Substrate processing system and substrate processing method

Abstract

This invention relates to a substrate handling system, a substrate handling method, a substrate processing system, and a substrate processing method. When handling a substrate cut to a predetermined size from a substrate substrate to a processing apparatus for substrate processing steps such as film deposition, the invention aims to suppress the reduction in precision of the substrate processing steps. The substrate handling system of this invention is used to handle substrates cut to a predetermined size from a substrate substrate. It is characterized by comprising a handling mechanism for handling the substrate and a handling control unit for controlling the handling mechanism, wherein the handling control unit controls the handling mechanism based on information related to the cutting position of the substrate from the substrate substrate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a substrate processing system and a substrate processing method. Background Technology

[0002] Recently, OLED displays have garnered significant attention as flat panel display devices. OLED displays are self-emissive displays with superior response times, viewing angles, and thinness compared to LCD panels. They are rapidly replacing traditional LCD panels in monitors, televisions, and various portable devices, including smartphones. Furthermore, their applications are expanding into automotive displays and other areas.

[0003] Organic light-emitting elements (OLEDs), which constitute organic EL display devices, have a basic structure in which an organic layer that causes light emission is formed between two opposing electrodes (cathode and anode). The functional layer and electrode metal layer of the OLED are manufactured by depositing a film-forming material onto a substrate within the vacuum chamber of a film-forming apparatus using a mask with a pixel pattern. To deposit the film-forming material at desired locations on the substrate with a desired pattern, the substrate needs to be stably transported within the film-forming apparatus, and the relative position between the mask and the substrate needs to be precisely adjusted.

[0004] In recent production lines for organic EL displays, the substrate process, such as forming the circuitry for thin-film transistors, is performed on a pre-formed substrate. However, subsequent processes (e.g., film deposition processes for forming organic and metal layers) are sometimes performed on multiple substrates cut from the pre-formed substrate to a specified size. For example, in a sixth-generation production line for manufacturing display panels for organic EL displays used in smartphones, the substrate process is performed on a full-size pre-formed substrate (approximately 1500 mm × approximately 1850 mm), while film deposition processes are performed on substrates cut into two halves (approximately 1500 mm × approximately 925 mm).

[0005] Patent document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-283696) discloses the following technology: In an exposure apparatus for manufacturing a TFT liquid crystal display device, misalignment of the layout of the exposure pattern of the substrate is corrected based on the cutting position cut from the original plate.

[0006] Existing technical documents

[0007] Patent documents

[0008] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-283696 Summary of the Invention

[0009] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0010] The inventors conducted in-depth research and found that in a substrate processing system where substrates cut to a specified size from a raw substrate are transported to a processing apparatus and subjected to specified processing, the substrate's movement varies depending on its cutting position during transport to the processing apparatus or during alignment of the substrate for film deposition with the mask. This difference in movement caused by the substrate's cutting position affects the accuracy of substrate processing steps such as film deposition. Specifically, because substrates with different cutting positions sometimes move differently during transport or alignment, the following problem exists: even when substrates with different cutting positions are transported or aligned using the same method, the alignment accuracy and the accuracy of the substrate processing steps sometimes decrease.

[0011] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a technique for suppressing the reduction of precision in substrate processing steps such as film formation when a substrate cut from a raw board to a specified size is transported to a processing apparatus for substrate processing steps such as film formation.

[0012] Methods for solving problems

[0013] The first embodiment of the substrate handling system of the present invention is a substrate handling system for handling substrates cut from a source plate to a predetermined size, characterized in that it includes a handling mechanism for handling the substrate and a handling control unit for controlling the handling mechanism, wherein the handling control unit controls the handling mechanism based on information related to the cutting position of the substrate from the source plate.

[0014] The substrate processing system of the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that it includes a plurality of processing devices for performing a predetermined processing on a substrate cut from a raw board to a predetermined size, and a substrate transport system for transporting the substrate, wherein the substrate transport system is the substrate transport system of the first aspect of the present invention.

[0015] The third-party substrate handling method of the present invention is a substrate handling method for handling substrates cut from a source plate to a predetermined size, characterized in that it includes a stage of handling the substrate based on information related to the cut position of the substrate from the source plate.

[0016] The fourth aspect of the substrate handling method of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a stage of moving substrates cut from the original board at different cutting positions into a substrate handling system in a predetermined order; a stage of assigning any one of a plurality of handling paths to the substrates moved into the substrate handling system in a predetermined order; and a stage of moving the moved substrates along the assigned handling path, wherein in the stage of assigning the handling path, the order of assigning the handling path is determined such that different handling paths are assigned to substrates at different cutting positions.

[0017] The fifth aspect of the substrate processing method of the present invention is a substrate processing method for performing a predetermined process on a substrate cut from a base plate to a predetermined size, characterized in that it includes a stage of transporting the substrate and a stage of performing the predetermined process on the transported substrate, wherein the stage of transporting the substrate is performed by a substrate transport method of the third or fourth aspect of the present invention.

[0018] Invention Effects

[0019] According to the present invention, when a substrate cut from the original board to a specified size is transported to a processing apparatus and subjected to substrate processing steps such as film formation, the reduction in the precision of the substrate processing steps can be suppressed. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an electronic equipment production line.

[0021] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing the relationship between the original board and the substrate cut from the original board.

[0022] Figure 3 This is a functional block diagram of a substrate handling system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a diagram of substrate handling routes to multiple processing devices.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the information table stored in the storage unit of a substrate handling system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing the information table stored in the storage section of the upstream device.

[0025] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing other information tables stored in the storage section of a substrate handling system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 7 This is a functional block diagram illustrating another substrate handling system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a diagram illustrating substrate handling routes to multiple processing devices.

[0027] Figure 8 This is a functional block diagram illustrating another substrate handling system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a diagram illustrating substrate handling routes to multiple processing devices.

[0028] Figure 9 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the processing apparatus of a substrate processing system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0030] 10: Original board;

[0031] 12: Substrate;

[0032] 140, 240, 340: Handling mechanism;

[0033] 182, 282, 382: Material handling control unit;

[0034] 110: Processing device (cleaning device);

[0035] 210: Processing device (organic film forming device);

[0036] 310: Processing apparatus (metal film forming apparatus). Detailed Implementation

[0037] Hereinafter, suitable embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the following embodiments and examples are merely illustrative of preferred structures of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these structures. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, the hardware and software structures, processing flows, manufacturing conditions, dimensions, materials, shapes, etc. of the apparatus described below are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0038] This invention relates to a substrate transport system and a substrate transport method for transporting substrates to a processing apparatus for substrate processing steps such as cleaning and film formation. In particular, it relates to a technique for controlling which processing apparatus (i.e., the substrate transport route) to which a substrate is transported based on the cutting position of the substrate when there are multiple processing apparatuses for processing substrates cut from the original board to a specified size.

[0039] This invention is preferably applied to apparatuses for cleaning substrates in a substrate-feeding processing unit or for forming thin film material layers with desired patterns on the surface of substrates. As the substrate material, any material such as glass, resin, metal, or silicon can be selected. Furthermore, as the film-forming material, any material such as organic or inorganic materials (metals, metal oxides) can be selected. Specifically, the technology of this invention can be applied to manufacturing apparatuses for electronic devices and optical components, and is particularly suitable for manufacturing apparatuses for organic electronic devices (e.g., organic EL display devices, thin-film solar cells, organic CMOS image sensors). Among these, an apparatus for manufacturing organic EL display devices is one of the preferred applications of this invention.

[0040] <Electronic Equipment Production Line>

[0041] Figure 1 This is a top view schematically representing the structure of production line 1 for electronic equipment. Figure 1 Production line 1 for electronic devices is, for example, a production line for manufacturing display panels for organic EL display devices used in smartphones. Hereinafter, the structure of production line 1 for electronic devices will be described using an organic EL display device production line as an example.

[0042] In the production line 1 of electronic devices, the substrate 12, which is brought in from the upstream device, is sequentially transported to multiple zones 100, 200, and 300 while undergoing pretreatment, organic EL layer deposition, metal layer deposition, and other processes. After that, the processed substrate 12 is transported out to the downstream device.

[0043] Therefore, the production line 1 for electronic devices includes a pretreatment zone 100, an organic film-forming zone 200, and a metal film-forming zone 300.

[0044] Between the pretreatment region 100 and the metal film-forming region 300, depending on the structure of the organic EL device, multiple organic film-forming regions 200 are provided, including an organic film-forming region for forming a common layer such as a hole injection layer (HIL) or a hole transport layer (HTL), an organic film-forming region for forming an emitting layer (ETL), and an organic film-forming region for forming other common layers such as an electron transport layer (ETL) or an electron injection layer (EIL). Furthermore, some of the aforementioned layers, such as the electron transport layer or the electron injection layer, may also be formed in the metal film-forming region 300.

