JP2003115438A - Semiconductor aligner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a semiconductor aligner for improving working efficiency in both a semiconductor projection aligner and a coating/developing apparatus by applying a plurality units of either or both of them. SOLUTION: The semiconductor aligner for making equal or reducing a pattern on a mask through a projection lens for transferring and exposing to a wafer on an exposure stage 1 comprises a plurality of delivery openings 10, 20, and 30 for performing at least one of the carry-in of wafers from pieces of coating/developing apparatuses A, B, and C outside the semiconductor projection aligner into the semiconductor projection aligner and carry-out of wafers from the inside of the semiconductor projection aligner to the pieces of coating/ developing apparatuses A, B, and C, thus connecting a plurality of pieces of apparatus to the outside of the semiconductor aligner and improving the working efficiency in both the semiconductor aligner and the coating/developing apparatus by making appropriate the number of connected semiconductor projection aligners and coating/developing apparatuses.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device manufacturing apparatus for semiconductors and the like, and more particularly to a semiconductor exposure apparatus for exposing and transferring a pattern drawn on an original plate such as a mask onto a substrate to be exposed such as a semiconductor wafer. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional semiconductor exposure apparatus, a coating apparatus for forming a resist film on a wafer surface before wafer exposure, a developing apparatus for developing a resist film after wafer exposure (hereinafter referred to as coating / developing apparatus) and a wafer Only one place of the exposure apparatus has a delivery port for delivery. In the past, a photolithography system was composed of one semiconductor exposure apparatus and one coating / developing apparatus.

A wafer having a resist film formed on its surface by a coating apparatus passes through a transfer port and a wafer transfer space in an exposure apparatus (hereinafter referred to as an inline station).
Is supplied to. After that, the wafer is sent to the pre-alignment stage by the transfer hand, the outer shape of the wafer is aligned, and then sent to the exposure stage by the supply hand. Pre-exposure alignment and exposure are performed on the exposure stage. The exposed wafer is returned to the inline station by the transfer hand, and then is supplied to the developing device through the transfer port to undergo resist developing processing.

Normally, while pre-exposure alignment and exposure are being performed on one wafer on the exposure stage, the next wafer is subjected to the outline alignment step on the pre-alignment stage, and the wafer on the exposure stage is Wait for collection by the transport hand.

[0005]

However, when the wafer processing capacity of the exposure apparatus is improved, or conversely, the wafer processing capacity of the coating / developing apparatus is improved, the conventional technique is applied to the coating / developing apparatus. The devices can be arranged only one-to-one, and the performance of the device having a poor wafer processing capability is limited, and the performance of the device having a superior wafer processing capability cannot be fully exhibited. In particular, since the semiconductor exposure apparatus is one of the most expensive equipments in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, it is possible to eliminate the situation where the processing capacity of other equipments limits the rate.
It is necessary to increase the operating rate of the exposure apparatus.

A plurality of coating / developing apparatuses for one exposure apparatus, one coating / developing apparatus for a plurality of exposure apparatuses, or a plurality of coating / developing apparatuses for a plurality of exposure apparatuses By arranging, it is possible to cancel the difference in wafer processing capability. However, in order to realize this by using the conventional technique, a separate transfer device for transferring wafers between these plural devices is required. This is disadvantageous in terms of installation cost, installation area, and wafer transfer time, and transfers wafers from multiple devices to one transfer port and from one transfer port to multiple devices without delay. The problem of being difficult to process also arises.

An object of the present invention was made in view of the above problems, and one or both of an exposure apparatus and a coating / developing apparatus are provided in plural, and the operating rates of both are increased more than in the conventional case. is there.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, a semiconductor exposure apparatus of the present invention is a semiconductor exposure in which a pattern on an original plate is transferred to a substrate on an exposure stage after being magnified or reduced through a projection lens. An apparatus, wherein the substrate is loaded into the semiconductor exposure apparatus from an apparatus connected to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus, and the substrate is transferred to an apparatus connected to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus from inside the semiconductor exposure apparatus. The present invention is characterized by having a plurality of delivery ports for carrying out.

