Teaching method for substrate transport device and substrate processing device

Abstract

To properly position the circuit board on the mounting table of the circuit board processing device, the transfer arm's setting position must be taught. [Solution] The teaching method of the present disclosure is a substrate transport device equipped with a drive control unit that controls a transport arm for transporting a substrate to move to a preset position, and includes the steps of performing a cycle for each of three reference directions, which includes the steps of tilting at least one of a mounting table and the substrate held by the lifting pin along one reference direction, transferring the substrate to the mounting table, receiving the substrate with the transport arm after it has slid in the reference direction and reached the inner circumference of the edge of the mounting surface, and detecting the position of the substrate, and determining a target position from the position detection result, and setting the target position as the preset position.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This disclosure relates to a teaching method for a substrate transport device and a substrate processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, a semiconductor wafer, which serves as the substrate, undergoes processing such as the deposition of a metal film. This processing is sometimes carried out with the wafer placed on a mounting platform provided inside a processing container.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes an adhesion processing apparatus for improving the adhesion between a resist and a wafer, in which a hot plate configured as a substrate mounting platform on which a wafer is placed is shown. Regarding the placement of the wafer on the hot plate, a transport arm or the like, which is located outside the adhesion processing apparatus, supports the wafer and places it above the hot plate. Then, support pins protrude from the surface of the hot plate to receive the wafer from the transport arm, and descend to place the wafer on the hot plate. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 2885502 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] This disclosure provides a technology for teaching the setting position of a transport arm in order to properly position a substrate on the mounting table of a substrate processing device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A teaching method for a substrate transport device, The substrate transport device comprises a transport arm for transporting substrates, a drive mechanism for moving the transport arm, and a drive control unit for controlling the drive mechanism so that the transport arm moves to a preset position. When transporting a substrate to a mounting table comprising a mounting surface on which a substrate is placed, an edge portion provided along the periphery of the mounting surface so as to protrude from the mounting surface, and at least three lifting pins configured to extend and retract from the mounting surface and to hold the substrate for transfer between the mounting table and the transport arm, For each of the at least three reference directions set to extend in different directions from the center to the periphery of the mounting surface, a cycle consisting of the following steps (a) to (d) is performed: (a) Step: Tilt at least one of the mounting surface and the substrate held by the lifting pin along one reference direction selected from at least three of the reference directions such that the height position on the peripheral side is lower than the height position on the central side. (b) Step: Lowering the lifting pin and transferring the substrate to the stand described above, (c) Step: After the substrate, which has been placed on the stand described above, moves along the stand described above in the reference direction and reaches the inner circumference of the edge, the lifting pin is raised and the substrate is received by the transport arm. (d) Step: A step of detecting the position of the substrate received by the transport arm from the stand described above, A step of determining a target position for transferring the substrate from the transport arm to the aforementioned stand, based on the result of detecting the position of the substrate after it has moved along all of the aforementioned reference directions, The process includes the step of setting the target position as the set position of the transport arm to the drive control unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to this disclosure, the setting position of the transport arm can be taught in order to properly position the substrate on the mounting table of the substrate processing device. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a holding portion of a transport mechanism. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of a vacuum transport chamber and a film forming module. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the substrate processing apparatus and a control unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a holding portion that holds a substrate and a line sensor. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the film forming module. [Figure 7A] FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the holding portion and lift pins during substrate placement. [Figure 7B] FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the holding portion and the lift pins during substrate placement. [Figure 8A] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a cycle process performed in the operation of determining the transfer target position according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the procedure of the operation of determining the transfer target position. [Figure 9A] FIG. 11 is a partial vertical cross-sectional side view of a mounting table illustrating the determining operation. [Figure 9B] FIG. 12 is a partial vertical cross-sectional side view of the mounting table illustrating the determining operation. [Figure 9C] FIG. 13 is a partial vertical cross-sectional side view of the mounting table illustrating the determining operation. [Figure 10A] FIG. 14 is a plan view of the mounting table and the substrate illustrating the determining operation. [Figure 10B] FIG. 15 is a plan view of the mounting table and the substrate illustrating the determining operation. [Figure 10C] FIG. 16 is a plan view of the mounting table and the substrate illustrating the determining operation. [Figure 10D] FIG. 17 is a plan view of the mounting table and the substrate illustrating the determining operation. [Figure 11] FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a modified example of the substrate processing apparatus. [Figure 12]This is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view showing the film deposition module in the second embodiment. [Figure 13A] This is a partial longitudinal side view of the mounting platform showing the operation of identifying the target position for handover in the second embodiment. [Figure 13B] This is a partial longitudinal side view of the mounting platform showing the operation of identifying the target position for handover in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] (First Embodiment) Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is configured as a multi-chamber vacuum processing system comprising deposition modules 101 to 104 for depositing films on a substrate W, and a vacuum transport chamber (transport module) 24 for transporting the substrate W to these modules.

[0010] The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes, for example, an atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22 whose interior is maintained at normal pressure. In front of the atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22, there is a load port 21 for transferring substrates W to and from a transport container K containing the substrates W. The front wall of the atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22 is provided with an opening and closing door 27 that is opened when loading or unloading substrates W to and from the transport container K. A transport mechanism 25 for transporting substrates W is also provided inside the atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22.

[0011] Figure 2 is a plan view showing the holding portion 25m of the transport mechanism 25 in a state where it is holding a substrate W. The transport mechanism 25 has a structure similar to the transport mechanism 10 described later, but the upper side of the U-shaped holding portion 25m has a mounting surface for the substrate W, two restricting protrusions 25a provided at the tip of the mounting surface, and a pressing portion 25b provided at the base end of the mounting surface, providing an edge grip function. The transport mechanism 25 is configured to move the pressing portion 25b toward the restricting protrusions 25a when the substrate W is placed on the mounting surface, so that the holding position of the substrate W is restricted by the restricting protrusions 25a and the pressing portion 25b. In this way, by holding the substrate W in a state where it is pressed against the two restricting protrusions 25a, the transport mechanism 25 holds the substrate W with, for example, its center positioned on a preset position such as the center of the holding portion 25m in a plan view.

[0012] Furthermore, viewed from the load port 21 side, an alignment chamber 26 for adjusting the orientation and eccentricity of the substrate W is provided on the left wall of the atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22. This alignment chamber 26 determines the orientation of the substrate W and the handover position to the transport mechanism 25 based on notches or orientation flats (not shown) formed on the periphery of the substrate W. For example, when determining the orientation of the substrate W based on a notch, the alignment chamber 26 sets the radial direction passing through the tip of the V-shaped cutout of the notch to 0°, and the transport mechanism 25 receives the substrate W so that its center is positioned at a predetermined location.

[0013] On the wall opposite the load port 21, as viewed from the atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22, two load lock chambers 23 are connected side by side. The load lock chambers 23 have a function to switch the internal atmosphere between an atmospheric pressure atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere while a substrate W is contained inside. As viewed from the atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22, a vacuum transport chamber 24 is located behind these load lock chambers 23. Each load lock chamber 23 is connected to the atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22 and the vacuum transport chamber 24 via a gate valve 29.

[0014] An exhaust mechanism (not shown) is connected to the vacuum transfer chamber 24, creating a vacuum atmosphere inside. Four film deposition modules 101-104 are connected to the side wall of the vacuum transfer chamber 24. The vacuum transfer chamber 24 is also equipped with line sensors 41-43 and two transfer mechanisms 10, each of which transfers the substrate W to the film deposition modules 101-104 and to the respective load lock chambers 23.

