KR100978856B1 - Method and equipment for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing facility capable of loading and supplying cassettes. The substrate processing equipment of the present invention comprises a cassette opener for opening and closing a door of a cassette; And a load port positioned in front of the cassette opener, wherein the cassette logistics device carries or takes a cassette; The load port includes a moving table that slides to the cassette opener to supply a cassette to the cassette opener or to retrieve a cassette from the cassette opener.

OHT, supply, opener, index, cassette

Description

Substrate Processing Equipment and Method {METHOD AND EQUIPMENT FOR TREATING SUBSTRATE}

The present invention relates to an apparatus for substrate processing, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus and method capable of loading and supplying cassettes.

Generally, a semiconductor device is implemented by depositing and patterning various materials on a wafer, which is a substrate, in a thin film form. For this purpose, different processes such as deposition, etching, cleaning, and drying are performed. Required.

In each of these processes, the wafers to be processed are transferred to a semiconductor manufacturing facility having an environment suitable for the process, and processed, and the wafer transfer to each semiconductor manufacturing facility as described above is mostly loaded with about 25 wafers. It is performed in wafer cassette units.

Therefore, when a wafer cassette loaded with about 25 wafers is transferred to a semiconductor manufacturing facility by an operator or a predetermined transfer means, the semiconductor manufacturing facility sequentially withdraws the wafers loaded in the wafer cassette and then proceeds the process. After proceeding, the process is carried out by storing the wafer in the cassette from which the wafer is taken out or storing the wafer in an empty cassette provided separately.

The cassette is provided to the cassette opener of the index disposed in front of the semiconductor manufacturing facility by the distribution device of the cassette distribution system. If the cassette is not supplied or recovered to the cassette opener in a timely manner due to errors, congestion, delay, etc. of the cassette logistics system, the process at the semiconductor manufacturing facility may be suspended. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that the productivity of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment is determined by the logistics control capability of the semiconductor logistics apparatus.

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus and method capable of continuously supplying a cassette.

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus and method capable of continuous processing even in an abnormal state of a cassette logistics system.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited thereto, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The present invention provides a substrate processing facility. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus includes a cassette opener for opening and closing a door of a cassette; And a load port positioned in front of the cassette opener, wherein the cassette logistics device carries or takes a cassette; The load port includes a moving table that slides to the cassette opener to supply a cassette to the cassette opener or to retrieve a cassette from the cassette opener.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the substrate processing facility further comprises shelves located on top of the load port and on which a cassette is loaded.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the shelf is slid backwards with the cassette opener so that the cassette distribution device can bring or take a cassette to the load port.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate processing apparatus further includes a horizontal moving member for moving the shelf in the front-rear direction so that the shelf does not collide with the cassette placed in the load port.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the shelf is elevated to take a cassette from the load port or to place a cassette on the load port.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate processing apparatus further includes a vertical moving member for elevating the shelf in a vertical direction so that the shelf may take a cassette at the load port or place a cassette at the load port.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate processing equipment includes a horizontal moving member for moving the shelf in the front and rear direction so that the shelf does not collide with the cassette placed in the load port; And a vertical moving member for elevating the shelf in the vertical direction so that the shelf can take the cassette from the load port or place the cassette on the load port.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the shelf is arranged in multiple stages, and the shelf slides forward of the facility to be located on the same line of the load port or slides backward of the facility to deviate from the same line of the load port. Is moved.

A substrate processing apparatus of another embodiment of the present invention includes an index unit having cassette openers for opening and closing a door of a cassette; And a cassette supply unit installed in front of the index unit to supply cassettes to the cassette openers and to recover cassettes from the cassette openers.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the cassette supply unit may include: load ports for exchanging a cassette with a cassette logistics device, supplying a cassette to the cassette opener, and recovering a cassette from the cassette opener; Shelves positioned above each of the load ports and loaded with a cassette; And a vertical moving member installed on each of the shelves, and lifting the shelf toward the load port so as to bring a cassette placed on the load port or to place a cassette in storage on the load port.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cassette supply unit further includes a horizontal moving member for moving the shelf in the front and rear directions so as not to collide with the cassette transported between the cassette distribution device and the load port.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the shelves are installed in multiple stages.

