Substrate transfer system

Abstract

To provide a substrate transfer system that can reduce the burden of data processing when detecting the presence or absence of abnormality in substrate transfer by imaging.SOLUTION: A substrate transfer system includes: a transfer unit that transfers a substrate to a position A, a position B, a position C, the position B, and the position A in this order; a sensor A that detects the presence of the substrate having reached the position A; a sensor B that detects the presence of the substrate having reached the position B; a clock unit that measures the passage time when the sensor A and the sensor B have detected the presence of the substrate in this order; and an abnormality detection unit that images the substrate having reached the position C and detects the abnormality in the substrate transfer on the basis of the passage time measured by the clock unit and images obtained by the imaging.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate transport system. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART A substrate transfer system for transferring a substrate is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-110200 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate transport system that can reduce the burden of data processing when detecting the presence or absence of abnormalities in substrate transport by photographing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is as follows.

[0006] [1] a transport unit that transports the substrate so that it reaches position A, position B, position C, said position B, and said position A in this order; an A sensor that detects the presence of the substrate that has reached the A position; a B sensor for detecting the presence of the substrate that has reached the B position; a timer that measures an elapsed time when the A sensor and the B sensor detect the presence of the substrate in this order; a substrate transport system having an abnormality detection unit that photographs the substrate when it reaches position C and detects whether or not there is an abnormality in the transport of the substrate based on the elapsed time measured by the timing unit and the image obtained by photographing.

[0007] [2] The substrate transport system according to [1], wherein the abnormality detection unit takes the photograph at a timing determined based on the elapsed time measured by the timing unit.

[0008] [3] The substrate transport system according to [1] or [2], further comprising an alarm unit that issues an alarm when the abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality in the transport of the substrate.

[0009] [4] a second transport unit that transports the second substrate so that it reaches a second A position, a second B position, a second C position, the second B position, and the second A position in this order; a second A sensor that detects the presence of the second substrate that has reached the second A position; a second B sensor that detects the presence of the second substrate that has reached the second B position; the timer measures a second elapsed time when the second A sensor and the second B sensor detect the presence of the second substrate in this order; the abnormality detection unit performs a second image capture of the second substrate that has reached the second C position, and detects whether or not there is an abnormality in the transportation of the second substrate based on the second elapsed time measured by the timing unit and the image obtained by the second image capture, The substrate transport system according to [3], wherein the notification unit issues a notification when the abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality in the transport of the second substrate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a substrate transport system that can reduce the burden of data processing when detecting the presence or absence of abnormalities in substrate transport by photographing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a top view showing a first transfer processing section of a substrate transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2]2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, illustrating a state when a first substrate being transported by a first transport unit has reached a 1A position. FIG. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the first substrate reaches position 1B after being conveyed from the state in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the first substrate reaches a 1C position after being conveyed from the state of FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the entire substrate transfer system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, in one embodiment of the present invention, a substrate transfer system 1 (see FIG. 5) transfers a substrate 11A to a (first) A position P1A, a (first) B position P2A, a (first) C position P3A, a B position P2A, and an A position P1A in this order (see FIGS. 2 to 4). A (first) A sensor 12A (see FIG. 1) detects the presence of the substrate 11A that has reached the A position P1A, and a (first) A sensor 12B (see FIG. 1) detects the presence of the substrate 11A that has reached the B position P2A. The apparatus has a (first) B sensor 13A (see Figure 1) that detects the presence of substrate 11A, a timing unit 14 (see Figure 5) that measures the (first) elapsed time when the A sensor 12A and the B sensor 13A detect the presence of substrate 11A in this order, and an abnormality detection unit 7 (see Figure 5) that takes an image of substrate 11A that has reached position C P3A and detects whether or not there is an abnormality in the transportation of substrate 11A at position C P3A based on the elapsed time measured by the timing unit 14 and the image obtained by the image capture.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, the substrate transfer system 1 includes a (first) transfer processing unit 2A having a (first) transfer unit 3A, a (first) transfer pallet 4A, and a (first) processing unit 5A, and a second transfer processing unit 2B having a second transfer unit 3B, a second transfer pallet 4B, and a second processing unit 5B. The (first) transfer pallet 4A includes a (first) gripper 4aA and a (first) pallet 4bA as a (first) system component 6A. The second transfer pallet 4B includes a second gripper 4aB and a second pallet 4bB as a second system component 6B. The substrate transfer system 1 also includes a third transfer processing unit 2C, a fourth transfer processing unit 2D, a fifth transfer processing unit 2E, and a sixth transfer processing unit 2F. The number of transfer processing units provided in the substrate transfer system 1 can be set as appropriate. The (first) transport processing unit 2A transports and processes the (first) substrate 11A, the second transport processing unit 2B transports and processes the second substrate 11B, the third transport processing unit 2C transports and processes the third substrate 11C, the fourth transport processing unit 2D transports and processes the fourth substrate 11D, the fifth transport processing unit 2E transports and processes the fifth substrate 11E, and the sixth transport processing unit 2F transports and processes the sixth substrate 11F.

