Substrate treatment apparatus and substrate treatment system

Abstract

To inhibit footprint increase in a substrate treatment apparatus and a substrate treatment system that not only perform application of treatment liquid on a substrate but also performing predetermined post treatment after the application treatment.SOLUTION: A substrate treatment apparatus comprises: an application unit for performing application treatment at a position apart from a substrate carry-in / carry-out device in a first horizontal direction; a plurality of post treatment units for performing predetermined post treatment on a substrate after the application treatment; and a substrate transfer unit configured to be capable of transferring the substrate back and forth in the first horizontal direction along a transfer path extending in the first horizontal direction between the substrate carry-in / carry-out device and the application unit and, for each post treatment unit, temporarily stopping at a position on the transfer path facing the post treatment unit to give / take the substrate to / from the post treatment unit. The plurality of post treatment units are arranged in a second horizontal direction orthogonal to the first horizontal direction so as to be distributed for the transfer path. The substrate transfer unit transfers the substrate received from the substrate carry-in / carry-out device to the application unit and post treatment unit in this order and, after that, gives the substrate to the substrate carry-in / carry-out device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing system for performing a coating process of applying a processing liquid to substrates for semiconductor packages such as substrates for FOWLP (fan out wafer level package), glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, semiconductor substrates, glass substrates for PDP, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for color filters, substrates for recording disks, substrates for solar cells, substrates for electronic paper, etc., rectangular glass substrates, flexible substrates for film liquid crystals, substrates for organic EL (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrates").

Background Art

[0002] As one of the manufacturing processes of semiconductor devices, there is a coating process of applying a processing liquid to the substrate surface to form a coating film. In recent years, in the field of semiconductor devices, the demand for miniaturization and thinning of devices has been extremely increasing. In order to meet such demands, the FOWLP technology of surface-mounting a single high-integration semiconductor on a printed circuit board has attracted attention. Also in this FOWLP technology, the importance of the coating process is increasing in order to manufacture high-quality products. Therefore, for example, a coating apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] On the substrate on which a coating film is formed by a coating device, post-treatments such as a reduced-pressure drying treatment by a reduced-pressure drying device, a heat drying treatment by a heating plate, and a cooling treatment by a cooling plate are performed. Further, in the FOWLP technology, a pretreatment such as a dehydration baking treatment for removing moisture contained in a printed circuit board may be additionally performed. Therefore, a substrate processing device capable of executing not only a coating process but also a combination of a reduced-pressure drying process, a heat treatment, a cooling treatment, a dehydration baking treatment, etc. has been proposed. For example, a substrate processing device has been proposed in which a dehydration baking device, a coating device, a reduced-pressure drying device, a heating device for post-baking, and a cooling device are arranged linearly, and while transporting a substrate between these by a transport device such as a conveyor, a dehydration baking process, a coating process, etc. are performed by each device. Also, a substrate processing system has been proposed in which EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) is arranged on both sides of the substrate processing device, and automatic loading of a substrate into the substrate processing device and automatic unloading of the substrate from the substrate processing device are performed.

[0005] In such a proposed example (substrate processing device or substrate processing system), a pretreatment device such as a dehydration baking device and a post-treatment device such as a reduced-pressure drying treatment are arranged linearly with respect to the coating device. Therefore, there has been a problem that an increase in the footprint is caused due to an inevitable increase in the size of the substrate processing device or substrate processing system in the arrangement direction.

[0006] This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to suppress an increase in the footprint in a substrate processing device and a substrate processing system that not only apply a processing liquid to a substrate but also perform a predetermined post-treatment after the coating process.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A first aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus that performs a coating process of applying a processing liquid to a substrate received from a substrate loading / unloading apparatus, the apparatus including: a coating unit that performs the coating process at a position separated from the substrate loading / unloading apparatus in a first horizontal direction; a plurality of post-processing units that perform a predetermined post-processing on the substrate after the coating process; a substrate transfer unit that reciprocally transfers the substrate in the first horizontal direction along a transfer path extending in the first horizontal direction between the substrate loading / unloading apparatus and the coating unit, and is configured to temporarily stop at a position on the transfer path facing each post-processing unit and enable the transfer of the substrate to and from the post-processing unit; wherein the plurality of post-processing units are distributed and arranged with respect to the transfer path in a second horizontal direction orthogonal to the first horizontal direction, and the substrate transfer unit transfers the substrate received from the substrate loading / unloading apparatus in the order of the coating unit and the post-processing units, and then delivers the substrate to the substrate loading / unloading apparatus.

