Substrate processing apparatus and method

Abstract

The invention discloses a substrate processing apparatus and method. The substrate processing equipment comprises an equipment front-end module, a process station and an interface station which are sequentially arranged along a first horizontal direction, the process station comprises a coating unit, a developing unit and a heat treatment unit, and the heat treatment unit is used for carrying out heat treatment on a substrate and comprises a plurality of heat treatment modules and a plurality of movable transmission parts; wherein the at least one movable transmission part and the heat treatment module are stacked in the vertical direction, and the at least one movable transmission part is configured to transmit the substrate in the first horizontal direction. The technical effect of improving the overall operation efficiency of the equipment is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and further relates to a substrate processing equipment and method. Background Art

[0002] Currently, the in-line machines for implementing the lithography process are composed of a spin coater / developer and an exposure machine. The general process of the lithography process is as follows: After the substrate is spin-coated on the spin coater / developer, it is sent into the exposure machine for exposure, and the exposed substrate returns to the spin coater / developer again to complete the development process.

[0003] The patent document with the application number 202110963138.1 discloses a coating / developing equipment, which includes a front-end module, a process station, and an interface station connected in sequence. The process station includes a coating unit, a developing unit, at least one moving transfer part for horizontally transferring the substrate between the front-end module and the interface station, and at least one side manipulator. The moving transfer part is vertically stacked with the coating manipulator and the developing manipulator respectively. This coating / developing equipment is configured with a separate moving transfer part and side manipulator to be responsible for transferring the substrate after processing in the coating or developing unit between the front-end module and the interface station, thereby reducing the operating load of the coating manipulator and the developing manipulator and improving the output rate of the coating / developing equipment.

[0004] However, limited by the design requirements of the total height of the equipment, the number of the moving transfer part, the coating manipulator, and the developing manipulator in the above coating / developing equipment is limited. Therefore, the total efficiency of the substrate transfer by the moving transfer part is limited, and further the output rate of the coating / developing equipment is limited. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Aiming at the above technical problems, the purpose of the present application is to improve the overall operating efficiency of the coating / developing equipment.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the present application provides a substrate processing equipment and method.

[0007] In some embodiments, the substrate processing equipment includes a front-end module, a process station, and an interface station arranged in sequence along the first horizontal direction. The process station includes: a coating unit for coating the substrate; a developing unit for developing the substrate, and the coating unit and the developing unit are arranged in sequence along the first horizontal direction; a heat treatment unit arranged opposite to the coating unit and the developing unit for heat-treating the substrate, and the heat treatment unit includes a plurality of heat treatment modules and at least one moving transfer part; wherein, the moving transfer part is vertically stacked with the heat treatment module, and the moving transfer part is configured to transfer the substrate along the first horizontal direction.

[0008] In some embodiments, the substrate processing method includes: Step S10: Loading a substrate in the equipment front end module and transporting the substrate to the process station; Step S20: The process station performs a coating process and a heat treatment on the substrate, and the substrate after the coating process and the heat treatment is transported by the mobile transfer unit in the direction of the interface station; Step S30: The interface station transports the substrate after the coating process and the heat treatment to an exposure machine to perform an exposure process on the substrate; Step S40: The interface station loads the substrate after the exposure process and transports it to the process station; Step S50: The process station performs a development process and a heat treatment on the substrate after the exposure process, and the substrate after the development process and the heat treatment is transported by the mobile transfer unit in the direction of the equipment front end module; Step S60: Unloading the substrate after the development process and the heat treatment in the equipment front end module.

[0009] In some embodiments, a substrate processing apparatus includes an equipment front end module, a process station, and an interface station arranged in sequence along a first horizontal direction. The process station includes: a coating and developing unit configured to perform a coating process and a development process on a substrate; a heat treatment unit arranged opposite to the coating and developing unit and configured to perform a heat treatment on the substrate. The heat treatment unit includes a plurality of heat treatment modules and at least one mobile transfer unit; wherein, the mobile transfer unit and the heat treatment modules are stacked in a vertical direction, and the mobile transfer unit is configured to transport the substrate along the first horizontal direction.

[0010] Compared with the prior art, in the present application, by stacking the mobile transfer unit and the heat treatment modules in the vertical direction, the mobile transfer unit no longer occupies the vertical space in the area where the coating robot and the developing robot are located. Therefore, under the condition that the design requirements for the total height of the equipment are the same, the number of mobile transfer units in the equipment can be increased, and the number of coating robots and developing robots can also be increased, thereby improving the substrate transfer efficiency in the substrate processing apparatus and simultaneously improving the overall operation efficiency of the substrate processing apparatus. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The above characteristics, technical features, advantages and their implementation manners of the present invention will be further described below in a clear and understandable manner in combination with the drawings in the preferred embodiments.

[0012] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0013] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a top view of

[0014] Figure 3 is Figure 2Schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure cut along the c-c line in one embodiment of the illustrated embodiment;

[0015] Figure 4 is Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure after removing the coating manipulator and the developing manipulator;

[0016] Figure 5 is Figure 4 Schematic plan view observed along the y direction;

[0017] Figure 6 is Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure cut along the c-c line in another embodiment of the illustrated embodiment;

[0018] Figure 7 is Figure 6 Schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure after removing the coating manipulator and the developing manipulator;

[0019] Figure 8 is Figure 7 Schematic plan view observed along the y direction;

[0020] Figure 9a and Figure 9b Schematic diagrams of two embodiments of the mobile transfer unit of the present application;

[0021] Figure 10 Steps diagram of a substrate processing method in one embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 11 Top view of a substrate processing device in one embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 12 is Figure 11 front view of;

[0024] Figure 13 is Figure 11 Cross-sectional view along the A-A direction;

[0025] Figure 14 is Figure 11 Cross-sectional view along the B-B direction in one embodiment of the illustrated embodiment;

[0026] Figure 15 is Figure 11 Cross-sectional view along the B-B direction in another embodiment of the illustrated embodiment;

[0027] Figure 16 is Figure 11 Cross-sectional view along the B-B direction in another embodiment of the illustrated embodiment;

[0028] Figure 17 is Figure 11Another embodiment of the illustrated embodiment, a cross-sectional view taken along the B-B direction. Detailed implementation manner

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will describe the specific implementation manners of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings, and other implementation manners can also be obtained.

[0030] To make the drawings concise, only the parts related to the invention are schematically shown in each drawing, and they do not represent the actual structure of the product. In addition, to make the drawings concise and easy to understand, in some drawings, parts with the same structure or function are only schematically shown for one of them, or only one of them is marked. In this article, "one" not only means "only this one", but also can mean "more than one" situation.

[0031] In this article, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connection", and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations.

[0032] In addition, in the description of this application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used for distinguishing descriptions, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0033] As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, a substrate processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present application is disclosed, which includes an equipment front end module 100, a process station 200, and an interface station 300 arranged in sequence along the first horizontal direction x.

[0034] Specifically, the process station 200 includes a coating unit 210, a developing unit 220, and a heat treatment unit 230. The coating unit 210 is used for coating the substrate. The developing unit 220 is used for developing the substrate, and the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220 are arranged in sequence along the first horizontal direction x. The heat treatment unit 230 is arranged opposite to the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220 along the second horizontal direction y. Combining Figure 4 , the heat treatment unit 230 includes a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 and at least one moving transfer part 2321.

