Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method, program, and recording medium

Abstract

To suppress over-baking by a heating unit in a substrate processing apparatus including a coating unit for coating a processing liquid on a substrate and the heating unit for heating the substrate coated with the processing liquid.SOLUTION: In the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method according to the present invention, three types of transport patterns respectively adapted to heating processing times different from each other are prepared in advance. The transport pattern is selectively set from the three types based on the heating processing time when the substrate is heated by the heating unit. Therefore, the processing standby time in the heating unit can be made zero or short, and overbaking by the heating unit can be suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing technology that performs a coating process in which a treatment liquid is applied to semiconductor package substrates such as substrates for FOWLP (fan out wafer level package), glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, semiconductor substrates, glass substrates for PDPs, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for color filters, substrates for recording disks, substrates for solar cells, substrates for electronic paper and other precision electronic device substrates, rectangular glass substrates, flexible substrates for film liquid crystals, and substrates for organic EL (electronic light emitting diode) (hereinafter simply referred to as "substrates"), and a heat treatment in which the substrates to which the treatment liquid has been applied are heated. [Background technology]

[0002] One of the manufacturing processes for semiconductor devices is a coating process in which a processing liquid is applied to the surface of a substrate to form a coating film. Substrates that have undergone the coating process are then subjected to post-processing, such as reduced-pressure drying, heating, and cooling. Therefore, a substrate processing apparatus has been proposed that is equipped with multiple processing units, such as a coating section that performs the coating process, a reduced-pressure drying section that performs the reduced-pressure drying process, a hot plate unit that performs the heating process, and a cool plate unit that performs the cooling process (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-47895 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-209961 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-described substrate processing apparatus, unprocessed substrates are transported among a plurality of processing units in a predetermined order, undergo processing in each processing unit, and then are removed. To transport substrates in this manner, Patent Document 1 provides two transport means (=transfer robot + transport mechanism). In recent years, in order to reduce the footprint of substrate processing apparatuses, it has been considered to apply the technology described in Patent Document 2, for example, to substrate processing apparatuses. That is, in substrate processing apparatuses, a plurality of processing units are concentrated in one processing unit group, and one transport robot transports substrates within the processing unit group in a predetermined transport pattern. The substrate processing apparatus processes substrates by repeating this transport pattern at a fixed interval, or in other words, a line takt.

[0005] In such substrate processing apparatuses, if the processing time in a processing unit is not an integral multiple of the line takt, it is necessary to match the processing time with the line takt. Therefore, the substrate must wait in the processing unit. If the substrate waits in a heating unit such as a hot plate unit, a long waiting time in the heating unit (hereinafter referred to as "processing waiting time") can result in overbaking, resulting in process defects.

[0006] To solve this problem, it is conceivable to match the time it takes to heat a substrate using a heating unit (hereinafter referred to as "heating time") with the line takt time. However, imposing such a constraint would make it impossible to accommodate various processes, and would impair the versatility of the substrate processing apparatus. This is not a problem that occurs only in substrate processing apparatuses that perform coating, reduced-pressure drying, heating, and cooling processes, but is a general problem that occurs in substrate processing apparatuses that have a coating unit that coats a processing liquid on a substrate and a heating unit that heats the substrate after the processing liquid has been coated.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to suppress overbaking by the heating unit in a substrate processing apparatus that includes a coating unit that applies a processing liquid onto a substrate and a heating unit that heats the substrate on which the processing liquid has been coated. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A first aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a processing unit group having a coating unit that coats a processing liquid on a substrate, a heating unit that heats the substrate coated with the processing liquid, and a standby unit that temporarily supports and waits the substrate coated with the processing liquid; a transport robot that loads the substrate into the processing unit group at a load position, transports the substrate within the processing unit group, and unloads the substrate from the processing unit group at an unload position; and a control unit that controls the transport robot so that the substrate is transported from the load position to the coating unit and the heating unit in that order and then returned to the unload position by repeating a transport pattern in which the transport robot transports the substrate while moving circumferentially within the processing unit group within a predetermined line tact. The control unit has, as candidate transport patterns, a first transport pattern in which the substrate is transported in the order of the loading position, coating unit, heating unit, and unloading position; a second transport pattern in which, compared to the first transport pattern, a buffer wait is added in which the substrate is temporarily waiting in a waiting unit before being transported to the heating unit; and a third transport pattern in which, compared to the first transport pattern, a unit vicinity wait is added in which the transport robot is temporarily waiting in the vicinity of the heating unit before transporting the substrate from the heating unit, and is characterized in that the control unit selectively sets a transport pattern from the first transport pattern to the third transport pattern based on the heat processing time required to transport the substrate to the heating unit and to heat the substrate by the heating unit.

[0009] A second aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing method in which a transport robot circulates within a processing unit group having a coating unit that performs a coating process to apply a processing liquid onto a substrate, a heating unit that performs a heating process to heat the substrate coated with the processing liquid, and a waiting unit that temporarily supports and waits the substrate coated with the processing liquid, and transports the substrate by repeating a transport pattern in which a substrate is transported into the processing unit group at a load position, and then the substrate is transported from the processing unit group to an unload position after the coating process and the heating process are performed in this order, and the substrate is transported from the processing unit group to an unload position, and the transport pattern candidates include the load position, the coating unit, the heating unit, and the waiting unit. The transport system has a first transport pattern in which the substrate is transported to the inlet and outlet positions in that order; a second transport pattern in which a buffer standby state is added to the first transport pattern, in which the substrate is temporarily held in a standby unit before being transported to the heating unit; and a third transport pattern in which a unit vicinity standby state is added to the first transport pattern, in which the transport robot is temporarily held in the vicinity of the heating unit before being transported from the heating unit. The transport pattern is selectively set from the first transport pattern to the third transport pattern based on the heat treatment time required for transporting the substrate to the heating unit and heating the substrate by the heating unit.

[0010] A third aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the above substrate processing method.

[0011] Furthermore, a fourth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium for recording a program so as to be readable by a computer.

