Substrate processing equipment

Abstract

In a substrate processing apparatus that processes substrates using a liquid, transports them, and dries them, the aim is to shorten the time required for substrate transport and reduce the footprint. [Solution] In the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, a wet processing unit and a dry processing unit are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction, and the first transport unit that transports the substrate between them is positioned such that when the rotation mechanism sets the advancement direction of the holding member to a first direction and the reciprocating mechanism advances the holding member, the holding member enters the wet processing unit, while when the rotation mechanism changes the advancement direction to a second direction different from the first direction and the reciprocating mechanism advances the holding member, the holding unit enters the dry processing unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate with a liquid and then dries the substrate.

Background Art

[0002] In the processing steps of various substrates such as semiconductor substrates and glass substrates for display devices, those that process the surface of the substrate with various processing fluids are included. Wet processing using liquids such as chemical solutions and rinse liquids as the processing fluid has been widely performed conventionally. For the processed substrate, a drying process is performed to remove and dry the remaining liquid. While wet processing is performed in an environment where a large amount of liquid exists, since the drying process is a process for completely discharging the liquid, these processes are executed in different processing units, and it is widely performed to transfer the substrate between those processing units.

[0003] For example, in the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a liquid processing unit that processes a substrate using a liquid and a drying processing unit that dries the substrate using a supercritical fluid are arranged adjacent to each other, and a transfer device for transferring the substrate between them is further provided. More specifically, the liquid processing unit and the drying processing unit are arranged side by side in the X direction, which is the horizontal direction, and the transfer device is arranged in the Y direction as viewed from these. And by moving a transfer device having a substrate holding part that can move forward and backward in the Y direction along the X direction, the transfer of the substrate from the liquid processing unit to the drying processing unit is realized.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] To improve processing quality and reduce processing time, improvements are needed in each of the processes described above: wet processing, substrate transport, and drying. However, in the conventional technology described above, there is still room for improvement, particularly in the substrate transport process. Specifically, in this technology, the substrate is transported to the drying unit with its top surface covered by a liquid film formed in the liquid processing unit. During this time, the transport speed is limited in order to maintain the liquid film, which increases the transport time. In addition, space must be provided for the transport device to move horizontally, which imposes many constraints on reducing the footprint of the device.

[0006] This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide a technology for a substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate using a liquid, transports the substrate, and dries it, that can particularly shorten the time required for substrate transport and reduce the footprint. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to this invention comprises: a wet processing unit for processing a substrate with a liquid; a drying processing unit for removing the liquid from the substrate processed by the wet processing unit and drying the substrate; a first transport unit that accesses both the wet processing unit and the drying processing unit to load and unload the substrate; and a second transport unit that supplies an unprocessed substrate to the first transport unit and receives the processed substrate discharged from the first transport unit. Here, the first transport unit includes: a holding member that contacts the substrate and holds the substrate in a horizontal position; an advancing and retracting mechanism that supports the holding member and moves it forward and backward in the horizontal direction; and a rotation mechanism that supports the advancing and retracting mechanism and rotates it around a rotation axis parallel to the vertical axis to change the direction of advancement of the holding member.

[0008] Furthermore, the wet treatment unit and the dry treatment unit are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction, and the first transport unit is positioned such that when the rotation mechanism sets the advance direction to the first direction and the reciprocating mechanism advances the holding member, the holding member enters the wet treatment unit, while when the rotation mechanism changes the advance direction to a second direction different from the first direction and the reciprocating mechanism advances the holding member, the first transport unit enters the dry treatment unit.

[0009] In this configuration, the first transport unit does not need to move horizontally while holding the substrate. By simply rotating the forward / backward mechanism to change the direction of advancement of the holding member, it becomes possible to access both the wet processing unit and the dry processing unit. As a result, the time required for transporting the substrate can be shortened, and the footprint of the device can also be reduced by eliminating the space required for movement. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] As described above, according to the present invention, the rotation mechanism changes the horizontal advancement direction of the holding member, and the reciprocating mechanism advances the holding member, thereby enabling access to both the wet processing section and the dry processing section. This eliminates the need for horizontal movement of the first conveying section, thereby shortening processing time and reducing the footprint. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This figure shows a schematic configuration of one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This diagram shows a substrate processing unit that performs wet processing. [Figure 3] This diagram shows a substrate processing unit that performs supercritical drying. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view showing the appearance of the central robot. [Figure 5] This diagram shows the internal structure of the substrate holding unit. [Figure 6]This diagram illustrates the manner in which a hand can access a substrate processing unit. [Figure 7] This flowchart shows the general operation of this substrate processing device. [Figure 8] This is a side view showing a modified example of a substrate processing device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Figure 1 shows a schematic configuration of one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus 1 is, for example, installed in a clean room and used to perform a predetermined process on a substrate. Here, the "substrate" in this embodiment can be various types of substrates, such as semiconductor substrates, photomask glass substrates, liquid crystal display glass substrates, plasma display glass substrates, FED (Field Emission Display) substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, and magneto-optical disk substrates. In the following description, a substrate processing apparatus mainly used for processing semiconductor substrates will be used as an example with reference to the drawings, but it can be similarly applied to processing the various types of substrates exemplified above.

[0013] The substrate processing apparatus 1 comprises a substrate processing unit 10 that processes substrates S, and an indexer unit 20 coupled to the substrate processing unit 10. The indexer unit 20 comprises a container holding unit 21 that can hold multiple containers C for housing substrates S (such as FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod), SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface) pod, OC (Open Cassette), etc., which house multiple substrates S in a sealed state), and an indexer robot 22 that accesses the containers C held by the container holding unit 21 to remove unprocessed substrates S from the containers C or to store processed substrates in the containers C. Each container C houses multiple substrates S in a nearly horizontal position.

[0014] The indexer robot 22 comprises a base portion 221 fixed to the device housing, a multi-joint arm 222 rotatably mounted on the base portion 221 around a vertical axis, and a hand 223 attached to the tip of the multi-joint arm 222. The hand 223 is structured to hold a substrate S placed on its upper surface. Since indexer robots having such a multi-joint arm and a hand for holding a substrate are well known, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0015] The substrate processing unit 10 comprises a central robot 15 positioned approximately in the center in a plan view, and a plurality of substrate processing units arranged to surround the central robot 15. Specifically, a plurality of (four in this example) substrate processing units 11, 12, 13, and 14 are arranged facing the space in which the central robot 15 is located. Each of these substrate processing units 11 to 14 performs a predetermined process on the substrate S. If these processing units have the same function, parallel processing of multiple substrates becomes possible. Alternatively, processing units with different functions can be combined to configure the system to perform different processes sequentially on a single substrate.

[0016] A platform 101 on which a substrate S can be placed is positioned between the indexer robot 22 and the center robot 15. The transfer of substrate S between the indexer robot 22 and the center robot 15 is carried out via this platform 101. That is, the indexer robot 22 temporarily places the substrate S taken out of the container C onto the platform 101. The center robot 15 transfers the substrate S picked up from the platform 101 to one of the substrate processing units. The center robot 15 also takes out the substrate S that has been processed in one of the substrate processing units and temporarily places it onto the platform 101, and the indexer robot 22 places this substrate S into the container C.

