Film forming apparatus, position adjustment method, program, and method for manufacturing articles

Abstract

The present invention provides a film formation apparatus that offers advantages in transporting substrates between processing units. [Solution] The first substrate processing unit includes a first detection unit for detecting the position of a notch in the substrate and a second detection unit for detecting a mark formed on the substrate; a second substrate processing unit includes a third detection unit for detecting a mark formed on the substrate; a transport unit for transporting the substrate from the first substrate processing unit to the second substrate processing unit; a processing unit for acquiring the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit based on the relative position of the notch and the mark obtained from the detection results of the first and second detection units and the detection result of the third detection unit; and a control unit for controlling the position of the substrate to adjust it based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus, a position adjustment method, a program, and a method for manufacturing an article.

Background Art

[0002] In a substrate used in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a liquid crystal display device, or the like, a notch (notch, orifice, etc.), which is an index for adjusting the rotation angle of the substrate to a predetermined rotation angle, is provided. Patent Document 1 describes adjusting the position of the substrate based on the detection result of the position of the notch or the like.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Here, even if the position of the substrate is adjusted based on the detection result of the position of the notch or the like, when the substrate is transported between processing units, the actual position of the substrate may deviate from the predetermined (desired) position of the substrate.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a film forming apparatus advantageous in transporting a substrate between processing units.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above objective, a film forming apparatus as one aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a first substrate processing unit including a first detection unit for detecting the position of a notch in a substrate and a second detection unit for detecting a mark formed on the substrate; a second substrate processing unit including a third detection unit for detecting a mark formed on the substrate; a transport unit for transporting the substrate from the first substrate processing unit to the second substrate processing unit; a processing unit for acquiring the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit based on the relative position of the notch and the mark obtained from the detection results of the first and second detection units and the detection result of the third detection unit; and a control unit for controlling the position of the substrate to adjust it based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

[0007] Further objects or other aspects of the present invention will be revealed by embodiments described below with reference to the drawings. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a film forming apparatus that is advantageous in transporting substrates between processing units. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of a film deposition apparatus. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram of the pre-alignment section in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram of the coating section (second substrate processing section). [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram of the forming section (third substrate processing section). [Figure 5] This figure shows a flowchart of a film formation method for forming a film of a curable composition on a substrate according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] This is an example of a circuit board notch and alignment mark. [Figure 7] This figure shows a flowchart of the method for manufacturing an article in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention as defined in the claims. While multiple features are described in the embodiments, not all of these features are necessarily essential to the invention, and the embodiments may be combined in any way. Furthermore, in the drawings, identical or similar configurations are given the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0011] Furthermore, in this specification and its drawings, directions are generally indicated using an XYZ coordinate system in which the vertical direction is the Z-axis direction and the horizontal plane perpendicular to the vertical direction is the XY plane, with each axis being orthogonal to the others. However, if an XYZ coordinate system is indicated in a drawing, that coordinate system takes precedence.

[0012] The specific configurations for each embodiment will be described below.

[0013] <First Embodiment> Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the film forming apparatus 100. The film forming apparatus 100 is an apparatus that forms a film of a curable composition on a substrate 1 using a mold, and has a transport section 30, a load port 29, a pre-alignment section (first substrate processing section) 33, a processing section 32, and a control section 34. The film forming apparatus 100 further has a coating section (second substrate processing section) 101 and a forming section (third substrate processing section) 102. The control section 34 controls each part of the film forming apparatus 100.

[0014] The transport unit 30 is a robot that transports substrates and molds to various parts of the film forming apparatus 100, and is, for example, a horizontal articulated robot. The transport unit 30 includes a drive unit (not shown), which drives a hand that holds the transported objects (substrates, molds) to move to a desired position. In this embodiment, the transport unit 30 is shown transporting substrates and molds to various parts, but there may be another transport unit, and the substrates and molds may be transported to various parts via this other transport unit. The load port 29 is an loading / unloading section for loading substrates, and the transport unit 30 transports the substrates loaded from the load port 29 to the pre-alignment section 33 of the film forming apparatus 100.

[0015] The pre-alignment unit 33 detects a notch which is an index indicating the rotation angle of the substrate formed on the substrate. Based on this notch, the substrate is aligned, and thus the substrate is conveyed to each processing unit in a state where the rotation angle of the substrate is generally unified to a predetermined rotation angle. The notch is, for example, a notch or an orienfla (orientation flat). The detailed configuration of the pre-alignment unit 33 will be described later.

