Substrate processing method, semiconductor device manufacturing method, program, substrate processing apparatus, and transport apparatus

Abstract

To provide a technique of being able to suppress generation of particles when a substrate is transported using a substrate transport device.SOLUTION: A substrate processing device includes: a substrate transport device including a placement part on which a substrate is placed, and a grip part that can grip the substrate placed on the placement part between a first part and a second prat, the substrate transport device being able to transport the substrate placed on the placement part; and a control unit configured to be able to control so as to move the substrate placed on the placement part in a direction of the first part by causing the second part to push the substrate with a first external force, and grip the substrate placed on the placement part with the first part and the second part by a second external force.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art As one step in a manufacturing process for a semiconductor device, a substrate may be subjected to a plurality of processes in a plurality of processing furnaces (eg, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-93868 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-mentioned apparatus, particles may be generated when a substrate is transported to a processing furnace using the substrate transport device.

[0005] The present disclosure provides a technique capable of suppressing generation of particles when transporting a substrate using a substrate transport apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a substrate transport device including a mounting portion for mounting a substrate and a gripping portion capable of gripping the substrate mounted on the mounting portion between a first portion and a second portion, and capable of transporting the substrate mounted on the mounting portion; a control unit configured to control the substrate placement unit to move the substrate placed on the placement unit in the direction of the first portion by pushing the substrate with a first external force by the second portion, and to grip the substrate placed on the placement unit with a second external force by the first portion and the second portion; The present invention provides a technique having the following features: Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress generation of particles when transporting a substrate using a substrate transport device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a substrate transport apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3(A) is a plan view of the substrate mounting plate, and FIG. 3(B) is a side view of the substrate mounting plate. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 5(A) to 5(C) are diagrams for explaining the operation of a substrate mounting plate according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] (1) Configuration of the substrate processing device Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described mainly with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Note that all of the drawings used in the following description are schematic, and the dimensional relationships of the elements, the ratios of the elements, etc. shown in the drawings do not necessarily match the actual ones. Furthermore, the dimensional relationships of the elements, the ratios of the elements, etc. between multiple drawings do not necessarily match.

[0010] 1 is a top cross-sectional view of a substrate processing apparatus 10 for carrying out a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. The substrate processing apparatus 10 is a cluster type apparatus, and the transfer apparatus is divided into a vacuum side and an atmospheric side. The substrate processing apparatus 10 uses a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod: hereinafter referred to as a pod) 100 as a carrier for transferring a wafer 200 as a substrate.

[0011] (Vacuum side configuration) 1, the substrate processing apparatus 10 includes a first transfer chamber 103 that can withstand a pressure (negative pressure) less than atmospheric pressure, such as a vacuum state. A housing 101 of the first transfer chamber 103 has a pentagonal shape in a plan view, for example, and is formed in a box shape with both the upper and lower ends closed.

[0012] In the first transfer chamber 103, a first substrate transfer device 112 for transferring the wafer 200 is provided.

[0013] Of the five side walls of the housing 101, the one located on the front side (the lower side in FIG. 1) is connected to a load lock chamber 122 and a load lock chamber 123 via gate valves 126 and 127, respectively. The load lock chambers 122 and 123 are configured to be capable of simultaneously performing the functions of loading the wafer 200, waiting for the wafer 200, and unloading the wafer 200, and each is configured to withstand negative pressure.

[0014] Of the five side walls of the housing 101 of the first transfer chamber 103, four side walls located on the rear side (back side, upper side in Figure 1) are adjacently connected to processing vessels 202a to 202d via gate valves 70a to 70d, respectively, for performing desired processing on the wafer 200.

[0015] (Atmospheric side configuration) A second transfer chamber 121 capable of transferring the wafer 200 under atmospheric pressure is connected to the front side of the load lock chambers 122, 123 via gate valves 128, 129. A second substrate transfer device 124 for transferring the wafer 200 is provided in the second transfer chamber 121.

[0016] A notch alignment device 106 is provided on the left side of the second transfer chamber 121. The notch alignment device 106 may be an orientation flat alignment device.

