JP7249814B2 - Heat treatment apparatus and heat treatment method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method for heat-treating a substrate.

Conventionally, FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrates, semiconductor substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, and photomask substrates used in liquid crystal display devices or organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display devices 2. Description of the Related Art Heat treatment apparatuses are used for heat treatment of various substrates such as ceramic substrates and solar cell substrates.

A heat treatment unit (heat treatment apparatus) described in Patent Document 1 includes a temperature control plate, a plurality of substrate lifting pins, and a lifting device. A plurality of substrate mounting pieces are discretely arranged in the central portion of the mounting surface of the temperature control plate. In addition, a plurality of positioning members are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the temperature control plate on the periphery of the mounting surface of the temperature control plate. Furthermore, the temperature control plate is formed with a plurality of pin introduction holes extending in the vertical direction. A plurality of substrate elevating pins are held so as to be able to ascend and descend through a plurality of pin introduction holes by an elevating device.

A substrate is placed on the upper end portions of the plurality of substrate lifting pins in a state in which the plurality of substrate lifting pins protrude above the temperature control plate. After that, the lifting device lowers the plurality of substrate lifting pins. By moving the upper end portions of the plurality of substrate lifting pins below the plurality of substrate placement pieces on the temperature control plate, the substrates on the upper end portions of the plurality of substrate lifting pins move between the plurality of positioning members. It is supported by the mounting piece. In this state, heat treatment of the substrate is started.

At this time, if the position of the substrate with respect to the temperature control plate is greatly deviated, uniform heat treatment cannot be performed on the entire substrate. Therefore, in the heat treatment unit described above, when the substrate is placed on the temperature control plate, the temperature of the substrate changes based on changes in the airflow in the space between the substrate and the temperature control plate (hereinafter referred to as the space above the plate). A misalignment is determined.

Patent No. 4522139

By the way, the factor that degrades the quality of the heat treatment performed on the substrate is not limited to the above-described misalignment. For example, if foreign matter is present in the space above the plate, the foreign matter will reduce the uniformity of the heat treatment of the substrate.

If a foreign object larger than the plurality of substrate placement pieces exists in the space above the plate, part of the substrate rides on the foreign object on the temperature control plate. Therefore, the change in the airflow generated in the space above the plate when the foreign matter is present is different from the change in the airflow generated in the space above the plate when the foreign matter is not present. Therefore, according to the positional deviation determination method described in Patent Document 1, it is considered possible to determine the presence or absence of foreign matter based on changes in the airflow in the space above the plate.

However, the airflow generated in the space above the plate when the substrate is placed on the temperature control plate does not occur even when the substrate is placed at a predetermined position on the temperature control plate and no foreign matter exists in the space above the plate. Even if there is, it actually changes depending on the shape of the substrate.

In recent years, multilayering of films formed on substrates has been promoted. Such multi-layering of the film increases the amount of deformation such as warpage that occurs in the substrate on which the film is to be formed. It is not easy to adjust the amount of deformation for each of the multiple portions of the substrate. When a plurality of substrates having different shapes are placed on the temperature control plate, variations occur in changes in the airflow generated in the space above the plate corresponding to each of the plurality of substrates. In this case, it is difficult to determine with high accuracy the positional deviation of the substrate and the presence or absence of foreign matter by the determination method described in Patent Literature 1 described above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method that enable highly accurate determination of the support state of a substrate during heat treatment so that the uniformity of heat treatment for the substrate can be determined.

(1) A heat treatment apparatus according to a first aspect of the invention is a heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating a substrate, comprising a plate member having a mounting surface and a plurality of plate members provided on the mounting surface so as to support the lower surface of the substrate. a support, a heat treatment section that performs heat treatment on a substrate supported by a plurality of supports on a mounting surface, and a substrate supported by at least a portion of the plurality of supports on the mounting surface and the mounting surface. a suction part for sucking gas in a space therebetween; a pressure detector for detecting pressure in a space between the mounting surface and the substrate supported by at least a part of the plurality of supports on the mounting surface; A state in which gas in a space between the substrate normally supported by at least a part of the plurality of supports on the mounting surface and the mounting surface is sucked by the suction unit, or a plurality of supports on the mounting surface Determination of the state of support of the substrate based on the pressure detected by the pressure detector in a state in which the gas in the space between the substrate that is not normally supported by the body and the mounting surface is sucked by the suction unit. The suction part is for a substrate that is normally supported on the mounting surface during a predetermined initial period of heat treatment of the substrate , or for the space between the substrate that is not normally supported and the mounting surface. Gas is sucked, and the suction is stopped between the time when the predetermined period of time has passed and the end of the heat treatment.

In the heat treatment apparatus, the substrate is supported by at least a portion of the plurality of supports on the mounting surface of the plate member, and heat treatment is performed on the substrate. The air in the space between the substrate supported on the mounting surface and the mounting surface is sucked by the suction unit. In this case, even if the substrate has a locally deformed portion such as a warp, the pressure in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface is reduced so that the entire lower surface of the substrate is sucked toward the mounting surface. be. Therefore, when the substrate is at a predetermined position with respect to the plate member and no foreign matter exists in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface, the lower surface of the substrate is positioned on the mounting surface by the plurality of supports. be supported by all. Thus, when the substrate is properly supported, the distance between the lower surface of the substrate and the mounting surface is kept small, and the space between the substrate and the mounting surface extends outwardly of the space. not wide open. Therefore, the pressure in that space is greatly reduced. That is, the absolute value of the difference between the pressure in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface and the atmospheric pressure increases.

On the other hand, if the substrate is at a position shifted with respect to the plate member, there is a high possibility that the bottom surface of the substrate will not be supported by all of the multiple supports. Moreover, when a foreign substance exists in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface, there is a high possibility that the lower surface of the substrate will not be supported by all of the plurality of supports. At this time, if the space between the substrate and the mounting surface is widely open to the outside of the space, the gas in the space surrounding the plate member easily flows into the space between the substrate and the mounting surface. . Therefore, even if the gas in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface is sucked by the suction part, the pressure in the space is less likely to decrease than when the support state is normal. That is, the absolute value of the difference between the pressure in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface and the atmospheric pressure is less likely to increase. Thereby, the pressure in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface is maintained substantially at atmospheric pressure.