[0012] In the invention configured in this way, three types of transport patterns suitable for different heating times are prepared in advance, and a transport pattern is selectively set from the three types based on the heating time when the substrate is actually heated by the heating unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] As described above, according to the present invention, the transport pattern that is suited to the heating processing time is selected from the first to third transport patterns and set as the transport pattern. This makes it possible to eliminate or shorten the processing standby time in the heating unit, and to prevent overbaking by the heating unit. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 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. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the substrate processing system shown in FIG. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of a calculation processing unit. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a heating unit. [Figure 4] 5 is a timing chart showing an example of a first transport pattern executed in the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 5A] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a first transport pattern. [Figure 5B] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a first transport pattern. [Figure 5C] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a first transport pattern. [Figure 5D] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a first transport pattern. [Figure 5E] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a first transport pattern. [Figure 6] 6 is a timing chart showing an example of a second transport pattern executed in the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 7A] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a second transport pattern. [Figure 7B] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a second transport pattern. [Figure 7C] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a second transport pattern. [Figure 7D] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a second transport pattern. [Figure 7E] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a second transport pattern. [Figure 7F] 10A and 10B are diagrams schematically illustrating main operations of a second transport pattern. [Figure 8] 10 is a timing chart showing another example of the second transport pattern executed in the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 9] 10 is a timing chart showing an example of a third transport pattern executed in the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 10A] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the main operations of a third transport pattern. [Figure 10B] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the main operations of a third transport pattern. [Figure 10C] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the main operations of a third transport pattern. [Figure 10D] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the main operations of a third transport pattern. [Figure 10E] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the main operations of a third transport pattern. [Figure 11] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating selection criteria for a transport pattern based on a target time and changes in processing standby time relative to the target time; [Figure 12] 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a substrate processing system equipped with a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2A is a plan view schematically illustrating the substrate processing system shown in FIG. 1. The substrate processing system 100 includes a substrate loading / unloading device 200 that loads and unloads substrates S, and a substrate processing apparatus 300 that performs a coating process by applying a processing liquid to the substrates S received from the substrate loading / unloading device 200. The substrate loading / unloading device 200 has a mechanism for transferring cassettes C at its front. The substrate loading / unloading device 200 also has a transfer robot R0. This transfer robot R0 has the functions of removing substrates S stored in the cassette C and transferring them to the substrate processing apparatus 300, and receiving substrates S that have been subjected to a coating process by the substrate processing apparatus 300 and returning them to the cassette C. In this specification, in order to clarify the arrangement and operation of each component of the substrate processing system 100, a coordinate system is appropriately used in which the Z axis is vertical and the XY plane is horizontal. In each coordinate system, the direction in which the tip of the arrow points is the + (plus) direction, and the opposite direction is the - (minus) direction.

[0016] A substrate processing apparatus 300 is arranged adjacent to the substrate load / unload device 200 on the (+X) side. In this substrate processing apparatus 300, as shown in Fig. 2A, a processing unit group 1 having a plurality of processing units is arranged on the (+X) side of the substrate load / unload device 200, and a transport robot R is provided to transport substrates S within the processing unit group 1. The substrate processing apparatus 300 also has a control unit 10 for controlling the processing unit group 1 and the transport robot R.

[0017] In this embodiment, the processing unit group 1 includes a first standby unit 2, a coating unit 3, two reduced-pressure drying units 4, two heating units 5, two cooling units 6, and a second standby unit 7. The substrate processing apparatus 300 processes the substrates S by repeating a transport pattern in which the transport robot R moves circumferentially within the processing unit group 1 to transport the substrates S at a constant cycle, so-called line tact (denoted by the symbol LT in FIGS. 4, 6, 8, 9, etc., which will be described later).

[0018] The first standby unit 2 is disposed inside a first standby tower 2T provided adjacent to the substrate loading / unloading device 200. In this first standby tower 2T, a fan filter unit FFU is attached to the ceiling surface, as shown in FIG. 1 . A plurality of first standby units, each having a mounting table configured to be able to temporarily support a substrate S, are provided in the internal space of the first standby tower 2T, where a downflow is formed by clean air sent from the fan filter unit FFU. In this embodiment, a first standby unit 2a for loading on which an unprocessed substrate S is temporarily placed, a first standby unit 2b for unloading on which a processed substrate S is temporarily placed, and a first standby unit 2c as a buffer for temporarily waiting for a substrate S that cannot be unloaded from the substrate processing apparatus 300 due to a malfunction of the substrate loading / unloading device 200 or the like, are stacked inside the first standby tower 2T. Therefore, the transport robot R0 operates in response to a command from a control unit (not shown) that controls the substrate loading / unloading device 200, thereby removing an unprocessed substrate S contained in a cassette C and placing it on a mounting table in the first standby unit 2a. Furthermore, a substrate S that has undergone a series of processes, as will be described later, is temporarily placed on a mounting table in the first standby unit 2b. Then, at an appropriate timing, the transport robot R0 accesses the first standby unit 2b, receives the substrate S, and returns it to the cassette C. In this way, the first standby unit 2 smoothly transfers the substrate S between the substrate loading / unloading device 200 and the substrate processing apparatus 300, and also functions to adjust the line tact between these devices. Note that the formation of a downflow of clean air in the internal space in this manner is also the case in the other units.

[0019] The coating unit 3 is disposed at a position away from the substrate load / unload device 200 in the (+X) direction. The coating unit 3 moves in the Y direction while discharging the processing liquid from the slit nozzle 31, and supplies the processing liquid to the surface of the substrate S to apply a coating film. Note that in this embodiment, a Linear Coater (registered trademark), which is an example of a slit-type coating device, is used as the coating unit 3, but a coating device that applies the processing liquid by another method may also be used as the coating unit 3.

[0020] The reduced pressure drying unit 4 is an apparatus for performing reduced pressure drying processing on the substrate S after the coating processing. In this embodiment, two reduced pressure drying units 4 are stacked inside a reduced pressure drying tower 4T provided adjacent to the coating unit 3 on the (-X) direction side.

[0021] The heating unit 5 is a device that uses a hot plate to heat the substrate S after coating processing. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, the heating tower 5T is disposed on the (-Y) side of the reduced-pressure drying tower 4T, across the transport path TP of the transport robot R. Two heating units 5 are stacked inside the heating tower 5T.

