Bottle storage device and bottle storage method

Abstract

To reduce the burden on workers when transferring bottles to the bottle holder where the bottles containing the processing liquid are placed. [Solution] The device includes a bottle holder on which a bottle containing a processing liquid for manufacturing semiconductor devices is placed, and a switching mechanism that switches between a first state in which the space around the bottle holder is closed and a second state in which the space is opened to allow the bottle to be transferred to the bottle holder. Since the first and second states are switched by the switching mechanism, the burden on the worker when transferring a bottle to the bottle holder in the second state can be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present disclosure relates to a bottle storage device and a bottle storage method.

Background Art

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, processing liquids such as resist, coating liquids for forming antireflection films, solvents, and precursor-containing liquids for forming insulating films are supplied from nozzles to substrates for liquid processing. As a device for supplying such processing liquids for processing, Patent Document 1 proposes a resist coating device. The resist coating device is shown to include a tank for storing a chemical solution, a nozzle is connected to this tank via a supply path, and the chemical solution is supplied from the nozzle to the substrate. It is also described that the chemical solution is supplied from a chemical solution bottle in which the chemical solution is stored to the tank.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a technique for reducing the burden on an operator when transferring a bottle to a bottle placement portion on which a bottle storing a processing liquid is placed.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The present disclosure includes a bottle placement portion on which a bottle storing a processing liquid for manufacturing a semiconductor device is placed, a switching mechanism that switches between a first state in which the space around the bottle placement portion is closed and a second state in which the space is opened to transfer the bottle to the bottle placement portion, and is a bottle storage device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to this disclosure, the burden on workers can be reduced when transferring bottles to a bottle holder on which bottles containing processing liquid are placed. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a wafer processing system that constitutes a bottle storage device. [Figure 2] This is a front view showing the bottle storage device. [Figure 3] This is a diagram showing the supply system for the processing liquid. [Figure 4] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of the housing and the bottle mounting section. [Figure 5] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of the bottle mounting section. [Figure 6] This is a schematic plan view showing the bottle and tank in the first state. [Figure 7] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of the bottle mounting section in the first state. [Figure 8] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of the bottle mounting section in the second state. [Figure 9] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a portion of the bottle mounting section. [Figure 10] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a portion of the bottle mounting section. [Figure 11] This is a schematic plan view illustrating the operation of the bottle storage device. [Figure 12] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of a wafer processing system that constitutes a bottle storage device. [Figure 13] This is a side view showing the bottle storage device. [Figure 14] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a part of the bottle storage device. [Figure 15] This is a schematic plan view illustrating the operation of the bottle storage device. [Figure 16]It is a plan view showing a third embodiment of a wafer processing system including a bottle storage device. [Figure 17] It is a plan view schematically showing a fourth embodiment of a wafer processing system including a bottle storage device. [Figure 18] It is a plan view showing a fifth embodiment of a wafer processing system including a bottle storage device. [Figure 19] It is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the first space and the bottle placement part. [Figure 20] It is a plan view schematically showing a configuration example of the first space. [Figure 21] It is a plan view schematically showing a configuration example of the first space. [Figure 22] It is a plan view schematically showing a configuration example of the first space. [Figure 23] It is a plan view schematically showing the operation of the bottle storage device. [Figure 24] It is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration example of the housing and the bottle placement part. [Figure 25] It is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the first detection unit and the second detection unit. [Figure 26] It is a side view showing a configuration example of the first detection unit and the second detection unit.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, a wafer processing system as a bottle storage device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, elements having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

[0009] <Wafer Processing System> First, the configuration of the wafer processing system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIGS. 1 and 2 are a plan view and a front view schematically showing the outline of the configuration of the wafer processing system 1, respectively. In this embodiment, a case where the wafer processing system 1 is a photolithography processing system that performs a resist film formation process and a development process on the wafer W will be described as an example.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the wafer processing system 1 includes a cassette station 12 which forms a substrate loading / unloading block for loading and unloading cassettes C containing multiple wafers W, and a processing station 13 which forms a processing block equipped with multiple various processing devices for performing predetermined processing on the wafers W. The wafer processing system 1 has a configuration in which the cassette station 12, the processing station 13, and an interface station 14 which transfers wafers W between the processing station 13 and an adjacent exposure device (not shown) on the opposite side of the processing station 13 are integrally connected. As shown in Figure 1, there are two processing stations 13 installed between the cassette station 12 and the interface station 14, but there may be one or three or more. Hereafter, the direction in which the cassette station 12 and the processing station 13 are aligned will be described as the left-right direction (Y direction in Figures 1 and 2), and the direction perpendicular to the left-right direction will be described as the front-back direction (X direction in Figures 1 and 2). In the left-right direction, the side where the cassette station 12 is located will be the left side, and the side where the processing station 13 is located will be the right side. Furthermore, regarding the front-to-back direction, when viewing the cassette station 12 on the left and the processing station 13 on the right, the side closer to the viewer is defined as the front, and the side further away is defined as the rear.

[0011] The cassette station 12 is equipped with multiple cassette mounting tables 15 and wafer transport devices 21 and 22. The cassette station 12 transports wafers between the cassette C placed on the cassette mounting table 15 and the processing station 13 using the wafer transport device 21 or 22. For this purpose, the wafer transport devices 21 and 22 are equipped with drive mechanisms as needed, each having movement paths in various directions such as horizontal (X and Y directions), vertical (Z direction), and around the vertical axis (θ direction), and may also have drive mechanisms having movement paths in all directions. In this example, the cassette mounting tables 15 correspond to container mounting sections, and the wafer transport devices 21 or 22 correspond to transport mechanisms.

[0012] At least one of the wafer transfer devices 21 and 22 is capable of transferring a wafer to and from cassette C, and is also capable of transferring a wafer to and from processing station 13. The wafer transfer operation to and from processing station 13 refers, for example, to transferring a wafer to and from a third block G3 that is accessible to the wafer transfer device 23 within processing station 13 (described later). The third block G3 may be equipped with a plurality of transfer devices (not shown) arranged in the vertical direction. Furthermore, an inspection device (not shown) for inspecting the wafer W may be provided at a location accessible by either the wafer transport device 21 or 22.

[0013] The processing station 13 is provided with multiple blocks, for example, three blocks G1, G2, and G4, which are the first, second, and fourth blocks. In addition, as shown in Figure 2, multiple layers 16, each containing the first and second blocks G1 and G2, are stacked vertically. For example, the first block G1 is provided on the front side of the processing station 13 (the negative X direction side in Figure 1), and the second block G2 is provided on the rear side of the processing station 13 (the positive X direction side in Figure 1). A fourth block G4 is provided on the interface station 14 side of the processing station 13 (the positive Y direction side in Figure 1) or at the connection point with another adjacent processing station 13. The fourth block G4 may be provided with multiple transfer devices arranged vertically. In addition, the aforementioned third block G3 may be provided inside the processing station 13.

[0014] The first block G1 contains multiple processing devices, such as patterning film forming devices and developing devices (both not shown). The patterning film forming devices may include, for example, a resist film forming device as well as an anti-reflective film forming device, and multiple processing devices may be arranged horizontally. The number, arrangement, and types of these processing devices can be arbitrarily selected.

[0015] These patterning film forming apparatuses and developing apparatuses perform operations such as supplying a predetermined processing solution or a predetermined gas onto a wafer W. In this way, the patterning film forming apparatuses create resist films that are used as masks when forming patterns on the lower layer films, or anti-reflective films that enable efficient light irradiation processes, such as exposure processing. Meanwhile, the developing apparatuses remove a portion of the exposed resist film to form the uneven shape that serves as the mask.

[0016] Furthermore, in the second block G2, for example, heat treatment devices (not shown) for performing heat treatment such as heating and cooling of the wafer W are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions. In addition, the second block G2 also includes, although not shown, a hydrophobic treatment device for performing hydrophobic treatment to improve the adhesion between the resist solution and the wafer W, and a peripheral exposure device for exposing the outer periphery of the wafer W, arranged in the vertical (Z direction in Figure 2) and horizontal directions. The number and arrangement of these heat treatment devices, hydrophobic treatment devices, and peripheral exposure devices can also be arbitrarily selected.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1, a wafer transport area 17 is formed in the region sandwiched between the first block G1 and the second block G2 in a plan view. A wafer transport device 23, for example, is arranged in the wafer transport area 17. The wafer transport device 23 has a transport arm 231 that can move freely in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions, for example. The wafer transport device 23 moves within the wafer transport area 17 and can transport wafers W to predetermined devices in the surrounding first block G1, second block G2, third block G3, and fourth block G4. If there are multiple processing stations 13 as shown in Figure 1, the wafer transport device 23 provided at the processing station 13 located on the interface station 14 side can transport wafers W to predetermined devices in the fifth block G5, described later, in addition to the first, second, and fourth blocks G1, G2, and G3.

[0018] Multiple wafer transfer devices 23 are arranged vertically, for example, as shown in Figure 2. One wafer transfer device 23 can transfer a wafer W to a predetermined device located at the height of multiple upper layers 16 of the stacked layers 16. Another wafer transfer device 23 can transfer the wafer W to a predetermined device located at the height of multiple layers 16 below those layers 16. Multiple wafer transfer areas 17 are provided to enable this type of wafer transfer W. The number of wafer transfer devices 23 and the number of layers 16 corresponding to one wafer transfer device 23 can be arbitrarily selected, such as providing one wafer transfer device 23 for each layer 16.

