Substrate Processing Equipment

Abstract

To provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of improving throughput in sequentially processing lots of different cleaning surfaces.SOLUTION: At a time t3 which is switching timing before the last substrate in a surface cleaning lot finishes processing in a processing unit PU22 and returns to an indexer block, the transfer to reverse pass units RP3 and RP4 is stopped, and the reverse pass units RP3 and RP4 whose transfer is stopped are switched to the back surface cleaning lot processing. Therefore, the back surface cleaning lot can be started without waiting until a time t5 when all the substrates in the surface cleaning lot are finished. Therefore, the operating rate of the processing block can be improved, such that the throughput of the entire apparatus can be improved even when lots of different cleaning surfaces are continuously processed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs cleaning processes such as front surface cleaning and back surface cleaning on substrates (hereinafter simply referred to as substrates), such as semiconductor wafers, substrates for liquid crystal displays and organic EL (Electroluminescence) display devices, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for optical disks, substrates for magnetic disks, ceramic substrates, and substrates for solar cells. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, this type of device includes an indexer block, a processing block, and a reverse path block (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] The indexer block includes a carrier placement section on which a carrier containing a plurality of substrates is placed. The indexer block also includes an indexer robot that transports substrates between the carrier and the inverting path block. The processing block includes a front surface cleaning unit and a back surface cleaning unit as processing units. The inverting path block is disposed between the indexer block and the processing block. The inverting path block includes an inverting path unit. The inverting path unit includes multiple shelves on which substrates are placed, and transfers substrates between the processing block and inverts the front and back sides of the substrates.

[0004] The processing block is provided with a first processing section row having a four-layer structure with two back surface cleaning units from the bottom and two front surface cleaning units above them on the left side as viewed from the indexer block. The processing block is provided with a second processing section row having a four-layer structure with two back surface cleaning units from the bottom and two front surface cleaning units above them on the right side as viewed from the indexer block. The processing block is provided with the front surface cleaning units and one main robot that transports substrates between the back surface cleaning units and the inversion pass unit.

[0005] In this type of device, only one main robot is arranged in the processing block, but recently, in order to improve throughput, some devices have been equipped with two main robots corresponding to the processing units in the top two layers and the processing units in the bottom two layers of the processing block (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

[0006] Recently, a device that combines the above two devices has been proposed. Specifically, the processing block is divided into an upper and lower section, and a main robot is placed on each of the upper and lower sections. The reverse path block is equipped with two reverse path units on each of the upper and lower sections. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-72490 A (Fig. 2) [Patent Document 2] JP 2016-201526 A (Fig. 10) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems. That is, when processing lots having different cleaning surfaces in sequence, such as when processing a lot consisting of multiple substrates that undergo front surface cleaning, followed by processing a lot consisting of multiple substrates that undergo back surface processing that undergoes back surface cleaning, the following problems arise:

[0009] That is, the substrates of the lot to be subjected to front surface cleaning are sequentially distributed from the carrier to the upper inverting pass unit and the lower inverting pass unit by the indexer robot so that the substrates are evenly distributed to the upper and lower stages of the processing block, and are transported to each processing unit for front surface cleaning. Then, after the front surface cleaning of all the substrates in each processing unit in the upper and lower stages is completed and the last substrate of the lot to be subjected to front surface cleaning is transported from the inverting pass unit to the indexer block, the substrates of the lot to be subjected to back surface cleaning start to be evenly distributed from the carrier to the upper inverting pass unit and the lower inverting pass unit by the indexer robot.

[0010] Here, the transport of the lot for back surface cleaning to the inversion path block starts after the last substrate of the lot for front surface cleaning is transferred from the inversion path unit to the indexer block. This is because the lot for back surface cleaning requires an inversion process in the inversion path unit, which is not performed for the lot for front surface cleaning. That is, when performing back surface cleaning, an inversion process is required in which a substrate with its front surface facing up is inverted so that its back surface faces up before processing, and a substrate with its back surface facing up is inverted so that its front surface faces up after processing. Therefore, although it is temporary, a so-called "idle time" occurs in which all processing units in the processing block do not perform processing, and the operating rate of the processing block decreases. As a result, when processing lots with different cleaning surfaces consecutively, there is a problem that the throughput of the entire device decreases.

[0011] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of improving throughput when processing lots having different cleaning surfaces in succession. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the invention described in claim 1 provides a substrate processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate, the apparatus comprising: an indexer block having a carrier placement section on which a carrier accommodating a plurality of substrates as one lot is placed, and an indexer robot for transporting substrates between the carrier of the carrier placement section; a processing block having cleaning units as processing units for performing a front surface cleaning process and / or a back surface cleaning process for substrates, the processing block being separated and divided into an upper stage and a lower stage, the upper stage and the lower stage being provided with a plurality of the processing units; a reversing path block disposed between the indexer block and the processing block, the reversing path block having a plurality of stages on which substrates are placed, the upper stage being provided with at least two reversing path units each having a reversing function for reversing a substrate from its front surface to its back surface; a transport control unit that controls transport between the indexer block and the processing block, in which a plurality of substrates to be subjected to one of a cleaning process, a double-sided cleaning process, or a cleaning process consisting of a cleaning process for both sides, is defined as one lot, a lot that starts processing first among the lots is defined as a leading lot, and a lot that is processed following the leading lot and has a different cleaning surface from the leading lot is defined as a succeeding lot, the leading lot is transported to the upper and lower stages of the processing block via all of the upper and lower reverse pass units for processing, and at a switching timing before the last substrate of the leading lot finishes processing in the processing units and returns to the indexer block, transport to the reverse pass unit of either the upper or lower stage is stopped, and the reverse pass unit of the upper or lower stage that has stopped transport to the reverse pass unit is switched to a processing unit for the succeeding lot, so that the succeeding lot is processed in one of the upper or lower stage of the processing block.

[0013] [Function and Effect] According to the invention described in claim 1, when a preceding lot and a following lot having different cleaning surfaces are sequentially processed, the transport control unit transports the preceding lot to the upper and lower stages of the processing block via all of the upper and lower reverse path units for processing. The transport control unit stops the transport to one of the upper or lower reverse path units at a switching timing before the last substrate of the preceding lot finishes processing in the processing unit and returns to the indexer block, and switches the one of the upper or lower reverse path units that has stopped the transport to the reverse path unit to processing the following lot. Therefore, the processing of the following lot can be started without waiting until the processing of all substrates of the preceding lot is completed. Therefore, the operating rate of the processing block can be improved, and the throughput of the entire device can be improved even when lots having different cleaning processing surfaces are continuously processed.