[0016] The substrate aligned by the pre-alignment unit 33 is conveyed to the coating unit 101 by the conveying unit 30. The coating unit 101 is a processing unit that applies a curable composition onto the substrate. The substrate onto which the curable composition has been applied by the coating unit 101 is conveyed to the forming unit 102 by the conveying unit 30. The forming unit 102 cures the curable composition in a state where the curable composition on the substrate is in contact with a mold, and forms a film of the curable composition on the substrate. The process of the forming unit 102 specifically includes a contact step of bringing the curable composition on the substrate into contact with the mold, a curing step of curing the curable composition in a state where the curable composition is in contact with the mold, and a mold separation step of separating the mold from the cured curable composition.

[0017] The curable composition is, for example, a resin that cures by heat or light. The curable composition is, for example, a monomer such as acrylate or methacrylate. The curing step in the forming unit 102 includes at least one of a heating step of curing the curable composition by heat and an exposure step of exposing and curing the curable composition by light. The surface of the mold that contacts the substrate has a shape to be transferred to the curable composition. When forming a flat film of the curable composition on the substrate, the surface of the mold that contacts the substrate includes a flat surface. When forming a pattern on the curable composition on the substrate, the surface of the mold that contacts the substrate includes a pattern surface (concavo-convex surface) to be transferred. The substrate on which the film of the curable composition has been formed by the forming unit 102 is conveyed to the load port 29 by the conveying unit 30. Then, the substrate is unloaded from the load port 29.

[0018] The substrate may include silicon, aluminum, titanium-tungsten alloy, aluminum-silicon alloy, aluminum-copper-silicon alloy, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, etc. When the curable composition is cured by light, a light-transmissive material is used for the mold, for example, glass, quartz, PMMA (Polymethyl methacrylate), polycarbonate resin, etc.

[0019] As described above, the pre-alignment unit 33 detects the notch of the substrate, and the substrate with the adjusted rotation angle is conveyed to the coating unit 101. Here, when the conveying unit 30 receives the substrate from the pre-alignment unit 33 and delivers the received substrate to the coating unit 101, the position of the substrate may shift (placement error may occur). That is, the actual position of the substrate at the conveying destination may shift with respect to the predetermined (desired) position of the substrate at the conveying destination. In order to detect this placement error, conventionally, a sensor for detecting the outer shape of the substrate is used in the coating unit 101 to obtain the position of the substrate, and a sensor for detecting the notch of the substrate is used to obtain the rotation angle of the substrate.

[0020] Also, in the coating unit 101, separately from the placement error detection, in order to adjust the relative position between the substrate and the dispenser, the alignment marks formed on the substrate are detected. That is, conventionally, three types of detections are performed on the substrate in the coating unit 101. As a result, the coating unit 101 was the bottleneck. Furthermore, it was necessary to provide sensors for performing each of the three types of detections in the coating unit 101.

[0021] Therefore, in this embodiment, the film forming apparatus 100 not only detects notches in the substrate in the pre-alignment section 33, but also detects alignment marks formed on the substrate. The relative position between the alignment marks formed on the substrate and the notches in the substrate is obtained, and by using this relative position information, the position of the substrate is obtained simply by detecting the alignment marks in the coating section 101. In this embodiment, an example of obtaining the position of the substrate in the coating section 101 is shown, but the amount of deviation of the actual position of the substrate in the coating section 101 relative to a predetermined position (a predetermined position of the substrate) in the coating section 101 may also be obtained. According to this embodiment, in order to determine the position of the substrate in the coating section 101, it is not necessary to detect the outer shape of the substrate or the notches in the substrate in the coating section 101, and the coating section 101 is not rate-limiting. Furthermore, it is not necessary to provide a sensor for detecting the outer shape of the substrate and a sensor for detecting notches in the substrate in the coating section 101.

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the pre-alignment unit 33 in this embodiment. The pre-alignment unit 33 includes a substrate holding unit 36 ​​for holding the substrate 1, a drive unit 37 for driving the substrate holding unit 36, and a support unit 38 for supporting the drive unit 37. The substrate holding unit 36 ​​holds the substrate 1 by vacuum suction, electrostatic suction, or other suction methods. The drive unit 37 drives the substrate holding unit 36 ​​in the X, Y axis direction and the θ rotation direction.