[0008] A second aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing system, characterized by including a substrate loading / unloading apparatus for loading and unloading a substrate, and the above-described substrate processing apparatus.

[0009] In the invention configured as described above, the coating unit is disposed opposite to a substrate loading / unloading apparatus such as an EFEM in the first horizontal direction, and the substrate is reciprocally transferred along a linear transfer path formed therebetween. Also, in a second horizontal direction orthogonal to the first horizontal direction, a plurality of post-processing units are distributed and arranged with respect to the transfer path. For this reason, the substrate processing apparatus is compact in both the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] As described above, in a substrate processing apparatus that not only applies a processing liquid to a substrate but also performs a predetermined post-processing after the coating process, and a substrate processing system equipped with the same, an increase in the footprint can be suppressed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4A

Figure 4B

Figure 4C

Figure 4D

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a substrate processing system equipped with a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the substrate processing system shown in FIG. 1. The substrate processing system 100 includes a substrate loading / unloading apparatus 200 that loads and unloads a substrate S, and a substrate processing apparatus 300 that performs a coating process of applying a processing liquid to the substrate S received from the substrate loading / unloading apparatus 200. The substrate loading / unloading apparatus 200 has a mechanism for delivering a cassette C to the front surface. Further, the substrate loading / unloading apparatus 200 has a transfer robot TR0. This transfer robot TR0 has a function of taking out the substrate S accommodated in the cassette C and delivering it to the substrate processing apparatus 300, and a function of receiving the substrate S that has undergone the coating process by the substrate processing apparatus 300 and returning it to the cassette C. In this specification, in order to clarify the arrangement and operation of each part constituting the substrate processing system 100, a coordinate system is appropriately assigned with the Z-axis as the vertical direction and the XY plane as the horizontal plane. Also, in each coordinate system, the direction in which the tip of the arrow points is defined as the + (plus) direction, and the opposite direction is defined as the - (minus) direction.

[0013] The substrate processing apparatus 300 is disposed adjacent to the (+X) direction side of the substrate loading / unloading apparatus 200. In this substrate processing apparatus 300, a coating unit 310 is disposed at a position away from the substrate loading / unloading apparatus 200 in the (+X) direction. Further, between the substrate loading / unloading apparatus 200 and the coating unit 310, a first standby unit 320, a pretreatment unit 330, a second standby unit 340, and a post-treatment unit 350 are arranged in this order in the (+X) direction. Also, inside them, as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 2, a linear transfer path TP extends in the X direction, and a substrate transfer unit 360 (FIG. 2) for reciprocally moving the substrate S along the transfer path TP is provided inside the substrate processing apparatus 300.

[0014] In the coating unit 310, as shown in FIG. 1, the coating unit 1 is disposed in an internal space where a downflow is formed by the clean air sent from the fan filter unit FFU attached to the ceiling surface. The coating unit 1 moves in the Y direction while discharging the processing liquid from the slit nozzle to supply the processing liquid to the surface of the substrate S and coat a coating film. Regarding the point that such a downflow of clean air is formed in the internal space, the same applies to the first standby unit 320, the pretreatment unit 330, the second standby unit 340, and the post-treatment unit 350, which will be described later.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of the coating unit shown in FIG. 2. The coating unit 1 basically has the same configuration as the coating apparatus described in Patent Document 1. Therefore, in this specification, only the main part of the coating unit 1 will be described.

[0016] The coating unit 1 is a coating apparatus called a slit coater that coats the surface Sf of a substrate S, which is an example of an object to be coated, with a processing liquid using a slit nozzle 2 (hereinafter simply referred to as "nozzle 2"). In this specification, the "surface Sf of the substrate S" means the main surface on the side where the processing liquid is coated among the two main surfaces of the substrate S.

