JP4401856B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate together with a substrate when a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, an optical disk substrate or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) is transferred between adjacent units. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that transfers substrate information data in which information is stored, and particularly relates to the data structure of substrate information data, a recipe table, a first process table, and a second process table used in the substrate processing apparatus. .

  Conventionally, pattern exposure has been completed using a resist coating process that applies photoresist to the surface of a square substrate (glass square substrate for liquid crystal, flexible substrate for film liquid crystal, photomask substrate, color filter substrate, etc.) and an exposure device. In a substrate processing apparatus that performs processing for developing a substrate, for example, the mechanical setting of each processing unit of the substrate processing apparatus is changed based on the thickness of the substrate measured by the measurement unit. (For example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-031731

  By the way, in the substrate processing apparatus of patent document 1, it is thought that the process was performed with respect to each board | substrate with the following methods, for example. That is, in the substrate processing apparatus of Patent Document 1, each substrate to be processed has substrate information data 596 (see FIG. 13), and when transferring a substrate between adjacent processing units, the transfer side The substrate information data 596 is also delivered from the processing unit to the receiving processing unit together with the substrate.

  Further, the substrate processing performed in each processing unit is determined based on, for example, a recipe ID stored in the substrate information data 596 shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of the recipe table 591 of Patent Document 1. In FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 14, an identifier for uniquely identifying each record (each row) is stored in the “recipe ID” field (that is, the “recipe ID” column) of the recipe table 591. In fields other than the “recipe ID” field of the recipe table 591, numerical values (“process ID”) representing processes performed in the respective processing units such as the cleaning unit, the coating unit, and the pre-bake unit are stored. .

  Therefore, the processing performed on each substrate in each processing unit is determined by the “process ID” specified based on the “recipe ID” of the substrate information data 596. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, when “2” is stored in the “recipe ID” of the substrate information data 596, the resist coating unit performs a process defined by “process ID” = “2” on the substrate. Is done.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the data structure of the process table 592 of Patent Document 1. As an example of the process table 592, the data structure of the process table 592 of the resist coating unit is shown. As shown in FIG. 12, the “process ID” field of the process table 592 stores an identifier for uniquely identifying each record. In each of the fields other than the “process ID” field of the process table 592, process control elements (for example, “resist temperature”, “resist discharge amount”, “slit nozzle”, etc.) relating to the resist coating processing performed in the resist coating unit. The “movement speed”, “nozzle height”, “substrate adsorption pressure”, etc.) are stored.

  Here, the fields other than the “process ID” field of the process table 592 will be described further. Each field is determined according to (A) the physical properties of the substrate (for example, “nozzle height”, “substrate adsorption pressure”). And (B) determined according to the processing content of the substrate regardless of the physical properties of the substrate (for example, “resist temperature”, “resist discharge amount”, “slit nozzle moving speed”, etc.) Can be classified. That is, each record of the process table 592 shown in FIG. 12 includes the item (A) process control element (hereinafter referred to as “substrate property dependent process control element” or “substrate dependent element”) and the item (B) process control. Elements (hereinafter referred to as “substrate property-independent type process control elements” or “process-dependent elements”) are stored.

  However, when the number of substrate types to be processed increases and it becomes necessary to perform processing on substrates of various thicknesses, the number of substrate-dependent elements increases according to the increased number of substrate types. Become. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 12, process dependent elements are registered redundantly and data becomes redundant. As a result, the number of records to be managed in the process table 592 increases.

  Furthermore, when the number of records to be managed in the process table 592 increases, the number of “process IDs” to be stored in each field of the recipe table 591 also increases. As a result, the number of records to be managed in the recipe table 591 increases, causing a problem.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can reduce an increase in the size of a recipe table and a process table even when the number of substrate types to be processed increases.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 has a plurality of processing units, and when transferring a substrate between adjacent processing units, the processing unit on the receiving side changes to the processing unit on the receiving side. A substrate processing apparatus that delivers substrate information data together with a substrate, wherein the substrate information data includes substrate attribute data indicating a substrate attribute of the substrate, a recipe ID that identifies a recipe of processing to be performed on the substrate, The substrate processing apparatus registers, as recipe data, a plurality of processing recipes in which a plurality of tables, that is, a plurality of processing recipes each describing a series of processing contents for a substrate using a process ID are distinguished from each other by the recipe ID. A control is provided corresponding to each of the recipe table and the plurality of processing units, and is a control that does not depend on the substrate attribute among the control elements of the processing in the recipe table. A first process table for registering elements as first process data while distinguishing them by process ID, and corresponding to at least one processing unit among the plurality of processing units, and for processing in the recipe table A storage unit that holds a second process table that registers control elements that depend on the substrate attribute as second process data while distinguishing them according to the substrate attribute, and a storage unit that stores the second process table as separate tables. The process ID for the processing target substrate is identified by comparing the recipe ID in the substrate information data for the processing target substrate with the recipe ID in the recipe table, and the process ID is used to specify the process ID for the processing target substrate. A first selection unit that selects the first process data from one process table; and the at least one process. The substrate attribute data provided in the substrate information data for the substrate to be processed is compared with the substrate attribute in the second process table, and the second process table is used to check the second process table. And a second selection unit that selects the second process data.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the second selection unit includes a numerical value range determined by a value of a substrate attribute in the second process table, and the substrate information. The second process data is selected by collating with the value of the substrate attribute data included in the data.