[0035] Among them, a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in an array along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z respectively for heat treating the substrate. The moving transfer unit 2321 is stacked with the heat treatment module 231 in the vertical direction z, and the moving transfer unit 2321 is configured to transfer the substrate along the first horizontal direction x for transferring the substrate towards the interface station 300 or the equipment front end module 100. Specifically, it is used to transfer the substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment towards the interface station 300, or transfer the substrate after developing treatment and heat treatment towards the equipment front end module 100.

[0036] Compared with the prior art where the moving transfer unit is vertically stacked with the coating robot 212 and the developing robot 222, in this embodiment, the moving transfer unit 2321 is stacked with the heat treatment module 231 in the vertical direction z. The moving transfer unit 2321 no longer occupies the vertical space in the area where the coating robot 212 and the developing robot 222 are located. Therefore, under the condition of the same design requirement for the total height of the equipment, the number of moving transfer units 2321 in the equipment can be increased, or the number of coating robots 212 and developing robots 222 can be increased, thereby improving the substrate transfer efficiency in the substrate processing equipment 10 and simultaneously improving the overall operation efficiency of the substrate processing equipment 10.

[0037] Preferably, as Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 shown, the moving transfer unit 2321 is configured to transfer the substrate between the equipment front end module 100 and the interface station 300. In this embodiment, a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in several columns along the first horizontal direction x, and the moving transfer unit 2321 is stacked with each column of heat treatment modules 231 in the vertical direction z respectively.

[0038] Specifically, referring to Figure 1 again, the coating unit 210 includes a plurality of coating modules 211, and the plurality of coating modules 211 are arranged in an array along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z respectively. The developing unit 220 includes a plurality of developing modules 221, and the plurality of developing modules 221 are arranged in an array along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z respectively. It should be noted that in Figure 1 and Figure 2In the illustrated embodiment, only six columns of heat treatment modules 231 are schematically drawn in the heat treatment unit 230, only two columns of coating modules 211 are schematically drawn in the coating unit 210, only two columns of developing modules 221 are schematically drawn in the developing unit 220, and the two columns of coating modules 211 and the two columns of developing modules 221 respectively correspond to three columns of heat treatment modules 231. In actual applications, however, the number of columns of the heat treatment modules 231, coating modules 211, and developing modules 221 can be reasonably adjusted according to production capacity requirements. For example, the number of columns of the heat treatment modules 231 can be increased to eight, the number of columns of the coating modules 211 and developing modules 221 can be increased to three respectively, and the three columns of coating modules 211 and the three columns of developing modules 221 respectively correspond to four columns of heat treatment modules 231.

[0039] Preferably, as Figure 3 shown, the process station 200 further includes a plurality of coating robots 212 and a plurality of developing robots 222. Among them, the plurality of coating robots 212 are arranged in sequence in the vertical direction z between the coating unit 210 and the heat treatment unit 230 for transferring substrates between the coating unit 210 and the heat treatment unit 230. The plurality of developing robots 222 are arranged in sequence in the vertical direction z between the developing unit 220 and the heat treatment unit 230 for transferring substrates between the developing unit 220 and the heat treatment unit 230.

[0040] Preferably, the plurality of coating robots 212 and the plurality of developing robots 222 correspond to each other one by one in the first horizontal direction x and are respectively arranged in at least two layers in the vertical direction z. The coating robots 212 and the developing robots 222 located in the same layer correspond to at least one moving transfer part 2321.

[0041] Preferably, referring again to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the substrate processing apparatus 10 further includes a plurality of first side robots 241 and a plurality of second side robots 242. Among them, the first side robots 241 are arranged between the process station 200 and the equipment front-end module 100 for loading the substrates that have completed coating and heat treatment onto the moving transfer part 2321, or unloading the substrates that have completed developing and heat treatment from the moving transfer part 2321. The second side robots 242 are arranged between the process station 200 and the interface station 300 for loading the substrates that have completed developing and heat treatment onto the moving transfer part 2321, or unloading the substrates that have completed coating and heat treatment from the moving transfer part 2321.

[0042] Preferably, the first side manipulator 241 is arranged between the heat treatment unit 230 and the equipment front-end module 100, and the second side manipulator 242 is arranged between the heat treatment unit 230 and the interface station 300. The substrate processing equipment 10 further includes a plurality of first buffer parts 251 and a plurality of second buffer parts 252 for temporarily storing and transferring substrates. Among them, the first buffer part 251 is located between the coating manipulator 212 and the equipment front-end module 100 and is used for transferring substrates between the first side manipulator 241 and the coating manipulator 212; the second buffer part 252 is located between the developing manipulator 222 and the interface station 300 and is used for transferring substrates between the second side manipulator 242 and the developing manipulator 222. The first buffer part 251 and the second buffer part 252 can accommodate multiple substrates along the vertical direction z and make the substrates stay. The first side manipulator 241 and the second side manipulator 242 can move back and forth along the vertical direction z to pick up and place substrates at different heights of the first buffer part 251 and the second buffer part 252 respectively.

[0043] Preferably, the process station 200 further includes a plurality of first auxiliary processing modules 261 and a plurality of second auxiliary processing modules 262. Among them, the first auxiliary processing module 261 is located between the heat treatment unit 230 and the equipment front-end module 100, or between the coating unit 210 and the equipment front-end module 100, and is used for preheating the substrate before coating treatment; the second auxiliary processing module 262 is located between the heat treatment unit 230 and the interface station 300, or between the developing unit 220 and the interface station 300, and is used for cleaning the substrate after the substrate completes coating treatment and heat treatment.

[0044] Preferably, the substrate processing equipment 10 further includes a plurality of third side manipulators 243, a plurality of fourth side manipulators 244 and a plurality of fifth side manipulators 245. Among them, the third side manipulator 243 is arranged between the coating unit 210 and the equipment front-end module 100. The third side manipulator 243 can adjust the height position of the substrate in the first buffer part 251 along the vertical direction z, which facilitates the first side manipulator 241 and the coating manipulator 212 to pick up and place substrates in the first buffer part 251 and improves the substrate transfer efficiency. The fourth side manipulator 244 is arranged between the developing unit 220 and the interface station 300. The fourth side manipulator 244 can adjust the height position of the substrate in the second buffer part 252 along the vertical direction z, which facilitates the second side manipulator 242 and the developing manipulator 222 to pick up and place substrates in the second buffer part 252 and improves the substrate transfer efficiency. The fifth side manipulator 245 is arranged between the second buffer part 252 and the interface station 300 and is used for transferring substrates between the second buffer part 252 and the interface station 300.

[0045] Preferably, as Figure 9aAs shown in the figure, the mobile transfer unit 2321 includes a first slide rail 23211, a second slide rail 23212, and a substrate transfer box 23213. Among them, the first slide rail 23211 and the second slide rail 23212 are parallel to each other and parallel to the first horizontal direction x. The substrate transfer box 23213 is slidably arranged on the first slide rail 23211 and the second slide rail 23212, and is used to carry the substrate 20 and transfer the carried substrate 20 along the first horizontal direction x. In addition, a first pick-up and placement opening 23214 is provided on one side of the substrate transfer box 23213 close to the equipment front-end module 100. The first side manipulator 241 can load the substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment into the substrate transfer box 23213 through the first pick-up and placement opening 23214, or take out the substrate after developing treatment and heat treatment from the substrate transfer box 23213; a second pick-up and placement opening 23215 is provided on one side of the substrate transfer box 23213 close to the interface station 300. The second side manipulator 242 can load the substrate after developing treatment and heat treatment into the substrate transfer box 23213 through the second pick-up and placement opening 23215, or take out the substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment from the substrate transfer box 23213.