[0022] Figure 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the heating unit. As shown in the figure, the heating unit 5 includes a chamber 50 that receives a substrate S. By performing processing within the chamber 50, it is possible to prevent gas components volatilized by the heat processing from scattering into the surroundings, and by covering the periphery of the substrate S being heated, it is possible to suppress heat dissipation and improve energy efficiency. For these purposes, the chamber 50 has a box-shaped structure consisting of a top plate 51, side plates 52, a bottom plate 53, and a shutter 54.

[0023] The shutter 54 is attached so as to be able to open and close relative to an opening 55 provided on one side of the chamber 50, and in the closed state, it is pressed against the side of the chamber 50 via a packing (not shown), thereby closing the opening 55. On the other hand, in the open state of the shutter 54 shown by the dotted line in Fig. 3, the substrate S can be transferred to and from the outside through the open opening 55. That is, the substrate S before heat treatment, which is held by the transfer robot R, is carried into the chamber 50 through the opening 55. Furthermore, the substrate S after heat treatment inside the chamber 50 is carried out to the outside by the transfer robot R.

[0024] A hot plate 56 is provided at the bottom of the chamber 50. The upper surface of the hot plate 56 is a substantially horizontal plane, and abuts against and supports the lower surface of the horizontally oriented substrate S. Protrusions, i.e., proximity pins, may be arranged on the upper surface of the hot plate 56 to provide a small gap between the hot plate 56 and the substrate S.

[0025] A heater 57 is built into the hot plate 56. The heater 57 is activated by the supply of power to the heater 57 from the control unit 10 that controls the entire apparatus. As a result, the substrate S is uniformly heated by the conductive heat and radiant heat from the upper surface of the hot plate 56.

[0026] The heating unit 5 is provided with a lift mechanism 58 for smoothly transferring the substrate S between the hot plate 56 and the transport robot R. Specifically, a plurality of through holes 561 are provided, each extending in the vertical direction through the bottom plate 53 of the chamber 50 and the hot plate 56, and a lift pin 581 of the lift mechanism 58 is inserted into each through hole 561.

[0027] The lower ends of these lift pins 581 are fixed to lifting members 582. The lifting members 582 are supported by lift pin driving units 583 so as to be able to move up and down freely in the vertical direction. The lift pin driving units 583 operate in response to lifting and lowering commands from the control unit 10 to lift and lower the lifting members 582. This causes the multiple lift pins 581 to move up and down together, making it possible to lift and lower the substrate S in the vertical direction.

[0028] More specifically, the lift pins 581 raise and lower the substrate S between a processing position where the substrate S is supported in contact with or close to the upper surface of the hot plate 56 and receives heat from the hot plate 56, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3 , and an upper position where the substrate S is supported at a predetermined distance above the upper surface of the hot plate 56, as shown by the dotted line. By positioning the substrate S at this upper position, the substrate S can be made to wait for the heating process. Note that in this specification, the process of positioning the substrate S at the upper position and waiting before starting the heating process is referred to as "pre-processing wait," and the pre-processing wait time is referred to as "pre-processing wait time." On the other hand, the process of positioning the substrate S at the upper position and waiting after the heating process is completed is referred to as "post-processing wait," and the post-processing wait time is referred to as "post-processing wait time."

[0029] The cooling unit 6 is a device for performing a cooling process on the substrate S that has been heated by the heating unit 5. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, two cooling units 6 are stacked inside a cooling tower 6T that is provided adjacent to the heating tower 5T on the (-X) direction side.

[0030] The second standby unit 7 is a device for executing a second transport pattern, which will be described later. Similar to the first standby unit 2, the second standby unit 7 is basically configured with a mounting table configured to be able to temporarily support the substrate S. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, the second standby tower 7T is disposed on the (+Y) side of the cooling tower 6T, across the transport path TP of the transport robot R. Two second standby units 7 are stacked inside the second standby tower 7T.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 2A, a transport path TP extends in the X direction through the center of the processing unit group 1 configured as described above. A transport robot R is movably provided along the transport path TP. The transport robot R is a so-called double-handed robot, and moves to a position near each of the towers 2T to 7T in accordance with a movement command from the control unit 10. In response to a substrate receiving command from the control unit 10, the transport robot R moves an empty hand to a processing unit and receives a substrate S from the processing unit (GET operation). In response to a substrate placement command from the control unit 10, the transport robot R moves a hand holding a substrate S to a processing unit and places the substrate S on the processing unit (PUT operation). In response to a substrate exchange command from the control unit 10, the transport robot R performs the GET operation for a processing unit using an empty hand, and then moves the hand holding the substrate S to the processing unit and performs a PUT operation (EXCHANGE operation). By combining these operations with the robot movements described above, the control unit 10 can transport the substrate S within the processing unit group 1 according to various transport patterns.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 2A , the control unit 10 includes a processor 10A, a memory 10B, a reader 10C, an input unit 10D (e.g., a keyboard and a mouse), and a display unit 10E (e.g., a display). The memory 10B is configured with a hard disk drive or the like and stores programs and recipe information for executing a series of processes described below using the substrate processing apparatus 300. The programs are stored, for example, in a computer-readable recording medium (e.g., an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, etc.), read from the recording medium by the reader 10C, and stored in the memory 10B. The programs are not limited to being provided from a recording medium; for example, the programs may be provided via a telecommunications line. The input unit 10D accepts input from an operator, and the display unit 10E displays various information.

[0033] FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the functional blocks of the arithmetic processing unit. The arithmetic processing unit 10A includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 10B is configured by a computer having an access memory (DMAC) and controls each part of the substrate processing apparatus 300 according to a program stored in the storage unit 10B. The storage unit 10B also stores the following first to third transport patterns as candidate transport patterns.

[0034] First transport pattern: a transport pattern in which the substrate S is transported in the order of the loading position (first standby unit 2a), the coating unit 3, the reduced-pressure drying unit 4, the heating unit 5, the cooling unit 6 and the unloading position (first standby unit 2b); Second transport pattern: A second transport pattern in which a buffer standby step is added to the first transport pattern, in which the substrate S is temporarily standby in a buffer unit (second standby unit 7) before being transported to the heating unit 5. Third transport pattern: A third transport pattern in which a unit vicinity standby step is added to the first transport pattern, in which the transport robot R temporarily waits near the heating unit 5 before transporting the substrate S from the heating unit 5.