[0019] Furthermore, a shuttle transport device (not shown) may be provided in the wafer transport area 17 or in the first block G1 or the second block G2. The shuttle transport device transports the wafer W linearly between a space adjacent to one side of the processing station 3 and another space adjacent to the opposite side.

[0020] Interface station 14 includes a fifth block G5 equipped with multiple transfer devices, and wafer transport devices 24 and 25. Interface station 14 transports wafers W between the fifth block G5, where wafers W are transferred by wafer transport device 23, and the exposure apparatus using wafer transport devices 24 or 25. For this purpose, wafer transport devices 24 and 25 are each equipped with a drive mechanism having movement paths in each direction such as the X, Y, Z, and θ directions, as needed, and may also be equipped with a drive mechanism having movement paths in all directions. At least one of wafer transport devices 24 and 25 can support the wafer W and transport it between the transfer devices and the exposure apparatus in the fifth block G5.

[0021] A cleaning device for cleaning the surface of the wafer W, or the aforementioned peripheral exposure device, may be provided within the interface station 14 in a position accessible by either the wafer transport device 24 or 25. The inspection device may be provided in the cassette station 12 as described above, but it may also be provided in the processing station 3 and the interface station 14 in a position accessible by any of the transport arms (23, 24, 25 in Figure 1 or Figure 2) located inside each of them.

[0022] The wafer processing system 1 described above is equipped with a control device 100, which is a control unit. The control device 100 is, for example, a computer and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores a program that controls the processing of wafers W in the wafer processing system 1. The program storage unit also stores a program that controls the operation of the drive systems such as the various processing devices and transport devices mentioned above to realize wafer processing in the wafer processing system 1. The program is composed of a set of steps necessary to transport and process wafers W in the wafer processing system 1, and the control device 100 outputs control signals to each part of the wafer processing system 1 according to the program, and the transport and processing are carried out by controlling each part as described above.

[0023] The above program may be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium H and installed from said storage medium H to the control device 100. The storage medium H may include ROM, RAM, or a hard disk, but its structure and type are not limited, and it may be temporary or non-temporary. The control device 100 may include a part that stores, reads, and executes the program for realizing wafer processing and performs related communications, and the location of each part may be either inside or outside the wafer processing system 1. The control device 100 may be one or more circuits, and may be provided as a single unit or in parts.

[0024] [Wafer processing system operation] Next, an example of wafer processing performed using the wafer processing system 1 configured as described above will be explained. First, a cassette C containing multiple wafers W is brought into the cassette station 12 and placed on the cassette tray 15. Next, each wafer W in the cassette C is sequentially removed by the wafer transport device 21 or 22 and transported to the transfer device of the third block G3.

[0025] The wafer W, transported to the transfer device in the third block G3, is supported by the wafer transfer device 23 and transported to a hydrophobic treatment device located in the second block G2, where a hydrophobic treatment is performed. Next, the wafer transfer device 23 transports it to a resist film forming device where a resist film is formed on the wafer W. After that, it is transported to a heat treatment device for pre-baking, and then transported to the transfer device in the fifth block G5. Note that if there are multiple processing stations 3 as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the wafer W is first placed in the transfer device in the fourth block G4 before being transported to the transfer device in the fifth block G5, and then transferred between the multiple wafer transfer devices 23. In addition, if necessary, the wafer W may be transported by the wafer transfer device 23 to a peripheral exposure device where the peripheral edge of the wafer is exposed.

[0026] The wafer W, transported to the transfer device of the fifth block G5, is then transported to the exposure device by wafer transport devices 24 and 25 and exposed in a predetermined pattern. The wafer W may be cleaned in a cleaning device before the exposure process. The exposed wafer W is transported to the transfer device for the fifth block G5 by wafer transport devices 24 and 25. It is then transported to the heat treatment device by wafer transport device 23 for post-exposure baking.

[0027] The wafer W, which has been baked after exposure, is transported by the wafer transport device 23 to the developing device and developed. After development is complete, the wafer W is transported by the wafer transport device 23 to the heat treatment device and subjected to post-bake treatment. Subsequently, the wafer W is transported by the wafer transport device 23 to the transfer device of the third block G3, and then transported by the wafer transport device 21 or 22 of the cassette station 12 to cassette C on a predetermined cassette tray 15. In this way, the series of photolithography processes is completed.

[0028] It should be noted that the wafer processing system in this disclosure is not limited to the configuration and operation described above. For example, in the above embodiment, the wafer processing system was directly connected to the exposure apparatus and the wafer W was transferred between the interface station 14 and the exposure apparatus, but the wafer processing system does not have to be directly connected to the exposure apparatus. In that case, for example, the wafer W is transported from the cassette station 12 to the processing station 13, where the necessary processing is performed, and then transported back to the cassette station 12 for removal outside the system. Also, among the processing devices listed, those that are not necessary may not be provided in the wafer processing system, or processing may not be performed in those devices.

[0029] <Supply system for processing liquid> Next, with reference to Figure 3, the supply system for processing liquid in processing devices such as resist film forming apparatuses and developing apparatuses will be briefly explained. These processing devices constitute a liquid processing unit to which the processing liquid is supplied and liquid-processed on the wafer W. Figure 3 shows a resist film forming apparatus 3 as an example of a processing device. This resist film forming apparatus 3 is held in a spin chuck 31 and is equipped with a nozzle 33 for supplying the resist, which is the processing liquid, to the center of the wafer W surrounded by a cup 32.

[0030] The nozzle 33 is supplied with resist liquid from a resist liquid supply source, which comprises a bottle 4 and a tank 40 in which the resist liquid is stored. The bottle 4 is a sealed bottle for storing the resist liquid and, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, comprises a body 41 in which the resist liquid is stored, a neck 42 located above the body 41, and a flat bottom 43. The neck portion 42 has a narrower outer shape than the body portion 41. In this example, the body portion 41 and the neck portion 42 are each configured as concentric circles when viewed in plan, and the diameter of the neck portion 42 is smaller than the diameter of the body portion 41. For this reason, the neck portion 42 is formed to form a step with the body portion 41. The upper end of the neck portion 42 is open, and a cap 44 is provided to open and close this opening.

[0031] Bottle 4 is connected to tank 40 via a flow path 34 equipped with valve V1, and the upstream end of the flow path 34 extends near the bottom surface 43 of bottle 4 via a cap 44. In addition, pressurizing inert gas, such as nitrogen (N2) gas, is supplied into bottle 4 from an inert gas supply mechanism 35 via the cap 44. Furthermore, tank 40 is connected to nozzle 33 via a flow path 36 equipped with valve V2 and filter F, pump P, and valve V3 in that order from the upstream side.

[0032] In this supply system, an inert gas is supplied to the bottle 4 and pressurized, thereby supplying the resist liquid in the bottle 4 to the tank 40 and the flow path 36 downstream of the tank 40. The resist liquid in the tank 40 is then supplied to the nozzle 33 via the flow path 36 by the drive of the pump P, and discharged from the nozzle 33 onto the wafer W on the spin chuck 31. At this time, a filter F installed in the flow path 36 collects foreign matter (particles) contained in the resist liquid as it flows from the upstream side to the downstream side of the flow paths 34 and 36, and removes them from the resist liquid.

[0033] In this example, the supply system of the resist film formation apparatus 3 was used as an example, but in the wafer processing system 1, for each processing liquid used to manufacture semiconductor devices, there is a bottle 4 for storing the processing liquid and a tank 40 to which the processing liquid stored in the bottle 4 is supplied. Examples of processing liquids include resist liquid, chemicals for forming anti-reflective films, chemicals for forming insulating films, developers for developing processes, solvents such as thinner, etc. Therefore, a single wafer processing system 1 has a large number of bottles 4 and tanks 40.

[0034] Incidentally, bottle 4 is located within the wafer processing system 1. For example, when all the processing liquid in bottle 4 is supplied to tank 40, the empty bottle 4 is replaced with a new bottle 4 filled with processing liquid. In performing this replacement work, it is necessary to reduce the workload on the workers. Therefore, the wafer processing system 1, which constitutes the bottle storage device, is configured to be switchable by a switching mechanism between a first state in which the space around the bottle mounting section 5 on which the bottles 4 are placed is closed, and a second state in which the space is opened to allow the bottles 4 to be transferred.

[0035] <First Embodiment> Next, a first embodiment of the wafer processing system 1 equipped with the bottle mounting section 5 of this disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 11. In this embodiment, a housing 7 surrounds the bottle mounting section 5 in the first state, and this housing 7 is provided on the cassette station 12.

[0036] The housing 7 is positioned in the cassette station 12, below the area where, for example, the wafer transport device 21 is provided, as its outline is shown by a dashed line in Figure 1. In this example, the bottle holder 5 is configured to move between a first state in which it is located inside the housing 7 and a second state in which it is located in front of the housing 7, as shown by the dashed arrow in Figure 1. The bottle 4 is then transferred to the bottle holder 5 in the second state.