[0017] The coating unit 1 includes a stage 4 capable of adsorbing and holding the substrate S in a horizontal posture, and a coating processing unit 5 that performs a coating process on the substrate S held on the stage 4 using a nozzle 2. The stage 4 is made of a stone material such as granite having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. On the (-Y) direction side of its upper surface, there is a holding surface 41 that is processed into a substantially horizontal flat surface and holds the substrate S conveyed along the conveyance path TP by the substrate conveyance unit 360. The substrate S is placed on the holding surface 41 via lift pins (not shown). Also, a large number of vacuum suction ports (not shown) are dispersedly formed on the holding surface 41. By adsorbing the substrate S through these vacuum suction ports, the substrate S is horizontally held at a predetermined position during the coating process. Note that the holding mode of the substrate S is not limited to this, and for example, it may be configured to mechanically hold the substrate S. Further, a nozzle adjustment region RA is provided on the (+Y) direction side of the region occupied by the holding surface 41 on the stage 4, and a nozzle maintenance unit (not shown) is arranged in this nozzle adjustment region RA.

[0018] The nozzle 2 extends in the X direction. Also, in the YZ cross-section, the lower end portion (nozzle lip portion) has a downwardly tapered shape. And at the lower end portion, a slit-shaped discharge port 21 extends in the X direction, and the processing liquid pumped from a processing liquid supply unit (not shown) is discharged from the discharge port 21 onto the surface Sf of the substrate S. Thereby, the processing liquid is applied to the surface Sf of the substrate S.

[0019] The coating processing unit 5 has a nozzle support 51 that supports the nozzle 2. This nozzle support 51 has a support member 51a that extends parallel to the X direction above the stage 4, and two elevating mechanisms 51b that support the support member 51a from both sides in the X direction and raise and lower the support member 51a. The support member 51a is made of carbon fiber reinforced resin or the like and is a rod member having a rectangular cross-section. The lower surface of this support member 51a serves as the mounting location 510 of the nozzle 2, and the support member 51a detachably supports the nozzle 2 at the mounting location 510. Note that various fastening mechanisms such as latches or screws can be appropriately used as the mechanism for attaching and detaching the nozzle 2 to and from the mounting location 510 of the support member 51a.

[0020] The two elevating mechanisms 51b are connected to both longitudinal ends of the support member 51a, and each has an AC servo motor and a ball screw or the like. By these elevating mechanisms 51b, the support member 51a and the nozzle 2 fixed thereto are elevated in the vertical direction (Z direction), and the distance between the discharge port 21 that opens at the lower end of the nozzle 2 and the substrate S, that is, the relative height of the discharge port 21 with respect to the substrate S is adjusted. Note that the vertical position of the support member 51a can be detected by a linear encoder composed of a scale portion provided on the side surface of the elevating mechanism 51b (not shown in the figure) and a detection sensor provided on the side surface of the nozzle 2 or the like facing the scale portion.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, the nozzle support 51 configured as described above has a cross-bridging structure that spans the holding surface 41 and extends across the left and right ends of the stage 4 in the X direction. The coating processing unit 5 has a slit nozzle moving unit 53 that moves the nozzle support 51 in the Y direction. The slit nozzle moving unit 53 functions as relative movement means for relatively moving the nozzle support 51 as a cross-bridging structure and the nozzle 2 supported thereby along the Y direction with respect to the substrate S held on the stage 4. Specifically, the slit nozzle moving unit 53 includes, on each of the ±X sides, a guide rail 52 that guides the movement of the nozzle 2 in the Y direction, a linear motor 54 as a drive source, and a linear encoder 55 for detecting the position of the discharge port 21 of the nozzle 2.

[0022] The two guide rails 52 are respectively provided at both ends of the stage 4 in the X direction, and extend in the Y direction so as to include a section where the nozzle adjustment region RA and the holding surface 41 are provided. And the two guide rails 52 respectively guide the movement of the two elevating mechanisms 51b in the Y direction. Also, the two linear motors 54 are respectively provided on both sides of the stage 4, and are AC coreless linear motors having a stator 54a and a mover 54b. The stator 54a is provided along the Y direction on the side surface of the stage 4 in the X direction. On the other hand, the mover 54b is fixedly provided outside the elevating mechanism 51b. The two linear motors 54 respectively drive the two elevating mechanisms 51b in the Y direction by the magnetic force generated between these stator 54a and mover 54b.

[0023] Also, each linear encoder 55 has a scale portion 55a and a detection portion 55b. The scale portion 55a is provided along the Y direction below the stator 54a of the linear motor 54 fixedly provided on the stage 4. On the other hand, the detection portion 55b is fixedly provided further outside the mover 54b of the linear motor 54 fixedly provided on the elevating mechanism 51b, and is disposed opposite to the scale portion 55a. The linear encoder 55 detects the position of the discharge port 21 of the nozzle 2 in the Y direction based on the relative positional relationship between the scale portion 55a and the detection portion 55b.