[0035] The calculation processing unit 10A has the functional blocks shown in FIG. 2B, namely, a basic information acquisition unit 10A1, a slack time calculation unit 10A2, a determination target time setting unit 10A3, a buffer standby travel time acquisition unit 10A4, and a maximum buffer standby time acquisition unit 10A5. Of these, the buffer standby travel time acquisition unit 10A4 calculates the buffer standby travel time a and the maximum buffer standby time b. The various information thus obtained is sent to the transport pattern setting unit 10A6 of the calculation processing unit 10A. The transport pattern setting unit 10A6 then selects and executes the optimal transport pattern from the three transport pattern candidates. These will be described in detail later, but first, the reason for selecting and setting such a transport pattern will be explained. First, the basic transport pattern that has been conventionally used, i.e., the first transport pattern, will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5E.

[0036] Fig. 4 is a timing chart showing an example of a first transport pattern executed in the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Figs. 5A to 5E are diagrams showing the main operations of the first transport pattern. To facilitate understanding of the relationship between the apparatus configuration and operations, the processing units in these drawings are illustrated as follows: First standby unit 2a for loading → ENTER First standby unit 2b for unloading → EXIT First standby unit for buffer 2c → BF3, BF4 Coating unit 3 → LC One side of vacuum drying unit 4 → VCD1 The other side of the vacuum drying unit 4 → VCD2 One side of heating unit 5 → HP1 The other side of heating unit 5 → HP2 One side of cooling unit 6 → CP1 The other side of cooling unit 6 → CP2 One side of the second standby unit 7 → BF1 The other side of the second standby unit 7 → BF2

[0037] Furthermore, the open squares in Figure 4 indicate that the transport robot R stopped near a processing unit is performing one of the GET, PUT, and EXCHANGE operations. These operations are described in detail in Figures 5A to 5E. In the operation explanatory diagrams of Figures 5A to 5E, for example, the symbols "S1," "S2," ..., and "Sn" represent the first substrate S, the second, ..., and n-th substrate S, respectively, and the symbols "M1," "M2," ..., and "Mn" represent the first substrate transport, the second, ..., and n-th substrate transport operation, respectively. Furthermore, the open arrows indicate the movement of the transport robot R, and the solid arrows indicate the transport of the substrate S. Note that these points also apply to the timing charts and operation explanatory diagrams described later.

[0038] The first transfer pattern shown in FIG. 4 is also employed in conventional devices. In this first transfer pattern, as shown in FIG. 4, the transfer robot R moves in a circular motion in the order of ENTER → LC → VCD1 (or VCD2) → HP1 (or HP2) → CP1 (or CP2) → EXIT during a preset line tact LT. Then, the transfer robot R performs one of the GET operation, PUT operation, and EXCHANGE operation when it stops near the entrance of each processing unit. By repeating this circular motion, the coating process, reduced-pressure drying process, heating process, and cooling process for the substrate S proceed in this order. For example, when the circular motion is repeated seven times, seven substrates S1 to S7 are loaded into CP1, CP2, HP1, HP2, VCD1, VCD2, and LC, respectively, and undergo each process. Then, when the eighth circular motion begins, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5A, the transfer robot R, which is stopped near the ENTER, receives the unprocessed substrate S8 from the ENTER and holds it in its hand (operation M0).

[0039] Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the transfer robot R, while holding the substrate S8, moves to a position near the LC and stops there (operation M1). Then, the transfer robot R executes an EXCHAGE operation with respect to the LC. More specifically, the transfer robot R receives the coated substrate S7 from the LC (operation M2). Then, the transfer robot R, while still holding the substrate S7, transfers the substrate S8 to the now empty LC (operation M3).

[0040] 5C, the transfer robot R moves to a position between the reduced-pressure drying tower 4T and the heating tower T5 while holding the substrate S7, and stops there (operation M4). The transfer robot R then executes an exchange operation with the VCD 1 (operations M5 and M6). As a result, the substrate S5 that has been subjected to the reduced-pressure drying process is removed and held by the transfer robot R, while the substrate S7 is transferred to the VCD 1 and subjected to the reduced-pressure drying process.

[0041] Subsequently, the transport robot R executes an EXCHAGE operation with respect to HP1 (operations M7 and M8). As a result, the heated substrate S3 is removed and held by the transport robot R, while the substrate S5 removed in the previous operation M5 is transported to HP1 and subjected to the heat treatment. In this way, the total time required for transporting the substrate to the heating unit and heating the substrate by the heating unit corresponds to an example of the "heat treatment time" of the present invention.

[0042] 5D, the transfer robot R moves and stops between the cooling tower 6T and the second standby tower 7T while holding the substrate S3 (operation M9). The transfer robot R then executes an EXCHAGE operation with respect to the CP1 (operations M10 and M11). As a result, the cooled substrate S1 is removed and held by the transfer robot R, while the substrate S3 is transferred to the CP1 for cooling.

[0043] 5E, the transfer robot R moves to the EXIT while holding the substrate S1 and stops there (operation M12).Then, the transfer robot R unloads the substrate S1, which has been subjected to a series of processes (=coating process + reduced pressure drying process + heating process + cooling process), to the EXIT (operation M13).

[0044] Returning to Figure 4, we continue the explanation. The series of transfer operations described above constitutes the first transfer pattern, and the time required for the transfer robot R to make a circular movement in this first transfer pattern is the cycle operation time CT. This cycle operation time CT is shorter than the line takt LT, and the time obtained by subtracting the cycle operation time CT from the line takt LT is the surplus time c. In the example shown in Figure 4, the time required for the coating process at LC (= the time required for transfer to the coating unit and the time required for coating in the coating unit) is the same as the line takt LT. Furthermore, the time required for the reduced-pressure drying process at VCD1 and VCD2 (= the time required for transfer to the reduced-pressure drying unit and the time required for reduced-pressure drying in the reduced-pressure drying unit), the heating process time at HP1 and HP2, and the time required for the cooling process at CP1 and CP2 (= the time required for transfer to the cooling unit and the cooling time in the cooling unit) are each twice the line takt LT. When each processing time is an integer multiple of the line takt LT, the substrate S does not need to wait. However, each processing time varies depending on the process conditions, which can result in waiting times. A particular problem occurs when the processing time is not an integral multiple of the line takt time LT. This is because if the transport robot R repeatedly moves around in the first transport pattern shown in Figure 4, the heat-treated substrates S may be left waiting in HP1 and HP2 even after the heat treatment at HP1 and HP2 is completed, which could result in the substrates S being overbaked.