[0015] The substrate transfer system 1 includes an abnormality detection unit 7 (see FIG. 5) having a (first) imaging unit 7aA for the (first) transfer processing unit 2A, a second imaging unit 7aB for the second transfer processing unit 2B, and a determination unit 7b, and an alarm unit 9 (see FIG. 5). The determination unit 7b is capable of communicating with the alarm unit 9, the (first) imaging unit 7aA, and the second imaging unit 7aB. The abnormality detection unit 7 also includes a third imaging unit 7aC for the third transfer processing unit 2C, a fourth imaging unit 7aD for the fourth transfer processing unit 2D, a fifth imaging unit 7aE for the fifth transfer processing unit 2E, and a sixth imaging unit 7aF for the sixth transfer processing unit 2F.

[0016] The substrate transfer system 1 has a (1)A sensor 12A and a (1)B sensor 13A for the (1) transfer processing unit 2A, and a (2)A sensor 12B and a (2)B sensor 13B for the second transfer processing unit 2B. The timer 14 is capable of communicating with the (1)A sensor 12A, the (1)B sensor 13A, the (2)A sensor 12B, the (2)B sensor 13B, and the abnormality detection unit 7. The substrate transfer system 1 also has a 3A sensor 12C and a 3B sensor 13C for the third transfer processing unit 2C, a 4A sensor 12D and a 4B sensor 13D for the fourth transfer processing unit 2D, a 5A sensor 12E and a 5B sensor 13E for the fifth transfer processing unit 2E, and a 6A sensor 12F and a 6B sensor 13F for the sixth transfer processing unit 2F.

[0017] In this embodiment, when the transport unit 3A transports the substrate 11A, such as a wafer (e.g., a silicon wafer), to position A P1A, position B P2A, and position C P3A in this order, the anomaly detection unit 7 photographs the substrate 11A that has reached position C P3A and processes the resulting image to detect whether or not there is an anomaly in the transport of the substrate 11A at position C P3A. In this case, from the perspective of minimizing the burden on the anomaly detection unit 7 due to image processing, etc., it is necessary to detect whether or not there is an anomaly only when the substrate 11A reaches position C P3A. According to this embodiment, the timing at which the substrate 11A reaches position C P3A can be identified by the A sensor 12A, the B sensor 13A, and the timing unit 14. That is, if the time required for transport unit 3A to transport substrate 11A from position B P2A to position C P3A is known, then when A sensor 12A and B sensor 13A detect the presence of substrate 11A in this order, timer unit 14 measures the elapsed time, and it can be determined that substrate 11A has reached position C P3A when the elapsed time reaches the required time. Also, when A sensor 12A and B sensor 13A detect the presence of substrate 11A in the reverse order, the anomaly detection unit 7 does not detect the presence or absence of an abnormality (preferably, no image capture is performed by the anomaly detection unit 7, and more preferably, no image capture is performed by the anomaly detection unit 7 and no measurement of the elapsed time by the timer unit 14 is performed). Therefore, the anomaly detection unit 7 can detect the presence or absence of an abnormality in the transport of substrate 11A only when substrate 11A reaches position C P3A, based on the elapsed time measured by timer unit 14 and the image obtained by image capture. Furthermore, the A sensor 12A and the B sensor 13A can be configured with simple sensors such as laser sensors, reducing the burden of data processing. Therefore, it is possible to realize a substrate transport system 1 that can reduce the burden of data processing when detecting the presence or absence of abnormalities in the transport of the substrate 11A by photographing.