[0024] The slit nozzle moving portion 53 configured as described above can move the nozzle 2 between above the nozzle adjustment region RA and above the substrate S held on the stage 4 by driving the nozzle support 51 in the Y direction. And the coating portion 1 forms a coating layer on the surface Sf of the substrate S by relatively moving the nozzle 2 with respect to the substrate S while discharging the processing liquid from the discharge port 21 of the nozzle 2.

[0025] Also, during the period when the coating process is not performed on stage 4 such as the delivery period of the substrate S between the coating unit 1 and the substrate transfer unit 360 (the loading / unloading period of the substrate S), the nozzle 2 retracts to the nozzle adjustment area RA which is deviated from the holding surface 41 of the substrate S in the (+Y) direction side (the state shown in FIG. 3). Then, the nozzle maintenance unit performs various maintenance operations on the nozzle 2 located in the nozzle adjustment area RA.

[0026] Next, returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, the configuration of the first standby unit 320 will be described. The first standby unit 320 is provided adjacent to the substrate loading / unloading device 200. Inside the space of the first standby unit 320, as shown in FIG. 2, a first mounting table 321 configured to be able to temporarily place the substrate S is provided. Therefore, by the operation of the transfer robot TR0 in response to a command from the control unit that controls the substrate loading / unloading device 200, the substrate S accommodated in the cassette C is taken out and placed on the first mounting table 321. In this way, the substrate S before the coating process and the predetermined pre-treatment and post-treatment associated with the coating process are temporarily standby. Also, on the first mounting table 321, as will be described later, the substrate S that has received the above processing is temporarily standby. Then, at an appropriate timing, the transfer robot TR0 accesses the first mounting table 321, receives the substrate S, and returns it to the cassette C. In this way, the first standby unit 320 functions to smoothly transfer the substrate S between the substrate loading / unloading device 200 and the substrate processing device 300 and to adjust the tact time between those devices.

[0027] The pre-treatment unit 330, the second standby unit 340, and the post-treatment unit 350 are continuously connected to the (+X) direction side of the first standby unit 320. Among these, the second standby unit 340 has a mounting table 341 similar to the first standby unit 320. And the mounting table 341 temporarily stands by the substrate S pre-treated by the pre-treatment unit 330 and the substrate S post-treated by the post-treatment unit 350 after the coating process. As a result, the transfer of the substrate S between the coating unit 310, the pre-treatment unit 330, and the post-treatment unit 350 becomes smooth, and the tact time between those units is adjusted.

[0028] The pretreatment unit 330 is disposed between the first standby unit 320 and the second standby unit 340. As shown in FIG. 1, the pretreatment unit 330 includes a housing 331 whose interior functions as a part of the transport path TP, a heating tower 332 in which heating units HPf for performing a dehydration baking process on the substrate S are stacked, and a cooling tower 333 in which cooling units CPf for cooling the substrate S after the dehydration baking process are stacked. The housing 331 is provided adjacent to the first mounting table 321. Also, in the Y direction, the heating tower 332 and the cooling tower 333 are distributed with respect to the housing 331. More specifically, the heating tower 332 is disposed on the (+Y) direction side of the housing 331, and the cooling tower 333 is disposed on the (-Y) direction side. Also, a first transfer robot TR1 is fixedly disposed in the housing 331. The first transfer robot TR1 is configured to be able to access a hand (not shown) capable of holding the substrate S to the first mounting table 321, the heating unit HPf, the cooling unit CPf, and the second mounting table 341. Therefore, by operating the first transfer robot TR1 in response to a command from the control unit that controls the substrate processing apparatus 300, the substrate S reciprocates along the transport path TP between the first mounting table 321 and the second mounting table 341 and is transferred between the first mounting table 321, the heating unit HPf, the cooling unit CPf, and the second mounting table 341. In this embodiment, the number of heating units HPf in the heating tower 332 is "3", and the number of cooling units CPf in the cooling tower 333 is "3", but the number thereof is not limited to "3" and is arbitrary. Also, the number of the heating tower 332 and the cooling tower 333 is arbitrary.