[0037] The outline of the housing 7 will now be explained. Figure 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the housing 7 seen from the front, Figure 6 is a top view of the housing 7 seen from above, and Figures 7 and 8 are vertical cross-sectional views of the housing 7 seen from the processing station 13 side. Each of the stations described above, including the cassette station 12, is equipped with a housing, and the processing equipment and wafer transport equipment described above are installed inside this housing (hereinafter referred to as the system housing to distinguish it from housing 7). Inside the system housing of the cassette station 12, there are partition walls (upper wall 72, side walls 73, 74 shown in Figure 4) fixed to the system housing. These partition walls form the housing 7 that surrounds the bottle mounting section 5 and the bottle 4 inside the cassette station 12. The space 70 inside the housing 7 is a space separated from the space in which the processing equipment and wafer transport equipment 21, 22 are installed.

[0038] Furthermore, a portion of the side wall of the system housing (the plate-like body 57 shown in Figures 7 and 8) forms the lid of the housing 7. This lid is movable in the front-rear direction and can switch between a state in contact with and becoming one with another portion of the side wall of the system housing (the wall portion 121 shown in Figures 7 and 8) and a state separated from it. The bottle mounting portion 5 and the bottle 4 are also configured to move in conjunction with the movement of this lid. As shown in Figure 7, when the plate-shaped lid 57 is connected to the wall portion 121, the space 70 inside the housing 7 is a sealed space, and when the bottle mounting portion 5 and the bottle 4 are positioned in this space 70, the space around the bottle mounting portion 5 and the bottle 4 is closed off by the housing 7. That is, this state is the first state described above.

[0039] As shown in Figure 8, when the plate-like body 57 is separated from the wall portion 121, the space 70 is open to the space outside the system housing (the space inside the cleanroom where the wafer processing system 1 is installed), and the bottle mounting portion 5 and the bottle 4 are positioned in front of the partition wall forming the housing 7. Therefore, in this state, the bottle mounting portion 5 and the bottle 4 are outside the space 70, and the space around these bottle mounting portion 5 and the bottle 4 is open to the space inside the cleanroom, creating a second state in which the bottle 4 can be replaced.

[0040] Let's explain the housing 7 in more detail. Figure 4 shows the first state in which the bottle 4 is placed on the bottle mounting section 5 and the space around the bottle mounting section 5 is closed by the housing 7. In this example, the bottom wall 71, top wall 72, and side walls 73, 74 of the housing 7 are provided on the cassette station 12, as previously described. The bottle support section 5 is a bowl-shaped container with an opening at the top, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, for example, into which the lower part of the bottle 4 is inserted and supported in an inclined position. As shown in Figure 4, when viewed from the front, two bottle support sections 5 are arranged side by side, and these two bottles 4 are positioned so that they move away from each other as they go upwards, with their respective necks 42 tilted outwards.

[0041] The reason for placing the bottle 4 on the bottle mounting section 5 in this tilted position is to tilt the bottle 4 to collect the processing liquid stored in it when supplying it to the tank 40. More specifically, the lower end of the tube forming the flow path 34 described in Figure 3 is positioned at the point where the processing liquid collects, so that even if there is little processing liquid in the bottle 4, it can still be supplied to the tank 40. The second reason is that when the bottle holder 5 is set to the second state and the bottle 4 is handed over, the neck portion 42 of the bottle 4 is positioned outwards in the left-right direction, making it easier to replace the bottle from that direction.

[0042] Therefore, as shown in Figure 5, the bottom surface 51 of the bottle mounting section 5 is formed to face the bottom surface 43 of the bottle 4 and is configured as an inclined surface that tilts to allow the bottle 4 to be placed on it. Note that Figure 5 shows the left bottle mounting section 5 of the two bottle mounting sections 5 shown in Figure 4. On this inclined bottom surface 51, a first support section 52 and a second support section 53 are provided at different heights to support the bottom surface 43 of the bottle 4, respectively. More specifically, both the first support section 52 and the second support section 53 are equipped with contact sections 521 and 531 that abut the bottom surface 43 of the bottle 4, and the positions of these contact sections 521 and 531 on the inclined surface (bottom surface 51) are different between the first support section 52 and the second support section 53.

[0043] The contact portion 521 of the first support portion 52 and the contact portion 531 of the second support portion 53 are arranged side by side along the inclined bottom surface 51 when viewed from the front. Furthermore, the contact portion 521 of the first support portion 52 is located higher than the contact portion 531 of the second support portion 53, and the first support portion 52 is equipped with a detection mechanism described later. In this example, the bottom surface 51 of the bottle mounting portion 5 is formed in a circular shape, and two first support portions 52 and two second support portions 53 are provided at positions separated front to back. However, in Figure 5, only one first support portion 52 and one second support portion 53 are shown. These first support portions 52 and second support portions 53 are attached to a horizontal support 55 that is rectangular in plan view by a support member 54.

[0044] As previously described, the bottle mounting section 5 is a bowl-shaped container, and the side surface 56 of this container is positioned approximately perpendicular to the bottom surface 51. The bottle mounting section 5 is formed to be slightly larger than the outer shape of the bottle 4 so as to cover the lower side of the bottle 4 when the bottle 4 is supported in a normal position by the first support section 52 and the second support section 53, and to support the lower side of the bottle 4 in the tilting direction (to the left in Figure 5). In this way, the bottle 4 is placed on the bottle mounting section 5 with its position in the tilting direction restricted.

[0045] In Figure 4, the left bottle 4 is restricted in its leftward position by the bottle mounting section 5, and the right bottle 4 is restricted in its rightward position by the bottle mounting section 5. When the bottle 4 is placed on the bottle mounting section 5 in this orientation, it is considered to be in a normal position, and the area occupied by the bottle 4 in this state is called the bottle placement area. Hereafter, placing the bottle 4 on the bottle mounting section 5 may be described as placing the bottle 4 in the bottle placement area.

[0046] In this example, as schematically shown in Figure 6, the bottle mounting sections 5 are arranged on the support 55 with two in the left-right direction (Y direction) and multiple, for example, four, in the front-back direction (X direction), spaced apart from each other. More specifically, the bottle mounting sections 5 are arranged in rows on the left and right sides of the support 55 when viewed in the front-back direction, and in four rows arranged in the front-back direction when viewed from the left-right direction.

[0047] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 4 and 6, when the bottles 4 are placed in the bottle placement area, a tank 40 corresponding to each bottle 4 is positioned above the two bottles 4 arranged side by side when viewed from the front, supported by a support member (not shown). In this example, the tank 40 is positioned inward in the left-right direction from the bottles 4 in the bottle placement area when viewed from the front. These bottles 4 and the tank 40 are connected by a flow path 34 (not shown). As previously described, the system is configured to supply pressurized inert gas into the bottles 4 from an inert gas supply mechanism 35 (not shown), thereby supplying the processing liquid inside the bottles 4 to the tanks 40.

[0048] The arrangement of the tanks 40 and the bottles 4 in the bottle arrangement area will be described in more detail. A tank 40 is provided for each bottle 4 and is positioned close to the bottle 4 from which the processing liquid is supplied. The tank 4 supplied with processing liquid from the left column of bottles 4 is located to the right of the neck 42 of that bottle 4, and the tank 4 supplied with processing liquid from the right column of bottles 4 is located to the left of the neck 42 of that bottle 4.

[0049] With this configuration, the tanks 40, like the bottle mounting section 5, are arranged in rows on the left and right sides of the support 55. The lower sides of each tank 40 arranged in rows are located in the space between the row of necks 42 of the bottles 4 on the left and the row of necks 42 of the bottles 4 on the right, and the lower sides of the tanks 40 lined up on the left and right are sandwiched from the left and right by the necks 42 of the bottles 4 that supply the processing liquid to those tanks 40. In other words, the space formed between the necks 42 of the bottles 4, which are placed at an angle as described above, is utilized to arrange the tanks 40 and bottles 4 so that their heights partially overlap. This arrangement helps to reduce the height of the housing 7.

[0050] As will be described later, for example, a bottle replacement robot R1 accesses a bottle mounting unit 50 equipped with multiple bottle mounting sections 5 to replace a bottle 4. As shown above, the bottle mounting sections 5 are arranged in a matrix in plan view, but the number of sections in the front-to-back direction is greater than the number of sections in the left-to-right direction. Therefore, when the bottle replacement robot R1 accesses the bottle mounting unit 50 from the left or right side, it is prevented that the bottle mounting sections 5 are located relatively far from the robot R1, and a relatively large number of bottle mounting sections 5 are located near the robot R1. Accordingly, the layout in which the number of bottle mounting sections 5 differs between the front-to-back direction and the left-to-right direction is advantageous in reducing errors when the bottle replacement robot R1 replaces a bottle 4.

[0051] Figure 7 shows the bottle mounting section 5 in the first state, and Figure 8 shows the bottle mounting section 5 in the second state. As described above, eight bottle mounting sections 5 and eight tanks 40 are arranged on the support 55. Since these move together as a unit, they will be described as a bottle mounting unit 50. The bottle mounting unit 50 is a component configured to move freely between the inside and outside of the housing 7, and comprises the support 55, the bottle mounting sections 5, the tanks 40, and a moving mechanism 6, which will be described later. When the bottle mounting unit 50 is in the second state, the tanks 40 move forward of the cassette station 12 along with the bottles 4. Therefore, the flow path 36 connecting the tanks 40 and the nozzles 33 is configured to have an appropriate length so as not to hinder such movement.

[0052] Regarding the bottle mounting unit 50, vertical plate-like bodies 57 and 58 are provided at the front and rear of the support 55 in the direction of movement. As previously described, these plate-like bodies 57 and 58 constitute the front-to-rear wall portion of the housing 7. In this example, when the bottle mounting unit 50 (bottle mounting section 5) is in the first state, as shown in Figures 2 and 7, the front plate-like body 57 becomes integrated with the front wall portion 121 of the cassette station 12, and the plate-like body 57 constitutes a part of the wall portion of the cassette station 12 (a part of the side wall of the system housing described above).