[0045] In the upstream unit, substrate processes such as the formation of thin-film transistor circuits are performed. These upstream processes are performed on the original substrate. Then, the original substrate, after completing the substrate processes, is cut into multiple substrates 12 of a specified size, for example, in the final stage of the upstream unit, and sequentially sent to production line 1, more specifically to the pre-processing area 100.

[0046] Furthermore, in downstream devices, for example, a sealing process and a cutting process are performed on the substrate 12 after the metal layer film formation process has been completed.

[0047] The substrate 12, which is the object of processing on the production line 1 for electronic devices, is cut from the original board to a predetermined size. For example, the substrate 12 is a substrate cut from the aforementioned 6th generation full-size (approximately 1500mm × approximately 1850mm) original board to a half-cut size (approximately 1500mm × approximately 925mm). However, the substrate 12 is not limited to a substrate that divides the original board into two; it can also be a substrate cut into three or more, such as four. In addition, the original board in this invention is not limited to the 6th generation; it can also be an original board of other generations (e.g., the 8th generation or the 10.5th generation). Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with focus on the case where the substrate 12 has a half-cut size of the original board.

[0048] The pretreatment zone 100 of the electronic equipment production line 1 is used to perform a pretreatment process on the substrate 12 before the film formation process of organic materials, etc. The pretreatment process includes a cleaning process for removing contaminants generated in the base plate process and the cutting process of the upstream device from the surface of the substrate 12. The cleaning process may be, for example, plasma cleaning, but is not limited to this.

[0049] The pretreatment zone 100 includes loading chambers 150a and 150b on the downstream side, which are used to transfer the substrate 12 from the upstream device under atmospheric conditions to a vacuum state. Figure 1 The diagram shows multiple loading chambers 150a and 150b, which are for loading two types of substrates 12 cut at different positions (e.g., ...). Figure 2 The first cut substrate 12a and the second cut substrate 12b are respectively loaded into different loading chambers 150a and 150b. However, this is just an example, and more than three loading chambers may also be provided. Alternatively, only one loading chamber may be provided between the upstream device and the upstream device, through which substrates with different cut positions are alternately loaded into the pretreatment area 100.

[0050] Additionally, the pretreatment area 100 includes multiple processing devices for performing a cleaning process on the substrate 12, namely multiple cleaning devices (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d: 110). In each of the multiple cleaning devices 110, a cleaning process is performed on a different substrate 12. In the pretreatment area 100, the cleaning device 110 is a processing device.

[0051] Additionally, the pretreatment area 100 includes a first transport chamber 130 disposed centrally within a plurality of cleaning units 110. Within the first transport chamber 130, a first transport mechanism 140 is provided. This first transport mechanism 140 receives substrates 12 cut to a predetermined size from upstream units or loading chambers 150a, 150b of the pretreatment area 100 and transports them to any one of the plurality of cleaning units 110. Furthermore, it transports the substrates 12 that have completed the cleaning process from the cleaning unit 110 to downstream units (e.g., ...). Figure 1 The first buffer chamber 160). The first handling mechanism 140 is, for example, a robot having a structure in which a holding plate 12 is mounted on a multi-jointed arm.

[0052] The transport routes A, B, C, and D of which of the multiple cleaning devices 110 the first transport mechanism 140 transports the substrate 12 to, i.e., the substrate 12 in the pretreatment area 100, will be described later.

[0053] A first buffer chamber 160 is connected to the pretreatment area 100. The first buffer chamber 160 is used to transfer the substrate 12, which has completed the pretreatment process in the pretreatment area 100, to other areas downstream, namely the organic film formation area 200.

[0054] Furthermore, a first swirl chamber 170 is provided between the first buffer chamber 160 and its downstream path chamber, namely the first path chamber 250, to change the orientation of the substrate 12. As a result, the orientation of the substrate 12 is the same in both the pretreatment zone 100 and the organic film formation zone 200, making substrate processing easier.

[0055] The organic film formation region 200 of the electronic device production line 1 is used to form an organic layer on a substrate 12. For example, in Figure 1 In an organic film-forming region 200 shown in the figure, a first organic layer and a second organic layer are sequentially formed on a substrate 12.

[0056] The organic film-forming region 200 includes a plurality of first organic film-forming devices 210a, 210b for forming a first organic layer and a plurality of second organic film-forming devices 210c, 210d for forming a second organic layer.

[0057] Each of the plurality of first organic film-forming apparatuses 210a and 210b and each of the plurality of second organic film-forming apparatuses 210c and 210d has a 2-stage structure capable of assembling two substrates. That is, in the organic film-forming apparatus, during the film-forming process on a substrate assembled on one stage A, alignment and other processing are performed on a substrate assembled on another stage B. The two stages in an organic film-forming apparatus share a film-forming source, and the film-forming source in the organic film-forming apparatus is configured to be movable between the two stages. However, the organic film-forming apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to a 2-stage structure, and may have only one stage or more stages.

[0058] The organic film-forming region 200 also includes a second transport chamber 230 disposed at the center of a plurality of organic film-forming devices (210a, 210b, 210c, 210d: 210). A second transport mechanism 240 is provided in the second transport chamber 230. The second transport mechanism 240, for example, receives the substrate 12 from the first path chamber 250 and transports it to the first organic film-forming devices 210a and 210b, transports the substrate 12 with the first organic layer formed from the first organic film-forming devices 210a and 210b to the second organic film-forming devices 210c and 210d, and transports the substrate 12 with the second organic layer formed from the second organic film-forming devices 210c and 210d downstream. The second transport mechanism 240, like the first transport mechanism 140, is a robot with a structure in which a robotic hand for holding the substrate 12 is mounted on a multi-jointed arm. However, the specific structure of the second transport mechanism 240 may also differ from that of the first transport mechanism 140.

[0059] The specific transport routes A, B, C, D of which of the plurality of organic film-forming apparatuses 210 the second transport mechanism 240 transports the substrate 12 to and / or which stage of that film-forming apparatus (e.g., 210a1, 210a2), i.e., the substrate 12 in the organic film-forming region 200, will be described later.

[0060] The organic film-forming region 200 also includes multiple first mask storage cavities 220 for storing masks before and after use. In the first mask storage cavities 220, masks used in the film-forming process of the organic film-forming apparatus 210, as well as used masks, are stored in two separate boxes. A second transport mechanism 240 transports used masks from the organic film-forming apparatus 210 to the boxes in the first mask storage cavities 220, and transports new masks stored in the other boxes in the first mask storage cavities 220 to the organic film-forming apparatus 210.

[0061] A first path chamber 250 and a second buffer chamber 260 are connected to the organic film-forming region 200. The first path chamber 250 transfers the substrate 12 from the first swirl chamber 170 to the organic film-forming region 200, and the second buffer chamber 260 transfers the substrate 12, which has completed the film-forming process in the organic film-forming region 200, downstream. A second swirl chamber 270, which changes the orientation of the substrate 12, is provided between the buffer chamber immediately preceding the metal film-forming region 300 and its downstream path chamber. Thus, the substrate 12 is oriented in the same direction in both the organic film-forming region 200 and the metal film-forming region 300, facilitating substrate processing.

[0062] The metal deposition zone 300 of the production line 1 for organic EL display devices is used to form a metal layer (including a metal oxide layer) on a substrate 12. It includes multiple metal deposition apparatuses (310a, 310b, 310c, 310d: 310) for performing a metal deposition process on the substrate 12 on which an organic layer has been formed, a second mask storage cavity 320 for storing masks before and after use, and a third transport chamber 330 disposed centrally thereon. A second path chamber 350 and an unloading chamber 360 are connected to the metal deposition zone 300. The second path chamber 350 transfers the substrate 12 from the upstream swivel chamber 270 to the metal deposition zone 300, and the unloading chamber 360 transfers the substrate 12, after the deposition process has been completed in the metal deposition zone 300, to a downstream apparatus.

[0063] A third transport mechanism 340 is provided in the third transport chamber 330. The third transport mechanism 340 receives the substrate 12 from the upstream path chamber 350 and delivers it to the metal film forming apparatus 310, and then delivers the substrate 12, after the metal layer has been formed, from the metal film forming apparatus 310 to the unloading chamber 360. Like the second transport mechanism 240, the third transport mechanism 340 is a robot with a structure in which a robotic hand for holding the substrate 12 is mounted on a multi-joint arm.

[0064] The transport routes A, B, C, and D of the third transport mechanism 340 to which of the multiple metal film forming devices 310 the substrate 12 is transported, i.e. to the metal film forming region 300, will be described later.

[0065] In the second mask storage cavity 320, masks used in the film formation process of the metal film forming apparatus 310 and used masks are stored in two separate boxes. The third transport mechanism 340 transports used masks from the metal film forming apparatus 310 to the boxes in the second mask storage cavity 320, and transports new masks stored in other boxes in the second mask storage cavity 320 to the metal film forming apparatus 310.