[0029] The post-processing unit 350 is disposed on the (+X) direction side of the second standby unit 340 having the second mounting table 341. As shown in FIG. 1, the post-processing unit 350 includes a housing 351 whose interior functions as a part of the transfer path TP, a vacuum drying tower 352 in which a vacuum drying unit VD for performing a vacuum drying process on the substrate S after the coating process is stacked, a heating tower 353 in which a heating unit HPb for heating the substrate S after the vacuum drying process is stacked, and a cooling tower 354 in which a cooling unit CPb for cooling the substrate S after the heating process is stacked.

[0030] The housing 351 is provided between the second mounting table 341 and the coating unit 310. Also, in the Y direction, the vacuum drying tower 352, the heating tower 353, and the cooling tower 354 are allocated with respect to the housing 351. More specifically, the vacuum drying tower 352 is disposed on the (+Y) direction side of the housing 351, and the heating tower 353 and the cooling tower 354 are disposed on the (-Y) direction side. Further, a second transfer robot TR2 is disposed in the housing 351 so as to be movable in the X direction. The second transfer robot TR2 is configured such that a hand (not shown) capable of holding the substrate S can access the second mounting table 341, the heating unit HPb, the cooling unit CPb, and the coating unit 1. Therefore, by operating the second transfer robot TR2 in response to a command from the control unit that controls the substrate processing apparatus 300, the substrate S is reciprocally moved along the transfer path TP between the second mounting table 341 and the coating unit 1, and is transferred between the second mounting table 341, the vacuum drying unit VD, the heating unit HPb, the cooling unit CPb, and the coating unit 1.

[0031] As described above, in this embodiment, two transfer robots TR1 and TR2 are provided. Then, these transfer robots TR1 and TR2 cooperate to function as a substrate transfer unit 360, transfer the substrate S received from the substrate loading / unloading device 200 in the order described below, and then deliver the substrate S to the substrate loading / unloading device 200. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D, the transfer of the substrate S in the substrate processing device 300 and the processing in each unit will be described. Note that, in order to easily understand the above-described transfer and processing order, the transfer and processing will be described by focusing on a single substrate S.

[0032] FIGS. 4A to 4D are schematic diagrams showing the procedures for transferring and processing a substrate executed in the substrate processing device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Reference numerals M1 to M9 in these drawings indicate the transfer operations of the substrate S.

[0033] In the substrate processing system 100, when the substrate loading / unloading device 200 receives a loading command for an unprocessed substrate S, the control unit provided in the substrate loading / unloading device 200 controls the transfer robot TR0, takes out the unprocessed substrate S from the cassette C, and places it on the mounting table 321 of the substrate processing device 300. On the other hand, in the substrate processing device 300, when a processing start command for the substrate S waiting on the mounting table 321 is given to the control unit, the control unit controls each part of the device as follows, performs pre-processing (dehydration baking process, cooling process), coating process, and post-processing (vacuum drying process, post-baking process, cooling process) on the substrate S, and then places the substrate S on the mounting table 321 in order to deliver the substrate S to the substrate processing device 300. Each process is executed as follows.

[0034] In the pre-processing, as shown in FIG. 4A, the following operations are executed. That is, after the hand of the first transfer robot TR1 receives the substrate S from the mounting table 321, it accesses the heating unit HPf while holding the substrate S and delivers the substrate S (operation M1). Then, after the hand of the first transfer robot TR1 retreats from the heating unit HPf, the heating unit HPf performs a dehydration baking process on the substrate S.

[0035] When the heat treatment in the heating unit HPf is completed, the hand of the first transfer robot TR1 accesses the heating unit HPf to receive the substrate S that has undergone the dehydration baking process, and transfers it to the cooling unit CPf (operation M2). Then, the hand of the first transfer robot TR1 retracts from the cooling unit CPf. After that, when the temperature of the substrate S drops to room temperature by the cooling unit CPf, the hand of the first transfer robot TR1 accesses the cooling unit CPf to receive the substrate S that has undergone the dehydration baking process, and transfers it to the mounting table 341 (operation M3). In this way, before the coating process by the coating unit 1 is executed, the moisture (liquid component) contained in the substrate S is removed, and in this state, the substrate S waits on the mounting table 341 for the start of the next coating process.

