Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

Abstract

The present application relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method. Provided is a technology capable of reducing the floor space for a substrate processing apparatus. For a substrate processing apparatus including a processing module provided with a plurality of liquid processing units that respectively perform liquid processing on a substrate, a substrate conveying module is provided on the left side of the processing module. The substrate conveying module has a container placement portion for placing a container for housing a plurality of substrates, and a first conveying mechanism that conveys the substrates relative to the container. In addition, the processing module is provided with a substrate conveying path extending in the left-right direction and a second conveying mechanism that moves along the conveying path and conveys the substrates relative to the liquid processing units. In addition, a transfer portion that places the substrates in order to transfer the substrates between the first conveying mechanism and the second conveying mechanism is provided on the front side relative to the conveying path and on the left side relative to the liquid processing units in the processing module.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method. BACKGROUND

[0002] Photolithography is performed as one of manufacturing processes of semiconductor devices. For this photolithography, resist is applied to a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) as a substrate to form a resist film, and a developing solution is supplied to develop the resist film on which exposure is completed. For example, a substrate processing apparatus in which such formation and development of a resist film are performed is described in Patent Literature 1.

[0003] PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

[0004] PATENT LITERATURE

[0005] Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-4072 SUMMARY

[0006] PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0007] The present disclosure provides a technology capable of reducing a footprint for a substrate processing apparatus.

[0008] SOLUTION TO PROBLEM

[0009] The substrate processing apparatus of the present disclosure is a substrate processing apparatus including a processing module provided with a plurality of liquid processing components that perform liquid processing on substrates, respectively, characterized by comprising: a substrate conveying module provided on one side in a left-right direction with respect to the processing module, the substrate conveying module having a container placement portion on which a container for housing a plurality of the substrates is placed and a first conveying mechanism that conveys the substrates with respect to the container; a substrate conveying path that extends in the left-right direction in the processing module; a plurality of stages that constitute the processing module in a manner that the liquid processing components are aligned in a column in a front-rear direction with respect to the conveying path and include the liquid processing components, respectively; a first processing component provided with a plurality of components in a column in a front-rear direction with respect to the conveying path, the first processing component performing processing on the substrates before or after processing by the liquid processing components; a second conveying mechanism that moves in the conveying path and conveys the substrates between the liquid processing components and the first processing component; and an interface portion provided on one side in the front-rear direction with respect to the conveying path in the processing module and on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the column of the liquid processing components, the interface portion placing the substrates in order to convey the substrates between the first conveying mechanism and the second conveying mechanism.

[0010] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the first processing assembly can be provided on the left and right sides, and a portion on the left side of the first processing assembly on the most left side in the left-right direction and a portion on the right side of the interface in the left-right direction can be located at the same position in the left-right direction.

[0011] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the portion on the left side of the first processing assembly on the most left side in the left-right direction and the portion on the right side of the interface in the left-right direction can be opposite to each other.

[0012] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the substrate processing apparatus can include a second processing assembly that performs a process different from the process performed by the first processing assembly on the substrate, and a third conveying mechanism that is provided on the one side in the front-back direction with respect to the interface, and that interfaces the substrate between the interface and the second processing assembly.

[0013] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the substrate conveying module can include a gas supply portion that supplies gas from above toward a conveying region in which the substrate is conveyed by the first conveying mechanism, the second processing assembly can overlap the conveying region when viewed from above, and the second processing assembly can be provided at a position higher than the gas supply portion of the substrate conveying module.

[0014] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the second processing assembly can be provided at a position on the one side in the front-back direction with respect to the liquid processing assembly, and can form a protruding portion that protrudes toward the one side in the front-back direction from the ground on which the substrate processing apparatus is provided.

[0015] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the second processing assembly can be an inspection assembly that inspects the substrate before or after the process performed by the liquid processing assembly and the first processing assembly.

[0016] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the second conveying mechanism can include a lower-side conveying mechanism that interfaces the substrate with respect to the liquid processing assembly of a lower-side layer among the plurality of layers and the first processing assembly at a height of the lower-side layer, and an upper-side conveying mechanism that interfaces the substrate with respect to the liquid processing assembly of an upper-side layer among the plurality of layers and the first processing assembly at a height of the upper-side layer.

[0017] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the lower-side layer and the upper-side layer can each be composed of a plurality of layers, and the interface can be provided at a height of an uppermost layer among the layers in which the substrate is conveyed by the lower-side conveying mechanism and a height of a lowermost layer among the layers in which the substrate is conveyed by the upper-side conveying mechanism, respectively.

[0018] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the lower layer section and the upper layer section can each be composed of three layer sections.

[0019] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the handover section can overlap with a storage area for storing a processing liquid supplied to the substrate by each of the liquid processing assemblies when viewed from above.

[0020] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, each of the liquid processing assemblies of the layer sections can have only one cup for processing the substrate in a cup-like manner.

[0021] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the handover section can have a temperature adjustment function for adjusting the temperature of the substrate before processing by the liquid processing assemblies and the first processing assembly, or an inspection assembly for inspecting the substrate before or after processing by the liquid processing assemblies and the first processing assembly.

[0022] For the substrate processing apparatus described above, the first processing assembly can be a heat processing assembly for heating the substrate.

[0023] The substrate processing method of the present disclosure is a substrate processing method using a substrate processing apparatus including a processing module provided with a plurality of liquid processing assemblies that perform liquid processing on a substrate, and is characterized by including the steps of: placing a container that accommodates a plurality of substrates in a container placement section provided in a substrate transport module that is provided on one side in a left-right direction with respect to the processing module; transferring the substrates with respect to the container using a first transport mechanism provided in the substrate transport module; processing each of the substrates using the plurality of liquid processing assemblies included in a layer section that constitutes the processing module, the liquid processing assemblies being arranged in a column in a longitudinal direction on one side in a front-rear direction with respect to a transport path of the substrates that extends in the left-right direction in the processing module; processing the substrates before or after processing by the liquid processing assemblies using a first processing assembly provided with a plurality of processing assemblies on the other side in the front-rear direction with respect to the transport path in a longitudinal direction; transporting the substrates between the liquid processing assemblies and the first processing assemblies using a second transport mechanism that moves in the transport path; and placing the substrates in a handover section on one side in the front-rear direction with respect to the transport path and on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the column of the liquid processing assemblies in the processing module in order to hand over the substrates between the first transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism.

[0024] Effects of the Invention

[0025] With the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the footprint for a substrate processing apparatus. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 2 is a front view of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0028] Figure 3 is a front view of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0029] Figure 4 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0030] Figure 5 is a view showing an example of a wafer conveyance path of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0031] Figure 6 is a side view schematically showing another example of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0032] Figure 7 is a side view schematically showing another example of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0033] Figure 8 is a side view schematically showing another example of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0034] Figure 9 is a side view schematically showing another example of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0035] Figure 10 is a side view schematically showing another example of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0036] Figure 11 is a side view schematically showing another example of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0037] Figure 12 is a side view schematically showing another example of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0038] Figure 13 is a cross-sectional plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] Figure 14 is a front view of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0040] Figure 15 is a side view showing an example of an inspection assembly provided in the substrate processing apparatus.

[0041] Figure 16 is a cross-sectional plan view of a substrate processing apparatus of still another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] Figure 17 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the substrate processing apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] (1st Embodiment)

[0044] Referring to Figure 1 a cross-sectional plan view, Figure 2 and Figure 3 a longitudinal sectional front view of Figure 4 a longitudinal sectional side view, a 1st embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus of the present disclosure will be described. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that performs, for example, a coating process of a resist liquid as a liquid process on a wafer W, provided in a clean room of a semiconductor manufacturing plant. A carrier module D1 and a processing module D2 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 are configured to be aligned in a row in a lateral direction (left-right direction) and connected to each other, and the heights of the bottoms of these carrier module D1 and processing module D2 are aligned with each other. The carrier module D1 forms a substrate transport module.

[0045] In the following description, the carrier module D1 is regarded as left, the processing module D2 is regarded as right, and the arrangement direction of these modules D1, D2 is regarded as left-right direction. In addition, for the front-rear direction of the apparatus, the front side when the carrier module D1 is regarded as left is regarded as front, and the depth side is regarded as rear. For the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction that are orthogonal to each other in each drawing, the X direction is regarded as front-rear direction, the Y direction is regarded as left-right direction, and the Z direction is regarded as height direction. Furthermore, Figure 2 and Figure 3 represent longitudinal sectional front views of the substrate processing apparatus 1, but represent longitudinal sections at different positions in the front-rear direction for a part of the apparatus.