[0066] In the organic film-forming region 200 and the metal film-forming region 300, the film-forming apparatuses 210 and 310 perform a series of film-forming processes, including exchanging the substrate 12 with the transport mechanisms 240 and 340, adjusting (aligning) the relative position of the substrate 12 and the mask, fixing or bonding the substrate 12 to the mask, and film formation (evaporation or sputtering). The film-forming apparatuses 210 and 310 can be structures for upper deposition where the film-forming surface of the substrate is facing downwards in the direction of gravity, structures for lower deposition where the film-forming surface of the substrate is facing upwards in the direction of gravity, or structures for side deposition where the substrate is vertically upright, i.e., the film-forming surface of the substrate is approximately parallel to the direction of gravity.

[0067] In the aforementioned production line 1 for organic EL display devices, the devices or chambers constituting regions 100, 200, and 300, such as cleaning devices 110 and film-forming devices 210 and 310, mask storage chambers 220 and 320, transport chambers 130, 230, and 330, buffer chambers 160 and 260, loading chambers 150a and 150b, unloading chamber 360, path chambers 250 and 350, and swirl chambers 170 and 270, are maintained in a vacuum state during the manufacturing process of the organic EL display panel.

[0068] As mentioned above, depending on which part of the original board the substrate 12 is cut from, the actions during the transport of the substrate 12 to the cleaning apparatus 110 / film forming apparatus 210, 310 by the transport mechanisms 140, 240, 340, differ when the substrate 12 is aligned with the mask in the film forming apparatus 210, 310, or when the substrate 12 is fixed on the mask.

[0069] One reason for this change in movement is that the shape of the substrate 12 varies slightly depending on the cutting position. That is, the position of the center of gravity and the undulation pattern (undulation mode) differ depending on the shape of the substrate 12, thus the movement during handling (shaking or vibration, sliding, etc.) also changes.

[0070] According to one embodiment of the present invention, in the case where multiple processing devices 110, 210, 310 for performing processing steps are provided in each zone 100, 200, 300 of an electronic device production line 1, the transport of the substrate 12 by the transport mechanisms 140, 240, 340 is controlled based on the position from which the substrate 12 is cut from the original board. More specifically, the transport of the substrate 12 is controlled according to the cutting position from the original board, thereby changing the transport path of the substrate 12.

[0071] Furthermore, in other embodiments of the present invention, the substrate 12 transported to any one of the plurality of processing devices 110, 210, 310 via the aforementioned transport path control of the substrate 12 is processed using process parameters determined based on the cutting position of the substrate 12. That is, according to the substrate 12 transport path control of one embodiment of the present invention, since the substrate 12 with the same cutting position is transported to one processing device 110, 210, 310, process parameters matching the operation of the substrate 12 at that cutting position are applied in that processing device 110, 210, 310.

[0072] <Substrate Handling System and Substrate Handling Method>

[0073] The following is for reference Figures 2-8 An embodiment of the substrate handling system and substrate handling method of the present invention will be described.

[0074] An embodiment of the substrate handling system of the present invention, in cases where multiple substrates can be assembled in multiple processing devices for performing predetermined processing steps and / or within a single processing device (e.g., where the processing device consists of multiple worktables), distributes and transports the brought-in substrates to multiple worktables (or assembly positions). That is, the determination of the transport route refers to the determination of the processing device and / or the assembly position when multiple substrates can be assembled within the processing device. Alternatively, the determination of the transport route refers to selecting two or more processing devices (and / or assembly positions) from among multiple processing devices and determining the transport sequence to the selected two or more processing devices.

[0075] The substrate 12, transported by a substrate transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention, is cut from the original substrate 10 to a predetermined size. For example, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the original board 10 is in Figure 1The upstream device shown cuts out two substrates 12 to half-size, namely the first cut substrate 12a and the second cut substrate 12b, and the substrate transport system transports the cut substrates 12 along a predetermined transport route. However, the substrates 12 transported by the substrate transport system of this embodiment are not limited to substrates that divide the original board 10 into two, but can also be substrates cut into three or more, such as four.

[0076] In this application specification, the cut-out position of substrate 12 indicates the location from which substrate 12 is cut from the original board 10. For example, in Figure 2 In this specification, the cutting position of the first slitting substrate 12a from the original board 10 is on the left, and the cutting position of the second slitting substrate 12b from the original board 10 is on the right. In addition, in this specification, multiple first slitting substrates 12a cut from different original boards are sometimes collectively referred to as first slitting substrate 12a, and multiple second slitting substrates 12b are collectively referred to as second slitting substrate 12b.

[0077] Preferably, the upstream device assigns substrate identification information (S001, S002, S003...) to the diced substrates 12 respectively, and associates it with the dicing position information and stores it in memory or sends it to subsequent devices.

[0078] As previously mentioned, the actions of the substrate during transport, alignment, or bonding with the mask differ depending on the cut position from the original board. Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the substrate transport system controls the transport mechanism in the pretreatment area 100, the organic film formation area 200, and the metal film formation area 300 based on information related to the cut position of the substrate. Typically, the transport mechanism is controlled such that a first substrate (first slit substrate 12a) cut from the original board 10 at a first cut position and a second substrate (second slit substrate 12b) cut from the original board 10 at a second cut position are transported along different transport paths.

[0079] Figure 3 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 These are functional block diagrams and schematic diagrams illustrating a substrate handling system and method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 Corresponding to Figure 1 Preprocessing area 100, Figure 7 Corresponding to Figure 1 The organic film-forming region is 200, and, Figure 8 Corresponding to Figure 1 The metal film formation region is 300. Additionally, in... Figure 3 , Figure 7 as well as Figure 8 For ease of illustration, the diagrams of transport mechanisms 140, 240, and 340 are omitted; instead, the transport path of substrate 12 is shown.

[0080] like Figure 3 As shown in (a), the substrate transport system of the pretreatment area 100 (hereinafter referred to as the "first substrate transport system") includes a first transport mechanism 140 and a first transport control unit 182. The first transport mechanism 140 transports the substrate 12 from loading chambers 150a and 150b to any one of a plurality of cleaning devices 110a, 110b, 110c and 110d. The first transport control unit 182 controls the transport operation of the first transport mechanism 140.

[0081] According to this embodiment, the first transport control unit 182 controls the first transport mechanism 140 based on the cut-out position of the substrate 12 that is transported into the first transport chamber 130 from the original board 10, for example, based on whether the substrate 12 is a first cut substrate 12a or a second cut substrate 12b, thereby controlling the transport route of the substrate 12.

[0082] More specifically, the first transport control unit 182 controls the transport path of the substrate 12, so that substrates 12 cut from the original board 10 at different cutting positions are transported to different transport paths. Thus, the transport paths of the first slit substrate 12a and the second slit substrate 12b are different. By switching the transport path according to the cutting position from the original board 10, the frequency of randomly transporting various substrates with different cutting positions to a single processing device can be reduced. Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, only substrates with the same cutting position can be transported to a single processing device. Therefore, by processing substrates with the same cutting position in the same processing device, alignment accuracy and the accuracy of the substrate processing steps can be further improved.

[0083] Furthermore, even for substrates 12 cut from the original board 10 at the same cutting position, the first transport control unit 182 can control the transport path of the substrates 12, making the transport paths different. Therefore, the transport paths of each of the multiple first-cut substrates 12a or the transport paths of each of the multiple second-cut substrates 12b can be the same or different. In other words, the multiple first-cut substrates 12a are each transported along any one of at least two transport paths selected from a plurality of transport paths that correspond to the transport path of the first-cut substrates 12a. Alternatively, the second-cut substrates 12b can also be transported along any one of at least two transport paths from a plurality of transport paths. This increases the degree of freedom in the transport paths of each substrate and shortens the overall production cycle time of the electronic device manufacturing production line.

[0084] To control this transport route, the first transport control unit 182 determines the transport route of the substrate 12 based on the cut-out position of the substrate 12 entering the transport chamber 130. For example, as Figure 3As shown in (b), the first transport control unit 182 determines the transport path of the substrate 12 as any one of route A, route B, route C, and route D based on the cutting position of the substrate.

[0085] At this time, the first transport control unit 182 determines the transport route for each substrate 12, so that substrates 12 with different cutting positions are transported along different transport routes. For example, if either route A or route B is assigned to the first cut substrate 12a, either route C or route D is assigned to the second cut substrate 12b. Furthermore, the first transport mechanism 140 transports the first cut substrate 12a to the first cleaning device 110a or the second cleaning device 110b, and the second cut substrate 12b to the third cleaning device 110c or the fourth cleaning device 110d, along the transport routes determined by the first transport control unit 182. Therefore, substrates 12 with different cutting positions are transported to at least different cleaning devices 110.

[0086] like Figure 3 As in case (b), when the number of cleaning devices 110 capable of transporting the substrate 12 is greater than the number of cut positions the substrate 12 can have, the first transport control unit 182 can determine the transport route so that the substrate 12 with a specific cut position is transported to a cleaning device arbitrarily selected from two or more transportable cleaning devices 110. Thus, the first transport control unit 182 can also determine the transport route so that substrates 12 with the same cut position are transported along different transport routes. For example, the first transport control unit 182 can determine the transport route such that a portion of the plurality of first-cut substrates 12a is route A and the remainder is route B, and determine the transport route such that a portion of the plurality of second-cut substrates 12a is route C and the remainder is route D. In this case, as an example, for substrates 12 with the same cut position sequentially fed into the first transport chamber 130, the first transport control unit 182 can also alternately select transport routes from the plurality of selectable transport routes.