[0015] Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the vacuum transport chamber 24 and the film deposition module 104, and the tilting mechanism 7 (Figure 6), which will be described later, is not shown for the film deposition module 104. Figure 4 is a block diagram of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the control unit 5. In Figure 3, for convenience of illustration, the line sensors 41 to 43, which are located on the load lock chamber 23 side in the vacuum transport chamber 24 in Figure 1, are shown on the film deposition module 104 side, and only the two line sensors 41 and 42 are shown.

[0016] Each transport mechanism 10 includes a transport arm 10a configured as a multi-joint arm. For example, the transport arm 10a includes a lower arm member 11, a middle arm member 12, and an upper arm member 13, and a rotating shaft 14 provided at the base of each arm member 11 to 13. Each rotating shaft 14 is connected to a rotating mechanism (not shown) and rotates independently to rotate each arm member 11 to 13. By combining these actions, the upper arm member 13 can move along a desired trajectory while performing rotational and linear movements. In addition, a holding part 16 for holding the substrate W to be transported is provided at the tip of the upper arm member 13.

[0017] The transport arm 10a may include an extension / retraction mechanism, and the linear travel distance may be increased by extending or retracting the upper arm member 13. Such an extension / retraction mechanism and a rotation mechanism constitute the drive mechanism of the transport arm 10a, and a pulse encoder 17 (Figure 4) is connected to a motor (not shown) that drives these drive mechanisms. The transport arm 10a is also connected to a drive control unit 15, which manages coordinates for determining the position of the holding unit 16 (hereinafter also referred to as "drive system coordinates," shown in the ZYZ coordinate system in Figures 1 and 3), and controls the rotation mechanism and the like to move the holding unit 16 to a set position described later.

[0018] The holding portion 16 is provided on the tip side of the upper arm member 13 and is configured to transport the substrate W while holding it horizontally. As shown in Figure 5, which will be described later, the holding portion 16 has a U-shape that opens to the tip when viewed from the base end side of the upper arm member 13 in a plan view. The substrate W can be supported horizontally by being placed in the holding area including the upper surface of the holding portion 16. The holding area is configured to properly hold the substrate W by effectively suppressing displacement of the substrate W in its central area. When the substrate W is properly held in the holding area, it is positioned so that the center C of the substrate W is aligned with the center of the holding area. Hereafter, the position in which the substrate W can be properly held in this manner may be called the proper holding position.

[0019] The holding unit 16 is controlled by the drive control unit 15 and the pulse encoder 17, so that the center position of the holding area is managed in the form of polar coordinates (r, θ) with the rotation axis 14 of the lower arm member 11 as the origin. These polar coordinates are correlated with the drive system coordinates of the drive control unit 15. The transport mechanism 10 configured as described above can move the holding unit 16 to a desired position on the drive system coordinates.

[0020] As shown in Figures 1, 3, and 5, the three line sensors 41 to 43 are configured to detect the position of the substrate W held by the holding unit 16. Each line sensor 41 to 43 consists of a pair of light-emitting units 41A to 43A and light-receiving units 41B to 43B. Each light-emitting unit 41A to 43A and light-receiving unit 41B to 43B are provided on the ceiling side and floor side, respectively, of the housing of the vacuum transport chamber 24, facing each other in the vertical direction. Specifically, the light-emitting units 41A to 43A are provided on the upper surface of the light-transmitting windows 45A to 47A, made of, for example, quartz, which are provided on the ceiling of the vacuum transport chamber 24. On the other hand, the light-receiving units 41B to 43B are provided on the lower surface of the light-transmitting windows 45B to 47B, made of, for example, quartz, which are provided on the floor of the vacuum transport chamber 24, facing the light-emitting units 41A to 43A.

[0021] Figure 5 is a plan view showing the holding section 16 that holds the substrate W and the line sensors 41-43. The x and y coordinates in this figure are relative coordinates where the origin is set at the center of the measurement area A1 (described later), and the y axis is set to the direction in which the 0° of the substrate W faces when the substrate W, which has been aligned in the alignment chamber 26, is properly held in the holding area of ​​the holding section 16. The light-emitting sections 41A-43A and light-receiving sections 41B-43B of the line sensors 41-43 are spaced apart from each other at positions corresponding to the periphery of the measurement area A1 in a plan view. Each light-emitting section 41A-43A is configured to emit light in a band-like region extending from the inside to the outside of the measurement area A1, and each light-receiving section 41B-43B receives the emitted light at a position corresponding to the band-like region. With this configuration, when the holding unit 16, which holds the substrate W in the holding area, is placed in the measurement area A1, the line sensors 41-43 can detect the positions of three different points along the periphery of the substrate W within the band area. Then, the position calculation unit 44 (Figure 4), connected to the line sensors 41-43, calculates the position (x,y) of the center c of the substrate W from the positions of the three detected points. The position of the measurement area A1 is stored in advance in the drive control unit 15.

[0022] By using these strip-shaped line sensors 41-43, even if the substrate W is held by the holding unit 16 in a position shifted from the proper holding position, the center position of the substrate W in that state can be calculated. The position calculation unit 44, together with the line sensors 41-43, constitutes the position detection unit (position detection mechanism) 4 (Figure 4).

[0023] In this example, the film deposition modules 101 to 104 are configured to deposit the same metal film. The configuration of film deposition module 104 will be briefly described as a representative example of these modules 101 to 104. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, film deposition module 104 consists of processing containers 31 connected to the housing of the vacuum transport chamber 24 via gate valves G1. The processing container 31 has an inlet / outlet for loading and unloading the substrate W, and the gate valves G1 open and close this inlet / outlet. Closing the gate valves G1 makes the processing container 31 airtight. A mounting table 32 is provided inside the processing container 31 at the rear when viewed from the gate valve G1 side. In the first embodiment, when loading the substrate W from the inlet / outlet, the 0° direction of the substrate W is directed towards the front end in the direction of travel.

[0024] Furthermore, each deposition module 101 to 104 is assigned a secondary coordinate system (X'-Y'-Z' coordinate system) as shown in Figures 1 and 3. This secondary coordinate system is set so that the radial direction of 0° and the Y' axis direction are aligned with the substrate W that is loaded into the deposition modules 101 to 104. Although each secondary coordinate system is shown offset in each figure to ensure visibility, its origin is set to align with the center (C0) of the substrate W held by the holding unit 16 when it is positioned in the "initial setting position" which will be explained in a later figure (Figure 10A). For the sake of illustration, Figure 1 shows the secondary coordinate systems for two deposition modules 101 and 104 together, but the remaining deposition modules 101 and 104 also have their own unique secondary coordinate systems corresponding to the connection direction to the vacuum transport chamber 24. Furthermore, in the examples shown in Figures 1 and 3, the axial directions of the drive system coordinates (XYZ coordinate system) set in the drive control unit 15 of the transport mechanism 10 and the sub-coordinates (X'-Y'-Z' coordinate system) set in the film deposition module 104 coincide.

[0025] As shown in Figure 3, a showerhead 35 for supplying processing gas is provided on the ceiling of the processing container 31, facing the mounting base 32. Processing gas is supplied into the processing container 31 from a gas supply system (not shown) via the showerhead 35. A through hole 31a and an exhaust port are formed in the bottom of the processing container 31, and an exhaust pipe 37 equipped with a vacuum pump 36 is connected to the exhaust port.