Therefore, the pressure detected by the pressure detector makes it possible to determine the substrate support state with high accuracy.

Furthermore, according to the above configuration, since the suction is stopped from the time when the initial predetermined period of heat treatment to the substrate has passed until the end of the heat treatment, gas suction is stopped during at least part of the period during which the heat treatment is performed. continuation is prevented. This reduces the loss of uniformity of heat treatment to the substrate due to gas suction. Therefore, according to the above determination result, it is possible to grasp the uniformity of the heat treatment for the substrate.

(2) The suction unit stops the suction after a predetermined period of time has passed, and the temperature of the mounting surface is set to a preset temperature for heat treatment for the predetermined period after the substrate is mounted on the mounting surface. It may be a period until reaching

The heat treatment of the substrate proceeds stably while the substrate is mounted on the mounting surface maintained at the set temperature. On the other hand, when an unprocessed substrate is placed, the temperature of the mounting surface temporarily changes from the set temperature, and then returns to and is maintained at the set temperature. According to the above configuration, the suction is stopped after the substrate is mounted on the mounting surface until the temperature of the mounting surface reaches the set temperature.

Therefore, at the time when the heat treatment of the substrate is stably progressing, no airflow due to suction is generated in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface. As a result, it is possible to prevent the uniformity of heat treatment of the substrate from being impaired due to gas suction. Therefore, according to the determination result described above, it is possible to accurately grasp the uniformity of the heat treatment for the substrate.

(3) The state judging section judges that the support state of the substrate is normal when the magnitude of the detected pressure is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, and determines that the magnitude of the detected pressure is normal. It may be determined that the support state of the substrate is abnormal when it is lower than the set threshold value.

In this case, the support state of the substrate can be determined with high accuracy through simple processing.

(4) The heat treatment apparatus may further include a first presentation unit that presents the determination result by the state determination unit.

In this case, the user can easily comprehend the determination result regarding the support state of the substrate.

(5) The heat treatment apparatus includes a type determination unit that determines the type of abnormality with respect to a substrate determined to be in an abnormal supported state based on a plurality of determination results for the plurality of substrates by the state determination unit, and a type determination unit. A second presenting unit that presents the determination result by the above may further be provided.

In this case, the user can easily grasp the type of abnormality with respect to the board determined to be in an abnormally supported state.

(6) A heat treatment method according to a second aspect of the present invention is a heat treatment method for heat-treating a substrate, wherein the substrate is placed on a mounting surface of a plate member to form a plurality of substrates provided on the mounting surface. supporting the lower surface of the substrate by at least a part of the supports; performing heat treatment on the substrate supported by the plurality of supports on the mounting surface; and at least one of the plurality of supports on the mounting surface. a step of sucking gas in a space between a substrate normally supported by a part or a substrate not normally supported by a plurality of supports and a mounting surface; detecting the pressure in the space between the substrate or the substrate not normally supported and the mounting surface; and the substrate normally supported or not normally supported on the mounting surface. determining the support state of the substrate based on the pressure detected by the detecting step in a state in which the gas in the space between the mounting surface and the mounting surface is sucked, wherein the sucking step is a step of heat-treating the substrate. During an initial predetermined period of time, the substrate normally supported on the mounting surface , or the gas in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface that is not normally supported is sucked , and the heat treatment is completed after the predetermined period of time has elapsed. including stopping aspiration until

In the heat treatment method, the substrate is supported by at least a portion of the plurality of supports on the mounting surface of the plate member, and heat treatment is performed on the substrate. The gas in the space between the substrate supported on the mounting surface and the mounting surface is sucked. In this case, even if the substrate has a locally deformed portion such as a warp, the pressure in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface is reduced so that the entire lower surface of the substrate is sucked toward the mounting surface. be. Therefore, when the substrate is at a predetermined position with respect to the plate member and no foreign matter exists in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface, the lower surface of the substrate is positioned on the mounting surface by the plurality of supports. be supported by all. Thus, when the substrate is properly supported, the distance between the lower surface of the substrate and the mounting surface is kept small, and the space between the substrate and the mounting surface extends outwardly of the space. not wide open. Therefore, the pressure in that space is greatly reduced. That is, the absolute value of the difference between the pressure in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface and the atmospheric pressure increases.

On the other hand, if the substrate is at a position shifted with respect to the plate member, there is a high possibility that the bottom surface of the substrate will not be supported by all of the multiple supports. Moreover, when a foreign substance exists in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface, there is a high possibility that the lower surface of the substrate will not be supported by all of the plurality of supports. At this time, if the space between the substrate and the mounting surface is widely open to the outside of the space, the gas in the space surrounding the plate member easily flows into the space between the substrate and the mounting surface. . Therefore, even if the gas in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface is sucked by the suction part, the pressure in the space is less likely to decrease than when the support state is normal. That is, the absolute value of the difference between the pressure in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface and the atmospheric pressure is less likely to increase. Thereby, the pressure in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface is maintained substantially at atmospheric pressure.

Therefore, the detected pressure makes it possible to determine the substrate support state with high accuracy.

Furthermore, according to the above configuration, since the suction is stopped from the time when the initial predetermined period of heat treatment to the substrate has passed until the end of the heat treatment, gas suction is stopped during at least part of the period during which the heat treatment is performed. continuation is prevented. This reduces the loss of uniformity of heat treatment to the substrate due to gas suction. Therefore, according to the above determination result, it is possible to grasp the uniformity of the heat treatment for the substrate.

(7) The step of sucking includes stopping the suction when a predetermined period of time elapses, and during the predetermined period, the temperature of the mounting surface is set in advance for heat treatment after the substrate is mounted on the mounting surface. It may be a period until reaching the specified set temperature.

The heat treatment of the substrate proceeds stably while the substrate is mounted on the mounting surface maintained at the set temperature. On the other hand, when an unprocessed substrate is placed, the temperature of the mounting surface temporarily changes from the set temperature, and then returns to and is maintained at the set temperature. According to the above configuration, the suction is stopped after the substrate is mounted on the mounting surface until the temperature of the mounting surface reaches the set temperature.