[0017] A substrate loading / unloading port 134 for loading / unloading the wafer 200 into / from the second transfer chamber 121 and a pod opener 108 are provided at the front side of the housing 125 of the second transfer chamber 121. A load port (IO stage) 105 is provided on the opposite side of the substrate loading / unloading port 134 from the pod opener 108, i.e., on the outside of the housing 125. The pod opener 108 has a closure that can open and close the cap 100a of the pod 100 and close the substrate loading / unloading port 134. By opening and closing the cap 100a of the pod 100 placed on the load port 105, the wafer 200 can be loaded and unloaded from the pod 100. The pod 100 is supplied to and unloaded from the load port 105 by an in-process transfer device (such as an OHT) not shown.

[0018] (Configuration of Processing Container) The processing vessels 202a to 202d include processing chambers 201a to 201d, respectively. The processing chambers 201a to 201d are configured to communicate with each other under reduced pressure via gate valves 70a to 70d and the first transfer chamber 103. In the processing chambers 201a to 201d, a preset process is performed on the loaded wafer 200, respectively.

[0019] The processing vessels 202a to 202d include, for example, a mixture of single wafer processing vessels and batch processing vessels. The processing chamber provided in the single wafer processing vessel can perform single wafer processing on one or several wafers 200 at a time. The processing chamber provided in the batch processing vessel can perform batch processing on multiple wafers 200 at a time.

[0020] In each processing vessel, a gas supply system and a gas exhaust system connected to the processing vessel are controlled to supply gas to the wafer 200 in the processing vessel, thereby performing a predetermined process. For example, when the wafer 200 is in a single-wafer processing vessel, monosilane (SiH4) gas as a silicon-containing gas and oxygen (O2) gas as an oxygen-containing gas are supplied to the processing vessel to form a silicon oxide film on the wafer 200. In another single-wafer processing apparatus, SiH4 gas and nitrogen (N2) gas as a nitrogen-containing gas are supplied to form a silicon nitride film on the wafer 200. Furthermore, when the wafer 200 is in a batch-type processing vessel, an annealing process is performed to heat the wafer 200 while supplying an inert gas into the processing vessel. In this way, the processing of the wafer 200 may be different for each processing vessel. Here, the processing of forming a film and the annealing process are described as examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and a desired substrate processing such as a modification process and a cooling process may be performed in each processing vessel.

[0021] (Load lock chamber configuration) Next, the load lock chambers 122 and 123 will be described. The load lock chambers 122 and 123 are provided adjacent to one side of the first transfer chamber 103, which is the vacuum side, via gate valves 126 and 127, respectively. Also, the load lock chambers 122 and 123 are provided adjacent to one side of the second transfer chamber 121, which is the atmosphere side, via gate valves 128 and 129, respectively. The load lock chambers 122 and 123 are configured to communicate with the processing chambers 201a to 201d in a reduced pressure state via the gate valves 126 and 127 and the first transfer chamber 103. That is, the load lock chambers 122 and 123 can communicate with the first transfer chamber 103 in a reduced pressure state via the gate valves 126 and 127. Also, the load lock chambers 122 and 123 are configured to communicate with the second transfer chamber 121 in an atmospheric pressure state via the gate valves 128 and 129.

[0022] The load lock chamber 122 stores unprocessed wafers 200 before being transferred to any of the processing chambers 201a to 201d. The load lock chamber 123 stores processed wafers 200 that have been processed in at least one of the processing chambers 201a to 201d. That is, the load lock chambers 122 and 123 are storage chambers that temporarily store unprocessed or processed wafers 200, respectively.

[0023] Next, the first substrate transfer device 112 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 2. The first substrate transfer device 112 is configured to be capable of transferring the wafer 200 placed on a placement portion 306 (described later) to each of the processing chambers 201a to 201d. The first substrate transfer device 112 is configured to be raised and lowered by an elevator 301. The first substrate transfer device 112 is configured to be capable of transferring two wafers 200 simultaneously by a SCARA robot.