[0046] In practical applications, the substrate to be processed is first loaded into the equipment front-end module 100. The equipment front-end module 100 transports the substrate to be processed to the first buffer unit 251 (the first side manipulator 241 or the third side manipulator 243 transports the substrate to be processed to the corresponding first auxiliary processing module 261 for preheating according to the process requirements, and transports the substrate after preheating back to the first buffer unit 251), and then it is transported to the coating unit 210 by the coating manipulator 212. The substrate to be processed undergoes coating treatment in the coating unit 210 and is transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the coating manipulator 212 for heat treatment. The above coating and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate completes the coating treatment and heat treatment. The substrate that has completed the coating treatment and heat treatment is transported to the first buffer unit 251 by the coating manipulator 212, and then the first side manipulator 241 loads the substrate that has completed the coating treatment and heat treatment into the mobile transfer unit 2321. The mobile transfer unit 2321 transports the substrate that has completed the coating treatment and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2321 close to the equipment front-end module 100 to the end of the mobile transfer unit 2321 close to the interface station 300, and then the second side manipulator 242 unloads the substrate that has completed the coating treatment and heat treatment from the mobile transfer unit 2321 and transports it to the second buffer unit 252 (the second side manipulator 242 or the fourth side manipulator 244 transports the substrate to the corresponding second auxiliary processing module 262 for cleaning according to the process requirements, and transports the substrate after cleaning back to the second buffer unit 252), and then it is transported to the interface station 300 by the fifth side manipulator 245. The substrate that has completed the coating treatment and heat treatment is transported by the interface station 300 to an exposure machine (not shown in the figure) for exposure treatment of the substrate.

[0047] The substrate that has completed the exposure process is loaded by the interface station 300. The substrate that has completed the exposure process is transferred to the second buffer unit 252 by the fifth side manipulator 245, and then the substrate that has completed the exposure process is transferred to the developing unit 220 by the developing manipulator 222. The substrate that has completed the exposure process undergoes a developing process in the developing unit 220 and is transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the developing manipulator 222 for heat treatment. The above-mentioned developing and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate has completed the developing and heat treatment processes. The substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment processes is transported to the second buffer unit 252 by the developing manipulator 222, and the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment processes is loaded onto the mobile transfer unit 2321 by the second side manipulator 242. The mobile transfer unit 2321 transports the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment processes from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2321 close to the interface station 300 to one end of the mobile transfer unit 2321 close to the equipment front-end module 100, and then unloads and transports it to the first buffer unit 251 through the first side manipulator 241, and then the equipment front-end module 100 unloads the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment processes from the first buffer unit 251.

[0048] As Figure 6 、 Figure 7 and Figure 8 shown, in another embodiment of the present application, the mobile transfer unit 2322 is configured to transfer the substrate between the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220. In this embodiment, several heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in several columns along the first horizontal direction x. The mobile transfer unit 2322 spans the junction between the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220 along the first horizontal direction x, and the length of the mobile transfer unit 2322 along the first horizontal direction is less than or equal to the length of the heat treatment unit 230 along the first horizontal direction, that is, the mobile transfer unit 2322 is only stacked with some columns of heat treatment modules 231 in the vertical direction z, that is, there is at least one column of heat treatment modules 231 between the mobile transfer unit 2322 and the equipment front-end module 100, or there is at least one column of heat treatment modules 231 between the mobile transfer unit 2322 and the interface station 300.

[0049] Specifically, several heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in multiple columns along the first horizontal direction x, including the first column of heat treatment modules 2311 close to the equipment front-end module 100 and the last column of heat treatment modules 2312 close to the interface station 300, and there is at least the first column of heat treatment modules 2311 between the mobile transfer unit 2322 and the equipment front-end module 100, and / or there is at least the last column of heat treatment modules 2312 between the mobile transfer unit 2322 and the interface station 300, that is, the mobile transfer unit 2322 is at least not stacked with the first column of heat treatment modules 2311 and / or the last column of heat treatment modules 2312 in the vertical direction z.

[0050] Preferably, asFigure 9b As shown in Figure 9b , the mobile transfer unit 2322 includes a first slide rail 23221, a second slide rail 23222, and a substrate transfer box 23223. Among them, the first slide rail 23221 and the second slide rail 23222 are parallel to each other and parallel to the first horizontal direction x. The substrate transfer box 23223 is slidably disposed on the first slide rail 23221 and the second slide rail 23222, and is used to carry the substrate 30 and transfer the carried substrate 30 along the first horizontal direction x. In addition, a third pick-and-place opening 23224 is formed on one side of the substrate transfer box 23223 close to the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220. The coating robot 212 can load the substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment into the substrate transfer box 23223 through the third pick-and-place opening 23224, or take out the substrate after developing treatment and heat treatment from the substrate transfer box 23223; the developing robot 222 can load the substrate after developing treatment and heat treatment into the substrate transfer box 23223 through the third pick-and-place opening 23224, or take out the substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment from the substrate transfer box 23223.

[0051] In practical applications, first, the substrate to be processed is loaded into the equipment front-end module 100. The equipment front-end module 100 conveys the substrate to be processed to the first buffer unit 251 (the first side robot 241 or the third side robot 243 conveys the substrate to be processed to the corresponding first auxiliary processing module 261 for preheating according to the process requirements, and conveys the preheated substrate back to the first buffer unit 251), and then it is conveyed to the coating unit 210 by the coating robot 212. The substrate to be processed undergoes coating treatment in the coating unit 210 and is conveyed to the heat treatment unit 230 by the coating robot 212 for heat treatment. The above coating and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate completes the coating treatment and heat treatment. The substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment is loaded into the mobile transfer unit 2322 by the coating robot 212. The mobile transfer unit 2322 conveys the substrate from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2322 close to the equipment front-end module 100 to one end of the mobile transfer unit 2322 close to the interface station 300, and then it is unloaded from the mobile transfer unit 2322 by the developing robot 222 and conveyed to the second buffer unit 252, and then conveyed to the interface station 300 by the fifth side robot 245. The substrate is conveyed from the interface station 300 to the exposure machine to perform exposure treatment on the substrate.

[0052] The substrate that has completed the exposure process is loaded by the interface station 300, and the substrate that has completed the exposure process is transferred to the second buffer unit 252 by the fifth side manipulator 245, and then the substrate that has completed the exposure process is transferred to the developing unit 220 by the developing manipulator 222. The substrate that has completed the exposure process undergoes a developing process in the developing unit 220 and is transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the developing manipulator 222 for heat treatment. The above-mentioned developing and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate has completed the developing and heat treatment processes. The substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment processes is loaded into the mobile transfer unit 2322 by the developing manipulator 222. The mobile transfer unit 2322 transports the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment processes from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2322 close to the interface station 300 to one end of the mobile transfer unit 2322 close to the equipment front-end module 100, and then unloads and transports it to the first buffer unit 251 through the coating manipulator 212, and then the equipment front-end module 100 takes out and unloads the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment processes from the first buffer unit 251.