[0018] The anomaly detection unit 7 captures an image using the imaging unit 7aA at a timing determined based on the elapsed time measured by the timer 14. According to the above configuration, the timing when the substrate 11A reaches position C P3A is identified using the A sensor 12A, the B sensor 13A, and the timer 14, and the anomaly detection unit 7 (imaging unit 7aA) captures an image. This avoids capturing an image at a timing when it is not necessary to detect whether or not there is an abnormality in the transport of the substrate 11A, thereby reducing the burden of capturing an image on the anomaly detection unit 7 and further reducing the burden of data processing. In this embodiment, the image captured by the anomaly detection unit 7 is a still image, but this is not limited to this and may be a video. When the image captured by the anomaly detection unit 7 is a video, the anomaly detection unit 7 may be configured to start and end capturing an image at a timing determined based on the elapsed time measured by the timer 14. The imaging unit 7aA is configured with a camera such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor.

[0019] The abnormality detection unit 7 detects the presence or absence of an abnormality in the transportation of the substrate 11A by the determination unit 7b based on the image obtained by the imaging unit 7aA. In this embodiment, the presence or absence of an abnormality in the transportation of the substrate 11A is detected by detecting the presence or absence of an abnormality in the clearance C (see FIG. 4) between the main surface of the substrate 11A (in this embodiment, the upper surface of the disk-shaped substrate 11A) and the system component 6A. The determination unit 7b and the timer 14 are configured by a processing device 8 (such as a computer) that can process the image obtained by the imaging unit 7aA.

[0020] The substrate transport system 1 includes a gripper 4aA and a pallet 4bA as system components 6A. The gripper 4aA clamps the substrate 11A between the gripper 4aA and a receiving portion 4dA of the pallet 4bA by advancing relative to the pallet 4bA, and releases the substrate 11A by retracting relative to the pallet 4bA. In addition to the gripper 4aA and the pallet 4bA, the transport pallet 4A also includes multiple other grippers 4cA. In this embodiment, the number of other grippers 4cA provided on the transport pallet 4A is two, but this is not limited to this. The transport pallet 4A may not include the other grippers 4cA. The gripper 4aA and the other grippers 4cA may each be formed from a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene. The receiving portion 4dA for the gripper 4aA and the other receiving portion 4dA for the other gripper 4cA may each be formed from an engineering plastic such as PEEK (polyether ether ketone).

[0021] The transport unit 3A performs a first transport (see the right-pointing white arrow in Figure 1) in which the substrate 11A is transported in a forward direction toward the system component 6A so that it reaches position A P1A, position B P2A, and position C P3A in that order, and a second transport (see the left-pointing thick arrow in Figure 1) in which the substrate 11A is transported in a backward direction away from the system component 6A so that it reaches position C P3A, position B P2A, and position A P1A in that order.

[0022] The transport unit 3A is composed of a robot arm having a placement unit 3aA on which the substrate 11A is placed. The substrate 11A placed on the placement unit 3aA is placed on a pallet 4bA of a transport pallet 4A by a first transport by the transport unit 3A, and is clamped between the gripper 4aA and the receiving unit 4dA of the pallet 4bA. The substrate 11A is transported in this state into the processing unit 5A by the transport pallet 4A, and after the specified processing, is returned to its original position by the transport pallet 4A (see the double-headed thick arrow in Figure 1). Furthermore, the substrate 11A is released by the retreating gripper 4aA, and is transported from the transport pallet 4A by a second transport by the transport unit 3A.

[0023] 5, the substrate transport system 1 has a notification unit 9 that issues a notification when the abnormality detection unit 7 detects an abnormality in the transport of the substrate 11A. According to the above configuration, the notification notifies the system administrator 10 of the abnormality, allowing the administrator 10 to take measures such as urging caution or inspecting or halting operation of the substrate transport system 1. The notification unit 9 can be configured with a monitor 9a that issues a notification by displaying on a screen, a warning light 9b that issues a notification by light, or a buzzer (not shown) that issues a notification by sound, but is not limited to these.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate transfer system 1 has a second transfer unit 3B that transfers the second substrate 11B to the 2A position P1B, the 2B position P2B, the 2C position P3B, the 2B position P2B, and the 2A position P1B in this order, a 2A sensor 12B that detects the presence of the second substrate 11B that has reached the 2A position P1B, and a 2B sensor 13B that detects the presence of the second substrate 11B that has reached the 2B position P2B, and the timing unit 14 has a timing The abnormality detection unit 7 measures a second elapsed time when the timing unit 14 and the notification unit 9 detect the presence of second substrate 11B in this order, and the abnormality detection unit 7 takes a second photograph of second substrate 11B that has reached second C position P3B, and detects whether or not there is an abnormality in the transport of second substrate 11B at second C position P3B based on the second elapsed time measured by timing unit 14 and the image obtained by the second photograph, and notification unit 9 issues a notification when abnormality detection unit 7 detects the presence of an abnormality in the transport of second substrate 11B at second C position P3B. According to the above configuration, the common determination unit 7b, timing unit 14, and notification unit 9 can be used to detect and notify whether or not there is an abnormality in the transport of (first) substrate 11A at (first) C position P3A, and to detect and notify whether or not there is an abnormality in the transport of second substrate 11B at second C position P3B, thereby achieving efficient operation of the entire system. The substrate transport system 1 is not limited to the above configuration using a common judgment unit 7b and timing unit 14, but may also be configured to separately provide, for example, a first judgment unit and a first timing unit (not shown) for detecting whether or not there is an abnormality in the transport of the (first) substrate 11A at the (first) C position P3A, and a second judgment unit and a second timing unit (not shown) for detecting whether or not there is an abnormality in the transport of the second substrate 11B at the second C position P3B.

[0025] The abnormality detection unit 7 captures an image using the second imaging unit 7aB at a timing determined based on the second elapsed time measured by the timing unit 14. The abnormality detection unit 7 detects the presence or absence of an abnormality in the transport of the second substrate 11B using the determination unit 7b based on the image obtained by the second imaging unit 7aB. In this embodiment, the presence or absence of an abnormality in the transport of the second substrate 11B is detected by detecting the presence or absence of an abnormality in the clearance C between the main surface of the second substrate 11B and the second system component 6B.

[0026] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the above-described embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1. Substrate transport system 2A (1st) Transport Processing Section 2B Second transport processing section 2C 3rd transport processing section 2D 4th transport processing section 2E 5th transport processing section 2F 6th Transport Processing Section 3A (1st) Conveyor 3aA Placement section 3B 2nd transport section 4A (1st) Transport Pallet 4aA (1st) Gripper 4bA (1st) Palette 4cA Other grippers 4dA Receiving part 4B Second transport pallet 4aB Second gripper 4bB 2nd Palette 5A (first) processing section 5B Second Processing Section 6A (1st) System Components 6B Second system component 7. Anomaly detection unit 7aA (first) imaging unit 7aB 2nd imaging section 7aC Third imaging unit 7aD 4th imaging unit 7aE 5th imaging unit 7aF 6th imaging unit 7b Judgment part 8 Processing equipment 9. Information Department 9a Monitor 9b Warning light 10 System Administrator 11A (1st) board 11B 2nd board 11C 3rd board 11D 4th board 11E 5th board 11F 6th board 12A (1st) A sensor 12B 2nd A sensor 12C 3A sensor 12D 4th A sensor 12E 5A sensor 12F 6A Sensor 13A (1st) B sensor 13B 2nd B sensor 13C 3B sensor 13D 4th B sensor 13E 5B Sensor 13F 6B Sensor 14 Timing section C Clearance P1A (1st) A position P2A (1st)B position P3A (1st)C position P1B 2nd A position P2B 2nd B position P3B 2nd C position

Claims

1. a transport unit that transports the substrate so that it reaches position A, position B, position C, position B, and position A in this order; an A sensor that detects the presence of the substrate that has reached the A position; a B sensor for detecting the presence of the substrate that has reached the B position; a timer that measures an elapsed time when the A sensor and the B sensor detect the presence of the substrate in this order; a substrate transport system having an abnormality detection unit that photographs the substrate when it reaches position C and detects whether or not there is an abnormality in the transport of the substrate based on the elapsed time measured by the timing unit and the image obtained by photographing.

2. The substrate transfer system according to claim 1 , wherein the abnormality detection unit takes the photograph at a timing determined based on the elapsed time measured by the timer unit.

3. 2. The substrate transport system according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that issues a notification when the abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality in the transport of the substrate.

4. a second transport unit that transports the second substrate so that it reaches a second A position, a second B position, a second C position, the second B position, and the second A position in this order; a second A sensor that detects the presence of the second substrate that has reached the second A position; a second B sensor that detects the presence of the second substrate that has reached the second B position; the timer measures a second elapsed time when the second A sensor and the second B sensor detect the presence of the second substrate in this order; the abnormality detection unit performs a second image capture of the second substrate that has reached the second C position, and detects whether or not there is an abnormality in the transportation of the second substrate based on the second elapsed time measured by the timing unit and the image obtained by the second image capture, The substrate transfer system according to claim 3 , wherein the notification unit issues a notification when the abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality in the transfer of the second substrate.

Images