[0053] In other words, an opening 120 is formed in the front wall 121 of the cassette station 12 to form a movement area for the bottle mounting unit 50 mounted on the support 55, and this opening 120 is opened and closed by a plate-shaped body 57 which is a lid. Thus, when the bottle mounting unit 50 is set to the first state, the opening 120 is closed by the plate-shaped body 57, and the space around each bottle mounting section 5 is closed by the housing 7.

[0054] Furthermore, the inside of the housing 7 (space 70), which is set to the first state and becomes a closed space, is exhausted by an exhaust mechanism 75 equipped with valves and an exhaust pump, as shown in Figure 4. The reason for exhausting the inside of the housing 7 in this way is to prevent the vaporized processing liquid from leaking to the outside of the housing 7 if the processing liquid leaks and vaporizes from the bottle 4, tank 40 and the flow paths associated with them.

[0055] Incidentally, the housing 7 is composed of an upper wall 72, side walls 73 and 74, plate-like bodies 57 and 58, and a support 55. As described above, the plate-like body 57 forms the lid of the housing 7 and is movable by the moving mechanism 6 described later. When initially describing the outline of the housing 7, it was stated that only the plate-like body 57, which is the lid, moves among the wall parts that make up the housing 7. However, as previously described, the plate-like bodies 57 and 58 are connected to the support 55, so the support 55 and the plate-like body 58 also move together with the plate-like body 57. Furthermore, the bottle mounting unit 50 supported by the support 55 also moves together with the support 55. In this way, by keeping some of the walls that make up the housing 7 stationary and moving other parts together with the bottle mounting unit 50 including the bottle mounting section 5, the space 70 formed by the housing 7 is opened and the bottle mounting section 5 is positioned outside the space 70 (outside the housing), resulting in a second state.

[0056] Next, we will describe the movement mechanism 6 that moves the bottle mounting unit 50 to the outside of the housing 7 in order to switch from the first state to the second state. The movement mechanism 6 is the mechanism for switching between the first state and the second state. As shown in Figure 4, for example, both ends of the support 55 in the left-right direction are bent downward near the walls 73 and 74 of the housing 7, thus creating a space below the support 55, in which the moving mechanism 6 is arranged.

[0057] As shown in Figures 4, 7, and 8, the moving mechanism 6 includes, for example, a motor 61 provided on the rear side of the lower surface of the support 55, a pinion gear 62 rotated by the motor 61, and a linear member 63 provided on the bottom wall 71 of the housing 7, extending in the front-rear direction in the area where the bottle mounting unit 50 moves. Therefore, the moving mechanism 6 is positioned below the bottle mounting section 5, the bottle placement area on the bottle mounting section 5, and the tank 40, thus being at a different height from them. By being positioned at a different height in this way, the space available for the bottles 4 and bottle mounting section 5 within the housing 7 is prevented from being reduced, and a sufficient number of bottle mounting sections 5 and tanks 40 are provided.

[0058] The pinion gear 62 is configured to rotate around a horizontal axis when driven by the motor 61, and the linear member 63 has a number of teeth formed in positions corresponding to the pinion gear 62, for example. In this way, the motor 61 drives the pinion gear 62 to rotate while meshing with the teeth formed on the linear member 63, causing the bottle mounting unit 50, including the support 55, and the plate-like bodies 57 and 58 connected to the support 55 to move in the front-rear direction. This front-rear movement switches between the first state and the second state described above.

[0059] Next, the configurations of the first support portion 52 and the second support portion 53 provided on each bottle mounting portion 5 of the bottle mounting unit 50 will be described with reference to Figures 9 and 10. Figures 9 and 10 show the first support portion 52, which comprises a contact portion 521 configured in a T-shape when viewed from the side, and a lower member 522 provided below the contact portion 521 and having an inclined surface facing the bottom surface 51 of the bottle mounting portion 5. Furthermore, the lower end of the contact portion 521 and the upper end of the lower member 522 are connected by an elastic member, such as a spring 523, and a rod-shaped body 524 extending downward inside the spring 523 is provided on the contact portion 521. The rod-shaped body 524 extends in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface 51, and the contact portion 521 is movable in this perpendicular direction.

[0060] Figure 9 shows the state just before the bottle 4 is placed on the bottle mounting section 5 and is not located in the bottle placement area, while Figure 10 shows the state when the bottle 4 is located in the bottle placement area. As shown in Figure 10, when the bottle 4 is located in the bottle placement area, the contact portion 521 is pressed by the bottom surface 43 of the bottle 4, and the lower end of the contact portion 521 approaches the lower member 522, causing the spring 523 to compress and the tip of the rod-shaped body 524 to descend.

[0061] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 9, when the bottle 4 is not located in the bottle placement area, the contact portion 521 rises above the position shown in Figure 10 due to the restoring force of the spring 523. Consequently, the lower end of the contact portion 521 separates from the lower member 522, and the tip of the rod-shaped body 524 rises above the position shown in Figure 10. Thus, the first support portion 52 corresponds to a movable portion configured to change position depending on whether the bottle 4 is located in the bottle placement area or not.

[0062] In this example, a detection mechanism 8 for detecting the presence or absence of a bottle 4 in the bottle placement area is provided for each first support part 52. The detection mechanism 8 detects the presence or absence of the bottle 4 according to the position of the moving part, and is provided, for example, on the lower member 522 of the first support part 52. The detection mechanism 8 in this example consists of a light-shielding sensor and includes a light-emitting part 81 and a light-receiving part 82. When no bottle 4 is located in the bottle placement area shown in Figure 9, the rod-shaped body 524 is positioned above the optical axis irradiated from the light-emitting part 81, and when a bottle 4 is located in the bottle placement area shown in Figure 10, the rod-shaped body 524 is set to a position that blocks the optical axis.

[0063] Each detection mechanism 8's light-receiving unit 82 transmits a detection signal to the control device 100 according to whether or not light has been received, and the control device 100 detects the presence or absence of bottles 4 in the bottle placement area based on each detection signal. Specifically, for example, if no light is detected from any of the light-receiving units 82, the bottle placement area is considered to have bottles, and if any of the light-receiving units 82 detects light, the bottle placement area is considered to have no bottles. As described above, the bottle placement area is the area occupied by bottles 4 in their normal position, so detecting that there are bottles in the bottle placement area means detecting that bottles 4 are placed on the bottle mounting unit 5 in their normal position.

[0064] On the other hand, detection of no bottle in the bottle placement area indicates that either the bottle 4 is not present on the bottle mounting section 5, or that even if it is present, its posture is abnormal. Examples of this abnormal posture will be shown specifically later. Thus, the detection mechanism 8 is provided to detect the presence or absence of the bottle 4 on the bottle mounting section 5, as well as its posture (more precisely, to detect whether or not it is mounted in a normal posture).

[0065] The second support section 53 is configured similarly to the first support section 52, except that it does not have a detection mechanism 8. Now, let's explain why only the first support section 52 has a detection mechanism 8. As described above, the bottle 4 is placed in the bottle placement section 5 tilted to one side, left or right. Therefore, if an abnormality occurs when the bottle 4 is transferred to the bottle placement section 5 by the bottle exchange robot R1 (described later), and the bottle 4 is not placed correctly (the bottle 4 is not located in the bottle placement area), the bottle 4 tends to tilt to one side (a tilted position compared to the normal position). In other words, since the bottle 4 is tilted in a predetermined direction (one side, left or right in this example) in the bottle placement section when it is placed correctly, if the bottle 4 is not placed correctly, it is likely to tilt even further in that predetermined direction.

[0066] Even if bottle 4 is in such a tipped position, its side is supported by the upper end of the bottle support section 5, so the lower part of bottle 4 remains within the side surface 56 of the bottle support section 5, and bottle 4 may not fall off the bottle support section 5. In other words, although bottle 4 is placed on the bottle support section 5, it is possible that its tilt is greater than the state shown in Figure 5, resulting in an abnormal posture. In such an abnormal posture, the distance between the bottom surface 43 of bottle 4 and the inclined bottom surface 51 of the bottle support section 5 is small in the lower part of the bottle support section 5. Therefore, the second support section 53, which is provided on the lower side of the bottom surface 51, may be in contact with the bottom surface of bottle 4 even if bottle 4 is in such an abnormal posture. In that case, if the second support section 53 is also provided with a detection mechanism 8, it will be detected as bottle 4 being placed in a normal posture. However, the above-mentioned distance increases towards the upper part of the bottle support section 5. Therefore, the bottom surface 43 of the bottle 4 will be reliably separated from the first support portion 52 provided on the upper side of the bottom surface 51.

[0067] As described above, even if the detection mechanism 8 is provided on the second support section 53, there is a high possibility that the abnormal posture of the bottle 4 will not be detected and the bottle 4 will be mistakenly detected as being in a normal posture. On the other hand, by providing the detection mechanism 8 on the first support section 52, this abnormal posture can be detected with high reliability. In order to increase the accuracy of abnormality detection and to suppress the increase in manufacturing costs of the device by reducing the number of detection mechanisms 8 installed, the detection mechanism 8 is provided only on the first support section 52 of the two support sections 53. However, the detection mechanism 8 may also be provided on the second support section 53. In addition, in Figure 5, there is a case in which the first support section 52 equipped with the detection mechanism 8 is provided in two places in the X direction (depth direction). In this case, there are two detection mechanisms 8, and if the two detection mechanisms produce different detection results (for example, if only one detects light reception), an abnormal posture in which the bottle 4 is tilted in the depth direction may be detected.