[0026] A support portion 32b, which supports the mounting base 32, is inserted through a through hole 31a formed in the bottom of the processing container 31. The upper end of the support portion 32b is located inside the processing container 31, while the rest of it is located outside the processing container 31 (Figure 6). This support portion 32b is attached to the bottom of the processing container 31 via a tilting mechanism 7. Normally, the support portion 32b is positioned upright relative to the bottom of the processing container 31, but it can be tilted from the upright position in various directions by the tilting mechanism 7 described later. The mounting base 32, supported by the support portion 32b, can be tilted in accordance with the tilt of the support portion 32b. This operation allows the flat mounting surface 33 formed on the upper surface of the mounting base 32 to be tilted from a horizontal position towards a predetermined reference direction. Here, the "reference direction" is the direction (radial direction) set to extend from the center side to the peripheral side of the mounting surface 33. In this case, "tilting the mounting surface 33 toward the reference direction" refers to a state in which, when viewed along the set reference direction, the height position on the peripheral side of the mounting surface 33 is lower than the height position on the central side.

[0027] Figure 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the film deposition module 104 showing the configuration and operation of the tilting mechanism 7. The tilting mechanism 7 is configured to tilt the support portion 32b. Various wires for supplying power to components around the mounting table 32 are also provided on the support portion 32b (not shown). If an electrostatic chuck for electrostatically adsorbing the substrate W is provided on the mounting table 32, the DC voltage applied to the electrostatic chuck is supplied via these wires.

[0028] The tilting mechanism 7 includes the aforementioned base member 77, a plurality of actuators 78 (for example, six, though only two are shown in Figure 6), and a bellows 79. The base member 77 is attached to the lower end of the support portion 32b via a vacuum seal 73 and is configured to move integrally with the mounting table 32. For example, the base member 77 has a through hole with a diameter larger than the lower end of the support portion 32b, and the lower end of the support portion 32b is attached to the vacuum seal 73, which is airtightly fixed to the lower surface of the base member 77, via this through hole. With the above structure, the base member 77 is connected to the mounting table 32 via the vacuum seal 73 and the support portion 32b, and can swing integrally with the mounting table 32.

[0029] Multiple actuators 78 each connect the bottom of the processing container 31 to the base member 77 and are arranged in parallel around the support portion 32b, separated from each other. The upper and lower ends of the actuators 78 are connected to the bottom of the processing container 31 and the base member 77, respectively, via universal joints. Each of the multiple actuators 78 is configured to be extendable and retractable along the axial direction. By extending and retracting each actuator 78 as appropriate, the distance between the bottom of the processing container 31 and the base member 77 is changed. As a result, the base member 77, which is parallel to the bottom of the processing container 31 when the actuators 78 are not extended or retracted, can be tilted in various directions as appropriate, and the mounting table 32 can be tilted in the same direction as the base member 77 as appropriate. The tilting mechanism 7 configured as described above tilts the support portion 32b and the mounting table 32 by appropriately adjusting the extension and retraction of the multiple actuators 78 based on a predetermined tilt angle in a reference direction.

[0030] In this case, the retracted actuators 78 tilt around the axis of the support portion 32b, causing the base member 77 to rotate and the mounting table 32 to tilt to a position deviating from the set direction. If such a phenomenon occurs, a rotational drive mechanism capable of independently rotating the support portion 32b may be provided, for example, between the vacuum seal 73 and the base member 77 or below the vacuum seal 73, to compensate for the effect of the rotation of the base member 77 (not shown). This rotational drive mechanism rotates the support portion 32b in the opposite direction to the rotation of the base member 77, thereby compensating for the effect of the base member 77's rotation. This allows the mounting table 32 to be tilted accurately in the preset direction.

[0031] The position and tilt of the mounting base 32, which are adjusted by multiple actuators 78, can be determined by detecting the position and tilt of the base member 77 using various detection means. Examples of detection means include linear encoders, gyro sensors, 3-axis accelerometers, and laser trackers.

[0032] As described above, the tilting mechanism 7 of this embodiment has a plurality of actuators 78 between the bottom of the processing container 31 and a base member 77 that can move integrally. As a result, when tilting the mounting table 32 with respect to a reference direction in the Y' direction, for example in Figure 6, extending the actuator 78 in the reference direction and contracting the actuator 78 in the opposite direction to the reference direction causes the base member 77, which is provided parallel to the X'Y' plane, to tilt in the rotational direction around the X' axis. As a result, the support portion 32b, which was standing upright in the vertical direction, tilts in the rotational direction around the Y' axis in conjunction with the tilted base member 77. The mounting table 32, which is supported at the tip of the support portion 32b, also tilts in the rotational direction around the X' axis, and the mounting surface 33 can be tilted along the reference direction in the Y' direction. As a result, in the reference direction (Y' direction) of the mounting surface 33, the height position on the peripheral side of this reference direction can be made lower than the height position on the central side. In this way, the tilting mechanism 7 can tilt the mounting surface 33 in any three reference directions along the X'Y' plane, for example, in the Y' axis direction passing through the X'Y' plane, and in directions offset by 120° and 240° from this Y' axis.

[0033] The bellows 79 is provided so as to surround the support portion 32b, and its upper and lower ends are connected to the bottom of the processing container 31 and the base member 77, respectively. In this way, the bellows 79 hermetically seals the space between the bottom of the processing container 31 and the base member 77. The bellows 79 is configured to expand and contract in accordance with the movement of the base member 77. In the film deposition module 104, even if the base member 77 is tilted, the bellows 79 expands and contracts, so that air does not flow into the processing container 31 through the space between the bottom of the processing container 31 and the base member 77, or through the through hole 31a.

[0034] The mounting table 32, which is configured to be tilted by the tilting mechanism 7, is placed inside the processing container 31 of the film deposition module 104. As shown in Figure 3 and Figure 6 described later, a heater 32a, which is a resistance heating element, is embedded inside the mounting table 32. The upper surface of the mounting table 32 has a mounting surface 33 for placing the substrate W, and an edge portion 34 that is provided along the periphery of the mounting surface 33 and protrudes from the mounting surface 33. The mounting surface 33 is a circular surface that is larger than the back surface of the substrate W, and is, for example, a smooth surface with relatively small surface roughness.

[0035] The edge portion 34 is formed in an annular shape so as to be concentric with respect to the mounting surface 33. The upper end portion 34b of the edge portion 34 is flat, and on the inner circumference facing the mounting surface 33, a tapered surface 34a is formed that gradually decreases from the upper end portion 34b toward the mounting surface 33. Therefore, these tapered surface 34a and the upper end portion 34b that constitute the edge portion 34 are also provided concentrically with respect to the mounting surface 33. In addition, the mounting base 32 is provided with, for example, three (only two are shown in Figures 3 and 6) lifting pins 38 so as to be able to protrude from and be embedded in the mounting surface 33. The three lifting pins 38 are arranged apart from each other in a plan view, surrounding the center of the mounting surface 33 (Figure 1), and are positioned at 120-degree intervals from the center of the mounting surface 33. These lifting pins 38 are provided on the lifting plate 39a, which is raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism 39 (Figure 4), and move up and down simultaneously. The lifting mechanism 39, the lifting plate 39a, and the lifting pins 38 are positioned independently and at a sufficient distance from the tilting mechanism 7, the support part 32b, and the mounting base 32, so as not to be affected by their tilting movements. Therefore, even if the tilting mechanism 7 is tilted, the lifting pins 38 can be raised and lowered along the vertical direction.

[0036] Figures 7A and 7B are longitudinal cross-sectional side views showing the holding part 16 and the lifting pin 38 when the substrate W is placed on it. When placing the substrate W on the mounting table 32, the transport mechanism 10 has the holding part 16, which holds the substrate W, ready to go in a standby position outside the gate valve G1. Then, as shown in Figure 6A, the transport mechanism 10 moves the upper arm member 13 straight forward and enters the processing container 31, and positions the holding part 16 at a predetermined "setting position". This setting position will be explained later. Next, the protruding lifting pin 38 pushes up and supports the back surface of the substrate W, receiving the substrate W. At this time, the lifting pin 38 is positioned so as not to interfere with the holding part 16, passing through the space inside the U-shape of the holding part 16 in a plan view.

[0037] Next, as shown in Figure 7B, when the holding unit 16 moves in the opposite direction to when it entered the processing container 31 and exits the processing container 31, the lifting pin 38 descends and places the substrate W on the mounting surface 33 of the mounting table 32. After the film deposition process by the film deposition module 104 is completed, the lifting pin 38 transfers the substrate W from the mounting table 32 to the holding unit 16 in the reverse operation of the above-described placement, and the holding unit 16 exits the processing container 31. In this way, the lifting pin 38 can transfer the substrate W between the transport mechanism 10 and the mounting table 32.

[0038] In the above-described mounting operation, the setting position of the holding unit 16 must be such that the substrate W, which is transferred to the mounting table 32, is placed within the mounting surface 33. In the first embodiment, the "setting position" of the holding unit 16 is set so that, when viewed from above, the center C of the substrate W held by the holding unit 16 and the center P of the mounting surface 33 are aligned. However, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the control unit 5 and the drive control unit 15 do not know the exact position of the center P of the mounting surface 33. For example, if the processing container 31 is opened and maintenance is performed on the mounting table 32 or the lifting pins 38, the position of the center of the mounting table 32 and the position of the substrate W transferred to the mounting table 32 via the lifting pins 38 may change.

[0039] Therefore, before starting the film deposition process, the substrate processing apparatus 1 identifies the center P of the mounting surface 33 in advance. Then, it positions the holding part 16 above the center P and identifies a target position (target position) where the substrate W can be transferred to the mounting surface 33 via the lifting pin 38. It is necessary to teach the drive control unit 15 in order to set this target position to coincide with the previously described setting position. For example, suppose the diameter of the substrate W is 300 mm, the diameter of the mounting surface 33 is 302 mm, and the width of the tapered surface 34a is 0.35 mm. In this case, if the center of the substrate W is transferred to a position shifted 1.4 mm from the center P of the mounting surface 33, the film deposition will be carried out with the substrate W riding on the edge 34. When a film is deposited on a substrate W in such a state where the entire back surface is not in contact with the mounting surface 33, for example, uniform temperature control within the plane cannot be achieved, which may reduce the uniformity of the film thickness of the deposited film, or the film may be formed on the back surface of the substrate W. Therefore, it is important to accurately determine the center P of the mounting surface 33 and perform teaching accordingly.

[0040] In this regard, one possible method is to open the processing container 31, have an operator measure the precise position of the center P of the mounting surface 33, manually position the substrate W so that its center coincides with the measured center P, and then perform teaching based on the result of receiving the substrate W with the holding unit 16. Alternatively, instead of positioning the substrate W, one could place a jig that defines the target position inside the processing container 31, and perform teaching by pressing the holding unit 16 against this jig. However, these methods involve working with the processing container 31 open, so there is a risk that particles may enter and remain inside the processing container 31. In addition, in order for an operator to perform work, it is necessary to lower the temperature and increase the pressure inside the processing container 31, and although these operations are not normally necessary except during maintenance, this increases the idle time of the substrate processing device 1. Furthermore, teaching performed at room temperature after cooling does not include the effects of thermal expansion in the mounting table 32 and the lifting pins 38, making it difficult to perform high-precision teaching. In addition, the inclination of the lifting pins 38 may differ slightly between teaching performed in an atmospheric environment and film deposition processing performed in a vacuum environment, making it difficult to perform high-precision teaching. Based on these issues, the inventors of the present invention have developed a teaching method that does not require opening the processing container 31 and does not require cooling or pressurizing the mounting table 32.

[0041] Returning to the description of the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1, as shown in Figure 4, the control unit 5 is connected to the tilt mechanism 7, position detection unit 4, drive control unit 15, pulse encoder 17, and lifting mechanism 39, and works in cooperation with these to perform tasks from target position identification to teaching. The control unit 5 is composed of a computer including a center position identification unit 51 for calculating the center P of the mounting surface 33, a program storage unit 52 for storing various programs for operating each part of the substrate processing apparatus 1, a CPU 53, and memory 54. The program for transporting the wafer is configured so that the holding unit 16 holds the substrate W and transports it to each set position of the film deposition modules 101 to 104 at the transport destination, and specifically has a set of steps for calculating the trajectory of the holding unit 16. The program for identifying the target transfer position of the holding unit 16 has a set of steps for performing various processes as described later.

[0042] Various programs are installed in the program storage unit 52 via a storage medium such as a USB memory stick or DVD-ROM. Based on the signal from the pulse encoder 17, the control unit 5 manages the operation control of the transport mechanism 10 by the drive control unit 15 so that the holding unit 16 moves according to the recipe that constitutes the processing program for the substrate W. In the substrate processing apparatus 1 as described above, the control unit 5, the transport mechanism 10, the drive control unit 15, and the pulse encoder 17 constitute the substrate transport apparatus of this disclosure, in which teaching is performed based on the result of identifying the target transfer position.

[0043] The identification of the target transfer position will now be explained. Figure 8A is a flowchart showing the cycle process performed in the operation to determine the target transfer position in the first embodiment, and Figure 8B is a diagram showing the procedure for the operation to determine the target transfer position. Figures 9A and 9B are partial longitudinal cross-sectional side views of the mounting table 32 showing the operation to identify the target transfer position in the first embodiment. Figures 10A to 10D are plan views of the mounting table 32 and the substrate W showing the operation to identify the position. The reference direction is indicated by showing the direction of descent at the lowest point on the periphery of the mounting surface 33, and the relative coordinates with the position of the center P of the mounting surface 33 as the reference point are shown by a dashed line, and the center of the substrate W is indicated by a black dot. The centers C0, C1 to C3 shown in Figures 10A to 10D indicate the position when the mounting surface 33 is in a horizontal position without tilting. In these figures, solid arrows indicate the trajectory, and white arrows indicate the direction of the next movement. This also applies to Figures 13A and 13B of the second embodiment, which will be described later.

[0044] First, the principle of determining the transfer position will be explained. As shown in Figures 9A and 10A, the Y' axis direction, which is one direction in the XY plane for tilting the mounting table 32, is set as the reference direction. Then, as previously described, the mounting table 32 is tilted along the Y' axis direction (step S11, tilting step). While maintaining this tilted state, the holding unit 16 transports the substrate W to a preset initial position C0, and the raised lifting pin 38 receives the substrate W (Figures 9A and 10A). Next, the lifting pin 38 is lowered to transfer the substrate W to the tilted mounting surface 33 (step S12, substrate transfer step, Figure 9B). The substrate W, which has been placed at the initial position C0 by the holding unit 16 and transferred to the lifting pin 38, needs to be placed within the tilted mounting surface 33. For this reason, the initial position C0 needs to be a position where the substrate W can be placed on the mounting surface 33 in a horizontal position without tilting, as well as on the tilted mounting surface 33. The initial setting position C0 should be determined by predicting candidate initial setting positions in advance from the design drawings of the film deposition module 104 and the mounting stage 32, and then conducting preliminary tests to confirm that the above conditions are met.