In the present invention, when the substrate is carried into the semiconductor exposure apparatus from the apparatus connected to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus through the transfer port, or the apparatus connected to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus. When carrying out the substrate from the inside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus through the delivery port, the semiconductor exposure apparatus does not use the substrate transfer means in the apparatus, and the substrate stage or the exposure stage on which the substrate is placed. It is possible to directly exchange the stage and the substrate. Further, it is preferable that the semiconductor exposure apparatus has means for receiving the substrate from the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus at each of the transfer ports or delivering the substrate to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus. The semiconductor exposure apparatus includes a unit having means for receiving the substrate from outside the semiconductor exposure apparatus at each of the transfer ports, or a unit that transfers the substrate to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus, and the unit between the plurality of transfer ports. Means for moving through the interior of the exposure apparatus.

In the present invention, in the semiconductor exposure apparatus, the unit moves through the inside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus to the substrate stage or the vicinity of the exposure stage, and transfers the substrate stage or the exposure stage to the substrate. It is possible to have a means for doing directly. Further, the semiconductor exposure apparatus, after receiving the substrate from the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus at each of the transfer ports,
Alternatively, it is preferable to have a means for performing at least one of temperature adjustment and peripheral exposure on the substrate before transferring it to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus. Further, the unit can move back and forth between other devices connected to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus, and can have means for performing additional processing on the substrate.

Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that the semiconductor exposure apparatus has means for transporting the substrate between the plurality of transfer ports in one or more semiconductor exposure apparatuses. For example, when the number of the semiconductor exposure apparatus is one, it may be a means for transporting the substrate through the inside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus. Further, the semiconductor exposure apparatus preferably has a transfer hand that transfers the substrate to all or part of the plurality of transfer ports.
Furthermore, the semiconductor exposure apparatus manages position data of at least one of the transport hand, the exposure stage, and the substrate stage, and the process progress status of the plurality of substrates inside and outside the semiconductor exposure apparatus. However, it is preferable to have a computer for determining and instructing a substrate processing procedure and a substrate transfer procedure for efficiently performing the exposure process.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor exposure apparatus has transfer ports for transferring a wafer to and from an external apparatus at a plurality of locations in the exposure apparatus. At this time, the wafer can be transferred from any of the transfer ports to the exposure stage for exposure, and the exposed wafer is transferred to any of the transfer ports. As a result, a plurality of coating / developing devices for one exposure device, one coating / developing device for a plurality of exposure devices,
Alternatively, a plurality of coating / developing devices can be arranged for a plurality of exposure devices without separately interposing a wafer transfer device. Furthermore, a computer attached to the exposure apparatus or a computer for process control can determine and instruct an appropriate wafer processing procedure or wafer transfer procedure.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a device configuration of a semiconductor exposure apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the exposure apparatus of the present embodiment includes an exposure stage 1, a base 2,
A pre-alignment stage 3, a transfer hand 4 for transferring an unexposed wafer from the in-line station (IN) to the pre-alignment stage 3, and a transfer hand 4 for transferring an exposed wafer from the exposure stage 1 to the in-line station (OUT),
5 (A, B), a supply hand 6 for supplying the wafer after the outer shape alignment from the pre-alignment stage 3 to the exposure stage 1. In addition, the resist coating / developing apparatus has transfer ports for transferring wafers at a plurality of locations (three locations of 10, 20, and 30 in FIG. 1) of the apparatus, and coating / exposing apparatuses are provided outside the exposure apparatus. Developing device A,
B and C are connected. Furthermore, each transfer port 10,
An inline station (IN) 1 for temporarily holding the unexposed wafers from the coating apparatus is provided in each of 20 and 30.
1, 21, and 31 and an inline station (OUT) that temporarily holds the exposed wafers to be transferred to the developing device.
) 12, 22, 32 are provided.

In the semiconductor exposure apparatus of FIG. 1 described above, the wafer transfer ports 10, 30, and 20 are provided at three locations on the left side surface, right side surface, and front surface of the apparatus. The structure may have a delivery port at two positions such as the front of the device or the right side of the device and the front of the device.

Further, in the semiconductor exposure apparatus of FIG. 1 described above,
Although it is configured to have two transport hands 4 and 5 on the left and right, one transport may be used for all transport, or one hand may be provided for each delivery port. It may be. Furthermore, the transport hand itself may be movable. In this embodiment, the exposure apparatus does not have a transfer hand, and a wafer loading hand of an external connection device (not shown) or a wafer transfer unit of this external connection device is inserted into the exposure apparatus and the wafer is placed directly on the stage. Alternatively, the wafer may be directly recovered from the stage.