Therefore, at the time when the heat treatment of the substrate is stably progressing, no airflow due to suction is generated in the space between the substrate and the mounting surface. As a result, it is possible to prevent the uniformity of heat treatment of the substrate from being impaired due to gas suction. Therefore, according to the determination result described above, it is possible to accurately grasp the uniformity of the heat treatment for the substrate.

(8) The step of determining the support state of the substrate determines that the support state of the substrate is normal when the magnitude of the detected pressure is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, and determines that the support state of the substrate is normal. It may include determining that the support state of the substrate is abnormal when the magnitude is lower than a predetermined threshold.

In this case, the support state of the substrate can be determined with high accuracy through simple processing.

(9) The heat treatment method may further include the step of presenting the judgment result obtained by the step of judging the support state of the substrate.

In this case, the user can easily comprehend the determination result regarding the support state of the substrate.

(10) The heat treatment method includes a step of determining the type of abnormality for a substrate determined to be in an abnormal state of support based on a plurality of determination results for the plurality of substrates in the step of determining the state of support of the substrate; A step of presenting a judgment result obtained by the step of judging the type of abnormality may be further provided.

In this case, the user can easily grasp the type of abnormality with respect to the board determined to be in an abnormally supported state.

According to the present invention, it is possible to determine with high accuracy the state of support of a substrate during heat treatment.

1 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a heat treatment apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the heat treatment apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a state in which a substrate is normally supported on a heat treatment plate; FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the substrate is not normally supported on the heat treatment plate due to foreign matter; FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the substrate is not normally supported on the heat treatment plate due to positional deviation; FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of state determination processing executed in the control device of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of pressure fluctuations in the space above the plate when the state determination process is executed; FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of type determination processing executed in the control device of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus including the heat treatment apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG.

Hereinafter, a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the substrate means an FPD (Flat Panel Display) substrate used in a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device or the like, a semiconductor substrate, an optical disk substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, or a magneto-optical disk substrate. A substrate, a photomask substrate, a ceramic substrate, a solar cell substrate, or the like. In the following description, a heat treatment apparatus that heats a substrate will be described as an example of the heat treatment apparatus.

(1) Configuration of Heat Treatment Apparatus FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the heat treatment apparatus 100 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the heat treatment apparatus 100 mainly includes a support section S, an elevating device 30, an intake device 40, a control device 50, and a presentation device 60. As shown in FIG. 2, illustration of some of the constituent elements shown in FIG. 1 is omitted.

The support portion S includes a heat treatment plate 10, a plurality of supports 11, a plurality of guide members 12 and a heating element 20, and is used as a hot plate. The heat treatment plate 10 is, for example, a disk-shaped heat transfer plate and has a flat mounting surface 10s. 10 s of mounting surfaces have an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the board|substrate used as the object of heat processing. A heating element 20 is provided on the heat-treating plate 10 . The heating element 20 is composed of, for example, a mica heater or a Peltier element. A heat generation driving circuit 21 is connected to the heating element 20 . The heat driving circuit 21 drives the heating element 20 under the control of the temperature control section 51, which will be described later. As a result, the heating element 20 generates heat when the substrate W is heat-treated.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of (ten in this example) support members 11 and a plurality of (four in this example) guide members 12 protrude upward from the mounting surface 10s of the heat treatment plate 10. is provided in

The plurality of supports 11 are discretely arranged in a central region of the mounting surface 10s of the heat treatment plate 10 except for the outer peripheral edge portion and the vicinity thereof, and are configured to be capable of supporting the lower surface of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. Each support 11 is a spherical proximity ball and is made of ceramic, for example. In FIGS. 1 and 2, a substrate W supported by a plurality of supports 11 on a heat treatment plate 10 is indicated by a dashed line.

A plurality of guide members 12 are arranged at equal angular intervals along the periphery of the mounting surface 10 s of the heat treatment plate 10 . The upper half of each guide member 12 has a truncated conical shape whose diameter gradually decreases toward the upper end. As a result, when the substrate W is lowered by a plurality of lifting pins 31 described later and is supported on the plurality of supports 11, the outer peripheral surface of the upper half of each guide member 12 is supported on the plurality of supports 11. are guided to predetermined positions on the heat treatment plate 10 . Each guide member 12 is made of resin having high heat resistance such as PEEK (polyetheretherketone).

As shown in FIG. 1 , on the heat treatment plate 10 , a gap is formed between the substrate W and the mounting surface 10 s while the substrate W is normally supported by the plurality of supports 11 . The size of this gap (the distance between the substrate W and the mounting surface 10s in the vertical direction) is, for example, 80 μm to 100 μm. In the following description, the space between the substrate W supported on the mounting surface 10s and the mounting surface 10s is referred to as a plate upper space SS.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heat treatment plate 10 is formed with a plurality of (seven in this example) through holes 13 and 14 penetrating in the thickness direction. In FIG. 2 , the plurality of through holes 13 and 14 are indicated by thick solid lines in order to facilitate distinction between the plurality of through holes 13 and 14 and the plurality of supports 11 .

Some of the plurality of through holes 13 and 14 (three in this example) through holes 13 are formed so as to be capable of inserting a plurality of elevating pins 31, which will be described later. Moreover, the plurality of through holes 13 are formed at equal angular intervals on a predetermined imaginary circle with the center of the heat treatment plate 10 as a reference. On the other hand, the remaining (four in this example) through-holes 14 are formed as gas flow paths for sucking the gas in the space SS above the plate by means of a suction device 40, which will be described later. Like the plurality of through holes 13 , the plurality of through holes 14 are formed at equal angular intervals on a predetermined imaginary circle with the center of the heat treatment plate 10 as a reference. 1, illustration of two of the four through holes 14 is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the lifting device 30 includes a plurality of (three in this example) lifting pins 31 and connecting members 32 . Lifting device 30 further includes a motor, a motor drive circuit, and the like (not shown). Each of the plurality of elevating pins 31 is a rod-shaped member made of ceramic, for example. In addition, the plurality of lifting pins 31 are connected to each other by connecting members 32, and extend vertically while part of the plurality of lifting pins 31 are inserted into the plurality of through holes 13 of the heat treatment plate 10, respectively. retained.

