JP5279576B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent or suppress entry of the atmosphere in a substrate conveyance space into a substrate storage container. <P>SOLUTION: An indexer space and an external space are formed with a partition 7. On the partition 7, a passage hole 8 opposed to the substrate entrance/exit port 10 of the substrate storage container C mounted on a storage container mounting table 6 is formed. On the opposite side of the storage container mounting table 6 from the passage hole 8, a cover 20 in a nearly box shape is provided which covers the entire area of the passage hole 8. A laterally long opening 28 where a hand 15 passes through when the substrate W is taken in and out of the substrate container C is formed in the opposite wall 21 of the cover 20. The width of the opening 28 in the height direction is set to be about twice as large as stacking intervals N of substrates W in the substrate storage container C. A cover elevating and lowering drive mechanism for elevating and lowering the cover 20 is coupled to a support member for supporting the cover 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate. Examples of substrates to be processed include semiconductor wafers, liquid crystal display substrates, plasma display substrates, FED (Field Emission Display) substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, and photomasks. Substrates such as industrial substrates are included.

  A single wafer type substrate processing apparatus used in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or the like includes an indexer unit in which an indexer robot for transporting a substrate is housed, and a load port for carrying the substrate in and out of the indexer unit. Yes. The load port includes a container holding unit disposed in an external space of the indexer unit, and a partition wall that partitions the internal space and external space of the indexer unit. The container holder holds the substrate container. The substrate container can accommodate a plurality of substrates in a stacked state, and a substrate inlet / outlet for taking in / out the substrate is formed on a side surface of the substrate container. The hermetically sealed substrate container is provided with a detachable lid that closes the substrate entrance.

  The partition wall is formed with a passage opening facing the substrate entrance / exit of the substrate container held by the container holder. The passage opening can be opened and closed by a door that can be engaged with the lid of the substrate container. When the substrate container is disposed in the container holder, the door and the lid of the substrate container are engaged, and in this state, the door is retracted from the passage opening. Thereby, the substrate entrance / exit of the substrate container and the passage of the partition wall are opened. In this state, the hand of the indexer robot accesses the inside of the substrate container through the passage opening.

For this reason, when the substrate is taken in and out, the atmosphere in the internal space of the indexer part may enter the substrate container through the passage opening. However, since the atmosphere in the internal space of the indexer section is not strictly controlled, if this atmosphere enters the substrate container, the oxygen concentration and humidity of the atmosphere in the substrate container increase, which adversely affects the substrate. There is a fear.
Therefore, a configuration for preventing the atmosphere in the internal space of the indexer portion from entering the substrate container has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

In patent document 1, the structure which provides the cover which covers the whole region of a passage port on the opposite side to a container holding part with respect to a partition is proposed.
In Patent Document 2, the inert gas discharged from the nozzle disposed above the passage port is sucked by the suction means disposed below the passage port, thereby shielding the passage port with an inert gas film, A configuration for preventing the atmosphere of the internal space from entering the substrate container has been proposed.

JP 2003-45933 A JP 2003-7799 A

  However, in the configuration proposed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to form an opening of approximately the same size as the passage opening in the cover in order to put in and out the substrate. In Patent Document 1, a door that opens and closes this opening is provided, and this door is opened when a substrate is taken in and out. Accordingly, at this time, the atmosphere in the internal space of the indexer portion easily enters the substrate container through the opening and the passage opening having substantially the same size.

On the other hand, in the configuration proposed in Patent Document 2, there is no mechanism for directly preventing the atmosphere in the internal space of the indexer portion from flowing into the passage port. For this reason, it is not always possible to effectively prevent the atmosphere in the internal space of the indexer portion from entering the substrate container.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of effectively suppressing the atmosphere of a transfer space in which a substrate is transferred from entering the substrate container.

The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above object has a substrate container (C) having a substrate inlet / outlet (10) for taking in and out the substrate (W) and accommodating a plurality of substrates in a stacked state. A container holder (6) for holding the substrate container, and a passage port (8) facing the substrate inlet / outlet of the substrate container held by the container holder, the container holder A partition wall (7) for partitioning the holding space (OS) and a substrate transport space (IS) for transporting the substrate; and on the opposite side of the container holder with respect to the passage port, A cover (20) that covers the entire area, an opening (28) that is formed in a portion of the cover that faces the passage opening, and through which the substrate that is taken in and out of the substrate container passes, and held in the container holding part At one end of the stacking direction in the substrate container The one end cover position where the opening faces the plate holding position, and the other end cover position where the opening faces the substrate holding position at the other end in the stacking direction of the substrate container held by the container holding portion. between, said cover, said saw including a slide moving means for moving the sliding direction along the stacking direction of the substrate (27) in the substrate container, the cover, the one end cover position and the other end covering position It is a substrate processing apparatus in which the size in the sliding direction is set so that the cover can cover the entire area of the passage opening at each time of placement .