From the coating device to the in-line station (I
N) The wafers loaded in 11, 21, and 31 are transferred to the pre-alignment stage 3 by the transfer hand 4 or the transfer hand 5. Inline station (IN) 11
As a wafer carried in, the fact is shown by the dotted line in FIG. The pre-alignment stage 3 aligns the outer shape of the wafer. The wafer whose outer shape is aligned by the pre-alignment stage 3 is supplied to the exposure stage 1 by the supply hand 6. The wafer that has been subjected to pre-exposure alignment and exposure by the exposure stage 1 is collected by the transfer hand 4 or the transfer hand 5 and transferred to any one of the inline stations (OUT) 12, 22, 32, and then to the developing device. Supplied.

In the semiconductor exposure apparatus of this embodiment, for example, the wafers introduced into the exposure apparatus from the wafer delivery port are not exposed, and the transfer hands A and B are delivered, or another wafer is delivered via the pre-alignment stage. The structure may be such that it can be delivered to the mouth. At this time, in this embodiment, a unit for assisting the transfer of the wafer between the transfer hands A and B may be separately provided. An example of using this function will be described in Example 3 below.

In this embodiment, the position of a plurality of wafers inside and outside the exposure apparatus, coating / exposure of each wafer is performed by a computer 40 attached to the exposure apparatus or a computer for process control outside the exposure apparatus (not shown). Data such as the progress status of the developing process, the position of each hand in the exposure apparatus, and the position of each stage in the exposure apparatus may be managed. Further, based on the above data, in order to perform efficient exposure without physically interfering each wafer, hand, and stage, which wafer from which coating device is exposed and which wafer after exposure is exposed The computer 40 attached to the exposure apparatus or a process management computer (not shown) outside the exposure apparatus may determine and instruct which path the development is performed by the developing apparatus and the conveyance is performed.

Compared with the wafer processing capability of the exposure apparatus,
When the wafer processing capability of the developing device is poor, for example, the wafer A resist-coated by the coating device A is introduced into the exposure device through the transfer port A, the exposure process is completed, and the wafer A is transferred by the transfer hand A. Are collected from the exposure stage. At this time, since the wafer throughput of the coating apparatus is low, it is assumed that the external positioning of the wafer coated next to the wafer A by the coating apparatus A has not been completed. If the exposure apparatus has only one coating apparatus for each exposure apparatus, the wafer processing capacity of the coating apparatus limits the speed of the exposure apparatus. However, in the case of the exposure apparatus of this embodiment, the wafer A
After the wafer has been introduced into the exposure apparatus, the wafer B coated with the resist by the coating apparatus B is introduced into the exposure apparatus, for example, until the exposure of the wafer A is completed and the wafer B is recovered from the exposure stage. Then, the outer shape alignment of the wafer B can be completed. On this occasion,
The wafer C resist-coated by the coating apparatus C instead of the coating apparatus B may be exposed next to the wafer A.

Also, for example, the wafer A'in the exposure apparatus
Is exposed, and is conveyed from the exposure device to the development device A to perform a development process, and the wafer B ′ next to the wafer A ′ is exposed in the exposure device. At this time, if the developing device A is not in a wafer receivable state, and if the developing device A has only one developing device per exposure device, the exposure speed is limited by the wafer processing capacity of the developing device. The device cannot exert its capacity. However, in the case of the exposure apparatus of the present embodiment, the wafer B ′ can be transported to, for example, the developing apparatus B in a wafer receivable state, and can be rapidly developed. At this time, in the present embodiment, the wafer B ′ may be developed by the developing device C instead of the developing device B.

In this embodiment, when the wafer B or the wafer C is transferred, the hand of the transfer hands A and B that has not been transferred is recognized by the computer in the exposure apparatus, and the hand can be automatically selected. You may

By these methods described above, in the present embodiment, the wafer processing capability of the exposure apparatus can be fully exerted.

Furthermore, during the transfer to and from the coating / developing device, while the wafer is present at the position of the inline station, or during the transfer from the inline station to the stage, the wafer is subjected to processing such as temperature adjustment and peripheral exposure. May be done.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the device configuration of a semiconductor exposure apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Here, in FIG. 2, the same components (objects) as the components (parts) described with reference to FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals.