In the substrate processing method of the present invention, a cassette in which substrates are stored before processing is provided to a load port by a cassette logistics device, and the cassette placed on the load port is conveyed to a cassette opener or placed on a shelf located above the load port. Load and wait

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when a cassette is already loaded in the cassette opener, the cassette in which the substrates are stored before the processing is directly loaded onto the shelf by a cassette distribution device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when a cassette is provided to the load port in the cassette distribution device, the shelf is slid backwards so as not to collide with the cassette.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cassette loaded on the shelf is placed in the load port by the lowering operation of the shelf.

According to the present invention, a rapid cassette supply and withdrawal to the cassette openers of the index is possible.

In addition, according to the present invention, even if a smooth cassette supply and recovery is difficult due to stagnation and delay of OHT, cassette supply and recovery are possible with cassette openers.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to overcome the limitation of productivity by shortening the time to prepare the substrate in the index to enable the continuous input of the substrates.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9G. The embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the following embodiments. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the shape of the elements in the drawings are exaggerated to emphasize a more clear description.

In this embodiment, the substrate may be a semiconductor wafer or a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display (PDP), a vacuum fluorescent display (VFD), a field emission display (FED), or an electroluminescence display (ELD). It may be a substrate for manufacturing a 'FPD' device.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A is a perspective view according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of P1 shown in FIG. 2A. 3 is a front view of the substrate processing equipment. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an index portion and a cassette supply portion of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 to 4, a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is a process processing unit 100 in which process processing is performed on a substrate at a rear side thereof, and withdraws substrates from a cassette to the process processing unit 100. The index unit 200 is provided, and the cassette supply unit 400 is provided at the front of the facility.

The process processor 100 includes a plurality of process chambers (not shown), which may be provided in the form of independent modules. Module means that the relevant parts are installed in one independent housing so that each process chamber can perform independent operation in performing each substrate processing function. Process chambers provided in the form of modules form a process processing unit according to the layout of the substrate processing facility.

Although the index unit 200 is also called an equipment front end module (EFEM), in the present invention, since the index unit 200 is not installed at the equipment front end, the name of the equipment front end module is appropriate. Can't. The index unit 200 includes a substrate transfer robot 210 and four cassette openers 220. The substrate transfer robot 210 is responsible for the substrate transfer and can be rotated, raised and lowered. The substrate transfer robot 210 may carry out at least one substrate from the cassette C in one operation and carry it into the processing unit 100. To this end, the substrate transfer robot 210 may use a single arm robot having at least one end effector 212.

As described above, the substrate transfer robot 210 may use various robots used in a conventional semiconductor manufacturing process, in addition to the single arm structure shown in the present embodiment.

The cassette opener 220 is for opening and closing the door of the cassette C. For example, the cassette C is a front open unified pod (Front), which is a sealed storage container for a 300 mm substrate that receives, transports, and stores the substrate in a horizontal state. Open Unified Pod: FOUP) (closed cassette).

The cassette opener 220 has a conventional configuration including a stage 222 on which the cassette C is placed, and a door opening and closing member 224 for opening and closing the door of the cassette C placed on the stage 222. The cassette C is loaded / unloaded into the cassette opener 220 by a load port of the cassette supply unit 400. The stage 222 supports the edge of the cassette and is provided with a space 223 into which the table of load ports can enter from the front.

The cassette supply unit 400 receives the cassette C from the cassette distribution device 20 and supplies the cassette C to the cassette opener 220 (cassette loading). To the device 20. The cassette supply unit 400 may be provided in the form of an independent module to be installed in front of the index unit 200 of the substrate processing equipment already installed in the semiconductor production line. As such, since the cassette supply unit 400 is installed at the front end of the facility, the cassette supply unit 400 may be referred to as the aforementioned equipment front end module (EFEM).

The cassette supply unit 400 includes four load ports 410, four shelves 420, a horizontal moving member 430 for horizontally moving each shelf, and a vertical moving member 440 for vertically moving the shelves. .

The load ports 410 are installed at the front panel 402 of the cassette supply unit 400, that is, at the front of the substrate processing facility. The load ports 410 are arranged to correspond one-to-one with the cassette openers 220. The load port 410 has a table 412 on which the cassette C is placed, and as shown in FIG. 5A, the table 412 loads a cassette into the cassette opener 220 and a cassette unloading from the cassette opener 220. The slide is moved in the forward and backward directions for the purpose. Of course, the front panel 402 of the cassette supply 400 has first openings 404 to allow the table 412 on which the cassette is placed to enter the cassette opener 220 located behind the load port 410. .