[0045] When the substrate W is placed on the mounting surface 33, supported by the lifting pins 38 and in a horizontal position, it first makes contact with the inclined mounting surface 33 on the side opposite to the Y' axis. Then, when the lifting pins 38 retract into the mounting base 32, the entire surface of the substrate W becomes adjacent to the mounting surface 33 (dashed line in Figure 9B). The substrate W then slides along the Y' axis on the mounting surface 33, which is tilted in the Y' axis direction by gravity, and comes to rest when it comes into contact with the tapered surface 34a, that is, the inner circumference of the edge 34 (solid line in Figure 9B, Figure 10B). In order for the substrate W to slide sufficiently in the reference direction (Y' axis direction), it is preferable that when the substrate W is placed on the mounting surface 33, there are many gas molecules remaining on the underside of the substrate W as it approaches the mounting surface 33, creating a state where viscous resistance is at work. Therefore, for example, when transferring the substrate W to the mounting surface 33, it is advisable to increase the pressure inside the processing container 31 to about 100 Pa beforehand, thereby increasing the amount of gas molecules remaining between the bottom surface of the substrate W and the mounting surface 33.

[0046] In this stationary position, the substrate W has its side surface in contact with the inner circumference of the edge 34, and its entire lower surface in contact with the mounting surface 33. This stationary position of the substrate W is, for example, located in the direction of the Y' axis from the initial setting position C0, and in contact with the periphery of the mounting surface 33 (Figure 10B). The center C1 of the substrate W in this stationary position is measured by the position detection unit 4 (step S13). This center C1 is thought to be located on a circle S (dashed line in Figure 10B) that represents the set of centers of the substrate W arranged to be in contact with each position on the inner circumference of the mounting surface 33. The center of this circle S is thought to be the same as the center P of the mounting surface 33. Therefore, by measuring the positions of point C1 on the circumference of this circle S and the other two points C2 and C3 (P1 to P3 in Figure 8A), and finding the center of the circle passing through these different points C1 to C3, the final delivery target position can be identified (P4).

[0047] Based on the concepts described above, the target position determination operation and teaching operation of the holding unit 16 in the substrate transport device according to the first embodiment will now be explained. In this example, the first to third reference directions are the 0° direction, which is the Y' direction described above, as well as two directions shifted by 120° and 240° from the 0° direction, and the mounting surface 33 is tilted along each reference direction. Then, the substrate W, which has been placed on the mounting surface 33 tilted along each reference direction, is slid toward the downward side of the incline, and the positions of the centers C1 to C3 of the substrate W when it reaches a resting position are identified (processing P1 to P3 in Figure 8B).

[0048] In general terms, the target position determination operation in the first embodiment is performed in the following order: identification of the center C1 position of the substrate W slid in the first reference direction, 0° (processing P1 in Figure 8B, Figure 9B, Figure 10B); identification of the center C2 position of the substrate W slid in the second reference direction, 120° (processing P2, Figure 10C); identification of the center C3 position of the substrate W slid in the third reference direction, 240° (processing P3, Figure 10D); and identification of the coordinates of the target position (processing P4). Subsequently, the target position is determined based on the measured center C1 to C3 positions of the substrate W at its stationary position. Figure 10A is a flowchart of a cycle (hereinafter referred to as a cycle process) for detecting the center C1 to C3 positions of the substrate W at its stationary position by sliding the substrate W in each of the reference directions. The target position is determined based on the center C1 to C3 positions of the substrate W at its stationary position, which are identified in each of these cycle processes for each reference direction.

[0049] Next, the operation to identify the center C1 related to process P1 will be explained in detail based on Figure 8B. Process P1 is the operation to identify the position of the center C1 of the substrate W that has reached the stationary position in the 0° direction, which is the first reference direction. In this example, the substrate W in the transport container K, which is first transported to the load port 21 (Figure 1), is transported in the order of alignment chamber 26 → load lock chamber 23 by the transport mechanism 25 in the atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22. Note that the substrate W is not limited to the one transported in the transport container K; it may also be placed in the atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22 beforehand, or a dummy substrate having a shape similar to the substrate W may be used.

[0050] The substrate W, which has been adjusted to face a predetermined direction in the alignment chamber 26, is placed by the transport mechanism 25 on a mounting table (not shown) in the load lock chamber 23. The substrate W placed on the mounting table of the load lock chamber 23 is arranged such that, for example, the peripheral end at 0° (in this example, the tip of the notch cutout) is located at the position farthest from the gate valve 29 on the vacuum transport chamber 24 side. The load lock chamber 23 delivers the substrate W oriented in this manner to the holding unit 16 of the transport mechanism 10. Regarding the orientation of the held substrate W, the 0° peripheral end is arranged on the distal end side of the holding region of the holding unit 16, and the held substrate W is placed at a preset proper holding position relative to the holding unit 16.

[0051] Next, the transport mechanism 10 places the holding unit 16 holding the substrate W over the measurement region A1 (FIG. 5). The position calculation unit 44 uses the line sensors 41 to 43 to detect the center c of the substrate W 11 position (x 11 , y 11 ) and stores it in the memory 54. The center c of the substrate W placed at the proper holding position 11 position (x 11 , y 11 ) is, for example, (0, 0) in the relative coordinates shown in FIG. 5. Note that the position of the substrate W is specified in the alignment chamber 26, and the center c of the substrate W before being placed on the mounting table 32 11 position (x 11 , y 11 ) is almost accurately arranged at the proper holding position, so the measurement by the position calculation unit 44 may be omitted.

[0052] On the other hand, in one of the film forming modules 101 to 104 (the film forming module 104 in this example) that determines the target position of the holding unit 16, the tilting mechanism 7 tilts the mounting table 32 toward the first reference direction of 0° (Step S11 in FIG. 8A, process (a): process of tilting the mounting surface, FIG. 9A). The tilt angle α (FIG. 9A) of the mounting table 32 at this time is, for example, 0.1° or more, and may be appropriately set according to the ease of sliding of the substrate W with respect to the mounting surface 33. Then, the center c is calculated by the position calculation unit 44 11The substrate W, whose position has been measured, is transported to the mounting table 32 of the film deposition module 104. Specifically, when the gate valve G1 of the film deposition module 104 is opened, the holding unit 16 that holds the substrate W is positioned on the aforementioned initial setting position C0 above the mounting table 32, based on the substrate transport program described above, and then the substrate W is transferred to the mounting surface 33 via the lifting pin 38 (step S12, (b) step: step of transferring the substrate to the mounting table, substrate W shown by the dashed line in Figure 9B, Figure 10A). As a result, the substrate W slides on the mounting surface 33 in the first reference direction (Y' axis direction) and then arrives at a stationary position in contact with the inner circumference of the edge 34 (substrate W shown by the solid line in Figure 9B, Figure 10B).

[0053] Next, while maintaining the substrate W in a stationary position, the mounting table 32 is returned to a horizontal position (step S13, Figure 9C). After that, the lifting pin 38 is raised from the horizontal mounting surface 33 and the substrate W in the stationary position is handed over to the holding unit 16 (step S14, (c) step: process of receiving the substrate on the transport arm). By performing the above operations, the positional displacement L1 (Figure 10B) from the initial setting position to the stationary position can be accurately measured on the mounting surface 33, which is in a horizontal position similar to that during the film deposition process. The positional displacement L1, which is a vector indicating displacement as described later, is identified by the position detection unit 4.

[0054] At this time, the lifting pin 38 is extended to raise the substrate W from the mounting surface 33, and then the substrate W is transferred to the holding unit 16, which is in the initial setting position C0. The transferred substrate W is held by the holding unit 16 while maintaining a positional displacement L1, which is a horizontal movement by sliding in the first reference direction on the mounting surface 33 from the proper holding position. Next, in order to detect this displacement L1, the holding unit 16 that holds the substrate W is placed in the measurement area A1, and the position c' of the center of the displacementd substrate W is measured. 11 (x' 11 ,y' 11 Step S15, (d) step: step to detect the position of the substrate. The center position identification unit 51 detects the center position c' of the substrate W corresponding to the new holding position. 11 and center position c 11The difference in position coordinates between the initial position C0 and the center is taken to calculate the displacement L1, which is a vector. Then, the position of the center C1, corrected for the displacement L1 from the initial position C0, is identified (step S16).

[0055] Next, in the second reference direction, the 120° direction, the operation (P2) to determine the position of the center C2 of the substrate W that has reached the stationary position is performed. First, the tilting mechanism 7 tilts the mounting base 32 toward the 120° direction (step S11, Figure 10C). Then the position calculation unit 44 determines the center c 11 The substrate W, whose position has been measured, is transported again by the holding unit 16 to the initial setting position C0 on the mounting table 32 of the film deposition module 104. Thereafter, the substrate W is transferred to the mounting surface 33 via the lifting pin 38 (step S12, Figure 10C).

[0056] When placing the substrate W on the initial setting position C0, if the holding part 16 is supporting the substrate W in the correct holding position, the initial setting position should be the same initial setting position C0 as the position of the center C1 specified operation (P1) described above. However, in the first embodiment, during the cycle process of this specification operation (P1), the substrate W is held shifted from the correct holding position. As a first method to address this situation, the initial setting position C0 can be set by readjusting the holding of the substrate W. For example, in the measurement area A1, the center c' of the substrate W 11 One method involves re-entering the holding unit 16 into the film deposition module 104 after measuring its position, and then readjusting the holding of the substrate W using the lifting pins 38. Before readjusting, the holding unit 16 is moved to the initial setting position, which is the previous setting position, to receive the substrate W from the lifting pins 38, and a position correction is performed by shifting the holding unit 16 by the amount of the displacement of the substrate W relative to the holding unit 16, i.e., the displacement L1. Then, by receiving the substrate W from the lifting pins 38 to the position-corrected holding unit 16, the substrate W can be placed in the correct holding position.

[0057] As a first method, in addition to the example of using the film deposition module 104 as described above, it is also possible to use the transport mechanism 25 having an edge grip function as explained with reference to Figure 2. The substrate W is transferred from the transport mechanism 10 to the transport mechanism 25, and the position of the substrate W can be corrected by positioning it using the restricting protrusion 25a and pressing part 25b provided on the holding part 25m shown in Figure 2. Furthermore, as a variation of the first method, if the substrate W rotates around the center on the stage and requires orientation correction, the orientation and position of the substrate W can be corrected by transferring the substrate W to the alignment chamber 26 and the transport mechanism 25.

[0058] As a second method to eliminate the effects of deviation from the proper holding position, it is also possible to transfer the substrate W to the lifting pin 38 at the initial setting position C0 without readjusting the substrate W. In this case, by placing the substrate W at a position that cancels out the deviation L1 from the initial setting position C0 specified for the first reference direction, the substrate W can be placed directly at the initial setting position C0.

[0059] Using the above method, the substrate W placed on the initial position C0 is transferred to the inclined mounting surface 33 in the same manner as the specific operation P1 described above. After the substrate W slides on the mounting surface 33 and reaches a stationary position, the mounting table 32 is returned to a horizontal position and the substrate W is received by the holding unit 16. Thereafter, the center position of the substrate W is detected in the measurement area A1, and the position of the substrate center C2 at the stationary position in the second reference direction (120° direction) is identified (steps S12 to S16, Figure 10C). Then, in the same manner as the specific operations P1 and P2 described above, the operation to identify the position of the center C3 of the substrate W at the stationary position in the third reference direction, the 240° direction (P3, steps S11 to S15) is performed, and the center C3 is identified (step S16, Figure 10D).

[0060] Next, the center position of the circle S connecting the mutually distinct centers C1 to C3 identified as described above is calculated, and the center position P of the mounting surface 33 which is approximately the same as this center is identified, thereby determining the target position (P4). The center position identification unit 51 sets the target position as the setting position of the holding unit 16 to the drive control unit 15, which is the drive control unit (step of setting the target position). As a result, the target position of the film deposition module 104 is taught to the drive control unit 15.

[0061] The determination of target positions and teaching described above are also performed for film deposition modules 101 to 103 other than film deposition module 104, but may also be performed as appropriate when maintenance is required for each module 101 to 104. As previously described, the determination of target positions and teaching are performed during periods when substrate processing such as film deposition is not being carried out. After the determination of target positions and teaching for each film deposition module 101 to 104 is completed, the film deposition process is started in the substrate processing apparatus 1. In the first embodiment, the transport path of the substrate W during film deposition in the substrate processing apparatus 1 is as follows: first, the substrate W is transported in the order of transport container K → load port 21 → alignment chamber 26 → atmospheric pressure transport chamber 22 → vacuum transport chamber 24 → one of the film deposition modules 101 to 104. The substrate W that has been deposited in any of the film deposition modules 101 to 104 is transported in the reverse order of the above and returned to the transport container K.

[0062] When transporting the substrate W to one of the deposition modules 101 to 104 along the above transport path, the holding unit 16, which holds the substrate W, is moved to a set position taught by the drive control unit 15, as shown in Figures 7A and 7B. The substrate W, supported by the holding unit 16, is placed on the center P of the mounting surface 33, then descends via the lifting pin 38 towards the center P of the horizontal mounting surface 33 which is not inclined, and is placed on the mounting surface 33, after which deposition is performed.

[0063] As described above, in the teaching method of the substrate transfer device of the first embodiment, a tilting mechanism 7 for tilting the mounting table 32 is provided on the film deposition module 104. Then, one reference direction is arbitrarily selected from at least three different reference directions, and the mounting table 32 is tilted in the selected reference direction by the tilting mechanism 7. Next, the substrate W placed on the set position C0 is transferred to the mounting surface 33 via the lifting pin 38, the substrate W is slid along the reference direction, and is brought to rest in contact with the inner circumference of the edge portion 34. Then, while maintaining the substrate W in the resting position, the mounting surface 33 is returned to horizontal, and the substrate is received by the holding unit 16 via the lifting pin 38, and the center C1 of the substrate W in the resting position is detected using the position detection unit 4. This cycle process is performed for each of the remaining reference directions, the centers of the substrate W in the resting positions in these reference directions are detected, and the center P of the mounting table 32 can be identified based on the circle connecting these multiple centers C1 to C3. As described above, according to this embodiment, the position of the center P of the mounting table 32 can be determined automatically, simply, and in a short time while maintaining the vacuum atmosphere and temperature of the vacuum transfer chamber 24 and the film deposition modules 101 to 104. The center P of the mounting table 32, thus determined, can then be set as the target position for transferring the substrate W from the holding unit 16 to the mounting table 32.

[0064] (modified version) In the first embodiment, the mounting base 32 is tilted by the tilting mechanism 7, and then the substrate W is transferred to the tilted mounting surface 33 via the lifting pin 38. However, the teaching method of this disclosure is not limited to this procedure. For example, the substrate W may be transferred from the holding part 16 to the lifting pin 38 before tilting the mounting base 32, then the mounting base 32 may be tilted, and the lifting pin 38 may be lowered to transfer the substrate W to the tilted mounting surface 33. Alternatively, for example, the substrate W may be first transferred to the lifting pin 38 before tilting the mounting base 32, the lifting pin 38 may be lowered to transfer the substrate W to the non-tilted mounting surface 33, and then the mounting surface 33 may be tilted, allowing the substrate W, which is in contact with the mounting surface 33, to slide in the tilting direction. In this case, since the substrate W on the mounting surface 33 is in contact with the mounting surface 33 and therefore less likely to slide, it is preferable to make the tilting angle relatively large.

[0065] In the first embodiment, the first to third reference directions are set to 0°, 120°, and 240°, but the invention is not limited to these. Three reference directions may be set at 120° intervals, using a position shifted from 0° as the reference point. Furthermore, it is not mandatory to set three reference directions at 120° intervals; four may be set at 90° intervals, or six at 60° intervals. It is also not necessary for the intervals between the reference directions to be the same; they may be set at different intervals. In other words, as long as a circle can be determined to identify the center P of the mounting base 32 from the center position of the substrate W, which is determined by repeating the aforementioned specific operation multiple times, the reference directions can be freely set. Therefore, it is sufficient that the reference directions for each specific operation are different.

[0066] In the first embodiment, when performing the operation (P1 to P3) to identify the center C1 to C3 of the substrate at its stationary position in the first to third reference directions, the substrate W was placed on the same initial setting position C0. On the other hand, for example, the substrate W may be placed at a different position each time these identification operations are performed. In this way, even if the substrate W is placed on different initial setting positions, the stationary position of the substrate W will ultimately reach approximately the same position depending on the reference direction. Therefore, if the position of the initial setting position when the substrate W is handed over in each reference direction is known, it is possible to identify the center position of the substrate W at its stationary position from the positional shift.

[0067] Furthermore, in the actual sliding motion of the substrate W on the mounting surface 33, if the substrate W slides while deviating from its respective reference direction or while rotating, the substrate W may come to rest at a position different from the intersection of the reference direction and the edge 34 (the position marked with an X in a circle in Figures 10B to 10C). Even in such cases, if the position where the substrate W comes to rest in contact with the inner circumference of the mounting surface 33 is different for at least three specific movements, it is possible to identify the center P of the mounting base 32. Therefore, as long as the substrate W can slide on the mounting surface 33 until it reaches the resting position, there are no particular limitations on the inclination of the mounting base 32, and the inclination angle and direction may be changed while the substrate W is sliding.

[0068] In the first embodiment, the position and trajectory of the holding portion 16 are set with respect to the holding region, and the center of the holding region and the center C of the substrate W at the holding position are set to be aligned, but they do not have to be aligned. The teaching method in the first embodiment is performed for the setting positions of the film deposition modules 101 to 104, but is not limited to this. For example, it can also be used for the setting positions of mounting tables such as the load lock chamber 23, or the spin chuck in a liquid processing module which is not shown in this disclosure.

[0069] In the first embodiment, the substrate W is transported by a multi-jointed transport arm 10a, but other transport mechanisms may be used, such as a transport mechanism that moves and transports using magnetic levitation by an electromagnet. In the first embodiment, a tapered surface 34a is provided on the edge 34, but it is not required, and the inner circumference of the edge 34 may be a vertical surface rising from the mounting table 32. The tilting mechanism 7 disclosed in the first embodiment is merely an example, and the mounting table 32 may be tilted by other tilting mechanisms.

[0070] Unlike the substrate processing apparatus 1 of this disclosure, the measurement of the positional displacement of the substrate W before and after placement is not limited to line sensors 41-43. Figure 11 is a plan view showing a modified example of the substrate processing apparatus 1. In the substrate processing apparatus 1A, line sensors 48 and 49, arranged and numbered differently from the line sensors 41-43 of the first embodiment, are provided in the vacuum transport chamber 24. The line sensors 48 and 49 are provided in the housing of the vacuum transport chamber 24, similar to the line sensors 41-43, and are positioned on both sides of the gate valve G1 in front of each gate valve G1 of the film deposition modules 101-104. As a result, the line sensors 48 and 49 can measure the position of the center c of the substrate W as it passes by, for example, by detecting the peripheral point of the substrate W, which is blocked by the 90° and 270° sides of the substrate W as it moves straight in and out of the loading / unloading ports of the film deposition modules 101-104.

[0071] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the lifting pin 38 and lifting mechanism 39 are positioned independently and sufficiently far from the tilting mechanism 7, support portion 32b, and mounting base 32, and are provided so as not to be affected by their tilting movements. However, they may also be configured to be affected by these tilting movements. Specifically, if the lifting plate 39a and lifting mechanism 39 are, for example, positioned along the support portion 32b, and their lifting direction is constrained by the support portion 32b, it is assumed that the lifting plate 39a and lifting mechanism 39 will tilt in conjunction with the tilting of the support portion 32b. Even in this case, it is sufficient that the lifting pin 38 can properly receive the substrate W without dropping it when the mounting base 32 is tilted, and that the substrate W can be positioned within the plane of the mounting surface 33.

[0072] Another example of a configuration for raising and lowering the lifting pins 38 is to omit the lifting plate 39a and lifting mechanism 39 shown in Figures 4 and 6, and instead have each lifting pin 38 hang from the mounting base 32. In this case, the multiple lifting pins 38 are provided to pass through through holes in the mounting base 32 independently of each other. The upper part of the lifting pin 38 is enlarged, and this upper part is locked into the through hole in the mounting base 32, causing it to hang from the mounting base 32. When, for example, each actuator 78 is extended to an equal width relative to each other, and the mounting base 32 is positioned in an upper position, the lifting pins 38 remain hanging from the mounting base 32 and do not protrude from the mounting surface 33. On the other hand, if, for example, each actuator 78 is retracted by an equal width relative to each other, and the mounting base 32 is positioned in a lower position, the lower end of the lifting pin 38 will come into contact with the bottom of the processing container 31 and be lifted, protruding from the mounting surface 33.

[0073] (Second Embodiment) In the second embodiment, instead of the method of sliding the substrate W toward a stationary position by placing it on the inclined mounting table 32 as in the first embodiment, the substrate is slid by, for example, placing the substrate W in an inclined state relative to a horizontal mounting surface 33. Figure 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view showing the film deposition module of the second embodiment. For the second embodiment, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly explained, the reference numerals of each component of the first embodiment will be used, and redundant explanations will be omitted. In the film deposition module 104A of the second embodiment, the inclination mechanism 7 and the lifting plate 39a are not provided, and each of the lifting pins 38 is raised and lowered individually relative to the fixed mounting table 32. For this reason, for example, individual lifting mechanisms 39 are provided below each of the lifting pins 38. As a result, when transferring the substrate W to the mounting surface 33 (step S12), the height positions of the lifting pins 38 are made different so that the substrate W is placed in an inclined state. As a result, the substrate W is pushed out by the gas present between the substrate W and the mounting surface 33, allowing the substrate W to slide in the first to third reference directions. And, as in the first embodiment, the centers C1 to C3 of the substrate at rest can be identified in the example of the second embodiment as well.