  The invention of claim 3 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage unit includes a first storage unit provided in each of the plurality of processing units, and the substrate processing. And a second storage unit provided in a control unit that controls the operation status of the entire apparatus, and the first storage unit included in the at least one processing unit includes a corresponding first storage unit. 2 process tables are held, and each of the second storage units holds the first process table and the recipe table, and each of the plurality of processing units is activated. The recipe data and the first process table corresponding to the activated processing unit are transmitted from the second storage unit to the first storage unit of the activated processing unit. To do.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the substrate attribute includes a thickness of the substrate.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the second process data includes a position of a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the second process data includes an adsorption pressure of an adsorption unit provided in the plurality of processing units.

According to invention of Claim 1-6, Of process data,
(1) first process data (substrate property-independent type process control element) used when processing that is not affected by the substrate attribute is performed by the first selection unit;
(2) second process data (substrate property dependent process control element) determined according to the substrate attribute by the second selection unit;
Can be managed separately, and can be individually selected by the first and second selection units.

  As a result, the number of data to be managed can be reduced as compared with the case where the first and second process tables are managed by one process table. That is, when process data is managed by one process table, there is a case where the first process data used for performing processing not affected by the substrate attribute is registered in the process table in duplicate. Although the problem of redundancy occurs, according to the inventions of claims 1 to 6, such a problem does not occur, and the number of data to be managed can be reduced.

  Further, by reducing the number of process data to be managed, it is not necessary to create recipe data for each substrate attribute in the recipe table, and the number of recipe data managed by the recipe table can be reduced.

  Therefore, the amount of recipe data and process data held in the storage unit can be reduced, and the storage unit can be used effectively.

  Further, according to the invention described in claims 1 to 6, when a substrate having a different substrate attribute is added as a substrate to be processed, a new process table is added to the second process table, thereby adding a new process table. It becomes possible to perform processing on the substrate added to the above. That is, even if a substrate having a different substrate attribute is added as a processing target, it is not necessary to add data to the recipe table and the first process table.

  Thereby, it is possible to easily cope with an increase in the substrate type and a change in the hardware environment of the processing unit without rebuilding the recipe table or the first process table. Therefore, the number of man-hours required when the number of substrate types to be processed increases can be reduced, and the productivity of the substrate processing apparatus can be improved.

  In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the second selection unit includes the numerical value range defined by the value of the substrate attribute in the second process table and the value of the substrate attribute data included in the substrate information data. And the second process data can be selected. This eliminates the need to register the second process data in the second process table for each substrate to be processed. Therefore, the amount of the second process data held in the storage unit can be further reduced, and the storage unit can be used more effectively.

  In particular, according to the invention described in claim 3, the second process table, which is a data group unique to at least one processing unit, is held and managed in the first storage unit of the at least one processing unit. be able to. Therefore, even if the number of substrate types increases, it is possible to cope with only at least one processing unit side, and it is possible to easily cope with the increase in substrate types.

  Particularly, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the second process data based on the thickness of the substrate can be managed by the second process table. Therefore, the total size of the data size of the recipe table held in the storage unit and the data size of the first and second process tables can be reduced, and the storage unit can be used effectively.

  In particular, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the “nozzle position” included in the second process data can be managed by the second process table. Therefore, the total size of the data size of the recipe table held in the storage unit and the data size of the first and second process tables can be reduced, and the storage unit can be used effectively.

  In particular, according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the “adsorption pressure of the adsorption unit” included in the second process data can be managed by the second process table. Therefore, the total size of the data size of the recipe table held in the storage unit and the data size of the first and second process tables can be reduced, and the storage unit can be used effectively.

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

<1. Overall configuration of substrate processing apparatus>
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the cleaning unit 210. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the resist coating unit 220. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the vicinity of the indexer unit of the substrate processing apparatus.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that performs predetermined substrate processing on a substrate. As shown in FIG. 1, the indexer unit 10, the cleaning unit 210, the resist coating unit 220, the pre-baking unit 230, the exposure unit 240, and the developing unit. 250 and a post-bake unit 260 (hereinafter also referred to as “a plurality of processing units”. Also, the indexer unit 10, the cleaning unit 210, the resist coating unit 220, the pre-bake unit 230, the exposure unit 240, the development unit 250, and the post-bake unit 260). Are also referred to as “processing units”).

  1 and the subsequent drawings are attached with an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system in which the Z-axis direction is the vertical direction and the XY plane is the horizontal plane, as necessary, in order to clarify the directional relationship.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning unit 210 is disposed between the indexer unit 10 and the resist coating unit 220, and discharges 212 a and 212 b (see FIG. 1) with respect to the substrate W supplied from the indexer unit 10. 2) is a unit that removes dirt and the like adhering to the surface of the substrate W by discharging and transporting pure water or chemicals (hereinafter also referred to as “treatment liquid”).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, in the cleaning unit 210, the substrate W is rotated from the Y-axis direction by rotating a transport roller 213 disposed on the lower surface side of the substrate W by a drive source (not shown). Can be conveyed while being inclined by the angle θ.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning unit 210 stably transports the substrate W by the transport roller 213, and therefore, an upper roller 216 that holds the substrate W from above and a support roller that sandwiches and supports the substrate W from above and below. 217.