[0045] Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to reduce the waiting time for processing the substrate S at HP1 and HP2, the second and third transport patterns are prepared in addition to the first transport pattern. Then, a transport pattern suitable for the heating process time is selected, and the above series of processes are repeatedly executed. The basic idea behind this is to eliminate or shorten the waiting time for processing at HP1 and HP2 by temporarily waiting at the second waiting units 7 (BF1 and BF2) in the second transport pattern. Note that, although two second waiting units 7 (BF1 and BF2) are provided in this embodiment, one unit may be used, and the number of units is arbitrary as long as it is one or more. Furthermore, if the waiting time for processing at each line tact LT becomes long, or conversely, if the time required for heating processing at each line tact LT becomes short, the transport robot R can be made to wait near HP1 and HP2 until the heating process is completed, and then the transport robot R resumes its circular movement at the completion of the heating process, thereby eliminating the waiting time for processing at HP1 and HP2. To clarify these points, specific circular movement and substrate transport operations will be described based on examples of the second transport pattern and the third transport pattern.

[0046] Fig. 6 is a timing chart showing an example of the second transfer pattern executed in the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Figs. 7A to 7E are diagrams schematically showing the main operations of the second transfer pattern. The second transfer pattern differs significantly from the first transfer pattern (Fig. 4) in that the substrate S is transferred to BF1 before being transferred to HP1 or HP2, where it is temporarily held there, and then transferred to HP1 or HP2 to begin the heating process. That is, the transfer robot R moves circularly in the order of ENTER → LC → VCD1 (or VCD2) → BF1 → HP1 (or HP2) → CP1 (or CP2) → BF1 → HP1 (or HP2) → EXIT during a preset line tact LT.

[0047] Here, as with the explanation of the first transfer pattern, the movement of the transfer robot R and the substrate transfer will be explained from the start of the eighth orbital operation. As with the first transfer pattern, at the start of the orbital operation, the transfer robot R, which is stopped near the ENTER, receives an unprocessed substrate S8 from the ENTER and holds it in its hand (see FIG. 5A). Then, while holding the substrate S8, the transfer robot R moves to a position near the LC, stops, and then performs an EXCHAGE operation on the LC (see FIG. 5B).

[0048] 7A, the transfer robot R moves to a position between the reduced-pressure drying tower 4T and the heating tower T5 while holding the substrate S7, and stops there (operation M4). The transfer robot R then executes an exchange operation with the VCD 1 (operations M5 and M6). As a result, the substrate S5 that has been subjected to the reduced-pressure drying process is removed and held by the transfer robot R, while the substrate S7 is transferred to the VCD 1 and subjected to the reduced-pressure drying process.

[0049] 7B, the transfer robot R moves to a position between the cooling tower 6T and the second standby tower 7T while holding the substrate S5, and stops there (operation M7). The transfer robot R then executes a PUT operation on the BF1 (operation M8). As a result, the substrate S5 to be subjected to the heat treatment is temporarily placed on the BF1, and the BF1 enters a standby state.

[0050] Next, as shown in Fig. 7C, while substrate S5 is waiting in the buffer, transport robot R moves to HP1 and stops (operation M9). Then, transport robot R executes a GET operation to HP1 (operation 10). As a result, substrate S3 that has been heat-treated is taken out and carried by transport robot R. At this stage, substrate S5, which is to be heat-treated next, is waiting at BF1.

[0051] Next, as shown in FIG. 7D, transfer robot R moves and stops between cooling tower 6T and second standby tower 7T while holding heated substrate S3 (operation M11). Then, transfer robot R executes an EXCHANGE operation with respect to CP1 (operations M12 and M13). As a result, cooled substrate S1 is removed and held by transfer robot R, while heated substrate S3 is transferred to CP1 for cooling. Furthermore, transfer robot R executes a GET operation with respect to BF1 (operation M14). As a result, substrate S5, which has been waiting at BF1, is removed and held by transfer robot R. Therefore, at this point, transfer robot R is holding two substrates S1 and S5.

[0052] 7E, the transfer robot R moves to a position between the reduced pressure drying tower 4T and the heating tower T5 while holding the heat-treated substrates S1 and S5, and stops there (operation M15). The transfer robot R then executes a PUT operation to the HP1 (operation M16). This allows the waiting substrate S5 to be loaded into the HP1, and the heat treatment begins.

[0053] 7F, the transfer robot R moves to the EXIT while holding the substrate S1 and stops there (operation M17).Then, the transfer robot R unloads the substrate S1, which has been subjected to a series of processes (=coating process + reduced pressure drying process + buffer standby process + heating process + cooling process), to the EXIT (operation M18).

[0054] Returning to Figure 6, we will continue the explanation. The series of transfer operations described above is the second transfer pattern, and the time taken for the transfer robot R to move around in this second transfer pattern is extended by the time required for buffer standby processing beyond the cycle operation time CT. However, the second transfer pattern must be set so that this extended time is equal to or shorter than the margin time c.

[0055] As can be seen by comparing Figures 4 and 6, if the time required for heat treatment at HP1 and HP2, i.e., the heat treatment time, is shorter than 2 × (line tact time LT), applying the first transport pattern as is results in a waiting time at HP1 and HP2, i.e., a processing standby time. However, with the second transport pattern of Figure 6, the time equivalent to the processing standby time becomes the buffer standby time at BF1. As a result, the processing standby time at HP1 and HP2 is zero. It should be noted here that, as shown in Figures 6, 7B, and 7C, the transport robot R must move an additional distance compared to the first transport pattern to perform the buffer standby process. This additional movement requires a certain amount of time. In this specification, this time is referred to as the "BF standby movement time a." In other words, if the processing standby time is shorter than the BF standby movement time a, it is virtually impossible to perform the buffer standby process, and the second transport pattern cannot be applied, forcing the first transport pattern to be selected.