[0087] The first transport control unit 182 can associate information related to the transport path determined based on the cutting position with substrate identification information, so as to Figure 4 The table shown is stored in the first storage unit 184.

[0088] That is, the first substrate transport system may further include a first storage unit 184, which stores transport route information as information related to the transport route of the substrate 12. Here, the transport route information includes information related to which of the plurality of cleaning devices 110, used for cleaning the substrate 12, the substrate is transported to. For example, such as... Figure 3As illustrated in (b), the transport route information for "A" indicates that the substrate 12, which enters the pretreatment area 100 via the loading chamber 150a, is transported to the first cleaning device 110a, and the substrate 12, after being cleaned in the first cleaning device 110a, is transported to the first buffer chamber 160. Similarly, the transport route information for "B" indicates that the substrate 12 is transported via the second cleaning device 110b, and the transport route information for "C" and "D" indicates that the substrate 12 is transported via the third cleaning device 110c and the fourth cleaning device 110d, respectively.

[0089] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first substrate handling system may further include a first acquisition unit 186, which is used to acquire cut position information indicating the cut position of the substrate 12 cut from the original plate 10.

[0090] The first acquisition unit 186 can acquire cutting position information by communicating with a device located upstream of the preprocessing area 100, such as an upstream device. As described above, in the production line of an organic EL display device, the original board 10, which has completed the substrate process, is cut into multiple substrates 12 in the upstream device. At this time, in the upstream device, cutting position information is assigned to each substrate 12 cut from the original board 10, and as... Figure 5 As shown in the figure, it can be associated with the substrate identification information of the identifiable substrate 12 and stored in the form of a table.

[0091] In this embodiment, the cutting position information obtained by the first acquisition unit 186 is performed as follows: when the substrate 12 is moved from the upstream device into the transport chamber 130 via the loading chamber 150, it is received along with the cutting position information of the substrate 12 through communication with the upstream device. However, the present invention is not limited to this; for example, other methods such as detecting marks or orientation planes formed on the substrate based on the cutting position of the substrate can also be used to obtain information related to the cutting position of the substrate. As a method for detecting marks or orientation planes, image recognition and the like can typically be used.

[0092] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown in the figure, the cut-out position information obtained by the first acquisition unit 186 can also be stored in the first storage unit 184 in association with the substrate identification information.

[0093] As described above, the first transport control unit 182 can determine the transport path of the substrate 12 based on the cut-out position information of the substrate 12 obtained by the first acquisition unit 186. For example, if the cut-out position information of the substrate 12 obtained by the first acquisition unit 186 is "first cut", the transport path of the substrate 12 can be determined as either route A or route B, and if it is "second cut", the transport path of the substrate 12 can be determined as either route C or route D.

[0094] Furthermore, the first transport control unit 182 can store transport route information representing the determined transport route in association with substrate identification information and cutting position information in the first storage unit 184. For example, such as Figure 6 As illustrated, the first transport control unit 182 can associate the determined transport route information with the substrate identification information and the cutting position information and store them in the form of a table. The transport route information stored in the first storage unit 184 in association with the substrate identification information can be flexibly applied to control the transport route of each substrate 12 in the organic film formation region 200 and / or the metal film formation region 300.

[0095] In the aforementioned embodiment, a structure was described in which, regardless of which cut position of the substrate is brought into the substrate transport system in what order, substrates with different cut positions are controlled to be transported to different transport routes based on the cut position of the substrate 12 brought into the first transport control unit 182. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, in this embodiment, the transport route of the substrate is controlled based on the cut position of the brought-in substrate, but the present invention is not limited to this. On the contrary, the order in which the transport routes are assigned can be predetermined, and control can be performed accordingly to change the cut position of the brought-in substrate.

[0096] For example, according to a modified embodiment of the invention, a transport path is assigned to the substrate 12 being transported from a plurality of transport paths in a predetermined order.

[0097] For example, in the case of routes A, B, C, and D, the order in which the transport routes are assigned is predetermined as follows:

[0098] A→B→C→D→A→B→C→….

[0099] Furthermore, in this modified embodiment, the order in which the substrates are loaded is controlled such that the cut-out positions of the loaded substrates differ, matching the order of a predetermined transport route. For example, control is performed such that the substrates enter the first substrate transport system in the following order:

[0100] First slicing substrate 12a → First slicing substrate 12a → Second slicing substrate 12b → Second slicing substrate 12b → First slicing substrate 12a → First slicing substrate 12a → Second slicing substrate 12b → …

[0101] Therefore, it is possible to control the transfer of substrates 12 with different cutting positions to different transport routes, and to control the transfer of substrates with the same cutting position to only the same processing apparatus (cleaning apparatus).

[0102] According to this modified embodiment, since the order in which the transport path is assigned is predetermined, the transport path control performed by the first transport control unit 182 can be simplified. In this modified embodiment, control can also be performed by alternately transporting substrates 12 at different cutting positions according to the order in which the transport path is assigned.

[0103] Next, refer to Figure 7 The substrate transport system for the organic film formation region 200 (hereinafter referred to as the "second substrate transport system") and the substrate transport method based on the substrate transport system will be described below. To avoid repetition, the description will focus on the differences between the second substrate transport system and the first substrate transport system and the substrate transport method based on the first substrate transport system. Therefore, unless otherwise explicitly stated otherwise, the content described for the first substrate transport system will also apply, unless otherwise stated otherwise, or unless applicable to those skilled in the art.

[0104] like Figure 7 As illustrated in (a), the second substrate transport system includes a second transport mechanism 240 and a second transport control unit 282. The second transport mechanism 240 is capable of transporting substrate 12 to a plurality of first organic film forming apparatuses 210a, 210b and a plurality of second organic film forming apparatuses 210c, 210d. The second transport control unit 282 controls the transport operation of the second transport mechanism 240. Here, the second transport control unit 282 controls the transport path of the substrate 12 based on the cutting position of the substrate 12 from the original plate 10 when it is transported into the second transport chamber 230, for example, whether the substrate 12 is a first-cut substrate 12a or a second-cut substrate 12b. Furthermore, the second transport mechanism 240 transports the substrate 12 according to the transport path control performed by the second transport control unit 282.

[0105] The second substrate handling system may also include a second storage unit 284, which stores information including handling route information as information related to the handling route of the substrate 12.

[0106] Here, the transport route information stored in the second storage unit 284 includes information related to which of the first organic film-forming apparatuses 210a and 210b, which perform the first organic layer formation on the substrate 12, transports the substrate 12, and information related to which of the second organic film-forming apparatuses 210c and 210d, which perform the second organic layer formation, transports the substrate 12. That is, the transport route information stored in the second storage unit 284 includes information for sequentially transporting the substrate 12 to at least two of the plurality of organic film-forming apparatuses.

[0107] For example, the transport route information for "Route A" and "Route B" indicates that the substrate 12 is sequentially transported to organic film forming apparatus 210a in the first organic film forming apparatus 210a and 210b, and to organic film forming apparatus 210c in the second organic film forming apparatus 210c and 210d. Similarly, the transport route information for "Route C" and "Route D" indicates that the substrate 12 is sequentially transported via organic film forming apparatus 210b and organic film forming apparatus 210d.

[0108] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the organic film-forming apparatuses 210a, 210b, 210c, and 210d can each include multiple assembly positions (e.g., worktables) within a single organic film-forming apparatus. Therefore, the transport route information stored in the second storage unit 284, such as... Figure 7 As illustrated in (b), it can further include information relating to which of the multiple assembly positions (e.g., worktables) is being transported into the respective organic film-forming apparatus 210a, 210b, 210c or 210d.

[0109] For example, the transport route information for "Route A" indicates that the substrate 12 is sequentially transported to the first assembly position 210a1 of the organic film forming apparatus 210a and the first assembly position 210c1 of the organic film forming apparatus 210c; the transport route information for "Route B" indicates that the substrate 12 is sequentially transported to the second assembly position 210a2 of the organic film forming apparatus 210a and the second assembly position 210c2 of the organic film forming apparatus 210c. Similarly, the transport route information for "Route C" indicates that the substrate 12 is transported to the first assembly position 210b1 of the organic film forming apparatus 210b and the first assembly position 210d1 of the organic film forming apparatus 210d; and the transport route information for "Route D" indicates that the substrate 12 is sequentially transported to the second assembly position 210b2 of the organic film forming apparatus 210b and the second assembly position 210d2 of the organic film forming apparatus 210d.