In addition, the alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies hereinafter.
According to this configuration, the entire area of the passage opening is covered with the cover. An opening is formed in a portion of the cover that faces the passage opening. In addition, the cover is provided so as to be movable in a sliding direction along the substrate stacking direction (hereinafter referred to as “stacking direction”) in the substrate container. For this reason, the opening can be moved in the sliding direction along the stacking direction.

Therefore, when loading / unloading a substrate into / from the substrate container, if the opening is opposed to the substrate holding position to be loaded / unloaded in the substrate container, the substrate can be loaded / unloaded through the opening, and the cover can be loaded / unloaded. Does not get in the way. In this case, since it is sufficient for the opening to have a size that allows the substrate to pass therethrough, the opening can be made smaller than the passage opening.
Since the entire area of the passage opening is covered with the cover, the passage opening is blocked from the outside of the cover (substrate transport space). Further, if the opening is made smaller than the passage opening, the atmosphere in the substrate transfer space does not easily enter the inside of the cover through the opening. Thereby, it can prevent or suppress that the atmosphere of board | substrate conveyance space approachs into a board | substrate container.

As described in claim 2, the opening area of the opening is preferably smaller than the opening area of the passage opening. In this case, it is possible to suppress the atmosphere of the substrate transport space from entering the substrate container as compared with the case where the opening area of the opening is approximately the same as or larger than the opening area of the passage opening.
More preferably, the opening has a size that is necessary and sufficient for a substrate to be taken in and out of the substrate container to pass through. More specifically, as described in claim 3, the width (W1) of the opening in the sliding direction ( height direction ) is an interval (N) between adjacent substrate holding positions in the substrate container. It may be set to about twice as large. In this case, since the opening can be reduced to the minimum, the atmosphere in the substrate transfer space hardly enters the substrate container through the opening.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hand (15) for taking a substrate in and out of the substrate container, a substrate transport mechanism (IR) disposed in the substrate transport space, and the hand in response to said stacking direction position, further comprising a control means for controlling the sliding means (40), a substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-3.
According to this configuration, the position of the cover in the sliding direction can be determined according to the position of the hands in the stacking direction. Thereby, even if it is a case where a hand puts a substrate in / out of any board | substrate holding position in a board | substrate container, opening can be made to oppose a hand. For this reason, even if the opening is formed to be small, the cover does not interfere with the insertion and removal of the substrate. Thereby, it is possible to satisfactorily put the substrate in and out of the substrate container while effectively suppressing the atmosphere in the substrate transport space from entering the substrate container.

  A first passing position in which the control means can pass the opening through the opening with respect to a substrate holding position at one end in the stacking direction of the substrate container; and the other end in the stacking direction of the substrate container. It is preferable that the hand for taking the substrate in and out of the substrate holding position (on the side opposite to the one end) is controlled so as to move between the second passing position through which the opening can pass.

  According to this configuration, the hand can put the substrate in and out of the substrate holding position at one end in the stacking direction of the substrate container through the opening of the cover at the first passing position. In addition, the hand can move the substrate in and out of the substrate holding position at the other end in the stacking direction of the substrate container through the opening of the cover at the second passage position. Thereby, the hand can be accessed to all the substrate holding positions of the substrate container. Therefore, the board | substrate can be taken in / out favorably with respect to a board | substrate container.

Further, as in claim 5 , it may further include a shutter (29) for opening and closing the opening.
According to this configuration, when the substrate is not taken in and out of the substrate container, the opening of the cover can be closed. Therefore, when the substrate is not taken in and out of the substrate container, the substrate transfer space and the inner space of the cover can be shut off, and the atmosphere in the substrate transfer space is kept in the substrate container. It is possible to more effectively suppress entry.
In addition, as described in claim 6, the cover may be formed in a box shape in which a surface facing the partition is opened.
The discharge nozzle (34) for supplying an inert gas to the inside of the substrate container held in the container holding part, and the substrate in the container holding part as described in claim 7 It may further include discharge control means (40) for continuing discharge of the inert gas from the discharge nozzle while the container is held.

It is an illustration sectional view for explaining the composition of the substrate processing device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the cover as viewed from the arrow II in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part of the load port shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is an illustration figure for demonstrating the process of taking out the unprocessed board | substrate from a board | substrate container.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the cover as viewed from the arrow II in FIG. This substrate processing apparatus is a single-wafer type apparatus that is installed in a clean room and processes substrates W such as semiconductor wafers one by one. The substrate processing apparatus includes an indexer unit 2, a processing unit 3 coupled to the indexer unit 2, and a plurality of (for example, four) load ports 4 as interfaces for taking in and out the substrate W into and from the indexer unit 2. It has.