[0068] In this example, as shown in Figure 11, multiple wafer processing systems 1, for example four, are arranged in a line in the front-to-back direction. A certain distance is maintained between adjacent wafer processing systems in the front-to-back direction as a maintenance area. This maintenance area is set to a size that does not interfere with adjacent wafer processing systems 1 when the bottle mounting unit 50 is in the second state.

[0069] Furthermore, each bottle mounting section 5 of the bottle mounting unit 50 in the second state is configured to be accessed by, for example, a bottle replacement robot R1 that can move within the cleanroom, and to replace the bottles 4. In Figure 11, the movement path of the bottle replacement robot 1 is shown by a dashed line. The bottle replacement robot R1 accesses the bottles 4 lined up on one side in the left-right direction shown in Figure 4 from that side, and the bottles 4 lined up on the other side from the other side, and the bottles 4 are replaced.

[0070] Specifically, in this exchange, the empty bottle 4 is received from the bottle mounting unit 5 by the bottle exchange robot R1, and the bottle 4 filled with processing liquid is placed on the bottle mounting unit 5 by the bottle exchange robot R1. The cap 44 of the bottle 4 is replaced by a detachable mechanism (not shown) provided in the wafer processing system 1 or the bottle exchange robot R1, from the bottle 4 received by the robot R1 to the new bottle 4 placed on the bottle mounting unit 5.

[0071] As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the cassette station 12 of the wafer processing system 1 is equipped with an operation panel 101 which forms part of the control device 100. By performing predetermined operations from this operation panel 101, the operator activates the moving mechanism 6 described in Figure 4 to switch between the first state and the second state. As shown in Figure 11, before the bottle 4 is replaced by the bottle replacement robot R1, the operator operates the control panel 101 of the wafer processing system 1 that requires bottle 4 replacement. This changes the wafer processing system 1 from the first state, where the bottle mounting unit 50 shown in Figure 7 is stored inside the housing 7, to the second state, where the bottle mounting unit 50 is extended from the housing 7, as shown in Figure 8. After the bottle 4 is replaced, the operator operates the control panel 101 to return from the second state to the first state. Alternatively, the transition between the first and second states may be performed by the operator sending a command signal to the wafer processing system 1 from an operating function unit (e.g., a host computer) located separately from the wafer processing system 1, instead of operating the control panel 101.

[0072] For example, the control panel 101 displays the presence or absence of bottles 4 in each bottle placement area, as detected by the detection mechanism 8 for each bottle placement section 5, as explained in Figures 9 and 10. Therefore, by looking at the display, the operator can take necessary actions, such as returning to the second state and repositioning the bottles 4 if necessary. Alternatively, the control panel 101 may only display whether or not light detection has occurred by the light receiving section 82 of the detection mechanism 8, and the operator may determine the presence or absence of bottles 4 in the bottle placement area based on this information.

[0073] According to this embodiment, the bottle mounting unit 50, including the bottle mounting section 5, is moved by the moving mechanism 6, switching between a first state in which the bottle mounting unit 50 is stored inside the housing 70 and a second state in which it is removed from the housing 70 and the bottle 4 can be replaced. In other words, since the bottle mounting section 5, which is relatively heavy due to the bottle 4 and tank 40, does not need to be moved manually for the purpose of replacing the bottle 4, the burden on the worker performing the bottle replacement work can be reduced. In the example described above, a bottle replacement robot R1 is shown to replace the bottle 4, but the same effect can be achieved even when a worker replaces the bottle 4.

[0074] Furthermore, in the wafer processing system 1, the space 70 within the housing 7 that accommodates the bottle mounting section 5 is configured as part of the space within the system 1. That is, in this first embodiment, the bottle storage device is incorporated into the wafer processing system 1. With this configuration, the area required for the installation of the wafer processing system 1 and its associated bottle mounting section 5 can be reduced compared to a configuration in which the housing 7 is provided separately from the wafer processing system 1, which will be described later.

[0075] In the example described above, the housing 7 was placed below the area where the wafer transport device 21 is provided in the cassette station 12. However, the design is not limited to this example; the housing 7 may be placed below the area where the wafer transport device 22 is provided, and the bottle mounting section 5 may be moved to the rear to set the second state. Furthermore, the housing 7 is not limited to the cassette station 12; it may also be placed in another station 13, such as the processing station 13.

[0076] <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the wafer processing system forming the bottle storage device will be described, focusing on its configuration which differs from the first embodiment, with reference to Figures 12 to 15. The wafer processing system 1A in this embodiment is configured as a standalone type without an interface station (not connected to an exposure apparatus). The cassette station 12A is equipped with a standby unit 18 for holding cassettes C, as well as a container transport mechanism 26.

[0077] The standby unit 18 is arranged on one side of the cassette mounting unit 15 in the left-right direction (the left side in this example), with two rows in the vertical direction and four units in the front-to-back direction. In Figure 13, the cassettes C waiting in the standby unit 18 are indicated by a dashed line. The container transport mechanism 26 is designed to be movable in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions so as to transport the cassette C between the standby section 18 and the cassette placement section 15 by holding the gripping section 10 located on the upper part of the cassette C with an arm 261. In Figure 12, reference numeral 262 denotes the lifting axis of the container transport mechanism 26.

[0078] The standby unit 18 and the container transport mechanism 26 are enclosed by a system housing 76. Therefore, although in the first embodiment the system housing was described as enclosing the wafer transport device and the processing device, this housing 76 is formed to enclose not only the wafer transport device and the processing device, but also the movement area of ​​the cassette C between the standby unit 18 and the cassette mounting unit 15. The other configurations of the cassette station 12A and the processing station 13 are the same as in the first embodiment.

[0079] In this example, the housing 7A surrounding the bottle mounting section 5 in the first state is located in the lower region of the standby section 18 of the cassette station 12A. As shown in Figure 13, when viewing the cassette station 12A from the left, multiple housings, for example three, are arranged in the front-to-back direction with spacing between them.

[0080] Housing 7A has the same configuration as housing 7 and forms a space 70 inside. However, as will be described later, the bottle mounting unit 50 is pulled out to the left, so the part that serves as the lid, corresponding to the plate-like body 57 of housing 7, is the wall portion (plate-like body 571 described later) that forms the lower left side of housing 76. In Figure 13, the upper wall constituting housing 7A is shown as 72A, and the side walls as 73A and 74A. The upper wall 72A and side walls 73A and 74A are formed separately for each housing 7A within the system housing 76. Thus, the upper wall 72A and side walls 73A and 74A that form each housing 7A are provided within the system housing 76.

[0081] Therefore, the above-mentioned space 70 (the space surrounding the bottle mounting section 5 in the first state) is provided within the housing 7A, as well as within the system housing 76 (the housing provided for the cassette station 12). Each housing 7A is provided with a bottle mounting unit 50A that is movable in the left-right direction. In other words, in the first state, the bottle mounting unit 50A is located in the space 70 inside the housing 7A, and in the second state, the bottle mounting unit 50A is configured to move to the left from the housing 7A.

[0082] As shown in Figures 12 and 14, the bottle mounting unit 50A in this example is configured similarly to the bottle mounting unit 50 of the first embodiment, except that the bottle mounting section 5 is provided in two vertical stages. For example, the support 55 is provided in two vertical stages, and each support 55 is provided with a bottle mounting section 5 for placing bottles 4 in an inclined position and a tank 40. The layout of the bottle mounting section 5 and tank 40 in each stage is the same as in the first embodiment in the direction in which the bottle mounting unit 50A moves.

[0083] Therefore, the bottle mounting sections 5 on each level are arranged in a row of two side-by-side and four front-to-back when viewed from the left side of the cassette station 12A, and the tank 40 is arranged in the same way as the bottle mounting sections 5. A moving mechanism 6 is provided below the lower plate-like body 55, and a detection mechanism 8 is provided on the first support section 52 of each bottle mounting section 5. Hereafter, one of the two rows of bottle mounting sections 5, viewed in the direction of movement of the bottle mounting units 50 and 50A, will be referred to as the first row, and the other row as the second row.

[0084] As shown in Figure 14, when viewed from the front of the cassette station 12A, the left and right ends of the plate-shaped body 55 are provided with wall portions 571 and 581, respectively, which constitute the front and rear walls of the housing 7A. When the bottle mounting unit 50A is in the first state, the wall portion 571 is configured to be integrated with the left wall portion 761 of the system housing 76, and the housing 7A is formed by the walls 571, 581, the lower support 55, the upper wall 72, and the side walls 73 and 74.

[0085] Thus, in this example, the space around the bottle mounting section 5 in the first state is enclosed by the housing 76 that surrounds the standby section 18 and the container transport mechanism 26. The bottle mounting section 5 in the first state is located in the area below the standby section 18, and the position of the bottle mounting section 5 in the left-right direction in the first state is the same as the position of the standby section 18 in the left-right direction.