  Further, the transport roller 213, the upper roller 216, and the support roller 217 include rollers 213a, 213b, 216a, 216b, 217a, and 217b that are in direct contact with the substrate, respectively.

  Therefore, in order to perform a good cleaning process, it is necessary to change the height direction (Z-axis direction) positions of the upper roller 216 and the support roller 217 in accordance with the thickness of the substrate and the amount of bending of the substrate.

  As disclosed in Patent Document 1, the cleaning unit 210 may be a unit that cleans the surface of the substrate by bringing the rotating brush held by the rotating chuck into contact with the surface of the substrate W while rotating the rotating brush. . In this case, it is necessary to change the position of the rotary chuck in the height direction (Z-axis direction) according to the thickness of the substrate and the amount of bending of the substrate.

  The cleaning unit 210 is provided with a drying unit (not shown). However, the drying unit is not limited to this, and for example, a drying unit is provided between the cleaning unit 210 and the resist coating unit 220. A dehydrated (dehydrated) bake unit may be provided.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of the resist coating unit 220. The resist coating unit 220 is a unit that forms a resist film on the surface of the substrate W, and is disposed between the cleaning unit 210 and the pre-baking unit 230 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the resist coating unit 220 includes a substrate mounting unit 223 that mainly mounts the substrate W, a slit nozzle 229 that discharges the resist toward the square substrate W, and the substrate mounting unit 223. And a suction unit 224 that sucks the substrate W placed on the substrate.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the suction unit 224 is provided on the upper surface side (substrate mounting side) of the substrate platform 223, and is driven on the substrate platform 223 by driving a vacuum pump (not shown). The substrate is adsorbed and held. Here, in order to favorably attract the substrate W to the attracting portion 224, it is necessary to adjust the attracting pressure according to the substrate attributes such as the thickness of the substrate, the amount of bending of the substrate, and the size of the substrate. .

  A slit nozzle 229 is attached to the slit support portion 226a. The slit nozzle 229 is connected to a discharge mechanism (not shown) including a pipe for supplying a resist and a resist pump.

  The elevating mechanisms 226b and 226c are disposed on both sides of the slit support portion 226a, and the slit support portion 226a can be moved up and down in the positive or negative direction of the Z axis by a driving mechanism (not shown). Therefore, the slit nozzle 229 attached to the slit support part 226a can be moved up and down.

  The linear motors 227a and 227b can move the slit support portion 226a along the traveling rail 228 in the X axis positive direction or the negative direction. Therefore, the slit nozzle 229 attached to the slit support portion 226a can move back and forth above the substrate W held by the suction portion 224.

  As a result, the resist coating unit 220 can form a resist film on the substrate W by discharging the resist while moving the slit nozzle 229 above the substrate W in the positive or negative X-axis direction.

  Here, when the thickness of the substrate held by the suction unit 224 or the amount of bending of the substrate changes, the distance from the lower end of the slit nozzle 229 to the upper surface of the substrate W changes, and in some cases, the slit nozzle 229 There are also cases where the substrate W interferes. Therefore, in order to perform a good resist coating process, the position of the slit nozzle 229 in the height direction (Z-axis direction) is adjusted by adjusting the elevating mechanisms 226b and 226c according to the thickness of the substrate and the amount of bending of the substrate. Need to change.

  The pre-baking unit 230 is a heat treatment unit including a plurality of heating units and a cooling unit (not shown), and is disposed between the resist coating unit 220 and the exposure unit 240 as shown in FIG. The pre-bake unit 230 is subjected to a heat treatment (pre-exposure baking process) called pre-bake in order to strengthen the adhesion between the resist film and the substrate on the substrate delivered from the resist coating unit 220.

  In addition, in the heating part of the pre-baking part 230, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to prevent the substrate W from being damaged, it is necessary to change the ascending / descending speed of the support pins in accordance with the thickness of the substrate and the amount of bending.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the exposure unit 240 is arranged in parallel with the developing unit 250 and the drying unit 230, and performs pattern exposure of a fine pattern such as wiring on the resist film of the substrate W that has been dried.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the developing unit 250 is disposed between the exposure unit 240 and the post-bake unit 260, and performs development processing by supplying a developing solution to the substrate W on which pattern exposure has been completed.

  The post-bake unit 260 is a heat treatment unit including a plurality of heating units and cooling units (not shown), and is disposed between the indexer unit 10 and the developing unit 250 as shown in FIG. The post-bake unit 260 performs a heat treatment for improving the adhesion between the resist and the substrate W, and discharges the substrate W after the heat treatment to the indexer unit 10. In addition, the heating part of the post-bake part 260 needs to change the raising / lowering speed of a support pin according to the thickness of a board | substrate, and the amount of bending, in order to prevent the damage of the board | substrate W similarly to the heating part of the pre-bake part 230. .

  As described above, the substrate W supplied from the indexer unit 10 to the cleaning unit 210 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 210, the resist coating unit 220, the pre-baking unit 230, the exposure unit 240, the developing unit 250, and the post-baking unit 260 in this order. A predetermined substrate processing is performed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the indexer unit 10 is juxtaposed with the cleaning unit 210 and the post-bake unit 260, and mainly the transfer robot 30 that transfers between the cleaning unit 210 and the post-bake unit 260. And a plurality of cassettes 21.