As shown in the figure, the semiconductor exposure apparatus of the present embodiment pre-aligns the exposure stage 1, the base 2, the pre-alignment stage 3, and the wafer after the outer shape alignment, like the exposure apparatus shown in FIG. A supply hand 6 for supplying from the stage 3 to the exposure stage 1 is provided. This exposure apparatus has transfer ports for transferring wafers to and from the resist coating / developing apparatuses A, B, and C at a plurality of locations (three locations of 10, 20, and 30 in FIG. 2) of the apparatus, respectively. Against the outside of the exposure device, coating / developing devices A, B, C
Are connected. The present exposure apparatus also includes wafer holding units 8 and 9 for temporarily holding an unexposed wafer from the coating apparatus or temporarily holding an exposed wafer to be transferred to the developing apparatus. Wafer holding unit 8, 9
Can be moved between the transfer ports 10, 20, and 30 along the guide 7. The arrow in FIG. 2 indicates that the two wafer holding units 8 and 9 move along the guide 7. Further, transfer hands 4, 5 (A, B) for transferring the unexposed wafer from the wafer holding units 8 and 9 to the pre-alignment stage 3 and the exposed wafer from the exposure stage 1 to the wafer holding units 8 and 9. Have.

In the semiconductor exposure apparatus of FIG. 2 described above, the wafer transfer ports 10, 30, and 20 are provided at three positions on the left side surface of the apparatus, the right side surface, and the front surface of the apparatus. The structure may have a delivery port at two positions such as the front of the device or the right side of the device and the front of the device.

In the semiconductor exposure apparatus of FIG. 2 described above,
Although it is configured to have two wafer holding units,
One wafer holding unit may be used to transfer all the wafers, or three or more wafer holding units may be provided.

Further, in the semiconductor exposure apparatus of FIG. 2 described above, two carrying hands are provided on the left and right sides, but it is possible to carry out all carrying with one hand, or to each delivery port. Alternatively, the hands may be arranged one by one. Further, in this embodiment, the transfer hand itself may be movable, or the transfer hand may be incorporated in the wafer holding unit so that it can be moved along the guide. Furthermore, the exposure apparatus may not have a transfer hand, and the wafer holding unit may move to a position near the stage to directly exchange the wafer with the stage, or a wafer loading hand of an external connection device (not shown), Alternatively, the wafer transfer unit of the external connection device may be inserted into the exposure apparatus, the wafer may be directly placed on the stage, and the wafer may be directly recovered from the stage.

In the semiconductor exposure apparatus of this embodiment, similarly to the semiconductor exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a wafer from the coating apparatus connected to any of the wafer transfer ports can be transferred onto the pre-alignment stage and exposed. The subsequent wafer can be transferred to the developing device connected to any of the wafer connection ports.

In the semiconductor exposure apparatus of this embodiment, for example, by moving the wafer holding unit without exposing the wafer introduced into the exposure apparatus from the wafer transfer port, or by transferring the transfer hands A and B, or pre-alignment. The structure may be such that the wafer can be transferred to another wafer delivery port via the stage. At this time, in this embodiment, a unit for assisting the transfer of the wafer between the transfer hands A and B may be separately provided. An example of using this function will be described in Example 3 below.

In the present embodiment, the position of a plurality of wafers inside and outside the exposure apparatus and the coating / exposure / exposure of each wafer are performed by a computer 40 attached to the exposure apparatus or a process control computer (not shown) outside the exposure apparatus. Data such as the progress status of the developing process, the position of each hand in the exposure apparatus, the position of the wafer holding unit, and the position of each stage in the exposure apparatus may be managed. Further, based on the above data, the wafer from which coating device is exposed in order to perform coating, exposure, and development efficiently without physically interfering with each wafer, hand, wafer holding unit, and stage. Then
The developing device for developing the exposed wafer and the route for carrying the wafer may be determined and instructed by the computer 40 attached to the exposure device or a process control computer (not shown) outside the exposure device. .

According to the semiconductor exposure apparatus of FIG. 2 described above,
As in the case of the exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1, even when the wafer processing capacity of the coating / developing apparatus is inferior to the wafer processing capacity of the exposure apparatus, wafers from a plurality of coating apparatuses are introduced into the exposure apparatus in a timely manner. By exposing and exposing the wafer to a plurality of developing devices without delaying the wafer, the wafer processing capability of the exposing device can be fully exhibited.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a semiconductor exposure apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an apparatus configuration when the semiconductor exposure apparatuses of FIG. 2 are arranged in parallel. In the figure, an exposure device 50,
Reference numerals 51 and 52 denote the exposure apparatuses shown in FIG. 1 and / or FIG. 2, which have wafer transfer ports at a plurality of locations in the apparatus and have the characteristics described in the first or second embodiment. The exposure apparatuses 50, 51 and 52 are directly connected to each other through a wafer transfer port. However, if the exposure apparatus is of the type shown in FIG. 1, a wafer transfer unit may be separately provided between the inline stations, and if it is of the type shown in FIG. . If the exposure apparatus is of the type shown in FIG. 2, a guide may be connected between adjacent exposure apparatuses so that the wafer holding unit itself can move between the exposure apparatuses.