[0017] As will be described later, the substrate processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is used for a series of processes of wet-treating the substrate S with a predetermined processing liquid and then drying the substrate S. For this purpose, two of the four substrate processing units, the substrate processing units 11 and 12, are responsible for the wet treatment of the substrate S and internally include a wet treatment unit 30 (FIG. 2) as a substrate processing main body that enables this. Further, the other two substrate processing units 13 and 14 are responsible for the process of removing the remaining liquid from the substrate S after the wet treatment and drying the substrate S (drying process), and internally include a drying process unit 40 (FIG. 3) as a substrate processing main body that enables this. The configurations and operations of the wet treatment unit 30 and the drying process unit 40 will be described later.

[0018] In each of the substrate processing units 11 to 14, the substrate processing main body that executes the process on the substrate S is housed in a processing chamber provided with a shutter that can be opened and closed on the side facing the center robot 15. That is, the substrate processing unit 11 has a processing chamber 110 and a shutter 111 provided on the side surface of the processing chamber 110 facing the center robot 15. The shutter 111 is provided so as to cover an opening provided on the side surface of the processing chamber 110 facing the center robot 15. When the shutter 111 is opened, the opening is exposed, and the substrate S can be carried in and out through the opening. Further, when the process on the substrate S is executed in the processing chamber 110, the shutter 111 is closed, so that the atmosphere in the processing chamber 110 is blocked from the outside.

[0019] Similarly, the substrate processing unit 12 has a processing chamber 120 and a shutter 121 provided on the side surface of the processing chamber 120 facing the center robot 15. Further, the substrate processing unit 13 has a processing chamber 130 and a shutter 131 provided on the side surface of the processing chamber 130 facing the center robot 15. Further, the substrate processing unit 14 has a processing chamber 140 and a shutter 141 provided on the side surface of the processing chamber 140 facing the center robot 15.

[0020] A control unit 9 is provided to control the operation of each of these parts and to achieve predetermined processing. For this purpose of each of these devices, the control unit 9 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 91, memory 92, storage 93, and interface 94. The CPU 91 executes various control programs. The memory 92 temporarily stores processing data. The storage 93 stores the control programs executed by the CPU 91. The interface 94 exchanges information with the user and external devices. The operation of the devices, described later, is achieved by the CPU 91 executing control programs pre-written to the storage 93, causing each part of the device to perform predetermined operations.

[0021] When the CPU 91 executes a predetermined control program, the control unit 9 implements functional blocks in software, such as a wet processing control unit 95 that controls the operation of the wet processing unit 30, a transport control unit 96 that controls the operation of the indexer robot 22 and the center robot 15, and a drying processing control unit 97 that controls the operation of the drying processing unit 40. Each of these functional blocks may be configured, at least in part, with dedicated hardware.

[0022] Figure 2 shows a substrate processing unit that performs wet processing. More specifically, Figure 2(a) shows the configuration of the substrate processing unit 11, and Figure 2(b) is a diagram for explaining the operation of the wet processing unit 11. Here, we will explain the configuration of the substrate processing unit 11, but the configuration of other substrate processing units 12 that perform wet processing is basically the same.

[0023] The substrate processing unit 11 is equipped with a wet processing unit 30, which is the main component of substrate processing, within the processing chamber 110. The wet processing unit 30 operates in response to control commands from the wet processing control unit 95 of the control unit 9, and supplies processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate S to perform surface treatment and cleaning of the substrate S. In addition, to prevent the upper surface of the substrate S from being exposed to the ambient atmosphere after wet processing, the wet processing unit 30 also performs a liquid film formation process in which the upper surface of the substrate S after wet processing is covered with a liquid film of low surface tension liquid.

[0024] For this purpose, the wet processing unit 30 includes a substrate holding unit 31, a splash guard 32, a processing liquid supply unit 33, and a low surface tension liquid supply unit 34. These operations are controlled by a control unit 90. The substrate holding unit 31 has a disc-shaped spin chuck 311 having a diameter approximately equal to that of the substrate S, and a plurality of chuck pins 312 are provided on the periphery of the spin chuck 311. By having the chuck pins 312 contact the periphery of the substrate S and support the substrate S, the spin chuck 311 can hold the substrate S in a horizontal position while being spaced apart from its upper surface.

[0025] The spin chuck 311 is supported so that its top surface is horizontal by a rotating support shaft 313 that extends downward from the center of its lower surface. The rotating support shaft 313 is rotatably supported by a rotating mechanism 314 attached to the bottom of the processing chamber 110. The rotating mechanism 314 has a built-in rotary motor (not shown), and when the rotary motor rotates in response to a control command from the control unit 90, the spin chuck 311, which is directly connected to the rotating support shaft 313, rotates around the vertical axis shown by the dashed line. In Figure 2, the up and down direction is the vertical direction. As a result, the substrate S is rotated around the vertical axis while remaining in a horizontal position.

[0026] A splash guard 32 is provided so as to surround the substrate holding portion 31 from the side. The splash guard 32 has a roughly cylindrical cup 321 provided so as to cover the peripheral edge of the spin chuck 311, and a liquid receiving portion 322 provided below the outer circumference of the cup 321. The cup 321 moves up and down in response to control commands from the control unit 90. As shown in Figure 2(a), the cup 321 moves up and down between a lower position where the upper end of the cup 321 is below the peripheral edge of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311, and an upper position where the upper end of the cup 321 is above the peripheral edge of the substrate S, as shown in Figure 2(b).

[0027] As shown in Figure 2(a), when the cup 321 is in the lower position, the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311 is exposed to the outside of the cup 321. This prevents the cup 321 from becoming an obstacle when, for example, loading or unloading the substrate S into or out of the spin chuck 311.

[0028] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2(b), when the cup 321 is in the upper position, it surrounds the periphery of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311. This prevents the processing liquid that is shaken off the periphery of the substrate S during liquid supply (described later) from scattering into the chamber 110, and ensures reliable collection of the processing liquid. That is, as the substrate S rotates, droplets of processing liquid that are shaken off the periphery of the substrate S adhere to the inner wall of the cup 321 and flow downward, where they are collected by the liquid receiving section 322 located below the cup 321. Multiple cups may be arranged concentrically to collect multiple processing liquids individually.

[0029] The processing liquid supply unit 33 has a structure in which a nozzle 334 is attached to the tip of an arm 333 that extends horizontally from a pivot shaft 332 rotatably mounted on a base 331 fixed to the processing chamber 110. As the pivot shaft 332 rotates in response to a control command from the control unit 90, the arm 333 swings, and the nozzle 334 at the tip of the arm 333 moves between a retracted position, which is moved to the side from above the substrate S as shown in Figure 2(a), and a processing position above the substrate S as shown in Figure 2(b).

[0030] Nozzle 334 is connected to a processing liquid supply unit (not shown), and when an appropriate processing liquid is supplied from the processing liquid supply unit, the processing liquid is discharged from nozzle 334 toward the substrate S. As shown in Figure 2(b), the spin chuck 311 rotates at a relatively low speed to rotate the substrate S, and the processing liquid Lq is supplied from nozzle 33 positioned above the rotation center of the substrate S, thereby processing the upper surface Sa of the substrate S with the processing liquid Lq. Various functional liquids such as developer, etching solution, washing solution, and rinsing solution can be used as the processing liquid Lq, and its composition is arbitrary. In addition, processing may be performed by combining multiple types of processing liquids.