[0036] In the next coating process, as shown in FIG. 4B, the second transfer robot TR2 moves to a position facing the mounting table 341. Then, the second transfer robot TR2 receives the substrate S from the mounting table 341, holds the substrate S with its hand, and moves along the transfer path TP to a position facing the coating unit 1, and temporarily stops at that position. Subsequently, the second transfer robot TR2 advances the hand holding the substrate S into the coating unit 1, and places the substrate S on the stage 4 (see FIG. 3) (operation M4). At this time, the nozzle 2 is retracted in the Y direction with respect to the stage 4, and interference with the hand and the substrate S is surely prevented. After the hand of the second transfer robot TR2 retracts from the coating unit 1, the coating process by the coating unit 1 is executed.

[0037] In the next post-treatment, as shown in FIG. 4C, the second transfer robot TR2 moves along the transfer path TP to a position facing the coating unit 1, temporarily stops at that position, and then receives the coated substrate S from the coating unit 1. Then, when the hand holding the substrate S retracts from the coating unit 1, the second transfer robot TR2 directly moves along the transfer path TP to a position facing the vacuum drying unit VD, and temporarily stops at that position. Subsequently, the second transfer robot TR2 advances the hand holding the substrate S into the vacuum drying unit VD, and delivers the substrate S (operation M5). After the hand of the second transfer robot TR2 retracts from the vacuum drying unit VD, the vacuum drying process by the vacuum drying unit VD is executed as a post-treatment.

[0038] When this vacuum drying process is completed, the second transfer robot TR2 moves along the transfer path TP to a position facing the vacuum drying unit VD and temporarily stops at that position. Subsequently, the second transfer robot TR2 causes the hand to enter the vacuum drying unit VD and receives the substrate S. Then, when the hand holding the substrate S retracts from the vacuum drying unit VD, the second transfer robot TR2 directly moves along the transfer path TP to a position facing the heating unit HPb and temporarily stops at that position. Subsequently, the second transfer robot TR2 causes the hand holding the substrate S to enter the heating unit HPb and delivers the substrate S (operation M6). Then, after the hand of the second transfer robot TR2 retracts from the heating unit HPb, a post-bake process by the heating unit HPb is executed as a post-treatment.

[0039] When this post-bake process is completed, the second transfer robot TR2 moves along the transfer path TP to a position facing the heating unit HPb and temporarily stops at that position. Subsequently, the second transfer robot TR2 causes the hand to enter the heating unit HPb and receives the substrate S. Then, when the hand holding the substrate S retracts from the heating unit HPb, the second transfer robot TR2 directly moves along the transfer path TP to a position facing the cooling unit CPb and temporarily stops at that position. Subsequently, the second transfer robot TR2 causes the hand holding the substrate S to enter the cooling unit CPb and delivers the substrate S (operation M7). Then, after the hand of the second transfer robot TR2 retracts from the cooling unit CPb, a cooling process by the cooling unit CPb is executed as a post-treatment.

[0040] After the temperature of the substrate S decreases to room temperature by the cooling unit CPb, the second transfer robot TR2 moves along the transfer path TP to a position facing the cooling unit CPb and temporarily stops at that position. Subsequently, the second transfer robot TR2 causes the hand to enter the cooling unit CPb and receives the substrate S. Then, when the hand holding the substrate S retreats from the cooling unit CPb, the second transfer robot TR2 moves along the transfer path TP to a position facing the mounting table 341 and temporarily stops at that position. Subsequently, the second transfer robot TR2 moves the hand holding the substrate S to the mounting table 341 and mounts the substrate S on the mounting table 341 (operation M8).

[0041] Furthermore, in order to enable the substrate S that has undergone a series of processes (= pretreatment + coating process + post-treatment) to be discharged from the substrate processing apparatus 300, as shown in FIG. 4D, the hand of the first transfer robot TR1 accesses the mounting table 341, receives the substrate S, and transfers it to another mounting table 321 (operation M9). In this way, the processed substrate S waits on the mounting table 321 to be delivered to the cassette C by the transfer robot TR0 of the substrate loading / unloading apparatus 200.

[0042] As described above, in the present embodiment, the coating unit 1 is disposed opposite to the substrate loading / unloading apparatus 200 in the X direction (corresponding to the "first horizontal direction" of the present invention). Then, the substrate S is reciprocally transferred along the transfer path TP formed therebetween. Also, in the Y direction (corresponding to the "second horizontal direction" of the present invention), the heating unit HPf and the cooling unit CPf for pretreatment, and the vacuum drying unit VD, the heating unit HPb, and the cooling unit CPb for post-treatment are allocated and arranged with respect to the transfer path TP. For this reason, the substrate processing apparatus 300 is compact in the horizontal plane. As a result, the footprint of the substrate processing apparatus 300 can be significantly reduced, and the energy required for substrate processing, the amount of clean air used, etc. can be reduced, greatly contributing to the SDGs.