[0053] Compared with the previous embodiment, in this embodiment, the moving transfer unit 2322 only transfers the substrate between the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220, and there is at least one row of heat treatment modules 231 (such as the first row heat treatment module 2311 and the last row heat treatment module 2312) spaced between the moving transfer unit 2322 and the equipment front end module 100 or the interface station 300. Therefore, the first side manipulator 241 cannot directly transfer the substrate between the moving transfer unit 2322 and the first buffer unit 251, and it is necessary to use the coating manipulator 212 to transfer the substrate between the moving transfer unit 2322 and the first buffer unit 251; the second side manipulator 242 cannot transfer the substrate between the moving transfer unit 2322 and the second buffer unit 252, and it is necessary to use the developing manipulator 222 to transfer the substrate between the moving transfer unit 2322 and the second buffer unit 252. As a result, in this embodiment, the working loads of the coating manipulator 212 and the developing manipulator 222 are higher than those in the previous embodiment, but in this embodiment, the space occupied by the moving transfer unit 2322 in the heat treatment unit 230 is relatively reduced, thereby increasing the installation quantity of the heat treatment modules 231 and improving the substrate heat treatment efficiency. And compared with the prior art in which the moving transfer part is vertically stacked with the coating manipulator and the developing manipulator respectively, this embodiment can also increase the quantities of the moving transfer unit 2322, the coating manipulator 212 and the developing manipulator 222. For example, under the condition of the same height, if the prior art substrate processing equipment is respectively equipped with two layers of coating manipulators and two layers of developing manipulators, and two layers of moving transfer parts are vertically stacked above the two layers of coating manipulators and the two layers of developing manipulators, then the substrate processing equipment has a total of two coating manipulators, two developing manipulators and two moving transfer parts. In this embodiment, by arranging the moving transfer unit 2322 in the heat treatment unit 230, the substrate processing equipment 10 can be respectively equipped with three layers of coating manipulators 212, three layers of developing manipulators 222 and three layers of moving transfer units 2322, with a total of three coating manipulators 212, three developing manipulators 222 and three moving transfer units 2322, thereby improving the overall operation efficiency of the substrate processing equipment 10.

[0054] In an alternative to the above-described embodiment, there is at least one column of heat treatment modules 231 only between the mobile transfer unit and the equipment front-end module 100, and there is no heat treatment module 231 between the mobile transfer unit and the interface station 300. In this solution, the coating robot 212 is used to load the substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment onto one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the equipment front-end module 100, or unload the substrate after development treatment and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the equipment front-end module 100. The second side robot 242 is used to load the substrate after development treatment and heat treatment onto one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the interface station 300, or unload the substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the interface station 300. That is, the loading or unloading of the substrate at one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the equipment front-end module 100 is the responsibility of the coating robot 212, and the loading or unloading of the substrate at one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the interface station 300 is the responsibility of the second side robot 242.

[0055] In another alternative to the above-described embodiment, there is at least one column of heat treatment modules 231 only between the mobile transfer unit and the interface station 300, and there is no heat treatment module 231 between the mobile transfer unit and the equipment front-end module 100. In this solution, the development robot 222 is used to load the substrate after development treatment and heat treatment onto one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the interface station 300, or unload the substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the interface station 300. The first side robot 241 is used to load the substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment onto one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the interface station 300, or unload the substrate after development treatment and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the interface station 300. That is, the loading or unloading of the substrate at one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the equipment front-end module 100 is the responsibility of the first side robot 241, and the loading or unloading of the substrate at one end of the mobile transfer unit close to the interface station 300 is the responsibility of the development robot 222.

[0056] As Figure 10 shown, the present application also discloses a substrate processing method, which is applicable to the substrate processing equipment 10 of any of the above embodiments.

[0057] Specifically, the substrate processing method includes:

[0058] Step S10: Load the substrate at the equipment front-end module 100 and transfer the substrate to the process station 200;

[0059] Step S20: The process station 200 performs coating treatment and heat treatment on the substrate, and the substrate after coating treatment and heat treatment is transferred by the mobile transfer unit 2321 or the mobile transfer unit 2322 in the direction of the interface station 300;

[0060] Step S30: The interface station 300 transfers the substrate after coating and heat treatment to the exposure machine for exposure processing;

[0061] Step S40: The interface station 300 loads the substrate after exposure processing and transfers it to the process station 200;

[0062] Step S50: The process station 200 performs development processing and heat treatment on the substrate after exposure processing, and the substrate after development processing and heat treatment is transferred in the direction of the equipment front-end module 100 by the mobile transfer unit 2321;

[0063] Step S60: Unload the substrate after development processing and heat treatment at the equipment front-end module 100.

[0064] Preferably, in combination with Figure 3 、 Figure 4 and Figure 5 shown substrate processing equipment 10, that is, the mobile transfer unit 2321 is configured to transfer the substrate between the equipment front-end module 100 and the interface station 300, then step S20 includes:

[0065] Step S211: After the process station 200 performs coating processing and heat treatment on the substrate, the substrate after coating processing and heat treatment is loaded onto the mobile transfer unit 2321 by the first side manipulator 241 configured between the process station 200 and the equipment front-end module 100;

[0066] Step S212: The mobile transfer unit 2321 transfers the substrate after coating processing and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2321 close to the equipment front-end module 100 to one end of the mobile transfer unit 2321 close to the interface station 300;

[0067] Step S213: The substrate after coating processing and heat treatment is unloaded from the mobile transfer unit 2321 by the second side manipulator 242 configured between the process station 200 and the interface station 300 and transferred to the interface station 300.

[0068] In addition, step S50 includes:

[0069] Step S511: After the process station 200 performs development processing and heat treatment on the substrate after exposure processing, the substrate after development processing and heat treatment is loaded onto the mobile transfer unit 2321 by the second side manipulator 242;

[0070] Step S512: The mobile transfer unit 2321 transfers the substrate after development processing and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2321 close to the interface station 300 to one end of the mobile transfer unit 2321 close to the equipment front-end module 100;

[0071] Step S513: The first side manipulator 241 unloads the substrate after development processing and heat treatment from the mobile transfer unit 2321 and transfers it to the equipment front-end module 100.

[0072] Preferably, in combination with Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Figure 8 the substrate processing equipment 10 shown, that is, the mobile transfer unit 2322 is configured to transfer the substrate between the coating unit 210 and the developing unit 220, then step S20 includes:

[0073] Step S221: After the process station 200 performs coating processing and heat treatment on the substrate, the substrate after coating processing and heat treatment is loaded by the coating manipulator 212 disposed between the coating unit 210 and the heat treatment unit 230 onto the mobile transfer unit 2322;

[0074] Step S222: The mobile transfer unit 2322 transfers the substrate after coating processing and heat treatment from the coating unit 210 to the developing unit 220;

[0075] Step S223: The substrate after coating processing and heat treatment is unloaded by the developing manipulator 222 disposed between the developing unit 220 and the heat treatment unit 230 from the mobile transfer unit 2322 and transferred to the interface station 300.

[0076] In addition, step S50 includes:

[0077] Step S521: After the process station 200 performs development processing and heat treatment on the substrate after exposure processing, the substrate after development processing and heat treatment is loaded by the developing manipulator 222 onto the mobile transfer unit 2322;

[0078] Step S522: The mobile transfer unit 2322 transfers the substrate after development processing and heat treatment from the developing unit 220 to the coating unit 210;

[0079] Step S523: The coating manipulator 212 unloads the substrate after development processing and heat treatment from the mobile transfer unit 2322 and transfers it to the equipment front-end module 100.

[0080] As Figure 11 and Figure 12As shown, another substrate processing device 30 according to an embodiment of the present application is disclosed. The overall structure of this embodiment is similar to that of the previous embodiment, and both adopt the technical solution of stacking the mobile transfer units 2323 and 2324 and the heat treatment module 231 in the vertical direction z. The main difference between the two is that in this embodiment, by adjusting the arrangement and quantity of the coating module 211, the developing module 221, the heat treatment module 231, the coating manipulators 212, 213, 214 and 215, and the developing manipulators 222, 223, 224 and 225, the requirement for the substrate production capacity to be increased from 300 WPH to 400 WPH is met.