[0110] However, the transport route information stored in the second storage unit 284 of the second substrate transport system according to an embodiment of the present invention is not limited to... Figure 7The transport route illustrated in (b) can also have other transport routes, as long as it can transport substrates at different cutting positions to transport routes determined by different combinations of organic film-forming apparatus and assembly positions.

[0111] In the second storage unit 284 of the second substrate handling system, similarly to the first storage unit 184 of the first substrate handling system, substrate identification information is recorded together with handling route information. For example, such as Figure 4 As illustrated, in the second storage unit 284, transport route information is stored in the form of a prescribed table associated with substrate identification information.

[0112] According to this embodiment, if the cutting positions of the substrate 12 are different, the transport routes are also controlled to be different. Therefore, the transport route information of the substrate 12 stored in the second storage unit 284 is set to be different according to the cutting position of the substrate 12. For example, the transport route information of the first cut substrate 12a and the second cut substrate 12b stored in the second storage unit 284 are set to be different.

[0113] Therefore, in the second substrate handling system of this embodiment, the second handling control unit 282 can read the handling route information stored in association with the substrate identification information from the second storage unit 284 based on the substrate identification information of the substrate 12 being handled, and control the handling route of the substrate based on the handling route information.

[0114] In this embodiment, the transport route information of any substrate 12 stored in the second storage unit 284 can also be set to correspond to the transport route information of that substrate 12 stored in the first storage unit 184 of the first substrate transport system. That is, if the total number of transport routes selectable according to the cutting position of the substrate in the second substrate transport system is the same as the total number of transport routes selectable according to the cutting position of the substrate in the first substrate transport system, it can also be set so that, for that substrate 12, the transport route information stored in the second storage unit 284 of the second substrate transport system corresponds to the transport route information stored in the first storage unit 184 of the first substrate transport system.

[0115] For example, if the transport route set by the first substrate transport system is "A" for a certain first diced substrate 12a, the transport route of the first diced substrate 12a in the second substrate transport system can also be set to "A". Therefore, the transport route information stored in the second storage unit 284 of the second substrate transport system can also be set with reference to the transport route information stored in the first storage unit 184 of the first substrate transport system. As a result, the transport route control in each substrate transport system within the electronic device production line 1 can be simplified.

[0116] As mentioned above, the processing device in the organic film-forming area 200, namely the organic film-forming device 210, is different from the cleaning device 110, which is the processing device in the pretreatment film-forming area 100, and the metal film-forming device 310, which is the processing device in the metal film-forming area 100. It has multiple assembly positions (i.e., worktables) in one processing device. Therefore, even if the transport route information is the same as "A", the specific transport route shown here includes not only which organic film-forming device the substrate 12 is transported to, but also which assembly position of the organic film-forming device it is transported to.

[0117] However, the present invention is not limited to such a structure. The transport path of the substrate 12 in the second substrate transport system can also be set independently of the transport path information of the first storage unit 184 of the first substrate transport system, based on the cutting position of the substrate 12. Thus, in the event of a failure of any processing device on the production line 1 of the electronic device, or in the event of a difference in the number of processing devices or assembly positions between areas, the transport of the substrate can be flexibly controlled.

[0118] For example, the second transport control unit 282 may determine the transport route of the substrate 12 based on the cut-out position of the substrate 12 that is moved into the second transport chamber 230, and the second transport mechanism 240 may transport the substrate 12 along the transport route determined by the second transport control unit 282.

[0119] More specifically, the second transport control unit 282 can determine the transport path of each substrate 12, so that substrates 12 with different cutting positions have different transport paths. Moreover, if substrates 12 with different cutting positions are alternately transported into the transport chamber 230, the second transport control unit 282 can also assign transport paths to the substrates 12 in a predetermined order, so that substrates 12 with different cutting positions are transported along different transport paths.

[0120] Furthermore, when the number of assembly positions within the organic film-forming apparatus 210 capable of transporting the substrate 12 is greater than the number of cutout positions the substrate 12 can have, the second transport control unit 282 can determine a transport route so that the substrate 12 with a specific cutout position is delivered to an organic film-forming apparatus selected from two or more organic film-forming apparatuses (e.g., 210a and 210b) and / or an assembly position within that apparatus. Thus, even if the cutout positions of the substrate 12 are the same, the second transport control unit 282 can determine transport routes that constitute different transport routes.

[0121] At this time, for substrates 12 that are sequentially moved into the second transport chamber 230 at the same cut position, the second transport control unit 282 can alternately select from a plurality of selectable transport routes and set them as the transport route for the substrate 1. For example, in the following order:

[0122] First slicing substrate 12a → Second slicing substrate 12b → Second slicing substrate 12b → First slicing substrate 12a → Second slicing substrate 12b → First slicing substrate 12a → First slicing substrate 12a

[0123] When the substrates 12 are sequentially moved into the transport chamber 130, the second transport control unit 282 can allocate transport routes for the first, fourth, sixth, and seventh first diced substrates 12a moved in, in the following order:

[0124] Route A → Route B → Route A → Route B

[0125] Then, the second transport control unit 282 can allocate transport routes for the second, third, and fifth second slitting substrates 12b that are transported in, in the following order:

[0126] Route C → Route D → Route C

[0127] As described above, the second transport control unit 282 can store information related to the transport path determined based on the cutting position as transport path information in the second storage unit 284. At this time, the second transport control unit 282 can use the transport path information of the substrate 12 to... Figure 4 The information is stored in a table format as shown in the diagram, which is associated with the substrate identification information.

[0128] The second substrate transport system may further include a second acquisition unit 286, which is used to acquire cut position information indicating the cut position of the substrate 12 from the original board 10. The second acquisition unit 286 may also be connected to an upstream device of the second substrate transport system, such as... Figure 1 The illustrated upstream device or pre-processing area 100 communicates to obtain the cutting position information of the substrate 12, or detects and obtains the cutting position information from the substrate 12 being moved into the second transport chamber 230 through the first path chamber 250. Figure 5 The diagram illustrates an example of substrate identification information recorded in the upstream device and cut-out position information associated with that substrate identification information.

[0129] The second transport control unit 282 can determine the transport path of the substrate 12 based on the cutting position information of the substrate 12 obtained by the second acquisition unit 286. Furthermore, the second transport control unit 282 can store the transport path information indicating the determined transport path in association with the substrate identification information in the second storage unit 284. For example, such as... Figure 6 As shown in the figure, the second transport control unit 282 can associate the determined transport route information with the substrate identification information and the cut-out position information associated with the substrate identification information and store them in the second storage unit 284 in the form of a table.

[0130] In addition, for example, the second transport control unit 282 can also change the already determined transport route of the substrate 12 to other transport routes.

[0131] Next, refer to Figure 8 The substrate handling system for the metal film formation region 300 (hereinafter referred to as the "third substrate handling system") and the substrate handling method based on the substrate handling system will be described below. To avoid repetition, the description will focus on the differences from the first substrate handling system or the second substrate handling system and the substrate handling method based on the above-described handling system.

[0132] like Figure 8 As illustrated in (a), the third substrate transport system includes a third transport mechanism 340 and a third transport control unit 382. The third transport mechanism 340 transports a substrate 12 to any one of a plurality of metal film forming apparatuses 310a, 310b, 310c, and 310d. The third transport control unit 382 controls the transport operation of the third transport mechanism 340. The third transport control unit 382 controls the transport path of the substrate 12 based on the cut-out position of the substrate 12 from the original plate 10 when it enters the third transport chamber 330. Furthermore, the third transport mechanism 340 transports the substrate 12 according to the control of the transport path performed by the third transport control unit 382.

[0133] The third substrate transport system may further include a third storage unit 384, which stores transport route information as information related to the transport route of the substrate 12. Here, the transport route information includes information related to which of the metal deposition apparatuses 310a, 310b, 310c, and 310d is to which the substrate 12 is transported. For example, transport route information "A" indicates that the substrate 12 is transported to metal deposition apparatus 310a, and transport route information "B" indicates that the substrate 12 is transported to metal deposition apparatus 310b. Similarly, transport route information "C" indicates that the substrate 12 is transported to metal deposition apparatus 310c, and transport route information "D" indicates that the substrate 12 is transported to metal deposition apparatus 310d.

[0134] Similar to the first storage unit 184 of the first substrate transport system or the second storage unit 284 of the second substrate transport system, the third storage unit 384 of the third substrate transport system associates substrate identification information with transport route information and records it in a prescribed table format.

[0135] In this embodiment, the transport route information of the substrate 12 stored in the third storage unit 384 can also be set to correspond to the transport route information of the substrate 12 stored in the first storage unit 184 of the first substrate transport system and / or the transport route information of the substrate 12 stored in the second storage unit 284 of the second substrate transport system. That is, if the total number of transport routes selectable according to the cutting position of the substrate in the third substrate transport system is the same as the total number of transport routes selectable according to the cutting position of the substrate in the first substrate transport system and / or the total number of transport routes selectable according to the cutting position of the substrate in the second substrate transport system, then it can be set such that, for the substrate 12, the transport route information stored in the third storage unit 384 of the third substrate transport system corresponds to the transport route information stored in the first storage unit 184 of the first substrate transport system and / or the second storage unit 284 of the second substrate transport system.