  A plurality (four in the present embodiment) of cassettes 21 (21a to 21d) are placed on the mounting table 20. The cassette 21 is configured to be able to store a plurality of substrates. Of the substrates W stored in the cassette 21, the substrates that have not yet been processed by the processing units 210 to 260 (hereinafter also referred to as “unprocessed substrates”) W are supplied to the cleaning unit 210 by the transport robot 30. Is done. Further, a substrate (hereinafter, “process completed substrate”) W that has been subjected to predetermined processing in each of the processing units 210 to 260 is discharged from the post-baking unit 260 and stored in the cassette 21.

  The transfer robot 30 is a transfer mechanism that transfers the substrate W between the cassette 21, the cleaning unit 210, and the post-bake unit 260. The base 31 of the transfer robot 30 is provided with a horizontal movement mechanism (not shown). Thereby, the transfer robot 30 can reciprocate in the horizontal direction along the transfer path 35 extending in the Y-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the base 31 is provided with an arm 32 that holds the substrate W. The arm 32 has an elevating mechanism and a turning mechanism (not shown), and the arm 32 is provided so as to be able to move up and down and turn with respect to the base 31. The arm 32 is provided so as to be extendable and contractable in the longitudinal direction of the arm 32 by a drive mechanism (not shown).

  Thereby, the transfer robot 30 can supply the unprocessed substrate W stored in the cassette 21 to the cleaning unit 210. Further, the transfer robot 30 can store the processing completion substrate W discharged from the post bake unit 260 in the cassette 21 and collect it.

  As the cassette 21, a cassette having a storage pitch (that is, a distance between adjacent slots in the cassette 21) corresponding to the thickness of the substrate W and the amount of deflection is used. Therefore, when taking out or storing the substrate W from the cassette 21, it is necessary to change the height position of the arm 32 of the transfer robot 30 according to the thickness of the substrate W and the amount of bending.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the main computer 60 is a control device constituted by a so-called personal computer or workstation, and is stored in a memory 61 for storing programs, variables, and the like, as shown in FIG. 5. A CPU 62 that executes control according to the program, a large-capacity storage unit 63, and a touch panel 65 are provided. The main computer 60 is electrically connected to each of the plurality of processing units via the signal line 80.

  The touch panel 65 is also used as an operation input unit and a display unit of an operator (hereinafter simply referred to as “operator”) of the substrate processing apparatus 1, and is attached to the outside of the main computer 60 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. The operator can instruct the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the display on the touch panel 65. Thus, the main computer 60 is used as a control unit that controls the operation status of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1.

  The large-capacity storage unit 63 is a storage unit configured by an element having a large storage capacity compared to the memory 61 such as a silicon disk drive or a hard disk drive. Therefore, the large-capacity storage unit 63 can store a plurality of large-sized data such as a recipe table 91 (see FIG. 8) and a process table 92 (see FIG. 9) described later. Data is exchanged with the memory 61 as necessary.

  The CPU 62 directs the recipe table 91 (see FIG. 8) and the process table 92 (see FIG. 9) held in the large-capacity storage unit 63 to each of the plurality of processing units, for example, according to the program stored in the memory 61. A copy process or the like is executed at a predetermined timing.

  Similar to the main computer 60, the host computer 70 is a control device configured by a so-called personal computer or workstation. As shown in FIG. 5, the host computer 70 is connected to the main computer 60 via a network 85, and mainly follows a memory 71 that stores programs and variables, and a program stored in the memory 71. A CPU 72 that executes control and a large-capacity storage unit 73 are provided.

  The large-capacity storage unit 73 is a storage unit configured by an element having a large storage capacity compared to the memory 71 such as a silicon disk drive or a hard disk drive. The CPU 72 executes processing such as copying of a file stored in the large-capacity storage unit 73 at a predetermined timing in accordance with a program stored in the memory 71.

<2. Configuration of control system of substrate processing apparatus>
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the substrate processing apparatus. Here, a control system of the substrate processing apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, each processing unit 10, 210 to 260 executes a control according to a program stored in the memory 51 and a memory 51 (51 a to 51 g) that stores programs, variables, and the like as control units. CPU 52 (52a to 52g). Further, each of the adjacent processing units 10, 210 to 260 is electrically connected by a signal line 87.

  Thereby, according to the program stored in the corresponding memory 51 (51a-51g), for example, in the case of the memory 51b and CPU 52b of the resist coating unit 220, the CPU 52 (52a-52g) of each processing unit 10, 210-260, Control of the resist discharge amount discharged toward the substrate W can be executed at a predetermined timing. That is, each processing unit 10, 210 to 260 can perform substrate processing independently. Therefore, the processing load on the main computer 60 and the host computer 70 can be reduced as compared with the case where the processing environment of the substrate W in each processing unit 10, 210 to 260 is controlled by the main computer 60 or the host computer 70.

  In addition, when the substrate W to be processed in the present embodiment is transferred between the processing units 10, 210 to 260, the substrate W is combined with the substrate W from the processing unit on the delivery side toward the processing unit on the reception side. Substrate information data 96 described later (for example, “substrate ID”, “cassette NO”, “slot NO”, “recipe ID”, “substrate thickness”, etc .: see FIG. 7) is delivered. The transferred board information data 96 is stored in the memory 51 of the processing unit on the receiving side.