[0081] Specifically, the substrate processing device 30 includes an equipment front end module 100, a process station 200, and an interface station 300 arranged in sequence along the first horizontal direction x. The process station 200 includes a coating and developing unit 260 and a heat treatment unit 230. The coating and developing unit 260 is used for coating and developing the substrate. The heat treatment unit 230 is arranged opposite to the coating and developing unit 260 along the second horizontal direction y. Combining Figure 11 and Figure 14 , the heat treatment unit 230 includes a plurality of heat treatment modules 231, and also includes at least one of the mobile transfer units 2323 and 2324.

[0082] Among them, as Figure 14 shown, the mobile transfer units 2323 and 2324 and the heat treatment module 231 are stacked in the vertical direction z, and the mobile transfer units 2323 and 2324 are configured to transfer the substrate along the first horizontal direction x, for transferring the substrate in the direction of the interface station 300 or the equipment front end module 100.

[0083] Preferably, referring again to Figure 12 , the coating and developing unit 260 is arranged to include at least one column of coating modules C1 and C2 and at least one column of developing modules C5 and C6. The coating modules C1 and C2 include a plurality of coating modules 211 stacked in the vertical direction z, and the developing modules C5 and C6 include a plurality of developing modules 221 stacked in the vertical direction z.

[0084] Preferably, the coating and developing unit 260 is arranged to further include at least one column of mixing modules C3 and C4, and the mixing modules C3 and C4 include a plurality of coating modules 211 and a plurality of developing modules 221 stacked in the vertical direction z.

[0085] Preferably, a plurality of coating modules C1 and C2, a plurality of mixing modules C3 and C4, and a plurality of developing modules C5 and C6 are arranged in sequence along the first horizontal direction x. In addition, the mixing modules C3 and C4 further include reserved vacancy modules 270, which are used to install coating modules 211, developing modules 221 or place glue bottles and glue pumps (not shown in the figure) according to actual requirements. For example, if the substrate processing time of the developing module 221 is longer than that of the coating module 211, the number of developing modules 221 can be increased by installing developing modules 221 in the reserved vacancy modules 270, thereby accelerating the overall substrate developing processing efficiency of the coating and developing unit 260.

[0086] It should be noted that, in Figure 11 and Figure 12 the illustrated embodiment, only two columns of coating modules C1 and C2, two columns of mixing modules C3 and C4, and two columns of developing modules C5 and C6 are schematically drawn. Each column of coating modules C1 or C2 includes six coating modules 211. Each column of mixing modules C3 or C4 includes two coating modules 211, two reserved vacancy modules 270, and two developing modules 221 in sequence from top to bottom. Each column of developing modules C5 or C6 includes six developing modules 221. In actual applications, the number of columns and layers of the coating modules C1 and C2, the mixing modules C3 and C4, and the developing modules C5 and C6 can be reasonably adjusted according to production capacity and equipment size requirements. For example, the coating modules C1 and C2, the mixing modules C3 and C4, and the developing modules C5 and C6 can be increased to three columns respectively, and each column can be increased to eight layers. In addition, the arrangement of the coating modules 211, the reserved vacancy modules 270, and the developing modules 221 in the mixing modules C3 and C4 is not limited to Figure 11 and Figure 12 the illustrated embodiment. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, the reserved vacancy modules 270 can be arranged above the coating modules 211 and the developing modules 221, or the developing modules 221 can be arranged above the reserved vacancy modules 270 and the coating modules 211. The above embodiments all fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0087] Preferably, the heat treatment unit 230 further includes a plurality of control modules 232, which are stacked with the heat treatment module 231 in the vertical direction z and are used to control the heat treatment module 231.

[0088] Combined with Figure 12 and Figure 13, the process station 200 further includes a plurality of coating robots 212, 213, 214 and 215 and a plurality of developing robots 222, 223, 224 and 225. The plurality of coating robots 212, 213, 214 and 215 are arranged between a plurality of coating modules 211 and a heat treatment unit 230, and are used to transfer substrates between the coating module 211 and the heat treatment module 231. The plurality of developing robots 222, 223, 224 and 225 are arranged between a plurality of developing modules 221 and the heat treatment unit 230, and are used to transfer substrates between the developing module 221 and the heat treatment module 231.

[0089] It should be noted that, in the embodiment as Figure 12 shown, a manipulator 271 is provided between the reserved vacant module 270 and the heat treatment unit 230 (refer to Figure 11 ), and the manipulator 271 is configured such that: when the reserved vacant module 270 is installed with the coating module 211, the manipulator 271 operates as a coating robot and is used to transfer substrates between the coating module 211 and the heat treatment module 231; when the reserved vacant module 270 is installed with the developing module 221, the manipulator 271 operates as a developing robot and is used to transfer substrates between the developing module 221 and the heat treatment module 231.

[0090] Preferably, the plurality of coating robots 212, 213, 214 and 215 correspond to at least two adjacent coating modules 211 in the first horizontal direction x, and the plurality of developing robots 222, 223, 224 and 225 correspond to at least two adjacent developing modules 221 in the first horizontal direction x. And the coating robots 212, 213, 214 and 215 and the developing robots 222, 223, 224 and 225 located on the same layer correspond to at least one of the moving transfer parts 2323 and 2324.

[0091] Preferably, the moving transfer parts 2323 and 2324 are configured to transfer substrates between the coating robots 212, 213, 214 and 215 and / or the developing robots 222, 223, 224 and 225. The plurality of coating robots 212, 213, 214 and 215 are further configured to load and / or unload the substrates to and / from the moving transfer part 2323, and the plurality of developing robots 222, 223, 224 and 225 are further configured to load and / or unload the substrates to and / from the moving transfer part 2324.

[0092] Combined with Figure 13 , in the case as Figure 14In the illustrated embodiment, a number of heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in 9 columns and 12 layers along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z. Among them, three moving transfer units 2323 are respectively arranged on the 2nd layer, the 6th layer and the 10th layer of the heat treatment unit 230 along the vertical direction z, and are arranged in the 3rd column to the 4th column of the heat treatment unit 230 along the first horizontal direction x, and are respectively used for transferring substrates between the coating manipulator 215 and the developing manipulator 223, between the coating manipulator 214 and the manipulator 271, and between the coating manipulator 212 and the coating manipulator 213. Three moving transfer units 2324 are respectively arranged on the 2nd layer, the 6th layer and the 10th layer of the heat treatment unit 230 along the vertical direction z, and are arranged in the 6th column to the 7th column of the heat treatment unit 230 along the first horizontal direction x, and are respectively used for transferring substrates between the developing manipulator 223 and the developing manipulator 225, between the manipulator 271 and the developing manipulator 224, and between the coating manipulator 213 and the developing manipulator 222.

[0093] In practical applications, referring to Figure 11 and Figure 12 , first, the substrate to be processed is loaded into the equipment front-end module 100, and the manipulator 101 in the equipment front-end module 100 transports the substrate to be processed to the first buffer unit 251 (the first side manipulator 241 transports the substrate to be processed to the corresponding first auxiliary processing module 261 for preheating according to the process requirements, and transports the substrate after preheating back to the first buffer unit 251).