[0031] The low surface tension liquid supply unit 34 also has a configuration corresponding to that of the processing liquid supply unit 33. That is, the low surface tension liquid supply unit 34 has a base 341, a pivot shaft 342, an arm 343, a nozzle 344, etc., and these configurations are equivalent to those of the processing liquid supply unit 33. The pivot shaft 342 rotates in response to a control command from the control unit 90, causing the arm 343 to swing. The nozzle 344 at the tip of the arm 343 supplies a low surface tension liquid to form a liquid film on the upper surface Sa of the substrate S after wet processing.

[0032] The operation of the low surface tension liquid supply unit 34 can be explained by replacing "processing liquid Lq," "arm 333," and "nozzle 334" in the explanation of Figure 2(b) above with "low surface tension liquid Lq," "arm 343," and "nozzle 344," respectively. However, the liquid discharged is a low surface tension liquid, which is generally a different type of liquid from the processing liquid.

[0033] When the substrate surface Sa to be processed has a fine uneven pattern (hereinafter simply referred to as "pattern") formed on it, there is a risk that the pattern may collapse during the drying process of the wet substrate S after wet processing due to the surface tension of the liquid that has entered into the pattern. Methods to prevent this include replacing the liquid in the pattern with a liquid with lower surface tension before drying, a sublimation drying method in which the substrate surface Sa is covered with a solid sublimable material and the sublimable material is sublimated, and the supercritical drying method used in this embodiment.

[0034] Supercritical drying, which requires high temperature and high pressure, necessitates a separate high-pressure chamber from the one used for wet drying. Therefore, it becomes necessary to transport the substrate S after wet drying to the high-pressure chamber. To avoid collapse due to pattern exposure during transport, it is desirable to cover the substrate's upper surface Sa with a liquid or solid. In this case, the liquid covering the substrate's upper surface Sa should preferably have a lower surface tension than the processing liquid, from the viewpoint of more reliably preventing pattern collapse due to surface tension. In this specification, such a liquid is referred to as a "low surface tension liquid."

[0035] In this embodiment, the substrate is transported with its upper surface Sa covered by a liquid film of low surface tension liquid. The liquid film is formed as follows. As shown in Figure 2(b), when the substrate S is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed, the low surface tension liquid Lq supplied from a low surface tension liquid supply unit (not shown) is discharged from the nozzle 344, so that the upper surface Sa of the substrate is covered by a liquid film LF of low surface tension liquid. The low surface tension liquid should preferably have good miscibility with the processing liquid used in the wet process and have a lower surface tension than the processing liquid. For example, when the processing liquid is mainly composed of water, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) can be suitably used. In this way, the entire upper surface Sa of the substrate is covered by a liquid film LF of low surface tension liquid.

[0036] Substrate S, with its upper surface Sa covered with a liquid film LF, is transported from the substrate processing unit 11 to the substrate processing unit 13 for drying. Specifically, the substrate processing unit 13 has the function of removing the liquid film LF formed on the upper surface Sa of the substrate S, which is transported in a horizontal position, and performing a drying process to dry the substrate S. The drying process involves supercritical drying, in which the substrate S is covered with a supercritical fluid and then the supercritical fluid is vaporized and removed (without passing through a liquid phase). While the configuration of the substrate processing unit 13 is described here, the configuration of the other substrate processing unit 14 that performs the drying process is basically the same.

[0037] Figure 3 shows a substrate processing unit that performs supercritical drying. More specifically, Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the substrate processing unit 13. The substrate processing unit 13 has a structure in which a drying processing unit 40, which is the main unit that performs the drying process, is provided inside the processing chamber 130.

[0038] The drying unit 40 is a device that performs a drying treatment on the substrate S after wet treatment using a supercritical processing fluid. More specifically, the drying unit 40 is a device that receives the substrate S after wet treatment, replaces the liquid remaining in the substrate S with a supercritical processing fluid, and then discharges the processing fluid to ultimately dry the substrate S. The principle of supercritical drying and the basic configuration required for it are well known, so a detailed explanation is omitted here.

[0039] The drying section 40 comprises a processing unit 41 and a transfer unit 43 located within the processing chamber 130, and a supply unit 45. The processing unit 41 is the main component for performing the supercritical drying process. The transfer unit 43 receives the wet-processed substrate S, which is transported by the central robot 15 as described later, and loads it into the processing unit 41, and also transfers the processed substrate S from the processing unit 41 to the central robot 15. The supply unit 45 supplies the chemical substances, power, and energy necessary for the process to the processing unit 41 and the transfer unit 43. These operations are controlled by the control unit 9, particularly the drying process control unit 97.

[0040] The processing unit 41 has a structure in which a processing chamber 412 is mounted on a base 411. The processing chamber 412 is composed of a combination of several metal blocks, and its interior is hollow, forming a processing space SP. The substrate S to be processed is brought into the processing space SP and processed. A slit-shaped opening 421 extending elongated in the Y direction is formed on the (-X) side of the processing chamber 412. The processing space SP and the external space are in communication through the opening 421. The cross-sectional shape of the processing space SP is approximately the same as the opening shape of the opening 421. That is, the processing space SP has a cross-sectional shape that is long in the Y direction and short in the Z direction, and is a cavity extending in the X direction.

[0041] A lid member 413 is provided on the (-X) side of the processing chamber 412 to close the opening 421. By closing the opening 421 of the processing chamber 412 with the lid member 413, an airtight processing container is formed. This enables high-pressure processing of the substrate S in the internal processing space SP. A flat support tray 415 is mounted horizontally on the (+X) side of the lid member 413. The upper surface of the support tray 415 is a support surface on which the substrate S can be placed. The lid member 413 is supported so as to be able to move horizontally in the X direction by a support mechanism (not shown).

[0042] The lid member 413 is movable forward and backward relative to the processing chamber 412 by a forward / backward mechanism 453 provided on the supply unit 45. Specifically, the forward / backward mechanism 453 has a linear motion mechanism such as a linear motor, linear guide, ball screw mechanism, solenoid, or air cylinder. Such a linear motion mechanism moves the lid member 413 in the Y direction. The forward / backward mechanism 453 operates in response to control commands from the control unit 9.

[0043] As the lid member 413 moves in the (-X) direction, it separates from the processing chamber 412, and as shown by the dotted line, the support tray 415 is pulled out of the processing space SP through the opening 421, making the support tray 415 accessible. That is, it becomes possible to place a substrate S on the support tray 415 and to remove a substrate S that is placed on the support tray 415. On the other hand, as the lid member 413 moves in the (+X) direction, the support tray 415 is housed inside the processing space SP. If a substrate S is placed on the support tray 415, the substrate S is transported into the processing space SP together with the support tray 415.

[0044] The processing space SP is sealed when the lid member 413 moves in the (+X) direction and closes the opening 421. A sealing member 422 is provided between the (+X) side surface of the lid member 413 and the (-X) side surface of the processing chamber 412, maintaining the airtight state of the processing space SP. The sealing member 422 is made of rubber, for example. In addition, the lid member 413 is fixed to the processing chamber 412 by a locking mechanism (not shown). In this way, the lid member 413 can be switched between a closed state (solid line) in which the opening 421 is closed and the processing space SP is sealed, and a separated state (dotted line) in which it is far enough away from the opening 421 that the substrate S can be inserted and removed.