[0136] For example, for a certain second slit substrate 12a, if the transport route set by the first substrate transport system and / or the second substrate transport system is "B", the transport route of the second slit substrate 12a in the third substrate transport system can also be set to "B". Therefore, the transport route information stored in the third storage unit 384 of the third substrate transport system can also be set with reference to the transport route information stored in the first storage unit 184 of the first substrate transport system and / or the transport route information stored in the second storage unit 284 of the second substrate transport system. As a result, the transport route control in each substrate transport system within the electronic device production line 1 can be simplified.

[0137] However, the information stored in the third storage unit 384 of the third substrate transport system can also be set independently from the information stored in the first storage unit 184 of the first substrate transport system and the second storage unit 284 of the second substrate transport system.

[0138] That is, the third transport control unit 382 of the third substrate transport system determines the transport path of the substrate 12 based on the cut-out position of the substrate 12 entering the third transport chamber 330, and the third transport mechanism 340 transports the substrate 12 to the metal deposition apparatus 310a, 310b, 310c or 310d on the transport path determined by the third transport control unit 382. For example, as Figure 8 As illustrated in (b), if the transport path of the substrate 12 is determined to be route A, route B, route C, or route D, the third transport mechanism 340 transports the substrate 12 to the metal film forming apparatus 310a, metal film forming apparatus 310b, metal film forming apparatus 310c, or metal film forming apparatus 310d along the determined transport path.

[0139] In this case, the third transport control unit 382 can determine the transport path of each substrate 12, so that substrates 12 with different cutting positions are transported along different transport paths. Moreover, when substrates 12 with different cutting positions are alternately transported into the third transport chamber 330, the third transport control unit 382 can also assign transport paths to the substrates 12 in a predetermined order, so that substrates 12 with different cutting positions have different transport paths.

[0140] Furthermore, when the number of metal deposition apparatuses 310 capable of transporting the substrate 12 exceeds the number of cutting positions the substrate 12 can have, the third transport control unit 382 can determine the transport route so that the substrate 12 with a specific cutting position is sent to a metal deposition apparatus selected from two or more metal deposition apparatuses (e.g., 310a and 310b). Accordingly, even if the cutting positions of the substrate 12 are the same, the third transport control unit 382 can determine the transport route in a way that results in different transport routes.

[0141] At this time, for substrates 12 that are sequentially moved into the same cut position in the third transport chamber 330, the third transport control unit 382 can alternately select from a plurality of selectable transport routes to set the transport route for the substrate 12.

[0142] As described above, the third transport control unit 382 can store information related to the transport path determined based on the cutting position as transport path information in the third storage unit 384. At this time, the third transport control unit 382 can use the transport path information of the substrate 12 to... Figure 4 The table shown in the diagram is associated with and stored with substrate identification information.

[0143] The third substrate transport system may further include a third acquisition unit 386 for acquiring cut position information indicating the cut position of the substrate 12 from the original plate 10. The third acquisition unit 386 may also acquire the cut position information of the substrate 12 through communication with upstream devices such as upstream devices, pretreatment area 100, or organic film formation area 200, or by detecting the cut position information from the substrate 12 transported into the third transport chamber 330 via the second path chamber 350. Figure 5 The diagram illustrates an example of substrate identification information recorded in the upstream device and cut-out position information associated with that substrate identification information.

[0144] In this structure, the third transport control unit 382 can determine the transport path of the substrate 12 based on the cut-out position information of the substrate 12 obtained by the third acquisition unit 386. Then, the third transport control unit 382 can associate the transport path information representing the determined transport path with the substrate identification information and the obtained cut-out position information. Figure 6 The table shown in the figure is stored in the third storage unit 384.

[0145] In addition, for example, the third transport control unit 382 can also change the already determined transport route of the substrate 12 to other transport routes.

[0146] In the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, the description was based on the premise that the transport control units 182, 282, 382 and the storage units 184, 284, 384 of the substrate transport system are provided in each area. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the transport control units 182, 282, 382 and / or the storage units 184, 284, 384 may also be combined. For example, the transport control units 182, 282, 382 may be provided in each substrate transport system, and the storage units 184, 284, 384 may be combined. In such a structure, the transport route information of the first substrate transport system, the transport route information of the second substrate transport system, and the transport route information of the third substrate transport system may be stored in the combined storage unit in association with the substrate identification information and / or the cutting position information, respectively. Each transport control unit may utilize existing processing circuits, information processing devices, etc. For example, existing storage devices may be used as storage units 184, 284, 384. In addition, the transport control units 182, 282, and 382 can also serve as the film-forming control units described later.

[0147] <Substrate Processing System and Substrate Processing Method>

[0148] One embodiment of the substrate processing system of the present invention includes multiple processing devices (cleaning device 110, organic film-forming device 210, metal film-forming device 310, and substrate transport system for transporting the substrate 12) for performing predetermined processing on a substrate 12 cut from a source plate 10 to a predetermined size. For example, Figure 1 The pretreatment area 100, organic film-forming area 200, and metal film-forming area 300 shown in the figure constitute a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0149] As described above, the substrate transport system controls which processing unit (such as cleaning unit 110, organic film deposition unit 210, and metal film deposition unit 310) to transport the substrate 12 to based on the cutting position of the substrate 12. That is, it controls the transport to transport substrates 12 with different cutting positions to different processing units. By switching the transport route according to the cutting position from the original board 10, the frequency of randomly transporting various substrates with different cutting positions to a single processing unit can be reduced. Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is also possible to transport only substrates with the same cutting position to a single processing unit. Therefore, processing the same substrate in the same processing unit further improves alignment accuracy and the precision of the substrate processing steps.

[0150] Therefore, the frequency of changes in the cutting position of the substrate being transported to any processing device is reduced. In this processing device, the frequency of updating process parameters used in the processing steps performed by this processing device can be reduced based on the cutting position of the substrate 12 transported to it. Furthermore, it is also possible to transport only substrates 12 with the same cutting position. In this processing device, the process parameters used in the processing steps performed by this processing device can be fixed based on the cutting position of the substrate 12 transported to it. This simplifies the control of process parameters in the processing steps of this processing device and improves the accuracy of the processing steps.

[0151] Therefore, the processing apparatus of the substrate processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a processing control unit and a parameter storage unit. The processing control unit uses process parameters set based on the cutting position of the substrate to control the processing process of the substrate, and the parameter storage unit stores substrate identification information, which serves as identification information of the substrate, in association with the process parameter values ​​applied to the processing process of the substrate.

[0152] Hereinafter, the processing apparatus of the substrate processing system of this embodiment will be used to process... Figure 9 Taking the film-forming apparatus shown in the figure as an example, the processing steps in the processing apparatus based on the cutting position of the substrate will be explained in detail.

[0153] Figure 9 It is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of the film-forming device. Figure 9 The film-forming device is with Figure 1 and Figure 7 The illustrated organic film-forming device 210 or Figure 1 and Figure 8 The apparatus corresponding to the metal film forming apparatus 310 shown. However, in Figure 9 The image only shows... Figure 1 and Figure 7The 2-stage organic film deposition apparatus 210 has one stage. Hereinafter, an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system with the vertical direction set as the Z direction will be used for explanation. When the substrate is positioned parallel to the horizontal plane (XY plane) during film deposition, the direction of the short side of the substrate (the direction parallel to the short side) is set as the X direction, and the direction of the long side (the direction parallel to the long side) is set as the Y direction. Furthermore, the rotation angle around the Z-axis is shown as θ.

[0154] Reference Figure 9 The film-forming apparatus includes a vacuum container 400. The interior of the vacuum container 400 is maintained as a vacuum environment or an inert gas environment such as nitrogen. Inside the vacuum container 400 are a substrate support unit 410, a mask support unit 420, a cooling plate 430, and a film-forming source 440.

[0155] The substrate support unit 410 is a mechanism for supporting the substrate 12 received from the transport mechanisms 240 and 340, and is also called a substrate holder. The mask support unit 420 is a mechanism for supporting and fixing the mask M. During film deposition, the substrate 12 is placed on the mask M.

[0156] The cooling plate 430 is a plate-shaped component that adheres closely to the substrate 12 (the side opposite to the mask M) during film formation, thereby suppressing the temperature rise of the substrate 12 and inhibiting the deterioration and degradation of the film-forming material. The cooling plate 430 can also function as a magnetic plate. The magnetic plate is an example of a bonding mechanism that improves the adhesion between the substrate 12 and the mask M during film formation by using a magnet to attract the mask M.

[0157] The film-forming source 440 includes a container (crucible) for holding the film-forming material and a heater for heating the container. A substrate Z-actuator 450, a clamp Z-actuator 451, a cooling plate Z-actuator 452, and an XYθ actuator (not shown) are disposed on the upper (outer) part of the vacuum container 400. These actuators may be, for example, composed of a motor and ball screw, or a motor and linear guide.