<3. Functional configuration of each processing unit>
Here, functional configurations of the processing units 10, 210 to 260 and the main computer 60 in the present embodiment will be described. In each of the processing units 10, 210 to 260, the substrate processing is performed by the same procedure. Therefore, in the following, a processing procedure in the resist coating unit 220 will be described in particular.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining functional configurations of the resist coating unit 220 and the main computer 60 among the plurality of processing units. First, the functional configuration of the main computer 60 will be described. The transmission unit 67 includes a recipe table 91 stored in the large-capacity storage unit 63 and a process table 92 provided corresponding to each of the processing units 210 to 260. Send to.

  That is, when the transmission unit 67 confirms that the processing units 10, 210 to 260 are activated by turning on the power or the like, the transmission unit 67 sends the recipe table 91 and the processing units 10, 210 to 260 to the respective processing units 10, 210 to 260. The corresponding process table 92 is transmitted. And the recipe table 91 and the process table 92 are stored in the memory 51 (51a-51g) which each of the process parts 10 and 210-260 has.

  Next, the functional configuration of the resist coating unit 220 among the plurality of processing units will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the memory 51 b of the resist coating unit 220 stores a substrate attribute table 95, substrate information data 96, a recipe table 91 and a process table 92 transmitted from the main computer 60. Here, the data structures of the tables 91, 92, 96 and the substrate information data 96 will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the structure of the board information data 96 generated in the indexer unit 10. As shown in FIG. 7, the board information data 96 mainly includes fields (columns) of “board ID”, “cassette NO”, “slot NO”, “recipe ID”, and “board thickness”. . As described above, when the substrate W is transferred between two adjacent processing units among the processing units 10, 210 to 260, the substrate information data 96 is transferred from the processing unit on the delivery side to the processing unit on the reception side. It is delivered together with the substrate W.

  The “substrate ID” stores a value for uniquely identifying each substrate. In addition, “slot NO” and “lot NO” store values for specifying the slot and lot of the substrate identified by the “substrate ID”. In the “recipe ID”, one of the values stored in the “recipe ID” field (column) of the recipe table 91 (see FIG. 8) described later is stored.

  “Substrate thickness” corresponds to a “Substrate thickness” field in a substrate attribute table 95 described later, and is a substrate attribute among substrate dimensions to be processed as substrate attribute data determined by the physical properties of the substrate. The thickness value of is stored. In this embodiment, the “substrate thickness” of the substrate information data 96 uses a value determined in advance according to the standard of the substrate.

  Here, as described above, the processing units 10, 210 to 260 need to be replaced to change to a hardware environment according to the board attribute data such as the board thickness. That is, according to the substrate attribute data, the cleaning unit 210 sets the height position of the upper roller 216 or the rotary chuck, and the resist coating unit 220 sets the suction pressure of the suction unit 224 and the height position of the slit nozzle 229. The pre-bake unit 230 and the post-bake unit 260 require a change-over operation to change the lifting speed of the support pins, and the indexer unit 10 changes the height position of the arm 32 of the transfer robot 30. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the substrate property dependent process control element (substrate dependent element) necessary for the setup change is stored in the substrate attribute table 95 in the process data.

  The board attribute table 95 is a database that stores board dependent elements as parts determined according to board attribute data among process data used for setting the processing environment of the board. Among these, a processing unit is provided that needs to change the processing environment according to the substrate attribute. That is, the board attribute table 95 is provided corresponding to at least one processing unit among the processing units 10, 210 to 260.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of the substrate attribute table 95 corresponding to the resist coating unit 220. As shown in FIG. 10, the substrate attribute table 95 mainly has fields (columns) of “substrate thickness”, “nozzle height”, and “adsorption pressure”.

  The “substrate thickness” field of the substrate attribute table 95 stores the thickness value of the substrate to be processed, and is used to uniquely identify each record included in the substrate attribute table 95. The “nozzle height” stores the height position of the slit nozzle 229 (see FIG. 3) in the Z-axis direction. The “adsorption pressure” stores the value of the adsorption pressure when adsorbing the substrate W to the adsorption unit 224 (see FIG. 3). Thus, in fields other than the “substrate thickness” field, the hardware mechanical setting of the resist coating unit 220 is changed as data determined in accordance with the substrate thickness (substrate attribute data). The required board dependent elements are stored.

  Therefore, by searching the board attribute table 95 using the “board thickness” field as a key and extracting a specific record from the board attribute table 95, a hardware environment corresponding to the board thickness, for example, the slit nozzle 229, for example. Can be automatically constructed without imposing a burden on the operator.

  In the present embodiment, the board attribute table 95 is not copied from the main computer 60 like the recipe table 91 and the process table 92, but is maintained and managed by each processing unit 10, 210-260. However, it is not limited thereto, and, similar to the recipe table 91 and the process table 92, when each processing unit 10, 210 to 260 is activated, it may be copied from the main computer 60.

  The process table 92 is a database that stores process-dependent elements as data portions that are not affected by substrate attribute data such as the substrate thickness among the process data used for setting the substrate processing environment. It is provided corresponding to each of the processing units 10, 210 to 260. That is, the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has a total of seven process tables 92, and the seven process tables 92 are stored in the mass storage unit 63 of the main computer 60.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of the process table 92 corresponding to the resist coating unit 220 among the seven process tables 92. As shown in FIG. 9, the process table 92 mainly has fields (columns) of “process ID”, “resist liquid temperature”, “resist discharge amount”, and “slit nozzle moving speed”.