[0023] Furthermore, the pre-alignment unit 33 includes a first detection unit 35 for detecting notches in the substrate 1 and a second detection unit 39 for detecting alignment marks formed on the substrate 1. The first detection unit 35 continuously detects the outer shape of the substrate 1, which is being rotated by, for example, a drive unit 37, and detects the position of the notches in the substrate 1. The first detection unit 35 includes, for example, a CCD camera. The number and position of alignment marks detected by the second detection unit 39 can be arbitrarily set in advance by the user. It is preferable that the number of alignment marks detected by the second detection unit 39 be two or more in order to improve the accuracy of the relative position between the alignment marks and the notches.

[0024] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the coating unit (second substrate processing unit) 101. The coating unit 101 includes a substrate chuck 2 for holding the substrate 1, a substrate stage 3 for holding the substrate chuck 2, a drive unit 21 for driving the substrate stage 3, a supply unit 17, and a third detection unit 19. The third detection unit 19 includes an optical system and an imaging system for observing alignment marks formed on the substrate 1, and an image processing unit that processes the captured image to detect the position of an object on the image. The third detection unit 19 includes, for example, an off-axis alignment scope. It is preferable that the number of alignment marks detected by the third detection unit 19 be two or more in order to improve alignment accuracy.

[0025] The supply unit 17 is a dispenser that includes a nozzle for dispensing a liquid curable composition onto the substrate 1. The supply unit 17 is a dispenser that employs, for example, a piezo jet system or a micro solenoid system. The number of nozzles in the supply unit 17 is not particularly limited and may be one (single nozzle) or more than 100. It may also be a linear nozzle array or a combination of multiple linear nozzle arrays.

[0026] Furthermore, as mentioned above, in the coating section 101 of this embodiment, a sensor for detecting the outer shape of the substrate and a sensor for detecting notches in the substrate are not required.

[0027] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the forming unit (third substrate processing unit) 102. The forming unit 102 includes a substrate chuck 202 for holding the substrate 1, a substrate stage 203 for holding the substrate chuck 202, a drive unit 221 for driving the substrate stage 203, a mold holding unit 12 for driving while holding the mold 9, and an illumination unit 20. The substrate 1, to which the curable composition has been applied in the coating unit 101, is transported to the forming unit 102 by the transport unit 30 and held by the substrate chuck 202. The drive unit 221 or the mold holding unit 12 is then driven so that the curable composition on the substrate 1 and the mold 9 come into contact. Subsequently, with the mold 9 and the curable composition on the substrate 1 in contact, the curable composition on the substrate 1 is cured by the illumination unit 20, and the surface shape of the mold 9 is transferred to the curable composition. After that, the mold 9 and the cured curable composition are separated. In this embodiment, the illumination unit 20 is shown as being at a different position on the XY plane from the mold holding unit 12, but the illumination unit 20 and the mold holding unit 12 may be at the same position on the XY plane. Also, when the mold 9 is a mold having a flat surface for forming a film of a flat curable composition, it may be difficult to separate the substrate 1 and the mold 9. For this reason, a separation assist mechanism including a pin driven in the Z-axis direction (not shown) may be further provided. The pin of this separation assist mechanism protrudes in the +Z direction at the notch position of the substrate 1, pushing the mold 9 in the +Z direction and assisting in the separation of the mold 9 and the substrate 1. The mold holding unit 12 may also include a mold adjustment mechanism that can change the magnification component of the mold 9. Furthermore, the mold holding unit 12 may include a pressure adjustment mechanism that adjusts the pressure in the space on the side of the mold 9 that does not contact the substrate 1 in order to expand the mold 9 into a convex shape toward the substrate 1.

[0028] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a film formation method for forming a film of a curable composition on a substrate 1 in this embodiment. First, the transport unit 30 transports the substrate 1 to the pre-alignment unit 33, where the first detection unit 35 detects the notch in the substrate 1 and the second detection unit 39 detects the alignment marks formed on the substrate 1 (S101). Next, the processing unit 32 obtains (calculates) the relative position between the notch and the alignment marks on the substrate 1 based on the detection result of step S101 (S102).