[0086] In this example as well, as shown in Figure 15, multiple wafer processing systems 1A, for example four, are arranged with space between them. As previously described, when replacing the bottle 4, the bottle mounting unit 50A moves to the left from the cassette station 12A and is set to the second state. The bottle replacement robot R1 is then configured to access the bottle mounting unit 50A in the second state and replace the bottle 4.

[0087] For example, similar to the first embodiment, the bottle replacement robot R1 accesses the bottles in the first and second rows from the side where the first row is located to replace the bottles 4 in the first row, and accesses from the side where the second row is located to replace the bottles 4 in the second row. Detailed movement paths of the robot R1 are omitted in Figure 15. In a single wafer processing system 1A, multiple bottle mounting units 50 are provided, and as shown in Figure 15, a selected unit moves to a second state in which bottles 4 can be transferred to the bottle mounting section 5. This prevents one bottle mounting unit 50 from obstructing the robot R1's access to other bottle mounting units 50. In subsequent embodiments, for example, similar to the first and second embodiments, the bottle replacement robot R1 accesses the bottle mounting units 50 to replace the bottles 4.

[0088] The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment, and in this embodiment as well, when replacing the bottle 4, the burden on the operator to replace the bottle 4 can be reduced. Furthermore, in this example, the area below the standby unit 18 is used as the housing 7A, which is preferable because, as described above, a relatively large number of bottle mounting units 5 and tanks 40 can be provided within the wafer processing system.

[0089] <Third Embodiment> A third embodiment of a wafer processing system equipped with a bottle storage device will be described with reference to Figure 16, focusing on its configuration which differs from the above-described embodiment. The wafer processing system 1B of this embodiment is configured by connecting an exposure apparatus 19 to the wafer processing system 1A of the second embodiment via an interface station 14. The interface station 14 is configured in the same way as in the first embodiment and will not be described. As shown in Figure 16, the cassette station 12A, processing station 13, interface station 14, and exposure apparatus 19 are arranged so that their front positions are aligned, and the exposure apparatus 19 is provided so as to protrude to the rear.

[0090] In this example, a first housing 7B1 housing the bottle mounting section 5 is provided facing the cassette station 12A in a plan view from the rear, and a second housing 7B2 housing the bottle mounting section 5 is provided on the cassette station 12A. Here, in the front-to-back direction of the wafer processing system 1B, the first housing 7B1 is provided behind the cassette station 12A in line with the direction in which the exposure apparatus 19 protrudes. More specifically, the first housing 7B1 faces one of the front or rear ends of the exposure apparatus 19 in the left-to-right direction, and is positioned adjacent to the cassette station 12A by facing the cassette station 12A.

[0091] The second housing 7B2 described above is provided in the cassette station 12A, for example, in the area below the standby section 18 in Figure 12. In this figure, the second housing 7B2 is provided in the front and rear areas of the cassette station 12A, but it may also be provided in the area between these areas, as in the example in Figure 13.

[0092] The first housing 7B1 is configured similarly to housing 7, except that it is located outside the cassette station 12A. That is, it includes a bottom wall (not shown), a top wall 721, side walls 731 and 741, and a rear wall 751. The bottle mounting unit 5B1 is housed within the first housing 7B1, and the bottle mounting unit 5B1 is configured similarly to, for example, the second embodiment described above.

[0093] However, the first housing 7B1 is not composed of partitions or parts of the system housing provided within the system housing as described above, but is constructed separately from them. However, like housing 7, the first housing 7B1 can house the bottle mounting unit 5B1 in the space 70 inside the housing in the first state and exhaust the space 70. When the second state is formed, the bottle mounting section 5 moves out of the space 70 as the lid (wall section 571) moves.

[0094] Furthermore, the second housing 7B2 is configured in the same way as housing 7A in the second embodiment. The bottle mounting unit 5B2 is housed in the second housing 7B2, and this bottle mounting unit 5B2 is configured in the same way as in the second embodiment described above, except that, for example, it has two bottles 4 arranged in the left-right direction. Thus, the first housing 7B1 and the second housing 7B2 are configured to close the space around each bottle mounting unit 5 together with the wall portion 571 provided on the support 55 when the bottle mounting portion 5 of the bottle mounting units 5B1 and 5B2, respectively, is in the first state.

[0095] The second state in this example is shown in Figure 16, where the bottle placement units 5B1 and 5B2 have moved from the first housing 7B1 and the second housing 7B2 to the left of the cassette station 12A. A bottle replacement robot (not shown) is configured to access the bottle placement units 5B1 and 5B2 in the second state from the left side of the cassette station 12A and replace the bottle 4.

[0096] The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment, and in this embodiment as well, the burden on the worker when replacing bottle 4 can be reduced. Furthermore, the bottle mounting sections 5B1 and 5B2 are both moved to the left side of the cassette station 12A and set to the second state. Therefore, the area accessed by the bottle replacement robot can be concentrated near the cassette station 12A, allowing for efficient bottle replacement work.

[0097] Now, let's consider placing the connection between the wafer processing system 1B and the exposure apparatus 19, as shown in Figure 16, within a cleanroom. Let's assume that other substrate processing systems are provided on the front and rear sides of this connection. In order for workers to perform various necessary tasks on each system, the connection will be positioned such that a predetermined space is formed between the exposure apparatus 19, which has the largest front-to-back width within the connection, and the other substrate processing systems. To give a general explanation, the connection will be considered as a rectangle with a size that encloses it in a plan view, and the connection will be positioned such that a predetermined space is formed between this rectangle and the other substrate processing systems. Therefore, the area on the rear side of the wafer processing system 1B, facing the protruding exposure apparatus 19, will be considered dead space.

[0098] However, in this example, the first housing 7B1 is positioned opposite the exposure apparatus 19 so that it occupies the dead space. Therefore, it is preferable because it does not affect the positional relationship between the connector and other substrate processing systems in the cleanroom (without increasing the spacing between them), and the number of bottles 4 provided for the wafer processing system 1B can be relatively large. In this example, the exposure apparatus 19 protrudes to the rear of the wafer processing system 1B, so for the reasons mentioned above, the first housing 7B1 is positioned behind the wafer processing system 1B. If the exposure apparatus 19 protrudes to the front of the wafer processing system 1B, the first housing 7B1 can be positioned in front of the wafer processing system 1B.

[0099] The first housing 7B1 may be positioned opposite another station instead of facing the cassette station 12A, and may be placed adjacent to that other station. However, as mentioned above, from the viewpoint of preventing the bottle exchange robot R1 from having to access an expanded area to exchange the bottle 4 and thus increasing the time required for the exchange, it is preferable to position it opposite the cassette station 12A where the second housing 7B2 is located, as in the example described above.

[0100] Furthermore, when arranging the first housing 7B1 opposite the cassette station 12A in this manner, the direction in which the bottle mounting unit 5B1 is pulled out from the first housing 7B1 is to the left, the same direction in which the bottle mounting unit 5B2 is pulled out from the second housing 7B2. It is preferable to align the direction in which the bottle mounting units 5B1 and 5B2 are pulled out between the housings in this manner. More specifically, when making the first and second rows of bottles 5 replaceable in the first housing 7B1, which is provided adjacent to the rear of the cassette station 12, the bottle mounting unit 5B2 may be pulled out to the rear in addition to to the left.

[0101] However, if we consider the wafer processing system 1B, including the first housing 7B1 and the bottle mounting units 5B1 and 5B2 which are pulled out in different directions, as a rectangular body as described above, the different directions in which they are pulled out may cause this rectangular body to become larger. Therefore, the installation of the wafer processing system 1B, including the first housing 7B1, within a cleanroom would be restricted. In other words, aligning the directions in which the bottle mounting units 5B1 and 5B2 are pulled out is advantageous in preventing such restrictions on the installation of the system.

[0102] Incidentally, the wafer processing system 1B, which includes the second housing 7B2 and the bottle mounting unit 5B housed in the second housing 7B2, is a bottle storage device. The first housing 7B1 and the bottle mounting unit 5B1 housed in the first housing 7B1 house bottles that contain the processing liquid supplied to the wafer processing system 1B, but because they are formed outside the wafer processing system 1B, they can be considered as separate bottle storage devices from the wafer processing system 1B.

[0103] <Fourth Embodiment> A fourth embodiment of a wafer processing system equipped with a bottle storage device will be described with reference to Figure 17, focusing on its configuration which differs from the embodiments described above. In this embodiment, the wafer processing system 1C is an example in which a housing 7C and a bottle mounting unit 50C are provided between adjacent wafer processing systems 1C when multiple wafer processing systems 1C are arranged with a gap between them in the front-to-back direction (X direction). For example, the wafer processing system 1C is configured by connecting an exposure apparatus 19 to the wafer processing system 1 of the first embodiment.

[0104] In this example, for instance, the four wafer processing systems 1C are designated as the first system C1, the second system C2, the third system C3, and the fourth system C4, starting from the front in the front-to-back direction. The front-to-back distance between the first system C1 and the second system C2, and between the third system C3 and the fourth system C4, is set to be greater than the front-to-back distance between the second system C2 and the third system C3. The housing 7C is then positioned in a plan view, facing the cassette station 12 and the processing station 13 either in front of or behind them, within this region where the front-to-back distance is set to be greater.

[0105] In the example shown in Figure 17, one housing 7C (7C1 to 7C4) is provided for one wafer processing system 1C (C1 to C4), so that the housing 7C is located away from the cassette station 12 and the processing station 13 and faces them in a plan view. For example, between the first system C1 and the second system C2, a housing 7C1 for the first system and a housing 7C2 for the second system C2 are arranged in the left-right direction (Y direction). Similarly, between the third system C3 and the fourth system C4, a housing 7C3 for the third system C3 and a housing 7C4 for the fourth system C4 are arranged in the left-right direction.