The cassette C is conveyed through an overhead hoist transport (hereinafter referred to as OHT) 20, which is one of the cassette distribution apparatuses installed on the ceiling of the semiconductor production line, to the table 412 of the load port 410. Is placed. The load ports are located on the movement path of the OHT 20. The cassette C placed in the load port 410 is carried into the facility through the first opening 404 by the slide movement of the table 412 and is placed on the stage 222 of the cassette opener 220.

In the present invention, the table 412 of the load port and the stage 222 of the cassette opener are configured to directly exchange cassettes without passing through the cassette carrier robot. The table 412 of the load port is moved to the stage 222 of the cassette opener 220 by the slide member 414 installed in the body 411 of the load port. The table 412 of the load port 410 and the stage 222 of the cassette opener 220 should not collide with each other in the process of moving the cassette C. Accordingly, the table 412 and the stage 222 do not overlap each other. For example, the table 412 is shaped to support the central portion of the bottom surface of the cassette C, the stage 222 is shaped to support the bottom edge of the cassette C, and the stage 222 is inserted into the table 412. Space 223 is provided. Of course, the shapes of the table and the stage shown in the present embodiment can be variously changed.

The shelves 420 are installed at the same height on the top of the load port 410 to correspond one-to-one with the load ports 410. Each of the shelves 420 is loaded with a cassette (C). The shelf 420 is located on the cassette transport passage between the load port 410 and the cassette logistics device 20. Thus, each of the shelves 420 is slid rearward for smooth cassette conveyance between the load port 410 and the cassette logistics device 20. The slide movement of the shelf is made by the horizontal moving member 430. The shelf 420 on which the cassette C is placed is moved to the rear of the facility through the second opening 407 formed in the front panel 402 of the cassette supply part 400 by the horizontal moving member 430. As shown in FIG. 6, the cassette conveyance between the cassette distribution device 20 and the load port is performed while the shelf 420 is moved to the rear of the facility.

5A is a plan view showing an index portion and a cassette supply portion of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of a portion P2 shown in FIG. 5A.

As shown in Figures 2b and 5b, the horizontal moving member 430 is made in a gear drive manner. The horizontal moving member 430 includes a pinion gear 434 connected to the drive motor 432, and a rack gear 436 installed on the side of the shelf 420 to mesh with the pinion gear 434 and move in the front-back direction. do. The drive motor 432 is installed on the support block 450, and the support block 450 and the shelf 420 are mutually supported by the guide rails and the moving rails 437 and 438. On the other hand, the support block 450 for supporting the shelf 420 on both sides is moved in the vertical direction by the vertical moving member 440.

The shelf 420 is lifted by the vertical moving member 440 to take the cassette C from the load port 410 or to place the cassette C on the load port 410. The vertical moving member 440 raises and lowers the shelf 420 in the vertical direction so that the shelf 420 may take the cassette from the load port 410 or place the cassette C on the load port 410.

As such, in the present invention, the table 412 and the shelf 420 of the load port 410 are configured to directly exchange cassettes without passing through the conveying apparatus. The shelf 420 is vertically lowered to a height lower than the table 412 of the load port 410 by the vertical moving member 440. The table 412 of the shelf 420 and the load port 410 should not collide with each other in the process of exchanging the cassette (C). Thus, the shelf 420 has a shape that does not overlap with the table 412 of the load port. For example, the shelf 420 is shaped to support the bottom edge of the cassette C, and the shelf 420 is provided with a space 428 in which the table 412 is located.

The vertical moving member 440 is made in a ball screw manner for vertical movement of the shelf 420. The vertical moving member 440 includes a ball screw 442, a drive motor 443, a transfer nut 444, and a guide member 445. The ball screw 442 is disposed perpendicular to the front panel so that both ends are supported by the bearing on the bracket 442a. The ball screw 442 is connected to the driving motor 443 is rotated forward and reverse. The transfer nut 444 is assembled to the ball screw 442 by screwing. The transfer nut 444 moves along the ball screw as the ball screw 442 rotates forward or reverse by the driving motor 443. The transfer nut 444 is fixedly installed on the support block 450 supporting the shelf 420. On the other hand, the guide member 445 is a guide rail 445a which is installed perpendicular to the front panel 402 in parallel with the ball screw 442, and the support block 450 (support block on the opposite side of the support block provided with the transfer nut) It is installed in the slide comprises a moving rail (445b) along the guide rail (445a). The ball screw type vertical moving member shown in this embodiment is only one embodiment, and the vertical moving member may be used in various lift methods such as a belt and pulley method and a cylinder type method in addition to the ball screw method. .