[0158] The substrate Z-actuator 450 is a drive mechanism for raising and lowering (moving in the Z direction) the entire substrate support unit 410. The clamp Z-actuator 451 is a drive mechanism for opening and closing the clamping mechanism of the substrate support unit 410. The cooling plate Z-actuator 452 is a drive mechanism for raising and lowering the cooling plate 230. The XYθ actuator is a drive mechanism for aligning the substrate 12, causing the entire substrate support unit 410 and cooling plate 430 to move in the X direction, move in the Y direction, and rotate at θ. In this embodiment, the position of the substrate 12 is adjusted in the X, Y, and θ directions while the mask M is fixed, but alignment of the substrate 12 and the mask M can also be achieved by adjusting the position of the mask M, or by adjusting the positions of both the substrate 12 and the mask M.

[0159] In the upper (outer) part of the vacuum container 400, cameras 460 and 461 are provided for aligning the substrate 12 and the mask M, and for measuring the relative position of the substrate 12 and the mask M. Cameras 460 and 461 take pictures of the substrate 12 and the mask M through a window provided in the vacuum container 400. By identifying alignment marks on the substrate 12 and the mask M from these images, the relative misalignment in the XYθ direction can be measured.

[0160] The film-forming apparatus includes a film-forming control unit 470, which is equivalent to a processing control unit. In addition to controlling the substrate Z-actuator 450, the fixture Z-actuator 451, the cooling plate Z-actuator 452, the XYθ actuator, and the cameras 460 and 461, the film-forming control unit 470 also has functions such as exchanging the substrate 12 with the transport mechanisms 240 and 340, aligning the substrate 12 with the mask M, and controlling the film-forming source 440.

[0161] The film deposition control unit 470 can be configured, for example, as a computer having a processor, memory, storage, I / O, etc. In this case, the function of the film deposition control unit 470 is implemented by the processor executing a program stored in the memory or storage. As the computer, a general-purpose personal computer, an embedded computer, or a PLC (programmable logic controller) can be used. Alternatively, circuits such as ASICs or FPGAs can constitute part or all of the function of the film deposition control unit 470. Furthermore, the film deposition control unit 470 can be configured for each film deposition apparatus, or one film deposition control unit 470 can control multiple film deposition apparatuses in that area.

[0162] According to one aspect of this embodiment, the film formation control unit 470 can control the film formation process on the substrate 12 based on the cutting position of the substrate 12. For example, the film formation control unit 470 can control the process of transporting the substrate 12 into the vacuum container 400 or the process of bonding the substrate 12 into the mask M by the transport mechanisms 240 and 340, depending on whether the substrate 12 is a first cut substrate 12a or a second cut substrate 12b.

[0163] More specifically, the film formation control unit 470 can control the film formation process on the substrate 12 based on parameter values ​​set according to the cutting position of the substrate 12. For example, depending on whether the substrate 12 is a first-cut substrate 12a or a second-cut substrate 12b, the parameter values ​​can be set differently for the process of transferring the substrate 12 into the vacuum container 400 by the transport mechanisms 240 and 340, or for the process of bonding the substrate 12 into the vacuum container 400 with the mask M. Furthermore, the film formation control unit 470 can use parameter values ​​set according to the cutting position of the substrate 12 to control the transfer process or the bonding process, etc.

[0164] In particular, in the substrate handling system of one embodiment of the present invention, if the substrate has different cut-out positions, the substrate 12 is handled to different film deposition apparatuses, thus only substrates 12 with the same cut-out position are handled into the film deposition apparatus. Therefore, in the film deposition apparatus, the parameter values ​​used in the substrate loading process and the bonding process can be fixed to optimized values ​​to match the operating characteristics of the substrate 12 at that cut-out position. As a result, compared to the case where all substrates with different cut-out positions are handled into the film deposition apparatus, the control of parameters for the substrate loading process and the bonding process with the mask becomes simpler, and process errors can be reduced. Furthermore, since parameter changes due to changes in the substrate cut-out position are not performed, the processing speed of this process can be increased.

[0165] Here, the parameter values ​​for the loading process can also be compensation correction values ​​for the relative position of the substrate support unit 410 with respect to the position of the loading mechanisms 240 and 340 entering the vacuum container 400 when the substrate 12 is loaded into the vacuum container 400 by the loading mechanisms 240 and 340. Furthermore, the parameter values ​​for the bonding process can also be compensation correction values ​​used to pre-correct misalignment during the bonding process between the substrate 12 and the mask M, which is performed by the cooling plate 430 as a bonding mechanism. The compensation correction will be described later.

[0166] When parameter values ​​fixed according to the cutting position of the substrate are used for a long time in processes such as loading or bonding, the parameter values ​​of the substrate at the cutting position must sometimes be modified or updated due to various reasons such as deformation of the handling mechanism 240, 340.

[0167] In this case, when the parameter value is updated for a substrate at a predetermined cutting position in a specific film-forming apparatus, the film-forming control unit 470 can control the process by also updating the parameter value in other film-forming apparatuses that process substrates at the same cutting position. For example, in Figure 1 or Figure 8 In the illustrated metal film formation region 300, if the parameter values ​​applied in the first slit substrate 12a processed by the metal film formation apparatus 310a are updated, the parameter values ​​applied in the first slit substrate 12a processed by the metal film formation apparatus 310b can also be updated.

[0168] The film forming apparatus may also include a parameter storage unit 480 for storing identification information and parameter values ​​of the substrate 12.

[0169] In the parameter storage unit 480, parameter values ​​are associated with the identification information of the substrate 12, i.e., the substrate identification information, and stored in the form of a table. According to an embodiment, the parameter storage unit 480 also stores cutting position information, which is associated with the substrate identification information and indicates the cutting position of the substrate 12.

[0170] <Compensation Correction>

[0171] As previously described, the substrate 12 is transported into the vacuum container 400 of the film deposition apparatus using transport mechanisms 240 and 340, and film deposition is performed after alignment with the mask M. However, when the substrate is transported into the vacuum container 400 or when the substrate 12 in the vacuum container 400 is in close contact with the mask M, the movement of the substrate 12 varies depending on the cutting position. This affects the substrate transport accuracy, alignment accuracy, and ultimately the film deposition accuracy. To address this, a compensation amount can be determined to compensate for the transport error and positional misalignment caused by the cutting position of the substrate 12. Based on this compensation amount, compensation correction is performed to move at least one of the substrate support unit 410 and the mask support unit 420 of the film deposition apparatus.

[0172] More specifically, when the substrate 12 is moved into the vacuum container 400 using the transport mechanisms 140 and 240, there is a possibility that the receiving position of the substrate 12 within the vacuum container 400 may be misaligned (different) depending on the cutting position of the substrate 12. This is because, as mentioned above, since the shape of the substrate 12 is slightly different depending on the cutting position, the position of the center of gravity and the undulation of the substrate are different depending on the cutting position, and thus the actions of the robot hand during transport (e.g., shaking or vibration, sliding, etc.) are different for each cutting position. In order to correct such misalignment when receiving the substrate, compensation can be applied in advance to offset the misalignment before the substrate 12 is moved into the vacuum container 400, by pre-moving the substrate support unit 410. The amount of compensation applied varies depending on the cutting position of the substrate 12. With such compensation correction, the cutting position of the substrate 12 is reflected in the loading process of moving the substrate 12 into the vacuum container 400. For example, in a film-forming apparatus that forms a film on a first slit substrate 12a, the substrate support unit 410 is moved in advance so that the substrate 12 can be received at an appropriate position corresponding to the shape and other characteristics of the first slit substrate 12a. Alternatively, in a film-forming apparatus that forms a film on a second slit substrate 12b, compensation corrections corresponding to the characteristics of the second slit substrate 12b are performed in advance. As a result, the substrate 12 can be received at a predetermined position.

[0173] Furthermore, after the alignment between the substrate 12 and the mask M is completed, during the process of bonding or fixing the substrate and mask together, the relative positions between the substrate 12 and the mask M may become misaligned again due to mechanical and physical actions such as the descent of the cooling plate 430 and the magnet plate. The amount of misalignment between the substrate 12 and the mask M varies depending on the cutting position of the substrate 12. To correct this misalignment during the bonding process after alignment, at a point after the descent of the cooling plate 430 and the magnet plate, the alignment marks of the substrate 12 and the mask M are photographed using an alignment camera, and the resulting misalignment is measured. Moreover, by incorporating the amount of misalignment confirmed through such measurement as a compensation amount into the alignment process, even if misalignment occurs during the bonding process after alignment, the substrate and mask can be bonded with the desired relative positional accuracy.

[0174] The magnitude of this compensation varies depending on the cutting position of the substrate 12. Therefore, in a film deposition apparatus that performs a film deposition process on a substrate 12 at a specific cutting position, the operating characteristics of the substrate 12 at that cutting position can be taken into account, and the compensation magnitude can be fixed to an optimized value. As a result, since the operating characteristics of the substrate corresponding to the cutting position of the substrate 12 are reflected in advance during the alignment process, the alignment of the substrate 12 and the mask M can be performed precisely and simply by using a film deposition apparatus that performs film deposition on the first cut substrate 12a or on the second cut substrate 12b.