[0029] Figure 6 shows an example of a notch 61 and alignment mark 40 on substrate 1. In the example in Figure 6, the notch 61 is a notch, but the notch 61 may also be an orientation flat. In obtaining the relative position between the notch and the alignment mark on substrate 1 in step S102, a coordinate system may be set on a plane parallel to the plane of substrate 1 with a point on substrate 1 as the reference point, and the relative position may be obtained using the coordinates of that coordinate system. The reference point on substrate 1 may be, for example, the center position of substrate 1, or the center position of the notch or orientation flat.

[0030] Next, the pre-alignment unit 33 adjusts the rotation angle of the substrate 1 based on the detection result of the notch in the substrate 1 (S103). At this time, the center position of the substrate 1 may also be adjusted in addition to the rotation angle of the substrate 1. Next, the transport unit 30 transports the substrate 1 to the coating unit 101, where the third detection unit 19 detects the alignment marks 40 formed on the substrate 1 (S104). At this time, the multiple alignment marks 40 detected by the third detection unit 19 include the multiple alignment marks detected in step S101. In other words, the third detection unit 19 detects the same alignment marks as those detected by the second detection unit 39 in step S101, and the third detection unit 19 may also detect other alignment marks.

[0031] Next, the processing unit 32 obtains the position of the substrate 1 in the coating unit 101 (S105) from the relative position of the notch and alignment mark of the substrate 1 obtained in step S102 and the detection result of the alignment mark detected in step S104. In other words, it utilizes the fact that if the position of the alignment mark obtained in the coating unit 101 and the relative position of the notch and alignment mark of the substrate 1 are known, the position of the notch of the substrate 1 and the position of the substrate 1 on a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate 1 can be determined. This position information of the substrate 1 includes at least one of the following: information on the rotation angle of the substrate 1 about an axis orthogonal to the surface of the substrate 1 (XY plane) and information on the position of the substrate 1 on a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate 1. Note that in step S105, the amount of misalignment of the substrate 1 relative to a predetermined position may also be obtained.

[0032] Next, the supply unit 17 dispenses the curable composition onto the substrate 1 (S106). At this time, the relative positions of the substrate 1 and the supply unit 17 are adjusted based on the alignment marks detected in step S104.

[0033] Next, based on the position of the substrate 1 acquired in step S105, the control unit 34 controls the position of the substrate 1 to adjust (S107). This position adjustment may be performed, for example, by the drive unit 21 driving the substrate 1 before the substrate 1 is transferred from the coating unit 101 to the transport unit 30. Alternatively, when the transport unit 30 receives the substrate 1 from the coating unit 101, the relative position between the transport unit 30 and the substrate 1 may be adjusted before the transport unit 30 receives the substrate 1. This relative position adjustment is performed by driving at least one of the transport unit 30 and the drive unit 21. Alternatively, when the transport unit 30 transfers the substrate 1 to the forming unit 102, the relative position between the transport unit 30 and the substrate chuck 202 may be adjusted before the transport unit 30 transfers the substrate 1. This relative position adjustment is performed by driving at least one of the transport unit 30 and the drive unit 221. Alternatively, the drive unit 221 may adjust the position of the substrate 1 after the substrate 1 has been transferred from the transport unit 30 to the forming unit 102. These can be combined to adjust the position of the substrate 1 using multiple adjustment means. Furthermore, if the amount of misalignment of the substrate 1 is obtained in step S105, the control unit 34 will control the adjustment of the position of the substrate 1 based on the amount of misalignment.

[0034] In this embodiment, the processing unit 32 is shown to acquire the relative position between the notch and the alignment mark on the substrate 1 and to acquire the position of the substrate 1. However, this is not limited to this example, and this may be performed by a processing unit other than the processing unit 32. Also, the processing unit 32 and the control unit 34 may be the same.