[0106] Each housing 7C is divided into two spaces 70, for example, by an internal partition wall, and a bottle mounting unit 50C is provided in each of the spaces 70. Therefore, it can be seen that there are essentially two housings for one wafer processing system 1C. The bottle mounting unit 50C moves forward or backward from each housing 7C, transitioning from a first state where it is located inside the housing 7C to a second state where it is moved outside the housing 7C.

[0107] In this embodiment, the housing 7C may be positioned, for example, to face the cassette station 12 or the exposure device 19 in a plan view, either in front of or behind them. The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment, and in this embodiment as well, the burden on the worker when replacing bottle 4 can be reduced. In this embodiment, the housing 7C and the bottle mounting unit 50C provided inside the housing 7C constitute the bottle storage device, and therefore the bottle storage device is configured as a separate device from the wafer processing system 1C. That is, the bottle storage device is not limited to being incorporated inside the wafer processing system.

[0108] <Fifth Embodiment> A fifth embodiment of the wafer processing system forming a bottle storage device will be described with reference to Figures 18 to 23, focusing on its configuration which differs from the embodiments described above. The wafer processing system 1D of this embodiment is configured in which an intermediate station 20 forming an intermediate block is provided between the cassette station 12 and the processing station 13 in the wafer processing system 1 of the first embodiment. The intermediate station 20 includes a transport mechanism 27 and a transfer unit 28, and the transport mechanism 27 is configured to transport wafers W between the intermediate station 20 and the transfer device of the third block G3 of the cassette station 12. The transfer unit 28 is configured to transfer wafers W between the intermediate station 20 and the wafer transport device 23 of the processing station 13.

[0109] Thus, the intermediate station 20 is equipped with the function of transporting wafers W between the cassette station 12 and the processing station 13. The intermediate station 20 has a transport area, for example, consisting of a transport mechanism 27 and a transfer section, located approximately in the center in the front-to-back direction. In plan view, a first space 91 and a second space 92, each equipped with a bottle mounting section 5, are provided in front of and behind the transport area. These first space 91 and second space 92 are configured similarly to each other.

[0110] Figure 19 shows an example of the configuration of the first space 91. The first space 91 is configured, for example, as the internal space of a storage shelf 93, which is a housing. The storage shelf 93 is provided such that, for example, a door 94 on its front is aligned with the front side wall 201 of the intermediate station 20, and includes a bottom wall 931, a top wall 932, side walls 933, 934, and a rear wall 935. The door 94 opens and closes an opening 930 formed across the entire front surface of the storage shelf 93. For example, the rear wall 935 is a partition wall provided inside the system housing of the intermediate station 20, and the bottom wall 931, top wall 932, side walls 933, 934, and door 94 form the walls of the system housing.

[0111] In this example, the storage shelf 93 has three shelves 94 arranged vertically, with the lower shelf being formed by a bottom wall 931. Each shelf 94 has multiple bottle placement sections 5, which in this example are arranged in a single row in the left-right direction (Y direction). The bottle placement sections 5 are configured similarly to those in the first embodiment, and include a first support section 52, a second support section 53, and a detection mechanism 8, and are configured so that the bottles 4 are placed in the bottle placement area with their upper ends tilted forward.

[0112] As schematically shown in Figures 20-22, the door section 94 comprises a plurality of doors, for example, three doors 941, 942, and 943, positioned at different locations in the front-to-back direction, and each of these doors 941-943 is configured to move in the left-to-right direction. If these doors 941-943 are designated as the first door 941, second door 942, and third door 943 from front to back, then door moving mechanisms 951 and 952 are provided on either the upper or lower surface of the first door 941 and the third door 943, respectively. In Figure 19, these are collectively shown as the door moving mechanism 95.

[0113] The door moving mechanisms 951 and 952 include, for example, a drive pulley 962 provided on one side in the left-right direction of the first door 941 and the third door 943 and rotated by a motor 961, a driven pulley 963 provided on the other side of the first door 941 and the third door 943, and a timing belt 964 stretched between these drive pulleys 962 and the driven pulley 963. In this way, depending on the rotation direction of the motor 961, the first door 941 and the third door 943 can move from left to right or from right to left.

[0114] Furthermore, for example, the first door 941 has bent sections 971 that bend backward at both ends, the second door 942 has a bent section 972 that bends forward at its left end, the second door 942 has a bent section 973 that bends backward at its right end, and the third door 943 has bent sections 974 that bend forward at both ends. The spaces between the first door 941 and the second door 942, and between the second door 942 and the third door 943, are configured such that the bent sections 971, 972 or 973, 974 interlock with each other.

[0115] Thus, the first door 941 and the third door 943 are driven, creating a state in which the opening 930 of the storage shelf 93 is closed, as shown in Figure 20. Also, as shown in Figure 21, the third door 943 is driven from right to left, causing the second door 942 to move along with the movement of the third door 943, and then the first door 941 to move, creating a state in which the right side of the opening 930 is opened. Then, as shown in Figure 22, the first door 941 is driven from left to right, causing the second door 942 to move along with the movement of the first door 941, and then the third door 943 to move, creating a state in which the left side of the opening 930 is opened.

[0116] In this example, as shown in Figure 20, the state in which the opening 930 is closed by the door portion 94 is the first state in which the space around the bottle placement portion 5 (first space 91) is closed. Also, as shown in Figures 21 and 22, the state in which a part of the opening 930 is open is the second state in which the space (first space 91) is opened to allow bottles 4 to be transferred to the bottle placement portion 5. Therefore, the door moving mechanisms 951 and 952 that move the door portions 941 and 943 correspond to the switching mechanism that switches between the first state and the second state. Note that, as shown in Figure 20, when the opening 930 is closed by the door portion 94 and the first state is set, an exhaust mechanism (not shown) is provided to exhaust the inside of the storage shelf 93.

[0117] The second space 92 is configured similarly to the first space 91, and the first and second states can be switched individually between the first space 91 and the second space 92. For example, when an operator operates the control panel 101, an open command is output to the door movement mechanisms 951 and 952 of the door section 94, depending on the bottle 4 to be replaced, and the door section 94 is configured to automatically move to the position shown in Figure 21 or Figure 22. Then, as shown in Figure 23, for example, a bottle replacement robot R1, whose movement area is set to one side in the left-right direction relative to the wafer processing system 1D, moves to the first space 91 or the second space 92 where the bottle 4 to be replaced is housed, and the bottle replacement work is performed.

[0118] Furthermore, in this example, as shown in Figure 19, an interference detection mechanism 98 may be provided in front of the door portion 94 of the storage shelf 93. This detection mechanism 98 comprises a light-emitting unit 981 provided at one end of the storage shelf 93 (left in this example) and a light-receiving unit 982 provided at the other end (right in this example). A large number of these light-emitting unit 981 and light-receiving unit 982 pairs are arranged vertically, and when the light from the light-emitting unit 981 is blocked, it is determined that there is an interference object, and the opening and closing of the door portion is stopped.

[0119] In this embodiment as well, when replacing the bottle 4, the first state and the second state are switched by the switching mechanism, thus reducing the workload on the operator when replacing the bottle 4. Furthermore, since the switching between the first state and the second state is performed by opening and closing the door portion 94 of the storage shelf 93, this can be applied, for example, when wafer processing systems 1C are arranged in the front-to-back direction and the distance between adjacent wafer processing systems 1C is short.

[0120] In this example, the door portion 94 of the storage shelf 93 may not be configured to slide horizontally as in the embodiment described above, but may slide vertically, or it may be configured like a roll screen. Furthermore, in the wafer processing system shown in Figure 18, the housing 7 and bottle mounting unit 50 of the first embodiment may be provided in the region where the first space 91 and the second space 92 are formed in the intermediate station 20, and the bottle mounting unit 50 may be configured to move between the first state and the second state by the moving mechanism 6.

[0121] In the above, the moving mechanism 6A of the bottle mounting section 5 may be provided above the bottle mounting section 5 and the bottle placement area on the bottle mounting section 5, as shown in Figure 24. In this example, a wall section 59 facing the support 55 is provided above the tank 40, and the moving mechanism 6A is provided between the wall section 59 and the upper wall 72 of the housing 7. As shown in Figure 24, the moving mechanism 6A includes a motor 61A, a pinion gear 62A, and a linear member 63A provided along the front-rear direction and having a number of teeth formed thereon that screw into the pinion gear 62A. The motor 61A and pinion gear 62A are provided on the upper surface of the wall section 59, and the linear member 63A is installed on the lower surface of the upper wall 72 of the housing 4. In addition, for example, the lower surfaces of both ends of the support 55 in the left-right direction are configured to move along the guide rail 550.

[0122] Furthermore, the configuration of the moving mechanism for moving the bottle mounting section 5 is not limited to the configurations of moving mechanisms 6 and 6A. When transmitting power from the motor to the bottle mounting unit 50, which is the object to be moved, other transmission mechanisms such as ball screws may be used instead of gears. In the door moving mechanisms 951 and 952 shown in the fifth embodiment, when transmitting power from the motor to the door, which is the object to be moved, transmission mechanisms other than belts may be used. Incidentally, the configuration is not limited to moving the bottle mounting section 5 relative to the housing 7, but the drive mechanism 6 may also be configured to move the bottle mounting section 5 relative to the housing 7. Furthermore, in each of the above examples, the tank 40 moves along with the bottle mounting section 5, but it is also possible to configure the system so that only the bottle mounting section 5 moves, rather than the tank 40.