[0024] The first substrate transport device 112 includes an arm 302 located on the upper side and an arm 303 located on the lower side. End effectors 304 and 305 serving as substrate mounting plates are attached to the tips of the arms 302 and 303, respectively. Both the end effectors 304 and 305 are configured to be able to pick up the wafer 200 and support it from below.

[0025] Since the end effector 304 and the end effector 305 are formed to have substantially the same shape, the configuration will be described using the end effector 304 shown in FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B) as an example.

[0026] The end effector 304 has a mounting portion 306 for mounting the wafer 200, a support portion 307 for supporting the mounting portion 306, a tip grip 308 as a first portion provided on the upper surface of the tip of the mounting portion 306, and a moving grip 310 as a second portion provided on the upper surface of the mounting portion 306 on the side opposite to the tip grip 308. The moving grip 310 can also be called a rear end grip.

[0027] The mounting portion 306 is configured in a U-shaped plate (slab). The mounting portion 306 is not limited to the U-shape, and may be a fork-shaped plate, a rectangular plate, or the like. The mounting portion 306 is supported and fixed to the arm 302 by a support portion 307.

[0028] The tip grips 308 are provided in a columnar shape protruding from the upper surface of both ends of the mounting portion 306. The inner surface 308a of the tip grip 308 is formed in an arc shape to match the shape of the wafer 200. The diameter of the inner surface 308a of the tip grip 308 is set to be slightly larger than the diameter of the wafer 200. In addition, the upper surface 308b of the tip grip 308 is configured to be higher than the surface of the wafer 200 mounted on the mounting portion 306.

[0029] The movable grip 310 is provided to protrude from the upper surface of the connection portion between the mounting portion 306 and the support portion 307. The movable grip 310 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an inner surface 310a, which is the side surface facing the tip grip 308, is formed in an arc shape to match the shape of the wafer 200. The diameter of the inner surface 310a of the movable grip 310 is set to be slightly larger than the diameter of the wafer 200. In addition, the upper surface 310b of the movable grip 310 is configured to be higher than the surface of the wafer 200 mounted on the mounting portion 306.

[0030] Air cylinders 311 and 312 serving as a moving mechanism for approximately horizontally moving the moving grip 310 are connected to the side surface opposite to the inner side surface 310a of the moving grip 310. The air cylinders 311 and 312 have substantially the same configuration.

[0031] The air cylinders 311 and 312 have rods 311a and 312a, respectively, whose ends are connected to the side surfaces of the moving grip 310. A pressure adjustment mechanism 313 is connected to the air cylinders 311 and 312.

[0032] The pressure adjustment mechanism 313 is configured to adjust the pressure of the gas supplied into the air cylinders 311 and 312. In this manner, the movable grip 310 is moved, and the wafer 200 is gripped by the movable grip 310 and the tip grip 308.

[0033] Specifically, the pressure of the gas supplied into the air cylinders 311, 312 is adjusted by the pressure adjustment mechanism 313, thereby adjusting a first external force for pushing the wafer 200 placed on the placement part 306 and a second external force for gripping the wafer 200 placed on the placement part 306. That is, by adjusting the pressure of the gas supplied into the air cylinders 311, 312, the rods 311a, 312a are pushed out from within the air cylinders 311, 312, the first external force moves the moving grip 310 toward the tip grip 308, and the second external force grips the wafer 200 with the moving grip 310 and the tip grip 308.

[0034] Furthermore, by adjusting the pressure of the gas supplied into the air cylinders 311 and 312 with the pressure adjustment mechanism 313 , the rods 311 a and 312 a are drawn into the air cylinders 311 and 312 , and the moving grip 310 is moved in the opposite direction to the tip grip 308 .

[0035] The tip grip 308 and the moving grip 310 are used as a gripping unit that can grip the wafer 200 placed on the placement unit 306 between the tip grip 308 and the moving grip 310 .

[0036] (2) Controller configuration Next, the configuration of the controller 500 serving as a control section (control means) will be described.

[0037] A controller 500 serving as a control section (control means) controls the above-mentioned respective sections so as to carry out the substrate processing steps described below.

[0038] 4, the controller 500 is configured as a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 500a, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 500b, a storage device 500c, and an I / O port 500d. The RAM 500b, the storage device 500c, and the I / O port 500d are configured to be able to exchange data with the CPU 500a via an internal bus 500e. An input / output device 501 configured as, for example, a touch panel, and a display device 472 such as a display are connected to the controller 500.

[0039] The storage device 500c is composed of, for example, a flash memory, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc. A control program for controlling the operation of the substrate processing apparatus, a process recipe in which procedures and conditions of substrate processing described later are described, etc. are readably stored in the storage device 500c. The process recipe is a combination of procedures in a substrate processing step described later that are executed by the controller 500 to obtain a predetermined result, and functions as a program. Hereinafter, the process recipe, the control program, etc. are collectively referred to as simply a program. In addition, when the word program is used in this specification, it may include only a process recipe, only a control program, or both. The RAM 500b is configured as a memory area (work area) in which programs and data read by the CPU 500a are temporarily stored.

[0040] The I / O port 500d is connected to the gate valves 70a to 70d, 126 to 129, the first substrate transfer device 112, the second substrate transfer device 124, the pressure adjustment mechanism 313, and the like.

[0041] The CPU 500a is configured to read and execute a control program from the storage device 500c, and also to read a process recipe from the storage device 500c in response to an input of an operation command from the input / output device 501. The CPU 500a is configured to control the opening and closing operations of the gate valves 70a-70d and 126-129, the transport and substrate transfer operations of the wafer 200 by the first substrate transport device 112 and the second substrate transport device 124, the pressure adjustment operation of the gas in the air cylinder by the pressure adjustment mechanism 313, and the like, in accordance with the contents of the read process recipe.

[0042] The controller 500 may be configured as a general-purpose computer, not limited to a dedicated computer. For example, the controller 500 according to the present embodiment can be configured by preparing an external storage device (for example, a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk or a hard disk, an optical disk such as a CD or a DVD, an optical magnetic disk such as an MO, or a semiconductor memory such as a USB flash drive or a memory card) 502 storing the above-mentioned program, and installing the program in a general-purpose computer using the external storage device 502. The means for supplying the program to the computer is not limited to supplying the program via the external storage device 502. For example, the program may be supplied without going through the external storage device 502, using a communication means such as the Internet or a dedicated line. The storage device 500c and the external storage device 502 are configured as computer-readable recording media. Hereinafter, these are collectively referred to simply as recording media. In addition, when the term recording medium is used in this specification, it may include only the storage device 500c alone, only the external storage device 502 alone, or both.

[0043] (3) Substrate processing Next, as one step of a semiconductor manufacturing process, a process from start to finish of processing the wafer 200 in the processing container 202a using the substrate processing apparatus 10 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described. In the following description, the operation of each part constituting the substrate processing apparatus 10 is controlled by a controller 500.

[0044] First, the unprocessed wafer 200 stored in the load lock chamber 122 is transferred by the first substrate transfer device 112 into the processing chamber 201a of the processing vessel 202a.

[0045] Here, the operation of first substrate transfer device 112 during substrate transfer will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 5(A) to 5(C).

[0046] First, as shown in Fig. 5(A), when the wafer 200 is placed on the placement unit 306 of the first substrate transport device 112, the controller 500 adjusts the pressure of the gas supplied to the air cylinders 311, 312 to a first pressure by the pressure adjustment mechanism 313. The rods 311a, 312a are pushed out from the air cylinders 311, 312, and move the moving grip 310 toward the tip grip 308. As a result, the inner surface 310a of the moving grip 310 comes into contact with the end of the wafer 200, as shown in Fig. 5(B).

[0047] That is, by adjusting the pressure of the gas supplied into the air cylinders 311, 312 to a first pressure by the pressure adjustment mechanism 313, the wafer 200 placed on the placement part 306 is moved approximately horizontally by being pushed by the moving grip 310 in the direction of the tip grip 308 with a first external force.

[0048] Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the pressure of the gas supplied into the air cylinders 311, 312 was adjusted to the first pressure, the controller 500 adjusts the pressure of the gas supplied into the air cylinders 311, 312 to a second pressure lower than the first pressure by the pressure adjustment mechanism 313. The rods 311a, 312a are further pushed out from the air cylinders 311, 312, and the wafer 200 is gripped by the moving grip 310 and the tip grip 308. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5(C), the edge of the wafer 200 comes into contact with the inner surface 308a of the tip grip 308, and the wafer 200 is gripped by the tip grip 308 and the moving grip 310.

[0049] That is, by adjusting the pressure of the gas supplied into the air cylinders 311, 312 by the pressure adjustment mechanism 313 to a second pressure smaller than the first pressure, the wafer 200 placed on the placement part 306 is gripped by the inner surface 308a of the tip grip 308 and the inner surface 310a of the moving grip 310 with the second external force smaller than the first external force. That is, the first external force is larger than the second external force.

[0050] As described above, the controller 500 is configured to be able to grip the wafer 200 by adjusting the first external force and the second external force by the pressure adjustment mechanism 313. In this way, by gripping the wafer 200 in a plurality of stages (two stages in this embodiment), specifically, by making the magnitude of the external force when the wafer 200 is pressed on the placement part 306 different from the magnitude of the external force when the wafer 200 is gripped, chipping and peeling of the film at the edge part of the wafer 200 can be suppressed, and the generation of particles can be suppressed, compared to the case where the wafer 200 is gripped in one stage. Furthermore, by making the second external force when gripping the wafer 200 smaller than the first external force when pushing the wafer 200 on the placement part 306, chipping of the wafer 200 when gripping the wafer 200 and peeling of the film at the edge part of the wafer 200 can be suppressed, and the generation of particles can be suppressed.

[0051] Furthermore, while the arms 302, 303 are in operation and the wafer 200 is being moved by the arms 302, 303, the controller 500 adjusts the pressure of the gas supplied into the air cylinders 311, 312 to a third pressure equal to or greater than the first pressure by the pressure adjustment mechanism 313. The rods 311a, 312a are further pushed out from within the air cylinders 311, 312, and the moving grip 310 and the tip grip 308 grip the wafer 200 with a third external force equal to or greater than the first external force and greater than the second external force.

[0052] That is, by adjusting the pressure of the gas supplied into the air cylinders 311, 312 by the pressure adjustment mechanism 313 to a third pressure that is equal to or greater than the first pressure, the wafer 200 placed on the placement portion 306 is gripped by the inner surface 308a of the tip grip 308 and the inner surface 310a of the movable grip 310 with a third external force that is greater than the second external force.

[0053] As described above, while the arms 302, 303 are stopped and the mounting unit 306 is stopped (also referred to as while the end effectors 304, 305 are stopped), the controller 500 grips the wafer 200 with the second external force by the tip grip 308 and the moving grip 310 as described above. On the other hand, while the arms 302, 303 are operating and the mounting unit 306 is moving (also referred to as while the end effectors 304, 305 are moving), the controller 500 controls the tip grip 308 and the moving grip 310 to grip the wafer 200 with a third external force that is equal to or greater than the first external force and greater than the second external force. In this way, by making the force with which the arms 302, 303 grip the wafer 200 while they are moving greater than the force with which the arms 302, 303 grip the wafer 200 while they are stopped, it is possible to prevent the wafer 200 from falling while the arms 302, 303 are moving, while also suppressing chipping and peeling of film at the edges, thereby suppressing the generation of particles.

[0054] After the wafer 200 is loaded into the processing chamber 201a as described above, the first substrate transfer device 112 is retreated to the outside of the processing vessel 202a, and the gate valve 70a is closed to seal the inside of the processing vessel 202a. Then, a predetermined process is performed on the wafer 200 in the processing chamber 201a. Here, for example, with the wafer 200 in the processing vessel 202a, SiH4 gas as a silicon-containing gas and O2 gas as an oxygen-containing gas are supplied to the processing vessel 202a to form a silicon oxide film on the wafer 200. Note that the operation of each part of the first substrate transfer device described later is the same as this step, and therefore detailed description will be omitted below.

[0055] Then, the gate valve 70a is opened to connect the processing chamber 201a to the first transfer chamber 103. Then, the first substrate transfer device 112 transfers the processed wafer 200 out of the processing chamber 201a.

[0056] Then, the processed wafer 200 is carried into the load lock chamber 123 by the first substrate transfer device 112. Then, after closing the gate valve 70d, the gate valve 129 is opened to connect the load lock chamber 123 to the second transfer chamber 121. Then, the processed wafer 200 is carried out of the load lock chamber 123 by the second substrate transfer device 124.

[0057] [Other aspects] Although one embodiment of the present disclosure has been specifically described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0058] For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the second external force when gripping the wafer 200 is smaller than the first external force when pushing the wafer 200 on the mounting part 306, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. That is, the second external force when gripping the wafer 200 may be larger than the first external force when pushing the wafer 200 on the mounting part 306. This makes it possible to suppress chipping and peeling of the film at the edge when the wafer 200 is pushed on the mounting part 306, and suppress the generation of particles.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the moving grip 310 is moved using two air cylinders 311 and 312, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. That is, the number of air cylinders may be one, or three or more. The same effects as those of the above embodiment can be obtained in this modified example.

[0060] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the air cylinder 311 and the air cylinder 312 are described as having the same configuration, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. That is, a first pressure adjustment mechanism that adjusts the gas to a first pressure to move the moving grip 310, and a second pressure adjustment mechanism that adjusts the gas to a second pressure to grip the tip grip 308 and the moving grip 310 may be connected to the air cylinder 311 and the air cylinder 312, respectively. In this case, the controller 500 is configured to be able to adjust the first external force and the second external force by the first pressure adjustment mechanism and the second pressure adjustment mechanism. In this modified example, the same effect as the above-mentioned embodiment can be obtained.

[0061] In the above embodiment, the operation of the first substrate transfer device 112 during substrate transfer is described as being performed in response to the passage of time, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. That is, the operation may be performed in response to the amount of movement of the wafer 200. In this modified example, the same effects as those of the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0062] In the above embodiment, the wafer 200 is transferred to the processing chamber 202a for processing, but the present disclosure is not limited to this.

[0063] For example, an example has been described in which different processes can be performed in each of the processing vessels 202a to 202d, and the first substrate transfer device 112 is used to transfer the wafer 200 between the processing vessels. However, this is not limited to this, and the first substrate transfer device 112 may also be used to transfer the wafer 200 between the processing vessels.

[0064] In this modified example as well, the same effects as those of the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0065] It is also preferable that the recipes used for each process are prepared individually according to the process contents and stored in the storage device 500c via an electric communication line or an external storage device 502. Then, when starting each process, it is preferable that the CPU 500a appropriately selects an appropriate recipe according to the process contents from among the multiple recipes stored in the storage device 500c. This makes it possible to form films of various film types, composition ratios, film qualities, and film thicknesses with good reproducibility using a single substrate processing device. It is also possible to reduce the burden on the operator and quickly start each process while avoiding operational errors.

[0066] The above-mentioned recipe is not limited to a new recipe, but may be prepared by modifying an existing recipe that has already been installed in the substrate processing apparatus. When modifying a recipe, the modified recipe may be installed in the substrate processing apparatus via an electric communication line or a recording medium on which the recipe is recorded. Also, an existing recipe that has already been installed in the substrate processing apparatus may be directly modified by operating the input / output device 501 provided in the existing substrate processing apparatus.

[0067] In the above embodiment, the processing chambers 201a to 201d are described as being a mixture of a single wafer processing chamber and a batch processing chamber, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, the processing chambers 201a to 201d may not be a mixture of a single wafer processing chamber and a batch processing chamber, and may be composed of only a single wafer processing chamber or only a batch processing chamber. In addition, the processing chambers 202a to 202d may be substrate processing apparatuses having a hot wall type processing furnace, substrate processing apparatuses having a cold wall type processing furnace, or other substrate processing apparatuses.

[0068] When using these substrate processing apparatuses, each process can be performed under the same process procedures and conditions as in the above embodiment, and the same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0069] The above-mentioned aspects and modifications may be used in appropriate combination. The processing procedures and processing conditions in such a case may be the same as those of the above-mentioned aspects and modifications. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 10 Substrate processing equipment 112 Substrate transport device 200 wafers (substrates) 306 Placement section 308 Tip Grip (First Part) 310 Moving Grip (Second Part) 500 Controller (control unit)

Claims

1. A substrate processing method comprising a substrate transport device having a mounting section for placing a substrate and a gripping section capable of gripping the substrate placed on the mounting section between a first section and a second section, wherein the substrate placed on the mounting section is moved by pushing the second section in the direction of the first section with a first external force, and the substrate placed on the mounting section is gripped by the first section and the second section with a second or third external force.

2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the first external force is greater than the second external force.

3. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the third external force is greater than the first external force.

4. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the third external force is greater than the second external force.

5. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the first part is a tip grip and the second part is a movable grip.

6. The first portion is provided protruding from the tip of the previously described mounting portion, The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the second portion is provided on the mounting portion described above and on the side facing the first portion.

7. The substrate processing method according to claim 5, wherein a pressure adjustment mechanism is connected to the movable grip.

8. The aforementioned moving mechanism is an air cylinder, and a pressure adjustment mechanism is connected to the aforementioned moving mechanism. The substrate processing method according to claim 5, wherein the pressure adjustment mechanism adjusts the pressure in the air cylinder to move the movable grip.

9. Multiple of the aforementioned moving mechanisms are provided. The substrate processing method according to claim 8, wherein the pressure adjustment mechanism is connected to each of the moving mechanisms.

10. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein while the mounting portion is stopped, the substrate is gripped by the first portion and the second portion with a second external force, and while the mounting portion is moving, the substrate is gripped by the first portion and the second portion with a third external force greater than or equal to the first external force.

11. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein while the arm including the mounting portion is stopped, the substrate is gripped by the first portion and the second portion with a second external force, and while the arm is moving, the substrate is gripped by the first portion and the second portion with a third external force greater than or equal to the first external force.

12. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first external force, the second external force, and the third external force is adjusted by a pressure adjustment mechanism that moves the second part by adjusting the gas pressure.

13. A first pressure adjustment mechanism that moves the second part by adjusting the gas to a first pressure, The substrate processing method according to claim 1, further comprising adjusting the gas to a second pressure, thereby adjusting the first external force and the second external force by a second pressure adjustment mechanism that grips the substrate with the first and second parts.

14. The process of processing the aforementioned substrate in a processing chamber, A substrate processing method according to claim 1, comprising:

15. When loading a substrate into the processing chamber or unloading a substrate from the processing chamber, The substrate processing method according to claim 14, wherein the substrate is gripped by the third external force.

16. A substrate transport device having a mounting section for placing a substrate and a gripping section capable of gripping the substrate placed on the mounting section between a first section and a second section, moves the substrate placed on the mounting section by pushing it in the direction of the first section with a first external force by the second section, and grips the substrate placed on the mounting section with a second or third external force by the first section and the second section, The process of processing the aforementioned substrate in a processing chamber, A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device as described above.

17. A substrate transport device having a mounting section for placing a substrate and a gripping section capable of gripping the substrate placed on the mounting section between a first section and a second section, moves the substrate placed on the mounting section by pushing it in the direction of the first section with a first external force by the second section, and grips the substrate placed on the mounting section with a second or third external force by the first section and the second section, and a program to be executed by a substrate processing device via a computer.

18. A substrate transport device having a mounting section for placing a substrate and a gripping section capable of gripping the substrate placed on the mounting section between a first portion and a second portion, A control unit capable of controlling the movement of a substrate placed on the mounting portion by pushing it in the direction of the first portion with a first external force by the second portion, and gripping the substrate placed on the mounting portion with a second or third external force by the first portion and the second portion, A substrate processing apparatus having

19. It has a mounting section on which a substrate is placed, and a gripping section capable of gripping the substrate placed on the mounting section between a first section and a second section. The gripping portion is moved by the second portion pushing the substrate placed on the aforementioned mounting portion in the direction of the first portion with a first external force, and is controlled to grip the substrate placed on the aforementioned mounting portion with a second or third external force by the first portion and the second portion. Conveying device.

Images