[0056] Furthermore, as mentioned above, the extension time must be set equal to or less than the margin time c, and there is a certain limit to the maximum time that the processing standby time can be reduced by the buffer standby process. In this specification, the sum of the BF standby movement time a and the maximum possible standby time at BF1 is referred to as the "maximum BF standby time b." Therefore, if the processing standby time is longer than the maximum BF standby time b, the processing standby at HP1 and HP2 will not be zero, but will remain partially as shown in Figure 8. In this case, either pre-processing standby processing or post-processing standby processing, or both, may be performed separately. However, as shown in the same figure, it is preferable to perform the pre-processing standby processing. This pre-processing standby processing is a process in which, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 3, at HP1 and HP2, the substrate S waits for a pre-processing time d while supported by lift pins 581 at a predetermined distance above the top surface of the hot plate 56. After this pre-processing standby processing, the lift pins 581 descend, and the heating process begins. On the other hand, the post-treatment standby process means a process in which the lift pins 581 are raised after the heating process, and the substrate S is kept in this state while waiting for the transfer robot R to transfer the substrate S.

[0057] Next, an example of the third transfer pattern will be described with reference to FIG. 9 and FIGS. 10A to 10E. FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing an example of the third transfer pattern executed in the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Also, FIGS. 10A to 10E are diagrams schematically showing the main operations of the third transfer pattern. The third transfer pattern differs significantly from the first transfer pattern (FIG. 4) in that the transfer robot R temporarily waits near HP1 and HP2 before transferring the substrate S from HP1 and HP2, thereby eliminating waiting for processing. That is, the transfer robot R moves in a circular motion in the order of ENTER → LC → VCD1 (or VCD2) → temporary waiting at HP1 (or HP2) → CP1 (or CP2) → EXIT during a preset line tact LT.

[0058] Here, because the third transport pattern differs from the first transport pattern, the movement of the transport robot R and the substrate transport will be explained from the start of the seventh orbital operation. At the start of the orbital operation, the transport robot R, which is stopped near the ENTER, receives an unprocessed substrate S7 from the ENTER and holds it in its hand. Then, while still holding the substrate S7, the transport robot R moves to a position near the LC, stops, and then performs an EXCHAGE operation on the LC.

[0059] 10A, the transfer robot R moves to a position between the reduced-pressure drying tower 4T and the heating tower T5 while holding the substrate S6, and stops there (operation M4). The transfer robot R then executes an exchange operation with the VCD 2 (operations M5 and M6). As a result, the substrate S4 that has been subjected to the reduced-pressure drying process is removed and held by the transfer robot R, while the substrate S6 is transferred to the VCD 2 and subjected to the reduced-pressure drying process.

[0060] Next, as shown in Fig. 10B, the transport robot R executes a PUT operation to HP2 (operation M7). As a result, the substrate S4 is transported to HP2 and subjected to heat treatment. After this, the transport robot R stops in front of HP1 and HP2 and waits until the heat treatment at HP1 is completed (waiting near the unit).

[0061] After the heat treatment at HP1 is completed, the transfer robot R executes a GET operation to HP2 (operation M8) as shown in Fig. 10C, whereby the transfer robot R receives the heat-treated substrate S3 from HP1.

[0062] 10D, the transfer robot R moves to the cooling tower T6 while holding the substrate S3 and stops there (operation M9). The transfer robot R then executes an EXCHANGE operation with respect to the CP1 (operations M10 and M11). As a result, the cooled substrate S1 is removed and held by the transfer robot R, while the heated substrate S3 is transferred to the CP1 and undergoes the cooling process.

[0063] 10E, the transfer robot R moves to the EXIT while holding the substrate S1 and stops there (operation M12).Then, the transfer robot R unloads the substrate S1, which has been subjected to a series of processes (=coating process + reduced pressure drying process + heating process + cooling process), to the EXIT (operation M12).

[0064] Returning to Figure 9, we will continue the explanation. The series of transport operations described above is the third transport pattern, and when this is used, the processing standby time is zero. However, there is the following constraint on the execution of the third transport pattern. In other words, the time taken for the transport robot R to move around in the third transport pattern is extended by the time required for standby near the unit beyond the cycle operation time CT. The third transport pattern can be applied only when this extended time is the same as or shorter than the margin time c. More specifically, the heat treatment time at HP1 and HP2 is expressed by the following formula: LT<heat treatment time≦(LT+c) When the heat treatment time exceeds (LT+c), the first transport pattern or the second transport pattern must be applied.

[0065] As described above, by preparing the first to third transport patterns as candidate transport patterns and selectively setting a suitable transport pattern depending on the heating treatment time, the processing wait time at HP1 and HP2 can be reduced to zero. Also, while Figures 4, 6, 8, and 9 show an example in which the heating treatment is completed by HP1 and HP2 while the transport robot R makes two circular movements, the same applies when the heating treatment is completed while the transport robot R makes one circular movement or while it makes three or more circular movements. Generalizing these, the heating treatment time HT in one heating unit 5 (HP1, HP2, etc.) is calculated as follows while the transport robot R makes N circular movements in the line takt LT:

[0066] ((N-1)×LT) <HT≦(N×LT) In an apparatus that performs the above, a suitable transport pattern can be determined based on the time obtained by subtracting ((N-1) x LT) from the heat treatment time HT. This time is an example of the "determination time" of the present invention. More specifically, when the remainder when the heat treatment time HT is divided by the line tact time LT is zero, the determination time (symbol JT in FIG. 11, which will be described next) can be set to the same value as the line tact time LT, while when the remainder is other than zero, the determination time can be set to the same value as the remainder. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, by comparing the determination time JT with the BF standby movement time a, the maximum BF standby time b, and the margin time c, an appropriate transport pattern can be selected.

[0067] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the selection criteria for a transport pattern based on the target time for determination and the change in processing standby time relative to the target time for determination. In the figure, the horizontal bar with dots represents the target time for determination JT, and the rightmost line in the figure shows the processing standby status for the transport pattern determined according to the target time for determination JT. The graph at the bottom shows the change in processing standby time within the heating units 5 (HP1, HP2). Furthermore, the dotted line in the graph at the bottom shows the processing standby time when no transport pattern is selected, i.e., when substrates are always transported using the first transport pattern. As is clear from the figure, overbaking by the heating units 5 can be effectively suppressed by selecting and setting a transport pattern based on the target time for determination JT.