[0035] Next, the forming unit 102 brings the mold 9 into contact with the curable composition on the substrate 1 to form a film of the curable composition on the substrate 1 (S108). As mentioned above, when the pins of the separation assist mechanism are used to separate the mold 9 from the curable composition, the pins protrude from the notch in the substrate 1 in the +Z direction and push the mold 9 in the +Z direction. Here, if the substrate 1 is misaligned while being transported from the pre-alignment unit 33 to the coating unit 101, the effect of the misalignment may extend to when the substrate 1 is transported to the forming unit 102. As a result, the notch position of the substrate 1 may shift, and the pins may not be able to protrude from the notch. Here, the possibility that the pins may not be able to protrude from the notch of the substrate 1 can be reduced by adjusting the misalignment of the substrate 1 that occurred while being transported from the pre-alignment unit 33 to the coating unit 101.

[0036] The processing unit 32 and the control unit 34 include a processing unit, a bus, ROM, RAM, and a storage device, and each component functions (executes) according to the program. The processing unit is a processing unit that performs calculations for control according to the program and controls each component connected to the bus. This processing unit can be composed of a CPU, a PLD such as an FPGA, an ASIC, a computer with a program installed, or a combination of all or part of these. ROM is a memory dedicated to data reading and stores programs and data. RAM is a memory for reading and writing data and is used for storing programs and data. RAM is used for temporary storage of data such as the results of CPU calculations. The storage device is also used for storing programs and data. The storage device is also used as a temporary storage area for the operating system (OS) programs and data of the processing unit 32 and the control unit 34. Although the data input / output of the storage device is slower than that of RAM, it can store large amounts of data. It is desirable that the storage device be a non-volatile storage device that can store data as persistent data so that the data to be stored can be referenced over a long period of time. The storage device mainly consists of magnetic storage devices (HDDs), but it may also be a device that reads and writes data to external media such as CDs, DVDs, and memory cards.

[0037] The processing unit 32 and the control unit 34 may be configured together with the other parts of the film forming apparatus 100 (within a common housing), or they may be configured separately from the other parts of the film forming apparatus 100 (within a separate housing).

[0038] According to this embodiment, in order to determine the position of the substrate in the coating section 101, it is not necessary to detect the outer shape of the substrate or the cutouts of the substrate in the coating section 101, and the coating section 101 is not rate-limiting. Furthermore, it is not necessary to provide a sensor for detecting the outer shape of the substrate and a sensor for detecting the cutouts of the substrate in the coating section 101, and the coating section 101 can be simplified and miniaturized.

[0039] <Second Embodiment> This embodiment relates to a method for manufacturing an article, characterized by manufacturing the article using the film formation method described above.

[0040] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the method of manufacturing an article in this embodiment. First, the pre-alignment section (first substrate processing section) 33 detects the position of a notch formed on the substrate 1 and the position of a mark (alignment mark) formed on the substrate 1, and obtains the relative position of the notch and the mark on the substrate 1 (first acquisition step, S201). Next, the substrate 1 is transported from the pre-alignment section 33 to the coating section (second substrate processing section) 101 (transportation step, S202). Next, the position of the mark is detected in the coating section 101, and the position of the substrate 1 in the coating section 101 is obtained based on the result of detecting the position of the mark in the coating section 101 and the relative position obtained in the first acquisition step (second acquisition step, S203). Next, the position of the substrate 1 is adjusted based on the position of the substrate 1 obtained in the second acquisition step (adjustment step, S204). Next, a film of a curable composition is formed on the substrate 1 whose position has been adjusted in the adjustment step (forming step, S205). Then, the substrate on which the film has been formed in the formation process is processed (processing process, S206).

[0041] The products manufactured using this method include, for example, semiconductor IC elements, liquid crystal display elements, color filters, MEMS, and the like.

[0042] The formation process involves, for example, exposing a substrate (such as a silicon wafer or glass plate) coated with a photosensitive material to an exposure device (lithography device) to form a pattern on the substrate.

[0043] The processing steps include, for example, developing a patterned substrate (photosensitive material), etching and resist removal from the developed substrate, dicing, bonding, and packaging. This manufacturing method makes it possible to produce higher quality articles than conventional methods.

[0044] The disclosures herein include the following film forming apparatus, positioning method, program, and method for manufacturing articles.

[0045] (Item 1) A first substrate processing unit includes a first detection unit for detecting the position of a notch in the substrate and a second detection unit for detecting a mark formed on the substrate, A second substrate processing unit including a third detection unit for detecting a mark formed on the substrate, A transport unit that transports the substrate from the first substrate processing unit to the second substrate processing unit, A processing unit that acquires the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit based on the relative position of the notch and the mark obtained from the detection results of the first detection unit and the second detection unit, and the detection result of the third detection unit, A film forming apparatus characterized by having a control unit that controls the position of the substrate based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

[0046] (Item 2) The film forming apparatus according to item 1, characterized in that the second detection unit and the third detection unit detect two or more of the marks.