In the lifting device 30, a motor (not shown) operates under the control of the lifting control section 57, which will be described later, so that the connecting member 32 moves vertically. As a result, the plurality of lifting pins 31 are arranged at an upper position where the upper ends of the plurality of lifting pins 31 are positioned above the upper ends of the plurality of supports 11, and at an upper position where the upper ends of the plurality of lifting pins 31 are positioned above the upper ends of the plurality of supports 11. 11, and a lower position located below the upper end of 11.

With such a configuration, the lifting device 30 receives the substrates W delivered from the outside of the heat treatment apparatus 100, places them on the plurality of supports 11, and lifts the substrates W placed on the plurality of supports 11. It functions as a transfer section that transfers the heat treatment apparatus 100 to the outside.

A plurality of (four in this example) sub-pipes 42 are connected to the heat treatment plate 10 . The internal spaces of the plurality of secondary pipes 42 communicate with the internal spaces of the plurality of through holes 14, respectively. A plurality of sub pipes 42 are connected to a common main pipe 41 . Main pipe 41 is provided to extend from intake device 40 . The intake device 40 is composed of, for example, an aspirator, a vacuum pump, or a control valve connected to exhaust power equipment in the factory.

In the heat treatment apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the state in which the substrate W is supported on the mounting surface 10s of the heat treatment plate 10 is either normal or abnormal in the support state of the substrate W by the plurality of supports 11. It is determined whether or not Determination of this support state is called state determination. The intake device 40 sucks the atmosphere in the plate space SS through the plurality of sub-pipes 42 and the main pipe 41 during state determination. Details of the state determination and details of the operation of the intake device 40 at the time of the state determination will be described later.

A pressure sensor 43 is provided in the main pipe 41 . The pressure sensor 43 is, for example, a differential pressure sensor, detects the pressure in the plate upper space SS through the main pipe 41 and the plurality of sub pipes 42 during state determination, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the detected pressure.

The control device 50 controls the operation of the heat generation drive circuit 21, the lifting device 30, the intake device 40, and the like. The presentation device 60 includes a display and an audio output device (not shown). Details of the control device 50 and the presentation device 60 will be described later.

(2) Supporting State of Substrate W FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the substrate W is normally supported on the heat treatment plate 10. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4 and 5 which will be described later, illustration of some of the plurality of supports 11 and the plurality of guide members 12 is omitted. In this embodiment, the substrate W is normally supported when the substrate W is positioned between the upper ends of the plurality of guide members 12 in plan view as shown in FIG. The reason is that there is no foreign matter having a height higher than each support 11 in the space SS above the plate. In this case, when the atmosphere in the plate space SS is sucked through the plurality of through holes 14 at a predetermined flow rate, the pressure in the plate space SS is greatly reduced.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the substrate W is not normally supported on the heat treatment plate 10 due to foreign matter. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, when foreign matter cn adheres to the lower surface of the substrate W to be heat-treated, a portion of the substrate W may be supported on the heat treatment plate 10 by the foreign matter cn depending on the size of the foreign matter cn. be. Thereby, the substrate W is not supported by all of the multiple supports 11 . Even when the foreign matter cn adheres to the mounting surface 10s of the heat treatment plate 10, as in the example of FIG. be done.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the substrate W is not normally supported on the heat treatment plate 10 due to misalignment. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, if the position of the substrate W with respect to the heat treatment plate 10 is greatly deviated from a predetermined position (for example, the position of the substrate W shown in FIGS. 2 and 3), a portion of the substrate W is The user rides on any one of the plurality of guide members 12. - 特許庁

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the substrate W is in an abnormally supported state, the space above the plate SS extends outward (laterally) as compared to when the substrate W is normally supported. Greater openness to space. Therefore, the atmosphere outside the plate space SS easily flows into the plate space SS. Therefore, when the atmosphere in the plate upper space SS is sucked through the plurality of through-holes 14 at a predetermined flow rate, the pressure in the plate upper space SS does not drop significantly and is maintained at substantially atmospheric pressure.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, every time the substrate W is supported on the heat treatment plate 10, the pressure in the plate space SS is detected while the gas in the plate space SS is sucked, and based on the detected pressure, the pressure in the plate space SS is detected. A status determination is made. At the time of this state determination, as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 3, even if the substrate W has a locally deformed portion such as warpage, the entire substrate W is sucked toward the mounting surface 10s. Thereby, the shape of the substrate W is temporarily corrected. Therefore, it is possible to determine with high accuracy whether the support state of the substrate W is normal or abnormal.

As described above, the abnormalities in the mounting state of the substrate W include, for example, abnormalities caused by the foreign matter cn adhering to the substrate W, abnormalities caused by the foreign matter cn adhering to the heat treatment plate 10, and misalignment of the substrate W. It is thought that there is an anomaly that

By the way, the abnormality caused by the foreign matter cn adhering to the heat treatment plate 10 is not resolved unless the foreign matter cn is removed from the placement surface 10s of the heat treatment plate 10 . Further, the abnormality caused by the positional deviation of the substrate W is an abnormality caused by the substrate not being normally transferred from the outside of the heat treatment apparatus 100 to the heat treatment apparatus 100 . In other words, the abnormality caused by the positional deviation of the substrate W is an abnormality caused by the operation of the transfer robot that loads the substrate into the heat treatment apparatus 100 . This abnormality is not resolved unless the transfer robot is taught.

Therefore, when a plurality of substrates W are sequentially heat-treated, abnormalities caused by the foreign matter cn adhering to the heat treatment plate 10 and the misalignment of the substrates W are more continuous than abnormalities caused by the foreign matter cn adhering to the substrates W. There is a high possibility that it will be judged

Therefore, in the present embodiment, based on the state determination results for a plurality of substrates W, the type of abnormality is further determined for the substrate W determined to be abnormal. Determination of the type of abnormality is called type determination. Specifically, in the type determination, when a predetermined number of substrates W are successively judged to be abnormal in the supported state, the abnormalities of these substrates W are determined as foreign matter cn adhering to the heat treatment plate 10 . Alternatively, it is determined that it is caused by the positional deviation of the substrate W. On the other hand, the abnormality of the other substrates W determined to be abnormal in the supported state is determined to be caused by the foreign matter cn adhering to the substrate W. FIG.