[0068] The switching of the transport pattern based on the determination time JT is executed by the arithmetic processing unit 10A of the control unit 10. The operation of the substrate processing apparatus 300 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0069] 1 and 2. The arithmetic processing unit 10A controls each unit of the substrate processing apparatus 300 in the following manner according to a program stored in the storage unit 10B. In the substrate processing apparatus 300, recipe information (such as the operating conditions of each unit and the process procedure) defining the processes to be executed in the apparatus is stored in advance in the storage unit 10B. When a series of processes (= coating process + reduced-pressure drying process + heating process + cooling process) is to be performed in a new process, the arithmetic processing unit 10A reads out the recipe information (step S1). Then, the basic information acquisition unit 10A1 of the arithmetic processing unit 10A acquires the line tact time LT, cycle operation time CT, heating process time HT, etc. based on the recipe information. If these values ​​are not included in the recipe information, the basic information acquisition unit 10A1 calculates the line tact time LT, cycle operation time CT, heating process time HT, etc. based on the operating conditions included in the recipe information.

[0070] The arithmetic processing unit 10A acquires or calculates various information necessary for setting a transport pattern from the information acquired by the basic information acquisition unit 10A1 (step S2). More specifically, the line tact time LT and cycle operation time CT are sent to a slack time calculation unit 10A2 of the arithmetic processing unit 10A, and the line tact time LT and heat treatment time HT are sent to a judgment time setting unit 10A3 of the arithmetic processing unit 10A. The slack time calculation unit 10A2 then calculates a slack time c (= LT - CT), and the judgment time setting unit 10A3 then calculates a judgment time JT. The buffer standby movement time acquisition unit 10A4 and the maximum buffer standby time acquisition unit 10A5 of the arithmetic processing unit 10A also calculate a buffer standby movement time a and a maximum buffer standby time b. The various information thus acquired is sent to a transport pattern setting unit 10A6 of the arithmetic processing unit 10A, and a transport pattern is selectively set based on the selection and determination criteria shown in FIG. 11 (steps S3 to S9).

[0071] In step S3, the transport pattern setting unit 10A6 determines whether the determination target time JT is equal to or less than the margin time c. For example, in the case of the determination target time JT(g) or the determination target time JT(f) in FIG. 11, the transport pattern setting unit 10A6 determines "YES" in step S3 and sets the transport pattern to the third transport pattern (step S4).

[0072] If the determination in step S3 is "NO," the transport pattern setting unit 10A6 determines in step S5 whether the determination target time JT is shorter than the value (=LT-b) obtained by subtracting the maximum buffer wait time b from the line tact time LT. For example, in the case of the determination target time JT(e) in FIG. 11, the transport pattern setting unit 10A6 determines "YES" in step S5 and sets the transport pattern to the second transport pattern shown in FIG. 8 (step S6). In this way, the value (LT-b) corresponds to an example of the "second determination reference time" of the present invention. Furthermore, the time d in FIG. 8 corresponds to an example of the "third processing wait time" of the present invention.

[0073] If the determination in step S5 is "NO," then in step S7 the transport pattern setting unit 10A6 determines whether the determination target time JT is equal to or less than the value (=LT-a) obtained by subtracting the buffer standby movement time a from the line tact time LT. For example, in the case of the determination target time JT(d) or the determination target time JT(c) in FIG. 11, the transport pattern setting unit 10A6 determines "YES" in step S7 and sets the transport pattern to the second transport pattern shown in FIG. 6 (step S8). In this way, the value (LT-a) corresponds to an example of the "first determination reference time" of the present invention.

[0074] When the determination in step S7 is "NO," for example, in the case of the determination target time JT(b) or the determination target time JT(a) in FIG. 11, the transport pattern setting unit 10A6 sets the transport pattern to the first transport pattern shown in FIG. 4 (step S9).

[0075] Once the setting of the transport pattern is completed in this manner, the arithmetic processing unit 10A controls each part of the substrate processing apparatus 300 to move the transport robot R in a circular movement according to the selected transport pattern while processing the substrate S in each processing unit (step S10). Also, as long as there is an unprocessed substrate S in each circular movement ("YES" in step S11) and the process is maintained ("YES" in step S12), the process returns to step S10 and the circular movement of the transport robot R and the processing in each processing unit are repeated.

[0076] On the other hand, if there is a change in the process ("NO" in step S12), the process returns to step S1 and a new process is executed. Also, if there are no more unprocessed substrates ("NO" in step S11), the series of processes ends.

[0077] As described above, in this embodiment, the first transport pattern (FIG. 4), second transport pattern (FIGS. 6 and 8), and third transport pattern (FIG. 9) are prepared in advance, each suited to a different heating treatment time HT. Then, a transport pattern suited to the heating treatment time HT in the heating unit 5 (HP1, HP2) is selectively set. As a result, as shown in the lower graph in FIG. 11, the processing standby time in the heating unit 5 can be reduced to zero or a small value d (see the dashed line in FIG. 11). Note that the dashed line in FIG. 11 indicates, for reference, the processing standby time when only the first transport pattern is used for circular movement.

[0078] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, in addition to the coating unit 3 (LC), heating unit 5 (HP1, HP2), and second standby unit 7 (BF1, BF2), which are essential components of the present invention, reduced-pressure drying units 4 (VCD1, VCD2) and cooling units 6 (CP1, CP2) are provided, but the present invention can also be applied to a substrate processing apparatus that omits all or part of these components.

[0079] In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the substrate processing apparatus 300 in which the heating units 5 (HP1, HP2) perform the heating process while the transport robot R repeats the circular movement twice. Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a substrate processing apparatus in which the heating units 5 perform the heating process while the transport robot R repeats the circular movement once, or three or more times. [Industrial Applicability]

[0080] The present invention can be applied to substrate processing techniques in general, including a coating process for coating a processing liquid and a heat treatment for heating a substrate coated with the processing liquid. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 1...Processing units 3... Application unit 5...Heating unit 7...(Second) Standby Unit 10...Control unit 10A: Processing unit 10A1,101…Basic information acquisition section 10A2, 102... Margin time calculation section 10A3, 103...Determination time setting section 10A4...Buffer waiting movement time acquisition unit 10A5...Maximum buffer waiting time acquisition section 10A6...Transport pattern setting section 300...Substrate processing apparatus C...Cassette CT: Cycle operation time HT...heat treatment time JT: Judgment time LT...Line Tact R...Transport robot S,S1~S8...Substrate a...Buffer wait movement time (BF wait movement time) b... Maximum buffer wait time (Maximum BF wait time) c...Free time d...Processing waiting time