The processing unit 3 includes a transfer path (not shown) communicating with an indexer space IS (substrate transfer space) that is an internal space of the indexer unit 2, and a plurality of processing chambers (not shown) arranged along the transfer path. And a main transfer robot (not shown) that is disposed in the transfer path and carries the substrate W in and out of the processing chamber.
The plurality of load ports 4 are arranged along a predetermined direction (a direction orthogonal to the paper surface). Each load port 4 includes a container mounting table 6 (a container holding unit) disposed in the external space OS on the opposite side of the processing unit 3 with respect to the indexer unit 2, and an indexer space IS and a container mounting table 6. A partition wall 7 for partitioning the external space OS and a door 9 for opening and closing a passage port 8 formed in the partition wall 7 are provided. The container mounting table 6 is for mounting the substrate container C. The passage port 8 is formed in a substantially square shape when viewed from the front. The upper side and the lower side of the passage port 8 are formed along the horizontal direction, and both side sides (the left side and the right side shown in FIG. 2) of the passage port 8 are formed along the vertical direction.

  The substrate container C can accommodate a plurality of (for example, 25) substrates W in a stacked state with a predetermined stacking interval N (described later). The substrate container C is a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) that accommodates the substrate W in a sealed state. That is, the substrate container C includes a substantially cubic main body 11 having a substrate inlet / outlet 10 for taking in / out the substrate W on one side surface, and a lid 12 for opening / closing the substrate inlet / outlet 10 (in FIG. 1, the lid 12 is opened). State). In the substrate container C, an unprocessed substrate W or a processed substrate W is stored in a stacked state. In a state where the substrate container C is placed on the container placement table 6, the substrate entrance 10 faces the passage opening 8.

  A fan filter unit 13 (FFU) for supplying a down flow of clean air to the indexer space IS is provided on the top surface of the indexer unit 2. The fan filter unit 13 has a structure in which a fan (not shown) and a filter (not shown) are stacked one above the other, and the air blown by the fan is purified by the filter and supplied into the indexer space IS.

  Further, an exhaust port (not shown) for exhausting the atmosphere of the indexer space IS is formed on the bottom surface of the indexer unit 2. The floor surface of the clean room is configured by grating, and a substrate processing apparatus is installed on the grating floor surface. The exhaust from the bottom surface of the indexer space 2 is guided to the space below the grating through the grating. The space below the grating is maintained at a negative pressure so as to absorb the downflow in the substrate processing apparatus.

  The indexer unit 2 includes an indexer robot IR. The indexer robot IR includes a hand 15 for holding the substrate W. By accessing the hand 15 through the passage port 8 into the substrate container C, the indexer robot IR takes out the substrate W from the substrate container C. Storage can be performed. Further, the indexer robot IR can transfer the substrate W to and from the main transport robot by allowing the hand 15 to access the main transport robot.

  The hand 15 is coupled to the arm 16. An arm advance / retreat drive mechanism 17 for advancing and retracting the arm 16 in the horizontal direction is coupled to the arm 16. In addition, an arm raising / lowering driving mechanism 18 for raising and lowering the arm 16 together with the base 14 is coupled to the base 14 that holds the arm 16. When the arm advance / retreat drive mechanism 17 is driven and the arm 16 is advanced and retracted in the horizontal direction, the hand 15 is advanced and retracted in the horizontal direction. The arm 15 is raised and lowered by driving the arm raising and lowering driving mechanism 18 and raising and lowering the arm 16.

  The door 9 is formed in a substantially square shape when viewed from the front. The door 9 is provided so as to be movable between a closed state that covers the passage port 8 and an open state that retreats to a lower portion of the passage port 8 in the partition wall 7. A door opening / closing drive mechanism 19 for opening and closing the door 9 is coupled to the door 9. In the open state of the door 9, almost the entire area of the passage opening 8 is opened. In addition, when the door 9 is closed, the passage port 8 is closed.

In the indexer space IS, a cover 20 that covers the entire area of the passage port 8 is disposed. In other words, the cover 20 covers the passage port 8 on the opposite side of the container mounting table 6 with respect to the passage port 8. The cover 20 is formed in a substantially box shape with the front surface facing the inner surface of the partition wall 7 open.
The cover 20 includes a facing wall 21 that faces the inner surface of the partition wall 7, an upper wall 22 that extends from the upper end of the facing wall 21 toward the partition wall 7, and a lateral end on one side of the facing wall 21 (the left side in FIG. 2). The first side wall 23 extending toward the partition wall 7 and the second side wall 24 extending toward the partition wall 7 from the side end on the other side (the right side shown in FIG. 2) of the opposing wall 21 are provided. The facing wall 21 faces the inner surface of the partition wall 7 with a predetermined interval (for example, 7 cm). The opposing wall 21 extends in the vertical direction and is formed in a vertically long rectangular shape when viewed from the front (see FIG. 2).