These semiconductor exposure apparatuses 50, 5 described above
A coating / developing apparatus is connected to a part or all of the exposure apparatuses 1 and 52. According to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, three exposure apparatuses are provided and two coating / developing apparatuses are provided. Therefore, when the wafer processing capacity of the exposure apparatus is inferior to that of the coating / developing apparatus, It is effective for improving the operation rate of the coating / developing apparatus without being limited by the wafer processing capacity of the exposure apparatus. That is, in this embodiment, for example, the wafer A coated with the resist by the coating apparatus A is conveyed to the exposure apparatus A, and the exposure step is performed after the alignment. Coating device A
If the exposure apparatus A is not in the wafer receivable state at the time when the resist coating on the next wafer A ′ of the wafer A is completed in the coating apparatus A, the wafer A ′ is changed to the exposure apparatus A.
It is conveyed to the exposure apparatus B as it is without being exposed at
It can be exposed with. In this embodiment, the exposure timings of the exposure apparatus A and the exposure apparatus B are adjusted, the wafer A ″ exposed by the exposure apparatus A is carried into the developing apparatus A, and then the wafer B exposed by the exposure apparatus B is changed. It suffices to promptly carry in the developing device A through the exposure device A.

In the semiconductor exposure apparatus of the present embodiment, for example, in the case of wafers a and a ′ resist-coated by the coating apparatus A, when the masks to be exposed are different between the wafers a and a ′, for example, the exposure apparatus A is previously set. The mask to be exposed on the wafer a and the mask to be exposed on the wafer a ′ are set and aligned in the exposure apparatus B, respectively. Then, while the resist-coated wafer a is being processed by the exposure apparatus A, the wafer a ′ whose resist coating has been completed may be carried into the exposure apparatus B via the exposure apparatus A and exposed quickly. .

At this time, in this embodiment, the computer 40 attached to the exposure apparatus or the process control computer (not shown) outside the exposure apparatus positions the plurality of wafers inside and outside the exposure apparatus, and coats / coats each wafer. Data such as the progress status of the exposure / development process, the position of each hand in the exposure apparatus, the position of the wafer holding unit, and the position of each stage in the exposure apparatus may be managed. Further, based on the above data, the wafer from which coating device is exposed in order to perform coating, exposure, and development efficiently without physically interfering with each wafer, hand, wafer holding unit, and stage. Then, the computer 4 attached to the exposure apparatus determines which developing apparatus develops the exposed wafer and which route the wafer is conveyed.
0 or a process management computer (not shown) outside the exposure apparatus may determine and instruct.

In FIG. 3 described above, the configuration is such that the coating / developing device is two with respect to the three exposing devices, but the number of the two may be the same, or the number of the exposing devices is better. The configuration may be such that there are more or more coating / developing devices. Further, as the arrangement method, a layout in which an exposure device and a coating / developing device are alternately arranged can be considered.

(Example of Semiconductor Production System) Next, a device such as a semiconductor (a semiconductor chip such as an IC or an LSI, a liquid crystal panel, a CCD, a thin film magnetic head, a micromachine) using an exposure apparatus including the semiconductor exposure apparatus described above. Etc.) of the production system. This is to carry out maintenance services such as troubleshooting of a manufacturing apparatus installed in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, periodic maintenance, or software provision using a computer network or the like outside the manufacturing factory.

FIG. 4 shows the whole system cut out from a certain angle. In the figure, 101 is a business office of a vendor (apparatus supplier) that provides a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus. As an example of a manufacturing apparatus, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for various processes used in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, for example,
Pre-process equipment (lithography equipment such as exposure equipment, resist processing equipment, etching equipment, heat treatment equipment, film forming equipment,
Flattening equipment, etc.) and post-process equipment (assembling equipment, inspection equipment, etc.) are assumed. In the business office 101, a host management system 10 that provides a maintenance database for manufacturing equipment is provided.
8, a plurality of operation terminal computers 110, and a local area network (LAN) 109 that connects these to construct an intranet or the like. Host management system 1
08 is provided with a gateway for connecting the LAN 109 to the Internet 105, which is an external network of the office, and a security function for restricting access from the outside.