[0046] The carrier module D1 functions to transport a container that accommodates a plurality of wafers W by an external transport mechanism (omitted from illustration) provided outside the substrate processing apparatus 1, and to hand over the wafers W between the container and inside the substrate processing apparatus 1. For example, a carrier C called FOUP (Front Opening Unify Pod) is used as the container. The right side of the housing 11 that constitutes the carrier module D1 is protruded upward higher than the left side, and thereby a step is formed when viewed in front. The left side and the right side of the housing 11 configured like this are respectively regarded as low body portion 12 and high body portion 13.

[0047] The low body 12 forms a container placement portion for placing the carrier C, and four carrier stages 14 are provided on the upper surface of the low body 12 at intervals in the front-rear direction. The carrier C is placed on the carrier stage 14 to carry in and out the wafer W with respect to the substrate processing apparatus 1. The housing 11 is provided with a high body 13, and on the left side wall, a wafer W transport port 15 is opened at a position corresponding to the carrier stage 14, and the transport port 15 is opened and closed by an opening and closing mechanism 16.

[0048] The high body 13 in the housing 11 is provided with a first transport mechanism 17 that transfers the wafer W between the carrier C on the carrier stage 14 and the processing module D2. The first transport mechanism 17 has a moving body 171 configured to be movable in the front-rear direction (X direction), rotatable about a vertical axis, and liftable, and a holding body 172 that is movable in and out of the moving body 171 and holds the wafer W.

[0049] A fan filter unit (FFU) 18 is provided on the upper side of the transport region 10 of the first transport mechanism 17 in the high body 13. The fan filter unit 18 as a gas supply portion draws air around the substrate processing apparatus 1 via an unillustrated suction path, purifies the air with a filter, and supplies it downward. Thus, a downward air current (downflow) is formed. The above-mentioned filter constituting the fan filter unit 18 is provided across the entire moving region of the first transport mechanism 17 in the carrier module D1 in plan view, and a downflow is formed over the entire moving region. The air forming the downflow is removed, for example, from an unillustrated exhaust port of the bottom of the housing 11. In addition, a downflow is also formed at each of the transport paths of the processing modules D2 and the like, but the illustration of the mechanism for forming the downflow is omitted.

[0050] Next, the processing module D2 will be described. The processing module D2 is constituted by a square housing 21, and has a wafer W transport path 20 in the central portion in the front-rear direction in plan view, which extends in the left-right direction. The transport path 20 is a region in which the wafer W is transported by a second transport mechanism to be described later, and is formed as a groove in the upper surface of the housing 21. Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 21 of the processing module D2 is formed so as to extend from the left end to the right end in the left-right direction.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 21 of the processing module D2 is formed so as to extend from the left end to the right end in the left-right direction. Figure 1As shown, the area adjacent to the carrier module D1 and facing the transport path 20, in front of the transport path 20 of the processing module D2, is designated as the setting area 30 of the junction 3. Furthermore, the processing module D2 has a resist coating assembly 4, which is a liquid processing assembly that supplies resist liquid (i.e., applies resist) as the processing liquid for the wafer W to form a resist film. In front of the transport path 20, the resist coating assembly 4 is positioned side-by-side to the right of the setting area 30 and faces the transport path 20.

[0052] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the processing module D2 is constructed by stacking multiple segments, each containing a resist coating component 4. In this example, the processing module D2 has six segments E1 to E6, and each segment E1 to E6 has one resist coating component 4. Thus, when the processing module D2 is viewed from the front, the resist coating components 4 are arranged in a vertical row, with their left and right positions aligned. Furthermore, Figure 1 This is a top-view cross section representing segment E3 of processing module D2.

[0053] The resist coating assembly 4 has a dividing wall 41 that divides the resist coating assembly 4 relative to the transport path 20 and the junction 3 described later. A transport port (not shown) facing the wafer W of the transport path 20 is formed in the dividing wall 41. Figure 1 , Figure 3 as well as Figure 4 As schematically illustrated, the resist coating assembly 4 has only one cup 42 for surrounding and processing the wafer W. A rotating chuck 43 is provided within the cup 42, which holds the back side of the wafer W and rotates it. Additionally, the resist coating assembly 4 has a nozzle 44 for spraying resist liquid onto the surface of the wafer W. This nozzle 44 is configured to utilize a nozzle moving mechanism 45 to move the resist liquid onto the wafer W within the cup 42 and... Figure 1 It can move freely between the standby areas outside of the cup 42 shown.

[0054] In addition, such as Figure 1 As shown, a heat treatment assembly 51, serving as the first processing component, is provided behind the transport path 20 of the processing module D2, facing the transport path 20. Multiple heat treatment assemblies, for example, three, are arranged side-by-side. The heat treatment assemblies 51 are located in each of the layers E1 to E6, and when viewed from the rear, the heat treatment assemblies 51 are arranged in a vertical column. Therefore, the heat treatment assemblies 51 of the processing module D2 are arranged in three columns side-by-side. Furthermore, the heat treatment assemblies 51 forming the same column are aligned horizontally.

[0055] The heat treatment module 51 of this example is a module that performs a heating treatment (PAB: Preapplied bake) of the wafer W after the resist film formation. In the heat treatment module 51, a treatment of heating the wafer W on which the resist film is formed to remove the solvent in the resist film is performed. For example, as schematically shown in FIG. 8, the heat treatment module 51 has a hot plate 52 for heating the wafer W and a cooling plate 53 that performs temperature adjustment of the wafer W. The hot plate 52 and the cooling plate 53 are arranged in a front-rear direction in a manner that the cooling plate 53 faces the transport path 20. The cooling plate 53 is configured to transport the wafer W between the second transport mechanism to be described later provided in the transport path 20 and the hot plate 52. Figure 1

[0056] The processing module D2 is provided with the second transport mechanism 6 that moves in the transport path 20 to thereby transport the wafer W between the resist coating module 4 and the heat treatment module 51. The second transport mechanism 6 of this example has a lower-side transport mechanism 61 configured to transport the wafer W with respect to the resist coating module 4 and the heat treatment module 51 of the lower-side layer section and an upper-side transport mechanism 62 configured to transport the wafer W with respect to the resist coating module 4 and the heat treatment module 51 of the upper-side layer section. The lower-side layer section and the upper-side layer section are each composed of a plurality of layer sections, and in this example, the lower-side layer section is composed of three layer sections E1 to E3 and the upper-side layer section is composed of three layer sections E4 to E6.

[0057] As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the lower-side transport mechanism 61 and the upper-side transport mechanism 62 (the second transport mechanism 6) have two holding bodies 63 that hold the wafer W respectively and a moving body 64 that independently advances and retreats each holding body 63. Further, the moving body 64 is configured to rotate around a vertical axis by a rotating portion 65, and the rotating portion 65 is configured to be raised and lowered by a raising and lowering portion 66, and the raising and lowering portion 66 is configured to be movable in the left-right direction (Y direction) by a moving mechanism 67. For example, the holding bodies 63, the moving body 64, the rotating portion 65, and the raising and lowering portion 66 are provided in the transport path 20, and the moving mechanism 67 is provided below the heat treatment module 51. In addition, the first transport mechanism 17 of the carrier module D1 described above is configured similarly to the lower-side transport mechanism 61 and the upper-side transport mechanism 62 except that the moving direction based on the moving mechanism 67 is different. Figure 1 Figure 4

[0058] ​​​The handoff section 3 is used to place the wafer W so as to hand off the wafer W between the first conveyance mechanism 17 and the second conveyance mechanism 6 (the lower conveyance mechanism 61 and the upper conveyance mechanism 62). The handoff section 3 of this example is provided on the left side of the resist coating assembly 4 in plan view and is juxtaposed with the resist coating assembly 4. More specifically, the handoff section 3 is juxtaposed with the cup 42 of the resist coating assembly 4. In addition, a left region (a portion on the left side) including the left end portion of the heat treatment assembly 51 provided on the leftmost side (one side in the left-right direction) and a right region (a portion on the other side in the left-right direction) including the right end portion of the handoff section 3 are arranged at the same position in the left-right direction. That is, the left region (a portion on the left side in Figure 1 the heat treatment assembly 51 and the right region (a portion on the other side in the left-right direction) of the handoff section 3 are surrounded by dotted-line frames in FIG. 6 and are indicated as al) and bl), respectively. The left region al) and the right region bl) are located at the same position in the left-right direction. Here, the same position in the left-right direction means that the left region al) and the right region bl) are in a positional relationship opposite to each other with the same height. Figure 1 In addition, the left region al) and the right region bl) are located at the same layer level. Therefore, the left region al) and the right region bl) are actually opposite to each other with the conveyance path 20 interposed therebetween. Figure 1 The broken line in the conveyance path 20 in FIG. 6 is an imaginary line drawn so as to connect the left region al) and the right region bl) in order to clarify the positional relationship in the left-right direction between the left region al) and the right region bl).

[0059] As described above, the handoff section 3 is provided adjacent to the carrier module Dl, and the left end of the heat treatment assembly 51 is arranged at a position closer to the carrier module Dl than the right end of the handoff section 3 opposite thereto with the conveyance path 20 interposed therebetween. In addition, the assembly is a position at which the wafer W is placed. Therefore, a portion on the left side of the wafer W conveyed to the heat treatment assembly 51 and a portion on the right side of the wafer W conveyed to the assembly forming the handoff section 3 are at the same position in the left-right direction when viewed in the front-rear direction. In this case, a portion on one side (the left side in this example) in the left-right direction of the heat treatment assembly 51 and a portion on the other side (the right side in this example) in the left-right direction of the handoff section 3 are at the same position in the left-right direction. In addition, the portion on one side and the portion on the other side are not limited to a portion on one half in the case where the assembly or the wafer W is divided into two in the left-right direction. The portion on one side and the portion on the other side also include a portion on the left-right direction having a length greater than the portion on one half, like the left region al), and a portion on the left-right direction having a length smaller than the portion on one half, like the right region bl). In the case where the portion on one side and the portion on the other side are opposite to each other with the same height as described above, the left-right positions of the portion on one side and the portion on the other side are the same.

[0060] In this example, the handoff section 3 has: a placement assembly (TRS) 31 for placing the wafer W; and a temperature adjustment assembly (SCPL) 32, and these multiple placement assemblies 31 and multiple temperature adjustment assemblies 32 are stacked in multiple layers. For example, in order to place multiple wafers W in a row in the longitudinal direction, one placement assembly 31 has multiple placement portions arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the temperature adjustment assembly 32 has a temperature adjustment function of adjusting the temperature of the wafer W before processing by the resist coating assembly 4 and the heat treatment assembly 51.

[0061] For example, the temperature adjustment assembly 32 has a placement portion for placing the wafer W and a flow path of refrigerant at the placement portion, and is configured to adjust the temperature of the wafer W placed on the placement portion to a desired temperature. Here, in order to distinguish the placement assembly 31 and the temperature adjustment assembly 32 provided in the handoff section 3, numbers are attached after TRS and SCPL, respectively. In addition, in the following, the placement assembly will be sometimes referred to as "TRS", and the temperature adjustment assembly will be sometimes referred to as "SCPL".

[0062] Such a handoff section 3 is provided, for example, at the height position of the layer section E3, which is the uppermost layer section among the layer sections in which the wafer W is transported by the lower transport mechanism 61, and the height position of the layer section E4, which is the lowermost layer section among the layer sections in which the wafer W is transported by the upper transport mechanism 62, in the setting region 30.

[0063] The wafer W is transported with respect to each assembly at the height position of the layer section E3 of the handoff section 3 by the first transport mechanism 17 and the lower transport mechanism 61. In addition, the wafer W is transported with respect to each assembly at the height position of the layer section E4 of the handoff section 3 by the first transport mechanism 17 and the upper transport mechanism 62. Therefore, the first transport mechanism 17 of the carrier module Dl, the lower transport mechanism 61 and the upper transport mechanism 62 of the processing module D2 are each provided with a movement region so as to be able to transport the wafer W with respect to the corresponding assembly of the handoff section 3.

[0064] In Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 5 Examples of the configuration of the handoff section 3 are shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. In this example, TRS1 and TRS4 are placement assemblies 31 for carrying in the wafer W from the carrier module Dl to the processing module D2, and TRS2 and TRS3 are placement assemblies 31 for carrying out the wafer W from the processing module D2 to the carrier module Dl. In addition, in practice, the handoff section 3 is provided with more placement assemblies 31 and temperature adjustment assemblies 32 than the above-described configuration examples.

[0065] In this example, as Figures 1-3As shown, a storage area 22 is provided below the interface section 3 at the setting area 30. A bottle for storing resist liquid supplied to each resist coating assembly 4 from a wafer W is arranged in the storage area 22, and the resist liquid in the bottle is supplied to a nozzle 44 of each resist coating assembly 4 via a supply system not shown. Further, an upper side of the interface section 3 is configured as an equipment setting area 23 in which various electrical equipment (electrical equipment) is provided. In this way, the interface section 3, the storage area 22, and the equipment setting area 23 are configured to overlap when viewed from above.

[0066] In addition, a region to the right of the resist coating assembly 4 in front of the transport path 20 is configured as an additional equipment setting area 46 in which additional equipment of the resist coating assembly 4 is provided. The additional equipment includes a cable for supplying power to the assembly, a pipe for exhausting air from the cup 42 that constitutes the assembly, a drain pipe for draining liquid from the assembly, and a supply pipe for supplying a processing liquid to the assembly, and the like. The cup 42 is connected to an air exhaust source such as an air exhaust path of the factory via the pipe for exhausting air, and thereby the inside of the cup 42 is exhausted. In addition, the drain pipe is connected to the cup 42 as the additional equipment.

[0067] In addition, regions to the left and right of the heat treatment assembly 51 at the rear of the transport path 20 are configured as additional equipment setting areas 54, 55 of the heat treatment assembly 51, respectively. The additional equipment includes a cable for supplying power to the assembly, a pipe for exhausting air from the assembly, and the like. Further, the additional equipment setting area 54 is interposed between the heat treatment assembly 51 and the carrier module Dl, and thereby the leftmost heat treatment assembly 51 and the interface section 3 are in the positional relationship in which a part of each opposes the other as described above.

[0068] The layer stages E1, E2 are configured similarly to the layer stage E3 except that the setting area 30 of the interface section 3 is provided as the storage area 22. As described above, the wafer W is transported relative to each assembly provided in the layer stages E1, E2 by the lower side transport mechanism 61. The layer stage E4 is configured similarly to the layer stage E3, and as described above, the wafer W is transported relative to each assembly provided in the layer stage E4 by the upper side transport mechanism 62. The layer stages E5, E6 are configured similarly to the layer stage E3 except that the setting area 30 of the interface section 3 is provided as the equipment setting area 23. As described above, the wafer W is transported relative to each assembly provided in the layer stages E5, E6 by the upper side transport mechanism 62. Further, the assemblies are configured as sites for placing the wafer W, and include each of the TRS, the SCPL, the resist coating assembly 4, and the heat treatment assembly 51 of the interface section 3.

[0069] The substrate processing apparatus 1 has a control section 100 (see Figure 1). The control section 100 is constituted by a computer, and has a program, a memory, and a CPU. In the program, a step group is incorporated so as to be able to implement a series of actions of the substrate processing apparatus 1. Further, the control section 100 outputs control signals to each section of the substrate processing apparatus 1 using the program, and thereby controls the actions of the sections. Thereby, the transport of the wafer W and the processing of the wafer W described later are implemented. The above program is stored in a storage medium such as an optical disk, a hard disk, a DVD, and the like, and is installed to the control section 100.

[0070] Next, the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to Figure 5 An example of the transport path of the wafer W of the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described. In Figure 5 , the load module Dl is labeled as "TRS", the temperature adjustment module D2 is labeled as "SCPL", the resist coating module D3 is labeled as "COT", and the heat treatment module D4 is labeled as "PAB".

[0071] The wafer W in the carrier C of the carrier module Dl is handed over to the TRSl or TRS4 of the handover section 3 of the processing module D2 using the first transport mechanism 17. The wafer W transported to the TRSl (hereinafter referred to as "wafer Wl") is a wafer processed by the lower layer stages El to E3. In addition, the wafer W transported to the TRS4 (hereinafter referred to as "wafer W2") is a wafer processed by the upper layer stages E4 to E6.

[0072] The wafer Wl of the TRSl is transported to the SCPLl of the handover section 3 using the lower transport mechanism 61, and is adjusted to a set temperature. Next, the wafer Wl is transported to the resist coating module 4 of any one of the layer stages El, E2, E3 by the lower transport mechanism 61, and liquid processing of resist liquid is implemented. The liquid processing of the resist liquid is performed by supplying the resist liquid from the nozzle 44 to the rotation center of the wafer Wl on the spin chuck 43 while rotating the spin chuck 43 on which the wafer Wl is placed. The resist liquid supplied to the substantially center of the wafer Wl is diffused to the outside by the centrifugal force of rotation, and thereby is coated on the entire surface of the wafer Wl.

[0073] Next, the wafer Wl is transported by the lower transport mechanism 61 to a heat treatment assembly of the same layer as the resist application assembly 4 to which the application of the resist liquid is applied, for example, the heat treatment assembly 51 of the layer to which the lower transport mechanism 61 can transport. Here, the wafer Wl is handed over to the hot plate 52 through the cooling plate 53 by the lower transport mechanism 61, and the wafer Wl is heated to a temperature above the temperature at which the solvent in the resist liquid is volatilized by the hot plate 52. After the solvent in the resist film formed on the wafer Wl is volatilized and removed by this heat treatment, the wafer Wl is received from the hot plate 52 to the cooling plate 53, and temperature adjustment is performed by the cooling plate 53. Next, the wafer Wl is handed over to the lower transport mechanism 61, and is transported to the TRS 2 of the handover section 3. The wafer Wl on the TRS 2 is returned to the original carrier C of the carrier module Dl by the first transport mechanism 17.

[0074] On the other hand, the wafer W2 of the TRS 4 is transported by the above-described path of the upper transport mechanism 62→the SCPL 4→the upper transport mechanism 62→the resist application assembly 4 of any one of the layers E4, E5, and E6, and thus the liquid treatment of the resist liquid is performed. Next, the wafer W2 is carried by the above-described path of the upper transport mechanism 62→the heat treatment assembly 51→the upper transport mechanism 62→the TRS 3→the first transport mechanism 17→the carrier C. The heat treatment assembly 51 to which the wafer W2 is transported by this path is the heat treatment assembly 51 of the layer to which the upper transport mechanism 62 can transport, for example, the heat treatment assembly 51 of the same layer as the resist application assembly 4 to which the application of the resist liquid is applied.

[0075] According to the substrate processing apparatus 1, the handover section 3 for handing over the wafer W between the first transport mechanism 17 of the carrier module Dl and the second transport mechanism 6 of the processing module D2 is provided in parallel with the resist application assembly 4. In comparison with the case where the handover section 3 is provided at a position of the transport path 20 close to the carrier module Dl, for the substrate processing apparatus 1, because the transport path 20 does not have the handover section, the movement range of the second transport mechanism 6 can be ensured to be large at a position close to the carrier module Dl. Therefore, when a plurality of heat treatment assemblies 51 are provided in a left-right arrangement in order to ensure sufficient productivity, the heat treatment assemblies 51 of the left-right arrangement can be provided on the side close to the carrier module Dl. Thus, the length in the left-right direction (Y direction) of the processing module D2 can be reduced, and therefore the floor space of the substrate processing apparatus 1 can be reduced.

[0076] Further, as described above, when the heat treatment units 51 arranged left and right are disposed close to the carrier module Dl, an additional equipment setting area 54 is provided only between the heat treatment unit 51 closest to the carrier module Dl and the carrier module Dl. That is, no conveyance mechanism, no unit other than the heat treatment unit 51 is provided between the heat treatment unit 51 and the carrier module Dl, and only additional equipment necessary for the operation of the heat treatment unit 51 is provided. Thus, the left area of the heat treatment unit 51 and the right area of the interface 3, which are opposite each other with the conveyance path 20 in between, when viewed from above, are disposed close to the carrier module Dl as described above. If the viewing angle is changed, the left area of the heat treatment unit 51 and the right area of the interface 3, which are opposite each other as described above, are disposed close to the carrier module Dl, whereby the units arranged left and right of the heat treatment unit 51 are disposed close to the carrier module Dl. Thus, the apparatus is configured so that the left and right lengths of the processing module D2 are reduced.

[0077] Further, for the bottle storage area 22, it is preferable to be provided on the front side of the apparatus close to the resist coating unit 4 in order to make the piping connecting the bottle and the nozzle 44 of the unit short. For the substrate processing apparatus 1, the bottle storage area 22 is provided so as to overlap the interface 3 using the space above the setting area 30 provided on the front side as described above. Thus, the floor area of the interface 3 and the bottle storage area 22 is suppressed from increasing, and the floor area of the apparatus is more reliably reduced. Furthermore, as the bottle storage area 22, a part thereof can also be provided so as not to reach the bottom of the carrier module Dl.

[0078] The structure capable of reducing the floor area as the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present disclosure is capable of providing more semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses (substrate processing apparatuses 1, apparatuses other than the same) in a clean room by utilizing the space, and thus is capable of contributing to the improvement of the productivity of a semiconductor factory. Further, the external conveyance mechanism that conveys the carrier C in the clean room moves on a predetermined movement path, and the substrate processing apparatus 1 having a small floor area has the advantage that it can be provided even when the space for the apparatus is small on the movement path.

[0079] The above-described second conveyance mechanism provided in the processing module D2 is not limited to the example described above, and can be configured as shown in Figures 6-9 The structure of the Figures 6-9 The second conveyance mechanism is provided in the conveyance path 20 of the processing module D2, and the interface 3 is provided in the processing module D2 in front of the conveyance path 20 and is an area adjacent to the left side of the resist coating unit 4. The example shown in Figure 6 The example shown in the drawing is a structure in which one second conveyance mechanism 71 conveys wafers W with respect to six tiers E1 to E6. The second conveyance mechanism 71 of this example is configured similarly to the lower conveyance mechanism 61 and the upper conveyance mechanism 62, and a movement area is set so as to convey wafers W with respect to each unit 4, 51, 31, 32 of each tier E1 to E6 and the interface 3.

[0080] Further, Figure 7 is a configuration example having two second conveyance mechanisms, and a wafer W is conveyed with respect to two-layer stages El, E2 by one conveyance mechanism (lower conveyance mechanism) 721, and a wafer W is conveyed with respect to four-layer stages E3 to E6 by another conveyance mechanism (upper conveyance mechanism) 722. The lower conveyance mechanism 721 and the upper conveyance mechanism 722 are configured similarly to the lower conveyance mechanism 61 and the upper conveyance mechanism 62 described above, and are provided in two layers on the conveyance path 20. Further, the handover section 33 is provided at a height of the uppermost stage E2 among the stages in which the wafer W is conveyed by the lower conveyance mechanism 721 and a height of the lowermost stage E3 among the stages in which the wafer W is conveyed by the upper conveyance mechanism 722. In this example, a movement region is set for the lower conveyance mechanism 721 to convey the wafer W with respect to each component of the two stages El, E2 and each component 31, 32 of the handover section 3 at the corresponding height position. Further, a movement region is set for the upper conveyance mechanism 722 to convey the wafer W with respect to each component of the four stages E3 to E6 and each component 31, 32 of the handover section 3 at the corresponding height position.

[0081] Further, Figure 8 The example illustrated is a structure in which the second conveyance mechanism is provided for every two stages. The second conveyance mechanism is configured similarly to the lower conveyance mechanism 61 and the upper conveyance mechanism 62 described above, and is provided in three layers on the conveyance path 20. In this example, a movement region is set for the lower conveyance mechanism 731, the central conveyance mechanism 732, and the upper conveyance mechanism 733, respectively, to convey the wafer W with respect to each component of the stages El, E2 by the lower conveyance mechanism 731, with respect to each component of the stages E3, E4 by the central conveyance mechanism 732, and with respect to each component of the stages E5, E6 by the upper conveyance mechanism 733. Further, the handover section 3 is provided, for example, in two layers separated from each other, and the first handover section 341 is provided at a height position at which the wafer W can be conveyed by the conveyance mechanisms 731, 732. Further, the second handover section 342 is provided at a height position at which the wafer W can be conveyed by the conveyance mechanisms 732, 733.

[0082] Further, Figure 9 The example illustrated is a structure in which the second conveyance mechanism is provided for every stage El to E6. In this example, the second conveyance mechanisms 741 to 746 are configured similarly to the lower conveyance mechanism 61 and the upper conveyance mechanism 62 described above, except that each of the second conveyance mechanisms 741 to 746 is provided at the conveyance path 20 of each stage El to E6 and does not move across between adjacent stages above and below. Further, the handover sections 351 to 356 are provided at a height position at which the wafer W can be conveyed by each of the second conveyance mechanisms 741 to 746, respectively, at a position corresponding to each stage El to E6.

[0083] As exemplified above, for the 2nd conveyance mechanism, it is possible to either share or not share among the layer sections provided in the processing module D2. In the case where the 2nd conveyance mechanism is not shared among the layer sections (i.e., in the case where a plurality of 2nd conveyance mechanisms are provided), the number of layer sections for which one 2nd conveyance mechanism takes charge is not limited, and can be either one or a plurality. Also, the number of layer sections for which each 2nd conveyance mechanism takes charge can be the same or different. If the number of 2nd conveyance mechanisms is small, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the apparatus, and thus is preferable. However, by providing a plurality of 2nd conveyance mechanisms 6 as in the structure of the substrate processing apparatus 1, it is possible to suppress the load of conveyance of the 2nd conveyance mechanisms 6, and thus is preferable from the viewpoint of obtaining a higher throughput. Also, as in the substrate processing apparatus 1, by causing each 2nd conveyance mechanism 6 to take charge of the conveyance of the same number of layer sections, it is possible to prevent the load of conveyance from being unbalanced among the 2nd conveyance mechanisms 6, and it is possible to obtain a higher throughput, and thus is preferable.

[0084] For this Figures 6-9 , the storage region 22 and the equipment setting region 23 can be provided in the space above and below the transfer section as long as they are provided in a manner not to interfere with the transfer section. For example, it is possible to provide the storage region 22 and the equipment setting region 23 by dividing each of them into a plurality of regions using the space between the transfer sections arranged vertically, the space between the substrate processing apparatus and the transfer sections, and the space between the top of the substrate processing apparatus and the transfer sections. Further, for the substrate processing apparatus 1 described above, the transfer section 3 is arranged at the center of the height of the processing module D2, and the lower conveyance mechanism 61 and the upper conveyance mechanism 62 can reach the transfer section, and thus it is possible to effectively use the space below and above the transfer section 3, and thus is advantageous. If described in detail, it is possible to centrally provide the bottle storage region 22 in the space below as described above. That is, a plurality of bottles each storing a processing liquid are centrally placed in the space below, and when the user of the apparatus performs a job such as replacement of the bottles, the operation is easy because the bottles are located at a lower position. Also, a relatively wide space is secured above the transfer section 3, and it is possible to prevent the size of the electrical equipment from being limited.

[0085] Further, the number of layers that constitute the layer sections of the processing module D2 is not limited to the example described above, and it is possible to constitute the processing module D2 as shown in Figures 10-12 . For this Figures 10-12 , as well, the 2nd conveyance mechanism is provided in the conveyance path 20 of the processing module D2, and the transfer section 3 is provided in front of the conveyance path 20 in the processing module D2 and is located adjacent to the left side of the resist coating assembly 4. Figure 10The illustrated example is a configuration example in which the layer sections are set to 5 layers, and the wafer W is transported with respect to the 3-layer layer sections El, E2, E3 by the lower transport mechanism 751, and the wafer W is transported with respect to the 2-layer layer sections E4, E5 by the upper transport mechanism 752. The transport mechanisms 751, 752 are configured similarly to the lower transport mechanism 61 and the upper transport mechanism 62 described above, and, for example, the handoff section 36 is provided at a height position at which the transport mechanisms 751, 752 can transport the wafer W, respectively.

[0086] Figure 11 The illustrated example is a configuration example in which the layer sections are set to 4 layers, and the wafer W is transported with respect to the 2-layer layer sections El, E2 by the lower transport mechanism 761, and the wafer W is transported with respect to the 2-layer layer sections E3, E4 by the upper transport mechanism 762. The transport mechanisms 761, 762 are configured similarly to the lower transport mechanism 61 and the upper transport mechanism 62 described above, and, for example, the handoff section 37 is provided at a height position at which the transport mechanisms 761, 762 can transport the wafer W, respectively.

[0087] Figure 12 The illustrated example is a configuration example in which the layer sections are set to 3 layers, and the wafer W is transported with respect to the 3-layer layer sections El, E2, E3 by the common second transport mechanism 77. The transport mechanism 77 is configured similarly to the lower transport mechanism 61 and the upper transport mechanism 62 described above, and, for example, the handoff section 38 is provided at a height position corresponding to the layer section E2. For this Figures 10-12 The configuration example of the handoff section 3 makes it possible to use the area below and above the handoff section 3 as the setting spaces of the storage area 22 and the equipment setting area 23.

[0088] (Second Embodiment)

[0089] Next, the substrate processing apparatus 1A of the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to a cross-sectional plan view of Figure 13 Figure 14 The substrate processing apparatus 1A differs from the first embodiment in that it has a second processing assembly and a third transport mechanism that hands off the wafer W between the handoff section 3 and the second processing assembly. The second processing assembly is an assembly that performs a process different from the process performed by the first processing assembly (the heat treatment assembly 51) on the wafer W.

[0090] In this example, a case in which the second processing assembly is an inspection assembly 8 for inspecting the wafer W before the process performed by the resist coating assembly 4 and after the process performed by the heat treatment assembly 51 will be described. The inspection assembly for inspecting the wafer W before the process performed by the resist coating assembly 4 is set as a pre-process inspection assembly 81 (WIS1). In addition, the inspection assembly for inspecting the wafer W after the process based on the heat treatment assembly 51 is set as a post-process inspection assembly 82 (WIS2). ​

[0091] In this example, the pre-processing inspection components 81 and post-processing inspection components 82 are arranged in a stacked manner above the conveying area 10 of the first conveying mechanism 17 at the carrier module D1, for example, above the fan filter unit 18. Furthermore, these inspection components 81 and 82 overlap with the conveying area 10 when viewed from above and are located adjacent to the junction 3 of the processing module D2. As described later, the inspection component 8 has a longitudinally elongated rectangular housing 83 when viewed from above, the long side of which is arranged to align with the direction of movement (X direction) of the first conveying mechanism 17 of the conveying area 10. Figure 13 In the diagram, for ease of illustration, carrier module D1 represents a cross-sectional top view of the position above the pre-processing inspection component 81, and processing module D2 represents a cross-sectional top view of layer segment E3.

[0092] Furthermore, the third transport mechanism 9 is configured to transport the wafer W relative to the inspection assembly 8 at the processing module D2, for example, adjacent to the inspection assembly 8 and positioned in front of the junction 3 when viewed from above. This third transport mechanism 9 is configured similarly to the lower transport mechanism 61 and the upper transport mechanism 62 of the first embodiment, except that it does not perform horizontal movement.

[0093] In this example, a junction 3 is provided with Figure 2 and Figure 3 The TRS1-4 and SCPL1-4 shown are further provided with mounting components TRS11 and TRS12 for mounting the wafer W to be transported to the inspection assembly 8. TRS11 is a mounting component for mounting the wafer W before inspection (a mounting component for inspection), and TRS12 is a component for mounting the wafer W after inspection. Multiple TRS11 and TRS12 are provided at height positions that can be reached by the lower transport mechanism 61 and the upper transport mechanism 62, respectively. The third transport mechanism 9 is configured to transport the wafer W between the TRS11 and TRS12 at the junction 3 and the inspection assemblies 81 and 82. The substrate processing apparatus 1A in this example is configured similarly to the first embodiment, except that it includes the pre-processing inspection assembly 81, the post-processing inspection assembly 82, and the third transport mechanism 9.

[0094] Reference Figure 15 The inspection assembly 8 (pre-processing inspection assembly 81 and post-processing inspection assembly 82) will be described. The inspection assembly 8 has a flat, rectangular housing 83 when viewed from above. On the side wall of the housing 83 facing the processing module D2, a wafer W transport port 831 is formed at a position corresponding to the third transport mechanism 9. Inside the housing 83 is a mounting section 84 that horizontally holds the wafer W. This mounting section 84 is configured to move freely between a standby position and a completed movement position using a moving mechanism 841. The standby position is within the housing 83... Figure 15The position indicated by the medium solid line is a movement completion position indicated by the dotted line. The standby position is a position where the wafer W is transferred to / from the third transfer mechanism 9.

[0095] Above the movement path of the wafer W movement by the placement section 84 in the housing 83, a horizontally long half mirror 85 extending in the short direction of the housing 83 and an illuminator 86 irradiating light downward through the half mirror 85 are provided. Figure 15 The reference numeral 87 indicates a camera. Light is irradiated from the illuminator 86 to an irradiation region below the half mirror 85, and the reflected light of an object at the irradiation region is reflected by the half mirror 85, thereby being received by the camera 87. Thus, the camera 87 is configured to capture an object in a capturing region below the half mirror 85.

[0096] With respect to the inspection assembly 8, the camera 87 intermittently captures an image during movement of the placement section 84, to which the wafer W is transferred at the standby position, toward the movement completion position, thereby capturing the entire surface of the wafer W and acquiring image data. The image data is transmitted from the camera 87 to the control section 100, and the control section 100 performs inspection of the surface of the wafer W based on the image data. Further, the placement section 84 moved to the movement completion position is moved to the standby position in order to transfer the wafer W to the third transfer mechanism 9.

[0097] An example of the wafer W transfer path of this embodiment will be described. The wafer W in the carrier C of the carrier module Dl is transferred in the order of the first transfer mechanism 17 → the TRS 11 of the transfer section 3 → the third transfer mechanism 9 → the pre-treatment inspection assembly 81, and the surface of the wafer W is inspected as described above. The surface inspection at the pre-treatment inspection assembly 81 refers to, for example, inspection of the presence or absence of a scratch on the wafer W.

[0098] Next, the inspected wafer W is transferred in the order of the third transfer mechanism 9 → the TRS 12 of the transfer section 3 → the second transfer mechanism 6 (61, 62) → the SCPL of the transfer section 3 → the second transfer mechanism 6 → the resist coating assembly 4 → the second transfer mechanism 6 → the heat treatment assembly 51 → the second transfer mechanism 6 → the SCPL of the transfer section 3, and thereafter, the wafer W is transferred in the order of the second transfer mechanism 6 → the TRS 11 of the transfer section 3 → the third transfer mechanism 9 → the post-treatment inspection assembly 82, and the surface of the wafer W is inspected as described above. The surface inspection at the post-treatment inspection assembly 82 refers to, for example, inspection of a defect of a resist film formed on the wafer. Then, the inspected wafer W is transferred in the order of the third transfer mechanism 9 → the TRS 12 of the transfer section 3 → the first transfer mechanism 17 of the carrier module Dl, and thereby, for example, returned to the original carrier.

[0099] For the substrate processing apparatus 1A of this embodiment, the inspection assembly 8 is provided above the transport region 10 in a manner so as to overlap the transport region 10 in plan view of the wafer W transported by the first transport mechanism 17 of the carrier module Dl. That is, the long side direction of the inspection assembly 8 in plan view, which is rectangular, is made to coincide with the moving direction of the first transport mechanism 17 of the transport region 10. Therefore, when the vertically long inspection assembly 8 is provided, the increase in the left-right direction of the substrate processing apparatus 1A can be suppressed, and the increase in the floor space can be suppressed. Further, since the third transport mechanism 9 for transferring the wafer W is provided between the transfer section 3 and the inspection assembly 8, the wafer W can be transported to the inspection assembly 8 independently of the transport of the wafer W by the first transport mechanism 17 and the second transport mechanism 6. Therefore, even when the inspection assembly 8 is provided, the increase in the transport load of the second transport mechanism can be suppressed, and the reduction in the transport productivity can be suppressed.

[0100] Further, for this example, the inspection assembly 8 is provided above the fan filter unit 18 and separated from the heat treatment assembly 51. Therefore, the heat influence of the heat treatment assembly 51 on the inspection assembly 8 having the optical member such as the camera 87 can be suppressed, and the highly precise inspection can be stably performed. Further, since the inspection assembly 8 is provided above the carrier module Dl, the wafer W just before being carried into the substrate processing apparatus 1A and the wafer W just before being carried out of the substrate processing apparatus 1A can be inspected. Therefore, for the case where the wafer W has an abnormality before being carried into the substrate processing apparatus 1A, the abnormality occurring outside the substrate processing apparatus 1A can be identified with high precision. Further, for the case where an abnormality occurs in the processing and transport within the substrate processing apparatus 1A, the abnormality can be reliably detected.

[0101] Further, by providing the inspection assembly 8 above the carrier module Dl, the empty space of the carrier module Dl can be effectively utilized. Further, since no other assembly is provided above the carrier module Dl, the advantage that the maintenance work can be easily performed by the operator is also obtained.

[0102] (Third Embodiment)

[0103] Next, the substrate processing apparatus 1C of the third embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 16 a cross-sectional plan view of Fig. 27, and Figure 17A longitudinal sectional front view of the substrate processing apparatus 1B of the third embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 17. The substrate processing apparatus 1B is an example of a structure in which the inspection assembly 8 is provided at a position further forward than the resist coating assembly 4 in such a manner that the inspection assembly 8 is floated from the floor on which the substrate processing apparatus 1B is provided and a protruding portion 19 is formed so as to protrude forward of the substrate processing apparatus 1B. In this example, the pre-process inspection assembly 81 and the post-process inspection assembly 82 are arranged so as to be stacked one above the other at a height near the upper end of the interface portion 3 at the processing module D2 to a height near the lower side of the fan filter unit 18. The arrangement position of the inspection assemblies 81, 82 is near the arrangement region 30 of the interface portion 3 of the processing module D2 in plan view and is forward of the front surface wall of the substrate processing apparatus 1B. In this way, the protruding portion 19 is formed so as to protrude above the front of the substrate processing apparatus 1B in such a manner as to span the carrier module Dl and the processing module D2. Further, in order to facilitate illustration, Figure 16 A cross-sectional plan view of the processing module D2 of the third embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 18. The cross-sectional plan view of the processing module D2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the layer section E3, and only the protruding portion 19 is a cross-sectional plan view of the upper position of the inspection assemblies 81, 82.

[0104] The third conveyance mechanism 9 is arranged at a position, for example, in front of the interface portion 3 in plan view, of the processing module D2 so as to be able to convey the wafer W with respect to the inspection assembly 8. In addition, for example, at the interface portion 3, in addition to the placement assembly 31, the temperature adjustment assembly 32 described above, a placement assembly TRS 11, TRS 12 for inspection is arranged at a height position at which the lower side conveyance mechanism 61 and the upper side conveyance mechanism 62 can reach. Further, the third conveyance mechanism 9 is configured in the same manner as in the second embodiment so as to be able to convey the wafer W between the TRS 11, TRS 12 and the pre-process inspection assembly 81, the post-process inspection assembly 82 of the interface portion 3. The pre-process inspection assembly 81 and the post-process inspection assembly 82 are configured in the same manner as in the second embodiment, and a wafer W conveyance port is formed in the side wall of the housing 83 facing the processing module D2 at a position corresponding to the third conveyance mechanism 9. The substrate processing apparatus 1B of this example is configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment except for the provision of the pre-process inspection assembly 81, the post-process inspection assembly 82 and the third conveyance mechanism 9.

[0105] An example of a transport path of the wafer W of the present embodiment will be described. The wafer W in the carrier C of the carrier module Dl is transported in the path of the first transport mechanism 17 → TRS 11 → the third transport mechanism 9 → the pre-process inspection assembly 81, and the surface of the wafer W is inspected. Next, the inspected wafer W is transported in the path of the third transport mechanism 9 → TRS 12 → the second transport mechanism 6 → the SCPL → the second transport mechanism 6 → the resist coating assembly 4, and a resist film is formed. Next, the wafer W is transported in the path of the second transport mechanism 6 → the heat treatment assembly 51 → the second transport mechanism 6 → the SCPL → the second transport mechanism 6 → TRS 11. Thereafter, the wafer W is transported in the path of the third transport mechanism 9 → the post-process inspection assembly 82, and the surface of the wafer W is inspected. Then, the inspected wafer W is transported in the path of the third transport mechanism 9 → TRS 12 → the first transport mechanism 17 → the carrier C.

[0106] For this embodiment, the inspection assembly 8 is provided to the substrate processing apparatus IB so as to be raised from the floor on which the substrate processing apparatus IB is provided, and a protruding portion 19 is formed so as to protrude toward the front of the substrate processing apparatus IB. Since the inspection assembly 8 is provided so as to be raised from the floor as described above, when the long inspection assembly 8 having a rectangular shape in plan view is provided, the increase in floor space can be suppressed. Further, since the third transport mechanism 9 for transporting the wafer W is provided between the handover portion 3 and the inspection assembly 8, the reduction in the transport productivity due to the provision of the inspection assembly 8 can be suppressed.

[0107] Further, for this example, the inspection assembly 8 is provided in front of the resist coating assembly 4 and separated from the heat treatment assembly 51. Therefore, the heat influence of the heat treatment assembly 51 on the inspection assembly 8 can be suppressed. Further, since the inspection assembly 8 is provided in the vicinity of the carrier module Dl, the wafer W just carried into the substrate processing apparatus IB and the wafer W about to be carried out of the substrate processing apparatus IB can be inspected, and the advantages described above can be obtained. Further, the inspection assembly 8 is provided so as to protrude at a height position just below the fan filter unit 18, and thus has the advantage that the passage of the operator is not hindered, and the operator can easily perform the maintenance work. To supplement, for the height of the inspection assembly 8, a space appropriate for the operator is secured as described above, and for example, it is preferable to be the height of an upper layer among the layer sections constituting the process module D2. The upper layer here means the height of the layer section obtained by dividing the number of layer sections from the upper side by two and rounding off the decimal in the case where there is a decimal. That is, in the case where the number of layer sections is six, it is preferable to be the height of any one of the upper three layers, and in the case where the number of layer sections is five, it is preferable to be the height of any one of the upper two layers.

[0108] In addition, in order to simplify the explanation and illustration, for the transport path of each embodiment, a case is shown in which the wafer W is transported through the TRSs to which the same reference numerals are assigned a plurality of times, and more specifically, the wafer W is transported sequentially through the plurality of placement portions included in the TRSs without being transported through the same placement portion. Specifically, for example, in Embodiments 2 and 3, a case is described in which the wafer W before processing and the wafer W after processing are both transported to the TRS 11, but the wafer W before processing and the wafer W after processing can be transported to different placement portions that constitute the TRS 11. The same applies to the SCPL, and in the transport path, the wafer W can be transported sequentially to different placement portions that constitute the SCPL.

[0109] In addition, for Embodiments 2 and 3, the control section 100 can determine whether or not to continue the transport of the wafer W after processing based on the inspection result (determination result of the presence or absence of an abnormality) of the wafer W obtained using the control section 100. That is, in the case where it is determined that there is an abnormality, a control signal can be output to stop the transport of the wafer W in the device. In addition, it can be configured so that a placement portion for placing the wafer W determined to have an abnormality in the inspection is provided in the handover section 3, and an instruction is output to transport such a wafer W to the placement portion using the third transport mechanism. It can be possible to change or stop such transport, and to notify the user of the wafer W having an abnormality only by displaying the screen and the like.

[0110] In the above, the layer section constituting the processing module can include at least the liquid processing assembly, and the first processing assembly can be provided at a position across the heights of two layer sections in the case where the second transport mechanism can transport the wafer W. In addition, in the case where the second transport mechanism takes over the transport of a plurality of layer sections, there can be a layer section in which the first processing assembly is not provided. In the above example, the heat treatment assembly 51 as the first processing assembly is provided in each layer section, and thus a portion of the heat treatment assembly 51 is opposed to a portion of the handover section 3, but the handover section 3 can be present in a layer section in which the heat treatment assembly 51 is not provided. That is, it can be possible to have a positional relationship in which the left region of the heat treatment assembly 51 and the right region of the handover section 3 are not opposed to each other, and the positions in the left-right direction of these left and right regions are the same. In addition, the liquid processing assembly provided in each layer section is not limited to the above example, and it can be possible to have a structure in which a plurality of cups 42 are arranged in the left-right direction. However, if it is a structure in which only one cup 42 is provided, it can be possible to contribute to a reduction in the length of the processing module D2 in the left-right direction. In addition, the number of first processing assemblies is not limited to the above example, and it can be possible to stack the processing assemblies in one layer section.

[0111] In addition, the number of the first processing components is not limited to three in one layer section, and does not need to be the same in a plurality of layer sections. The number of the first processing components can be different in each layer section. In this case, the arrangement positions of the first processing components in the left-right direction also do not need to be the same in all the layer sections, and can be shifted in each layer section according to the number of the first processing components. In addition, the number of the layer sections constituting the processing module D2 can be seven or eight, and is not limited to the number of the layer sections illustrated.

[0112] In addition, the liquid processing component can be a component that performs liquid processing for forming an antireflection film, liquid processing for forming a protective film, or a developing component that performs developing processing on the wafer W using a developing liquid as a processing liquid. In addition, it can be a component that applies a processing liquid (chemical solution) for forming an insulating film, a component that supplies an adhesive material for bonding the wafer W, or a cleaning component that supplies a cleaning liquid to the wafer W to perform cleaning. In addition, the protective film described above is a film formed to protect a resist film at the time of liquid immersion exposure.

[0113] In addition, in a case where the developing component is provided, as the first processing component, a heat treatment component that performs heat treatment (PEB: Post exposure bake, exposure bake processing) of the wafer W before developing processing can be exemplified. That is, in the processing module D2, the wafer W can be transported in the order of the heat treatment component → the developing component. Therefore, as the first processing component, it is not limited to a component that performs processing on the wafer W after the liquid processing component, and in addition, as the liquid processing component, it is not limited to a component that forms an applied film. In addition, as the first processing component, it can be configured as a hydrophobizing treatment component that supplies a gas to the wafer W to perform hydrophobizing treatment. For example, a hydrophobizing treatment component can be provided as the first processing component, and an antireflection film forming component can be provided as the liquid processing component, and transported in the order of the hydrophobizing treatment component → the antireflection film forming component. Therefore, as the first processing component, it is not limited to a component that heats the wafer W.

[0114] In addition, for the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the like, the lower side transport mechanism 61 and the upper side transport mechanism 62 independently transport the wafer W. That is, the layer sections E1 to E3 and the layer sections E4 to E6 independently transport the wafer W. Therefore, the processing performed in the layer sections E1 to E3 and the processing performed in the layer sections E4 to E6 can be different. For example, like performing resist application and PAB in the layer sections E1 to E3 and performing PEB and developing in the layer sections E4 to E6, the components arranged in the lower side layer sections and the upper side layer sections can be different.

[0115] Furthermore, the structure of the junction 3 is not limited to the example described above, and the number of mounting components (TRS) 31 and temperature adjustment components (SCPL) 32 can be appropriately selected. However, for the inspection component 8 described above, the inspection component 8 can also be stacked on the junction 3 relative to the mounting components 31 and temperature adjustment components 32. In this case, the inspection component 8 is configured to face the transport area 10 of the first transport mechanism 17 and the transport path 20 of the second transport mechanism 6, and the second transport mechanism 6 is configured to perform wafer W handover relative to the mounting portion 84 of the inspection component 8. However, for the inspection component 8, such as using... Figure 13 , Figure 16 As explained above, a third conveying mechanism 9 is provided, and the inspection component 8 is positioned within the reach of this third conveying mechanism 9. This achieves the aforementioned effect of reducing the load on the second conveying mechanism 6, and also increases the installation space for the mounting component 31 and the temperature adjustment component 32, which is therefore preferable. In other words, by arranging the inspection component 8 without overlapping with the mounting component 31 and the temperature adjustment component 32, the number of mounting components 31 and the temperature adjustment component 32 can be increased accordingly, thereby improving the productivity of the device.

[0116] However, since the inspection component 8 can be configured to face the transport area 10 and the transport path 20 as described above, it can also be configured as the transfer section 3. Therefore, in addition to the second transport mechanism 6, the first transport mechanism 17 also transfers the wafer W relative to the inspection component 8. Moreover, by means of this inspection component 8, the wafer W can be transported between the carrier module D1 and the processing module D2, and can also be transported to the forward and backward mounting components 31 and temperature adjustment components 32 that transfer to the liquid treatment component and heat treatment component of the processing module D2.

[0117] Furthermore, the transfer section 3 of this disclosure can be structured to include at least one of the following components: a mounting component 31, a temperature adjustment component 32, and an inspection component 8. Therefore, the wafer can be transported via a path such as: first transport mechanism 17 → temperature adjustment component 32 of transfer section 3 → second transport mechanism 6 → processing components (liquid processing component and first processing component) within processing module D2 → temperature adjustment component 32 of transfer section 3 → first transport mechanism 17. When the transfer section 3 includes an inspection component 8, the wafer is transported to the inspection component 8 instead of the temperature adjustment component 32 along this transport path. This allows the wafer W to be temporarily placed in the transfer section 3, enabling the first transport mechanism 17 and the second transport mechanism 6 to perform the transfer of the wafer W respectively.

[0118] Further, if replenishment is performed, the structure can be provided in which a plurality of layers are provided above and below the board as the TRS and the SCPL. Further, by providing the outer shape of the board in a shape corresponding to the shape of the conveyance mechanism, or by forming a groove corresponding to the shape of the conveyance mechanism on the surface of the board, each conveyance mechanism can be lifted and lowered with respect to the surface of the board, and the wafer W can be transferred with respect to the board. Also in the case where the inspection assembly 8 is used as the transfer section 3, the placement section 84 in the inspection assembly 8 can be configured in the same manner as the board. Further, the SCPL is configured to cool the board by connecting the refrigerant flow path. Alternatively, the structure can be provided in which a plurality of pins of the TRS are provided in a plurality of layers in the vertical direction, and the conveyance mechanism is lifted and lowered with respect to the pins of each layer, and the wafer W is placed with respect to the pins of each layer, respectively.

[0119] Further, the second processing assembly is not limited to the inspection assembly, and can be, for example, a processing assembly that performs a curing process by irradiating ultraviolet light after the resist film is formed on the wafer W. The processing assembly is configured to, for example, move the placement section 84 in which the wafer W is placed from the standby area to the moving completion position while irradiating ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet irradiation section toward the lower side, and perform the curing process by irradiating ultraviolet light to the entire surface of the wafer W. Figure 15 The inspection assembly 8 shown in the drawing does not have a camera, and instead, an ultraviolet irradiation section is provided in place of the half mirror 85 and the illuminator 86. Further, ultraviolet light is irradiated from the ultraviolet irradiation section toward the lower side, and the placement section 84 in which the wafer W is placed is moved from the standby area to the moving completion position, and the curing process is performed by irradiating ultraviolet light to the entire surface of the wafer W.

[0120] Further, in the above-described embodiment, the first processing assembly 51 can be arranged in front of the conveyance path 20 of the second conveyance mechanism 6, and the transfer section 3 and the liquid processing assembly 4 can be arranged in the rear of the conveyance path 20. Further, it is not necessary to have both the pre-processing inspection assembly 81 and the post-processing inspection assembly 82, and either one of the inspection assemblies can be provided.

[0121] It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The above-described embodiments can be omitted, replaced, changed, and combined in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the claims.

Claims

1. A substrate processing apparatus which is a substrate processing apparatus including a processing module provided with a plurality of liquid processing units that perform liquid processing on a substrate, characterized by comprising: the substrate processing apparatus having: a substrate transport module provided on one side in a left-right direction with respect to the processing module, the substrate transport module having a container placement portion on which a plurality of containers for housing the substrates are placed and a first transport mechanism that transfers the substrates with respect to the containers; a substrate transport path that extends in the left-right direction in the processing module; a plurality of stages that constitute the processing module in a manner in which the liquid processing units are arranged in a column in a longitudinal direction on one side in a front-rear direction with respect to the transport path and each include the liquid processing unit; a first processing unit that is provided in a plurality of units in the longitudinal direction on the other side in the front-rear direction with respect to the transport path and performs processing on the substrates before or after processing by the liquid processing units; a second transport mechanism that moves in the transport path and transports the substrates between the liquid processing units and the first processing unit; and a transfer portion that is provided on one side in the front-rear direction with respect to the transport path in the processing module and on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the column of the liquid processing units and places the substrates in order to transfer the substrates between the first transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that: the first processing unit is provided in a plurality of units in the left-right direction, a position on one side in the left-right direction of the first processing unit on one side in the left-right direction and a position on the other side in the left-right direction of the transfer portion are the same in the left-right direction.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that: the position on one side in the left-right direction of the first processing unit on one side in the left-right direction and the position on the other side in the left-right direction of the transfer portion are opposite to each other.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by comprising: a second processing unit that performs processing different from the processing performed by the first processing unit on the substrates; and a third transport mechanism that is provided on one side in the front-rear direction with respect to the transfer portion and transfers the substrates between the transfer portion and the second processing unit.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that: the substrate transport module is provided with a gas supply portion that supplies gas from above toward a transport region in which the substrates are transported by the first transport mechanism, the second processing unit overlaps the transport region when viewed from above and is provided at a position higher than the gas supply portion of the substrate transport module.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that: the second processing unit is provided at a position on one side in the front-rear direction than the liquid processing units, forming a protruding portion that protrudes toward one side in the front-rear direction from a floor on which the substrate processing apparatus is installed. ​ 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second processing section is an inspection section for inspecting the substrate before or after processing by the liquid processing section and the first processing section.

8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second transfer mechanism has: a lower transfer mechanism that transfers the substrate with respect to the liquid processing section of a lower layer section of the plurality of layer sections and the first processing section of the height of the lower layer section; and an upper transfer mechanism that transfers the substrate with respect to the liquid processing section of an upper layer section of the plurality of layer sections and the first processing section of the height of the upper layer section.

9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the lower layer section and the upper layer section are each composed of a plurality of layer sections, and the transfer points are each provided at the height of the uppermost layer section of the layer sections in which the substrate is transferred by the lower transfer mechanism and the height of the lowermost layer section of the layer sections in which the substrate is transferred by the upper transfer mechanism.

10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the lower layer section and the upper layer section are each composed of three layer sections.

11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer points overlap with a storage area for storing a processing liquid supplied to the substrate by each of the liquid processing sections in plan view.

12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the liquid processing sections of the layer sections has only one cup for processing the substrate in a cup-like manner.

13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer points have a temperature adjustment function for adjusting the temperature of the substrate before processing by the liquid processing section and the first processing section, or are an inspection section for inspecting the substrate before or after processing by the liquid processing section and the first processing section.

14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first processing section is a heat processing section for heating the substrate.

15. A substrate processing method for a substrate processing apparatus including a processing module provided with a plurality of liquid processing sections for processing a substrate with liquid, the substrate processing method comprising: placing a container for housing a plurality of substrates on a container placement portion provided in a substrate transfer module provided on one side in a left-right direction with respect to the processing module; transferring the substrates with respect to the container by a first transfer mechanism provided in the substrate transfer module; and processing each of the substrates by the plurality of liquid processing sections included in a layer section constituting the processing module and arranged in a column in a longitudinal direction on one side in a front-rear direction with respect to a substrate transfer path extending in the left-right direction in the processing module. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ A first processing assembly in which processing of the substrate is performed before or after processing by the liquid processing assembly is provided in a plurality of rows in the longitudinal direction on the other side relative to the front-rear direction of the conveyance path; A second conveyance mechanism that moves in the conveyance path is used to convey the substrate between the liquid processing assembly and the first processing assembly; And The substrate is placed in a handoff portion for handoff between the first conveyance mechanism and the second conveyance mechanism, the handoff portion being on one side relative to the front-rear direction of the conveyance path and on one side relative to the left-right direction of the row of liquid processing assemblies of the processing module.

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