The first side wall 23 extends in the vertical direction on the one side (left side shown in FIG. 2) of one side (left side shown in FIG. 2) of the passage port 8. The leading edge of the first side wall 23 is opposed to the partition wall 7 with a minute clearance (for example, 2 to 3 mm).
The second side wall 24 extends in the vertical direction on the other side (the right side shown in FIG. 2) of the other side (the right side shown in FIG. 2) of the passage port 8. The leading edge of the second side wall 24 faces the partition wall 7 with a minute clearance (for example, 2 to 3 mm).

The upper wall 22 extends in the horizontal direction. The tip of the upper wall 22 is opposed to the partition wall 7 with a minute clearance (for example, 2 to 3 mm). The upper wall 22 closes the upper end of the first side wall 23, the upper end of the second side wall 24, and the upper end of the opposing wall 21.
A support member 26 for supporting the cover 20 is fixed to the lower end portion of the cover 20. In this embodiment, the support member 26 closes the lower end of the first side wall 23, the lower end of the second side wall 24, and the lower end of the opposing wall 21. The support member 26 is a cover for raising and lowering the cover 20 between a first cover position (see FIG. 5A, described later) and a 25th cover position (see FIG. 5C, described later). The raising / lowering drive mechanism 27 (refer FIG. 1) is couple | bonded. The cover elevating drive mechanism 27 includes, for example, a ball screw mechanism driven by a motor.

Thus, the cover 20 is lifted and lowered between the first cover position (one end cover position) and the 25th cover position (other end cover position) , but the cover 20 is both at the first cover position and the 25th cover position. The vertical size of the cover 20 and the attachment position of the cover 20 with respect to the partition wall 7 are determined so that the entire area of the passage port 8 can be covered.
A laterally long opening 28 through which the hand 15 passes when the substrate W from the substrate container C is taken in and out is formed in the central portion of the facing wall 21. The opening 28 has a rectangular shape. The width W1 in the height direction of the opening 28 is set to be about twice as large as the stacking interval N (described later) of the substrates W in the substrate container C. Further, the width W2 in the left-right direction of the opening 28 is set to be slightly larger than the diameter of the substrate W (for example, the diameter of the substrate W + 20 mm).

  A shutter 29 for opening and closing the opening 28 is provided on the outer surface of the facing wall 21. The shutter 29 is in a closed state (shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2) covering the opening 28, and an open state (represented by a solid line in FIG. ) And can be moved up and down. When the shutter 29 is in the closed state, the space inside the box-shaped cover 20 is blocked from the indexer space IS. The shutter 29 is coupled to a shutter raising / lowering mechanism 30 (see FIG. 2) for raising and lowering the shutter 29 between an open state and a closed state. The shutter lifting / lowering drive mechanism 30 includes, for example, a cylinder.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the load port 4. In FIG. 3, the open state of the lid 12 of the substrate container C is shown, and the illustration of the lid 12 and the door 9 is omitted.
In the substrate container C, support shelves (not shown) on which the substrates W are placed are arranged in multiple stages (for example, 25 stages) in the vertical direction. The substrate W is placed on the support shelf and accommodated and held in the substrate container C. That is, in the substrate container C, 25 substrate holding positions (only the lowest substrate holding position is shown in FIG. 3) P for holding the substrates W are arranged in the vertical direction. In this substrate container C, a plurality of substrates W are accommodated with a constant stacking interval (interval between substrates W adjacent in the vertical direction) N.

  The container mounting table 6 includes a movable mounting table 31 for mounting the substrate container C. The movable mounting table 31 is provided so as to be slidable in a horizontal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 3) orthogonal to the partition wall 7. A base slide drive mechanism 32 for sliding the movable base 31 in the left-right direction is coupled to the movable base 31. When the substrate slide drive mechanism 32 is driven in a state where the substrate container C is mounted on the movable mounting table 31 (container mounting table 6), it is mounted on the movable mounting table 31 (container mounting table 6). The substrate container C approaches / separates from the passage port 8.

The container mounting table 6 includes a discharge nozzle 34 for supplying N ₂ gas as an inert gas into the substrate container C. A discharge port 35 facing upward is formed at the tip of the discharge nozzle 34. In this embodiment, three discharge nozzles 34 are provided as shown in FIG. Each discharge nozzle 34 is embedded in the movable mounting table 31, and only its tip portion protrudes above the upper surface of the movable mounting table 31. The discharge nozzle 34, N ₂ gas supply pipe 36 which N ₂ gas from the N ₂ gas supply source is supplied is connected. An N ₂ valve 39 for switching discharge / discharge stop of N ₂ gas from the discharge port 35 is interposed in the middle of the N ₂ gas supply pipe 36.