  The “process ID” field of the process table 92 stores a value for uniquely identifying each record (each row) included in the process table 92. Each of “resist liquid temperature” and “resist discharge amount” stores the resist liquid temperature discharged from the slit nozzle 229 (see FIG. 3) toward the substrate W and the discharge amount per unit time. . Further, the “slit nozzle moving speed” stores the speed of the slit nozzle 229 that moves in the X-axis direction above the substrate W along the traveling rail 228.

  Therefore, by searching the process table 92 using the “process ID” field as a key and extracting a specific record from the process table 92, a processing environment corresponding to the substrate W is automatically constructed without imposing a burden on the operator. be able to.

  The recipe table 91 is a database in which process IDs that specify processes performed by the processing units 10, 210 to 260 are stored. One type of recipe table 91 transmitted from the main computer 60 is commonly used for each of the processing units 10, 210 to 260. As shown in FIG. 8, the recipe table 91 includes “recipe ID”, “indexer part”, “cleaning part”, “application part”, “pre-bake part”, “exposure part”, “development part”, and “post”. Each field of “Bake part” is included.

  The “recipe ID” of the recipe table 91 stores a value for uniquely identifying each record (each row) included in the recipe table 91. In addition, in each field of “indexer part”, “cleaning part”, “application part”, “pre-bake part”, “exposure part”, “development part”, and “post-bake part”, the corresponding processing part 10, Process IDs 210 to 260 are stored.

  Therefore, by using the “recipe ID” field as a key and searching the recipe table 91 to extract a predetermined record, it is possible to set the processing to be executed in each processing unit 10, 210 to 260. For example, when a record with “recipe ID” = “2” is extracted, “2” is registered in the “application part” field of this record, and therefore the resist application part 220 sets “process ID”. "=" 2 "is executed (see FIG. 8). Specifically, the resist solution temperature of the resist coating unit 220, the resist discharge amount, and the moving speed of the slit nozzle 229 are set to “20”, “X1”, and “Y3” values, respectively. (See FIG. 9).

  In the present embodiment, the data group of “process ID” included in each record of the recipe table 91, that is, a plurality of processing recipes each describing a series of processing contents for the substrate W using the process ID is used as recipe data. I will call it.

  Returning to FIG. 6, the functional configuration of the resist coating unit 220 will be further described. The process control unit 225 is related to the hardware environment depending on the process-dependent element selected by the first selection unit 221 (to be described later) of the process data related to the substrate and the second selection unit 222 and depending on the properties of the substrate. The resist coating process is performed on the substrate W while setting the processing environment of the resist coating unit 220 based on the substrate dependent elements to be processed.

  Based on the substrate information data 96 and the recipe table 91 held in the memory 51b, the first selection unit 221 selects data that is not influenced by process dependent elements, that is, substrate attribute data such as substrate thickness. That is, in the first selection unit 221, first, when the substrate W is transferred from the cleaning unit 210 to the resist coating unit 220, the substrate information data 96 transferred with the substrate W and held in the memory 51b (see FIG. 7). ) To the value registered in the “recipe ID”.

  Next, a record in which the value of “recipe ID” in the recipe table 91 (see FIG. 8) is equal to the value of “recipe ID” extracted from the board information data 96 is acquired from the recipe table 91 and included in the record. The value of the “applying part” field (that is, the value of “process ID”) is extracted.

  Subsequently, a record in which the “process ID” in the process table 92 is equal to the value of the “process ID” extracted from the recipe table 91 is acquired from the process table 92, and “resist liquid temperature” and “resist discharge amount” are acquired. , And the value of each element of “slit nozzle moving speed” is extracted. Then, the extracted element values of “resist liquid temperature”, “resist discharge amount”, and “slit nozzle moving speed” are transmitted to the processing control unit 225.

  The second selection unit 222 selects substrate-dependent elements, that is, data determined according to the thickness of the substrate, based on the substrate attribute table 95 held in the memory 51b. That is, the second selection unit 222 first extracts the value stored in the “substrate thickness” from the substrate information data 96 held in the memory 51b.

  Next, a record in which the value of “substrate thickness” in the substrate attribute table 95 (FIG. 10) is equal to the value of “substrate thickness” extracted from the substrate information data 96 is acquired from the substrate attribute table 95. Then, each value of “nozzle height” and “adsorption pressure” included in the record is extracted. Then, the extracted values of “nozzle height” and “adsorption pressure” are transmitted to the processing control unit 225.

  FIG. 12 shows, as a comparative example, the data structure of the process table 592 when the process control elements stored in the process table 92 and the board attribute table 95 are combined into one for comparison with the present embodiment. FIG. In the process table 92 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, twelve pieces of data including the “process ID” field are managed. In the board attribute table 95, nine pieces of data are managed as shown in FIG. Therefore, a total of 21 pieces of data are managed in the process table 92 and the board attribute table 95.

  On the other hand, in the process table 592 of the comparative example, in order to manage the process control elements stored in the process table 92 and the board attribute table 95, as shown in FIG. A total of 54 data is required.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, process control elements (processes) other than the process control elements (substrate dependent elements) related to the hardware environment of the respective processing units 10, 210 to 260, based on the board attribute data such as the board thickness. Dependent elements) can be separately managed in the process table 92, and process control elements (substrate dependent elements) related to the hardware environment can be separately managed in the board attribute table 95. Thereby, the number of data to be managed can be reduced as compared with the case where various process control elements related to the processing environment of the substrate W are managed by one database. Therefore, the large-capacity storage unit 63 and the memory 51 of each processing unit 10, 210-260 can be used effectively for other programs and data.

  In the present embodiment, (1) when the number of records managed in the board attribute table 95 increases as the board type increases, or (2) process data whose settings should be changed according to the board attributes. Even if the number of fields in the substrate attribute table 95 increases with the increase in the number of data, it is only necessary to add data to the substrate attribute table 95, and data is added to the recipe table 91 and the process table 92. There is no need. Therefore, it is possible to easily cope with an increase in substrate types to be processed and a change in hardware environment.

  In the present embodiment, when the value stored in the “substrate thickness” of the substrate information data 96 is different from any value stored in the “substrate thickness” field of the substrate attribute table 95, for example, As in the board attribute table 95 of the present embodiment, the thickness of three types of boards of “0.5”, “0.6”, and “0.7” are displayed in the “board thickness” field of the board attribute table 95. When the thickness value Th is stored (see FIG. 10) and “0.65” is stored in the “substrate thickness” field of the substrate information data 96 (see FIG. 7), the substrate attribute table 95 is stored. The “nozzle height” and “adsorption pressure” are selected by the following method based on the values in the “substrate thickness” field.

That is, the value stored in the “substrate thickness” of the substrate information data 96 is
(1) 0.5 ≦ Th <0.6
(2) 0.6 ≦ Th <0.7
(3) Th ≧ 0.7
In the case of belonging to (1), a record in which “substrate thickness” = “0.5” is included, and in the case of (2), “substrate thickness” = When “0.6” belongs to (3), records with “substrate thickness” = “0.7” are extracted. Then, each value of “nozzle height” and “adsorption pressure” included in the extracted record is selected. Therefore, since the substrate information data 96 shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to (2), “nozzle height” stored in the record of “substrate thickness” = “0.6” in the substrate attribute table 95. = “A2” and “Adsorption pressure” = “B1” are selected.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, values stored in the “substrate thickness” field of the substrate attribute table 95 are used as thresholds, and numerical ranges (numerical intervals) determined by these thresholds and actual processing target substrates. By comparing the thickness of the substrate (generally the value of the substrate attribute data) and specifying a field that includes the thickness of the substrate within the range, the control element (substrate Dependent elements) can be selected. This eliminates the need to additionally register a new record in the board attribute table 95 even when the number of board types to be processed increases. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the data size of the board attribute table 95 held in the memory 51 (51a to 51g) of each processing unit 10, 210 to 260.

<4. Processing procedure in each processing unit>
Here, a processing procedure of the substrate W in each of the processing units 10, 210 to 260 will be described. Each processing unit performs processing in a similar manner. Therefore, a processing procedure in the resist coating unit 220 will be described below.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure in the resist coating unit 220. In the resist coating unit 220, first, substrate information data 96 delivered from the cleaning unit 210 together with the substrate W is stored in the memory 51b (S101).

  In step S102, the first selection unit 221 (see FIG. 6) selects process-dependent elements that are not affected by substrate attribute data such as the substrate thickness. That is, based on the value of the “recipe ID” field of the substrate information data 96 held in the memory 51 b and the recipe table 91, “resist liquid temperature” and “resist discharge amount” stored in the corresponding records of the process table 92. , And the value of each process-dependent element of “slit nozzle moving speed” is extracted and selected. Then, the first selection unit 221 transmits the value of each selected process-dependent element to the process control unit 225 (see FIG. 3).

  In step S102, a substrate processing element determined according to the substrate attribute data is selected by the second selection unit 222 (see FIG. 6). That is, each board-dependent element of “nozzle height” and “adsorption pressure” stored in the corresponding record of the board attribute table 95 based on the “board thickness” of the board information data 96 held in the memory 51b. Extract and select the value of. Then, the second selection unit 222 transmits the value of each selected board-dependent element to the processing control unit 225 in the same manner as the first selection unit 221.

  Subsequently, the processing control unit 225 compares the value selected by the second selection unit 222 with the current mechanical setting of the hardware of the resist coating unit 220 and determines whether or not a setup change operation is necessary. (S103).

  If it is determined in step S103 that the setup change is necessary, the height position of the slit nozzle 229 and / or the suction unit 224 is determined based on the value of each substrate-dependent element selected by the second selection unit 222. Change the adsorption pressure.

  Subsequently, based on the value of each process-dependent element selected by the first selection unit 221, the process is performed on the substrate W transferred from the cleaning unit 210 (step S105). In step S106, when the substrate on which the resist coating process has been completed is transferred from the resist coating unit 220 to the prebake unit 230, the substrate information data 96 is also transferred to the prebake unit 230. Thereby, the process in the resist coating unit 220 for the specific substrate W is completed.

<5. Advantages of the substrate processing system of the present embodiment>
As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the substrate dependent elements related to the hardware environment depending on the properties of the substrate are stored in the substrate attribute table 95 in the control elements (processing dependent). Element) can be managed separately in the process table 92. Thereby, the number of data to be managed can be reduced as compared with the case where all the process control elements included in the process data are managed by one database. Therefore, the large-capacity storage unit 63 and the memories 51 of the processing units 10, 210 to 260 can be used effectively.