On the other hand, 102 to 104 are semiconductor manufacturers (semiconductor device manufacturers) as users of manufacturing equipment.
Manufacturing plant. The manufacturing factories 102 to 104 may be factories belonging to different makers or may be factories belonging to the same maker (for example, a pre-process factory, a post-process factory, etc.). In each of the factories 102 to 104, a plurality of manufacturing apparatuses 106, a local area network (LAN) 111 that connects them to construct an intranet, and a host as a monitoring apparatus that monitors the operating status of each manufacturing apparatus 106 are provided. A management system 107 is provided. The host management system 107 provided in each factory 102 to 104 includes a gateway for connecting the LAN 111 in each factory to the Internet 105 which is an external network of the factory. As a result, the host management system 108 on the vendor 101 side can be accessed from the LAN 111 of each factory via the Internet 105, and only the limited user is permitted to access by the security function of the host management system 108. Specifically, via the Internet 105,
The factory side notifies the vendor side of status information indicating the operating status of each manufacturing apparatus 106 (for example, a symptom of the manufacturing apparatus in which a trouble has occurred), and the response information corresponding to the notification (for example, an instruction for a troubleshooting method is given. Information to
It is possible to receive maintenance information such as countermeasure software and data), the latest software, and help information from the vendor side. A communication protocol (TCP / IP) generally used on the Internet is used for data communication between the factories 102 to 104 and the vendor 101 and data communication on the LAN 111 in each factory. In addition,
Instead of using the Internet as an external network outside the factory, it is also possible to use a leased line network (ISDN or the like) having high security without being accessed by a third party. Further, the host management system is not limited to one provided by a vendor, and a user may construct a database and place it on an external network to permit access from a plurality of factories of the user to the database.

Now, FIG. 5 is a conceptual view showing the entire system of this embodiment cut out from an angle different from that shown in FIG. In the above example, a plurality of user factories each provided with a manufacturing apparatus are connected to a management system of a vendor of the manufacturing apparatus via an external network, and production management of each factory or at least one unit is performed via the external network. Was used for data communication of information on the manufacturing equipment. On the other hand, in this example, a factory equipped with manufacturing equipment of a plurality of vendors and a management system of each vendor of the plurality of manufacturing equipments are connected by an external network outside the factory, and maintenance information of each manufacturing equipment is displayed. It is for data communication. In the figure, reference numeral 201 denotes a manufacturing plant of a manufacturing apparatus user (semiconductor device manufacturing maker), and a manufacturing apparatus for performing various processes is installed on a manufacturing line of the factory.
The film forming processing device 204 is introduced. Although only one manufacturing factory 201 is illustrated in FIG. 5, a plurality of factories are actually networked in the same manner. Each device in the factory is connected by a LAN 206 to form an intranet or the like, and the host management system 205 manages the operation of the manufacturing line. On the other hand, the exposure apparatus manufacturer 210, the resist processing apparatus manufacturer 220, the film deposition apparatus manufacturer 230, etc.
Each business site of the vendor (device supplier) is provided with host management systems 211, 221, 231 for performing remote maintenance of the supplied equipment, respectively, and these are provided with the maintenance database and the gateway of the external network as described above. . The host management system 205 that manages each device in the user's manufacturing factory and the vendor management system 211, 221, 231 of each device are the external network 20.
It is connected by the Internet or a leased line network which is 0. In this system, if a trouble occurs in any of the series of manufacturing equipment on the manufacturing line, the operation of the manufacturing line is suspended, but the vendor of the equipment in trouble receives remote maintenance via the Internet 200. This enables quick response and minimizes production line downtime.

Each manufacturing apparatus installed in the semiconductor manufacturing factory is provided with a display, a network interface, and a computer for executing the network access software and the apparatus operating software stored in the storage device. The storage device is a built-in memory, a hard disk, a network file server, or the like. The network access software includes a dedicated or general-purpose web browser, and provides a user interface having a screen, an example of which is shown in FIG. 6, on the display. The operator who manages the manufacturing equipment at each factory refers to the screen and refers to the model of the manufacturing equipment (4
01), serial number (402), trouble subject (403), occurrence date (404), urgency (405), symptom (406), coping method (407), progress (408), and other information on the screen. Fill in the input fields. The entered information will be sent to the maintenance database via the Internet,
The resulting appropriate maintenance information is returned from the maintenance database and presented on the display. Further, the user interface provided by the web browser further realizes a hyperlink function (410, 411, 412) as shown in the figure, so that the operator can access more detailed information of each item or from a software library provided by the vendor. It is possible to pull out the latest version of software used for the manufacturing apparatus, or pull out an operation guide (help information) to be used as a reference for the factory operator. Here, the maintenance information provided by the maintenance database includes the information about the present invention described above, and the software library also provides the latest software for implementing the present invention.