[0043] In addition, in a substrate processing apparatus in which a pretreatment unit, a coating unit, and a post-treatment unit are linearly arranged as in the proposed example, it is necessary to arrange substrate loading / unloading devices on both the loading side and the unloading side of the substrate, and an increase in the cost and footprint of the substrate processing system is inevitable. In contrast, in the substrate processing system 100, the substrate loading / unloading device 200 may be arranged only on the (-X) direction side of the substrate processing apparatus 300, and the above problem can be effectively solved.

[0044] In addition, in the above embodiment, the coating unit 1 is arranged such that the horizontal movement direction of the nozzle 2 in the coating unit 1 is the extending direction of the transport path TP, that is, the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction. Therefore, the substrate S can be loaded / unloaded to / from the coating unit 1 with the nozzle 2 deviated from the extension line of the transport path TP. Therefore, not only the time required for the loading / unloading, but also the time from the substrate loading to the start of the coating process and the time from the end of the coating to the start of the substrate unloading can be shortened. As a result, the tact time required for the coating process can be shortened.

[0045] In addition, although the arrangement order of the pretreatment unit 330 and the post-treatment unit 350 in the X direction is arbitrary, by adopting the arrangement order shown in FIG. 2, the following operational effects are obtained. In the direction from the substrate loading / unloading device 200 toward the coating unit 1 in the X direction (corresponding to the "forward path direction" of the present invention), the post-treatment unit 350 is arranged on the downstream side of the pretreatment unit 330. That is, the post-treatment unit 350 is arranged adjacent to the coating unit 1. Therefore, immediately after receiving the coating process, the coating film has relatively high fluidity, and early drying start is desirable. In this regard, since the distance from the coating unit 1 to the post-treatment unit 350 is short, the drying of the coating film can be performed early, and the coating film can be dried well.

[0046] In the above-described embodiment, the heating unit HPf and the cooling unit CPf correspond to an example of the "pretreatment unit" of the present invention, and respectively correspond to an example of the "preheating unit" and the "precooling unit" of the present invention. The vacuum drying unit VD, the heating unit HPb, and the cooling unit CPb correspond to an example of the "post-treatment unit" of the present invention, and among them, the heating unit HPb and the cooling unit CPb respectively correspond to an example of the "post-heating unit" and the "post-cooling unit" of the present invention. The mounting tables 321 and 341 respectively correspond to an example of the "first standby unit" and the "second standby unit" of the present invention.

[0047] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made other than those described above without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, in the above embodiment, since the pretreatment unit and the post-treatment unit can be arranged on the (+Y) direction side and the (-Y) direction side of the transfer path TP, it is easy to add the above towers according to the time required for dehydration baking treatment, coating treatment, vacuum drying treatment, post-baking treatment, and the like. For example, in FIG. 1, the region facing the cooling tower 354 across the transfer path TP is an empty region. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a vacuum drying tower 352 may be added according to the tact time of the vacuum drying treatment (Second Embodiment).

[0048] Alternatively, instead of the vacuum drying tower 352, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, a heating tower 353 or a cooling tower 354 may be added (Third Embodiment). Thus, since a layout that can be freely distributed in the Y direction across the transfer path TP is adopted, the degree of freedom in the configuration of the pretreatment unit and the post-treatment unit can be increased, and a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing system having high versatility can be obtained.

[0049] Furthermore, most of the substrates S for semiconductor packages are made of resin, and may have absorbed moisture when they are carried in from the substrate loading / unloading device 200. In view of this, in the substrate processing apparatus 300 that applies a processing liquid to the substrates S for semiconductor packages, it is very effective in improving product quality to perform a dehydration bake process as a pre-processing before the application process, as in the first to third embodiments. On the other hand, in the substrate processing apparatus 300 that applies a processing liquid to a substrate S having low hygroscopicity, such as a glass substrate, the pre-processing unit 330 may be omitted, and one of the mounting tables 321 and 341 may be omitted (fourth embodiment), as shown in FIG.