[0045] With the processing space SP airtight, processing of the substrate S is performed within the processing space SP. In this embodiment, a fluid supply unit 457 provided in the supply unit 45 delivers a processing fluid of a substance usable for supercritical processing, such as carbon dioxide, as the processing fluid, and further pressurizes the processing fluid in the processing chamber 412 to bring it to a supercritical state. The processing fluid is supplied to the processing unit 41 in gaseous or liquid form. Carbon dioxide is a suitable chemical substance for supercritical drying processing because it becomes supercritical at relatively low temperatures and low pressures, and has the property of dissolving organic solvents, which are frequently used in substrate processing, well. The critical point at which carbon dioxide becomes supercritical is a pressure (critical pressure) of 7.38 MPa and a temperature (critical temperature) of 31.1°C.

[0046] When the processing fluid is filled into the processing space SP and the processing space SP reaches an appropriate temperature and pressure, the processing space SP is filled with the processing fluid in a supercritical state. In this way, the substrate S is processed by the supercritical fluid in the processing chamber 412. The supply unit 45 is provided with a fluid recovery unit 455, and the fluid after processing is recovered by the fluid recovery unit 455. The fluid supply unit 457 and the fluid recovery unit 455 are controlled by the drying processing control unit 97.

[0047] The processing space SP has a shape and volume that can accommodate the support tray 415 and the substrate S supported therein. Specifically, the processing space SP has a roughly rectangular cross-sectional shape that is wider horizontally than the width of the support tray 415 and greater vertically than the height of the support tray 415, and has a depth that can accommodate the support tray 415. Thus, the processing space SP has a shape and volume that is sufficient to accommodate the support tray 415 and the substrate S. However, the gap between the support tray 415 and the substrate S and the inner wall surface of the processing space SP is small. Therefore, the amount of processing fluid required to fill the processing space SP is relatively small.

[0048] The fluid supply unit 457 supplies processing fluid to the processing space SP further (+X) than the (+X) end of the substrate S. On the other hand, the fluid recovery unit 55 discharges the processing fluid that has flowed through the space above the substrate S and the space below the support tray 415 within the processing space SP, further (-X) than the (-X) end of the substrate S. As a result, a laminar flow of processing fluid is formed within the processing space SP, both above the substrate S and below the support tray 415, moving from the (+X) side to the (-X) side.

[0049] The drying process control unit 97 of the control unit 9 determines the pressure and temperature in the processing space SP based on the detection results of a detection unit (not shown), and controls the fluid supply unit 457 and the fluid recovery unit 455 based on these results. This ensures that the supply of processing fluid to the processing space SP and the discharge of processing fluid from the processing space SP are appropriately managed, and the pressure and temperature in the processing space SP are adjusted according to a predetermined processing recipe.

[0050] The transfer unit 43 is responsible for transferring the substrate S between the transport mechanism 3 and the support tray 415. For this purpose, the transfer unit 43 comprises a main body 431, a lifting member 433, a base member 435, and a plurality of lift pins 437. The lifting member 433 is a columnar member extending in the Z direction and is supported by a support mechanism (not shown) so as to be movable in the Z direction relative to the main body 431. A base member 435 having a substantially horizontal upper surface is attached to the upper part of the lifting member 433. A plurality of lift pins 437 are erected upward from the upper surface of the base member 435. Each of the lift pins 437 supports the substrate S in a horizontal position from below by its upper end contacting the lower surface of the substrate S. In order to stably support the substrate S in a horizontal position, it is desirable to provide three or more lift pins 437 whose upper end heights are equal to each other.

[0051] The lifting member 433 is movable up and down by a lifting mechanism 451 provided in the supply unit 45. Specifically, the lifting mechanism 451 has a linear motion mechanism such as a linear motor, linear guide, ball screw mechanism, solenoid, or air cylinder, and such a linear motion mechanism moves the lifting member 433 in the Z direction. The lifting mechanism 451 operates in response to control commands from the control unit 9.

[0052] The base member 435 moves up and down as the lifting member 433 moves up and down, and multiple lift pins 437 move up and down in conjunction with it. This enables the transfer of the substrate S between the transfer unit 43 and the support tray 415. More specifically, as shown by the dotted line in Figure 3, the substrate S is transferred when the support tray 415 is pulled out of the chamber. For this purpose, the support tray 415 is provided with through holes 417 for inserting the lift pins 437. When the base member 435 rises, the upper ends of the lift pins 437 reach above the upper surface of the support tray 415 through the through holes 417. In this state, the substrate S being transported by the center robot 30 is transferred from the hand 155 (Figure 4) of the center robot 15 to the lift pins 437. As the lift pins 437 descend, the substrate S is transferred from the lift pins 437 to the support tray 415. The substrate S can be unloaded by the reverse procedure described above.

[0053] Next, the structure of the center robot 15 will be described. The center robot 15 is responsible for the transfer of substrates S between the center robot 15 and the indexer robot 22, and for the transport of substrates S between chambers. Of these, the transport of substrates S from the wet processing unit 11, etc. to the drying processing unit 13, etc. is performed with a liquid film LF of low surface tension liquid formed on the upper surface of the substrate S in a horizontal position. The liquid film LF is formed to prevent the surface of the substrate S from being exposed and causing pattern collapse during transport from the wet processing unit 11, etc. to the drying processing unit 13, etc. However, during the transport process, the liquid may fall from the substrate S or evaporate from the surface of the substrate S.

[0054] When liquid splashes from the substrate S in this manner, it contaminates the inside of the device. In particular, if the liquid is corrosive or flammable, countermeasures against these properties are required in the device, which makes the device larger and leads to increased costs. Therefore, as will be explained below, in the center robot 15 of this embodiment, splashing of liquid is prevented by covering the area around the hand 155 that holds the substrate S on which the liquid film LF has been formed with a cover.

[0055] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the central robot. In the central robot 15, a rotating base 152 is attached to the base portion 151 via an appropriate rotating mechanism such as a motor. The rotating mechanism operates in response to control commands from the transport control unit 96 of the control unit 9, causing the rotating base 152 to rotate around a vertical axis. A substrate holding unit 150 is attached to a support frame 153 that extends upward from this rotating base 152. More specifically, two support columns 1531 and 1532 are attached to the upper surface of the roughly disc-shaped rotating base 152. The upper ends of these support columns are connected by a beam member 1533, forming a gantry-type support frame 153 as a whole. Guide rails 1535 and 1536 are provided on the sides of the respective support columns 1531 and 1532, and the substrate holding unit 150 is mounted on these.

[0056] More specifically, horizontally extending support arms 1571 and 1572 are fixed to the lower part of the cover portion 156 of the substrate holding unit 150. Sliders (not shown) provided at the tips of the support arms 1571 and 1572 engage with the guide rails 1535 and 1536 so as to be able to move up and down. Appropriate lifting mechanisms such as ball screw mechanisms, linear motors, and linear guides are incorporated into the support columns 1531 and 1532. When the lifting mechanism is activated in response to a control command from the control unit 90, the entire substrate holding unit 150 moves up and down along the guide rails 1535 and 1536. This lifting and lowering movement determines the height position of the substrate holding unit 150.