7A to 7C are views showing a process of taking a cassette placed on a load port of a shelf.

As in FIGS. 7A-7C, the shelf 420 waits at a lower height (falling position) than the table 412 of the load port 410 to take the cassette C from the load port 410 (FIG. 7a). The cassette C, which is placed on the table 412 of the load port 410, may be provided from the OHT or may be taken from the cassette opener. When the cassette C is positioned in the load port 410 (see FIG. 7B), the shelf 420 is lifted by the vertical moving member 440 to be moved to the storage position, and the cassette C is the shelf 420. It is loaded while being lifted by (see FIG. 7C). The cassette C is placed on the load port 410 to be recovered by OHT after being waited on the shelf 420 or provided to the cassette opener 220.

8A to 8C are diagrams illustrating a process of placing a cassette placed on a shelf in a load port.

As in FIGS. 8A-8C, the cassette C placed on the shelf 420 is placed on the table 412 of the load port 410 when the shelf 420 moves to the lowered position (FIGS. 8A, 8B). Reference). And the cassette placed in the load port 410 is provided to the cassette opener 220 (see Fig. 8c).

As described above, the cassette supply unit 400 is for rapid cassette supply and recovery to the cassette openers 220 of the index unit 200. That is, the substrate processing facility 1 of the present invention can supply and recover cassettes from the cassette supply unit 400 provided in the facility itself even when it is difficult to smoothly supply and recover cassettes due to the congestion and delay of the OHT 20. Do. In general, since the OHT 20 runs at a low speed, it is difficult for the cassette to be supplied to the substrate processing equipment in a timely manner. Therefore, in the present invention, by receiving a sufficient amount of cassettes continuously through the OHT and loading them on the shelves of the cassette supply unit 400, it is possible to quickly replace the cassette required by the index unit 200.

Looking at the cassette supply process in the substrate processing equipment of the present invention.

9A to 9G, the cassette C is transferred through the OHT 20 installed on the ceiling of the semiconductor production line and placed on the table 412 of the load port 410 (FIG. 9A). The cassette C placed in the load port 410 is carried into the apparatus through the opening 404 by the slide movement of the table 412 and placed in the cassette opener 220 (FIG. 9B). If the cassette is already placed in the cassette opener 220, the cassette C is placed on the shelf 420 instead of the load port 410 (FIG. 9C). The cassette supply unit 400 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present invention preferably receives the cassette from the OHT 20 continuously regardless of the process flow until the cassette C is loaded on the shelves 420. Do. The cassette opener 220 opens the cassette's door, and the substrates before the process are removed from the cassette C by the substrate transfer robot 210 and provided to the process processor 100. Substrates that have been processed by the process processor 100 are stored in the cassette C again by the substrate transfer robot 210. When all the processed substrates are stored in the cassette, they are transferred to the table 412 of the load port 410 (FIG. 9D). When the cassette is taken out with the table 412 to the front of the facility, the OHT 20 collects the cassette (FIG. 9E), and the cassette waiting on the shelf 420 is supplied to the table 412 of the load port (see FIG. 9E). 9f). The cassette C placed in the load port 410 is carried into the equipment through the opening 404 by the slide movement of the table 412 and placed in the cassette opener 220 (FIG. 9G).

As such, in the present invention, when the processed substrates are stored in the cassette, the substrates are quickly unloaded from the cassette opener 220, and the cassettes containing the substrates before the processing are quickly loaded into the cassette opener 220. Thus, the substrate processing equipment 1 of the present invention does not need to hold the cassette in the cassette opener 220 while the OHT 20 is moved to recover the cassette.