[0123] Furthermore, the detection mechanism for detecting the presence or absence of bottle 4 in the bottle placement area is not limited to the configuration shown in Figures 8 to 10. For example, it could be a limit sensor, a reflective sensor, or a beam sensor. An example using a beam sensor will be explained with reference to Figures 25 and 26. The beam sensor in this example includes a first detection unit 83 and a second detection unit 84. The first detection unit 83 and the second detection unit 84 each include a set of light-emitting units 831 and 841 and light-receiving units 832 and 842. The light-emitting unit 831 of the first detection unit 83 and the light-emitting unit 841 of the second detection unit 84 are arranged to irradiate light from different directions in a plan view toward the neck portion 42 of the bottle 4 in the bottle placement area. The optical axes from these two light-emitting units 831 and 832 are set at different height positions to prevent light interference.

[0124] For example, the control device 100 is a determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a bottle 4 in the bottle placement area based on the light received by the light receiving unit 832 of the first detection unit 83 and the light receiving unit 842 of the second detection unit 84. Figure 26 shows a state in which a bottle 4 is normally placed in the bottle placement area, indicated by a solid line. In this case, the optical axes of the two light-emitting units 831 and 841 are blocked by the neck portion 82 of the bottle 4, and neither of the two light receiving units 832 and 842 receives light.

[0125] Furthermore, Figure 26 shows an example of a state where the orientation of the bottle 4 is abnormal (the bottle 4 is on the bottle mounting section 5, but not in the normal bottle placement area) indicated by a dashed line. In this case, the optical axis of one light-emitting section 831 is blocked by the neck portion 82 of the bottle 4, but the optical axis of the other light-emitting section 841 is not blocked. As a result, one of the two light-receiving sections 832 and 842 receives light, while the other does not. Moreover, if there is no bottle 4 on the bottle mounting section 5, the optical axes of the two light-emitting sections 831 and 841 are not blocked by the bottle 4, and both light-receiving sections 832 and 842 receive light as is.

[0126] Therefore, for example, the control device 100 determines "no bottle" when the detection results from both the first detection unit 83 and the second detection unit 84 are "light received". Also, when the detection result from one of the first detection unit 83 and the second detection unit 84 is "light received" and the other is "no light received", it determines "abnormal bottle orientation". Furthermore, when the detection result from both the first detection unit 83 and the second detection unit 84 is "no light received", it is configured to determine "bottle present, bottle orientation normal". This determination result is displayed, for example, on the operation panel 101.

[0127] However, depending on the degree of the abnormal orientation of bottle 4, the detection results of both the first detection unit 83 and the second detection unit 84 may be either "received light" or "not received light". Therefore, the number of detection units may be increased to enable a more accurate distinction between the absence of bottle 4 on the mounting unit 5 and the presence of bottle 4 on the mounting unit 5 but with an abnormal orientation.

[0128] Incidentally, let's assume that the first detection unit 83 and the second detection unit 84 irradiate light toward the body 41 of the bottle 4. In that case, since the body 41 has a larger volume than the neck 42, even if the bottle 4 is tilted relative to the bottle placement area and its posture is abnormal, it is highly likely that the light paths of the first detection unit 83 and the second detection unit 84 will be blocked, just as in the case where the posture is normal. In other words, the reason why the first detection unit 83 and the second detection unit 84 irradiate light toward the neck 42 of the bottle 4 in the bottle placement area is to enable the detection of posture abnormalities of the bottle 4, as described above.

[0129] Alternatively, instead of the control device 100 making the above-mentioned decisions based on the detection results of the first detection unit 83 and the second detection unit 84, the operator may make the decisions. In other words, the operation panel 101 may display whether or not light is being received by the light receiving units 832 and 842 of the first detection unit 83 and the second detection unit 84, and the operator may make the decisions based on this display.

[0130] Although the configuration of the wafer processing system to which the bottle storage device is applied differs among the embodiments described above, the configuration of the wafer processing system in each embodiment is arbitrary, and the configurations can be swapped, combined, or modified as appropriate between embodiments. Therefore, for example, the wafer processing system described as standalone may be configured as non-standalone, or the wafer processing system described as non-standalone may be configured as standalone. The container transport mechanism 26 described in the second embodiment may also be applied to other embodiments.

[0131] The semiconductor devices referred to in the processing liquid used to manufacture semiconductor devices are not limited to those manufactured from semiconductor wafers, but also include flat panel displays (FPDs), and this technology can also be applied to bottle-containing devices that store the processing liquid used to process FPD substrates.

[0132] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The above embodiments may be omitted, replaced, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0133] W Semiconductor wafer 4 bottles 5 Bottle mounting section 6. Switching mechanism (movement mechanism)

Claims

1. A bottle mounting section on which a bottle containing a processing solution for manufacturing semiconductor devices is placed, A switching mechanism that switches between a first state in which the space around the bottle mounting section is closed, and a second state in which the space is opened to allow the bottle to be transferred to the bottle mounting section, A bottle storage device equipped with the following features.

2. In the first state, the housing surrounding the bottle mounting section, The switching mechanism is provided, and a moving mechanism moves the bottle mounting section and the housing relative to each other so that in the second state the bottle mounting section is located outside the housing, A bottle storage device according to claim 1, comprising:

3. The aforementioned moving mechanism moves the bottle mounting section laterally relative to the housing, The bottle storage device according to claim 2, wherein the moving mechanism is provided above or below the bottle mounting section and the bottle placement area on the bottle mounting section.

4. A processing block is provided which includes a liquid processing unit that receives the processing liquid and processes the substrate with liquid, The system comprises a container mounting section on which a container for storing the substrate is placed, a transport mechanism for transferring the substrate to the container on the container mounting section, and a substrate loading / unloading block provided on one side of the processing block (left or right) for transporting the substrate between the container and the processing block. The bottle storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the space around the bottle mounting section in the first state is the space inside the housing provided in the substrate loading / unloading block.

5. The aforementioned substrate loading / unloading block is, A waiting section is provided on one side of the container mounting section, and the container is kept in a waiting position. The system includes a container transport mechanism for transporting the container between the container placement section and the waiting section, The housing surrounds the standby section and the container transport mechanism, The bottle storage device according to claim 4, wherein the left and right positions of the bottle mounting section in the first state are the same as the left and right positions of the standby section.

6. A processing block is provided which includes a liquid processing unit that receives the processing liquid and processes the substrate with liquid, The system comprises a container mounting section on which a container for storing the substrate is placed, a transport mechanism for transferring the substrate to the container on the container mounting section, and a substrate loading / unloading block provided on one side of the processing block (left or right) for transporting the substrate between the container and the processing block. In the first state, a housing is provided that surrounds the bottle mounting section. The bottle storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the housing is provided facing the substrate loading / unloading block in a plan view, either in front of or behind it.

7. The aforementioned enclosure is A first housing is provided facing the substrate loading / unloading block in a plan view, either in front of or behind it, The substrate loading / unloading block includes a second housing, The bottle storage device according to claim 6, wherein the bottle mounting sections located within the first housing and the second housing, respectively, in the first state are located on one side relative to the first housing and the second housing in the second state.

8. A processing block is provided which includes a liquid processing unit that receives the processing liquid and processes the substrate with liquid, The processing block comprises a container mounting section on which a container for storing the substrate is placed, a transport mechanism for transferring the substrate to the container on the container mounting section, and a substrate loading / unloading block provided on one side of the processing block (left or right) for transporting the substrate between the container and the processing block. The system includes an intermediate block provided between the loading / unloading block and the processing block, which provides a transport area for the substrate, A bottle storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a first space and a second space, each equipped with a bottle mounting section, are provided in front of and behind the transport area, respectively, and the first state and the second state can be switched individually in the first space and the second space.

9. A movable part whose position changes depending on whether the bottle is positioned in the bottle placement area on the bottle mounting section or not, A bottle storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a detection mechanism for detecting the presence or absence of a bottle in the bottle placement area according to the position of the movable part.

10. The aforementioned bottle mounting section is, Opposite the bottom surface of the bottle, an inclined surface that is tilted to allow the bottle to be placed on it, The device comprises a first support portion and a second support portion, which are provided at different heights on the inclined surface and each supports the bottom surface of the bottle, The bottle storage device according to claim 9, wherein of the first support portion and the second support portion, only the first support portion, which is located at a higher position than the second support portion, constitutes the moving portion whose positional change is detected by the detection mechanism.

11. The bottle comprises a body and a neck located above the body and having a narrower outer shape than the body, forming a step with the body. A first detection unit and a second detection unit are provided, each consisting of a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit. The bottle storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the light-emitting unit of the first detection unit and the light-emitting unit of the second detection unit irradiates light toward the neck of the bottle in the bottle placement area from different directions in a plan view.

12. A step of placing a bottle containing a processing liquid for manufacturing semiconductor devices onto a bottle mounting section, A switching mechanism enables switching between a first state in which the space around the bottle mounting section is closed, and a second state in which the space is opened to allow the bottle to be transferred to the bottle mounting section. A method of storing bottles, including the method of bottle storage.

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