[0057] The position of the substrate holding unit 150 is determined by the combination of the rotation angle (rotation angle) of the rotating base 152, which is determined by the operation of the rotating mechanism, and the height position of the substrate holding unit 150, which is determined by the operation of the lifting mechanism. In this way, the substrate holding unit 150 can be positioned, for example, opposite one substrate processing unit. In Figure 4, arrow D1 indicates the direction of rotation of the rotating base 152 due to the operation of the rotating mechanism, and arrow D2 indicates the direction of movement of the substrate holding unit 150 due to the operation of the lifting mechanism. It is desirable that the rotating base 152 has a rotation angle of 360 degrees or more.

[0058] As will be explained below, the substrate holding unit 150 has a structure in which a cover portion 156 covers the area around the retractable arm portion 154 and hand portion 155 that access the chamber of each substrate processing unit to load or unload substrates S. The cover portion 156 has a double-cylinder structure that can be extended and retracted horizontally, and by extending and retracting in conjunction with the horizontal movement of the hand portion 155, it realizes the loading and unloading of substrates into and out of the chamber. In Figure 4, arrow D3 indicates the direction of extension and retraction of the cover portion 156, which will be described later, and arrow D4 indicates the direction of advancement and retraction of the hand portion 155.

[0059] The configuration and operation of the substrate holding unit 150 will be explained below using the operation of the substrate holding unit 150 accessing a chamber 110 of a single substrate processing unit 11 to load or unload a substrate as an example. However, access to other chambers can be considered in a similar manner.

[0060] Figure 5 shows the internal structure of the substrate holding unit. More specifically, Figure 5(a) is a plan view of the substrate holding unit 150, and Figure 5(b) is a side cross-sectional view. In order to clearly show the internal structure, in Figure 5(a), the cover portion 156 (1561, 1562) is represented by a dashed line, and the internal structure is represented by a solid line.

[0061] As shown in these figures, the telescopic arm section 154 has a structure in which two sets of articulated arms 1543 and 1544 are attached to a support shaft 1542 provided on the base section 1541. One of these articulated arms, 1543, is positioned above the other articulated arm 1544. A hand 1551 is attached to the tip of articulated arm 1543, and a hand 1552 is attached to the tip of articulated arm 1544. Therefore, one hand 1551 is positioned above the other hand 1552. These hands 1551 and 1552 are formed in a fork shape capable of holding the substrate S.

[0062] In response to control commands from the transport control unit 96, the joints of the articulated arm 1543 rotate in coordination, causing the articulated arm 1543 to extend and retract horizontally as a whole. This causes the hand 1551 attached to the end of the articulated arm 1543 to move in the horizontal direction, indicated by arrow D4. Similarly, the joints of the articulated arm 1544 rotate in coordination, causing the articulated arm 1544 to extend and retract horizontally as a whole. This causes the hand 1552 attached to the end of the articulated arm 1544 to move in the horizontal direction, indicated by arrow D4.

[0063] As will be described later, the horizontal movement of these hands 1551 and 1552 corresponds to the forward and backward movement relative to each board processing unit, and the loading of boards into and out of the board processing units is performed. Hereafter, the direction of movement of the hand indicated by arrow D4 will be referred to as the "forward and backward direction". The articulated arm 1543 and the articulated arm 1544 can each operate independently, and therefore the forward and backward movement of hands 1551 and 1552 is independent of each other.

[0064] When the articulated arm 1543 extends with the substrate holding unit 150 positioned opposite the processing chamber 110 (more specifically, its opening 112), the hand 1551 enters the processing chamber 110 through the opening 112. This enables the loading of substrates S into the processing chamber 110 and the unloading of substrates S from the processing chamber 110. The same applies to the hand 1552 attached to the articulated arm 1544.

[0065] The upper of the two hands, hand 1551, is used to hold the substrate S when transporting a dry substrate S. Specifically, hand 1551 is used when transporting the substrate S before wet processing into the wet processing unit 30, and when transporting the dried substrate S from the dry processing unit 40. Where necessary, hand 1551 may be referred to as the "drying hand" below.

[0066] On the other hand, the hand 1552 located on the lower side is used to hold the substrate S when transporting the substrate S with liquid attached to it. Specifically, the hand 1552 is used when transferring the substrate S, on which a liquid film LF has been formed in the wet processing unit 30, to the dry processing unit 40. Where necessary in the following, the hand 1551 may be referred to as the "wet processing hand".

[0067] By using hands 1551 and 1552 in this manner, it is prevented that liquid adhering to the substrate during transport will transfer to the hands and then transfer to other substrates, especially those that have already been dried, thereby contaminating them. Furthermore, by using the upper hand 1551 as a dry hand, even if liquid spills from a substrate S that has liquid on it while it is being held by the wet hand 1552, it is prevented that the liquid will come into contact with the dry hand 1551 above it.

[0068] A cover portion 156 is provided to cover the articulated arms 1543, 1544 and hands 1551, 1552 that operate in this manner. The cover portion 156 comprises a box-shaped cover body 1561 that accommodates the range of motion of the telescopic arm portion 154 within its internal space, and an extension member 1562 that is a hollow cylindrical structure with openings at both ends that penetrate horizontally. The opening 1562a of the extension member 1562 that is exposed to the outside (i.e., the opening on the side opposite to the cover body 1561) serves as an entrance and exit for the hands 155 (1551, 1552) that hold the substrate S when they move from the internal space of the cover portion 156 to the external space.

[0069] More specifically, the cover body 1561 has a box-like shape with an opening 1561a on the side corresponding to the movement path of the hands 1551 and 1552. The telescopic arm portion 154 is housed inside the cover body 1561, and a drive mechanism 158 for operating the telescopic arm portion 154 is attached to the lower part of the cover body 1561. The drive mechanism 158 operates the movable part of the substrate holding unit 150 in response to a control command from the transport control unit 96. It is desirable that at least the bottom surface of the cover body 1561 does not have an opening that communicates with the outside space, nor does it have a slope that guides the liquid toward the opening 1561a, in order to temporarily store liquid spilled from the substrate S.

[0070] The extension member 1562 has a cylindrical shape with a hollow structure that penetrates horizontally, with openings on both sides corresponding to the forward and backward movement direction D4 of the hands 1551 and 1552. The external dimensions of the extension member 1562 are formed to be slightly smaller than the opening 1561a of the cover body 1561, and a part of the extension member 1562 fits inside the opening 1561a, so that the cover part 156 has a double-cylinder structure. Alternatively, the extension member 1562 may be structured to surround the opening 1561a of the cover body 1561 from the outside. A forward and backward rod 1564 is connected to the extension member 1562, and the forward and backward rod 1564 is driven horizontally by a drive mechanism 158 along the forward and backward movement direction D4 of the hands 1551 and 1552. As a result, the extension member 1562 is movable horizontally relative to the cover body 1561. The direction of movement D3 is approximately the same as the direction of advancement / return D4 of hands 1551 and 1552.