[0014] In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that the transport control unit determines as the switching timing the point at which the number of substrates in the preceding lot that have completed processing in the processing block and returned to the indexer block becomes a predetermined number that is less than the total number of substrates in the preceding lot (Claim 2).

[0015] The transfer control unit determines the switching timing to be the point in time when the number of substrates that have completed processing in the processing block and returned to the indexer block becomes a predetermined number that is less than the total number of substrates in the preceding lot, thereby enabling transfer of the succeeding lot to begin earlier.

[0016] In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that the transport control unit determines as the switching timing the point at which the number of substrates in the preceding lot that have completed processing in the processing block and returned to the indexer block matches a switching number that is close to the number of processing units provided in either the upper level or the lower level (Claim 3).

[0017] If the number of changeovers is too small, it will take a long time to complete the processing of the preceding lot. In general, there is a desire to move the preceding lot, which is introduced earlier, to the next process as soon as possible before the succeeding lot. By setting the number of changeovers in this way, the processing of the preceding lot can be completed as soon as possible.

[0018] In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that, after the last substrate of the preceding lot has been transported from the processing block to the indexer block via the other of the upper or lower reversal path blocks, the transport control unit also transports substrates of the subsequent lot to the other of the upper or lower reversal path blocks (Claim 4).

[0019] The transfer control section also uses the other processing block, either the upper or lower level, that was used to process the preceding lot, for processing the subsequent lot, thereby shortening the processing time for the subsequent lot.

[0020] The invention of claim 5 provides a substrate processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate, the apparatus comprising: an indexer block having a carrier placement part on which a carrier accommodating a plurality of substrates as one lot is placed, the indexer block having an indexer robot for transporting substrates between the carrier of the carrier placement part; a processing block having cleaning units as processing units for performing a front surface cleaning process and / or a back surface cleaning process of the substrate, the processing block having a plurality of the processing units; a reversing path block disposed between the indexer block and the processing block, the reversing path block having a plurality of shelves on which substrates are placed, and having at least two reversing path units each having an inversion function for inverting the front and back surfaces of the substrate; a transport block having a center robot for transporting substrates between each of the processing units and the reversing path block; a transport control unit that controls transport between the indexer block and the processing block so that, when a plurality of substrates to be processed in one of the two or more reverse pass units is defined as one lot, a lot that starts processing first among the lots is defined as a leading lot, and a lot that is processed after the leading lot and has a different cleaning surface from the leading lot is defined as a succeeding lot, the leading lot is transported to the processing block via one of the reverse pass units or all of the reverse pass units for processing, and at a switching timing before the last substrate of the leading lot finishes processing in the processing unit and returns to the indexer block, the other of the plurality of reverse pass units is used for processing the succeeding lot, and the succeeding lot is processed in the processing block.

[0021] [Function and Effect] According to the invention described in claim 5, when a preceding lot and a following lot having different cleaning surfaces are processed in sequence, the transport control unit transports the preceding lot to the processing block via one of the reverse path units or all of the reverse path units for processing. At a switching timing before the last substrate of the preceding lot finishes processing in the processing unit and returns to the indexer block, the transport control unit uses the other of the multiple reverse path units for processing the following lot, and processes the following lot in the processing block. Therefore, processing of the following lot can be started without waiting until processing of all substrates of the preceding lot is completed. Therefore, the operating rate of the processing block can be improved, and the throughput of the entire apparatus can be improved even when lots having different cleaning processing surfaces are processed consecutively.

[0022] In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that the transport control unit determines as the switching timing the point at which the number of substrates in the preceding lot that have completed processing in the processing block and returned to the indexer block becomes a predetermined number that is less than the total number of substrates in the preceding lot (Claim 6).

[0023] The transfer control unit determines the switching timing to be the point in time when the number of substrates that have completed processing in the processing block and returned to the indexer block becomes a predetermined number that is less than the total number of substrates in the preceding lot, thereby enabling transfer of the succeeding lot to begin earlier.

[0024] In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that the transport control unit determines as the switching timing the point at which the number of substrates in the preceding lot that have completed processing in the processing block and returned to the indexer block matches a switching number that is close to half the number of processing units provided in the processing block (Claim 7).

[0025] If the number of changeovers is too small, it will take a long time to complete the processing of the preceding lot. In general, there is a desire to move the preceding lot, which is introduced earlier, to the next process as soon as possible before the succeeding lot. By setting the number of changeovers in this way, the processing of the preceding lot can be completed as soon as possible.

[0026] In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that, after the last substrate of the preceding lot has been transported from the processing block to the indexer block via one of the reversing path blocks, the transport control unit also transports substrates of the subsequent lot from the indexer block to one of the reversing path blocks (Claim 8).

[0027] The transfer control section also uses one of the reversal path blocks that was used to process the preceding lot for the transfer of the subsequent lot, thereby shortening the processing time for the subsequent lot. Effect of the Invention

[0028] According to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, when a preceding lot and a following lot having different cleaning surfaces are processed in sequence, the transport control unit transports the preceding lot to the upper and lower stages of the processing block via all of the upper and lower reverse pass units for processing. The transport control unit stops the transport to one of the upper or lower reverse pass units at a switching timing before the last substrate of the preceding lot finishes processing in the processing unit and returns to the indexer block, and switches the one of the upper or lower reverse pass units that has stopped the transport to the reverse pass unit to processing the following lot. Therefore, the processing of the following lot can be started without waiting until the processing of all substrates of the preceding lot is finished. Therefore, the operating rate of the processing block can be improved, and the throughput of the entire apparatus can be improved even when lots having different cleaning processing surfaces are processed consecutively. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0029] [Figure 1]1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of processing units in a processing block. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of the substrate processing apparatus. [Diagram 5] 4 is a time chart showing a processing example in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 11 is a time chart showing a processing example in a conventional example. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a side view of a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of processing units in a processing block. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the substrate processing apparatus. [Figure 10] 11 is a time chart showing a processing example in the second embodiment. [Figure 11] 11 is a time chart showing a processing example in a conventional example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. EXAMPLES

[0031] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to Example 1. Fig. 2 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus. Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing an arrangement of processing units in a processing block.

[0032] The substrate processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment is an apparatus that performs a cleaning process on a substrate W. Specifically, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that can perform a front surface cleaning process for cleaning a front surface of the substrate W, a back surface cleaning process for cleaning a back surface of the substrate, and a double-sided cleaning process for sequentially cleaning the front surface and back surface of the substrate W. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an indexer block 3, a reversing path block 5, a processing block 7, and a transport block 9.

[0033] The indexer block 3 transfers the substrate W to be processed between the reverse path block 5. The reverse path block 5 is disposed between the indexer block 3 and the processing block 7. The reverse path block 5 transfers the substrate W between the indexer block 3 and the transport block 9 as it is without reversing the substrate W, or transfers the substrate W between the indexer block 3 and the transport block 9 after reversing the substrate W. The transport block 9 transports the substrate W between the reverse path block 5 and the processing block 7. The processing block 7 includes a plurality of cleaning units SSR for cleaning the front surface of the substrate W and cleaning the back surface of the substrate W. The cleaning unit SSR receives the substrate W with the front surface facing upward and performs a front surface cleaning process. The cleaning unit SSR receives the substrate W with the back surface facing upward and performs a back surface cleaning process. In other words, the cleaning unit SSR can only perform a cleaning process on one side of the substrate W at a time, either the front surface or the back surface. The cleaning unit SSR performs a double-sided cleaning process on the substrate W by performing a front surface cleaning process on the substrate W whose front surface faces upward in the reversing path block 5 after the rear surface cleaning process, for example.

[0034] The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an indexer block 3, a reversal path block 5, a processing block 7, and a transport block 9 arranged in this order.

[0035] In the following description, the direction in which the indexer block 3, the reverse path block 5, the processing block 7, and the transport block 9 are aligned is referred to as the "front-rear direction X" (horizontal direction). In particular, the direction from the processing block 7 to the indexer block 3 is referred to as the "forward XF", and the opposite direction of the forward XF direction is referred to as the "backward XB". The direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction X and the horizontal direction is referred to as the "width direction Y". Furthermore, when viewed from the front of the indexer block 3, one direction of the width direction Y is appropriately referred to as the "right direction YR", and the other direction opposite the right direction YR is referred to as the "left direction YL". In addition, the vertical direction is referred to as the "up-down direction Z" (height direction, vertical direction). Note that when simply describing "side" or "horizontal direction", it is not limited to either the front-rear direction X or the width direction Y.

[0036] The indexer block 3 includes a carrier placement part 13 and an indexer robot IR. The substrate processing apparatus 1 in this embodiment includes, for example, four carrier placement parts 13. Specifically, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes four carrier placement parts 13 in the width direction Y. A carrier C is placed on each carrier placement part 13. The carrier C stores a plurality of substrates W (for example, 25 substrates) in a stacked manner, and each carrier placement part 13 transfers the carrier C between, for example, an OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport: also called an unmanned guided vehicle running on the ceiling) not shown. The OHT transports the carrier C by utilizing the ceiling of a clean room. An example of the carrier C is a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod).

[0037] In the indexer block 3, an indexer robot IR is disposed at the rear XB of the carrier placement part 13. The indexer robot IR transfers substrates W between the carriers C, and also transfers substrates W between the indexer robot IR and the reverse path block 5. Only one indexer robot IR is disposed in the indexer block 3. This indexer robot IR is attached at a fixed position so that its base does not move in the width direction Y. The indexer robot IR includes, for example, a multi-joint arm that can be raised and lowered. The indexer robot IR is capable of accessing the four carriers C and the reverse path block 5 described later.

[0038] The reverse path block 5 is attached integrally to the indexer block 3 on the processing block 7 side of the indexer block 3. The reverse path block 5 includes a reverse path unit 31. The reverse path unit 31 includes an upper reverse path unit 33 and a lower reverse path unit 35.

[0039] The upper reverse path unit 33 includes a reverse path unit RP1 and a reverse path unit RP2. The reverse path unit RP1 is disposed above the reverse path unit RP2. The lower reverse path unit 35 includes a reverse path unit RP3 and a reverse path unit RP4. The reverse path unit RP3 is disposed above the reverse path unit RP4. Each of the reverse path units RP1 to RP4 includes a plurality of shelves on which the substrate W is placed. Each of the reverse path units RP1 to RP4 is configured so that the plurality of shelves can rotate about an axis in the width direction Y. Each of the reverse path units RP1 to RP4 includes a function of simply transferring the substrate W placed on the plurality of shelves as is, and an inversion function of inverting the substrate W placed thereon by rotating the plurality of shelves simultaneously.

[0040] A processing block 7 and a transport block 9 are disposed behind the reversing path block 5 at the rear XB. The processing blocks 7 are disposed facing each other on the left side YL and the right side YR with the transport block 9 in between.

[0041] Each processing block 7 includes, for example, two layers of processing units PU, one in an upper stage UF and the other in a lower stage DF. Each processing block 7 is separated and partitioned into an upper stage UF and a lower stage DF. Each processing block 7 includes, for example, two processing units PU in the front-rear direction X. In other words, one processing block 7 includes, for example, eight processing units PU, and the two processing blocks 7 include a total of 16 processing units PU.

[0042] In the following description, when it is necessary to distinguish between the processing units PU, the four processing units PU arranged from top to bottom of the processing unit PU at the front XF on the left side YL will be referred to as processing units PU11 to PU14, as shown in Fig. 3. The four processing units PU arranged from top to bottom of the processing unit PU at the front XF on the right side YR will be referred to as processing units PU21 to PU24, the four processing units PU arranged from top to bottom of the processing unit PU at the rear XB on the left side YL will be referred to as processing units PU31 to PU34, and the four processing units PU arranged from top to bottom of the processing unit PU at the rear XB on the right side YR will be referred to as processing units PU41 to PU44.

[0043] In the processing block 7, the four processing units PU11-PU14 on the left side YL and the front XF are referred to as tower unit TW1. In the processing block 7, the four processing units PU21-PU24 on the right side YR and the front XF are referred to as tower unit TW2. In the processing block 7, the four processing units PU31-PU34 on the left side YL and the rear XB are referred to as tower unit TW3. In the processing block 7, the four processing units PU41-PU44 on the right side YR and the rear XB are referred to as tower unit TW4.

[0044] In the first embodiment, for example, each of the tower units TW1 to TW4 includes, as the processing units PU, cleaning units SSR that can perform cleaning processing on both the front and back surfaces of the substrate W. That is, each of the processing units PU11 to PU14, PU21 to 24, PU31 to 34, and PU41 to 44 is all configured as the cleaning units SSR.

[0045] In the transport block 9, center robots CR1 and CR2 are disposed at positions corresponding to the upper stage UF and the lower stage DF, respectively. The center robot CR1 transports the substrate W between the upper stage reverse path unit 33 in the reverse path block 5 and each processing unit PU in the upper stage UF of the processing block 7. In detail, the center robot CR1 transfers the substrate W between the reverse path units RP1 and RP2 and each processing unit PU in the upper stage UF of the processing block 7. The center robot CR2 transports the substrate W between the lower stage reverse path unit 35 in the reverse path block 5 and each processing unit PU in the lower stage DF of the processing block 7. In detail, the center robot CR2 transfers the substrate W between the reverse path units RP3 and RP4 and each processing unit PU in the lower stage DF of the processing block 7.

[0046] The center robot CR1 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction Z and the front-rear direction X in the upper stage UF. The center robot CR1 transfers the substrate W between the processing units PU11, PU12, PU31, PU32, PU21, PU22, PU41, and PU42 in the upper stage UF. In other words, the center robot CR1 is configured to be accessible to the processing units PU corresponding to the upper stage UF in the tower units TW1, TW2, TW3, and TW4, and the reverse pass units RP1 and RP2 of the upper stage UF.

[0047] The center robot CR2 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction Z and the front-rear direction X in the lower DF. The center robot CR2 transfers substrates W between the processing units PU13, PU14, PU23, PU24, PU33, PU34, PU43, and PU44 in the lower DF. In other words, the center robot CR2 is configured to be accessible to the processing units PU corresponding to the lower DF in the tower units TW1, TW2, TW3, and TW4, and the reversal pass units RP3 and RP4 of the lower DF.

[0048] Here, reference is made to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a block diagram relating to a control system of the substrate processing apparatus.

[0049] The control unit 51 performs overall control of the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus 1. Specifically, the control unit 51 is configured with a CPU and a memory. The control unit 51 prestores a plurality of types of recipes that define processing contents related to the cleaning processing of the substrate W. The recipes define the time for the cleaning processing performed on the substrate W, the processing liquid used for cleaning, the rotation speed of the substrate W during cleaning, etc.

[0050] The control unit 51 controls the vertical and lowering movement of the indexer robot IR in the vertical direction Z and the lateral extension and retraction movement of the articulated arm. The control unit 51 controls the reversing movement of the reversing path units RP1 to RP4. The control unit 51 controls the vertical and lowering movement of the center robots CR1 and CR2 in the vertical direction Z and the lateral advance and retreat movement of the arms. The control unit 51 controls the cleaning processing operation of all the processing units PU.

[0051] As described above, the control unit 51 controls the indexer robot IR, the reverse pass units RP1-RP4, the center robots CR1 and CR2, and all the cleaning units PU, and sequentially performs cleaning processing on a plurality of substrates W accommodated in the carrier C of the carrier placement unit 13 in the indexer block 3. The control unit 51 handles a plurality of substrates W accommodated in the carrier C as one lot, and operates each unit for each lot to perform cleaning processing according to a recipe for each lot.

[0052] Here, FIG. 5 is referred to. FIG. 5 is a time chart showing a processing example in the first embodiment. In the following description, as an example, a case will be described in which a lot for a back surface cleaning process, which has a cleaning surface different from that of the front surface cleaning process, is input following a lot for a front surface cleaning process, and these are processed sequentially. In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents each resource such as the indexer robot IR and the reverse path units RP1 and RP2. "Send" in the indexer robot IR means a sending operation from the carrier C to the reverse path block 5, and "Back" in the indexer robot IR means a returning operation from the reverse path block 5 to the carrier C. "Send" in the center robots CR1 and CR2 means a sending operation from the reverse path block 5 to the processing block 7, and "Back" in the center robots CR1 and CR2 means a returning operation from the processing block 7 to the reverse path block 5.

[0053] In FIG. 5, as an example, a lot for the front surface cleaning process is processed first, and a lot for the back surface cleaning process is processed after the front surface cleaning process. In FIG. 5, one substrate W in the lot for the front surface cleaning process is represented by a rectangle, and a black triangle mark is added to the lower right of the substrate W before the cleaning process. The black triangle mark at the lower right is removed for the substrate W after the cleaning process. Similarly, one substrate W in the lot for the back surface cleaning process is represented by an octagon, and a black triangle mark is added to the lower right of the substrate W before the cleaning process. The black triangle mark at the lower right is removed for the substrate W after the cleaning process. When the substrate W is subjected to the reversing process in the reversing pass units RP1 to RP4, an arrow is added in the up and down direction. In FIG. 5, as an example, one lot is composed of 16 substrates W, and the numbers of the substrates W are added in the rectangular or octagonal shapes.

[0054] The control unit 51 sequentially transports the substrates W numbered 1 to 16 before cleaning processing for the lot of the front surface cleaning processing. Specifically, the indexer robot IR performs a sending operation on the first substrate W from the processing start time (time 0 in FIG. 5), and transports the first substrate W from the cassette C to the reverse pass unit RP1 of the upper UF. Next, the center robot CR1 transports the first substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP1 to the processing unit PU11. The processing unit PU11 performs a front surface cleaning processing on the first substrate W according to the recipe. After the front surface cleaning processing is completed, the center robot CR1 performs a return operation to transport the first substrate W to the reverse pass unit RP2. The indexer robot IR performs a return operation on the first substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP2, and transports the first substrate W to the cassette C at time t1.

[0055] In this way, following the first substrate W, the control unit 51 transports the second substrate W, which has not yet been cleaned, among the substrates W in the lot for the front surface cleaning process. Specifically, following the feeding operation of the first substrate W in the indexer robot IR, the indexer robot IR performs a feeding operation for the second substrate W. This transports the second substrate W from the cassette C to the reverse pass unit RP2 of the upper UF. Next, the center robot CR1 transports the second substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP2 to the processing unit PU12. The processing unit PU12 performs the front surface cleaning process on the second substrate W according to the recipe. After the front surface cleaning process is completed, the center robot CR1 performs a return operation to transport the second substrate W to the reverse pass unit RP1. The indexer robot IR performs a return operation for the second substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP1 to transport the second substrate W to the cassette C.

[0056] Following the processing of the second substrate W, the control unit 51 transports the third substrate W, which has not yet been cleaned, among the substrates W in the lot for the front surface cleaning processing. Specifically, following the feeding operation of the second substrate W in the indexer robot IR, the indexer robot IR performs a feeding operation for the third substrate W. This transports the third substrate W from the cassette C to the reverse pass unit RP3 of the lower DF. Next, the center robot CR2 transports the third substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP3 to the processing unit PU13 of the lower DF. The processing unit PU13 performs the front surface cleaning processing on the third substrate W according to the recipe. After the front surface cleaning processing is completed, the center robot CR2 performs a return operation to transport the third substrate W to the reverse pass unit RP4. The indexer robot IR performs a return operation for the third substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP4 to transport the third substrate W to the cassette C.

[0057] Following the processing of the third substrate W, the control unit 51 transports the fourth substrate W, which has not yet been cleaned, among the substrates W in the lot for the front surface cleaning processing. Specifically, following the feeding operation of the third substrate W in the indexer robot IR, the indexer robot IR performs a feeding operation for the fourth substrate W. This transports the fourth substrate W from the cassette C to the reverse pass unit RP4 of the lower DF. Next, the center robot CR2 transports the fourth substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP4 to the processing unit PU14 of the lower DF. The processing unit PU14 performs the front surface cleaning processing on the fourth substrate W according to the recipe. After the front surface cleaning processing is completed, the center robot CR2 performs a return operation to transport the fourth substrate W to the reverse pass unit RP3. The indexer robot IR performs a return operation for the fourth substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP3 to transport the fourth substrate W to the cassette C.

[0058] As described above, the control unit 51 transports and processes the 1st to 16th substrates W in the lot for the front surface cleaning process in that order. As a result, the first substrate W is sent out from the cassette C at time 0, the first substrate W is returned to the cassette C at time t1, the 16th substrate W is sent out from the cassette C and transported from the cassette C at time t2, and the 16th substrate W, which is the last substrate W in the lot for the front surface cleaning process, completes the return operation at time t5.

[0059] The control unit 51 stops transport of the lot for the front surface cleaning processing to the lower DF at the "switching timing" before the 16th substrate W of the lot for the front surface cleaning processing is returned to the cassette C. Furthermore, it starts transport of the first substrate W of the lot for the back surface cleaning processing to the lower DF.

[0060] Specifically, from time t2 immediately after the 16th substrate W of the lot for the front surface cleaning process is sent out, the indexer robot IR performs a sending operation of the first substrate W of the lot for the back surface cleaning process, and the first substrate W is transported from the cassette C to the reverse path unit RP3 of the lower DF, and the reverse path unit RP3 performs a reverse process on the first substrate W. In other words, before all the substrates W of the lot for the front surface cleaning process return to the indexer block 3, the transport of the lot for the front surface cleaning process to the lower reverse path unit 35 is stopped, and the transport of the lot for the back surface cleaning process to the lower reverse path unit 35 is started. Next, the center robot CR2 transports the first substrate W in the reverse path unit RP3 to the processing unit PU13. The processing unit PU13 performs a back surface cleaning process on the first substrate W according to the recipe. After the back surface cleaning process is completed, the center robot CR2 performs a return operation to transport the first substrate W to the reverse path unit RP4, and the reverse path unit RP4 performs a reverse process on the first substrate W. The indexer robot IR performs a return operation with the first substrate W in the reversing pass unit RP4 as the target, and transports the first substrate W to the cassette C at time t5.

[0061] Following the processing of the first substrate W in this way, the control unit 51 transports the second substrate W, which has not yet been cleaned, among the substrates W in the lot for the back surface cleaning processing. Specifically, following the feeding operation of the first substrate W in the indexer robot IR, the indexer robot IR performs a feeding operation for the second substrate W. As a result, the second substrate W is transported from the cassette C to the reverse pass unit RP4 of the lower DF, and the reverse pass unit RP4 performs a reversing process on the second substrate W. Next, the center robot CR2 transports the second substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP4 to the processing unit PU14. The processing unit PU14 performs a back surface cleaning process on the second substrate W according to the recipe. After the back surface cleaning process is completed, the center robot CR2 performs a return operation to transport the second substrate W to the reverse pass unit RP3, and the reverse pass unit RP3 performs a reversing process on the second substrate W. The indexer robot IR performs a return operation for the second substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP3, and transports the second substrate W to the cassette C.

[0062] Following the processing of the second substrate W, the control unit 51 transports the third substrate W, which has not yet been cleaned, among the substrates W in the lot for the back surface cleaning processing. Specifically, following the feeding operation of the second substrate W in the indexer robot IR, the indexer robot IR performs a feeding operation for the third substrate W. As a result, the third substrate W is transported from the cassette C to the reverse pass unit RP3 of the lower DF, and the reverse pass unit RP3 performs a reverse processing on the substrate W. Next, the center robot CR2 transports the third substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP3 to the processing unit PU23. The processing unit PU23 performs a back surface cleaning processing on the third substrate W according to the recipe. After the back surface cleaning processing is completed, the center robot CR2 performs a return operation to transport the third substrate W to the reverse pass unit RP4, and the reverse pass unit RP4 performs a reverse processing on the third substrate W. The indexer robot IR performs a return operation for the third substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP4, and transports the third substrate W to the cassette C.

[0063] Following the processing of the third substrate W, the control unit 51 transports the fourth substrate W, which has not yet been cleaned, among the substrates W in the lot for the back surface cleaning processing. Specifically, following the feeding operation of the third substrate W in the indexer robot IR, the indexer robot IR performs a feeding operation for the fourth substrate W. As a result, the fourth substrate W is transported from the cassette C to the reverse pass unit RP4 of the lower DF, and the reverse pass unit RP4 performs a reversing process on the fourth substrate W. Next, the center robot CR2 transports the fourth substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP4 to the processing unit PU24. The processing unit PU24 performs a back surface cleaning process on the fourth substrate W according to the recipe. After the back surface cleaning process is completed, the center robot CR2 performs a return operation to transport the fourth substrate W to the reverse pass unit RP3, and the reverse pass unit RP3 performs a reversing process on the fourth substrate W. The indexer robot IR performs a return operation for the fourth substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP3, and transports the fourth substrate W to the cassette C.

[0064] The control unit 51 starts transporting the lot for the back surface cleaning process to the upper UF after time t4 when the last 16th substrate W in the lot for the front surface cleaning process is returned from the upper UF via the reverse path block RP1 by the indexer robot IR. That is, at time t4, the ninth substrate W in the lot for the back surface cleaning process is transported to the reverse path unit RP2 of the upper UF, and the reverse path unit RP2 performs a reverse process on the ninth substrate W. Then, processing is performed using both the upper UF and the lower DF, such that the tenth substrate W is processed in the upper UF and the eleventh substrate W is processed in the lower DF. When processing is performed in this manner, processing of two lots of substrates W is completed at time Te1.

[0065] The lot subjected to the above-mentioned front surface cleaning process corresponds to the "preceding lot" in this invention, and the lot subjected to the back surface cleaning process corresponds to the "subsequent lot" in this invention. Also, the above-mentioned control unit 51 corresponds to the "transport control unit" in this invention.

[0066] According to the above-mentioned embodiment 1, at time t3, which is the switching timing before time t4 when the last substrate W of the lot for the front surface cleaning processing finishes processing in the processing unit PU22 and returns to the indexer block 3, the transport of the lot for the front surface cleaning processing to the reverse path units RP3 and RP4 of the lower DF is stopped, and the reverse path units RP3 and RP4 of the lower DF whose transport has been stopped are switched to processing the lot for the back surface cleaning processing. Therefore, processing of the lot for the back surface cleaning processing can be started without waiting until time t5 when processing of all substrates W of the lot for the front surface cleaning processing is finished. Therefore, the operating rate of the processing block 7 can be improved, and the throughput of the entire apparatus can be improved even when lots with different cleaning processing surfaces are processed consecutively.

[0067] In the above example, the control unit 51 also uses the processing block 7 of the upper UF that has been used for processing the lot for the front surface cleaning processing for processing the lot for the back surface cleaning processing from the time t4 when all of the substrates W of the lot for the front surface cleaning processing have returned to the indexer block 3. This makes it possible to shorten the processing time for the lot for the back surface cleaning processing.

[0068] The control unit 51 determines, as the switching timing, the time t3 when the number of substrates W that have completed the processing in the processing block 7 and returned to the indexer block 3 becomes a predetermined number (7 substrates) that is less than the total number (16 substrates) of the lot for the front surface cleaning processing. Therefore, the transport of the lot for the back surface cleaning processing can be started earlier.

[0069] The control unit 51 may determine the switching timing as the time when the number of substrates W that have been processed in the processing block 7 and returned to the indexer block 3 among the lots subjected to the front surface cleaning processing matches the switching number close to the number of processing units PU provided in either the upper UF or the lower DF. In this case, since the number of processing units PU provided in either the upper UF or the lower DF is eight, the switching timing may be the time when about eight substrates W, 6 to 9 substrates W, have been processed and returned to the indexer block 3. If the switching number is too small, it will take a long time to complete the processing of the preceding lot. In general, there is a demand for the preceding lot, which has been introduced in advance, to be transferred to the next process as soon as possible before the succeeding lot. By setting such a switching number, the processing of the preceding lot can be completed as soon as possible.

[0070] Here, reference is made to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a time chart showing an example of processing in a conventional example.

[0071] In the conventional example, at time t3 when the last substrate W of the front surface cleaning process lot is returned to the indexer block 3 after the process, the process for the substrate W of the back surface cleaning process lot is started. Therefore, in the conventional example, the process for two lots of substrates W is completed at time Te2. In FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the time axis is not drawn at the same length due to the relationship of the drawing, but time Te2 in FIG. 6 is later than time Te1, which is the completion time in the above-mentioned embodiment 1. Therefore, it can be seen that the above-mentioned embodiment 1 can improve the throughput of the entire apparatus compared to the conventional example even when the lots of different cleaning process surfaces are continuously processed. Also, it can be seen that the above-mentioned embodiment 1 has less so-called "idle time" in which each processing unit PU is not processing, compared to the conventional example. From this point, it can be seen that the embodiment 1 can efficiently utilize each processing unit PU and improve the throughput. EXAMPLES

[0072] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 7 is a side view of a substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. Fig. 8 is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

[0073] In the following description, only the configurations that are different from those of the substrate processing apparatus 1 in the above-described first embodiment will be described, and a detailed description of the common configurations will be omitted.

[0074] The substrate processing apparatus 1A in the second embodiment differs from the substrate processing apparatus 1 in the first embodiment in the configuration of a reversing path block 5A, a processing block 7A, and a transport block 9A.

[0075] The reverse path block 5A includes a reverse path unit 31A. The reverse path unit 31A includes two reverse path units RP1 and RP2. The reverse path unit RP1 is disposed above the reverse path unit RP2. The reverse path unit RP2 is disposed below the reverse path unit RP1.

[0076] The processing block 7A is different from the processing block 7 in the above-described first embodiment, which is separated into an upper stage UF and a lower stage DF. That is, the processing block 7A does not have a configuration in which the processing units P11 are divided in the vertical direction Z. The processing block 7A includes, for example, 16 processing units PU in total.

[0077] Similar to the substrate processing apparatus 1 of embodiment 1, the processing block 7A includes a tower unit TW1 consisting of processing units PU11-14, a tower unit TW2 consisting of processing units PU21-PU24, a tower unit TW3 consisting of processing units PU31-PU34, and a tower unit TW4 consisting of processing units PU41-44.

[0078] The transport block 9A includes only one center robot CR1. The center robot CR1 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction Z and the front-rear direction X. The center robot CR1 delivers and receives substrates W between the reversing path block 5A and the processing units PU11-PU14, PU21-PU24, PU31-PU32, and PU41-PU44. In other words, the center robot CR1 is configured to be accessible to all processing units PU in the tower units TW1, TW2, TW3, and TW4.

[0079] Reference is now made to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a block diagram of a substrate processing apparatus.

[0080] The control unit 51A performs overall control of the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus 1A as a whole. The control unit 51A controls the vertical lifting and lowering operation of the indexer robot IR in the vertical direction Z and the lateral extension and retraction operation of the articulated arm. The control unit 51A controls the reversing operation of the reversing path units RP1 and RP2. The control unit 51A controls the vertical lifting and lowering operation of the center robot CR1 in the vertical direction Z and the lateral advance and retreat operation of the arm. The control unit 51A controls the cleaning processing operation of all the processing units PU.

[0081] Now, reference is made to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a time chart showing a processing example in the embodiment 2. In the following explanation, as in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, as an example, a case will be explained in which a lot for a front surface cleaning process is followed by a lot for a back surface cleaning process, the cleaning surface of which is different from that of the front surface cleaning process, and these are processed in sequence.

[0082] The control unit 51A sequentially transports the substrates W numbered 1 to 16 before cleaning processing for the lot of the front surface cleaning processing. Specifically, the indexer robot IR performs a sending operation on the first substrate W from the processing start time (time 0 in FIG. 10) and transports the first substrate W from the cassette C to the reverse pass unit RP1. Next, the center robot CR1 transports the first substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP1 to the processing unit PU11. The processing unit PU11 performs a front surface cleaning processing on the first substrate W according to the recipe. After the front surface cleaning processing is completed, the center robot CR1 performs a return operation and transports the first substrate W to the reverse pass unit RP1. The indexer robot IR performs a return operation on the first substrate W in the reverse pass unit RP1 and transports the first substrate W to the cassette C at time t11.

[0083] Following the processing of the first substrate W in this way, the control unit 51A transports the second substrate W, which has not yet been cleaned, out of the substrates W in the lot for the front surface cleaning processing. Then, the control unit 51A sequentially transports and processes the second to sixteenth substrates W in the lot for the front surface cleaning processing in that order. As a result, the first substrate W is sent out from the cassette C at time 0, the first substrate W is returned to the cassette C at time t11, the sixteenth substrate W is sent out from the cassette C and transported from the cassette C at time t12, and the 16th substrate W, which is the last substrate W in the lot for the front surface cleaning processing, completes the return operation at time t15.

[0084] The control unit 51A starts transporting the lot for the back surface cleaning process to the reverse path block RP2 at a "switching timing" before the time t15 when the 16th substrate W of the lot for the front surface cleaning process is returned to the cassette C. Specifically, from the time t13 immediately after the 16th substrate W of the lot for the front surface cleaning process is sent out, the indexer robot IR performs a sending operation of the first substrate W of the lot for the back surface cleaning process, and transports the first substrate W from the cassette C to the reverse path unit RP2, which then performs a reversing process on the first substrate W. Next, the center robot CR1 transports the first substrate W in the reverse path unit RP2 to the processing unit PU11. The processing unit PU11 performs a back surface cleaning process on the first substrate W according to the recipe. After the back surface cleaning process is completed, the center robot CR1 performs a return operation to transport the first substrate W to the reverse path unit RP1, which then performs a reversing process on the first substrate W. The indexer robot IR performs a return operation with the first substrate W in the reversing pass unit RP1 as the target, and transports the first substrate W to the cassette C at time t15.

[0085] Following the processing of the first substrate W in this manner, the control unit 51A transports the second substrate W that has not yet been cleaned among the substrates W in the lot for the back surface cleaning processing, and then transports the remaining substrates W in sequence.

[0086] After time t14 when the last 16th substrate W in the lot for front surface cleaning is returned by the indexer robot IR via the reverse path block RP1, the control unit 51A also starts transporting the lot for back surface cleaning to the reverse path unit RP1. That is, at time t14, the 9th substrate W in the lot for back surface cleaning is transported to the reverse path unit RP1, which performs a reverse process on the 9th substrate W. Then, processing is performed using both of the two reverse path units RP1 and RP2, such that the 10th substrate W is processed in the reverse path unit RP2 and the 11th substrate W is processed in the reverse path unit RP1. When processing is performed in this manner, processing of two lots of substrates W is completed at time Te3.

[0087] The lot subjected to the above-mentioned front surface cleaning process corresponds to the “preceding lot” in the present invention, and the lot subjected to the back surface cleaning process corresponds to the “subsequent lot” in the present invention. Also, the above-mentioned control unit 51A corresponds to the “transport control unit” in the present invention.

[0088] According to the second embodiment, the reversing path unit RP2 is used for processing the lot for the back surface cleaning process at time t13, which is the switching timing before time t14 when the last substrate W in the lot for the front surface cleaning process finishes processing in the processing unit PU44 and returns to the indexer block 3. Therefore, processing of the lot for the back surface cleaning process can be started without waiting until time t15 when processing of all substrates W in the lot for the front surface cleaning process is finished. This improves the operating rate of the processing block 7A, thereby improving the throughput of the entire apparatus even when lots with different cleaning processing surfaces are processed consecutively.

[0089] In the above example, the controller 51A also uses the reversal pass unit RP1 that has been used for processing the lot subjected to the front surface cleaning processing for processing the lot subjected to the back surface cleaning processing from time t14 when all the substrates W of the lot subjected to the front surface cleaning processing have returned to the indexer block 3. This makes it possible to shorten the processing time for the lot subjected to the back surface cleaning processing.

[0090] The controller 51A determines, as the switching timing, time t13 when the number of substrates W that have completed processing in the processing block 7A and returned to the indexer block 3 becomes a predetermined number (7 substrates) that is less than the total number (16 substrates) of the lot for the front surface cleaning processing. Therefore, the transport of the lot for the back surface cleaning processing can be started earlier.

[0091] The control unit 51A may determine the switching timing as the time when the number of substrates W that have been processed in the processing block 7A and returned to the indexer block 3 among the lots of the surface cleaning processing matches a switching number that is close to half the number of processing units PU in the processing block 7A. In this case, since the processing block 7A has 16 processing units PU, the switching timing may be the time when 6 to 9 substrates W, which is about 8 substrates, have been processed and returned to the indexer block 3. If the switching number is too small, it will take a long time to complete the processing of the preceding lot. In general, there is a demand that the preceding lot, which has been introduced in advance, be transferred to the next process as soon as possible before the subsequent lot. By setting such a switching number, the processing of the preceding lot can be completed as soon as possible.

[0092] Here, reference is made to Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a time chart showing an example of processing in the conventional example.

[0093] In the conventional example, at time t15 when the last substrate W of the front surface cleaning process lot is returned to the indexer block 3 after the processing, the processing of the substrate W of the back surface cleaning process lot is started. Therefore, in the conventional example, the processing of two lots of substrates W is completed at time Te4. Although the time axes of FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are not drawn at the same length due to the relationship of the drawings, time Te4 is later than time Te3 which is the completion time in the above-mentioned embodiment 2. Therefore, it can be seen that the above-mentioned embodiment 2 can improve the throughput of the entire apparatus compared to the conventional example even when the lots of different cleaning process surfaces are continuously processed. Also, it can be seen that the embodiment 2 has less so-called "idle time" in which each processing unit PU is not processing compared to the conventional example. From this point, it can be seen that the embodiment 2 can efficiently utilize each processing unit PU and improve the throughput.

[0094] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified as follows.

[0095] (1) In the above-described embodiments, the configurations shown in Figures 2, 3, 7, and 8 have been described as examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these configurations. For example, the processing blocks 7 and 7A may be provided with at least two processing units PU.

[0096] (2) In each of the above-described embodiments, the processing unit PU is configured to perform both the front surface cleaning process and the back surface cleaning process. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the processing unit PU may be configured to have a front surface cleaning unit that performs the front surface cleaning process and a back surface cleaning unit that performs the back surface cleaning process separately.

[0097] (3) In the above-mentioned embodiment 1, a configuration in which the upper UF has two reverse pass units RP1, RP2 and the lower DF has two reverse pass units RP3, RP4 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. In other words, the present invention may be configured so that each of the upper UF and the lower DF has two or more reverse pass units, or three or more reverse pass units. In the above-mentioned embodiment 2, a configuration in which two reverse pass units RP1, RP2 have been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. In other words, the present invention may be configured so that each of the upper UF and the lower DF has two or more reverse pass units, or three or more reverse pass units.

[0098] (4) In the above-mentioned second embodiment, only one of the two reverse pass units RP1, RP2, is used to process the lot for surface treatment. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the lot for surface treatment may be processed using both of the two reverse pass units RP1, RP2, and the other reverse pass unit RP2 may be switched midway to process the lot for back surface cleaning.

[0099] (5) In the above-described embodiments, the switching timing is set to t3 and t13, and the switching number is set to 7. However, the present invention is not limited to such settings. In other words, the transport may be controlled so that the first substrate W in the subsequent lot to be subjected to the back surface cleaning process starts to be transported from the indexer block 3 to the reverse path block 5, 5A before the last substrate W in the preceding lot to be subjected to the front surface cleaning process finishes processing.

[0100] (6) In the above-mentioned embodiments, the case where a lot of a front surface cleaning process is followed by a lot of a back surface cleaning process is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such a case. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where a lot of a front surface cleaning process is followed by a lot of a back surface cleaning process, or a lot of a double-sided cleaning process and a front surface cleaning process or a back surface cleaning process are processed. In the double-sided cleaning process, for example, the wafer is inverted so that the back surface faces upward in the reversing path block 5, and the back surface is cleaned in the processing unit PU. Then, the wafer is inverted so that the front surface faces upward in the reversing path block 5, and the front surface is cleaned in the processing unit PU. Then, the wafer is transported to the indexer block 3 in the same position in the reversing path block 5.

[0101] (7) In each of the above-described embodiments, the indexer block 3 includes one indexer robot IR. However, the present invention is not limited to the number of indexer robots IR in the indexer block 3. Furthermore, the indexer robot IR is not limited to a multi-joint arm configuration. In other words, the indexer robot IR may be configured such that the base part moves in the width direction Y or the front-rear direction X. [Industrial Applicability]

[0102] As described above, the present invention is suitable for a substrate processing apparatus that performs cleaning processes such as front surface cleaning process, back surface cleaning process, and double-sided cleaning process on a substrate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 1,1A … Substrate processing equipment W … Substrate 3 … Indexer block 5,5A … Reverse pass block 7,7A … Processing block 9,9A … Transport block 13 ... Carrier placement section IR... Indexer robot 31 … Reverse pass unit 33 ... Lower inverted pass unit 35 ... Lower inverted pass unit RP1~RP4 … Reverse path unit UF: Upper row DF: Lower row PU: Processing unit PU11~14, PU21=24, PU31~34, PU41~44 ... Processing units TW1~TW4 ... Tower unit SSR: Cleaning unit CR1, CR2 ... Center robot 51, 51A … Control section

Claims

1. In a substrate processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate, an indexer block including a carrier placement section on which a carrier that stores a plurality of substrates as one lot is placed, the indexer block including an indexer robot that transports substrates between the carrier and the carrier placement section; a processing block including a cleaning unit for performing a front surface cleaning process and / or a back surface cleaning process for a substrate as a processing unit, the processing block being divided into an upper stage and a lower stage, the upper stage and the lower stage including a plurality of the processing units; a reversing path block disposed between the indexer block and the processing block, the reversing path block having a plurality of shelves on which substrates are placed and having an inversion function for inverting the front and back sides of the substrate, the reversing path block including at least two reversing path units on each of the upper and lower stages; a transport block including a center robot on each of the upper and lower stages for transporting substrates between each of the processing units and the inversion path block; When a plurality of substrates to be subjected to one of a front surface cleaning process, a back surface cleaning process, and a double-sided cleaning process consisting of the front surface cleaning process and the back surface cleaning process are defined as one lot, a lot which starts processing first among the lots is defined as a leading lot, and a lot which is processed following the leading lot and has a different cleaning surface from the leading lot is defined as a succeeding lot, a transport control unit that controls transport between the indexer block and the processing block so that the preceding lot is transported to the upper and lower stages of the processing block via all of the upper and lower reverse pass units for processing, and at a switching timing before the last substrate of the preceding lot finishes processing in the processing units and returns to the indexer block, the transport to one of the upper or lower reverse pass units is stopped, and the one of the upper or lower stages that has stopped transport to the reverse pass unit is switched to a reverse pass unit for processing the subsequent lot, so that the subsequent lot is processed in one of the upper or lower stages of the processing block; A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

2. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the transport control unit determines the switching timing to be the point at which the number of substrates in the preceding lot that have completed processing in the processing block and returned to the indexer block becomes a predetermined number that is less than the total number of substrates in the preceding lot.

3. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the transport control unit determines the switching timing to be the point at which the number of substrates in the preceding lot that have completed processing in the processing block and returned to the indexer block matches a switching number that is close to the number of processing units provided in either the upper level or the lower level.

4. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that after the last substrate of the preceding lot is transported from the processing block to the indexer block via the other of the upper or lower reverse path blocks, the transport control unit also transports substrates of the subsequent lot to the other of the upper or lower reverse path blocks.

5. In a substrate processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate, an indexer block including a carrier placement section on which a carrier that stores a plurality of substrates as one lot is placed, the indexer block including an indexer robot that transports substrates between the carrier and the carrier placement section; a processing block including a plurality of cleaning units each of which performs a front surface cleaning process and / or a rear surface cleaning process for a substrate; a reversing path block disposed between the indexer block and the processing block, the reversing path block having a plurality of shelves on which substrates are placed and at least two reversing path units each having an inverting function for inverting the front and back sides of a substrate; a transport block including a center robot that transports substrates between each of the processing units and the inversion path block; When a plurality of substrates to be subjected to one of a front surface cleaning process, a back surface cleaning process, and a double-sided cleaning process consisting of the front surface cleaning process and the back surface cleaning process are defined as one lot, a lot which starts processing first among the lots is defined as a leading lot, and a lot which is processed following the leading lot and has a different cleaning surface from the leading lot is defined as a succeeding lot, a transport control unit that controls transport between the indexer block and the processing block so that the preceding lot is transported to the processing block via one or all of the reverse pass units and processed therein, and at a switching timing before the last substrate of the preceding lot has completed processing in the processing unit and returned to the indexer block, the other of the plurality of reverse pass units is used for processing the subsequent lot, and the subsequent lot is processed in the processing block; A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

6. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the transport control unit determines the switching timing to be the point at which the number of substrates in the preceding lot that have completed processing in the processing block and returned to the indexer block becomes a predetermined number that is less than the total number of substrates in the preceding lot.

7. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the transport control unit determines the switching timing to be the point at which the number of substrates in the preceding lot that have completed processing in the processing block and returned to the indexer block matches a switching number that is close to half the number of processing units provided in the processing block.

8. 8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that after the last substrate of the preceding lot is transported from the processing block to the indexer block via one of the reverse path blocks, the transport control unit transports substrates of the subsequent lot from the indexer block to one of the reverse path blocks.

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