Claims

1. a processing unit group including a coating unit that coats a processing liquid on a substrate, a heating unit that heats the substrate coated with the processing liquid, and a standby unit that temporarily supports and waits the substrate coated with the processing liquid; a transfer robot that carries the substrate into the processing unit group at a carry-in position, transports the substrate within the processing unit group, and carries the substrate out of the processing unit group at an unloading position; a control unit that controls the transport robot so that the substrate is transported from the loading position to the coating unit and the heating unit in this order and then returned to the unloading position by repeating a transport pattern in which the transport robot transports the substrate while circulating within the processing unit group within a predetermined line tact, The control unit selects as candidates for the transport pattern: a first transport pattern that transports the substrate in the order of the loading position, the coating unit, the heating unit, and the unloading position; a second transport pattern in which a buffer standby step is added to the first transport pattern, in which the substrate is temporarily standby in the standby unit before being transported to the heating unit; a third transport pattern in which a unit vicinity standby step is added to the first transport pattern, in which the transport robot temporarily waits in the vicinity of the heating unit before transporting the substrate from the heating unit, selectively setting the transport pattern from the first transport pattern to the third transport pattern based on a heat treatment time required for transporting the substrate to the heating unit and heating the substrate by the heating unit; A substrate processing apparatus characterized by:

2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , The control unit a basic information acquiring unit that acquires the line tact, a cycle operation time required for the transfer robot to rotate in the first transfer pattern, and the heat treatment time; a slack time calculation unit that calculates a slack time by subtracting the cycle operation time from the line tact; a judgment time setting unit that sets the judgment time to the same value as the line tact when the remainder obtained by dividing the heat treatment time by the line tact is zero, and sets the judgment time to the same value as the remainder when the remainder is other than zero; a transport pattern setting unit that sets the transport pattern so that when the determination target time is equal to or shorter than the margin time, the transport robot is moved in the third transport pattern, and when the determination target time exceeds the margin time, the transport robot is moved in the first transport pattern or the second transport pattern; The substrate processing apparatus has:

3. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, The control unit a buffer standby movement time acquisition unit that acquires, as a buffer standby movement time, a time required for the transport robot to move an additional amount of time compared to the first transport pattern in order to execute the buffer standby; The transport pattern setting unit sets the transport pattern so that when the judgment time exceeds a first judgment reference time obtained by subtracting the buffer wait movement time from the line takt, the transport pattern setting unit moves the transport robot in the first transport pattern, and when the judgment time exceeds the slack time and is equal to or less than the first judgment reference time, the transport pattern setting unit moves the transport robot in the second transport pattern.

4. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, The control unit controls the heating unit so that the heating process is started after waiting for a processing wait time obtained by subtracting the target time from the line takt time immediately after the substrate is transported to the heating unit in the first transport pattern.

5. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, The control unit Immediately after the substrate is transported to the heating unit by the first transport pattern, a heating process is performed by the heating unit for the heating process time, The heating unit is transported after waiting for a processing waiting time obtained by subtracting the determination time from the line tact time. The substrate processing apparatus controls the transfer robot and the heating unit.

6. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, The control unit a maximum buffer standby time acquisition unit that acquires a maximum time during which the substrate can be allowed to wait in the standby unit as a maximum buffer standby time; when the judgment time is less than or equal to the first judgment reference time and greater than or equal to a second judgment reference time obtained by subtracting the maximum buffer wait time from the line tact, the transport robot and the heating unit are controlled so that the substrate is transported to the heating unit after waiting for a processing wait time obtained by subtracting the judgment time from the line tact, from immediately after the substrate is transported to the waiting unit in the second transport pattern, and the heating treatment is immediately started.

7. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, The control unit a maximum buffer standby time acquisition unit that acquires a maximum time during which the substrate can be allowed to wait in the standby unit as a maximum buffer standby time; When the determination time exceeds the slack time and is less than a second determination reference time obtained by subtracting the maximum buffer waiting time from the line tact time, the substrate is transported to the heating unit after waiting in the waiting unit for the maximum buffer waiting time; The heating process is started after waiting for a third process waiting time obtained by subtracting the determination time from the second determination reference time, The substrate processing apparatus controls the transfer robot and the heating unit.

8. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, The control unit a maximum buffer standby time acquisition unit that acquires a maximum time during which the substrate can be allowed to wait in the standby unit as a maximum buffer standby time; When the determination time exceeds the slack time and is less than a second determination reference time obtained by subtracting the maximum buffer waiting time from the line tact time, the substrate is transported to the heating unit after waiting in the waiting unit for the maximum buffer waiting time; After the heating process is performed for the heating time by the heating unit, the heating unit after waiting for a third processing waiting time obtained by subtracting the determination target time from the second determination reference time, The substrate processing apparatus controls the transfer robot and the heating unit.

9. a processing unit group including a coating unit that performs a coating process to coat a substrate with a processing liquid, a heating unit that performs a heating process to heat the substrate coated with the processing liquid, and a waiting unit that temporarily supports and waits the substrate coated with the processing liquid, and a transport pattern in which a transport robot moves around within a predetermined line tact to transport the substrate, thereby carrying out the substrate loaded into the processing unit group at a load position, performing the coating process and the heating process in this order, and then carrying out the substrate from the processing unit group to an unload position, As candidates for the transport pattern, a first transport pattern that transports the substrate in the order of the loading position, the coating unit, the heating unit, and the unloading position; a second transport pattern in which a buffer standby step is added to the first transport pattern, in which the substrate is temporarily standby in the standby unit before being transported to the heating unit; a third transport pattern in which a unit vicinity standby step is added to the first transport pattern, in which the transport robot temporarily waits in the vicinity of the heating unit before transporting the substrate from the heating unit, selectively setting the transport pattern from the first transport pattern to the third transport pattern based on a heat treatment time required for transporting the substrate to the heating unit and heating the substrate by the heating unit; A substrate processing method comprising:

10. A program that causes a computer to execute the substrate processing method according to claim 9.

11. A recording medium on which the program according to claim 10 is recorded so as to be readable by a computer.

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