[0071] This mechanism allows the cover portion 156 as a whole to expand and contract within a predetermined range along direction D3. In other words, the cover portion 156 changes its shape between a state in which the stretching member 1562 is retracted into the cover body 1561 and retracted from the processing chamber 110, and a state in which the stretching member 1562 is pulled further out and advanced toward the processing chamber 110.

[0072] When both articulated arms 1543 and 1544 are folded, the extension member 1562 is positioned in the direction that allows it to extend the most into the cover body 1561 (to the left in the figure). At this time, the sizes of the cover body 1561 and the extension member 1562 are determined so that the entire telescopic arm section 154, the hands 1551 and 1552, and the substrate S held by them are housed within the internal space formed by the connection between the cover body 1561 and the extension member 1562.

[0073] During the transport process of the substrate S by the central robot 15, the operation of the substrate holding section 150 may include rotational movement by a rotation mechanism and lifting movement by a lifting mechanism. If a liquid film is formed on the upper surface of the substrate S during these operations, there is a risk that the liquid may fall from the substrate S due to vibration or acceleration / deceleration. By housing the substrate S within the internal space SP formed by the cover body 1561 and the stretching member 1562, even if liquid does fall, the extent of its scattering can be limited to within the cover section 156.

[0074] Furthermore, although liquid may evaporate from the substrate S, the evaporation process can be suppressed by filling the internal space of the cover portion 156 with vapor. In this way, the cover portion 156 has the effect of suppressing the scattering of liquid falling from the substrate S and the evaporation of liquid from the substrate S. To further enhance this effect, a step is provided on the lower surface of the stretched member 1562, and the opening area of ​​the opening 1562a exposed to the outside is narrowed. This reduces the probability of liquid leaking to the outside through the opening 1562a.

[0075] To further enhance the above-mentioned effects, the opening 1562a may be a slit-shaped opening having the minimum opening size necessary to allow the hands 1551, 1552 and the substrate S to pass through, or a shutter member for opening and closing the opening may be provided.

[0076] As shown in Figure 5(a), when the stretching member 1562 is retracted towards the cover body 1561 and in the retracted position, the tip of the stretching member 1562 is separated from the side wall surface of the processing chamber 110 by a predetermined distance. Therefore, as indicated by the dotted arrow, interference between the cover portion 156 and the processing chamber 110 when the substrate holding unit 150 rotates is avoided. In other words, in the center robot 15, by positioning the stretching member 1562 in the retracted position, it is possible to rotate the substrate holding unit 150 without causing interference with the chamber wall surface. This makes it possible to rotate the substrate holding unit 150 in various directions and position it opposite any chamber.

[0077] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 5(b), when the stretching member 1562 is in the extended position, pulled out from the cover body 1561, the tip of the stretching member 1562 approaches or abuts against the side wall surface of the processing chamber 110. As a result, the internal space of the cover portion 156 and the internal space of the processing chamber 110 are in almost complete communication. Then, the hands 1551 and 1552 move back and forth in this communication space. Finally, the hands 1551 and 1552 extend beyond the tip of the stretching member 1562 and further into the chamber, becoming exposed to the internal space of the processing chamber 110. This makes it possible to transfer the substrate S within the chamber.

[0078] When the telescopic arm 154 is extended while the extension member 1562 is in the retracted position, the substrate S held by the hands 1551 and 1552 is temporarily exposed to the outside space. As a result, problems may occur such as liquid leaking from the substrate S during transport or accelerated evaporation of liquid from the substrate S. In this embodiment, by moving the extension member 1562 to connect the internal spaces of the cover 156 and the processing chamber 110 and extending or retracting the telescopic arm 154, it is possible to prevent such problems.

[0079] To enhance the sealing effect of the space, it is desirable that the shape of the opening 1562a of the extension member 1562 corresponds to the shape of the opening 112 of the processing chamber 110. That is, when the tip of the extension member 1562 is in contact with the processing chamber 110, it is desirable that the opening 1562a of the extension member 1562 and the opening 112 of the processing chamber 110 roughly coincide. In this embodiment, the shape and size of both openings are substantially the same, and the tip of the extension member 1562 facing the processing chamber 110 is shaped to fit the side wall of the processing chamber 110. To further enhance airtightness, a sealing member may be attached so as to surround the opening 1562a of the extension member 1562. The sealing member may be provided on the chamber 110 side, in which case it may be shared with a sealing member provided to enhance the airtightness of the shutter 111 in the processing chamber 110.

[0080] The airtightness required in the connection between the cover portion 156 and the processing chamber 110 is sufficient if it can suppress liquid leakage and evaporation to a necessary and adequate extent, and therefore some gap may be present between the components. Rather, incorporating a more complex mechanism to ensure airtightness is not necessarily advantageous in order to transport the substrate S during processing in a short time.

[0081] Here, we have described the transfer of a substrate S between the substrate holding unit 150 and one substrate processing unit 11, but the same applies to the other substrate processing units. That is, by rotating the rotary base 152, the substrate holding unit 150 can be positioned to face any one of the openings of the substrate processing units 11 to 14. In this state, by moving the hands 1551 and 1552 forward and backward relative to the substrate processing unit, it is possible to access the inside of each substrate processing unit and load and unload the substrate S.

[0082] Figure 6 illustrates the ways in which the hand accesses the substrate processing unit. Specifically, Figure 6(a) schematically shows the state in which the hand 1551 (1552) is accessing the substrate processing unit 11, and Figure 6(b) schematically shows the state in which the hand 1551 (1552) is accessing the substrate processing unit 13.

[0083] As shown in Figure 6(a), the rotation of the rotating base 152 positions the substrate holding unit 150 facing the opening 112 of the substrate processing unit 11. When the shutter 111 (Figure 1) of the substrate processing unit 11 is opened, the opening 112 provided on the side of the processing chamber 110 is exposed. From this state, the articulated arm 1543 extends, allowing the hand 1551 to enter the processing chamber 110 through the opening 112. The dry hand 1551 holds the unprocessed substrate S and enters the processing chamber 110, thereby transporting the substrate S to the wet processing unit 30 inside the processing chamber 110.

[0084] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6(b), when the substrate holding unit 150 is positioned facing the opening 132 of the substrate processing unit 13 by the rotation of the rotating base 152, the shutter 131 of the substrate processing unit 13 is opened, exposing the opening 132 provided on the side of the processing chamber 130. From this state, the articulated arm 1543 extends, allowing the hand 1551 to enter the processing chamber 130 through the opening 132. The drying hand 1551 can then transport the dried substrate S from the drying processing unit 40 inside the processing chamber 130.

[0085] As described above, the central robot 15 transports the unprocessed substrate S, which is placed on the mounting table 101 by the indexer robot 22, to the substrate processing unit 11, and also transfers the dried substrate S from the substrate processing unit 13 to the mounting table 101. Access to the mounting table 101 in these cases can be performed as follows. The rotary base 152 rotates and positions the substrate holding unit 150 so that it faces the mounting table 101, i.e., in the (-X) direction. From this state, the articulated arm 1543 extends in the (-X) direction, allowing the drying hand 1551 to access the mounting table 101.