[0094] Then, the coating manipulators 212, 214 and 215 transfer the substrates to be processed in the first buffer unit 251 to the coating modules C1 and C2. The substrates to be processed are subjected to coating treatment in the coating modules C1 and C2, and are transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the coating manipulators 212, 214 and 215 for heat treatment. The above coating and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrates are completed with coating treatment and heat treatment. The substrates after coating treatment and heat treatment are loaded by the coating manipulators 212, 214 and 215 onto the corresponding moving transfer unit 2323. The moving transfer unit 2323 transports the substrate from one end of the moving transfer unit 2323 close to the equipment front-end module 100 to the end of the moving transfer unit 2323 close to the interface station 300, and then is transferred to the next moving transfer unit 2324 by the corresponding coating manipulator 213, or manipulator 271, or developing manipulator 223. The moving transfer unit 2324 transports the substrate from one end of the moving transfer unit 2324 close to the equipment front-end module 100 to the end of the moving transfer unit 2324 close to the interface station 300, and then is unloaded from the moving transfer unit 2324 and transferred to the second buffer unit 252 by the corresponding developing manipulators 222, 224 and 225, and then is transferred to the interface station 300 by the fifth side manipulator 245. The substrate is transferred from the interface station 300 to the exposure machine to perform exposure treatment on the substrate.

[0095] For a coating robot that cannot directly obtain the substrate to be processed from the first buffer unit 251, for example, the coating robot 213 can obtain the substrate to be processed by means of the mobile transfer unit 2323. Specifically, the coating robot 212 transfers the substrate to be processed in the first buffer unit 251 to the corresponding mobile transfer unit 2323. The mobile transfer unit 2323 conveys the substrate to be processed from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2323 close to the equipment front-end module 100 to one end of the mobile transfer unit 2323 close to the interface station 300. Then, the coating robot 213 conveys the substrate to be processed to the coating module 211 in the mixing modules C3 and C4 for coating processing, and conveys it to the heat treatment unit 230 for heat treatment through the coating robot 213. The above coating and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate completes the coating and heat treatment; the substrate after the coating and heat treatment is loaded by the coating robot 213 onto the corresponding mobile transfer unit 2324. The mobile transfer unit 2324 conveys the substrate from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2324 close to the equipment front-end module 100 to one end of the mobile transfer unit 2324 close to the interface station 300, and then unloads and transfers it to the second buffer unit 252 through the developing robot 222, and then is transferred to the interface station 300 by the fifth side robot 245. The substrate is transferred from the interface station 300 to the exposure machine to perform exposure processing on the substrate.

[0096] The substrate after the exposure processing is loaded by the interface station 300, and the substrate after the exposure processing is transferred to the second buffer unit 252 through the fifth side robot 245 (the second side robot 242 conveys the substrate to the corresponding second auxiliary processing module 262 for cleaning according to the process requirements, and conveys the substrate after the cleaning back to the second buffer unit 252).

[0097] Then, the developing robots 222, 224, and 225 transfer the substrates that have completed the exposure process in the second buffer unit 252 to the developing modules C5 and C6. The substrates that have completed the exposure process are developed in the developing modules C5 and C6, and are conveyed to the heat treatment unit 230 by the corresponding developing robots 222, 224, and 225 for heat treatment. The above-mentioned developing and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrates are completely developed and heat-treated. The substrates that have completed the developing and heat treatment processes are loaded into the corresponding mobile transfer unit 2324 by the developing robots 222, 224, and 225. The mobile transfer unit 2324 conveys the substrates that have completed the developing and heat treatment processes from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2324 close to the interface station 300 to the end of the mobile transfer unit 2324 close to the equipment front-end module 100, and then are transferred to the next mobile transfer unit 2323 by the corresponding coating robot 213, or robot 271, or developing robot 223. The mobile transfer unit 2323 conveys the substrates that have completed the developing and heat treatment processes from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2323 close to the interface station 300 to the end of the mobile transfer unit 2323 close to the equipment front-end module 100, and then are unloaded from the mobile transfer unit 2323 and conveyed to the first buffer unit 251 by the corresponding coating robots 212, 214, and 215, and then the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment processes is taken out and unloaded from the first buffer unit 251 by the robot 101 in the equipment front-end module 100.

[0098] For the developing robots that cannot directly obtain the substrates that have completed the exposure process from the second buffer unit 252, such as the developing robot 223, it can obtain the substrates that have completed the exposure process with the help of the mobile transfer unit 2324. Specifically, the developing robot 225 transfers the substrates that have completed the exposure process in the second buffer unit 252 to the mobile transfer unit 2324. The mobile transfer unit 2324 conveys the substrates that have completed the exposure process from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2324 close to the interface station 300 to the end of the mobile transfer unit 2323 close to the equipment front-end module 100, and then the developing robot 223 conveys the substrates that have completed the exposure process to the developing module 221 in the mixing modules C3 and C4 for developing, and is conveyed to the corresponding heat treatment unit 230 by the developing robot 223 for heat treatment. The above-mentioned developing and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrates are completely developed and heat-treated. The substrates that have completed the developing and heat treatment processes are loaded into the mobile transfer unit 2323 by the developing robot 223. The mobile transfer unit 2323 conveys the substrates from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2323 close to the interface station 300 to the end of the mobile transfer unit 2323 close to the equipment front-end module 100, and then are unloaded from the mobile transfer unit 2323 and transferred to the first buffer unit 251 by the corresponding coating robot 215, and then the substrate that has completed the developing and heat treatment processes is taken out and unloaded from the first buffer unit 251 by the robot 101 in the equipment front-end module 100.

[0099] InFigure 15 In the illustrated embodiment, several heat treatment modules 231 in the heat treatment unit 230 are arranged in 9 columns and 12 layers along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z. Among them, three moving transfer units 2325 are respectively arranged on the 2nd layer, the 6th layer, and the 10th layer of the heat treatment unit 230 along the vertical direction z, and are arranged in the 3rd to 7th columns of the heat treatment modules 231 along the first horizontal direction x, and are respectively used to transfer substrates between the coating robot 215 and the developing robot 225, between the coating robot 214 and the developing robot 224, and between the coating robot 212 and the developing robot 222. Compared with the previous embodiment, in this embodiment, by increasing the length of the moving transfer unit 2325, the coating robot 213, or the robot 271, or the developing robot 223 is exempted from transferring the substrate between the moving transfer unit 2323 and the moving transfer unit 2324, so as to reduce the loads of the coating robot 213, the robot 271, and the developing robot 223, and at the same time increase the transfer efficiency of the moving transfer unit 2325.

[0100] In practical applications, the substrate to be processed is first loaded into the equipment front-end module 100, and the robot 101 in the equipment front-end module 100 transports the substrate to be processed to the first buffer unit 251 (the first side robot 241 transports the substrate to be processed to the corresponding first auxiliary processing module 261 for preheating according to the process requirements, and transports the substrate after preheating back to the first buffer unit 251).

[0101] Then, the coating robots 212, 214, and 215 transfer the substrates to be processed in the first buffer unit 251 to the coating modules C1 and C2. The substrates to be processed are subjected to coating treatment in the coating modules C1 and C2, and are transported to the heat treatment unit 230 by the coating robots 212, 214, and 215 for heat treatment. The above coating and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrates are completed with coating treatment and heat treatment. After the substrates are completed with coating treatment and heat treatment, they are loaded by the coating robots 212, 214, and 215 onto the corresponding moving transfer unit 2325. The moving transfer unit 2325 transports the substrates from one end of the moving transfer unit 2325 close to the equipment front-end module 100 to one end of the moving transfer unit 2325 close to the interface station 300, and then the corresponding developing robots 222, 224, and 225 unload and transfer the substrates from the moving transfer unit 2325 to the second buffer unit 252, and then the fifth side robot 245 transports them to the interface station 300. The substrates are transported by the interface station 300 to the exposure machine to perform exposure treatment on the substrates.