[0047] (Item 3) The film forming apparatus according to item 1 or 2, characterized in that the plurality of marks detected by the third detection unit include the plurality of marks detected by the second detection unit.

[0048] (Item 4) The second substrate processing unit includes a drive unit for driving the substrate, The film forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 3, characterized in that the control unit controls the drive unit based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

[0049] (Item 5) The film forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 4, characterized in that the control unit controls the relative position of the substrate and the transport unit when the transport unit receives the substrate from the second substrate processing unit, based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

[0050] (Item 6) The system has a third substrate processing unit to which the substrate processed in the second substrate processing unit is transported, The film forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 5, characterized in that the control unit controls the relative position between the substrate chuck that holds the substrate in the third substrate processing unit and the transport unit when the transport unit transfers the substrate to the third substrate processing unit, based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

[0051] (Item 7) The system has a third substrate processing unit to which the substrate processed in the second substrate processing unit is transported, The third substrate processing unit includes a drive unit for driving the substrate, The film forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 6, characterized in that the control unit controls the drive unit based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

[0052] (Item 8) The film forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 7, characterized in that the first substrate processing unit is a pre-alignment unit for positioning the substrate.

[0053] (Item 9) The film forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 8, characterized in that the second substrate processing unit is a coating unit that applies a liquid curable composition to the substrate.

[0054] (Item 10) The second substrate processing unit includes a supply unit for applying the curable composition, The film forming apparatus according to item 9, characterized in that the control unit controls the relative position between the substrate and the supply unit based on the detection result of the third detection unit.

[0055] (Item 11) The system has a third substrate processing unit to which the substrate processed in the second substrate processing unit is transported, The film forming apparatus according to item 9 or 10, characterized in that the third substrate processing unit is a forming unit that brings a mold into contact with the curable composition applied by the coating unit to form a film of the curable composition on the substrate.

[0056] (Item 12) The film forming apparatus according to item 11, characterized in that the forming part forms a flat film of the curable composition on the substrate using the mold which includes a flat surface.

[0057] (Item 13) The film forming apparatus according to item 11, characterized in that the forming part forms a pattern on the curable composition on the substrate using the mold which includes an uneven surface.

[0058] (Item 14) The film forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 13, characterized in that the information regarding the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit includes information regarding the rotation angle of the substrate about an axis perpendicular to the surface of the substrate.

[0059] (Item 15) The film forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 14, characterized in that the information regarding the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit includes information regarding the position of the substrate on a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate.

[0060] (Item 16) The processing unit acquires the amount of displacement of the substrate relative to a predetermined position in the second substrate processing unit, The film forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 15, characterized in that the control unit controls the position of the substrate based on the amount of misalignment.

[0061] (Item 17) A first acquisition step involves detecting the position of a notch in the substrate and the position of a mark formed on the substrate in the first substrate processing unit, and obtaining the relative position between the notch and the mark. A transport step of transporting the substrate from the first substrate processing unit to a second substrate processing unit different from the first substrate processing unit, The second substrate processing unit detects the position of the mark, and the second acquisition step acquires the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit based on the result of detecting the position of the mark in the second substrate processing unit and the relative position acquired in the first acquisition step. An adjustment step to adjust the position of the substrate based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit acquired in the second acquisition step, A position adjustment method characterized by including the following.

[0062] (Item 18) A program to cause a computer to execute the position adjustment method described in item 17.