Three introduction holes 37 are formed in the bottom surface of the substrate container C. Each introduction hole 37 is associated with each discharge nozzle 34. In addition, on the bottom surface of the substrate container C, a lead-out hole 38 for discharging the atmosphere in the substrate container C from the substrate container C to the outside of the container C is formed.
In a state where the substrate container C is placed on the movable mounting table 31, the discharge nozzle 34 is inserted into the introduction hole 37 formed on the bottom surface of the substrate container C. The discharge port 35 of the discharge nozzle 34 inserted into the introduction hole 37 faces the internal space of the substrate container C. On the other hand, when the substrate container C is detached from the movable mounting table 31, the discharge nozzle 34 is pulled out from the introduction hole 37. An introduction opening / closing mechanism (not shown) is disposed in the introduction hole 37. This introduction opening / closing mechanism normally closes the introduction hole 37, opens the introduction hole 37 in conjunction with the insertion operation of the discharge nozzle 34, and closes the introduction hole 37 by the extraction operation of the discharge nozzle 34. Further, a lead opening / closing mechanism (not shown) is disposed in the lead hole 38. The lead-out opening / closing mechanism normally closes the lead-out hole 38, opens the lead-out hole 38 in conjunction with the opening operation of the introduction opening / closing mechanism, and closes the introduction hole 37 in conjunction with the closing operation of the introduction opening / closing mechanism. To do.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the substrate processing apparatus.
The substrate processing apparatus is provided with a control device 40 composed of, for example, a microcomputer. The control unit 40, the arm forward and backward driving mechanism 17, the arm elevation driving mechanism 18, a door opening and closing drive mechanism 19, a trapezoidal slide driving mechanism 32, _{N 2} valves 39, as a cover elevation driving mechanism 27 and a shutter vertically driving mechanism 30 is controlled object It is connected.

The substrate container C is attached to the load port 4 as follows.
The substrate container C carried into the load port 4 of the substrate processing apparatus by the container transfer device (not shown) is mounted on the movable mounting table 31 at the predetermined transfer position of the container mounting table 6. In this substrate container C, 25 unprocessed substrates W are stored. For example, an engagement pin (not shown) provided on the container mounting table 6 is engaged with a groove (not shown) formed in the bottom of the substrate container C, whereby the substrate is placed on the movable mounting table 31. The container C is fixed. In a state where the substrate container C is placed on the movable mounting table 31, the discharge nozzle 34 is inserted into the introduction hole 37 of the substrate container C, and the discharge port 35 faces the internal space of the substrate container C. . At this time, the N ₂ valve 39 is opened in advance, and the introduction hole 37 is opened in conjunction with the insertion operation of the discharge nozzle 34 by the introduction opening / closing mechanism (not shown). Thereby, N ₂ gas is discharged from the discharge port 35 of the discharge nozzle 34, and the N ₂ gas is introduced into the substrate container C. The discharge of the N ₂ gas from the discharge port 35 is continued while the substrate container C is mounted on the movable mounting table 31.

  Next, the control device 40 drives the table slide drive mechanism 32 to move the substrate container C in a direction approaching the passage port 8. At this time, the lid 12 of the substrate container C and the door 9 come into contact with each other, and then the lid 12 is engaged with the door 9 and held by the door 9. Further, the lock engagement between the lid 12 and the container body 11 is released by a lock operation mechanism (not shown) provided on the door 9 side.

Thereafter, the control device 40 drives the door opening / closing drive mechanism 19 to move the door 9 to the open state (see FIG. 5A). Thereby, the passage port 8 is opened. Further, since the lid 12 is held by the door 9, the substrate doorway 10 of the substrate container C is opened as the door 9 moves to the open state (see FIG. 5A).
FIG. 5 is an illustrative view for explaining a process of taking out an unprocessed substrate W from the substrate container C. FIG. In addition, illustration of the lid | cover 12 is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. For example, the indexer robot IR takes out the substrates W one by one in the order from the lowest substrate holding position P of the substrate container C, for example.

  When it is time to take out the substrate W, the control device 40 controls the arm lifting drive mechanism 18 to move the hand 15 to the height of the first position (see FIG. 5A). Further, the cover 20 is moved to the lowest first cover position (first passing position, see FIG. 5A). The opening 28 of the cover 20 at the first cover position faces the lowest substrate holding position P (the substrate holding position P is not shown in FIG. 5A). Further, the control device 40 drives the shutter lifting / lowering drive mechanism 30 to lower the shutter 29 and open the opening 28. When the hand 15 is in the first position, the hand 15 faces the lowest substrate holding position P. Since the cover 20 is in the first cover position, the opening 28 faces both the hand 15 and the lowest substrate holding position P.