(3) Control device 50 and presentation device 60
As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 50 includes a CPU (central processing unit), a RAM (random access memory) and a ROM (read only memory). 53 , a state determination unit 54 , a storage unit 55 , a type determination unit 56 and an elevation control unit 57 . In the control device 50, the CPU executes a computer program stored in a ROM or other storage medium to implement each of the above functional units. A part or all of the functional components of the control device 50 may be realized by hardware such as an electronic circuit.

Temperature control unit 51 controls heat generation drive circuit 21 to operate according to predetermined heat treatment conditions. Thereby, the temperature of the heating element 20 is adjusted for each substrate W to be processed.

The elevation control unit 57 controls the plurality of elevation pins 31 to move from the upper position to the lower position when the substrate W loaded from the outside of the heat treatment apparatus 100 is placed on the mounting surface 10 s of the heat treatment plate 10 . It controls the lifting device 30 . Further, the elevation control unit 57 moves the elevation device 30 so that the plurality of elevation pins 31 move from the lower position to the upper position when passing the substrate W placed on the placement surface 10s to the outside of the heat treatment apparatus 100 . to control.

The intake control unit 52 controls the intake device 40 so as to suck the gas in the space SS above the plate when the state is determined. More specifically, the suction control unit 52 sucks the gas in the space SS above the plate during a predetermined period of time at the beginning of the heat treatment of the substrate W, and stops the suction between the time when the predetermined period of time has passed and the end of the heat treatment. The intake device 40 is controlled so as to In the following description, the predetermined period during which the suction device 40 should perform the suction operation is called a suction period.

Here, the heat treatment of the substrate W proceeds stably while the substrate W is mounted on the mounting surface 10s which is maintained at a preset temperature for the heat treatment. On the other hand, when the unprocessed substrate W is placed, the temperature of the mounting surface 10s temporarily changes from the set temperature, and then returns to and is maintained at the set temperature. The suction period is, for example, the period from when the substrate W is placed on the mounting surface 10s until the temperature of the mounting surface 10s reaches the set temperature.

The point at which the suction period has elapsed can be determined by, for example, setting an appropriate suction period in advance by experiment or simulation, and measuring the set suction period from the time the substrate W is placed on the placement surface 10s. . Alternatively, the point at which the suction period has elapsed can be determined based on the result of monitoring the temperature of the mounting surface 10s using a temperature sensor at the beginning of the heat treatment of the substrate W. FIG.

The pressure acquisition unit 53 acquires the pressure in the plate space SS based on the detection signal output from the pressure sensor 43 . Specifically, the pressure acquisition unit 53 samples the detection signal output from the pressure sensor 43 at a predetermined time to acquire the pressure value at that timing. Alternatively, the pressure acquisition unit 53 acquires a pressure waveform indicating changes in pressure by sampling the detection signal output from the pressure sensor 43 at regular intervals during a predetermined period.

The state determination unit 54 performs state determination based on the pressure acquired by the pressure acquisition unit 53 . Further, the state determination unit 54 stores the determination result in the storage unit 55 as a state determination result and outputs the state determination result to the presentation device 60 .

For example, the state determination unit 54 determines that the support state of the substrate W is normal when the magnitude (absolute value) of the pressure acquired by the pressure acquisition unit 53 at a predetermined time is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. determine that there is Moreover, the state determination unit 54 determines that the support state of the substrate W is abnormal when the magnitude (absolute value) of the pressure is lower than a predetermined threshold value.

Alternatively, the state determination unit 54 determines that the support state of the substrate W is normal when the pressure waveform acquired by the pressure acquisition unit 53 during a predetermined period satisfies a predetermined pressure condition. Further, the state determination unit 54 determines that the state of supporting the substrate W is abnormal when the pressure waveform does not satisfy a predetermined pressure condition. In this case, the pressure condition may be that the magnitude (absolute value) of the average value or the maximum value of the pressure in the pressure waveform is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. Alternatively, the pressure condition may be that the rate of change of pressure in the pressure waveform (for example, the magnitude of the slope of the rising or falling pressure) is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value.

The storage unit 55 stores the state determination result given from the state determination unit 54 for each substrate W. FIG. The storage unit 55 also stores information for state determination (threshold values or pressure conditions in the above example), heat treatment conditions for each substrate W, and the like. The type determination unit 56 performs type determination for determining the type of abnormality of the substrate W determined to have an abnormality based on a plurality of state determination results. The type determination unit 56 further outputs the determination result of the type determination to the presentation device 60 as the type determination result.

Presentation device 60 includes, for example, a display and an audio output device. In this case, the display displays the state determination result and the type determination result given from the state determination unit 54 and the type determination unit 56 . Also, the audio output device outputs the state determination result and the type determination result as voice. Thereby, the user can easily grasp whether the support state of the substrate W in the heat treatment apparatus 100 is abnormal. In addition, when an abnormality in the supporting state occurs, the user can easily grasp the type of the abnormality.

(4) State Determination Processing The above state determination is performed by the controller 50 of FIG. 1 executing the following state determination processing. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of state determination processing executed in the control device 50 of FIG.

The state determination process is started when the heat treatment apparatus 100 is powered on. In the initial state, the plurality of lifting pins 31 in FIG. 1 are assumed to be in the upper position. It is also assumed that the temperature of the placement surface 10s is maintained at the set temperature.

First, the elevation control unit 57 in FIG. 1 determines whether or not the substrate W has been loaded into the heat treatment apparatus 100 (step S10). That is, the elevation control unit 57 determines whether or not the substrate W has been passed over the plurality of elevation pins 31 by the transfer robot outside the heat treatment apparatus 100 . Specifically, this determination process is performed based on whether or not a signal indicating that the substrate W has been transferred into the heat treatment apparatus 100 by the transfer robot has been given from the outside of the heat treatment apparatus 100 . When the substrate W is not loaded, the elevation control section 57 repeats the process of step S10.