[0175] In each of the two cases mentioned above, the amount of compensation required for the compensation correction can also be determined in advance by measuring the positional misalignment amount on a non-production substrate and based on the measured positional misalignment amount.

[0176] Such compensation correction is performed on a per-film-forming apparatus basis. That is, for each film-forming apparatus, the compensation value is stored separately in the parameter storage unit 480, and the compensation value is also learned and updated separately. However, according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the compensation value corresponding to any film-forming apparatus that forms a film on a substrate 12 having a specific cut position is updated, the compensation value can also be updated in other film-forming apparatuses that form a film on a substrate 12 having the same cut position as that substrate 12. For example, when the compensation value of film-forming apparatuses 210 and 310 on route A for forming a film on the first slit substrate 12a is updated, the compensation value can also be updated in the same way on route B for forming a film on the first slit substrate 12a.

[0177] The above embodiments illustrate one example of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the structure of the above embodiments, and can be appropriately modified within the scope of its technical concept.

Claims

1. A substrate processing system, comprising: Multiple processing devices are used to perform specified processing on substrates cut from the original board to a specified size; as well as A substrate handling system for handling substrates cut to a specified size from the original substrate. The substrate processing system is characterized in that... The substrate handling system includes: A transport mechanism that transports the substrate; as well as The transport control unit controls the transport mechanism. The transport control unit controls the transport mechanism based on information related to the cutting position of the substrate from the original board. The processing apparatus includes a processing control unit for controlling the processing steps on the substrate. The processing control unit controls the processing steps of the substrate based on information related to the cutting position of the substrate. The processing control unit controls a predetermined process on the substrate based on parameter values ​​set according to the cutting position of the substrate. If the parameter value is updated for a substrate at a specified cutting position, the parameter value is also updated in other processing devices that process substrates at the same cutting position. The processing apparatus further includes a substrate support unit for supporting the substrate that is moved into the processing apparatus by the transport mechanism of the substrate transport system. The parameter value is a compensation correction value for the relative position of the substrate support unit with respect to the position of the transport mechanism entering the processing device.

2. A substrate processing system, comprising: Multiple processing devices are used to perform specified processing on substrates cut from the original board to a specified size; as well as A substrate handling system for handling substrates cut to a specified size from the original substrate. The substrate processing system is characterized in that... The substrate handling system includes: A transport mechanism that transports the substrate; as well as The transport control unit controls the transport mechanism. The transport control unit controls the transport mechanism based on information related to the cutting position of the substrate from the original board. The processing apparatus includes a processing control unit for controlling the processing steps on the substrate. The processing control unit controls the processing steps of the substrate based on information related to the cutting position of the substrate. The processing control unit controls a predetermined process on the substrate based on parameter values ​​set according to the cutting position of the substrate. If the parameter value is updated for a substrate at a specified cutting position, the parameter value is also updated in other processing devices that process substrates at the same cutting position. The processing apparatus further includes a bonding mechanism for bonding the substrate within the processing apparatus to the mask. The parameter value is a compensation correction value used to compensate for misalignment during the bonding action between the substrate and the mask performed by the bonding mechanism.

3. The substrate processing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The processing apparatus further includes a parameter storage unit, which stores substrate identification information, which serves as identification information for the substrate, and the parameter values. The parameter values ​​are stored in association with the substrate identification information.

4. The substrate processing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The transport control unit controls the transport path of the substrate based on information related to the cut-out position.

5. The substrate processing system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The transport control unit controls the transport mechanism so that the first substrate cut from the original plate at the first cutting position and the second substrate cut from the original plate at the second cutting position are transported along different transport routes.

6. The substrate processing system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The transport control unit controls the transport mechanism so that the first substrate is transported along any one of at least two transport routes selected as the transport route corresponding to the first substrate.

7. The substrate processing system according to claim 4, characterized in that, It also includes a storage unit that stores information including transport route information, which is information related to the transport route of the substrate. The transport route information varies depending on the cut position of the substrate. The transport control unit controls the transport mechanism based on information related to the cutting position of the substrate from the original plate and the information stored in the storage unit.

8. The substrate processing system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The information also includes substrate identification information, which serves as identification information for the substrate. The transport route information is stored in association with the substrate identification information.

9. The substrate processing system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The transport route information includes information indicating which of a plurality of processing devices the substrate will be transported to for performing a specified process on the substrate.

10. The substrate processing system according to claim 9, characterized in that, The transport route information includes information for sequentially transporting the substrate to at least two of the plurality of processing devices.

11. The substrate processing system according to claim 9, characterized in that, The transport route information also includes information indicating which of a plurality of assembly positions within the processing apparatus the substrate will be transported to.

12. The substrate processing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The transport control unit determines the transport route of the substrate based on information related to the cutting position. The transport mechanism transports the substrate along the determined transport route.

13. The substrate processing system according to claim 12, characterized in that, It also includes an acquisition unit that acquires information related to the cut-out position. The transport control unit determines the transport route of the substrate based on the information obtained related to the cut position.

14. The substrate processing system according to claim 13, characterized in that, The acquiring unit obtains information related to the cut-out position from the upstream device of the conveying mechanism.

15. The substrate processing system according to claim 14, characterized in that, The acquisition unit detects and acquires information related to the cut position from the substrate.

16. The substrate processing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Based on information related to the cutting position, the transport control unit determines which of the multiple processing devices to which the substrate will be transported to perform a specified processing on the substrate.

17. The substrate processing system according to claim 16, characterized in that, The processing apparatus has multiple assembly positions for assembling the substrate. The transport control unit determines which assembly position to assemble the substrate at based on information related to the cut-out position.

18. A substrate processing method, performed by a substrate processing system, the substrate processing system comprising: Multiple processing devices are used to perform specified processing on substrates cut from the original board to a specified size; And a substrate handling system for handling substrates cut to a specified size from the original board, the substrate processing method being characterized by comprising: The stage of transporting the substrate is based on information related to the cut-out position of the substrate from the original plate; as well as The stage in which the substrate being transported undergoes the prescribed processing. The stage of performing the prescribed processing on the transported substrate is performed by the substrate processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

19. The substrate processing method according to claim 18, characterized in that, During the stage of transporting the substrate, the substrate is transported based on information related to the cut-out position of the substrate from the original plate.

20. The substrate processing method according to claim 19, characterized in that, During the stage of transporting the substrate, a first substrate cut from the original board at a first cutting position and a second substrate cut from the original board at a second cutting position are transported along different transport routes.

21. The substrate processing method according to claim 20, characterized in that, During the stage of transporting the substrate, the first substrate is transported along any one of at least two of a plurality of transport paths.

22. The substrate processing method according to claim 20, characterized in that, It also includes a stage of storing transport route information related to the transport route of the substrate in a storage unit in association with the substrate identification information of the substrate. During the stage of transporting the substrate, the substrate is transported based on the stored transport route information.

23. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that, It also includes a stage for determining the transport route of the substrate based on information related to the cut position. During the transport phase of the substrate, the substrate is transported along the determined transport route.

24. The substrate processing method according to claim 23, characterized in that, It also includes a stage for obtaining information related to the cut position of the substrate. In the stage of determining the transport route, the transport route of the substrate is determined based on the information related to the cut-out position obtained in the stage of obtaining information related to the cut-out position of the substrate.

25. The substrate processing method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that, During the stage of transporting the substrate, based on information related to the cut position, it is determined which of the multiple processing devices to which the substrate will be transported to perform the prescribed processing.

26. The substrate processing method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The processing apparatus has multiple assembly positions for assembling the substrate. During the stage of transporting the substrate, based on information related to the cut-out position, it is determined at which assembly position the substrate will be assembled.

27. A substrate processing method, executed by a substrate processing system, the substrate processing system comprising: Multiple processing devices are used to perform specified processing on substrates cut from the original board to a specified size; And a substrate handling system for handling substrates cut to a specified size from the original board, the substrate processing method being characterized by comprising: The stage of transporting the substrate is based on information related to the cut position of the substrate from the original plate; and The stage in which the substrate being transported undergoes the prescribed processing. The stage of performing the prescribed processing on the transported substrate is performed by the substrate processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The stage of transporting the substrate includes: The stage of moving substrates cut from the original board at different cutting positions into the substrate handling system in a predetermined order; The process of assigning a stage from a plurality of transport paths to the substrates loaded into the substrate transport system in a predetermined order; and The stage of transporting the substrate along the assigned transport path. During the stage of assigning the transport routes, the order in which the transport routes are assigned is determined so that different transport routes are assigned to substrates with different cutting positions.

28. The substrate processing method according to claim 27, characterized in that, During the stage of moving substrates into the substrate handling system, substrates cut from the original board at different cutting positions are alternately moved into the substrate handling system.

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