  Then, the control device 40 controls the arm advance / retreat drive mechanism 17 to move the hand 15 toward the lower side of the substrate W (the substrate W placed on the lowest support shelf) at the lowest substrate holding position P. Advance. The hand 15 enters the substrate container C through the opening 28. Thereafter, the control device 40 controls the arm raising / lowering drive mechanism 18 to raise the hand 15, whereby the substrate W placed on the lowest support shelf is scooped by the hand 15, Retained. Then, the control device 40 controls the arm advance / retreat drive mechanism 17 to retract the hand 15, whereby the hand 15 holding the substrate W is taken out from the substrate container C, passes through the opening 28, and is moved outwardly of the cover 20. Returned to the area. Thereafter, the substrate W is delivered to the main transfer robot by the indexer robot IR. After the substrate W is taken out from the substrate container C by the hand 15, the control device 40 drives the shutter lifting / lowering driving mechanism 30 to raise the shutter 29 and close the opening 28.

Thereafter, when it is time to take out the next substrate W, the substrate W at the second substrate holding position P from the lowest position of the substrate container C is taken out.
The control device 40 controls the arm lifting drive mechanism 18 to move the hand 15 to the height of the second position (see FIG. 5B). When the hand 15 is in the second position, the hand 15 faces the second substrate holding position P from the lowest position of the substrate container C. Moreover, the control apparatus 40 controls the cover raising / lowering drive mechanism 27, and moves the cover 20 to a 2nd cover position (refer FIG.5 (b)). When the cover 20 is in the second cover position, the opening 28 faces both the hand 15 in the second position and the second substrate holding position P from the lowest position of the substrate container C. Further, the control device 40 drives the shutter lifting / lowering drive mechanism 30 to lower the shutter 29 and open the opening 28.

  Thereafter, the control device 40 controls the arm advancing / retreating drive mechanism 17 so that the substrate W at the second substrate holding position P from the lowest position (the substrate W placed on the second support shelf from the lowest position). The hand 15 is advanced downward. The hand 15 enters the substrate container C through the opening 28. Then, the control device 40 controls the arm raising / lowering drive mechanism 18 to raise the hand 15, so that the substrate W placed on the second lowest support shelf is scooped by the hand 15. , Held by the hand 15. Then, the control device 40 controls the arm advance / retreat drive mechanism 17 to retract the hand 15 holding the substrate W, whereby the hand 15 holding the substrate W is taken out from the substrate container C and passes through the opening 28. It is returned to the area outside the cover 20. After the substrate W is taken out from the substrate container C by the hand 15, the control device 40 drives the shutter lifting / lowering driving mechanism 30 to raise the shutter 29 and close the opening 28. Thereafter, the substrate W is delivered to the main transfer robot by the indexer robot IR.

  Thereafter, every time when a request for taking out a substrate occurs and the timing for taking out the substrate W arrives, the substrates W accommodated in the substrate container C are taken out one by one in order from the bottom. At this time, the height of the hand 15 is controlled according to the height position of the substrate W in the substrate container C. At this time, the control device 40 raises and lowers the cover 20 according to the position of the hand 15 in the height direction so that the opening 28 faces the hand 15. Then, when the hand 15 is accessed through the opening 28 into the substrate container C, the substrate W is taken out.

Finally, the unprocessed substrate W at the uppermost substrate holding position P of the substrate container C is taken out.
At this time, the control device 40 controls the arm lifting drive mechanism 18 to move the hand 15 to the height of the 25th position (see FIG. 5C). When the hand 15 is in the 25th position, the hand 15 faces the uppermost substrate holding position P of the substrate container C. Moreover, the control apparatus 40 controls the cover raising / lowering drive mechanism 27, and moves the cover 20 to a 25th cover position (refer FIG.5 (c)). When the cover 20 is in the 25th cover position, the opening 28 faces both the hand 15 in the 25th position and the uppermost substrate holding position P. Further, the control device 40 drives the shutter lifting / lowering drive mechanism 30 to lower the shutter 29 and open the opening 28.

  Then, the hand 15 accesses the inside of the substrate container C through the opening 28, the substrate W is taken out, and is returned to the area outside the cover 20 through the opening 28. Thereafter, the substrate W is delivered to the main transfer robot by the indexer robot IR. After the substrate W is taken out from the substrate container C by the hand 15, the control device 40 drives the shutter lifting / lowering driving mechanism 30 to raise the shutter 29 and close the opening 28.