On the other hand, when the substrate W is loaded, the elevation control section 57 lowers the plurality of elevation pins 31 from the upper position to the lower position (step S11). Further, the intake control unit 52 in FIG. 1 controls the intake device 40 so as to suck the gas in the space SS above the plate (step S12). The pressure acquisition unit 53 in FIG. 1 acquires the pressure in the plate space SS based on the detection signal output from the pressure sensor 43 (step S13). After that, the suction control unit 52 controls the suction device 40 to stop the suction of the gas in the space SS above the plate when the suction period has elapsed after the substrate W was placed on the mounting surface 10s (step S14). ).

Subsequently, the state determination unit 54 in FIG. 1 determines the support state of the substrate W based on the pressure acquired in step S13 immediately before (step S15). Further, the state determination unit 54 stores the determination result in the storage unit 55 as a state determination result, and outputs the state determination result to the presentation device 60 (step S16).

After that, the elevation control unit 57 determines whether or not the heat treatment of the substrate W currently placed on the heat treatment plate 10 is completed (step S17). Specifically, the elevation control unit 57 determines whether or not the heat treatment has been completed based on whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed for the substrate W to be processed after the processing of the previous step S11 was performed. judge.

When the heat treatment is completed, the elevation control section 57 raises the plurality of elevation pins 31 from the lower position to the upper position (step S18), and returns to the process of step S10.

(5) Specific Example of State Determination FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of pressure fluctuations in the space above the plate SS during execution of the state determination process. In the graph shown in FIG. 7, the vertical axis represents the magnitude (absolute value) of the pressure in the space SS above the plate, and the horizontal axis represents time. In other words, the vertical axis in FIG. 7 represents the absolute value of the difference between the reference pressure (for example, atmospheric pressure) and the pressure (negative pressure) in the space above the plate SS.

In the example of FIG. 7, the substrate W supported by the plurality of elevating pins 31 above the heat treatment plate 10 descends from time t0 to time t1, and is supported on the mounting surface 10s at time t1. do. Further, as indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 7, the substrate W supported on the mounting surface 10s is subjected to heat treatment from time t1 to time t2 after a predetermined heat treatment time has elapsed. do.

As indicated by the thick dotted arrow in FIG. 7, in this example, the gas in the space SS above the plate is sucked during the initial suction period of the heat treatment of the substrate W, and from the time when the suction period elapses to the end of the heat treatment, The suction is stopped. More specifically, the gas in the space SS above the plate is sucked by the suction device 40 of FIG. The suction period is, for example, about 5 seconds. Note that the suction period may be, for example, about 2 seconds as long as the pressure required for determining the support state of the substrate W can be detected.

When the support state is normal, the pressure in the plate upper space SS changes relatively sharply from time t1 and reaches a predetermined value pd, as indicated by the thick solid line in FIG. On the other hand, when the support state is abnormal, as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 7, the pressure in the space SS above the plate changes relatively gently and is as high as when the support state is normal. not. The pressure in the plate upper space SS is maintained substantially at atmospheric pressure.

Therefore, in this example, the support state of the substrate W is normal when the magnitude (absolute value) of the pressure detected when the gas is sucked from the space SS above the plate is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Th. to judge. Also, when the magnitude (absolute value) of the pressure detected when the gas in the space SS above the plate is sucked is lower than a predetermined threshold value Th, it is determined that the substrate W is being held abnormally. . In this case, the support state of the substrate W can be determined with high accuracy through simple processing.

In the example of FIG. 7, since the suction is stopped at the time t3 when the initial suction period has elapsed after the heat treatment of the substrate W is started, the gas suction is continued during the heat treatment period. is prevented. As a result, during the heat treatment of the substrate W, the occurrence of an air flow in the space SS above the plate due to gas suction is reduced. Therefore, the deterioration of the uniformity of the heat treatment of the substrate W is reduced.

(6) Type Determination Process The type determination is performed by the controller 50 of FIG. 1 executing the following type determination process. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of type determination processing executed in the control device 50 of FIG.

The type determination process is performed independently of the state determination process described above, and is started when the heat treatment apparatus 100 is powered on. In the following description, it is assumed that the control device 50 of FIG. 1 has a built-in counter for counting the state determination results indicating abnormality in advance.

First, the type determination unit 56 in FIG. 1 resets the value of the counter (step S20). Next, the type determination unit 56 determines whether or not the state determination result newly stored in the storage unit 55 of FIG. 1 indicates normality (step S21).

If the state determination result indicates an abnormality, the type determination unit 56 increments the value of the counter built into the control device 50 (step S22), and returns to step S21. On the other hand, when the abnormality determination result indicates normality, the type determination unit 56 determines whether or not the previous abnormality determination result was abnormal (step S23).

If the previous abnormality determination result was normal, the type determination unit 56 returns to the process of step S21. On the other hand, if the previous abnormality determination result was abnormal, the type determination unit 56 determines whether or not a predetermined number n (n is a natural number of 2 or more) or more of abnormality determination results indicating abnormality are continuously stored. (step S24). Note that the value of the number n may be set by the user operating an operation unit (not shown) provided in the heat treatment apparatus 100 .

When n or more consecutive abnormality determination results indicating an abnormality are stored, the type determination unit 56 determines that the n or more consecutive abnormalities up to the last time are foreign matter cn adhering to the mounting surface 10 s or the position of the substrate W. It is determined that it is caused by the deviation (step S25). After that, the type determination unit 56 outputs the determination result to the presentation device 60 as the type determination result (step S27), and returns to the process of step S20.

In step S24, if n or more consecutive abnormality determination results indicating an abnormality are not stored, the type determination unit 56 determines that the abnormality that has been determined to be less than n in succession until just before is foreign matter adhering to the substrate W. cn (step S26). After that, the type determination unit 56 proceeds to the process of step S27.

According to the type determination process described above, the type determination result output in step S27 is presented to the user by the presentation device 60 of FIG. As a result, the user can easily grasp the type of abnormality of the substrate W determined to be in an abnormal state of support.