[0050] In addition, in the above embodiment, the transfer of the substrate S between the substrate loading / unloading device 200 and the substrate processing device 300 is carried out via the mounting table 321, but the substrate may also be transferred directly between the transport robots. [Industrial Applicability]

[0051] The present invention can be applied to the general substrate processing technology in which a coating process is performed to coat a substrate with a processing liquid. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1…Applying part 2...Slit nozzle 100...Substrate processing system 200...Substrate loading / unloading device 300...Substrate processing apparatus 310…Coating unit 320…First standby unit 321…First loading platform 321,341…Placement table 330…Pretreatment unit 331,351…Housing 332,353…Heating tower 333,354…Cooling tower 340…Second standby unit 341…Second loading platform 350…Aftertreatment unit 352…Reduced pressure drying tower 360… Substrate transfer unit 510… Mounting location CPb… Cooling unit (post - processing unit) CPf… Cooling unit (pre - processing unit) HPb… Heating unit (post - processing unit) HPf… Heating unit (pre - processing unit) S… Substrate TP… Transfer path TR1… First transfer robot TR2… Second transfer robot VD… Vacuum drying unit (post - processing unit)

Claims

1. A substrate processing apparatus that performs a coating process of applying a processing liquid to a substrate received from a substrate loading / unloading apparatus, a coating unit that performs the coating process at a position separated from the substrate loading / unloading apparatus in a first horizontal direction, a plurality of post-processing units that perform a predetermined post-processing on the substrate after the coating process, a substrate transfer unit that reciprocally transfers the substrate in the first horizontal direction along a transfer path extending in the first horizontal direction between the substrate loading / unloading apparatus and the coating unit, and at each of the post-processing units, the substrate is temporarily stopped at a position on the transfer path facing the post-processing unit so that the substrate can be transferred to and from the post-processing unit, the plurality of post-processing units are arranged separately with respect to the transfer path in a second horizontal direction orthogonal to the first horizontal direction, the substrate transfer unit transfers the substrate received from the substrate loading / unloading apparatus in the order of the coating unit and the post-processing units, and then delivers the substrate to the substrate loading / unloading apparatus, A substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above.

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, the plurality of post-processing units include a post-heating unit that heats the substrate immediately after the coating process, and a post-cooling unit that cools the substrate heated by the post-heating unit.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, the plurality of post-processing units include a vacuum drying unit that dries a coating film of the processing liquid applied to the substrate immediately after the coating process by reducing the pressure, a post-heating unit that heats the substrate vacuum-dried by the vacuum drying unit, and a post-cooling unit that cools the substrate heated by the post-heating unit.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of pre-processing units that perform a predetermined pre-processing on the substrate before the coating process, The plurality of pre-processing units are distributed and arranged at positions different from those of the plurality of post-processing units in the first horizontal direction with respect to the conveyance path. The substrate conveyance unit For each of the pre-processing units, it is configured to temporarily stop at a position on the conveyance path facing the pre-processing unit so as to be able to transfer the substrate to and from the pre-processing unit. A substrate processing apparatus that conveys the substrate received from the substrate loading / unloading device to the pre-processing unit prior to conveyance to the coating unit.

5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, The plurality of pre-processing units include a pre-heating unit that heats the substrate before being conveyed to the coating unit, and a pre-cooling unit that cools the substrate heated by the pre-heating unit.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, In the forward path direction from the substrate loading / unloading device to the coating unit in the first horizontal direction, the plurality of post-processing units are arranged on the downstream side of the plurality of pre-processing units.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, A first standby unit that temporarily waits for the substrate between the substrate loading / unloading device and the plurality of pre-processing units in the conveyance path, A second standby unit that temporarily waits for the substrate between the plurality of pre-processing units and the plurality of post-processing units in the conveyance path, and is provided with The substrate conveyance unit A first transfer robot configured to reciprocate the substrate along the conveyance path between the first standby unit and the second standby unit and to be able to transfer the substrate between the first standby unit, the plurality of pre-processing units, and the second standby unit, A second transfer robot configured to reciprocate the substrate along the conveyance path between the second standby unit and the coating unit and to be able to transfer the substrate between the second standby unit, the plurality of post-processing units, and the coating unit.

8. A substrate loading / unloading device for loading and unloading substrates, and The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and A substrate processing system, characterized by comprising the same.

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