the abnormality of any one of the plurality of processing units, in the transport path to the downstream side of the skip mode target unit With respect to the substrate located, while continuing the processing and transport until the transport path is completed, for the substrate located upstream of the skip mode target unit, a skip mode execution means for executing a skip mode for stopping the transport; A controller for a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: 6. The control device for a substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising the step of completing the transfer route for all the substrates being processed located in the transfer route in response to the generation of the alarm. A processing completion mode in which the operation is stopped after continuing the processing and the conveyance until, the selecting unit preselects one of the skip mode and the processing completion mode according to a processing recipe, A controller for a substrate processing apparatus, wherein the selected mode is executed when an alarm is issued. 7. The control device for a substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the skip mode target unit is a chemical liquid coating unit for coating a substrate with a chemical liquid. 8. A control device of a substrate processing apparatus, which sequentially transfers a substrate to be processed to a plurality of processing units along a preset transfer path, the processing being performed by any one of the plurality of processing units. In response to the occurrence of an alarm notifying the abnormality of the unit, the processing and the transportation are continued for the substrate located on the downstream side of the alarm generation unit in the transportation path until the transportation path is completed, and the alarm is issued. For a substrate located upstream of the unit, a skip mode executing means for executing a skip mode for stopping the transportation, and, in response to the generation of the alarm, the transportation for all the substrates under processing located on the transportation path. A processing completion mode executing means for executing a processing completion mode for stopping the operation after continuing the processing and conveyance until the path is completed, and a processing recipe And a selection unit that selects one of the skip mode and the processing completion mode in advance according to the above, and the selected mode is executed when the alarm is issued. The control device of the device.