[0102] For a coating robot that cannot directly obtain the substrate to be processed from the first buffer unit 251, for example, the coating robot 213 can obtain the substrate to be processed by means of the mobile transfer unit 2325. Specifically, the coating robot 212 transfers the substrate to be processed in the first buffer unit 251 to the corresponding mobile transfer unit 2325. The mobile transfer unit 2325 conveys the substrate to be processed from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2325 close to the equipment front-end module 100 to the middle of the mobile transfer unit 2325, and then the coating robot 213 conveys the substrate to be processed to the coating module 211 in the mixing modules C3 and C4 for coating treatment, and conveys it to the heat treatment unit 230 for heat treatment through the coating robot 213. The above coating and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate completes the coating treatment and heat treatment; the substrate after the coating treatment and heat treatment is loaded by the coating robot 213 into the corresponding mobile transfer unit 2325. The mobile transfer unit 2325 conveys the substrate from the middle of the mobile transfer unit 2325 to one end of the mobile transfer unit 2325 close to the interface station 300, and then the developing robot 222 unloads and transfers it from the mobile transfer unit 2325 to the second buffer unit 252, and then it is transferred to the interface station 300 by the fifth side robot 245. The substrate is transferred from the interface station 300 to the exposure machine to perform an exposure treatment on the substrate.

[0103] The substrate after the exposure treatment is loaded by the interface station 300, and the substrate after the exposure treatment is transferred to the second buffer unit 252 by the fifth side robot 245 (the second side robot 242 conveys the substrate to the corresponding second auxiliary processing module 262 for cleaning according to the process requirements, and conveys the substrate after the cleaning is completed back to the second buffer unit 252).

[0104] Then, the developing robots 222, 224, and 225 transfer the substrate after the exposure treatment in the second buffer unit 252 to the developing modules C5 and C6. The substrate after the exposure treatment is developed in the developing modules C5 and C6, and is conveyed to the heat treatment unit 230 for heat treatment through the corresponding developing robots 222, 224, and 225. The above developing and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate completes the developing treatment and heat treatment. The substrate after the developing treatment and heat treatment is loaded by the developing robots 222, 224, and 225 into the corresponding mobile transfer unit 2325. The mobile transfer unit 2325 conveys the substrate after the developing treatment and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2325 close to the interface station 300 to one end of the mobile transfer unit 2325 close to the equipment front-end module 100, and then the corresponding coating robots 212, 214, and 215 unload and convey it from the mobile transfer unit 2325 to the first buffer unit 251, and then the robot 101 in the equipment front-end module 100 takes out and unloads the substrate after the developing treatment and heat treatment from the first buffer unit 251.

[0105] For a developing robot that cannot directly obtain a substrate after exposure processing from the second buffer unit 252, for example, the developing robot 223 can obtain the substrate after exposure processing by means of the mobile transfer unit 2325. Specifically, the developing robot 225 transfers the substrate after exposure processing in the second buffer unit 252 to the corresponding mobile transfer unit 2325. The mobile transfer unit 2325 conveys the substrate after exposure processing from one end of the mobile transfer unit 2325 close to the interface station 300 to the middle of the mobile transfer unit 2325, and then the developing robot 223 conveys the substrate after exposure processing to the developing module 221 in the mixing modules C3 and C4 for developing processing, and conveys it to the corresponding heat treatment unit 230 through the developing robot 223 for heat treatment. The above-mentioned developing and heat treatment processes are repeated until the substrate is completed with developing and heat treatment; the substrate after developing and heat treatment is loaded by the developing robot 223 onto the mobile transfer unit 2325. The mobile transfer unit 2325 conveys the substrate from the middle of the mobile transfer unit 2325 to one end of the mobile transfer unit 2325 close to the equipment front-end module 100, and then unloads and transfers it to the first buffer unit 251 through the corresponding coating robot 215. Then, the robot 101 in the equipment front-end module 100 takes out and unloads the substrate after developing and heat treatment from the first buffer unit 251.

[0106] In the embodiment as Figure 16 shown, a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in 9 columns and 9 layers along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z. Among them, three mobile transfer units 2326 are respectively arranged between the first layer and the second layer, the fourth layer and the fifth layer, and the seventh layer and the eighth layer of the heat treatment unit 230 along the vertical direction z, and are arranged in the first column to the ninth column of the heat treatment module 231 along the first horizontal direction x for transferring substrates between the equipment front-end module 100 and the interface station 300. Compared with the previous embodiment, in this embodiment, the transmission efficiency of the mobile transfer unit 2326 is further increased by increasing the length of the mobile transfer unit 2326.

[0107] Preferably, in combination with Figure 11 and Figure 16, the substrate processing apparatus 10 further includes a plurality of first side robots 241 and a plurality of second side robots 242. Among them, the first side robots 241 are arranged between the process station 200 and the equipment front end module 100 and are configured to load and / or unload substrates to / from the moving transfer unit 2326. The second side robots 242 are arranged between the process station 200 and the interface station 300 and are configured to load and / or unload substrates to / from the moving transfer unit 2326. Therefore, in this embodiment, at one end of the moving transfer unit 2326 close to the equipment front end module 100, the first side robots 241 can replace the coating robots 212, 214, and 215 to load or unload substrates; at one end of the moving transfer unit 2326 close to the interface station 300, the second side robots 242 can replace the developing robots 222, 224, and 225 to load or unload substrates, thereby reducing the loads of the coating robots 212, 214, and 215 and the developing robots 222, 224, and 225.

[0108] In the embodiment as Figure 17 shown, a plurality of heat treatment modules 231 are arranged in 9 columns and 12 layers along the first horizontal direction x and the vertical direction z. Among them, the moving transfer unit 2327 is respectively arranged below the first layer of the heat treatment unit 230, between the fourth and fifth layers, and between the eighth and ninth layers along the vertical direction z, and is arranged in the first to ninth columns of the heat treatment modules 231 along the first horizontal direction x for transferring substrates between the equipment front end module 100 and the interface station 300. Compared with the previous embodiment, in this embodiment, by increasing the number of layers of the heat treatment modules 231 to increase the number of heat treatment modules 231, the heat treatment efficiency of the substrates is increased while ensuring the transfer efficiency of the moving transfer unit 2327.

[0109] It should be noted that the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed. The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the principle of the present invention, several improvements and refinements can be made, and these improvements and refinements should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A substrate processing device, characterized in that: It includes a device front-end module, a process station and an interface station arranged in sequence along a first horizontal direction, and the process station includes: A coating unit, used for coating the substrate; A developing unit, used for developing the substrate, wherein the coating unit and the developing unit are arranged in sequence along the first horizontal direction; A heat treatment unit is arranged opposite to the coating unit and the developing unit, and is used to perform heat treatment on the substrate. The heat treatment unit includes a plurality of heat treatment modules and at least one moving transmission unit; wherein, The moving and transporting part and the heat treatment module are stacked in a vertical direction, and the moving and transporting part is configured to transport the substrate along the first horizontal direction.

2. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The moving transport portion is configured to transport the substrate at least between the coating unit and the developing unit.

3. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The moving transport section is configured to transport the substrate between the equipment front end module and the interface station.

4. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The process station also includes: A plurality of coating manipulators are arranged in sequence between the coating unit and the heat treatment unit in a vertical direction, and are used to transfer substrates between the coating unit and the heat treatment unit, and to load the substrates that have completed coating and heat treatment to one end of the mobile transmission part close to the equipment front-end module, or to unload the substrates that have completed development and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transmission part close to the equipment front-end module; A plurality of developing robots are arranged in sequence between the developing unit and the heat treatment unit in a vertical direction, and are used to transfer substrates between the developing unit and the heat treatment unit, and to load substrates that have completed developing treatment and heat treatment onto one end of the mobile transport portion close to the interface station, or to unload substrates that have completed coating treatment and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transport portion close to the interface station.

5. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that: The plurality of coating robots and the plurality of developing robots correspond one to one in the first horizontal direction, and are arranged in at least two layers along the vertical direction respectively. The coating robot and the developing robot located in the same layer correspond to at least one of the movable transmission parts.

6. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The process station also includes a plurality of coating robots and a plurality of second side robots; wherein, The plurality of coating manipulators are arranged in sequence between the coating unit and the heat treatment unit in a vertical direction, and are used to transfer substrates between the coating unit and the heat treatment unit, and load the substrates that have completed coating and heat treatment to one end of the mobile transmission part close to the equipment front-end module, or unload the substrates that have completed development and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transmission part close to the equipment front-end module; The plurality of second side manipulators are arranged between the process station and the interface station, and are used to load the substrates after the development process and the heat treatment to the mobile transmission part, or to unload the substrates after the coating process and the heat treatment from the mobile transmission part; Or the process station further includes a plurality of developing robots and a plurality of first side robots; wherein, The plurality of developing manipulators are arranged in sequence between the developing unit and the heat treatment unit in a vertical direction, and are used to transfer substrates between the developing unit and the heat treatment unit, and to load substrates that have completed developing and heat treatments to an end of the mobile transport portion close to the interface station, or to unload substrates that have completed coating and heat treatments from an end of the mobile transport portion close to the interface station; The plurality of first side manipulators are arranged between the process station and the equipment front-end module, and are used to load the substrates after coating and heat treatment to the mobile transport section, or to unload the substrates after developing and heat treatment from the mobile transport section.

7. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: Also includes: A plurality of first side manipulators, which are arranged between the process station and the equipment front-end module and are used to load the substrates after coating and heat treatment to the mobile transmission part, or unload the substrates after developing and heat treatment from the mobile transmission part; A plurality of second side robots are arranged between the process station and the interface station, and are used to load the substrates after the development process and the heat treatment to the movable transport part, or to unload the substrates after the coating process and the heat treatment from the movable transport part.

8. A substrate processing method, characterized in that: The substrate processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 comprises: Step S10: loading a substrate on the front-end module of the equipment and transferring the substrate to the process station; Step S20: the process station performs coating and heat treatment on the substrate, and the substrate after coating and heat treatment is transported by the mobile transport unit toward the interface station; Step S30: the interface station transfers the substrate after the coating process and the heat treatment to the exposure machine for exposure process; Step S40: the interface station loads the substrate that has completed the exposure process and transmits it to the process station; Step S50: the process station performs a developing process and a heat treatment on the substrate that has completed the exposure process, and the substrate that has completed the developing process and the heat treatment is transported by the mobile transport unit toward the direction of the front-end module of the device; Step S60: unloading the substrate after the development process and the heat treatment at the front-end module of the equipment.

9. The substrate processing method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The mobile transmission unit is configured to transmit the substrate between the device front-end module and the interface station, and the step S20 includes: Step S211: After the process station performs coating and heat treatment on the substrate, the substrate after coating and heat treatment is loaded to the mobile transmission part by a first side robot disposed between the process station and the front-end module of the equipment; Step S212: the mobile transmission unit transmits the substrate after the coating and heat treatment from one end of the mobile transmission unit close to the equipment front-end module to one end of the mobile transmission unit close to the interface station; Step S213: After the coating process and the heat treatment, the substrate is unloaded from the mobile transfer unit by a second side robot arranged between the process station and the interface station, and transferred to the interface station.

10. The substrate processing method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The step S50 comprises: Step S511: After the process station performs development processing and heat treatment on the substrate that has completed the exposure processing, the substrate that has completed the development processing and heat treatment is loaded to the moving transmission part by the second side robot; Step S512: the mobile transmission unit transmits the substrate after the development process and the heat treatment from one end of the mobile transmission unit close to the interface station to one end of the mobile transmission unit close to the front-end module of the device; Step S513: the first side robot unloads the substrate after the development process and the heat treatment from the mobile transmission unit and transmits it to the front-end module of the equipment.

11. The substrate processing method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The moving transport unit is configured to transport the substrate between the coating unit and the developing unit, and the step S20 includes: Step S221: After the process station performs coating and heat treatment on the substrate, the substrate after coating and heat treatment is loaded to the mobile transmission part by a coating robot arranged between the coating unit and the heat treatment unit; Step S222: the moving and transporting unit transports the substrate after the coating and heat treatment from the coating unit to the developing unit; Step S223: After the coating process and the heat treatment are completed, the substrate is unloaded from the moving transport unit by a developing robot disposed between the developing unit and the heat treatment unit, and is transported to the interface station.

12. The substrate processing method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The step S50 comprises: Step S521: After the process station performs a developing process and a heat treatment on the substrate that has completed the exposure process, the substrate that has completed the developing process and the heat treatment is loaded to the moving transmission part by the developing robot; Step S522: the moving and transporting unit transports the substrate after the developing and heat treatment from the developing unit to the coating unit; Step S523: the coating robot unloads the substrate after the development process and the heat treatment from the mobile transmission unit and transmits it to the front-end module of the equipment.

13. A substrate processing device, characterized in that: It includes a device front-end module, a process station and an interface station arranged in sequence along a first horizontal direction, and the process station includes: A coating and developing unit, used for performing coating and developing processes on the substrate; A heat treatment unit is arranged opposite to the coating and developing unit and is used to perform heat treatment on the substrate. The heat treatment unit includes a plurality of heat treatment modules and at least one moving transmission unit. The moving and transporting part and the heat treatment module are stacked in a vertical direction, and the moving and transporting part is configured to transport the substrate along the first horizontal direction.

14. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 13, characterized in that: The coating and developing unit comprises: At least one row of mixing modules, wherein the mixing modules include a plurality of coating modules and a plurality of developing modules stacked in a vertical direction.

15. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 14, characterized in that: The coating and developing unit further comprises: At least one column of coating modules, wherein the coating module comprises a plurality of coating modules stacked in a vertical direction; At least one row of developing modules, wherein the developing modules include a plurality of developing modules stacked in a vertical direction.

16. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that: The process station also includes: A plurality of coating robots, arranged between the plurality of coating modules and the heat treatment unit, and used for transferring substrates between the plurality of coating modules and the heat treatment module; A plurality of developing robots are arranged between the plurality of developing modules and the thermal treatment unit and are used for transferring substrates between the plurality of developing modules and the thermal treatment module.

17. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 16, characterized in that: The moving and transporting part is configured to transport the substrate between the coating robot and / or the developing robot; The plurality of coating robots are configured to also load and / or unload the substrate to the mobile transport portion; The plurality of developing robots are configured to also load and / or unload the substrate to the moving transport portion.

18. The substrate processing equipment according to claim 16, characterized in that: Also includes: A plurality of first side manipulators, wherein the first side manipulators are arranged between the process station and the equipment front-end module and are used for loading and / or unloading the substrate to the mobile transmission part; A plurality of second side robots are arranged between the process station and the interface station, and are used for loading and / or unloading the substrate to the movable transport part.

Images