[0074] Figures 13A and 13B are partial longitudinal side views of the mounting table 32 showing the operation of identifying the target position for transfer in the second embodiment, and here an example is shown in which the substrate W is tilted and slid in the Y' direction. When transferring the substrate W to the mounting surface 33 (step S12), first the three lifting pins 38 are positioned at the same height above and receive the horizontally oriented substrate W from the holding part 16. Then, as shown in Figure 13A, the two lifting pins 38 positioned on the Y' axis side begin to descend first, and when the substrate W is tilted to a certain extent, the one lifting pin 38 positioned on the opposite side of the Y' axis begins to descend. The descending speeds of the three lifting pins 38 are set to be the same, for example. This allows the three lifting pins 38 to transfer the substrate W tilted in the Y' direction to the mounting surface 33.

[0075] As shown in Figure 13B, the substrate W (dashed line) tilted in the Y' direction first contacts the mounting surface 33 at the end on the Y' axis side, and then the end on the opposite side of the Y' axis descends. At this time, the substrate W is pushed out by the gas between the lower surface of the substrate W on the opposite side of the Y' axis and the mounting surface 33, causing the substrate W to slide in the Y' direction. Then, as in the first embodiment, the position of the center C1 of the substrate W (solid line in Figure 13B) that has slid in the Y' direction and is in a stationary position can be identified.

[0076] Similar to the first embodiment, when sliding the substrate W in the reference directions of 120° and 240°, two lifting pins 38 on the opposite side of the Y' axis and on the Y' direction and X' axis direction, and two lifting pins 38 on the opposite side of the Y' axis and on the Y' direction and X' axis direction should be lowered first. Alternatively, if the three reference directions are set to the directions in which the lifting pins 38 are arranged, the substrate W can be tilted and slid in the reference direction by lowering one of the three lifting pins 38 on the reference direction side first, and then lowering the remaining two. The descent timing may also be set so that the height positions of the three lifting pins 38 are different. Alternatively, instead of setting a difference in the descent timing of the three lifting pins 38 as described above, the substrate W can be tilted and slid on the mounting surface 33 by setting a difference in the descent speed of the lifting pins 38. Four or more lifting pins 38 may be provided. Furthermore, the target position identification operation of this disclosure may be performed in combination with the tilting of the substrate W by the lifting pin 38 of the second embodiment and the tilting of the mounting base 32 of the first embodiment.

[0077] It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The above embodiments may be omitted, substituted, modified, and combined in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0078] W board 10a Transport arm 15 Drive control unit 17. Pulse encoder 32 Mounting platform 33 Mounting surface 34 Edge 38 Lifting pins 5. Control Unit

Claims

1. A teaching method for a substrate transport device, The substrate transport device comprises a transport arm for transporting substrates, a drive mechanism for moving the transport arm, and a drive control unit for controlling the drive mechanism so that the transport arm moves to a preset position. When transporting a substrate to a mounting table, which comprises a mounting surface on which a substrate is placed, an edge portion provided along the periphery of the mounting surface so as to protrude from the mounting surface, and at least three lifting pins configured to be able to extend and retract from the mounting surface and to hold the substrate in order to transfer the substrate between the transport arm and the mounting table, For each of the at least three reference directions set to extend in different directions from the center to the periphery of the mounting surface, a cycle consisting of the following steps (a) to (d) is performed: (a) Step: Along one reference direction selected from at least three of the reference directions, the height position on the peripheral side is greater than the height position on the central side. A step of tilting at least one of the aforementioned mounting surface and the substrate held by the lifting pin so that the height is reduced, (b) Step: Lowering the lifting pin and transferring the substrate to the stand described above, (c) Step: After the substrate, which has been transferred to the stand described above, moves along the mounting surface described above in the reference direction and reaches the inner circumference of the edge, the lifting pin is raised and the substrate is received by the transport arm. (d) Step: A step of detecting the position of the substrate received by the transport arm from the stand described above, A step of determining a target position for transferring the substrate from the transport arm to the aforementioned stand, based on the result of detecting the position of the substrate after it has moved along all of the aforementioned reference directions, A teaching method for a substrate transport device, comprising the step of setting the target position as the set position of the transport arm to the drive control unit.

2. The aforementioned mounting platform is provided with a tilt adjustment mechanism to adjust its inclination. The teaching method for a substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in step (a), the tilt surface is tilted by adjusting the tilt of the base described above using the tilt adjustment mechanism.

3. At least three of the aforementioned lifting pins are provided with a lifting mechanism for adjusting the height position of each of the aforementioned lifting pins. The teaching method for a substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in step (a), the substrate is tilted by the lifting mechanism by causing each of the lifting pins to hold the substrate at a different height.

4. The teaching method for a substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mounting table has a circular planar shape.

5. The teaching method for a substrate transport apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the substrate has a circular planar shape, and in the step of determining the target position, the target position is determined such that the center of the substrate coincides with the center of the stand described above.

6. The method for teaching a substrate transport device according to claim 5, wherein the substrate has a circular planar shape, and in step (d), the center of the substrate held by the transport arm is determined, and the center of the aforementioned stand, which is the target position, is determined based on a circle connecting the centers of the substrate that have moved along all of the reference directions.

7. The teaching method for a substrate transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mounting platform is provided inside a processing container for processing the substrate.

8. The teaching method for a substrate transport apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processing container contains a film deposition processing module for performing film deposition processing on the substrate.

9. The teaching method for a substrate transport apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the teaching method is performed during a period when the substrate is not being processed.

10. A substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates, The substrate processing apparatus comprises a processing module having a processing container for processing substrates, a transport module equipped with a transport arm that moves by a drive mechanism and transports the substrates, a drive control unit that controls the drive mechanism, a position detection mechanism that detects the position of the substrates held by the transport arm, and a control unit. The processing container is provided with a mounting table having a mounting surface on which a substrate is placed, an edge portion provided along the periphery of the mounting surface so as to protrude from the mounting surface, and at least three lifting pins configured to extend and retract from the mounting surface and to transfer the substrate between the transfer arm and the mounting table. When the transport arm transports the substrate, the control unit performs a cycle consisting of the following steps (a) to (d) for each of the at least three reference directions that are set to pass through the central side and the peripheral side of the aforementioned mounting surface and extend in different directions from one another, (a) The step of tilting at least one of the mounting surface and the substrate held by the lifting pin along one reference direction selected from at least three reference directions such that the height position on the peripheral side is lower than the height position on the central side, (b) Lowering the lifting pin to transfer the circuit board to the stand described above, (c) After the substrate, which has been transferred to the stand described above, moves along the stand described above in the reference direction and reaches the inner circumference of the edge, the lifting pin is raised and the transport arm receives the substrate, (d) A step of detecting the position of the substrate received by the transport arm from the stand described above, A substrate processing apparatus configured to output a control signal for performing the following steps: determining a target position for transferring the substrate from the transport arm to the aforementioned stand based on the result of detecting the position of the substrate after it has moved along all of the aforementioned reference directions; and setting the target position as the setting position of the transport arm to the drive control unit.

11. The aforementioned mounting platform is provided with a tilt adjustment mechanism to adjust its inclination. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the tilt surface is tilted by adjusting the tilt of the base described above using the tilt adjustment mechanism.

12. At least three of the aforementioned lifting pins are provided with a lifting mechanism for adjusting the height position of each of the aforementioned lifting pins. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the lifting mechanism tilts the substrate by causing each of the lifting pins to hold the substrate at a different height.

Images