[0086] As a way to shorten the time required to load a substrate from the mounting table 101 to the substrate processing unit 11, it is possible to reduce the amount of movement, i.e., the rotation angle θ1, required for the substrate holding unit 150 to transition from facing the mounting table 101 to facing the opening 112 of the substrate processing unit 11. It is preferable that this rotation angle θ1 be, for example, 45 degrees or a smaller angle.

[0087] Furthermore, the same principle applies when the other hand 1552 accesses each substrate processing unit, with only the height of the substrate holding unit 150 being different. That is, when the articulated arm 1544 extends with the substrate holding unit 150 positioned opposite the opening 112 of the substrate processing unit 11, the hand 1552 enters the processing chamber 110. The wet-processing hand 1552 then removes the substrate S, on which a liquid film has been formed on its upper surface in the wet processing unit 30, from the substrate processing unit 11.

[0088] The discharged substrate S is directly transported to the substrate processing unit 13 without passing through the mounting table 101. That is, as shown in Figure 6(a), when the wet handling hand 1552 enters the substrate processing unit 11 and receives the wet substrate S, the articulated arm 1544 folds, causing the hand 1552 to retract from the substrate processing unit 11 into the cover portion 156. From this state, the rotating base 152 rotates by a predetermined amount, changing the orientation of the substrate holding unit 150, and the substrate holding unit 150 is positioned to face the opening 132 of the substrate processing unit 13. Then, as shown in Figure 6(b), the hand 1552 enters the inside of the substrate processing unit 13 and hands over the substrate S to the drying processing unit 40.

[0089] Thus, the transfer of the wet substrate S from the substrate processing unit 11 to the substrate processing unit 13 can be achieved solely by a combination of the forward and backward movement of the hand 1552 and the rotation of the substrate holding unit 150 by the operation of the rotary base 152. Therefore, the time required for the transfer of the substrate S can be shortened, and the processing throughput can be improved. In addition, there is no need to secure a path for the horizontal movement of the center robot 15, and therefore the footprint of the equipment can be kept small.

[0090] To make this possible, it is preferable that the substrate processing unit 11 and the substrate processing unit 13, which are the targets of the transfer of the substrate S, are arranged in close proximity, preferably adjacent to each other, and that the center robot 15, which has the function of changing the direction of the hand's movement by rotation, be positioned facing both of them.

[0091] One way to shorten the transfer time of the substrate S is to reduce the amount of movement, i.e., the rotation angle θ2, required for the substrate holding unit 150 to transition from facing the opening 112 of the substrate processing unit 11 to facing the opening 132 of the substrate processing unit 13. This rotation angle θ2 is preferably 180 degrees or less, and more preferably 90 degrees or less.

[0092] In particular, in a substrate processing unit 13 having a drying processing unit 40, it is desirable that the support tray 415 on which the substrate S is placed is positioned so as shown in Figure 6(b) that it is pulled out toward the (-X) side where the wet processing unit 30 is located. By doing so, the position within the substrate processing unit 13 that the hands 155 (1551, 1552) must reach is relatively close to the adjacent substrate processing unit 11. Therefore, the rotation angle θ2 can be reduced, and the amount of forward and backward movement of the hands 155 (1551, 1552) can also be reduced, making it possible to shorten the time required for transfer.

[0093] At this time, the substrate S has a liquid film LF formed on its upper surface. Therefore, in order to suppress evaporation and dripping of the liquid and complete the transfer while maintaining the liquid film LF in good condition, it is effective to reduce the amount of movement of the substrate S during transfer. In this embodiment, horizontal movement of the center robot 15 is unnecessary, and by adopting a device layout that allows for a small rotation angle θ2, the amount of movement of the substrate S can be reduced, making it possible to transfer the substrate while maintaining the liquid film LF in good condition.

[0094] As shown in Figure 1, in this substrate processing apparatus 1, in addition to a pair of substrate processing units 11 and 13 installed adjacent to each other on the (+Y) side of the central robot 15, another pair of substrate processing units 12 and 14 are also provided on the (-Y) side of the central robot 15, adjacent to each other in the X direction. The internal structure of the substrate processing units 12 and 14 corresponds to the structure of the substrate processing units 11 and 13 arranged symmetrically with respect to the X axis.

[0095] The central robot 15 can also be used to transfer substrates S to these substrate processing units 12 and 14. To enable this, it is desirable that the rotary base 152 be configured to rotate 360 ​​degrees or more. This allows only one central robot 15 to be used for two substrate processing systems, which is effective in reducing the footprint of the equipment.

[0096] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating the schematic operation of this substrate processing device. For simplicity, the indexer robot 22 is abbreviated as "IR" and the center robot 15 as "CR".

[0097] First, the indexer robot 22 takes one unprocessed substrate S from the container C and transfers it to the mounting table 101 (step S101). The center robot 15 then moves the substrate S placed on the mounting table 101 into the wet processing unit 30 in the substrate processing unit 11 (step S102). The operation of the center robot 15 at this time is as described above, and the dry hand 1551 is used to hold the substrate S.

[0098] The wet processing unit 30 performs a predetermined wet processing (step S103) and liquid film formation processing (step S104) on the substrate S that has been brought in, and ultimately the upper surface of the substrate S is covered with a liquid film LF.

[0099] The central robot 15 removes the substrate S on which the liquid film has formed from the substrate processing unit 11 and transfers it to the drying processing unit 40 of the substrate processing unit 13 (step S105). At this time, the substrate S is held by the wet handling hand 1552. As described above, the transfer can be achieved only by the forward and backward movement of the hand 1552 and the rotation of the rotating base 152. In the substrate processing unit 13, a supercritical drying process is performed in which the liquid adhering to the substrate S is replaced and removed by a supercritical processing fluid (step S106).

[0100] After drying, the substrate S is unloaded by the central robot 15. Specifically, the drying hand 1551 enters the substrate processing unit 13, receives the processed and dried substrate S, unloads it, and places it on the loading table 101 (step S107). The indexer robot 22 then places the loaded substrate S into the container C (step S108), completing the series of processes.

[0101] If there are many substrates to be processed, the above process will be repeated. However, by preparing recipes so that processes that can be performed in parallel proceed simultaneously, it is possible to improve processing efficiency.

[0102] As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the transfer of a substrate S from the substrate processing unit 11 having a wet processing unit 30 to the substrate processing unit 13 having a dry processing unit 40 can be performed solely by the central robot 15 moving its hand 155 forward and backward and switching its direction of movement. In other words, the layout of the substrate processing units 11, 13 and the central robot 15 is set up to enable such operation. As a result, the amount of movement of the substrate S during transfer can be reduced, and the time required for the transfer of the substrate S can be shortened. In particular, when transferring a substrate S whose surface is covered with a liquid film, these effects are significant in that the liquid film can be transferred while being maintained in good condition. Furthermore, since horizontal movement of the central robot 15 is not required for the transfer of the substrate S, there is no need to secure a movement path, and the footprint of the apparatus can be reduced.

[0103] As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the above embodiment, the wet processing unit 30 and the dry processing unit 40 function as the "wet processing unit" and "drying processing unit" of the present invention, respectively. Furthermore, the center robot 15 corresponds to the "first transport unit" of the present invention, and the indexer robot 22 corresponds to the "second transport unit" of the present invention. In addition, the mounting table 101 corresponds to the "mounting unit" of the present invention.