In general, the substrate processing equipment can improve the productivity to some extent by improving the substrate transfer function, flow, and process time, but the productivity is limited by the logistics control capability of the semiconductor production line that carries the cassette. However, as in the present invention, it is possible to load a plurality of cassettes and to quickly unload (recover) the cassette (the cassette in which the processed substrates are stored) in the cassette opener 220 and to insert the new cassette (the substrate in which the pre-processing substrates are stored). By adding a cassette supply unit 400 capable of loading (supplying) the cassette in front of the index unit 200, the preparation time of the substrates can be shortened to enable continuous feeding of the substrates, thereby overcoming the limitation of productivity. . In other words, the present invention can improve the productivity of the substrate processing equipment even if the problem of congestion and delay of the cassette logistics system.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a perspective view according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of the portion P1 shown in FIG. 2A.

3 is a front view of the substrate processing equipment.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing an index portion and a cassette supply portion of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5A is a plan view showing an index portion and a cassette supply portion of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of a portion P2 shown in FIG. 5A.

6 is a view showing a state in which the shelf is moved to the rear.

7A to 7C are views showing a process of taking a cassette placed on a load port of a shelf.

8A to 8C are diagrams illustrating a process of placing a cassette placed on a shelf in a load port.

9A to 9G are diagrams showing step by step the cassette supply process in the substrate processing equipment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: process processing unit 200: index unit

400: cassette supply unit

Claims (16)

In substrate processing equipment: A cassette opener for opening and closing the door of the cassette; And Located in front of the cassette opener, the cassette logistics device including a load port for carrying or taking a cassette; The load port is And a moving table which slides to the cassette opener to supply a cassette to the cassette opener or to recover a cassette from the cassette opener. The method of claim 1, The substrate processing equipment Further comprising shelves located above the load port and on which the cassette is loaded. The method of claim 2, The shelf is And the cassette dispensing device is slid to the rear with the cassette opener so that the cassette dispensing device can bring or take a cassette in the load port. The method of claim 2, The substrate processing equipment And a horizontal moving member for moving the shelf in the front-rear direction so that the shelf does not collide with the cassette placed in the load port. The method of claim 2, And said shelf is elevated to take a cassette from said load port or to place a cassette on said load port. The method of claim 2, The substrate processing equipment And a vertical moving member for elevating the shelf in a vertical direction so that the shelf can take a cassette from the load port or place a cassette on the load port. The method of claim 2, The substrate processing equipment A horizontal moving member which moves the shelf in the front-rear direction so that the shelf does not collide with the cassette placed in the load port; And And a vertical moving member for elevating the shelf in a vertical direction so that the shelf can take a cassette from the load port or place a cassette on the load port. The method of claim 2, The shelves are arranged in multiple stages, And the shelf is slidably moved forward of the fixture to be located on the same line of the load port or slidably moved backward of the fixture to deviate from the same line of the load port. In substrate processing equipment: An index unit having cassette openers for opening and closing the door of the cassette; And And a cassette supplying unit installed in front of the index unit, wherein the cassette distribution apparatus includes a cassette supply unit for carrying or carrying a cassette, supplying cassettes to the cassette openers, and recovering cassettes from the cassette openers. . 10. The method of claim 9, The cassette supply unit Load ports for exchanging a cassette with a cassette logistics device, for supplying a cassette to the cassette opener, and for recovering the cassette from the cassette opener; Shelves positioned above each of the load ports and loaded with a cassette; And It is installed on each of the shelves, characterized in that the shelf includes a vertical moving member for lifting the shelf toward the load port to bring the cassette placed in the load port, or to put the cassette in storage on the load port Substrate processing equipment. The method of claim 10, The cassette supply unit And a horizontal moving member for moving the shelf in the front-rear direction so as not to collide with the cassette transported between the cassette distribution device and the load port. The method of claim 10, And said shelves are installed in multiple stages. In the substrate processing method: The cassette containing the substrates before the process is provided to the load port by the cassette logistics device, and the cassette placed in the load port is conveyed to the cassette opener or loaded on a shelf located above the load port, characterized in that the stand-by Substrate processing method. The method of claim 13, And when the cassette is already loaded in the cassette opener, the cassette in which the substrates are stored before the processing is directly loaded onto the shelf by a cassette distribution device. The method of claim 13, And when the cassette is provided from the cassette distribution device to the load port, the shelf slides backward so as not to collide with the cassette. The method of claim 13, And a cassette loaded on the shelf is placed in the load port by the lowering operation of the shelf.

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