Next, a semiconductor device manufacturing process using the above-described production system will be described. Figure 7
1 shows an overall manufacturing process flow of a semiconductor device. In step 1 (circuit design), the circuit of the semiconductor device is designed. In step 2 (mask manufacturing), a mask having the designed circuit pattern is manufactured. On the other hand, in step 3 (wafer manufacturing), a wafer is manufactured using a material such as silicon. Step 4 (wafer process) is called a pre-process, and an actual circuit is formed on the wafer by the lithography technique using the mask and the wafer prepared above. The next step 5 (assembly) is called a post-process, which is a process of forming a semiconductor chip using the wafer manufactured in step 4, and an assembly process (dicing,
Assembling process such as bonding) and packaging process (chip encapsulation). In step 6 (inspection), the semiconductor device manufactured in step 5 undergoes inspections such as an operation confirmation test and a durability test. A semiconductor device is completed through these processes and shipped (step 7). The front-end process and the back-end process are performed in separate dedicated factories, and maintenance is performed for each of these factories by the remote maintenance system described above. Also, between the front-end factory and the back-end factory,
Information and the like for production management and equipment maintenance are data-communicated via the Internet or a leased line network.

FIG. 8 shows a detailed flow of the wafer process. In step 11 (oxidation), the surface of the wafer is oxidized. In step 12 (CVD), an insulating film is formed on the wafer surface. In step 13 (electrode formation), electrodes are formed on the wafer by vapor deposition. In step 14 (ion implantation), ions are implanted in the wafer. Step 1
In 5 (resist processing), a photosensitive agent is applied to the wafer. In step 16 (exposure), the circuit pattern of the mask is printed on the wafer by exposure using an exposure apparatus including the semiconductor exposure apparatus described above. In step 17 (development), the exposed wafer is developed. In step 18 (etching), parts other than the developed resist image are removed. In step 19 (resist stripping), the resist that is no longer needed after etching is removed. By repeating these steps, multiple circuit patterns are formed on the wafer.
Since the manufacturing equipment used in each process is maintained by the remote maintenance system described above, troubles can be prevented in advance, and even if troubles occur, quick recovery is possible, and Productivity can be improved.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The semiconductor exposure apparatus has a plurality of coating / development apparatuses for the substrate such as a wafer with respect to the external apparatus, and the semiconductor exposure apparatus has a plurality of coating / developing apparatuses, and the semiconductor exposure apparatuses have a plurality of substrate transfer apparatuses separately. It became possible to connect without. Therefore, even if there is a difference in the substrate processing capability of both the semiconductor exposure apparatus and the coating / developing apparatus, the substrate processing capability of both apparatuses will be sufficient if the number of connected devices is appropriate and the substrate processing procedure and substrate transfer procedure are appropriate. Can be demonstrated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a device configuration of a semiconductor exposure apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a device configuration of a semiconductor exposure apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a semiconductor exposure apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view showing an apparatus configuration when the semiconductor exposure apparatuses of FIGS. 1 and / or 2 are arranged in parallel.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual view of a semiconductor device production system including an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention viewed from a certain angle.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual view of a semiconductor device production system including an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from another angle.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of a user interface in a semiconductor device production system including an exposure apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a device manufacturing process by the exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a wafer process by the exposure apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: exposure stage, 2: base, 3: pre-alignment stage, 4, 5: transport hand, 6: supply hand, 7:
Guides 8, 9: Wafer holding units 11, 21, 3
1: In-line station (IN), 12, 22, 3
2: In-line station (OUT) 10, 20, 3
0: Handover port, 40: Computer, 50, 51, 5
2: Semiconductor exposure device, A, B, C: coating / developing device.