  Further, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is only necessary to add data to the substrate attribute table 95 even when the number of substrate types increases, and it is necessary to add data to the recipe table 91 and the process table 92. Absent. Therefore, it is possible to easily cope with an increase in substrate types to be processed and a change in hardware environment.

<6. Modification>
While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above examples.

  (1) In the present embodiment, as the thickness of the substrate stored in the substrate information data 96, a value determined in advance by the standard of the substrate or the like is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a measurement unit (not shown) that measures the thickness of the substrate may be provided in the indexer unit 10 or the like, and a value measured by the measurement unit may be stored in the substrate information data 96.

  (2) In the present embodiment, each of the processing units 210 to 260 performs the setup change based on the board attribute data (the board thickness) stored in the board information data 96, and each board performs processing. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when processing each substrate included in the same lot, a setup change operation is performed when the first substrate of the same lot is carried into each processing unit, and a setup change operation is performed for subsequent substrates. You may control each process part not to perform, ie, not to perform the process of step S103 and S104 of FIG.

  (3) In the present embodiment, the recipe table 91 and the process table 92 copied to the memory 51 (51a to 51g) of each processing unit 10, 210 to 260 are stored in the large capacity storage unit 63 of the main computer 60. Although what is stored is used, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be stored in the memory 61 of the main computer 60, or may be stored in the mass storage unit 73 or the memory 71 of the host computer 70.

  (4) In the substrate attribute table 95 and the substrate information data 96 of the present embodiment, “substrate thickness” is used as the substrate attribute data, but the present invention is not limited to this. The amount of bending, the substrate size (in the river width direction), the material of the substrate itself, the material of the surface of the substrate, and the like may be used.

  (5) Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the board information data 96 is generated by the indexer unit 10, but is not limited thereto, and is generated by the main computer 60 or the host computer 70, for example, and the indexer unit 10 may be transmitted.

It is a top view which shows an example of the whole structure of the substrate processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the washing | cleaning part of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a top view which shows the resist application part of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a top view which shows the indexer part vicinity of a substrate processing apparatus. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the structure of the control system of the substrate processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the function structure of a resist application part and a main computer. It is a figure for demonstrating board | substrate information data. It is a figure for demonstrating the data structure of a recipe table. It is a figure for demonstrating the data structure of a process table. It is a figure for demonstrating the data structure of a board | substrate attribute table. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process sequence in a resist application part. It is a figure for demonstrating the data structure at the time of making a process table and a board | substrate attribute table into one table. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the board | substrate information data in a prior art. It is a figure for demonstrating the data structure of the recipe table in a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 10 Indexer part 51, 61 Memory 63 Large capacity memory | storage part 67 Transmission part 85 Network 91 Recipe table 92 Process table (1st process table)
95 Substrate attribute table (second process table)
96 Substrate information data 210 Cleaning unit 220 Resist application unit 221 First selection unit 222 Second selection unit 230 Pre-baking unit 240 Exposure unit 250 Development unit 260 Post-bake unit W Substrate

Claims (6)

A substrate processing apparatus that has a plurality of processing units and transfers substrate information data together with a substrate from a processing unit on a receiving side to a processing unit on a receiving side when the substrate is transferred between adjacent processing units. There,
The board information data is
i) board attribute data indicating the board attribute of the board;
ii) a recipe ID for identifying a recipe for processing to be performed on the substrate;
Formed, including
The substrate processing apparatus is
(a) Multiple tables, i.e.
1) A recipe table for registering a plurality of processing recipes each describing a series of processing contents for a substrate using a process ID as recipe data while distinguishing them from each other by a recipe ID;
2) A control element that is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of processing units and does not depend on the substrate attribute among the control elements of the process in the recipe table is registered as first process data while being distinguished by the process ID. A first process table;
3) As a second process data, a control element that is provided corresponding to at least one processing unit among the plurality of processing units and that depends on the substrate attribute among the processes in the recipe table is distinguished by the substrate attribute. A second process table to register;
A storage unit for storing the data as a separate table;
(b) It is provided in each of the plurality of processing units, and the process ID for the processing target substrate is checked by comparing the recipe ID in the substrate information data for the processing target substrate with the recipe ID in the recipe table. A first selection unit that identifies and selects the first process data from the first process table via the process ID;
(c) provided in the at least one processing unit, collating the substrate attribute data given in the substrate information data for the substrate to be processed with the substrate attribute in the second process table, A second selection unit for selecting the second process data from a second process table;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The second selection unit compares the numerical value range defined by the value of the substrate attribute in the second process table with the value of the substrate attribute data included in the substrate information data, and performs the second process. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein data is selected. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2,
The storage unit
A first storage unit provided in each of the plurality of processing units;
A second storage unit provided in a control unit for controlling the operation status of the entire substrate processing apparatus;
Is configured with
The first storage unit included in the at least one processing unit holds the corresponding second process table,
Each of the second storage units holds the first process table and the recipe table,
When each of the plurality of processing units is activated, the recipe data and the first process table corresponding to the processing unit to be activated are stored in the first storage unit from the second storage unit. A substrate processing apparatus transmitted to a storage unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate attribute includes a thickness of the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the second process data includes a position of a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the second process data includes an adsorption pressure of an adsorption unit provided in the plurality of processing units.

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