Storage and transfer module and substrate processing apparatus including the same

Abstract

The invention provides a storage and transfer module and a substrate processing apparatus including the same. The storage and transfer module comprises a module body; a storage and transfer unit disposed in the module body, the storage and transfer unit including a liftable transfer portion and a storage portion disposed on an outer side of the transfer portion, the storage portion having a storage space therein; and a transfer target portion in which the substrate is transferred by the transfer portion. The storage and transfer units are arranged in pairs. The pair of storage and transfer units are disposed to face each other, and the transfer target portion is interposed between the pair of storage and transfer units. A substrate loading portion is disposed on one side of the storage and transfer unit.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0158967 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on November 16, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a storage and transfer module and a substrate processing apparatus including the same. Background Art

[0004] In a photoresist process (one of semiconductor manufacturing processes), a resist may be coated on a surface (on a substrate) of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), exposed to have a predetermined pattern, and developed to form a resist pattern. This process may be performed using a system in which an exposure device is connected to a coating and developing device (substrate processing device) for coating and developing the resist.

[0005] The coating and developing equipment can sequentially supply various chemical liquids (processing liquids) to the wafer using the liquid processing module, and can perform various processes such as resist coating process and developing process according to the photoresist process. Therefore, the substrate processing equipment can have a receiving area, in which a chemical liquid container storing each chemical liquid is in the receiving area, and the chemical liquid can be supplied from the receiving area to each liquid processing module.

[0006] Typically, the storage area for the chemical container can be set at the lower part of the equipment front end module (EFEM). In this case, the wafer transport robot is installed at the upper part of the storage area, and thus the height of the storage area is limited. In addition, since a plurality of manufacturing facilities can be installed in a limited space of a semiconductor plant line, the manufacturing facilities can be arranged at significantly narrow intervals of about 800 mm to 900 mm, and thus the length of the storage space may be limited. Due to limitations such as the design of the storage area and the installation of the manufacturing facilities, there is a limitation that only a limited number (about 12) of chemical containers can be stored in the current storage space. Therefore, frequent replenishment operations of the chemical containers may be required, resulting in a decrease in wafer production. Summary of the invention

[0007] Aspects of the present disclosure provide a storage and transfer module having a compact structure while securing a space for accommodating a large number of chemical liquid (processing liquid) containers, and a substrate processing apparatus including the same.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a storage and transfer module, comprising: a module body; a storage and transfer unit, arranged in the module body, the storage and transfer unit comprising a transfer part that can be lifted and lowered and a storage part arranged outside the transfer part, the storage part having a storage space therein; and a transfer target part, in which a substrate is transferred by the transfer part. Pairs of storage and transfer units may be arranged. Pairs of storage and transfer units may be arranged opposite to each other, and the transfer target part is inserted between the paired storage and transfer units. A substrate loading part may be arranged on one side of the storage and transfer unit.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a substrate processing device, comprising: a loading port including a substrate loading portion in which a substrate is disposed; a buffer module including a frame and a plurality of buffers disposed in the frame, the plurality of buffers being arranged in a vertical direction; and a storage and transfer module including: a module body; a storage and transfer unit disposed in the module body, the storage and transfer unit including a liftable transfer portion and a storage portion disposed outside the transfer portion, the storage portion having a storage space therein; and a transfer target portion in which a substrate is transferred by the transfer portion. Pairs of storage and transfer units may be provided, and the paired storage and transfer units are disposed opposite to each other, and the transfer target portion is inserted between the paired storage and transfer units. The substrate loading portion may be provided on one side of the storage and transfer unit.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a substrate processing device, comprising: a loading port including a wafer carrier accommodating a substrate therein and a plurality of mounting tables on which the wafer carrier is loaded; a heat treatment chamber portion including a baking chamber and a plurality of heating plates disposed in the baking chamber, the plurality of heating plates being stacked in a vertical direction; a buffer module including a frame and a plurality of buffers disposed in the frame, the plurality of buffers being arranged in the vertical direction; and a storage and transfer module, the storage and transfer module including: a module body; a storage and transfer unit disposed in the module body, the storage and transfer unit including a transfer part that can be raised and lowered and a storage part having a storage space therein, a partition wall in the storage and transfer unit being disposed between the transfer part and the storage part; and a transfer target part, the substrate in the transfer target part being transferred by the transfer part. Pairs of storage and transfer units may be provided, and the pairs of storage and transfer units may be provided to be opposite to each other, and the transfer target part is inserted between the pairs of storage and transfer units, and a plurality of mounting tables may be provided on one side of each of the pairs of storage and transfer units. A plurality of mounting tables may be respectively opposite to the paired storage and transfer units and may be arranged in a row in the vertical direction. In the storage space, a plurality of support plates may be arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction, and at least one treatment liquid container may be supported on each of the support plates. One of the buffer module and the heat treatment chamber portion may be selectively arranged in the transfer target portion.

[0011] In the storage and transfer module and the substrate processing equipment including the same according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, another module of the substrate processing equipment (such as a buffer module, a substrate inspection module or a heat treatment chamber) can be arranged in the transfer target part (the area between the transfer parts opposite to each other), thereby optimizing the transportation path of the substrate and allowing the substrate processing equipment to have a compact structure. In addition, the storage part having a multi-level accommodating structure can be arranged at the opposite outer ends of the transfer parts opposite to each other in the vertical direction. Therefore, a plurality of processing liquid containers can be stored in a stacked manner to reduce the time required to replenish the processing liquid containers, thereby improving the productivity of the substrate processing equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 is a top view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A view of a substrate processing device in the direction of A1-A1;

[0015] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A view of a substrate processing device in the direction of BB;

[0016] Figure 4A is a top view of a storage and transfer module included in a substrate processing apparatus according to the related art, and Figure 4B yes Figure 4A A side view of a storage and transfer module;

[0017] Figure 5 is a top view of a storage and transfer module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 6 yes Figure 1 The storage and transfer module is Figure 1 A schematic diagram in the direction of A1-A1;

[0019] Figure 7 yes Figure 1 The storage and transfer module is Figure 1 A schematic diagram in the direction of A2-A2; and

[0020] Figure 8 yes Figure 1 The storage and transfer module is Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the A3-A3 direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Hereinafter, preferred exemplary embodiments will be described in detail so that the present disclosure can be easily implemented. In describing the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present disclosure may unnecessarily obscure the main points of the present disclosure, its detailed description will be omitted. In addition, throughout the accompanying drawings, the same figure numbers are used relative to components with similar functions and actions. In addition, in this specification, terms such as "upper", "upper part", "upper surface", "lower", "lower part", "lower surface" and "side surface" based on the accompanying drawings may change according to the direction in which the elements or components are actually arranged.

[0022] Furthermore, it will be understood that “comprises” and / or “comprising” specifies the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0023] Figure 1 is a top view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A view of a substrate processing device in the direction of A1-A1. Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A view of the substrate processing equipment in the direction of BB.

[0025] refer to Figures 1 to 3 , the substrate processing apparatus 1 may include a loading port 100, a storage and transfer module 200, a buffer module 300, a coating and developing module 400, a heat treatment chamber portion 500, and a cleaning module 700. In this case, the loading port 100, the storage and transfer module 200, the coating and developing module 400, and the interface module 600 may be sequentially arranged in a row in one direction. The cleaning module 700 may be provided in the interface module 600. Alternatively, the cleaning module 700 may be provided at various positions, such as a position of an exposure device 800 connected to a rear end of the interface module 600, or a side portion of the interface module 600. In addition, one of the buffer module 300 and the heat treatment chamber portion 500 may be provided in the storage and transfer module 200, which will be described below.

[0026] Hereinafter, the direction in which the loading port 100, the storage and transfer module 200, the coating and developing module 400, and the interface module 600 are set may be referred to as a first direction Y, a direction perpendicular to the first direction Y may be referred to as a second direction X, and a direction perpendicular to each of the first direction Y and the second direction X may be referred to as a third direction Z.

[0027] The substrate W may be moved in a state of being accommodated in a wafer cassette 20. The wafer cassette 20 may be sealed from the outside. For example, a front opening unified pod (FOUP) having a door at the front thereof may be used as the wafer cassette 20.

[0028] Hereinafter, the load port 100 , the storage and transfer module 200 , the buffer module 300 , the coating and developing module 400 , the interface module 600 , and the cleaning module 700 will be described in detail.

[0029] The load port 100 may include a substrate loading portion. The substrate loading portion may include at least two mounting tables 120 on which a wafer carrier 20 is disposed, and the substrate W is accommodated in the wafer carrier 20. A plurality of mounting tables 120 may be provided, and details of the arrangement of the mounting tables 120 will be described below.

[0030] The storage and transfer module 200 may transfer the substrate W between the wafer carrier 20 provided on the mounting table 120 of the load port 100 and the buffer module 300. In addition, the storage and transfer module 200 may store a treatment liquid container T in which a treatment liquid used in a process of treating the substrate W is stored. In this case, the storage and transfer module 200 may include a module body 210, a transfer part 220, a storage part 230, and a transfer target part 240. Hereinafter, the transfer part 220 and the storage part 230 will be collectively referred to as a storage and transfer unit U.

[0031] The module body 210 may be formed by connecting a plurality of frames to each other. For example, the module body 210 may be formed by connecting a plurality of frames and may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape having an empty space therein. In this case, the module body 210 may have a height lower than that of the frame 310 of the buffer module 300.

[0032] The transfer part 220 may be disposed in the module body 210. The transfer part 220 may include a hand part 221, a horizontal transfer part 222, a vertical transfer part 223, a guide part 224, and a supporter 225. In this case, the supporter 225 may be fixedly mounted on the bottom surface of the module body 210, and the guide part 224 may be connected to the upper surface of the supporter 225 to extend in the third direction Z. One surface of the guide part 224 may include a first guide rail (not shown) extending in the third direction Z, and the vertical transfer part 223 may be connected to the first guide rail in a liftable manner. In addition, the vertical transfer part 223 capable of reciprocating or extending in the third direction Z may be connected to the guide part 224. The hand part 221 may be rotatably connected to the horizontal transfer part 222.

[0033] The hand portion 221 may be configured as, for example, a robot capable of directly gripping and manipulating the substrate W. With the coupling structure as described above, the hand portion 221 may be raised and lowered in the third direction Z, or may be rotated around the rotation axis while being supported by the supporter 225. In addition, the hand portion 221 may be moved toward or away from another module (e.g., a substrate inspection module, a buffer module, or a heat treatment chamber portion) of the substrate processing apparatus 1 by rotating so as to be oriented in one direction, and then linearly reciprocate together with the horizontal transfer portion 222. Although not shown in the drawings, the module body 210 may further include a door opener (not shown) that opens and closes the door of the wafer carrier 20.

[0034] The features of the storage section 230 and the transfer destination section 240 and the arrangement relationship with the transfer section 220 will be described below.

[0035] Figure 2 The right picture is in Figure 1 4. The buffer module 300 is a view of the substrate processing device in the direction of A4-A4, and the buffer module 300 may include a frame 310, a first buffer 320, a second buffer 330, and a cooling chamber 340. The frame 310 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape having an empty space therein. As described above, the buffer module 300 may be disposed in the storage and transfer module 200. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the buffer module 300 may be disposed between the storage and transfer module 200 and the coating and developing module 400, which will be described below.

[0036] The first buffer 320, the second buffer 330, and the cooling chamber 340 may be positioned in the frame 310. The cooling chamber 340, the second buffer 330, and the first buffer 320 may be sequentially disposed from the bottom in the third direction Z. The first buffer 320 may be positioned to have a height corresponding to the height of the coating module 401 of the coating and developing module 400, and the second buffer 330 and the cooling chamber 340 may be disposed to have a height corresponding to the height of the developing module 402 of the coating and developing module 400.

[0037] Each of the first buffer 320 and the second buffer 330 may temporarily store a plurality of substrates W. The first buffer 320 may include a housing 321 and a plurality of supports 322. In the first buffer 320, the supports 322 may be disposed in the housing 321 and may be spaced apart from each other in the third direction Z. The second buffer 330 may include a housing 331 and a plurality of supports 332. In the second buffer 330, the supports 332 may be disposed in the housing 331 and may be spaced apart from each other in the third direction Z. One substrate W may be disposed on each support 322 of the first buffer 320 and each support 332 of the second buffer 330. The housing 331 may have an opening in a direction in which the transfer part 220 is disposed so that the transfer part 220 may move the substrate W into or out of the support 332 in the housing 331.

[0038] The first buffer 320 may have a structure substantially similar to that of the second buffer 330. However, the housing 321 of the first buffer 320 may have an opening in a direction in which the first buffer robot is provided and in a direction in which the coating part robot 421 positioned in the coating module 401 is provided. The number of the supporters 322 provided in the first buffer 320 may be the same as or different from the number of the supporters 332 provided in the second buffer 330. According to an example, the number of the supporters 332 provided in the second buffer 330 may be greater than the number of the supporters 322 provided in the first buffer 320.

[0039] The cooling chamber 340 may cool the substrate W. The cooling chamber 340 may include a housing 341 and a cooling plate 342. The cooling plate 342 may have an upper surface on which the substrate W is disposed and a cooling means 343 for cooling the substrate W. Various methods such as cooling using a coolant or cooling using a thermoelectric element may be used as the cooling means 343. In addition, the cooling chamber 340 may include a lifting pin assembly for positioning the substrate W on the cooling plate 342. The housing 341 may have an opening in a direction in which the transfer part 220 is disposed and an opening in a direction in which a developing part robot disposed in the developing module 402 is disposed, so that the transfer robot and the developing part robot may move the substrate W into or out of the cooling plate 342. In addition, a door for opening and closing the above-mentioned opening may be provided in the cooling chamber 340.

[0040] In the above exemplary embodiments, the buffer module 300 has been described as including the cooling chamber 340 , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the cooling chamber 340 may be omitted if necessary.

[0041] The coating module 401 may include a process of coating a photosensitive liquid such as photoresist on the substrate W and a thermal treatment process such as heating and cooling the substrate W before and after the resist coating process. The coating module 401 may have a coating chamber 410 and a transport chamber 420 .

[0042] For example, the coating chamber 410, the transport chamber 420, and the heat treatment chamber section 500 may be sequentially disposed in the second direction X. That is, with respect to the transport chamber 420, the coating chamber 410 may be disposed on one side of the transport chamber 420, and the heat treatment chamber section 500 may be disposed on the other side of the transport chamber 420. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0043] A plurality of coating chambers 410 may be arranged in the third direction Z. In addition, as Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 4 , a plurality of coating chambers 410 may be provided in the first direction Y, or one coating chamber 410 may be provided.

[0044] The heat treatment chamber part 500 may include a baking chamber 510 and a cooling chamber 520, and a plurality of baking chambers 510 and a plurality of cooling chambers 520 may be arranged in the third direction Z. The transport chamber 420 may be positioned parallel to the first buffer 320 of the buffer module 300 in the first direction Y. The coating part robot 421 and the guide rail 422 may be positioned in the transport chamber 420. The transport chamber 420 may have a substantially rectangular shape. The coating part robot 421 may transfer the substrate W between the baking chamber 510, the cooling chamber 520, the coating chamber 410, and the first buffer 320 of the first buffer module 300.

[0045] The guide rail 422 may be arranged so that its length direction is parallel to the first direction Y. The guide rail 422 may guide the coating part robot 421 to move linearly in the first direction Y. The coating part robot 421 may have a hand 423, an arm 424, a supporter 425, and a pedestal 426. The hand 423 may be fixedly mounted on the arm 424. The arm 424 may have a retractable structure so that the hand 423 may move in a horizontal direction. The supporter 425 may be arranged so that its length direction is the same as the third direction Z. The arm 424 may be coupled to the supporter 425 so as to be linearly movable along the supporter 425 in the third direction Z. The supporter 425 may be fixedly coupled to the pedestal 426, and the pedestal 426 may be coupled to the guide rail 422 so as to be movable along the guide rail 422.

[0046] All coating chambers 410 may have the same structure. However, the types of processing liquids used in the coating chambers 410 may be different from each other. A processing liquid used to form a photoresist film or an anti-reflection film may be used as the processing liquid.

[0047] The coating chamber 410 may coat a processing liquid on a substrate W. A processing unit including a processing container 411 , a supporting portion 412 , and a nozzle portion 413 may be disposed in the coating chamber 410 .

[0048] For example, one processing unit may be provided in each coating chamber 410 in the first direction Y, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and two or more processing units may be provided in one coating chamber 410. The processing units may all have the same structure. However, the types of processing liquids used in the processing units may be different from each other.

[0049] The processing container 411 of the coating chamber 410 may have a shape with an opened upper portion. The support portion 412 may be disposed in the processing container 411 and may support the substrate W. The support portion 412 may be rotatably disposed. The nozzle portion 413 may supply the processing liquid to the substrate W disposed on the support portion 412. The processing liquid may be coated on the substrate W in a spin coating manner.

[0050] In addition, the coating chamber 410 may further selectively include a nozzle (not shown) supplying a cleaning liquid such as deionized water (DIW) to clean the surface of the substrate W on which the treatment liquid is coated and a backwash nozzle (not shown) for cleaning the lower surface of the substrate W.

[0051] In the baking chamber 510, the substrate W may be heat-treated when the substrate W is mounted by the coating part robot 421. In the baking chamber 510, before coating the treatment liquid, a pre-baking process for removing organic matter or moisture from the surface of the substrate W by heating the substrate W to a predetermined temperature may be performed, or a soft-baking process may be performed after coating the treatment liquid on the substrate W, and a cooling process for cooling the substrate W may be performed after each heating process.

[0052] The heating plate 511 and the heating tool 511a may be disposed in the baking chamber 510. The heating tool 511a may heat the substrate W disposed in the baking chamber 510. In this case, the substrate W may be heated in a state sealed in the baking chamber 510, and the heating tool 511a may heat the entire region of the substrate W to a uniform temperature. This heat treatment process may stabilize the liquid film by blowing an organic substance on the liquid film formed by applying the treatment liquid onto the substrate W. Various methods such as a heating method using a heating wire disposed on the inside or outside of the heating plate 511 or a heating method using a heater disposed on the inside or outside of the baking chamber 510 may be used as the heating tool 511a.

[0053] In addition, the baking chamber 510 may further include a cooling plate 512. The cooling plate 512 may receive a coolant from a cooling unit to be described below to cool the substrate W, thereby preventing the substrate W from being heated to an excessively high temperature by the heat treatment process. After the heat treatment process is completed, the substrate W may be transferred to the cooling chamber 520.

[0054] Before applying the process liquid, the cooling chamber 520 may perform a cooling process of cooling the substrate W. The cooling chamber 520 may include a cooling plate. The cooling plate may include a cooling tool in which various methods for cooling the substrate W (such as cooling using a coolant or cooling using a thermoelectric element) are used.

[0055] The interface module 600 may connect the coating and developing module 400 to an external exposure device 800. The interface module 600 may include an interface frame 610, a first interface buffer 620, a second interface buffer 630, and a transport robot 640, and after the coating and developing module 400 is finished, the transport robot 640 may transport the substrate transported to the first interface buffer 620 and the second interface buffer 630 to the exposure device 800. The first interface buffer 620 and the second interface buffer 630 may include a housing 621 and a supporter 622, and the transport robot 640 and the coating part robot 421 may move the substrate W into / out of the supporter 622.

[0056] Figure 4A is a top view of a storage and transfer module included in a substrate processing apparatus according to the related art, and Figure 4B yes Figure 4A Side view of the storage and transfer module.

[0057] refer to Figure 4A and Figure 4B , a storage and transfer module 200' included in a substrate processing apparatus according to the related art may include a module body 210', a transfer portion 220', and a storage portion 230'. The module body 210' may be a structure formed by connecting a plurality of frames, and may have an inner empty space having an upper area E1 and a lower area E2 separated from each other.

[0058] In the storage and transfer module 200' according to the related art, the transfer part 220' may be disposed in the upper area E1 of the interior of the module body 210'. In this case, the guide rail 224' may be disposed on the bottom surface of the upper area E1. The support part 223' may be disposed on the guide rail 224' so that the support part 223' can reciprocate in the second direction X. A transfer robot 221' that operates the substrate W of the transfer part 220' may be coupled to the support part 223' by a connecting part 222'. In addition, about four wafer carriers 20 in which the substrate W is accommodated and about four mounting tables 120' that support the wafer carriers 20 may be disposed on one side of the transfer part 220' in the second direction X. In this arrangement state, the transfer robot 221' may transfer the wafer carrier 20 on the mounting table 120' to a buffer module (not shown) while reciprocating in the second direction X in the upper area E1.

[0059] In addition, a treatment liquid container T containing a treatment liquid used in a process of processing a substrate W may be stored in the lower region E2 of the internal empty space of the module body 210'. The lower region E2 of the internal empty space of the module body 210' corresponds to the remaining region except for the space required for installing the transfer robot 221' and the mounting table 120', and may be used to store the treatment liquid container T. In addition, due to a large number of facilities installed in a semiconductor plant line, the arrangement intervals between the facilities may be limited, so that the lower region E2 of the empty space may inevitably have a narrow size. Therefore, there is a limitation that a large number of treatment liquid containers T may not be stored at the same time.

[0060] Figure 5 is a top view of a storage and transfer module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0061] Figure 6 yes Figure 1 The storage and transfer module is Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the A1-A1 direction. Figure 7 yes Figure 1The storage and transfer module is Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the A2-A2 direction. Figure 8 yes Figure 1 The storage and transfer module is Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the A3-A3 direction.

[0062] refer to Figures 5 to 8 As described above, the storage and transfer module 200 according to the exemplary embodiment (Example 1) of the present disclosure may include a storage and transfer unit U and a transfer target part 240, and the storage and transfer unit U includes a transfer part 220 and a storage part 230. The specific features of the transfer part 220 may be the same as described above, and the storage part 230 and the transfer target part 240 will be described below.

[0063] The storage portion 230 may be a housing having a storage space 231 therein. The storage portion 230 may have various shapes. For example, the storage portion 230 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a storage space 231 therein. In this case, the storage portion 230 may have a width (length in the first direction Y) that is the same as or similar to the width of the module body 210.

[0064] The storage part 230 may include at least one support plate 232. For example, the storage part 230 may include a plurality of support plates 232. In this case, a plurality of support plates 232 may be arranged in the storage space 231. In this case, the support plates 232 may be spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals in the height direction (i.e., the third direction Z) of the storage part 230. Therefore, the storage space 231 may be divided into a plurality of partitioned areas. Since a plurality of support plates 232 are arranged in the storage space 231 to have a multi-level containment structure in the third direction Z, the processing liquid container T may be stored in a stacked manner on each support plate 232. The adjacent support plates 232 may have the same or similar intervals therebetween. Such intervals may be formed to be larger than the size of the processing liquid container T.

[0065] In addition, the storage part 230 may further include an opening / closing part 233. The opening / closing part 233 may be disposed on the outer surface of the storage part 230. As shown in the drawings, the opening / closing part 233 may be a door connected to the storage part 230 using an opening / closing member (not shown) such as a hinge. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the opening / closing part 233 may be a door opened and closed using various methods such as sliding or separation. The opening and closing of the opening / closing part 233 may allow the storage space 231 of the storage part 230 to be selectively communicated with the outside. Therefore, after opening the opening / closing part 233, the processing liquid container T may be accommodated in the storage space 231 or unloaded from the storage space 231.

[0066] At least one opening / closing portion 233 may be provided. For example, a plurality of opening / closing portions 233 may be provided. In this case, the number of the plurality of opening / closing portions 233 may be the same as the number of the plurality of support plates 232. In this case, the plurality of opening / closing portions 233 may be respectively provided at positions opposite to the support plates 232. Therefore, when the treatment liquid container T accommodated in the support plate 232 (among the plurality of support plates 232) is stored or discharged, the opening / closing portion 233 opposite to the support plate 232 may be opened or closed.

[0067] For another example, one opening / closing portion 233 may be provided. In this case, the opening / closing portion 233 may extend from the lower end to the upper end of the storage portion 230. In this case, when unloading the treated liquid container T or accommodating a new treated liquid container T, the single opening / closing portion 233 may be opened regardless of the position of the support plate 232. A plurality of opening / closing portions 233 may be provided, and the number of the plurality of opening / closing portions 233 may be less than the number of the support plates 232, so that one opening / closing portion 233 may open and close two or more support plates 232 and the storage space 231 therearound.

[0068] The transfer target portion 240 may be a region in which the substrate W is transferred by the transfer portion 220. Other modules included in the substrate processing apparatus 1 may be disposed on the transfer target portion 240. More specifically, some modules among various types of modules included in the substrate processing apparatus 1 may be selectively disposed on the transfer target portion 240 as needed. For example, in the storage and transfer module 200 according to Example 1 of the present disclosure, as shown in the drawings, the buffer module 300 may be disposed on the transfer target portion 240.

[0069] The storage and transfer unit U and the transfer target part 240 may be arranged in the internal space of the module body 210. A plurality of storage and transfer units U may be provided. For example, the storage and transfer module 200 may include paired storage and transfer units U. In this case, the paired storage and transfer units U may be spaced apart from each other. In this case, the transfer target part 240 may be arranged between the paired storage and transfer units U. Therefore, the paired storage and transfer units U may be opposite to each other, and the transfer target part 240 is inserted between them.

[0070] The storage part 230 may be disposed on one side of the transfer part 220. At this time, the one side of the transfer part 220 may refer to the opposite side of the transfer target part 240 among the two sides of the transfer part 220 with respect to the second direction X. Therefore, the storage part 230 may be disposed at the outermost end of the module body 210 in the longitudinal direction (second direction) X. In addition, as described above, since the paired storage and transfer units U are provided, the storage part 230 may be disposed at each of the relative outermost ends of the module body 210. Therefore, the module body 210 may include the storage part 230, the transfer part 220, the transfer target part 240, the transfer part 220, and the storage part 230 sequentially disposed in the second direction X.

[0071] In addition, a partition wall 250 may be provided between the transfer part 220 and the storage part 230. The partition wall 250 may be in the form of a plate extending in parallel to the first direction Y while extending from the lower end of the storage part 230 to the upper end of the storage part 230 in the third direction Z within the module body 210. The transfer part 220 and the storage part 230 may be provided in an area completely separated from each other by the partition wall 250, thereby preventing damage caused by contacting the processing liquid container T stored in the storage part 230 while the transfer part 220 transfers the substrate W.

[0072] As described above, the substrate loading part may include a plurality of mounting stages 120. The plurality of mounting stages 120 may be provided at one side of the module body 210. More specifically, the mounting stage 120 may be provided in front of the transfer part 220 with respect to the first direction Y (-Y direction in the drawing). In this case, the plurality of mounting stages 120 may form at least two rows (hereinafter referred to as "mounting stage rows") arranged in a row in the third direction Z. The mounting stage row may be formed in such a manner that at least two or more mounting stages 120 are spaced apart from each other in the third direction Z.

[0073] The number of the above-mentioned mounting table rows may be the same as the number of transfer parts 220 included in the storage and transfer module 200. When paired storage and transfer units U are provided, a plurality of mounting tables 120 may form two rows. In this case, one of the two mounting table rows may be disposed in front of one of the paired transfer parts 220. In addition, the other of the two mounting table rows may be disposed in front of the other of the paired transfer parts 220. Therefore, at least two or more mounting tables 120 arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the third direction Z may be disposed in front of one transfer part 220. The two mounting tables 120 are shown as being included in one mounting table row, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0074] Although not shown in the drawings, in a storage and transfer module 200 according to another exemplary embodiment (Example 2) of the present disclosure, the heat treatment chamber part 500 may be provided on the transfer target part 240. Furthermore, in a storage and transfer module 200 according to another exemplary embodiment (Example 3) of the present disclosure, an inspection module (not shown) for inspecting a defect state of the substrate W or the like may be provided.

[0075] Refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 , a method of transferring the substrate W by the storage and transfer module 200 may be as follows.

[0076] First, a substrate W may be loaded on the mounting table 120 of the substrate loading portion. In this case, the substrate W may be accommodated in the wafer carrier 20. When a plurality of mounting tables 120 are provided, a wafer carrier 20 accommodating the substrate W therein may be accommodated on each mounting table 120. For another example, even when the substrate W is not accommodated in the wafer carrier 20, the substrate W may be loaded on the mounting table 120.

[0077] Subsequently, the transfer part 220 may transfer the substrate W to the transfer target part 240. In this case, Figure 6 As shown in FIG. 2 , the hand portion 221 may be moved along the guide portion 224 by the vertical transfer portion 223. Therefore, the hand portion 221 may be moved to a position opposite to one of the at least two mounting tables 120 arranged along the third direction Z. At this position, the hand portion 221 may be horizontally moved toward the substrate W by the horizontal transfer portion 222 to clamp the substrate W.

[0078] Subsequently, the substrate W may be horizontally moved in the opposite direction, returned to its initial position, and then may be rotated in a direction toward the transfer target portion 240. The hand portion 221 may be horizontally moved toward the transfer target portion 240 through the horizontal transfer portion 222, and may transfer the substrate W to a substrate support portion included in another module included in the transfer target portion 240 provided in the substrate processing apparatus 1. Here, the other module may be one of the buffer module 300, the heat treatment chamber portion 500, and the substrate inspection module (not shown), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The module body 210 may include a door opener (not shown), and may unload the substrate W from the wafer carrier 20 before the substrate W is transferred to the transfer target portion 240. Therefore, only the substrate W may be transferred to the transfer target portion 240.

[0079] Subsequently, the hand portion 221 may return to its original position, may be raised and lowered along the guide portion 224, and may move toward another mounting stage 120 (among the plurality of mounting stages 120 arranged in a row as described above). Thereafter, a plurality of substrates W may be sequentially transferred to the transfer target portion 240 in the same manner as described above.

[0080] In the transfer target portion 240 , the transferred substrate W may be temporarily stored and then transferred back to another module, or a heat treatment process or an inspection operation may be performed for the substrate W. In addition, when a process of coating a treatment liquid on the substrate W is performed in the coating module 401 or the like, the treatment liquid container T may be carried out from the storage portion 230 and used.

[0081] As described above, in the storage and transfer module 200 and the substrate processing apparatus 1 including the same according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, another module of the substrate processing apparatus 1 (such as the buffer module 300, the substrate inspection module, or the heat treatment chamber section 500) can be disposed in the transfer target section 240 (the area between the transfer sections 220 that are opposite to each other), thereby optimizing the transportation path of the substrate W and allowing the substrate processing apparatus 1 to have a compact structure. In addition, the storage section 230 having a multi-stage accommodation structure can be disposed at the opposite outer ends of the transfer sections 220 that are opposite to each other in the height direction Z. Therefore, a plurality of process liquid containers T can be stored in a stacked manner to reduce the time required to replenish the process liquid containers T, thereby improving the productivity of the substrate processing apparatus 1.

[0082] While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A storage and transfer module, comprising: Module body; a storage and transfer unit disposed in the module body, the storage and transfer unit comprising a transfer portion that can be raised and lowered and a storage portion disposed outside the transfer portion, the storage portion having a storage space therein; as well as a transfer target portion in which the substrate is transferred by the transfer portion, Wherein, the storage and transfer units are arranged in pairs, The paired storage and transfer units are arranged to be opposed to each other, and the transfer target portion is interposed between the paired storage and transfer units, and A substrate loading portion is provided on one side of the storage and transfer unit.

2. The storage and transfer module according to claim 1, wherein: The pairs of storage and transfer units are arranged in a row in one direction, and The storage portion is provided on each of opposite outer sides of the paired storage and transfer units arranged in a row.

3. The storage and transfer module according to claim 1, wherein: In the storage space, a plurality of support plates are arranged in multiple stages in a vertical direction, and At least one process liquid container is supported on each of the support plates.

4. The storage and transfer module according to claim 3, wherein: The transfer part includes: a guide portion extending in the vertical direction; a vertical transfer portion slidably connected to the guide portion; and The hand portion is rotatable and can selectively hold the substrate.

5. The storage and transfer module according to claim 4, wherein: The transfer portion is disposed between the hand portion and the vertical transfer portion, and further includes a horizontal transfer portion so as to linearly move the hand portion toward the transfer destination portion or the substrate loading portion.

6. The storage and transfer module according to claim 4, wherein: The plurality of support plates are disposed to be spaced apart from each other at fixed intervals from a lower end of the guide portion to an upper end of the guide portion.

7. The storage and transfer module according to claim 3, wherein: A plurality of storage portions are provided and arranged in the vertical direction, and further include an opening / closing portion provided to be openable and closable at a position opposing each of the support plates.

8. The storage and transfer module according to claim 3, wherein: The substrate loading section includes at least two mounting stages, and The at least two mounting tables are arranged in a row and spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction.

9. The storage and transfer module according to claim 3, wherein: A partition wall is provided between the transfer part and the storage part so that the transfer part and the storage part are respectively provided in spaces partitioned from each other by the partition wall.

10. The storage and transfer module according to claim 1, wherein: One of a buffer module in which the substrate is stored, a heat treatment chamber section that heats or cools the substrate, and an inspection module that inspects a state of the substrate is disposed in the transfer destination section.

11. A substrate processing device comprising: a loadport including a substrate loading portion in which a substrate is disposed; A buffer module, comprising a frame and a plurality of buffers disposed in the frame, wherein the plurality of buffers are arranged in a vertical direction; as well as Storage and transfer module, including: Module body; a storage and transfer unit disposed in the module body, the storage and transfer unit comprising a transfer portion that can be raised and lowered and a storage portion disposed outside the transfer portion, the storage portion having a storage space therein; and a transfer target portion in which the substrate is transferred by the transfer portion, wherein paired storage and transfer units are provided, and the paired storage and transfer units are provided opposite to each other, and the transfer target portion is inserted between the paired storage and transfer units, and The substrate loading part is disposed on one side of the storing and transferring unit.

12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein: The pairs of storage and transfer units are arranged in a row in one direction, and The storage portion is provided on each of opposite outer sides of the paired storage and transfer units arranged in a row.

13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein: In the storage space, a plurality of support plates are arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction, and At least one process liquid container is supported on each of the support plates.

14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein: The transfer part includes: a guide portion extending in the vertical direction; a vertical transfer portion slidably connected to the guide portion; and The hand portion is rotatable and can selectively hold the substrate.

15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein: The plurality of support plates are disposed to be spaced apart from each other at fixed intervals from a lower end of the guide portion to an upper end of the guide portion.

16. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein: A plurality of storage portions are provided and arranged in the vertical direction, and further include an opening / closing portion provided to be openable and closable at a position opposing each of the support plates.

17. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein: The substrate loading section includes at least two mounting stages, and The at least two mounting tables are arranged in a row and spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction.

18. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein: A partition wall is provided between the transfer part and the storage part so that the transfer part and the storage part are respectively provided in spaces partitioned from each other by the partition wall.

19. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising: A heat treatment chamber portion for heating or cooling the substrate; as well as A substrate inspection module is used to inspect the defect status of the substrate. wherein one of the buffer module, the heat treatment chamber portion, and the substrate inspection module is disposed in the transfer target portion.

20. A substrate processing device comprising: a load port including a wafer carrier accommodating a substrate therein and a plurality of mounting stages on which the wafer carrier is loaded; a heat treatment chamber portion, comprising a baking chamber and a plurality of heating plates disposed in the baking chamber, wherein the plurality of heating plates are stacked in a vertical direction; A buffer module, comprising a frame and a plurality of buffers disposed in the frame, wherein the plurality of buffers are arranged in the vertical direction; as well as Storage and transfer module, including: Module body; a storage and transfer unit disposed in the module body, the storage and transfer unit comprising a transfer portion that can be raised and lowered and a storage portion having a storage space therein, a partition wall in the storage and transfer unit being disposed between the transfer portion and the storage portion; and a transfer target portion in which the substrate is transferred by the transfer portion, wherein paired storage and transfer units are provided, and the paired storage and transfer units are provided to be opposite to each other, and the transfer target portion is inserted between the paired storage and transfer units, and a plurality of mounting stations are provided on one side of the storage and transfer units, The plurality of mounting stations are respectively opposite to the paired storage and transfer units and are arranged in a row in the vertical direction, In the storage space, a plurality of support plates are arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction, and at least one treatment liquid container is supported on each of the support plates, and One of the buffer module and the heat treatment chamber portion is selectively disposed in the transfer target portion.

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