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A semiconductor exposure apparatus which transfers a pattern on an original plate to a substrate on an exposure stage by equal-magnification or reduction through a projection lens and exposes the pattern onto the substrate, the apparatus being connected to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus from the semiconductor exposure apparatus. A semiconductor exposure apparatus having a plurality of transfer openings for carrying in the substrate into and out of the semiconductor exposure apparatus to an apparatus connected to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus. . 2. When the substrate is carried into the semiconductor exposure apparatus from the apparatus connected to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus through the transfer port, or to the apparatus connected to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus When carrying out the substrate from the inside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus through the mouth, the semiconductor exposure apparatus uses the substrate stage or the exposure stage and the substrate stage on which the substrate is mounted without using the substrate transfer means in the apparatus. The semiconductor exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is directly exchanged. 3. The semiconductor exposure apparatus receives the substrate from outside the semiconductor exposure apparatus at each of the transfer ports.
Alternatively, the semiconductor exposure apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means for transferring the semiconductor exposure apparatus to the outside. 4. The semiconductor exposure apparatus receives the substrate from outside the semiconductor exposure apparatus at each of the transfer ports.
Alternatively, it has a unit including means for delivering to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus, and means for moving the unit between the plurality of delivery ports through the inside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus. Semiconductor exposure equipment. 5. The semiconductor exposure apparatus, wherein the unit moves through the inside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus to the substrate stage or the vicinity of the exposure stage and directly transfers the substrate stage or the exposure stage and the substrate. The semiconductor exposure apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: 6. The semiconductor exposure apparatus, after receiving the substrate from the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus at each of the transfer ports, or before transferring the substrate to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus,
6. The semiconductor exposure apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a means for performing at least one additional process of temperature adjustment and peripheral exposure on the substrate. 7. The unit according to claim 4, further comprising means for performing additional processing on the substrate, the unit being capable of moving back and forth between other devices connected to the outside of the semiconductor exposure apparatus.
6. The semiconductor exposure apparatus according to any one of 6 above. 8. The semiconductor exposure apparatus has means for transporting the substrate between the plurality of transfer ports in one or more semiconductor exposure apparatuses. 2. The semiconductor exposure apparatus according to item 1. 9. The semiconductor exposure apparatus has a transfer hand for transferring the substrate to all or part of the plurality of transfer ports, and the semiconductor exposure apparatus has any one of claims 1 to 8.
The semiconductor exposure apparatus according to item. 10. The semiconductor exposure apparatus, at least one or more position data of the transport hand, the exposure stage, and the substrate stage, and the process progress status of the plurality of substrates inside and outside the semiconductor exposure apparatus. Manage and
The computer further comprises a computer for determining and instructing a substrate processing procedure and a substrate transfer procedure.
10. The semiconductor exposure apparatus according to any one of items 9 to 9. 11. The semiconductor exposure apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display, a network interface, and a computer that executes software for the network, and stores maintenance information of the semiconductor exposure apparatus. A semiconductor exposure apparatus that enables data communication via a computer network. 12. The network software comprises:
The semiconductor exposure apparatus is connected to an external network of a factory, and a user interface for accessing a maintenance database provided by a vendor or a user of the semiconductor exposure apparatus is provided on the display, and the user interface is accessed via the external network. The semiconductor exposure apparatus according to claim 11, which makes it possible to obtain information from a database. 13. A step of installing a manufacturing apparatus group for various processes including the semiconductor exposure apparatus according to claim 1 in a semiconductor manufacturing factory, and a plurality of processes using the manufacturing apparatus group. And a step of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present invention. 14. Data communication of information relating to at least one of the manufacturing apparatus group between a step of connecting the manufacturing apparatus group by a local area network and between the local area network and an external network outside the semiconductor manufacturing factory. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 13, further comprising: 15. A database provided by a vendor or a user of the semiconductor exposure apparatus is accessed through the external network to obtain maintenance information of the manufacturing apparatus by data communication, or a semiconductor manufacturing different from the semiconductor manufacturing factory. The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 14, wherein production management is performed by data communication with a factory via the external network. 16. A manufacturing apparatus group for various processes including the semiconductor exposure apparatus according to claim 1, a local area network connecting the manufacturing apparatus group, and a factory from the local area network. A semiconductor manufacturing factory, comprising a gateway that enables access to an external network outside, and enabling data communication of information regarding at least one of the manufacturing apparatus group. 17. The method according to claim 1, which is installed in a semiconductor manufacturing factory.
13. The method for maintaining a semiconductor exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein a vendor or a user of the semiconductor exposure apparatus provides a maintenance database connected to an external network of a semiconductor manufacturing factory, And a step of permitting access to the maintenance database from within the manufacturing factory via the external network, and a step of transmitting the maintenance information accumulated in the maintenance database to the semiconductor manufacturing factory side via the external network. A method for maintaining a semiconductor exposure apparatus, comprising: