Substrate transfer device, notch position correction method, substrate transfer method, and storage medium

Abstract

To provide a substrate transfer device capable of aligning positions of notch portions of substrates, a notch position correction method, a substrate transfer method, and a storage medium.SOLUTION: A substrate transfer device 10 includes: a load lock chamber (LLC) 16a, 16b; a first wafer handling chamber (WHC) 18; a first transfer robot 18a fixed at the first attachment position 18b in the first WHC; a pass through chamber (PTC) 22 that is in contact with the first WHC; a substrate stage 22a, 22b provided in the PTC; a second WHC 24; and a second transfer robot 24a fixed at the second attachment position 24b in the second WHC. In plan view, a first angle that is an angle formed by a first virtual line, which connects the first and second attachment positions, and a second virtual line, which connects the first attachment position and the substrate stage, is equal to a second angle that is an angle formed by the first virtual line and a third virtual line that connects the second attachment position and the substrate stage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Examples of the present disclosure relate to a substrate transport apparatus, a notch position correction method, a substrate transport method, and a storage medium. [Background technology]

[0002] There are substrate storage cases that store multiple substrates. An example of such a substrate storage case is the FOUP. The substrate storage case is placed on a mechanism called a load port. At the load port, the door of the substrate storage case is opened, and a substrate transport robot removes the substrate from the substrate storage case and provides it to the substrate processing apparatus. The load port is sometimes called a FOUP opener. After the substrate has been subjected to a predetermined process in the substrate processing apparatus, it is returned to the substrate storage case by the substrate transport robot. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] Substrates have a notch or orientation flat, and in this disclosure, the notch or orientation flat is referred to as a "notch portion" or simply as a "notch." When all substrates have finished processing and are returned to the substrate storage case, if the positions of the notch portions of all the substrates are aligned, the substrates can proceed to the next processing step without needing to align the positions of the notch portions with an aligner. However, depending on the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus, there is a problem that the notch positions of all the substrates stored in the substrate storage case may become misaligned, making it necessary to use a notch aligner before the next processing step.

[0004] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided to solve the above-mentioned problems. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a substrate transport apparatus, a notch position correction method, a substrate transport method, and a storage medium capable of aligning the position of a notch portion of a substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] An exemplary substrate transport apparatus includes a load lock chamber (LLC), a first wafer handling chamber (WHC) in contact with the LLC, a first transport robot fixed to a first mounting position in the first WHC, a pass-through chamber (PTC) in contact with the first WHC, a substrate stage provided in the PTC, a second WHC in contact with the PTC, and a second transport robot fixed to a second mounting position in the second WHC. In a plan view, a first angle, which is an angle between a first virtual line connecting the first mounting position and the second mounting position and a second virtual line connecting the first mounting position and the substrate stage, is equal to a second angle, which is an angle between the first virtual line and a third virtual line connecting the second mounting position and the substrate stage.

[0006] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are described in more detail below in the Detailed Description of Example Embodiments of the Disclosure. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0008] [Diagram 2] 2 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of a first WHC, a PTC, and a second WHC. FIG.

[0009] [Diagram 3] 1 is a table showing the relationship between a substrate transport route and a notch position.

[0010] [Figure 4] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating adjustment of the position of a notch portion by the operation of a transfer robot.

[0011] [Diagram 5]FIG. 5A shows a substrate transfer with rotating notch.

[0012] FIG. 5B illustrates an alternative substrate transfer with rotating notch.

[0013] [Figure 6] 1 is a table showing the relationship between a substrate transport route and a notch position.

[0014] [Figure 7] 11 is a table showing a substrate transport route and a position change amount of a notch portion based on an offset approach.

[0015] [Figure 8] FIG. 8A illustrates an example of a controller.

[0016] FIG. 8B is a diagram showing another example of the controller.

[0017] [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device configuration of the transport system.

[0018] It will be appreciated that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale, for example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help understand the illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Although certain specific embodiments and examples are disclosed below, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments and / or uses of the invention, and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof, and therefore it is not intended that the scope of the disclosed invention should be limited by the specific disclosed embodiments described below.

[0020] As used herein, the term "substrate" may refer to any one or more underlying materials, including any one or more underlying materials, that may be modified or on which a device, circuit, or film may be formed. A "substrate" may be continuous or non-continuous, rigid or flexible, solid or porous, and combinations thereof. A substrate may be in any form, such as a powder, a plate, or a workpiece. Substrates in the form of plates may include wafers of various shapes and sizes. Substrates may be made of semiconductor materials, including, for example, silicon, silicon germanium, silicon oxide, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, and silicon carbide.

[0021] As an example, the substrate in powder form may have applications for pharmaceutical manufacturing. The porous substrate may include a polymer. Examples of workpieces may include medical devices (e.g., stents and syringes), jewelry, tooling devices, components for battery manufacturing (e.g., anodes, cathodes, or separators), or components of photovoltaic cells, etc.

[0022] The continuous substrate may extend beyond the boundaries of the process chamber in which the deposition process occurs. In some processes, the continuous substrate may move through the process chamber such that the process continues until the edge of the substrate is reached. The continuous substrate may be supplied from a continuous substrate supply system in any suitable form to enable the manufacture and production of continuous substrates.

[0023] Non-limiting examples of continuous substrates may include sheets, nonwoven films, rolls, foils, webs, flexible materials, bundles of continuous filaments or fibers (e.g., ceramic fibers, or polymeric fibers). A continuous substrate may also comprise a carrier or sheet onto which a non-continuous substrate is attached.

[0024] The illustrations presented herein are not meant to be the actual appearance of any particular materials, structures or devices, but merely idealized representations used to describe embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] The particular implementations shown and described are illustrative of the invention and best mode thereof, and are not intended to limit the scope of the aspects and implementations in any way. Indeed, for the sake of brevity, conventional manufacturing, connection, arrangement, and other functional aspects of the systems may not be described in detail. Moreover, the connecting lines shown in the various figures are intended to represent example functional relationships and / or physical couplings between the various elements. Many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in an actual system and / or may not be present in some embodiments.

[0026] It should be understood that the configurations and / or techniques described herein are exemplary in nature, as numerous variations are possible, and that these specific embodiments or examples should not be considered in a limiting sense. A particular routine or method described herein may represent one or more of any number of processing strategies. Thus, various illustrated operations may be performed in the order illustrated, in other orders, or omitted in some cases.

[0027] The subject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various processes, systems, and configurations, and other features, functions, operations, and / or properties disclosed herein, as well as all equivalents thereof.

[0028] Embodiment

[0029] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate transfer apparatus according to an embodiment. The substrate transfer apparatus 10 includes a load port 12. An Equipment Front End Module (EFEM) 14 is in contact with the load port 12. According to an example, a front end robot (FERB) 14a and an aligner 14b are provided in the EFEM 14. The FERB 14a is a non-limiting wafer transfer mechanism for transferring substrates. The FERB 14a is, for example, a single-arm or multi-arm robot, and supports, vacuum-adsorbs, or electrostatically adsorbs each substrate by an arm located at the end of the FERB 14a.

[0030] The aligner 14b is configured to adjust the notch position of the substrate to a predetermined position. According to one example, the aligner 14b rotates the substrate with a rotation mechanism, detects the position of the notch portion with a notch sensor, and stores the position or moves the substrate to a specified position. The aligner 14b is sometimes called an alignment device.

[0031] Load lock chambers (LLC) 16a and 16b are in contact with the EFEM 14. According to an example, the LLC 16a has a plurality of slots for placing wafers thereon and holds a plurality of wafers in a non-contact stack, and the LLC 16b has the same configuration as the LLC 16a. A first wafer handling chamber (WHC) 18 is in contact with the LLCs 16a and 16b. A first transport robot 18a is fixed to a first mounting position 18b in the first WHC 18. The first transport robot 18a has, for example, a fixed end at the first mounting position 18b and an arm at the end opposite to the fixed end. According to an example, the first transport robot 18a is a single-arm or multi-arm robot and supports, vacuum-adsorbs, or electrostatically adsorbs each substrate by the arm. The first mounting position 18b is, for example, located approximately in the center of the first WHC 18 in a plan view.

[0032] Four pre-stage substrate processing chambers 20 are connected to the side of first WHC 18. Each of the four pre-stage substrate processing chambers 20 can be configured to perform any process, such as pre-clean processing, film formation, etching, film modification, etc., on one substrate. The pre-clean processing is, for example, processing for removing a native oxide film from the substrate.

[0033] A pass-through chamber (PTC) 22 is in contact with the first WHC 18. For example, two substrate stages are provided inside the PTC 22. A first substrate stage 22a and a second substrate stage 22b are shown in FIG.

[0034] The second WHC 24 is in contact with the PTC 22. The second transport robot 24a is fixed to a second mounting position 24b in the second WHC 24. The second transport robot 24a has, for example, a fixed end at the second mounting position 24b and an arm at the end opposite the fixed end. According to one example, the second transport robot 24a is a single-arm or multi-arm robot, and supports, vacuum-adsorbs, or electrostatically adsorbs each substrate with the arm. The second mounting position 24b is, for example, located approximately in the center of the second WHC 24 in a plan view.

[0035] Four subsequent-stage substrate processing chambers 26 are adjacent to the side surface of second WHC 24. Each of the four subsequent-stage substrate processing chambers 26 can be configured to perform any process, such as a pre-clean process, film formation, etching, or film modification, on one substrate.

[0036] The FERB 14a is configured to be able to transfer substrates to and from the load port 12, the aligner 14b, and the LLCs 16a and 16b. The first transport robot 18a is configured to be able to transfer substrates to and from the LLCs 16a and 16b, the four upstream substrate processing chambers 20, and the PTC 22. The second transport robot 24a is configured to be able to transfer substrates to and from the PTC 22 and the four downstream substrate processing chambers 26.

[0037] 2 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of the first WHC 18, the PTC 22, and the second WHC 24. In FIG. 2, a first virtual line La connecting the first mounting position 18b and the second mounting position 24b is drawn by a dashed line in a plan view. Furthermore, a second virtual line Lb connecting the first mounting position 18b and the first substrate stage 22a, and a second virtual line Lc connecting the first mounting position 18b and the second substrate stage 22b are drawn by dashed lines. The second virtual line Lb extends to the center of the first substrate stage 22a, and the second virtual line Lc extends to the center of the second substrate stage 22b. Furthermore, a third virtual line Ld connecting the second mounting position 24b and the first substrate stage 22a, and a third virtual line Le connecting the second mounting position 24b and the second substrate stage 22b are drawn by dashed lines. The third imaginary line Ld extends to the center of the first substrate stage 22a, and the third imaginary line Le extends to the center of the second substrate stage 22b.

[0038] According to one example, the first angle Ab, which is the angle between the first virtual line La and the second virtual line Lb, is equal to the second angle Ad, which is the angle between the first virtual line La and the third virtual line Ld. Furthermore, the first angle Ac, which is the angle between the first virtual line La and the second virtual line Lc, is equal to the second angle Ae, which is the angle between the first virtual line La and the third virtual line Le. For example, the first angles Ab, Ac and the second angles Ad, Ae are 10°, 12°, 15°, 20°, 30°, or 40°. According to another example, the first angles Ab, Ac and the second angles Ad, Ae are any of the divisors of 360.

[0039] FIG. 3 is a table showing the relationship between the substrate transport route and the notch position. First, the sensor of the aligner 14b in the EFEM 14 detects the notch position of the substrate, and the controller memorizes the result. After that, the substrate is placed on either the LLC 16a or 16b. At this time, the notch portion is in the desired position. FIG. 3 shows the path of the substrate from being provided to the LLC to returning to the LLC. FIG. 3 shows 16 patterns of substrate transport routes, and describes each of the transport routes. The LLgo column shows which of the two LLCs 16a and 16b the substrate will pass through when it travels from the EFEM 14 to the first WHC 18. If the LLgo column is 1, the substrate travels from the LLC 16a to the first WHC 18, and if the LLgo column is 2, the substrate travels from the LLC 16b to the first WHC 18.

[0040] 3 indicates whether the substrate passes through the first substrate stage 22a or the second substrate stage 22b when moving from the first WHC 18 to the second WHC 24. If the PTgo column is 1, the substrate moves from the first substrate stage 22a to the second WHC 24, and if the PTgo column is 2, the substrate moves from the second substrate stage 22b to the second WHC 24.

[0041] 3 indicates to which of the first substrate stage 22a or the second substrate stage 22b the substrate provided to the second WHC 24 will return. If the PTback column is 1, the substrate will return to the first substrate stage 22a, and if the PTback column is 2, the substrate will return to the second substrate stage 22b.

[0042] 3 indicates whether the substrate returned from the second WHC 24 to the PTC 22 will be returned to LLC 16a or 16b. If the LLback column is 1, the substrate is returned from the PTC 22 to LLC 16a, and if the LLback column is 2, the substrate is returned from the PTC 22 to LLC 16b.

[0043] The move1 column in Figure 3 indicates which LLC the substrate moves from to which stage of the PTC. If the move1 column is 1-1, the substrate moves from LLC 16a to first substrate stage 22a, if it is 1-2, the substrate moves from LLC 16a to second substrate stage 22b, if it is 2-1, the substrate moves from LLC 16b to first substrate stage 22a, and if it is 2-2, the substrate moves from LLC 16b to second substrate stage 22b.

[0044] 3 indicates which substrate stage the substrate exits from to the second WHC 24 and which substrate stage it returns to. If the move2 column is 1-1, the substrate exits from the first substrate stage 22a to the second WHC 24 and moves to the first substrate stage 22a, if it is 1-2, the substrate exits from the first substrate stage 22a to the second WHC 24 and moves to the second substrate stage 22b, if it is 2-1, the substrate exits from the second substrate stage 22b to the second WHC 24 and moves to the first substrate stage 22a, and if it is 2-2, the substrate exits from the second substrate stage 22b to the second WHC 24 and moves to the second substrate stage 22b.

[0045] 3 indicates from which substrate stage the substrate returns to the first WHC 18 and to which LLC it returns to. If the move3 column is 1-1, the substrate exits from the first substrate stage 22a to the first WHC 18 and moves to the LLC 16a, if it is 1-2, the substrate exits from the first substrate stage 22a to the first WHC 18 and moves to the LLC 16b, if it is 2-1, the substrate exits from the second substrate stage 22b to the first WHC 18 and moves to the LLC 16a, and if it is 2-2, the substrate exits from the second substrate stage 22b to the first WHC 18 and moves to the LLC 16b.

[0046] At any timing on the substrate transfer path up to this point, the substrate is transferred to the upstream substrate processing chamber 20 and the downstream substrate processing chamber 26, and undergoes a predetermined process. For example, during move 1, the substrate may be discharged to the upstream substrate processing chamber 20 and received from the upstream substrate processing chamber 20. For example, during move 2, the substrate may be discharged to the downstream substrate processing chamber 26 and received from the downstream substrate processing chamber 26. For example, during move 3, the substrate may be discharged to the upstream substrate processing chamber 20 and received from the upstream substrate processing chamber 20. Since FIG. 3 explains the substrate transfer path with a focus on the LLC and PTC, such transfer to the processing chambers is omitted.

[0047] The rightmost column in FIG. 3 shows the difference between the position of the notch of the substrate when the substrate is provided from the EFEM 14 to the LLC and the position of the notch when the substrate is returned to the LLC after completing the movements of move 1-3. The difference in the position of the notch is expressed as a rotation component, that is, an angle. From FIG. 3, if the substrate is transport path number 1 or 16 among the 16 types of transport paths, the change in the position of the notch due to a series of transport processes can be avoided. In the case of the transport path numbers 1 and 16, the change in the position of the notch is suppressed regardless of the values ​​of the first angles Ab and Ac and the second angles Ad and Ae defined with reference to FIG. 2. In other words, if the transport path numbers are limited to 1 and 16 and other transport paths are prohibited, all substrates can be stored in the substrate storage case with the notch positions aligned. However, in this case, the transport paths are too limited, transport is delayed, and productivity is fictitious.

[0048] By matching the first angle Ab and the second angle Ad and matching the first angle Ac and the second angle Ae in Fig. 2, the position change of the notch portion in the transport path numbers 7 and 10 in Fig. 3 can be made zero. On the other hand, if the difference between the first angle Ab and the second angle Ad is 1.5° and the difference between the first angle Ac and the second angle Ae is 1.5°, the position change of the notch portion in the transport path number 7 is -3° and the position change of the notch portion in the transport path number 10 is 3°. In this way, by matching the first angle Ab and the second angle Ad and matching the first angle Ac and the second angle Ae, in addition to the transport path numbers 1 and 16, the transport path numbers 7 and 10 can also be used, and the throughput can be improved.

[0049] For example, the substrate transport apparatus 10 has a controller that controls the first transport robot 18a and the second transport robot 24a, and the controller limits the substrate transport routes to the following four routes. A route in which the first stage (LLC 16a) and the first substrate stage 22a are used for the substrate to reach the second WHC 24 from the LLC, and the first substrate stage 22a and the first stage (LLC 16a) are used for the substrate to return from the second WHC 24 to the LLC; A route in which the first stage (LLC 16a) and the second substrate stage 22b are used for the substrate to reach the second WHC 24 from the LLC, and the second substrate stage 22b and the first stage (LLC 16a) are used for the substrate to return from the second WHC 24 to the LLC; A route in which the second stage (LLC 16b) and the first substrate stage 22a are used for the substrate to reach the second WHC 24 from the LLC, and the first substrate stage 22a and the second stage (LLC 16b) are used for the substrate to return from the second WHC 24 to the LLC; A route in which the second stage (LLC 16b) and the second substrate stage 22b are used before the substrate reaches the second WHC 24 from the LLC, and the second substrate stage 22b and the second stage (LLC 16b) are used before the substrate returns from the second WHC 24 to the LLC. As a result, the substrate transport paths are limited to the transport path numbers 1, 7, 10, and 16 in FIG. 3, and the throughput can be increased to some extent while avoiding a change in the position of the notch portion.

[0050] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the adjustment of the position of the notch portion by the operation of the transport robot. The substrate transport system of FIG. 4 changes the position of the notch of the substrate in the rotation direction by repeating a process of returning the substrate from the first substrate stage 22a to the first substrate stage 22a via the second substrate stage 22b, or a process of returning the substrate from the second substrate stage 22b to the second substrate stage 22b via the first substrate stage 22a, multiple times. The semicircular arrow in FIG. 4 indicates such a movement of the substrate in the rotation direction. By such a substrate rotation process, the position of the notch portion can be adjusted to a predetermined position. In other words, while adopting a transport path that cannot return the position of the notch portion to a predetermined position, it is possible to make the position of the notch portion a predetermined position by adding the above-mentioned rotation process. This contributes to increasing the number of transport paths.

[0051] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of such movement of the substrate in the rotation direction. FIG. 5A shows that the notch of the substrate placed on the first substrate stage 22a is on the right side. The substrate in this PTC is moved to the second substrate stage 22b by a transfer robot (second transfer robot 24a) in a wafer handling chamber (second WHC 24) in contact with the PTC, and the position of the notch of the substrate is changed in the rotation direction. In this way, when the substrate is moved to the second substrate stage 22b by the second transfer robot 24a, the substrate rotates by the rotation angle α of the second transfer robot 24a. As a result, the notch of the substrate on the second substrate stage 22b moves in the counterclockwise direction by the angle α.

[0052] FIG. 5B shows that the notch of the substrate placed on the second substrate stage 22b is at a position rotated by α in the counterclockwise direction from the right direction. The substrate is moved to the first substrate stage 22a by the opposite-side transport robot (first transport robot 18a) in the opposite-side WHC (first WHC 18) that contacts the opposite side of the WHC (second WHC 24) of the PTC, and the position of the notch of the substrate is changed in the rotation direction. This rotates the substrate by the rotation angle α of the first transport robot 18a. As a result, the notch of the substrate moves in the counterclockwise direction by the angle α. The terms transport robot and opposite-side transport robot are used because it is intended that the positional relationship between these and the LLC is not particularly limited.

[0053] By alternately repeating such substrate movement using the transfer robot and the opposite-side transfer robot, the notch position of the substrate can be corrected to a predetermined position. According to one example, such substrate rotation processing can be realized by a controller controlling the first transfer robot 18a and the second transfer robot 24a (or the transfer robot and the opposite-side transfer robot). Then, after the notch position has been corrected by this method, the substrate is moved to a load lock chamber by the transfer robot or the opposite-side transfer robot without changing the rotational position of the notch. This allows the position of the notch portion of the substrate to be unified to a predetermined position.

[0054] In a platform in which the first angle Ab and the second angle Ad defined in FIG. 2 are unified to any divisor of 360, and the first angle Ac and the second angle Ae are unified to any divisor of 360, the rotation process of the notch portion described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 can be performed. For example, if α in FIGS. 5A and 5B is set to 10°, 15°, 20°, 30°, or 40°, the position of the notch portion can be changed in the rotation direction by 20°, 30°, 40°, 60°, or 80°, respectively, by one rotation process of the substrate. After adjusting the position of the notch portion to a predetermined position by such a rotation process, the substrate can be returned to the LLC, thereby unifying the notch position. In other words, the position of the notch portion can be aligned while making some new transport paths available to the four transport paths in FIG. 3.

[0055] FIG. 6 is a table showing the relationship between the transport route of the substrate and the notch position. In FIG. 6, move 3-6 means the rotation process of the substrate explained in FIG. 5. According to the transport routes 1, 7, 10, and 16, which have a value of 0 in the rightmost column of FIG. 6, the position of the notch part can be aligned before and after transport without rotating the substrate. Furthermore, in the transport routes 3, 5, 12, and 14, which have a value of 360 or -360 in the rightmost column, the substrate is rotated once by move 3 and 4, and the substrate is rotated once again by move 5 and 6, so that the position of the notch part can be aligned with the position of the notch part of the transport routes 1, 7, 10, and 16. Therefore, in this example, the transport routes 1, 7, 10, and 16 and the transport routes 3, 5, 12, and 14 can be used, and the position of the notch part can be aligned while increasing the throughput.

[0056] Unlike the examples so far, before starting substrate transportation, the substrate is rotated to offset the position of the notch, so that the notch position of the substrate when returning to the LLC can be unified. For example, such a substrate transportation method includes the following processes. First process: Calculating the expected rotation direction of the notch position of the substrate and the amount of angular change of the notch position when the substrate is transported along a planned transport path via a pass-through chamber. Second process: rotating the substrate in the direction opposite to the rotation direction by the same amount as the angle change amount. Third process: transporting the substrate along the planned transport path. According to one example, the planned transfer path includes load lock chambers LLC 16a, 16b, a first WHC 18, a PTC 22, and a second WHC 24.

[0057] By carrying out the processes in the order of the first process, the second process, and the third process, the position of the notch when the substrate is returned to the LLC can be unified regardless of the transport path taken. By storing multiple substrates transported along the planned transport path in a substrate case without changing the rotational angle of the notch, substrate alignment in the next process can be omitted.

[0058] The first process is a process for calculating the change in the position of the notch when there is no offset of the notch and the board is transported along the planned transport path. Specifically, the board transport pattern determined by a device called a sequencer that controls the movement of the board is obtained, and the deviation of the notch caused by the transport pattern is calculated. The deviation of the notch is defined, for example, by the rotation direction of the notch position and the amount of angular change of the notch position.

[0059] In the second process, the substrate is rotated, for example, by a notch aligner in the EFEM, to apply the offset as described above. In the third process, the substrate is transported along a planned transport path. The planned transport path is not particularly limited as long as it includes the PTC and the two WHCs that sandwich it. According to one example, multiple substrates rotate according to the transport path by passing through the PTC and the two WHCs, but the rotation is offset by the offset described above, and the positions of the notches of all the substrates are eventually aligned.

[0060] FIG. 7 is a table showing the substrate transport path and the position change amount of the notch part in such an offset approach. When a substrate is transported on the platform in FIG. 1, there are 16 different transport paths. For example, the expected angle change amount of the notch part in the transport path with transport path number 2 is 36°, but by applying an offset of -36° in advance, the angle of the notch part when it returns to the LLC can be set to 0°, that is, the desired angle. By applying a similar offset to transport path numbers 3-15, the angle of the notch part when it returns to the LLC can be set to 0°. Therefore, it is possible to align the position of the notch part while making all transport paths available.

[0061] 8A and 8B are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of the controller. The controller controls the devices related to substrate transport, and in the example of FIG. 1, the FERB 14a, the aligner 14b, the first transport robot 18a, and the second transport robot 24a are controlled by the controller. The controller has a processing circuit 50. The above-mentioned functions performed in the controller are realized by the processing circuit 50. That is, the processing circuit issues commands to the FERB 14a, the aligner 14b, the first transport robot 18a, and the second transport robot 24a to transport the substrate according to a predetermined transport path. Such a transport path may include a rotation process as exemplified in FIGS. 4 and 5. According to another example, the processing circuit 50 issues commands to the substrate transport device to execute the above-mentioned first to third processes characterized by offsets.

[0062] The processing circuit 50 may be dedicated hardware (dedicated circuitry) or a CPU (Central Processing Unit, processing device, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, processor, or DSP) that executes a program stored in a memory. When the processing circuit 50 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof.

[0063] FIG. 8B shows an example of the configuration of the controller when the processing circuit is a CPU. In this case, each function of the controller is realized by software or a combination of software and firmware. The software or firmware is written as a program and stored in the memory 52. ​​The processor 54 realizes each function by reading and executing the program stored in the memory 52. ​​That is, the controller includes a memory 52 that stores a program that, when executed by the processing circuit, results in the execution of each of the above-mentioned steps. These programs can also be said to cause a computer to execute the above-mentioned procedures and methods. Here, the memory corresponds to, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, or a DVD. Of course, some of the above-mentioned functions may be realized by hardware, and some by software or firmware.

[0064] Thus, each of the above-mentioned functions is performed by a processor executing a program stored in a memory or by processing a dedicated circuit. According to one example, the following program is recorded on a computer-readable storage medium. The program causes a computer to execute the steps of picking up a substrate from a first side of a pass-through chamber (PTC) having two stages and moving it to another stage of the PTC, and picking up the transferred substrate from a second side of the PTC and moving it to the other stage of the PTC.

[0065] 9 is a diagram showing an example of the device configuration of the transfer system. The control unit 40 includes a UPC (Unique Platform Controller) 41. The UPC 41 schedules substrate processing and issues commands to execute the substrate processing. The UPC 41 stores data related to the configuration of the substrate processing device, recipes that define the substrate processing content, and information related to environmental settings such as whether or not to enable an alarm and language settings. The UPC 41 is connected to, for example, the processing chamber 20 and the processing chamber 26.

[0066] A TMC (Transfer Module Controller) 42 is connected to the UPC 41. The aligner 14b and robot controllers 44, 48, and 52 are connected to the TMC 42. The robot controllers 44, 48, and 52 are provided, for example, below or above the FERB 14a, the first transfer robot 18a, and the second transfer robot 24a, respectively. The TMC 42 controls the notch aligner 43 and the robot controllers 44, 48, and 52 upon receiving a command from the UPC 41. Although not shown, a load lock chamber, a gate valve, and the like are also subject to control by the TMC 42.

Claims

1. A load lock chamber (LLC); a first wafer handling chamber (WHC) in contact with the LLC; a first transport robot fixed to a first mounting position in the first WHC; a pass-through chamber (PTC) in contact with the first WHC; A substrate stage provided in the PTC; A second WHC in contact with the PTC; a second transport robot fixed to a second mounting position in the second WHC; A substrate conveying device, in a plan view, where a first angle is an angle between a first virtual line connecting the first mounting position and the second mounting position and a second virtual line connecting the first mounting position and the substrate stage, and is equal to a second angle is an angle between the first virtual line and a third virtual line connecting the second mounting position and the substrate stage.

2. The substrate transport apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first angle and the second angle are 10°, 12°, 15°, 20°, 30°, or 40°.

3. 2. The substrate transport apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first angle and the second angle are divisors of 360.

4. an EFEM in contact with the load lock chamber; A load port in contact with the EFEM; The substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: an aligner provided in the EFEM for adjusting a notch position of the substrate to a predetermined position.

5. The substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate stage comprises a first substrate stage and a second substrate stage.

6. a front-stage substrate processing chamber in contact with the first WHC and configured to process one substrate; 2. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a downstream substrate processing chamber in contact with the second WHC and provided for processing one substrate.

7. Controlling the first transport robot and the second transport robot to define a transport route for the substrate, a route using the first stage and the first substrate stage from the LLC to the second WHC, and using the first substrate stage and the first stage from the second WHC back to the LLC; a route using the first stage and the second substrate stage from the LLC to the second WHC, and using the second substrate stage and the first stage from the second WHC back to the LLC; a route using the second stage and the first substrate stage from the LLC to the second WHC, and using the first substrate stage and the second stage from the second WHC back to the LLC; 6. The substrate transport device of claim 5, further comprising a controller that limits a route to using the second stage and the second substrate stage from the LLC to the second WHC, and using the second substrate stage and the second stage from the second WHC back to the LLC.

8. 6. The substrate transport device of claim 5, further comprising a controller that controls the first transport robot and the second transport robot to change the position of a notch in the substrate in a rotational direction by repeating a process of returning the substrate from the first substrate stage via the second substrate stage to the first substrate stage, or a process of returning the substrate from the second substrate stage via the first substrate stage to the second substrate stage, multiple times.

9. A substrate placed on a first substrate stage in a pass-through chamber (PTC) is moved to a second substrate stage in the PTC by a transfer robot in a wafer handling chamber (WHC) in contact with the PTC, and a position of a notch of the substrate is changed in a rotational direction; a notch position correction method for alternately repeating the steps of: moving the substrate placed on the second substrate stage to the first substrate stage by an opposite side transport robot in an opposite side WHC that contacts the opposite side of the PTC from the WHC; and changing the position of the notch of the substrate in a rotational direction, thereby correcting the notch position of the substrate to a predetermined position.

10. 10. The notch position correction method according to claim 9, further comprising moving the substrate after the notch position correction to a load lock chamber by the transfer robot or the opposite side transfer robot without changing the rotational position of the notch.

11. Calculating a rotation direction of a notch position of the substrate and an angle change amount of the notch position that are expected when the substrate is transported along a planned transport path via a pass-through chamber; rotating the substrate in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation by an amount equal to the amount of change in angle; transporting the substrate along the planned transport path, in this order.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the planned transfer path includes a load lock chamber, a first wafer handling chamber, the pass-through chamber, and a second wafer handling chamber.

13. The substrate transport method according to claim 11 , further comprising storing the plurality of substrates transported along the planned transport path in a substrate case without changing a rotational direction angle of the notch.

14. A computer-readable storage medium having a program recorded thereon, The program is removing a substrate from a first side of a two stage pass-through chamber (PTC) and transferring the substrate to another stage of the PTC; removing the removed substrate from a second side of the PTC and moving it to another stage of the PTC.

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