[0063] (Item 19) A first acquisition step involves detecting the position of a notch in the substrate and the position of a mark formed on the substrate in the first substrate processing unit, and obtaining the relative position between the notch and the mark. A transport step of transporting the substrate from the first substrate processing unit to a second substrate processing unit different from the first substrate processing unit, The second substrate processing unit detects the position of the mark, and the second acquisition step acquires the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit based on the result of detecting the position of the mark in the second substrate processing unit and the relative position acquired in the first acquisition step. An adjustment step to adjust the position of the substrate based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit acquired in the second acquisition step, A forming step of forming a film of a curable composition on the substrate whose position has been adjusted in the adjustment step, A processing step for processing the substrate on which the film has been formed in the forming step, A method for manufacturing an article, characterized by including the following:

[0064] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, claims are attached to disclose the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A first substrate processing unit includes a first detection unit for detecting the position of a notch in the substrate and a second detection unit for detecting a mark formed on the substrate, A second substrate processing unit including a third detection unit for detecting a mark formed on the substrate, A transport unit that transports the substrate from the first substrate processing unit to the second substrate processing unit, A processing unit that acquires the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit based on the relative position of the notch and the mark obtained from the detection results of the first detection unit and the second detection unit, and the detection result of the third detection unit, A film forming apparatus characterized by having a control unit that controls the position of the substrate based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

2. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the second detection unit and the third detection unit detect two or more of the marks.

3. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the plurality of marks detected by the third detection unit include the plurality of marks detected by the second detection unit.

4. The second substrate processing unit includes a drive unit for driving the substrate, The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit controls the drive unit based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

5. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit controls the relative position of the substrate and the substrate when the transport unit receives the substrate from the second substrate processing unit, based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

6. The system has a third substrate processing unit to which the substrate processed in the second substrate processing unit is transported, The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit controls the relative position between the substrate chuck of the third substrate processing unit that holds the substrate and the transport unit when the transport unit transfers the substrate to the third substrate processing unit, based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

7. The system has a third substrate processing unit to which the substrate processed in the second substrate processing unit is transported, The third substrate processing unit includes a drive unit for driving the substrate, The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit controls the drive unit based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit.

8. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the first substrate processing unit is a pre-alignment unit for positioning the substrate.

9. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the second substrate processing unit is a coating unit that applies a liquid curable composition to the substrate.

10. The second substrate processing unit includes a supply unit for applying the curable composition, The film forming apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the control unit controls the relative position between the substrate and the supply unit based on the detection result of the third detection unit.

11. The system has a third substrate processing unit to which the substrate processed in the second substrate processing unit is transported, The film forming apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the third substrate processing unit is a forming unit that brings a mold into contact with the curable composition applied by the coating unit to form a film of the curable composition on the substrate.

12. The film forming apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that the forming portion forms a flat film of the curable composition on the substrate using the mold which includes a flat surface.

13. The film forming apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that the forming portion forms a pattern on the curable composition on the substrate using the mold which includes an uneven surface.

14. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the information regarding the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit includes information regarding the rotation angle of the substrate about an axis perpendicular to the surface of the substrate.

15. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the information regarding the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit includes information regarding the position of the substrate in a plane parallel to the surface of the substrate.

16. The processing unit acquires the amount of displacement of the substrate relative to a predetermined position in the second substrate processing unit, The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit controls the position of the substrate to adjust based on the amount of misalignment.

17. A first acquisition step involves detecting the position of a notch in the substrate and the position of a mark formed on the substrate in the first substrate processing unit, and obtaining the relative position between the notch and the mark. A transport step of transporting the substrate from the first substrate processing unit to a second substrate processing unit different from the first substrate processing unit, The second substrate processing unit detects the position of the mark, and the second acquisition step acquires the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit based on the result of detecting the position of the mark in the second substrate processing unit and the relative position acquired in the first acquisition step. An adjustment step to adjust the position of the substrate based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit obtained in the second acquisition step, A position adjustment method characterized by including the following.

18. A program for causing a computer to execute the position adjustment method described in claim 17.

19. A first acquisition step involves detecting the position of a notch in the substrate and the position of a mark formed on the substrate in the first substrate processing unit, and obtaining the relative position between the notch and the mark. A transport step of transporting the substrate from the first substrate processing unit to a second substrate processing unit different from the first substrate processing unit, The second substrate processing unit detects the position of the mark, and the second acquisition step acquires the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit based on the result of detecting the position of the mark in the second substrate processing unit and the relative position acquired in the first acquisition step. An adjustment step to adjust the position of the substrate based on the position of the substrate in the second substrate processing unit obtained in the second acquisition step, A forming step of forming a film of a curable composition on the substrate whose position has been adjusted in the adjustment step, A processing step for processing the substrate on which the film has been formed in the forming step, A method for manufacturing an article, characterized by including the following:

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