Thus, the hand 15 can be accessed to all 25 substrate holding positions P of the substrate container C. Therefore, a plurality of (25) unprocessed substrates W stored in the substrate container C can be taken out.
The unprocessed substrate W taken out from the substrate container C and delivered to the main transport robot is subjected to a predetermined process in the processing chamber of the processing unit 3, and the processed substrate W is delivered to the main transport robot. The processed substrate W is delivered from the main transfer robot to the indexer robot IR. Thereafter, the substrate W is stored one by one in the substrate container C by the indexer robot IR. When the substrate W is stored in the substrate container C, the substrates W are sequentially stored from the lowest substrate holding position P of the substrate container C as in the case of taking out the substrate W from the substrate container C. And the control apparatus 40 raises / lowers the cover 20 according to the position of the height direction of the hand 15. FIG.

First, the substrate W is stored in the lowest substrate holding position P of the substrate container C.
The control device 40 controls the arm lifting / lowering driving mechanism 18 to move the hand 15 to the height of the first position (see FIG. 5A) and controls the cover lifting / lowering driving mechanism 27 to move the cover 20 to the first position. 1 Move to the cover position (see FIG. 5A). Further, the control device 40 drives the shutter lifting / lowering drive mechanism 30 to lower the shutter 29 and open the opening 28.

  Thereafter, the control device 40 controls the arm advancing / retreating drive mechanism 17 so that the hand 15 holding the processed substrate W is directed above the lowest substrate holding position P (above the lowest support shelf). Make 15 advance. The hand 15 enters the substrate container C through the opening 28. Thereafter, the control device 40 controls the arm raising / lowering driving mechanism 18 to lower the hand 15, whereby the processed substrate W held by the hand 15 is delivered to the lowest support shelf of the substrate container C. As a result, the substrate W is stored in the substrate holding position P. Thereafter, the control device 40 controls the arm advance / retreat drive mechanism 17 to retract the hand 15, whereby the hand 15 is returned to the area outside the cover 20 through the opening 28. After the substrate W is delivered to the substrate container C by the hand 15, the control device 40 drives the shutter lifting / lowering driving mechanism 30 to raise the shutter 29 and close the opening 28.

  Thereafter, each time a substrate storage request is issued and the timing for storing the substrates W arrives, the processed substrates W are stored one by one in order from the bottom in the plurality of substrate holding positions P of the substrate container C. . The control device 40 controls the arm lifting / lowering drive mechanism 18 according to the height position of the substrate holding position P to be taken in / out, and moves the hand 15 to the corresponding height position. At this time, the control device 40 raises and lowers the cover 20 according to the position of the hand 15 in the height direction so that the opening 28 faces the hand 15. Then, when the hand 15 accesses the substrate container C through the opening 28, the processed substrate W is stored.

Finally, the processed substrate W is stored in the uppermost substrate holding position P.
The control device 40 controls the arm lifting / lowering driving mechanism 18 to move the hand 15 to the 25th position (see FIG. 5C) and controls the cover lifting / lowering driving mechanism 27 to move the cover 20 to the 25th cover. Move to a position (see FIG. 5C). Further, the control device 40 drives the shutter lifting / lowering drive mechanism 30 to lower the shutter 29 and open the opening 28.

Then, the hand 15 passes through the opening 28 to access the substrate container C, and the substrate W is stored in the uppermost substrate holding position P. Therefore, the processed substrate W can be stored in all the substrate holding positions P of the substrate container C.
After a predetermined number (all 25) of substrates W have been returned to the substrate container C, the control device 40 drives the door opening / closing drive mechanism 19 to close the door 9. Further, the lid 12 is locked to the container body 11 by the above-described lock operation mechanism provided on the door 9.

Next, the table slide drive mechanism 32 is controlled to move the substrate container C in the direction away from the passage port 8, and the fixation of the substrate container C to the movable mounting table 31 is released. Thereafter, the substrate container C is unloaded by the container transfer device.
Note that the substrates W are not necessarily held at all the substrate holding positions of the substrate container C that stores the unprocessed substrates W. Therefore, prior to the substrate take-out operation, a mapping operation may be performed in which the substrate holding position in the substrate container C is detected by a sensor to detect which substrate W is actually held. In this case, the above-described substrate take-out operation is performed only on the substrate holding position where the substrate W is detected by the mapping operation. Further, when the substrate W is stored in the original substrate holding position after the processing of the substrate W, the substrate storing operation is performed on the substrate holding position. Accordingly, the substrate accommodation operation is not necessarily performed for all substrate holding positions.