(7) Effect In the heat treatment apparatus 100 described above, the substrate W is supported by at least a part of the plurality of supports 11 on the mounting surface 10s of the heat treatment plate 10, and the substrate W is subjected to the heat treatment. Gas in the space SS above the plate is sucked by the suction device 40 . In this case, even if the substrate W has a locally deformed portion such as a warp, the entire lower surface of the substrate W is sucked toward the mounting surface 10s as the pressure in the space SS above the plate decreases. Therefore, when the substrate W is at a predetermined position with respect to the heat treatment plate 10 and no foreign matter is present in the space SS above the plate, the lower surface of the substrate W is positioned above the mounting surface 10s of all of the plurality of supports 11. will be supported by In this manner, when the substrate W is normally supported, the distance between the lower surface of the substrate W and the mounting surface 10s is kept small, and the space SS above the plate is large outwardly of the space SS above the plate. not open. Therefore, the pressure in the plate space SS is greatly reduced. That is, the absolute value of the difference between the pressure in the plate space SS and the atmospheric pressure increases.

On the other hand, when the substrate W is at a position shifted from the heat treatment plate 10 , there is a high possibility that the lower surface of the substrate W will not be supported by all of the multiple supports 11 . Moreover, when the foreign matter cn exists in the space SS above the plate, there is a high possibility that the lower surface of the substrate W will not be supported by all of the plurality of supports 11 . At this time, if the space SS above the plate is widely open to the outside of the space, the gas in the space surrounding the heat treatment plate 10 easily flows into the space between the substrate W and the mounting surface 10s. Therefore, even if the gas in the plate space SS is sucked, the pressure in the plate space SS is less likely to decrease than when the substrate W is normally supported. That is, the absolute value of the difference between the pressure in the plate upper space SS and the atmospheric pressure is less likely to increase. Thereby, the pressure in the plate upper space SS is maintained substantially at the atmospheric pressure.

Therefore, according to the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 43, the support state of the substrate W can be determined with high accuracy.

Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the suction is stopped when the initial suction period of the heat treatment of the substrate W elapses. does not occur. As a result, it is possible to prevent the uniformity of the heat treatment of the substrate W from being impaired due to the suction of the gas. Therefore, according to the determination result described above, the uniformity of the heat treatment for the substrate W can be accurately grasped.

(8) Substrate Processing Apparatus Equipped with Heat Treatment Apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus provided with the heat treatment apparatus 100 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 1 , substrate processing apparatus 400 is provided adjacent to exposure apparatus 500 and includes control section 410 , coating processing section 420 , development processing section 430 , thermal processing section 440 and substrate transfer device 450 . The thermal processing unit 440 includes a plurality of thermal processing apparatuses 100 shown in FIG. A plurality of heat treatment apparatuses (not shown) for cooling the substrate W are provided with a configuration for cooling the substrate W (for example, a Peltier element or a cooling water circulation mechanism) in place of the heating element 20 of FIG. , and has the same configuration and operation as the heat treatment apparatus 100 of FIG. As a result, the above state determination and type determination are also performed in each heat treatment apparatus that performs the cooling process.

The control unit 410 includes, for example, a CPU and memory or a microcomputer, and controls operations of the coating processing unit 420 , the development processing unit 430 , the thermal processing unit 440 and the substrate transfer device 450 . In addition, in the example of FIG. 9, a display device 490 is connected to the control unit 410 .

The substrate transfer device 450 transfers the substrate W between the coating processing section 420 , the development processing section 430 , the thermal processing section 440 and the exposure device 500 when the substrate processing apparatus 400 processes the substrate W. FIG.

The coating processing section 420 forms a resist film on one surface of the unprocessed substrate W (coating processing). The exposure apparatus 500 performs an exposure process on the substrate W after the coating process on which the resist film is formed. The development processing unit 430 develops the substrate W by supplying a developer to the substrate W after the exposure processing by the exposure device 500 . The thermal processing section 440 thermally processes the substrate W before and after the coating processing by the coating processing section 420 , the development processing by the development processing section 430 , and the exposure processing by the exposure device 500 .

Note that the coating processing section 420 may form an antireflection film on the substrate W. FIG. In this case, the thermal processing section 440 may be provided with a processing unit for performing adhesion strengthening processing for improving adhesion between the substrate W and the antireflection film. Further, the coating processing section 420 may form on the substrate W a resist cover film for protecting the resist film formed on the substrate W. FIG.

As described above, the thermal processing unit 440 performs state determination and type determination. In this example, the state determination result and the type determination result are given to control unit 410 . In this case, control unit 410 causes display device 490 to display the given state determination result and type determination result. Thereby, the user can easily grasp whether or not appropriate heat treatment is being performed in each heat treatment device in the heat treatment section 440 . Moreover, when it is determined that there is an abnormality in the support state of the substrate W in each heat treatment apparatus, the type of the abnormality can be easily grasped.

(9) Other Embodiments (a) In the above embodiment, the support section S has a plurality of supports 11 and a plurality of guide members 12 for supporting the lower surface of the substrate W on the heat treatment plate 10. , the invention is not limited thereto. A circular sheet-shaped member for supporting the lower surface of the substrate W may be provided on the mounting surface 10s of the heat treatment plate 10 of the support portion S instead of the plurality of supports 11 and the plurality of guide members 12. good.

The sheet-like member is made of resin having heat resistance and is provided so as to cover the entire mounting surface 10s of the heat-treating plate 10 . An annular sealing portion capable of supporting the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the substrate W is provided in a portion having a constant width from the outer peripheral end portion of the sheet-like member toward the center of the sheet-like member. A plurality of protrusions capable of supporting the lower surface of the substrate W are provided in the region inside the seal portion. With such a configuration, when the gas in the plate upper space SS is sucked when the substrate W is normally supported, the inside of the plate upper space SS is rapidly evacuated. On the other hand, even if the gas in the plate space SS is sucked when the substrate W is not supported in an abnormal state, a gap is formed between the bottom surface of the substrate W and the seal portion, so that the space inside the plate space SS is It does not change much from atmospheric pressure.

As a result, even when the heat treatment plate 10 is provided with a sheet-like member, it is possible to determine the support state of the substrate W with high accuracy by performing the same state determination and type determination as in the above-described embodiment.

(b) In the above embodiment, the heat treatment apparatus that heats or cools the substrate W on the fixed heat treatment plate 10 has been described. The present invention can also be applied to a configuration in which heat treatment is performed on the substrate W being transported.

For example, there is a transport mechanism that includes a transport arm having the mounting surface 10s and a plurality of supports 11 described above. This transport mechanism is configured to transport the substrate W supported on the mounting surface 10s between two positions spaced apart from each other. Further, the transport arm of this transport mechanism is further provided with a heating element or a cooling mechanism for heat-treating the substrate W supported on the mounting surface 10s.

In this case, by providing the transport mechanism with a structure for sucking the gas in the space SS above the plate and a structure for detecting the pressure in the space SS above the plate, it is possible to perform state determination and type determination. As a result, the support state of the substrate W on the transfer arm can be determined by the state determination. Moreover, the type of abnormality in the state of support of the substrate W on the transfer arm can be determined by the type determination.

(10) Correspondence between each constituent element of the claims and each element of the embodiment Hereinafter, an example of correspondence between each constituent element of the claim and each element of the embodiment will be described. In the above embodiment, the heat treatment apparatus 100 is an example of the heat treatment apparatus, the mounting surface 10s is an example of the mounting surface, the heat treatment plate 10 is an example of the plate member, and the heating element 20 is an example of the heat treatment section. , the suction device 40 is an example of a suction unit, the pressure sensor 43 is an example of a pressure detector, the pressure acquisition unit 53 and the state determination unit 54 are examples of a state determination unit, and the presentation device 60 is the first and This is an example of a second presentation unit, and the type determination unit 56 is an example of a type determination unit.

Various other elements having the structure or function described in the claims can be used as each component of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Heat-treatment plate 10s... Mounting surface 11... Support body 12... Guide member 13, 14... Through hole 20... Heat generating element 21... Heat generating drive circuit 30... Lifting device 31... Lifting pin 32 Connection member 40 Intake device 41 Main pipe 42 Sub pipe 43 Pressure sensor 50 Control device 51 Temperature control unit 52 Intake control unit 53 Pressure acquisition unit 54 State Determination unit 55 Storage unit 56 Type determination unit 57 Elevation control unit 60 Presentation device 100 Heat treatment device 400 Substrate processing device 410 Control unit 420 Coating processing unit 430 Development Processing unit 440 Thermal processing unit 450 Substrate transfer device 490 Display device 500 Exposure device cn Foreign matter S Supporting space SS Space above plate W Substrate

Claims (10)

A heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating a substrate,
a plate member having a mounting surface;
a plurality of supports provided on the mounting surface so as to support the lower surface of the substrate;
a heat treatment unit that heats the substrate supported by the plurality of supports on the mounting surface;
a suction unit for sucking gas in a space between the mounting surface and the substrate supported by at least part of the plurality of supports on the mounting surface;
a pressure detector for detecting a pressure in a space between the mounting surface and the substrate supported by at least part of the plurality of supports on the mounting surface ;
A state in which gas in a space between the substrate normally supported by at least a part of the plurality of supports on the mounting surface and the mounting surface is sucked by the suction unit, or the mounting Based on the pressure detected by the pressure detector in a state in which gas in a space between the substrate that is not normally supported on the surface by the plurality of supports and the mounting surface is sucked by the suction unit. and a state determination unit that determines the support state of the substrate,
The suction unit is configured to move the substrate normally supported on the mounting surface during a predetermined initial period of the heat treatment to the substrate , or the space between the substrate not normally supported and the mounting surface. gas is sucked, and the suction is stopped from the time when the predetermined period of time elapses to the end of the heat treatment. The suction unit stops the suction when the predetermined period of time has elapsed,
2. The predetermined period according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined period is a period from when the substrate is mounted on the mounting surface until the temperature of the mounting surface reaches a preset temperature for the heat treatment. Heat treatment equipment. The state determination unit determines that the support state of the substrate is normal when the detected magnitude of the pressure is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, and determines that the detected magnitude of the pressure is normal. 3. The thermal processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support state of the substrate is judged to be abnormal when the substrate support state is lower than the set threshold value. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a first presentation unit that presents a result of determination by said state determination unit. a type determination unit that determines the type of abnormality of a substrate determined to be in an abnormal supported state based on a plurality of determination results of the plurality of substrates by the state determination unit;
The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a second presentation unit that presents the result of determination by the type determination unit. A heat treatment method for heat-treating a substrate,
placing the substrate on the mounting surface of the plate member so that the lower surface of the substrate is supported by at least a portion of the plurality of supports provided on the mounting surface;
performing a heat treatment on the substrate supported by the plurality of supports on the mounting surface;
A gas in a space between a substrate normally supported on the mounting surface by at least a part of the plurality of supports , or a substrate not normally supported by the plurality of supports and the mounting surface aspirating the
detecting the pressure in the space between the normally supported substrate or the improperly supported substrate and the mounting surface on the mounting surface;
detected by the detecting step in a state in which the gas in the space between the substrate normally supported on the mounting surface or the substrate not normally supported and the mounting surface is sucked determining the support state of the substrate based on the applied pressure;
The step of sucking is performed on the normally supported substrate on the mounting surface for a predetermined period of time at the beginning of the heat treatment of the substrate , or between the unsupported substrate and the mounting surface. A heat treatment method, comprising sucking gas in a space and stopping the suction during a period from the end of the predetermined period to the end of the heat treatment. The aspirating step includes stopping the aspiration when the predetermined period of time has elapsed;
7. The predetermined period according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined period is a period from when the substrate is mounted on the mounting surface until the temperature of the mounting surface reaches a preset temperature for the heat treatment. heat treatment method. The step of determining the support state of the substrate determines that the support state of the substrate is normal when the magnitude of the detected pressure is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, 8. The heat treatment method according to claim 6, comprising determining that the support state of the substrate is abnormal when the magnitude is lower than a predetermined threshold value. 9. The heat treatment method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising the step of presenting a judgment result obtained by the step of judging the support state of said substrate. a step of determining the type of abnormality of a substrate whose supported state is determined to be abnormal, based on a plurality of determination results for a plurality of substrates in the step of determining the supported state of the substrate;
10. The heat treatment method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, further comprising a step of presenting a judgment result obtained by the step of judging the type of abnormality.

Images