[0104] In the central robot 15, the hand 155 functions as the "holding member" of the present invention, with the dry hand 1551 corresponding to the "dry holding member" of the present invention, and the wet hand 1552 corresponding to the "wet holding member" of the present invention. Furthermore, the telescopic arm section 154, including the articulated arms 1543 and 1544, functions as the "advancing and retracting mechanism" of the present invention, while the rotating base 152 and the mechanism for rotating it function as the "rotation mechanism" of the present invention.

[0105] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the directions from the center robot 15 toward the substrate processing unit 11 and the substrate processing unit 13 correspond to the "first direction" and the "second direction" of the present invention, respectively. Also, the direction from the center robot 15 toward the mounting table 101, i.e., the (-X) direction, corresponds to the "third direction" of the present invention.

[0106] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the center robot 15 in the above embodiment has a dry hand 1551 and a wet hand 1552, which are used interchangeably depending on the state of the substrate S being held. However, the advantage of being able to transport substrates by a combination of rotation and forward / backward movement is also effective even in a configuration that does not use these interchangeable hands.

[0107] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the dry hand 1551 and the wet hand 1552 share a common rotation mechanism, while each has an independent forward / backward mechanism. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and for example, two hands may be provided with a single forward / backward mechanism, or each hand may be provided with an independent rotation mechanism and forward / backward mechanism. Also, in the above embodiment, the dry hand 1551 and the wet hand 1552 are arranged in the vertical direction, but they may be arranged side by side, for example, in the horizontal direction, as long as mutual interference can be prevented.

[0108] Furthermore, the structure of the transport robot 15 is not limited to the above. For example, it may be configured without a cover portion 156, in which case the range of motion of the arm is not restricted by the cover portion, thus increasing the degree of design freedom. Alternatively, the cover portion may be provided only on the wet handling hand.

[0109] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a pair of substrate processing units 11 and 13 are provided on the (+Y) side of the center robot 15, and another pair of substrate processing units 12 and 14 are provided on the (-Y) side, but the number of substrate processing units is not limited to this. In other words, the present invention can be applied to any apparatus having at least one wet processing unit and one dry processing unit, and a transport unit that transports substrates between them.

[0110] For example, these substrate processing units may be configured to be stacked in multiple layers in the Z direction. Even in this case, since the substrate holding unit 150 is configured to be movable in the Z direction, it is possible to transfer substrates between these multiple substrate processing units using a single central robot 15. Furthermore, as illustrated below, the number of wet processing units and dry processing units may differ from each other.

[0111] Figure 8 is a side view showing a modified example of the substrate processing apparatus. In the figure, components identical or similar to those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted. In this modified example of the substrate processing apparatus 1a, two substrate processing units 11, each containing a wet processing unit 30, are stacked in the Z direction, while only one substrate processing unit 13 having a corresponding dry processing unit 40 is provided. Due to differences in the processing time required for each processing unit, differences in the structure of the apparatus, etc., it may be preferable to have different numbers of wet processing units and dry processing units. The present invention functions effectively even in such a configuration.

[0112] As described above with examples of specific embodiments, in this invention, the first transport unit may have a configuration in which a wet holding member is used to hold a substrate with liquid attached to it, and a dry holding member is used to hold a substrate without liquid attached to it. With such a configuration, even if liquid attached to a wet substrate is transferred to the holding member, it is prevented from adhering to a dry substrate and becoming a source of contamination.

[0113] Furthermore, it is preferable that the angle between the first direction and the second direction is less than 180 degrees, and even more preferable that this angle is less than 90 degrees. With such a configuration, the amount of rotation required for the first transport unit to transition from accessing the wet processing unit to accessing the dry processing unit is reduced, making it possible to complete the transfer of the substrate in a shorter time.

[0114] Furthermore, for example, if a mounting section for temporarily placing a substrate is arranged between the first transport section and the second transport section, and the third direction is defined as the direction in which the holding member advances toward the mounting section, it is preferable that the angle between the first direction and the third direction is less than 45 degrees. In this configuration, where substrates are transferred between the first transport section and the second transport section via the mounting section, the smaller the angle between the direction in which the holding member advances toward the wet processing section and the direction in which the holding member advances toward the mounting section, the shorter the time required for transfer from the mounting section to the wet processing section. This makes it possible to further reduce the overall processing time.

[0115] Furthermore, for example, multiple pairs of wet processing units and drying processing units may be arranged at different horizontal positions, and a single first transport unit may be provided for each of these pairs. For example, two pairs may be arranged on opposite sides of the first transport unit. In this invention, the time required for transporting a single substrate is reduced, so even when there are multiple pairs of wet processing units and drying processing units, transport can be achieved with a single first transport unit. In addition, the footprint of the device can be reduced by decreasing the number of first transport units. [Industrial applicability]

[0116] This invention can be applied to all substrate processing apparatuses that have a wet processing section using a liquid and a dry processing section for removing the liquid, and perform processing involving the transfer of a substrate between them. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 1. Substrate processing apparatus 15. Center Robot (First Conveyor Unit) 22 Indexer robot (second transport unit) 30 Wet Processing Unit 40 Drying treatment 101 Mounting platform (mounting section) 152 Rotating base (rotating mechanism) 154 Telescopic arm section (forward / backward mechanism) 155 Hand (holding member) 1551 Dry-type handle (dry-holding component) 1552 Wet-use hand (wet-holding member)

Claims

1. A wet processing unit that processes the substrate with a liquid, A drying unit for removing the liquid from the substrate processed by the wet treatment unit and drying the substrate, A first transport unit that accesses both the wet processing unit and the dry processing unit to load and unload the substrate, A second transport unit supplies unprocessed substrates to the first transport unit and receives processed substrates discharged from the first transport unit. Equipped with, The first transport unit is, A holding member that contacts the substrate and holds the substrate in a horizontal position, A reciprocating mechanism that supports the holding member and moves it forward and backward in the horizontal direction, A rotation mechanism that supports the aforementioned reciprocating mechanism and rotates it around a rotation axis parallel to the vertical axis to change the direction of advancement of the holding member, and It has, The wet treatment unit and the dry treatment unit are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction, The first transport unit is, A substrate processing apparatus in which the rotating mechanism is positioned such that when the rotating mechanism is set to advance in a first direction and the reciprocating mechanism advances the holding member, the holding member enters the wet processing section, while the rotating mechanism is positioned such that when the rotating mechanism is changed to advance in a second direction different from the first direction and the reciprocating mechanism advances the holding member, the holding member enters the dry processing section.

2. The first transport unit uses the following as the holding member: A wet holding member for holding the substrate in the state to which the aforementioned liquid is attached, A dry holding member for holding the substrate to which the liquid is not attached, A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the angle between the first direction and the second direction is less than 180 degrees.

4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the angle between the first direction and the second direction is less than 90 degrees.

5. A mounting section for temporarily placing the substrate is arranged between the first transport section and the second transport section. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the direction of advancement of the holding member toward the aforementioned mounting portion is defined as the third direction, the angle between the first direction and the third direction is less than 45 degrees.

6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of pairs of the wet processing unit and the dry processing unit are arranged at different positions in the horizontal direction, and a single first transport unit is arranged for the plurality of such pairs.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the two pairs are arranged on opposite sides of the first transport unit.

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