  Further, the substrate take-out operation from the substrate container C does not have to be performed in order from the lowest substrate holding position, and the substrate W may be taken out in an arbitrary take-out order. Substrate removal operations need not be performed for all substrates W accommodated in the. Similarly, the substrate accommodation order in the substrate container C does not have to be performed in order from the lowest substrate holding position, and the substrate holding operation may be performed by selecting the substrate holding position in an arbitrary order. Further, it is not necessary that the substrate W is accommodated in all substrate holding positions of the substrate container C.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, since the entire area of the passage opening 8 is covered with the cover 20, the passage opening 8 is blocked from the outside of the cover 20 (area facing the indexer space IS). Further, since the opening 28 is small, the atmosphere of the indexer space IS hardly enters the inside of the cover 20 through the opening 28. Thereby, the atmosphere of the indexer space IS can be prevented or suppressed from entering the substrate container C.

Further, since the atmosphere of the indexer space IS is prevented from entering the substrate container C, the flow rate of N ₂ gas introduced into the substrate container C from the discharge port 35 of the discharge nozzle 34 can be reduced. it can.
Further, the position of the cover 20 in the height direction is determined according to the position of the hand 15 in the height direction. For this reason, even when the hand 15 puts or removes the substrate W in any substrate holding position P in the substrate container C, the opening 28 can be opposed to the hand 15. For this reason, the cover 20 does not obstruct the loading / unloading of the substrate W. Thereby, the board | substrate W can be taken in / out favorably with respect to the board | substrate container C. FIG.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can also be implemented with another form.
In the above-described embodiment, the operation of taking out the substrate W from the substrate container C and the operation of storing the substrate W have been described as being performed in order from the lowest substrate holding position P of the substrate container C. Alternatively, the order may be out of order.

  In addition, the configuration in which the lower portion of the cover 20 is closed by the support member 26 has been described as an example. However, the configuration is not limited to this configuration. A lower wall that closes the lower end of the support member 26 may be provided separately. Moreover, the lower part of the cover 20 may be opened. Since the downflow is formed in the indexer space IS, even if the lower part of the cover 20 is opened, the atmosphere of the indexer space IS hardly enters the cover 20 from this lower part.

Further, the shutter 29 may be omitted.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the unprocessed substrate W is taken out from the substrate container C, and the processed substrate W is stored (returned) in the original substrate container C after the processing of the taken-out substrate W. ) As an example, the configuration may be such that the processed substrate W is stored in another substrate container C.

  In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.

6 Container Holding Unit 7 Bulkhead 8 Passing Port 10 Substrate Inlet / Outlet 15 Hand 20 Cover 27 Cover Lifting Drive Mechanism (Slide Moving Means)
28 Opening 29 Shutter 40 Control device C Substrate container IR Indexer robot (Substrate transport mechanism)
IS indexer space (substrate transfer space)
N stacking interval (interval between adjacent substrates)
OS external space (retention space)
W substrate W1 Width in the height direction of the opening

Claims (7)

A container holding unit for holding a substrate container that has a substrate inlet / outlet for loading / unloading a substrate and that accommodates a plurality of substrates in a stacked state;
A passage opening facing the substrate entrance / exit of the substrate container held by the container holding unit is provided, and the holding space in which the container holding unit is arranged and the substrate transfer space for transferring the substrate are partitioned. A partition,
A cover that covers the entire area of the passing port on the opposite side of the container holding portion with respect to the passing port,
An opening for passing a substrate to be taken in and out of the substrate container, formed in a portion of the cover facing the passage opening;
One end cover position where the opening faces the substrate holding position at one end in the stacking direction of the substrate container held by the container holding part, and the substrate container held by the container holding part. between the opening in the substrate holding position of the stacking direction and the other end of the other end cover at opposing the cover, seen including a slide moving means for moving the sliding direction along the stacking direction of the substrate in the substrate container ,
The size of the cover is set in the sliding direction so that the cover can cover the entire area of the passage opening when the cover is disposed at the one end cover position and the other end cover position, respectively. A substrate processing apparatus.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an opening area of the opening is smaller than an opening area of the passage opening.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a width of the opening in the sliding direction is set to be twice a distance between adjacent substrate holding positions in the substrate container. A substrate transport mechanism having a hand for taking a substrate in and out of the substrate container, and being disposed in the substrate transport space;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls the slide moving unit according to a position of the hand in the stacking direction. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a shutter that opens and closes the opening.   The said cover is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-5 currently formed in the box shape which the surface facing the said partition opened.   A discharge nozzle for supplying an inert gas into the substrate container held by the container holding part;
  The discharge controller according to claim 1, further comprising discharge control means for continuing discharge of the inert gas from the discharge nozzle while the substrate container is held by the container holding unit. Substrate processing equipment.

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